Reviews
Opinionated and informative criticism of all the music that counts
Previous Album of the Week
Our favourite LP of the moment
Album of the Week
A Topography of Intimacy: A Body Like A Home by Alejandra Cárdenas
To the sound of cumbia rhythms, noisy bass tremors, frantic violin phrases and spectral electronics, the Peruvian-born artist creates a moving meditation on home and homeliness, from the unconscious desires buried in the basement to the hopes and dreams spiralling from the attic room
Album of the Week
Chopper Choons: Mercy by Armand Hammer and The Alchemist
On their seventh stellar album in a row, the unbeatable duo of Elucid and Billy Woods find space for small, everyday joys amongst the horror of contemporary geopolitics
Album of the Week
Heavy Weather: A Theory of Cloud by Shrine Maiden
Husband and wife duo Rachel Nakawatase and Ryan Betschart blend their doom with dreampop, noise, ambient and shoegaze elements, exploding the confines of linear perspective into new forms of sonic space
Album of the Week
A Flying Start: Daughters by Jennifer Walton
The debut album by the Iceboy Violet and BABii collaborator drifts through the non-places of supermodernity, devastated by grief – a stirring and tender work of mourning in which traditional instruments combine with electronics with verve and ambition
Album of the Week
A Topography of Intimacy: A Body Like A Home by Alejandra Cárdenas
To the sound of cumbia rhythms, noisy bass tremors, frantic violin phrases and spectral electronics, the Peruvian-born artist creates a moving meditation on home and homeliness, from the unconscious desires buried in the basement to the hopes and dreams spiralling from the attic room
Album of the Week
A Flying Start: Daughters by Jennifer Walton
The debut album by the Iceboy Violet and BABii collaborator drifts through the non-places of supermodernity, devastated by grief – a stirring and tender work of mourning in which traditional instruments combine with electronics with verve and ambition
Previous Reissue of the Week
Genuine treasures unearthed
Reissue of the Week
Reissue of the Week: Tenor Saw’s ‘Ring The Alarm’
Newly reissued to mark its 40th birthday, ‘Ring The Alarm’ continues to rattle speaker boxers and make sound men and women tremble. Wrongtom charts the history of its Stalag rhythm, from overlooked origins in the early 1970s to Tenor Saw’s 1985 masterpiece and beyond
Reissue of the Week
Reissue of the Week: Hüsker Dü’s 1985: The Miracle Year
Julian Marszalek relishes a live box set that captures a band at the moment of transition – in invention and reinvention – but, he asks, were they the Beatles of hardcore?
Reissue of the Week
Reissue of the Week: Tenor Saw’s ‘Ring The Alarm’
Newly reissued to mark its 40th birthday, ‘Ring The Alarm’ continues to rattle speaker boxers and make sound men and women tremble. Wrongtom charts the history of its Stalag rhythm, from overlooked origins in the early 1970s to Tenor Saw’s 1985 masterpiece and beyond
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Subscribe NowMetal
A fearless trawl through the realms of extreme and experimental metal
Metal
Columnus Metallicus: Heavy Metal for July Reviewed by Kez Whelan
Kez Whelan delivers his latest guide to the best in heavy music, featuring killer new records from Deadguy, Psudoku, Sodom and many more
Metal
Columnus Metallicus: Heavy Metal for May Reviewed by Kez Whelan
In his latest guide to the best in metal, Kez Whelan celebrates a return to form from Deafhaven, a career-highlight from Conan, the nebulous world of heavy metal supergroups, and reviews a host of essential new releases
Metal
Columnus Metallicus: Heavy Metal for March Reviewed by Kez Whelan
Having failed to secure tickets for the big Black Sabbath farewell this summer, Kez Whelan wonders whether missing out might be for the best. He also reviews the latest from Intensive Care x The Body, The Overmold, Abduction and many more
Metal
Columnus Metallicus: Heavy Metal for March Reviewed by Kez Whelan
Having failed to secure tickets for the big Black Sabbath farewell this summer, Kez Whelan wonders whether missing out might be for the best. He also reviews the latest from Intensive Care x The Body, The Overmold, Abduction and many more
Psych Rock
A guide to the far-out sounds of psych and noise rock
Psych Rock
Columnfortably Numb: Psych Rock for August by JR Moores
JR Moores addresses the painful rise of AI psych rock before getting his lugholes around some manmade releases
Punk
The best of punk and hardcore (and oi, and crust, and squat grind)
Punk
Straight Hedge! Noel Gardner Reviews Punk & HC for August
From Tokyo speedbastards to small town Connecticut hardcore, to a band billing themselves as a two-piece despite one of them being a dog, Noel Gardner's roundup of the best in global punk returns
Rum Music
Casting the net for undefineable sounds
Rum Music
Rum Music for September Reviewed by Jennifer Lucy Allan
Jennifer Lucy Allan returns with another batch of rum music, reviewing an essential new compilation of Amy Sheffer, posthumous releases from Mika Vainio (as Ø) and Amelia Cuni, the return of Surface Of The Earth, the first recording of legendary Ugandan vocalist John Katokye, and much more
Rum Music
Rum Music for August Reviewed by Jennifer Lucy Allan
From cross-century kantele duets to roaring cellos, bagpipe drones and an essential artefact from the 1980s Hungarian underground, Jennifer Lucy Allan returns with your latest Rum Music roundup
Rum Music
Rum Music for September Reviewed by Jennifer Lucy Allan
Jennifer Lucy Allan returns with another batch of rum music, reviewing an essential new compilation of Amy Sheffer, posthumous releases from Mika Vainio (as Ø) and Amelia Cuni, the return of Surface Of The Earth, the first recording of legendary Ugandan vocalist John Katokye, and much more
Cassettes
Spooling through the world's best tapes
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for November by Daryl Worthington
From radical dance music to triumphant, intricately layered synth pop and a levitating collaboration between a Ugandan embaire ensemble and a Japanese dub producer, Daryl Worthington finds rays of joy on cassette to blast away the impending winter entropy this November
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for September by Daryl Worthington
From gnome-inspired computer music to dancing incandescent lightbulbs, dungeon synth soundtracks for imagined RPGs and apocalyptic drum solos, Daryl Worthington dives into early-Autumn’s cassette releases
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for July by Daryl Worthington
From improvisations that capture the archaeology of the internet to werewolf inspired black metal played with Cajun instruments, roaming synths, sidewinding freakouts and clipped nails, Daryl Worthington dives into the latest cassette releases
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for November by Daryl Worthington
From radical dance music to triumphant, intricately layered synth pop and a levitating collaboration between a Ugandan embaire ensemble and a Japanese dub producer, Daryl Worthington finds rays of joy on cassette to blast away the impending winter entropy this November
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for July by Daryl Worthington
From improvisations that capture the archaeology of the internet to werewolf inspired black metal played with Cajun instruments, roaming synths, sidewinding freakouts and clipped nails, Daryl Worthington dives into the latest cassette releases
New Weird Britain
Transmissions from the thriving British underground
New Weird Britain
New Weird Britain in Review for November by Noel Gardner
From weighty out-jazz poetry to a dream pop / post rock wormhole, via mutating synth grids, a record fuelled by hatred of the ‘the music industry’ and more – it can only be Noel Gardner’s latest guide to the best of New Weird Britain
New Weird Britain
New Weird Britain in Review for September by Noel Gardner
Noel Gardner's guide to the greatest in the British underground returns, with vaporous synths, leftfield new age bubblers, avowedly fuck-off noise music and more
New Weird Britain
New Weird Britain in Review for November by Noel Gardner
From weighty out-jazz poetry to a dream pop / post rock wormhole, via mutating synth grids, a record fuelled by hatred of the ‘the music industry’ and more – it can only be Noel Gardner’s latest guide to the best of New Weird Britain
Electronic
The best club culture brought to your device
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for October Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Jaša Bužinel reflects on the importance of outside recognition and the influence of industry-fed dogmas on the success of aspiring artists, and reviews releases covering devilish UKG, Swedish minimal tech, bubbly deep house from Japan and more
Electronic
Hyperspecific: The Best Dance Tracks from Summer 2025, Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
As autumn approaches, tQ's electronic music columnist Jaša Bužinel compiles the tunes that have had the greatest impact on this summer's festival dancefloors, from progressive bangers to nostalgia triggers
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for June Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
This month’s edition of our dance music column brings a surprise six-hour marathon set from Italian techno legend Donato Dozzy and plenty of dancefloor goodies, from “bard tech” and new gen Italo house to re-touched French Touch and cerebral IDM techno
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for May Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Our dance music editor wonders whether club culture has lost its potential for providing radically transformative experiences, and reviews a new batch of cutting-edge releases, including trailblazing Bangladeshi dub and jungle mutations, UK techno epics, spectral dub techno, neo-devotional music from Egypt and a cult PS1 soundtrack.
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for October Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Jaša Bužinel reflects on the importance of outside recognition and the influence of industry-fed dogmas on the success of aspiring artists, and reviews releases covering devilish UKG, Swedish minimal tech, bubbly deep house from Japan and more
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for June Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
This month’s edition of our dance music column brings a surprise six-hour marathon set from Italian techno legend Donato Dozzy and plenty of dancefloor goodies, from “bard tech” and new gen Italo house to re-touched French Touch and cerebral IDM techno
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for May Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Our dance music editor wonders whether club culture has lost its potential for providing radically transformative experiences, and reviews a new batch of cutting-edge releases, including trailblazing Bangladeshi dub and jungle mutations, UK techno epics, spectral dub techno, neo-devotional music from Egypt and a cult PS1 soundtrack.
The Quietus International
Our favourite music, country-by-country
The Quietus International
North American Music: tQ in New York City, by Maxelle Talena
New York isn’t dead, says Maxelle Talena in the latest of tQ’s dispatches from the North American underground. It’s being killed. From jumpstyle to hardcore punk, from hip hop to garage rock (for those who can’t afford a garage), she introduces five key artists keeping the flame alive
The Quietus International
Rockfort! French Music for September, Reviewed by David McKenna
In his latest French music round-up, David McKenna looks at what the French mean by ‘electro’ and delves into new releases from a multi-faceted Franco-Senegalese artist, guitar-and-damaged-turntable improv and more
The Quietus International
North American Music: tQ in The Twin Cities, by Natalie Marlin
In the first edition of a new series exploring underground and left-field music from North America, Natalie Marlin delivers an insider's guide to the frantic, uninhibited and queer-driven energy of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul underground, and picks out five essential new releases from the cities' most exciting artists
The Quietus International
North American Music: tQ in New York City, by Maxelle Talena
New York isn’t dead, says Maxelle Talena in the latest of tQ’s dispatches from the North American underground. It’s being killed. From jumpstyle to hardcore punk, from hip hop to garage rock (for those who can’t afford a garage), she introduces five key artists keeping the flame alive
The Quietus International
Rockfort! French Music for September, Reviewed by David McKenna
In his latest French music round-up, David McKenna looks at what the French mean by ‘electro’ and delves into new releases from a multi-faceted Franco-Senegalese artist, guitar-and-damaged-turntable improv and more
The Quietus International
North American Music: tQ in The Twin Cities, by Natalie Marlin
In the first edition of a new series exploring underground and left-field music from North America, Natalie Marlin delivers an insider's guide to the frantic, uninhibited and queer-driven energy of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul underground, and picks out five essential new releases from the cities' most exciting artists
Live Reviews
From pubs to festivals to arenas, out and about with tQ
Live Reviews
A Long Drink of the Best Water: Highlights from 2025’s Le Guess Who?
Richard Foster reports back from another stellar edition of the Utrecht Festival, where he finds equal space for spiritual nourishment gibbering wig-outs, courtesy of Valentina Magaletti, upsammy, EarthBall, The Fiery Furnaces and many more
Live Reviews
Sounds from an Ancient City: Highlights of Mucho Flow
Kate French Morris heads to the ancient city of Guimarães in Portugal, where These New Puritans and a host of local acts guide her through the rain-lashed, autumnal gloom
Live Reviews
The Sublime to the Meticulous: Highlights from Semibreve 2025
Patrick Clarke reports from Braga's Semibreve, where high-concept programming and the use of beautiful interior spaces reap rich rewards
Live Reviews
Light Music: Sunn O))), Catherine Christer Hennix & More at Venice Biennale Musica
At the 69th annual International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, performances by the Kamigaku Ensemble, Jasmine Morris and Sunn O))) leave Robert Barry pondering what we mean when we call music 'heavy'
Live Reviews
A Long Drink of the Best Water: Highlights from 2025’s Le Guess Who?
Richard Foster reports back from another stellar edition of the Utrecht Festival, where he finds equal space for spiritual nourishment gibbering wig-outs, courtesy of Valentina Magaletti, upsammy, EarthBall, The Fiery Furnaces and many more
Live Reviews
Light Music: Sunn O))), Catherine Christer Hennix & More at Venice Biennale Musica
At the 69th annual International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, performances by the Kamigaku Ensemble, Jasmine Morris and Sunn O))) leave Robert Barry pondering what we mean when we call music 'heavy'
Track-by-Track
Albums dissected, the granular detail revealed
Track-by-Track
Arcade Fire’s Everything Now Reviewed Track By Track
Anna Wood delves into Arcade Fire's fifth long player in order to bring us a track by track breakdown. But is Everything Now something or nothing
