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
Higher Frequencies: Instant Holograms on Metal Film by Stereolab
Stereolab mine the retrofuturistic dreams of late 70s and early 80s synthpop, resulting in a meticulously crafted, cinematic masterpiece, finds Lottie Brazier
Album of the Week
Next Level Electro-Shaabi: Rhlt Jdi by Elkotsh
Elkotsh’s debut LP is a mahraganat colossus with one foot in electro-shaabi's past and one in its future, says Bernie Brooks
Album of the Week
Everything is Permitted: Alamut by Laibach
Slovenian Martial Industrialists embark on what may be their most intrepid gambit yet – will they succeed? On the evidence of their latest album, it has at least pushed them towards some of their most adventurous and experimental music yet, finds Jeremy Allen
Album of the Week
Everything is Permitted: Alamut by Laibach
Slovenian Martial Industrialists embark on what may be their most intrepid gambit yet – will they succeed? On the evidence of their latest album, it has at least pushed them towards some of their most adventurous and experimental music yet, finds Jeremy Allen
Previous Reissue of the Week
Genuine treasures unearthed
Reissue of the Week
Reissue of the Week: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly (10 Year Anniversary Edition)
In 2014 Kendrick Lamar found himself in South Africa, an experience that helped to shape his third studio record, which is perhaps his most complex and enduring statement. Siobhán Kane revisits To Pimp A Butterfly
Reissue of the Week
Reissue of the Week: Orbital 2 (The Brown Album Expanded)
'The Brown Album' pays testament to the thrilling, sometimes contradictory power of rave as a culture, just months before it splintered, says Joe Muggs
Reissue of the Week
Reissue of the Week: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly (10 Year Anniversary Edition)
In 2014 Kendrick Lamar found himself in South Africa, an experience that helped to shape his third studio record, which is perhaps his most complex and enduring statement. Siobhán Kane revisits To Pimp A Butterfly
Help Support The Quietus in 2025
If you’ve read something you love on our site today, please consider becoming a monthly or annual tQ subscriber – our journalism is mostly funded this way. We’ve got some bonus perks waiting for you too.
Subscribe NowMetal
A fearless trawl through the realms of extreme and experimental metal
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 February Reviewed by JR Moores
Barely recovered from The Jesus Lizard’s recent UK tour, JR Moores flings himself, in a zebra print G-string, at the latest psych and noise rock releases
Punk
The best of punk and hardcore (and oi, and crust, and squat grind)
Punk
Straight Hedge! Noel Gardner Reviews Punk & HC for February
Noel Gardner delivers his latest roundup from the world of punk and hardcore featuring transmissions from the underground scenes of Beirut, Rome and Devizes (Wiltshire)
Rum Music
Casting the net for undefineable sounds
Rum Music
Rum Music for January Reviewed by Jennifer Lucy Allan
Guitars and more guitars and other, different guitars are staving off the January blues for Jennifer Lucy Allan, who returns with your latest trip to the world of Rum
Cassettes
Spooling through the world's best tapes
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for March by Daryl Worthington
Daryl Worthington speaks to Turmeric Acid about telepathic collaborations, and reviews tapes of free-wheeling hardanger and Andean flute improvisations, sat nav fall outs, ecstatic noise and more in March’s dive into the cassette scene
Cassettes
Spool’s Out: Cassette Reviews for March by Daryl Worthington
Daryl Worthington speaks to Turmeric Acid about telepathic collaborations, and reviews tapes of free-wheeling hardanger and Andean flute improvisations, sat nav fall outs, ecstatic noise and more in March’s dive into the cassette scene
New Weird Britain
Transmissions from the thriving British underground
New Weird Britain
New Weird Britain in Review for March by Noel Gardner
Noel Gardner's latest dispatch from the undergrowth features weird grime, Super Nintendo cartridges, an anti-music Napalm Death covers LP, a scorching bagpipe/saxophone drone and much much more
Electronic
The best club culture brought to your device
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 February Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Jaša Bužinel reflects the death of three beloved artists, and presents 10 outstanding electronic music releases, from world-building IDM excursions and top notch tech-house to funky jazztronica and avant-garde easy listening
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for October Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Jaša Bužinel addresses the "panopticonisation" of dance music culture, and reviews exciting new releases from various electronic realms, among them new albums by CS + Kreme, Lechuga Zafiro, Mala Herba, Rrose x Polygonia and more
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for August Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
This month, Bužinel salutes the anonymous YouTubers uploading the rarities from their personal vinyl collections, and presents his top ten picks from July and August, including new releases from Pavel Milyakov, Hassan Abou Alam, and CCL & Ciel
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 February Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Jaša Bužinel reflects the death of three beloved artists, and presents 10 outstanding electronic music releases, from world-building IDM excursions and top notch tech-house to funky jazztronica and avant-garde easy listening
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for October Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
Jaša Bužinel addresses the "panopticonisation" of dance music culture, and reviews exciting new releases from various electronic realms, among them new albums by CS + Kreme, Lechuga Zafiro, Mala Herba, Rrose x Polygonia and more
Electronic
Hyperspecific: Electronic Music for August Reviewed by Jaša Bužinel
This month, Bužinel salutes the anonymous YouTubers uploading the rarities from their personal vinyl collections, and presents his top ten picks from July and August, including new releases from Pavel Milyakov, Hassan Abou Alam, and CCL & Ciel
The Quietus International
Our favourite music, country-by-country
The Quietus International
Rockfort! French Music for June, Reviewed by David McKenna
In his latest dispatch from the French fringes, David McKenna reports from this year’s New Trad Fest in the Loire region and rounds up new releases including a surrealistic Breton folk duo, Japanese gagaku-inspired drones and much more
The Quietus International
Inner Ear: Serbian Music for April by Jakub Knera
In his latest deep dive into the music scenes of Central and Eastern Europe, Jakub Knera explores how Serbia's artists are responding to a climate of increasing political tension, profiles the forward-thinking figures at the heart of the country's underground scene, and reviews a slew of key Serbian releases
The Quietus International
Rockfort! French Music for June, Reviewed by David McKenna
In his latest dispatch from the French fringes, David McKenna reports from this year’s New Trad Fest in the Loire region and rounds up new releases including a surrealistic Breton folk duo, Japanese gagaku-inspired drones and much more
The Quietus International
Inner Ear: Serbian Music for April by Jakub Knera
In his latest deep dive into the music scenes of Central and Eastern Europe, Jakub Knera explores how Serbia's artists are responding to a climate of increasing political tension, profiles the forward-thinking figures at the heart of the country's underground scene, and reviews a slew of key Serbian releases
Live Reviews
From pubs to festivals to arenas, out and about with tQ
Live Reviews
Romance In The Air: Rewire 2025 Reviewed
Richard Foster needs a sit down after a spell-binding weekend taking in sonic veterans, new pioneers, and a waterborne performance that is like "some absurd clash of Handel, Stockhausen and Jerome K Jerome"
Live Reviews
LIVE REPORT: MENT Festival 2025
Richard Foster reports from Ljubljana's MENT Festival, where Lankum, Širom, Laura Agnusdei, Tramhaus, Yalla Miku, Use Knife and many more deliver the goods
Live Reviews
Joyful Transference, Against the Tide: Sunn O))) & More at Unsound New York
As the US reels from the re-election of Donald Trump, Jesse Dorris finds solace and inspiration in a fine weekend of concerts curated by Polish festival Unsound, from hunkering down to basement techno to riding the drone of Kali Malone and Sunn O))). Photos by Lawrence Sumulong.
Live Reviews
Joyful Transference, Against the Tide: Sunn O))) & More at Unsound New York
As the US reels from the re-election of Donald Trump, Jesse Dorris finds solace and inspiration in a fine weekend of concerts curated by Polish festival Unsound, from hunkering down to basement techno to riding the drone of Kali Malone and Sunn O))). Photos by Lawrence Sumulong.
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
