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
Ancient to the Future: Discombobulated by Hen Ogledd
The Hen Ogledd family keeps on expanding – the group’s sound, likewise. But more than anything, Discombobulated sounds like the present, finds Jeanette Leech
Album of the Week
Et In Arcadia Emo: The Apple Tree Under The Sea by Hemlocke Springs
The debut album from the North Carolina-born singer-songwriter-producer, finds the digital age's only medieval princess bursting with ideas and cartoonish intensity. Truly, Hemlocke Springs contains multitudes
Album of the Week
Justice for All or Justice for None: Urgh by Mandy, Indiana
Manchester’s Mandy, Indiana haver never sounded so direct, so fierce, so angry as on this, their second album, a record which forcefully calls out rape culture and toxic masculinity amidst racing polyrhythms and a barrage of noise
Album of the Week
Justice for All or Justice for None: Urgh by Mandy, Indiana
Manchester’s Mandy, Indiana haver never sounded so direct, so fierce, so angry as on this, their second album, a record which forcefully calls out rape culture and toxic masculinity amidst racing polyrhythms and a barrage of noise
Previous Reissue of the Week
Genuine treasures unearthed
Reissue of the Week
Reissue Of The Week: Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse
Francis Buseko Mubanga looks back two decades to Clipse's Coke Rap album par excellence, reissued this week by CMG. Features a Clipse Quietus Essentials Playlist for top tier subscribers
Try our Subscriber Perks for Free
To reward our subs for helping us keep the lights on, we load them up with exclusive rewards each month. We’d love you to become a member too, so hope you’ll enjoy our free 30-day trial subscription offer.
Start Free TrialMetal
A fearless trawl through the realms of extreme and experimental metal
Metal
Columnus Metallicus: Heavy Metal for September Reviewed by Kez Whelan
Kez Whelan reflects on the passing of Ozzy Osbourne and Mastodon's Brent Hinds, and reviews crucial new heavy releases from Human Leather, Endless Swarm, Kayo Dot and more
Rock
A guide to psych rock, noise rock, post rock, space rock, and many other rocks
Rock
Columnfortably Numb: Psych Rock For October By JR Moores
Before he gets to grip with the latest psych and noise rock releases, JR Moores has a brilliantly bleak brainwave
Punk
The best of punk and hardcore (and oi, and crust, and squat grind)
Punk
Straight Hedge! Noel Gardner Reviews Punk & HC for March
From Norwegian hardcore royalty to one of the few flying the flag for the Alabama underground, via returning Dublin favourites and yet another essential demo from the relentless Shrewsbury scene, Noel Gardner returns once more with his guide to new punk rock
Punk
Straight Hedge! Noel Gardner Reviews Punk & HC for January
Our punk columnist returns with a selection of wicked anarcho goth gear, rampaging crust punk, top drawer retromodern hardcore apocalyptica and more to see you through the new year's slog
Punk
Straight Hedge! Noel Gardner Reviews Punk & HC for March
From Norwegian hardcore royalty to one of the few flying the flag for the Alabama underground, via returning Dublin favourites and yet another essential demo from the relentless Shrewsbury scene, Noel Gardner returns once more with his guide to new punk rock
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 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 January by Daryl Worthington
Growling wax cylinders, spooky flutes, world-building synth nocturnes. Daryl Worthington reviews the first cassettes of 2026 and the ones that snuck through in the end of 2025
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 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
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 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 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
The Quietus International
Our favourite music, country-by-country
The Quietus International
DIY Against the Oligarchy: Underground Music in Tbilisi, by Nick Hudson
Nick Hudson reports from Georgia with his guide to the gripping, eclectic and unpredictable music currently being produced in the Tbilisi underground, and how the city's musical communities are stepping up in the face of significant repression
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
DIY Against the Oligarchy: Underground Music in Tbilisi, by Nick Hudson
Nick Hudson reports from Georgia with his guide to the gripping, eclectic and unpredictable music currently being produced in the Tbilisi underground, and how the city's musical communities are stepping up in the face of significant repression
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
Live Reviews
From pubs to festivals to arenas, out and about with tQ
Live Reviews
Noise is a Healing Force: My Bloody Valentine Live
Daniel Dylan Wray reports back from last night's My Bloody Valentine gig in Manchester which became a tribute to Mani... but also a demonstration of the healing powers of noise and volume. All photographs by Isaac Watson
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
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
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
Most Popular
1
