Playlists Explore our specially-curated playlists, one of many tQ perks for Subscribers.
As Shovel Dance Collective singer and organist Nick Granata prepares for the launch of their excellent and eccentric solo debut, they take us through the diverse influences that inspired it (the results are compiled into a playlist exclusively for tQ Subscriber Plus tier members)
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Eartheater’s new album is an ode to her baby daughter Nova. Here she shares 13 records with Finn Cliff Hodges that she is excited for Nova to hear, and some that she herself connected with as a child, via talking purple foods with Björk to saying prayers to Miles Davis, and why Alice Coltrane is good for digestion
Nearing the halfway mark of 2026 we polled tQ staff and columnists to compile this chart of our top 100 albums released so far this year. This chart was compiled by John Doran, and built by Patrick Clarke and Christian Eede
Ahead of the paperback reprint of her memoir You Had To Be There, the DJ, drag queen and author takes Alex Rigotti through her favourite albums, from growing up on Grace Jones to touring with Kylie, via formative experiences with Madonna and more
A sonic bulletin of tQ's essential editorial
Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives
Eartheater’s new album is an ode to her baby daughter Nova. Here she shares 13 records with Finn Cliff Hodges that she is excited for Nova to hear, and some that she herself connected with as a child, via talking purple foods with Björk to saying prayers to Miles Davis, and why Alice Coltrane is good for digestion
Ahead of the paperback reprint of her memoir You Had To Be There, the DJ, drag queen and author takes Alex Rigotti through her favourite albums, from growing up on Grace Jones to touring with Kylie, via formative experiences with Madonna and more
Gearing up for his guest curation of Future Yard and Tate Liverpool's Selector, the Turner-winning artist Mark Leckey takes Richard Foster through his favourite records, from musical theatre to SoundCloud rap, via anarcho-punk, pop, footwork, UK garage and much more
As the alias-hopping Angel Marcloid releases her mind-bending first album for Warp, she takes Alastair Shuttleworth through the records which have shaped her life, from Dream Theater, Wolf Eyes and early emo, to a passionate defence of The Morning Of
In her Baker's Dozen, self-penned between the release of her latest solo album and the return of her much-loved band Black Box Recorder, Sarah Nixey charts her life in listening from Carpenters to The Cure, via encounters with David Bowie and more
Two decades on from the release of Liars third album, Luke Turner argues that its percussive invention shouldn't obscure a rich, emotional core. For our top tier Subscriber Plus supporters, this Anniversary feature comes with a playlist by Liars of the music they were listening to when the album was made.
Though eclipsed by what came in its wake, The Colour Of Spring, at the heart of Talk Talk’s catalogue, is no less astonishing. Forty years on, Wyndham Wallace commends the inaugural rebirth of Mark Hollis’ synthpop band. And for top tier subscribers there is a 'Quietus Essentials Playlist' guide to the music of Talk Talk
John Quin presents a hormonally loaded take on Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader’s classic of male alienation. For top tier subscribers to this site, click below for a 'Quietus Essentials Playlist' guide to the cinematic music of Bernard Herrmann
The perfect soundtrack to our artist discussions
From a childhood obsessed with art to the electroacoustic, treated piano work of new album Requiem via Can's "school of pain", the German composer reflects on a life well lived. And for top tier tQ subscribers, an exclusive playlist on all streaming platforms of his finest solo work
Stevie Chick talks to Bob Mould and Greg Norton about blazing a trail in hardcore, the uneasy switch from independent to major label and their complex relationship with Grant Hart, plus paving the way for Pixies and Nirvana. Cover portrait courtesy of Greg Norton
While black metal history is often the story of errant youth reaping chaos, Agriculture plough their own furrow. Dan Franklin meets a band who sow explosive seeds via songwriting and then reap joyous brinkmanship onstage. Main portrait by Olivia Crumm
Pulp are back with their first new album in nearly a quarter of a century; Jarvis Cocker joins us to talk about More, but also outsider art in America, an attic full of wonder in London and revolution versus violence in Sheffield. Words by Darran Anderson. All portraits by Tom Jackson
10 essential entry points to our spotlighted artists
Sean Kitching speaks to Brian Hageman, Mark Davies and Hugh Swarts of TFUL282 about recording at Steve Albini’s house and setting John Cage’s voice to a glitchy dancefloor banger, while offering 10 points of entry to their unique back catalogue
With their eighth album Paradises out this week, Simon Price asks Ladytron founder Daniel Hunt to shed some light (and magic) upon ten entry points into the Scouse-based synth lords' (and ladies') pristine body of werk. And for top tier subscribers revelation is at hand via an essential playlist
Thirty-five years after they burned slow and bright, Galaxie 500 remain one of indie rock’s most quietly untouchable constellations. In conversation with Dean Wareham, Naomi Yang and Damon Krukowski, Brian Coney provides ten points of entry to the dimmer recesses of their back catalogue
Additional aural delights you won't want to skip
In our next dispatch from the American underground, Levi Dayan reports from Chicago, where the music scene benefits from a rare combination of broad scope and cross-scene collaboration, and rounds up five key recent releases. Plus, for tQ subscribers, a bonus playlist exploring all the acts featured and beyond
Stanley Okorie’s thousands of songs defined the Nollywood film industry, becoming “the vocalisation of the collective id” of a fast-changing Nigeria. Words and Subscriber Plus exclusive playlist by Mary Chiney
John Grindrod discovered his sexuality in the streets of Croydon, always looking up the tracks to London, and argues that no other artist articulate this tension between city, suburbia and LGBT+ lives quite so beautifully as did Messrs Tennant and Lowe. This BST comes with a Pet Shop Boys Suburbs vs City playlist exclusive to our Subscriber Plus supporters.
Three months to go until Acid Horse festival; Noel Gardner selects ten must sees from The Ex to Lord Spikeheart, via futurist mutant rave and ancient, hairy French-Alpine folk invocations! For top tier subscribers there's also an essential audio guide to Acid Horse past & present
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
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