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thequietus.com
The Quietus
@thequietus.com
28K followers 76 following 2.7K posts
Black Sky Thinking since 2008.

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thequietus.com
'Dives deep into some seriously abstract terrain as it unfolds at glacial, cinematic pace, with neither party afraid to explore subtle, near silent soundscapes alongside squealing sheets of guitar feedback'

Sumac, Moor Mother - The Film is No 13 in tQ's Best #HeavyMetal of 2025

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Sumac, Moor Mother - The Film album cover. Abstract blobs and squiggles of paint.
December 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
thequietus.com
'Explores textures and melodies inspired by disco, techno and lo-fi electronic music from the 1970s and 80s, whilst retaining that motorik, locked-in classic Stereolab sound.'

#Stereolab - Instant Holograms On Metal Film is No 30 in The Quietus AOTY 2025 Chart

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Stereolab - Instant Holograms On Metal Film album cover. 60s-style 3d lettering in black and pink against a yellow background.
December 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM
thequietus.com
From avant folk to post-post-club computer music, via several doses of Cornish soundsmithery and a tribute to former Tottenham defender Ledley King, Noel Gardner presents his 10 favourite releases from New Weird Britain in 2025

New Weird Britain: 2025 in Review

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Quietus graphic - New Weird Britain: 2025 in Review. A small crescent moon with a face.
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 PM
thequietus.com
At a distance of 15 years, says Dan Franklin, it's easier to sense the liberating power in CELESTE's concoction of outlier forms of extreme metal and heavy music

Reissue of the Week: CELESTE’s Morte(s) Née(s)

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CELESTE’s Morte(s) Née(s) album cover. A black and white photograph of person with hands raised to the camera, whose face is indistinct in the background and who (perhaps) has a nosebleed.
December 5, 2025 at 10:30 AM
thequietus.com
'For a project born out of improvisation, HAYWARDxDÄLEK feels carefully plotted. It moves elegantly from slow moving drones, through eye-popping rhythms, into melancholic synthscapes'

Charles Hayward x Dälek - HAYWARDxDÄLEK

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Charles Hayward x Dalek album cover. Watercolour of a moth-like figure in grey and light blue against white.
December 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
thequietus.com
'Holy power trio, Batman! The debut transmission from Orcutt Shelley Miller was a shot to the cochlea. Billy Boy shredding like a bearded monk possessed.'

Orcutt Shelley Miller - S/T - The Best #PsychRock of 2025

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Orcutt Shelley Miller - S/T album cover. The name stamped in the middle of a blank, slightly distressed, canvas in lilac ink.
December 4, 2025 at 11:02 PM
thequietus.com
'Metal is just as exciting, vibrant and challenging as it always has been, if not more so, provided you know where to look – and seeing that you’re already here, I’d wager you know exactly where that is.'

Columnus Metallicus: The Best #HeavyMetal of 2025

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Quietus best metal of 2025 graphic. A skull wearing a jester's hat.
December 4, 2025 at 9:02 PM
thequietus.com
'This thinly veiled sequel to Cosey Fanni Tutti’s last solo outing six years ago continues in much the same fertile vein as her post-Throbbing Gristle output. At the same time, it also appears a little more guarded'

#CoseyFanniTutti - 2t2 is No 40 in The Quietus AOTY 2025 Chart

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Cosey Fanni Tutti - 2t2 album cover. The artist's profile in photo negative.
December 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
thequietus.com
Xiu Xiu have announced a new covers album interpreting the likes of Talking Heads, Robyn, Throbbing Gristle, Soft Cell and more

You can listen to their versions of The Runaways’ ‘Cherry Bomb’, and Daniel Johnston’s ‘Some Things Last A Long Time’ here:

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Black and white double photograph of Xiu Xiu.
December 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
thequietus.com
'AI is writing psych rock albums. AAARGH! Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has pivoted to ACTUAL ARMS DEALING and people are still subscribing to his shitty streaming service. AAARGH!'

JR Moores finds some comfort in his favourite psych and avant-rock albums of the year

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December 4, 2025 at 2:07 PM
thequietus.com
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a clump of earthworms in a musician’s mouth...'

In the final pod of the year, tQ’s founders dive into their musical highlights from the past 12 months

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Statler and Waldorf in the Muppets Christmas Carol, wearing chains and greyed-out like ghosts.
December 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM
thequietus.com
'Locates the sweet spots between the joy of the groove and a broad sweep of other subtle musical inflections - at times, it’s like gazing into a constantly evolving sonic kaleidoscope'

Los Pirañas - Una Oportunidad Más de Triunfar en la Vida is No 27 in The Quietus AOTY 2025

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Los Pirañas - Una Oportunidad Más de Triunfar en la Vida album cover. The three band members, each wearing white, with their band logo at the top Black and white photograph.
December 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM
thequietus.com
'Japanese Television's Al Brown eagerly licks the toxins of the back of a Sonoran desert toad and sinks into a bottomless funk of motorik rhythms, twisting basslines and Balearic guitars'

Unite The Worms by Golden Toad is tQ's Album of the Week

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Unite The Worms by Golden Toad album cover. Early computer graphics still images of an eagle, a worm with eyes, some flowers and a rock against a blue background.
December 4, 2025 at 8:00 AM
thequietus.com
'The debut full length from long-time sonic adventurers James Holden and Wacław Zimpel is a set of focused improvisations striking out for the cosmic zone, for inner space'

Holden & Zimpel - The Universe Will Take Care Of You is No 96 in The Quietus AOTY 2025 Chart

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Holden & Zimpel - The Universe Will Take Care Of You album cover. Flowers growing against a slatted wooden fence.
December 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
thequietus.com
Mute have announced the signing of Dearborn band Prostitute, whose 2024 debut Attempted Martyr will receive a long-awaited worldwide physical release ahead of a new European tour

The band have also shared a new video for track ‘Mr. Dada’, which you can watch here:

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The band Prostitute, photo by Steve Gullick.
December 3, 2025 at 3:30 PM
thequietus.com
Kez Whelan picks out the 20 best records from 2025 in metal, year of heartening cross-pollination and pushed limits, as well as some heartbreaking departures

Columnus Metallicus: The Best #HeavyMetal of 2025

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December 3, 2025 at 1:00 PM
thequietus.com
'Reveals aya as a master of sound design, functioning as both a storytelling tool and as a descriptor of emotion. Her processed screams are layered with too-perfect harmonies, in avant-garde mimicry of nu-metal vocal dynamics.'

aya - hexed! is No 1 in The Quietus AOTY 2025 Chart

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aya - hexed! album cover. The artist pictured with worms in her mouth, along with a stylised metal or perhaps enamel broach-style graphic of the album's title.
December 3, 2025 at 10:30 AM
thequietus.com
‘Tis the season that tQ embraces the jolly to give away a £250 music voucher with @normanrecords.com

To enter our prize draw, simply sign up to our free Digest newsletter. Current subscribers will be entered automatically. Closes 15 Dec 2025. Full terms in link below:

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Quietus festive prize draw graphic. A dark Santa with skull announces: £250 Norman Records voucher to be won.
December 3, 2025 at 8:00 AM
thequietus.com
'With the soundtrack for Berberian Sound Studio, the much-missed #Broadcast channelled the deep weird folk of England that had spawned ‘The Shout’ and centuries-worth of other uncanny tales'

From The Shout to Bait: Listening to the Sound of Movies about Sound

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Berberian Sound Studio film poster. The protagonist's head, partially replaced by a cassette reel.
December 2, 2025 at 7:16 PM
thequietus.com
Acid Horse, the festival co-organised by tQ’s own John Doran (with Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractor Press) has been announced for the Whitsun bank holiday weekend May 2026

Details here:

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Acid Horse 2026 poster with early line-up details.
December 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
thequietus.com
'Richard Dawson is a master at creating and becoming characters. As the narrator on End Of The Middle, each song finds him immersed in complex, yet instantly familiar stories, which he unwinds layer by layer'

#RichardDawson - End Of The Middle is No 3 in The Quietus AOTY 2025 Chart

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Richard Dawson End of the Middle album cover. A painting of a bus stop near the grounds of a housing estate.
December 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
thequietus.com
'The first cut is provided by ex-Sonic Youth cacophony enthusiast, Thurston Moore. ‘Drone Cognizance’ was made using twelve detuned Fender Jazzmasters, serrated drumsticks, cylindrical files, a violin bow and one pencil.'

V/A - Metal Machine Music: Power to Consume, Vol. 1

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V/A - Metal Machine Music: Power to Consume, Vol 1 cover. Black and white image collage with a kind of photocopied bill effect.
December 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM
thequietus.com
'Romantics in every sense of the word, they sound so of this time, but entirely out it. Another masterpiece from this most singular of groups, Crooked Wing deserves to soar.'

#TheseNewPuritans - Crooked Wing is No 4 in The Quietus AOTY 2025 Chart

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These New Puritans - Crooked Wing. Album artwork and vinyl.
December 2, 2025 at 11:00 AM
thequietus.com
Don't be like Liam, the miserable old bore sat counting his dynamically-price-gouged Oasis tour coin like Smaug the dragon on his mountain of gold – get stuck into the joy of the new in tQ's albums of 2025:

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December 2, 2025 at 10:11 AM
thequietus.com
Thanks for the great reception to our AOTY Chart - have you found any new favourites?

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December 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM