The Heads’ chaotic Dionysian abandon is always tempered by a mathematical Apollonian rigour, finds Stewart Lee

When Iggy Pop sang “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell” on The Stooges’ 1973 swan song Raw Power, he anticipated the anti-romantic punk era nihilism that was to see future Brexit fan John Lydon describe love as “two minutes and fifty-two seconds of squelching noises.” Fifty three years later Bristol’s immortal space-garage psychonauts The Heads may still be sculpting their sonic monuments with some of the same flint axes initially fashioned by The Stooges, but rather than being petty and personal, their disgust is profound and existential. For The Heads, on what they claim is their final album, our whole pretty place is going…

The post Twilight of the Idols: Yourprettyplaceisgoingtohell by The Heads appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/album-of-the-week/yourprettyplaceisgoingtohell-by-the-heads-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=yourprettyplaceisgoingtohell-by-the-heads-review

In the latest antidote to the algorithm, Jakub Knera takes us to the wildly diverse and hypnotic sounds of the Portuguese city

The Lovers & Lollypops record label holds a place in the Portuguese music scene that’s similar to the Bonfim district within the city of Porto. The gentrified centre has been reshaped for tourism, while Bonfim is a neighborhood where daily life is diverse and vivid – here, creativity is lived rather than displayed, authenticity is preserved, and being out of the spotlight allows new ideas to flourish. 

Think of Cemitério do Prado do Repouso or the amazing views of Miradouro das Fontainhas, where the Douro opens up in a lived-in view of the city, far from the polished Ribeira. As you…

The post Organic Intelligence LIV: Psychedelic Porto appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/subscriber-area/organic-intelligence/organic-intelligence-liv-psychedelic-porto/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=organic-intelligence-liv-psychedelic-porto

The classic work will be released in new Blu-ray, vinyl and digital editions

Kraftwerk’s Radio-Activity is getting a 50th anniversary reissue.

The German group’s first electronic record will be released in new Blu-ray, vinyl and digital editions to mark the landmark. It was originally came out in November 1975 as Kraftwerk’s fifth studio album.

The Blu-ray audio disc will feature a new Dolby Atmos Mix created by Kraftwerk founder Ralf Hütter with engineer Fritz Hilpert, using the original 16-track master tapes. Set to come with an inner booklet and special artwork, it will also include two other mixes of the album.

The vinyl edition will include the 2009 stereo remaster of the album and will be pressed on 12-inch picture disc. The Dolby Atmos…

The post Kraftwerk Unveil 50th Anniversary Reissue of ‘Radio-Activity’ appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/news/kraftwerk-unveil-50th-anniversary-reissue-of-radio-activity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kraftwerk-unveil-50th-anniversary-reissue-of-radio-activity

It’s the second taste of upcoming album Poem 1

Photo by Suzie Maez

Ana Roxanne has shared a new track, ‘Untitled II’.

The delicate song centres around Roxanne’s arresting vocals, as well as pared-back guitar, piano and percussive accompaniment. It’s the second track to be unleashed from the US artist’s forthcoming album Poem 1 after she released ‘Keepsake’ last month.

Poem 1 marks Roxanne’s first solo album in six years, following 2020’s Because Of A Flower. In 2023, she released Natural Wonder Beauty Concept with DJ Python under the joint moniker of the same name.

Listen to ‘Untitled II’ below.

Kranky will release Poem 1 on 1 May 2026.

Poem 1 by Ana Roxanne
…

The post Ana Roxanne Shares New Song, ‘Untitled II’ appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/news/ana-roxanne-shares-new-song-untitled-ii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ana-roxanne-shares-new-song-untitled-ii

RVNG Intl. will release the LP in June

Photo by Kasia Zacharko

Horse Lords have shared details of a new album, titled Demand To Be Taken To Heaven Alive!

Spanning 12 tracks, the record was pieced together between Berlin and Baltimore, and builds on the rhythmically complex sound of the band’s past work. “We like the idea of art as a tool for changing your perspective, being able to rotate ideas and see/hear/feel them from a different vantage point,” they said in a statement about the LP.

To mark the announcement of the album, Horse Lords have shared a video for two of its tracks: ‘Eureka 378-B’ and ‘Brain Of The Firm’. You can watch the visual below.

RVNG Intl. will release Demand To Be…

The post Horse Lords Reveal New Album, ‘Demand To Be Taken To Heaven Alive!’ appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/news/horse-lords-reveal-new-album-demand-to-be-taken-to-heaven-alive/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=horse-lords-reveal-new-album-demand-to-be-taken-to-heaven-alive

By the mid-90s Stereolab should have been at the peak of their powers, so why didn’t it feel that way to Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier? Fergal Kinney examines the series of events that saw the band escape the dead end they’d ended up in culminating in the release of one of their most celebrated albums

Viewed from the outside, by 1996 Stereolab must have seemed like a unit that could only ascend. Half a decade into the project, affectionately termed “the groop” by its nucleus members, the couple of Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab appeared to be going overground. 1994’s Mars Audiac Quintet had been their poppiest, sharpest work thus far – and they had been rewarded with a…

The post Retro Instinct Versus Future Fetish: Emperor Tomato Ketchup 30 Years On appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/stereolab-emperor-tomato-ketchup-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stereolab-emperor-tomato-ketchup-review

Kwes

Kinds

A suite of delicately coloured ambient electronics offering an almost child-like sense of wonder

I feel sound design as an art form requires some kind of out of body experience. The philosophy is to imagine and subsequently create a world in itself by way of sound that explores what it feels like to exist in said world. Kinds, in terms of tone and instrumentation, feels intrinsically tied with the distance of memory and simultaneously, its delicateness. Inspired by observing his own daughter’s attitude to creation, Kwes offers here a child’s ear on the world, a listening stripped of preconceptions.

The first two offerings on Kinds capture a serenity through fluttering chords that embody a sense of calm. Both ‘Blue White Violet’ and…

The post Kwes – Kinds appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/kwes-kinds-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kwes-kinds-review

Adelle Stripe meets the artist George Shaw in Sheffield to discuss the 13 records that shaped his formative years, from Annette to Fred Wesley, ska to electro pop 

Along the back alleys, down by the underpass, hidden in ginnels, or the places where many wouldn’t dare venture after dusk, that’s where you’ll find George Shaw walking in the shadows. His work is focused on the Tile Hill estate in Coventry and chronicles a sublime aspect of quiet, understated working class life. Nominated for the Turner Prize in 2011, Shaw was artist in residence at The National Gallery and appears in public collections of major institutions around the world. He is one of the most respected painters of his generation, who has…

The post Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: George Shaw’s Favourite Records appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/interviews/bakers-dozen/george-shaw-artist-bakers-dozen-favourite-music/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=george-shaw-artist-bakers-dozen-favourite-music

ELUCID & Sebb Bash

I Guess U Had To Be There

Elucid of Armand Hammer teams up with Switzerland-based producer Sebb Bash for an album of collage-like snapshots and deftly intricate rhymes

I Guess U Had To Be There by ELUCID & Sebb Bash

Both solo and as one half of NY duo Armand Hammer, underground rap hero ELUCID is known for his uncompromising and commanding lyricism. In his latest release I Guess U Had To Be There, his first full-length in collaboration with Switzerland-based producer Sebb Bash, he reaffirms his status as a lyrical juggernaut, the album itself an example of his remarkable versatility. Densely packed, I Guess U Had To Be There contains nothing superfluous and no lines wasted – just impactful…

The post ELUCID & Sebb Bash – I Guess U Had To Be There appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/elucid-sebb-bash-i-guess-u-had-to-be-there-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=elucid-sebb-bash-i-guess-u-had-to-be-there-review

JR Moores emerges from the scented bath to widen his lens in the inaugural edition of our new rock column 

Earth Tongue

Had I known January’s Columnfortably Numb would be its final edition, I might’ve opened with something more heartfelt. Not that Moores’ writing is known for its heartfeltedness. Mostly it’s known for an excessive use of adverbs. For this I can only apologise, humbly.I have written that column for just over 10 years. Never missed a deadline! Bosh, as they say south of where I am from and on TikTok, I assume. Granted, it was only bi-monthly. Incidentally and incredibly, not a single article of mine, Columnfortably Numb or otherwise, has yet made it into the Rock’s Backpages archives. Where’s my…

The post Feedbacker: Rock Music for March by JR Moores appeared first on The Quietus.

source https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/rock/best-new-rock-music-reviews-puscifer-black-crowes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=best-new-rock-music-reviews-puscifer-black-crowes