'Tis the season - by which I mean end-of-year list season. As ever, if you only check out one, make it the "bountiful inventory" published by the Quietus.
Sure, you'll inevitably disagree with some of the placings (Low's HEY WHAT - my album of the year - at #98? Hey what?!) and gripe about omissions (Mogwai, Deafheaven, Kelly Lee Owens, Big Brave, Pom Poko, the Besnard Lakes and Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra, to name but a handful). But, rather than quibbling, or moaning about the number of "obscure" releases on the list (co-founder Luke Turner has himself admitted he's heard a fraction of them), why not shut up, put yourself in the hands of the site's writers and take a deep dive? Who knows - you might just discover something you love.
By my calculations, I'd heard a mere 13 of the 100: William Doyle's Great Spans Of Muddy Time (#5), Richard Dawson & Circle's Henki (#7), Gazelle Twin & NYX's Deep England (#10), Liars' The Apple Drop (#12), Arab Strap's As Days Get Dark (#18), Part Chimp's Drool (#30), Black Country, New Road's For The First Time (#34), Godspeed You! Black Emperor's G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! (#43), Manic Street Preachers' The Ultra Vivid Lament (#62), Jane Weaver's Flock (#68), Gnod's La Mort Du Sens (#72) and Squid's Bright Green Field (#81), plus Low's aforementioned HEY WHAT. The fact that I've had the privilege of reviewing no fewer than five of those (William Doyle, Richard Dawson & Circle, Liars, Manics and Jane Weaver), and been able to see the highlights of three more performed live (Part Chimp, Gnod and Squid), makes me even more grateful for the good things that writing for Buzz brings.
Browsing the list has served as a very useful prompt to properly listen to some albums (Divide And Dissolve's Gas Lit, The Armed's Ultrapop, Sleaford Mods' Spare Ribs and the record that topped the pile, The Bug's Fire), as a reminder to finally check out others (most notably those released by LoneLady, Mdou Moctar, Turnstile, Converge & Chelsea Wolfe, The Altered Hours, Arabrot, Japanese Breakfast and Dry Cleaning) and as notification of LPs that had completely passed me by (audiobooks' Astro Tough in particular) - as well as confirmation that I really don't get/like black midi.
Totally new discoveries include Aging/Land Trance's noir jazz collaboration, the noise/drone/electronica of Helm, Goodbye World's 12-minute LP of zero-flab breakneck hardcore At Death's Door, the drone heaven of NONEXISTENT's self-titled album, Hawthonn's folk-industrial weirdness and Californian death metallers Succumb.
So, whether you want to howl with laughter at Melvins' 'I Fuck Around', ponder whether there's a more pitch-perfect band name/album name combination than Vapour Theories and Celestial Scuzz, or have your mind blown by Moroccan smash-the-patriarchy punk rock (Taqbir), "psychodubilly" (Leather Rats) or "undulating polyrhythms and grimy, dissonant and abrasive metal sonics" (Slikback), there are surprises and delights around every corner.
In his introduction to the list, John Doran naturally and justifiably takes the opportunity to big up his baby. "When Luke and I started this site in 2008", he says, "the field felt overcrowded with peers, rivals and well-established sites; today there is barely anyone else left but us as a truly independent digital voice supporting the international counterculture at this level, such has been the vicious erosion felt by our industry over the last few years." Overstatement born of survivor's relief and pride, perhaps, but the Quietus remains my go-to source of information and inspiration as regards music and much more besides. The writing and writers it publishes can be guaranteed to entertain and stimulate (and, yes, sometimes to infuriate) and these shitty times are immeasurably better for the site's continued existence.
Doran explains that as it enters its teenage years, the site architecture is starting to creak, increasingly held together with a combination of technological sticky tape and hope. Why not give culture a Christmas present by signing up to a subscription and help to keep heads above water?
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