Quinquis

So here we are again, the end of the year, looking back at the almighty heights scaled by the most intrepid few. Here’s the first half of 2025’s Best Albums of the Year, an absolute showcase of fearless invention and remarkable beauty that demands and deserves your full, undivided attention.

There’s a deep, tragic irony in the title of Breton musician Emilie Quinquis’ latest album. Eor means ‘anchor’, suggesting not just water and depths, but security and immovability. Yet its eight tracks are a dark sequence continually articulating wistfulness, uncertainty and loss. Its initial sounds, in opening track ‘Inkanuko’ (desire) …