ALBUM REVIEW – DILETTANTE: LIFE OF THE PARTY

Francesca Pidgeon is no stranger to accolades from Silent Radio. She is part of BC Camplight’s band who were recipients of our album of 2023 for ‘The Last Rotation of Earth’. Her new album as Dilettante, ‘Life of the Party’, makes an early claim for recognition on our 2025 list. It is a record inspired […]
Manchester outfit ‘Delights’ have been on my radar since they released ‘Sometimes, Lately’ over 5 years ago which offered a blend of dreampop and indie whilst sounding fresh with a retro twist. The group is made up of Adam Maxwell (Vocals), Ben Squires (Guitarist), Ben Kirkland (Bassist), Leo Willis (Drummer), and Cameron Stephenson (Percussionist). Consistently […]

ALBUM REVIEW – DELIGHTS: IF HEAVEN LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE THIS

ALBUM REVIEW – LAMBRINI GIRLS: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT

Brighton based Lambrini Girls offer a raucous punk debut which musically isn’t anything new, but it certainly attempts to get in your face. I like that. It’s not my favourite vial of post punk in the world. That shouting-in-a-southern-accent-core, which has entered the alt indie sphere in recent years, can rub me up the wrong […]
A week of tentatively lowering a toe into the waters of 2025 albums before the ensuing flood of new releases coming later this month. Bridget Hayden and the Apparitions           Cold Blows The Rain               The reinterpreted traditional folk songs that make up Cold Blows the Rain are shaped by the land and the weather. Wrapped in […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 10 JANUARY 2025

ALBUM REVIEW: MOGWAI – THE BAD FIRE

Anyone for some ‘Pale Vegan Hip Pain’, or a ‘Fanzine Made Of Flesh’? Yes, it’s the return of those brilliant Scots post rock pioneers Mogwai, complete with another dazzling array of utter genius song titles. It’s hard to believe that they’re celebrating their thirty-year anniversary, with that milestone arriving on the back of their last […]
It already seems certain that in 2025 Glitterbeat Records will maintain their reputation for having the most wonderfully eclectic selection of releases. For the first two months of the year, they have releases lined-up from Malian desert blues artist Samba Toure, Korean composer and multi-instrumentalist Park Jiha, and Polish post-punk group Trupa Trupa. First up, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PARCHMAN PRISON PRAYER: ANOTHER MISSISSIPPI SUNDAY MORNING

ALBUM REVIEW – DUSTER: IN DREAMS

I’m sure that Duster’s career trajectory will be studied by PRs for years to come. The now somewhat commonplace phenomenon of the ‘relatively obscure 90s alternative band to TikTok darlings’ upswing is exemplified by this band. With a consistent output of lo-fi, lowkey slowcore in the 90s, Duster, in another universe, would’ve been a small […]
As ever, north-west England and especially Manchester has been well-served for great gigs in 2024. Here, in no particular order, are some of the top shows enjoyed by Silent Radio’s writers during this year: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Adrienne Lenker The Breeders The Zutons Paul McCartney Magnetic Fields The Unthanks Cumgirl8 Still House […]

GIGS OF 2024

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2024

    Our album of 2024 comes from Kim Deal. Her solo debut, ‘Nobody Loves You More’ is quintessentially Kim with her distinctive vocals and bass sounds, yet the songs here manage to incorporate electronic beats, strings and brass sections, and range from beautifully warped indie lounge tunes to pounding electronica with plenty of melodic […]
I intend for you to leave this review wishing you were at the gig I attended with a pal of mine on December 10th at YES Basement. At the very least, I hope you feel intrigued enough to check out cumgirl8 and Arch Femmesis – headline and support acts respectively – who each dominated the […]

LIVE REVIEW – CUMGIRL8: YES BASEMENT – 10/12/2024