ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 1 NOVEMBER 2024

Silent Radio’s guide to a busy week of new releases. Trust Fund       Has It Been A While? Fans of seventies singer-songwriters, and particularly Nick Drake’s first two Joe Boyd-produced albums, will find much to recommend here, while Belle and Sebastian’s early folk-inflected material is another obvious touchstone. Hard-Fi              Don’t Go Making Plans EP  EP whose […]
It has been four years since Courteeners released their last album ‘More. Again. Forever.’ Coming out just before the world shut down leaving many like me locked inside listening to music all day every day. The album was a more mature Courteeners as opposed to their “lad-ish” nature that many fans had come to know […]

ALBUM REVIEW – COURTEENERS: PINK CACTUS CAFE

ALBUM REVIEW – PIXIES: THE NIGHT THE ZOMBIES CAME

Grunge pioneers, surf-rock legends and enduring icons Pixies have returned with their horror-themed ninth studio album The Night the Zombies Came, and the first effort containing new bassist and vocalist Emma Richardson, after a long-standing 11-year stint of bassist Paz Lenchantin, who departed from the group earlier this year. The album contains 13 songs and […]
As the clocks go back this weekend, that allows an extra hour for catching up with new releases. Here is the Silent Radio guide. Khana Bierbood          Monolam         Thai band who share a love for the western psychedelic music of the 60’s-70’s. As they began writing songs they found a likeness in their sound and the […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 25 OCTOBER 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – FIONN REGAN: O AVALANCHE

Although ‘O Avalanche’ consists of eleven separate songs, it overwhelmingly feels like a forty-minute mood piece, almost like a short arthouse film. The words are poetic and return to themes like landscape and environment as it evokes the place in which it was written, Mallorca. Sun-dappled energy shines through. It is very much a solo […]
The answer to the album’s title is ‘yes’. It has been six years since their previous album, ‘Bringing The Backline’. In the intervening period, Trust Fund has shrunk from being a group into primarily Ellis Jones’ project. From a full band indie rock sound, they have made a welcome diversion into classical guitar and string […]

ALBUM REVIEW – TRUST FUND: HAS IT BEEN A WHILE?

ALBUM REVIEW – THE PAINTED CEILINGS: MAYBE THERE’S A DIFFERENCE

Collecting the last kisses of the sun, Maybe There’s A Difference transports us back to a warmer season. With an ear pressed to nature’s headphone, the spiralled form of a conch concocts wave-like vibrations of a nautical buzz. With the first pinches of strings, the sound of The Painted Ceilings coats you with the salt […]
Another busy week with plenty of releases that are worthy of more than a cursory listen. Here is the Silent Radio guide. Snowgoose                    Descendant   The album features a collaboration of some of Scotland’s most esteemed musicians, including Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub), Chris Geddes (Belle and Sebastian), Stevie Jones (Arab Strap), Tim Davidson (Tracyanne & […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 18 OCTOBER 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – TESS PARKS: POMEGRANATE

What is immediately apparent listening to ‘Pomegranate’ is that while it oozes optimistic sentiments, the album comes from a place of fragility and trauma. It sees Tess Parks working with long-term band member and close collaborator, Ruari Meehan, on a record with a substantially expanded musical palette in comparison to her previous album, ‘And Those […]
What you are about to hear, should you feel inclined to put Guy Blakeslee’s album ‘Extravision’ on after reading this review, is a cohesive and comforting project: every composition contained within is captivating, each evoking a different feeling through the myriad instruments and sounds the musician uses besides the acoustic guitar, which he used to […]

ALBUM REVIEW – GUY BLAKESLEE: EXTRAVISION