ALBUM REVIEW – DEEP PURPLE: SPLAT!

The psychedelic, prog and classic rock legends Deep Purple have returned. And boy, have they come back heavy. The rock legends are best known for their hard rock edge, especially on classics like ‘Smoke On The Water’ (you know the riff), and ‘Highway Star’. With the newest release, SPLAT!, they have re-emerged with that sound, […]
There are few bands in Britain’s alternative scene that embrace reinvention quite like Lucia & The Best Boys. Since first emerging from Glasgow, the quartet have steadily blurred the lines between indie rock, gothic pop, electronic experimentation and theatrical alt-rock, refusing to settle into predictability. Frontwoman Lucia Fairfull remains the constant through every transformation, her […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LUCIA & THE BEST BOYS: PICKING PETALS

ALBUM ROUND WEEK ENDING 31 JULY 2026

Shearwater      The New World              A headlong, globe-spanning journey through joy, confusion, defiance, reverence, and tenderness, with Meiburg’s voice as a graceful yet elusive guide. Sir Richard Bishop       Hillbilly Erotica              Hung round the neck of John Fahey’s infamous dubbing of certain traditional American folk sounds as “American Primitive.” Family Stereo                 The Thread        An album of […]
There are numerous records in my collection that include the command “Play Loud” on their sleeve. It does not appear far-fetched to imagine Maya Ongaku’s latest conveying the suggestion that it should be played quietly. After a period of international touring in support of their decidedly undemonstrative debut album ‘Approach to Anima’ where the audiences […]

ALBUM REVIEW – MAYA ONGAKU: NOTHING SPACE MUSIC

ALBUM REVIEW – DURUTTI COLUMN: RENASCENT

The word renascent means to become active or popular again, to be reborn. Therefore, it works flawlessly as the title of The Durutti Column’s first album in 16 years, to be released this month. From their Factory Records origins all the way to influencing Harry Styles’ latest album, The Durutti Column are one of the […]
Few bands occupy the space between metal, shoegaze and ambient music as convincingly as Loathe. On A Stranger To You, the Liverpool outfit pushes those boundaries further, crafting an album where crushing heaviness and delicate introspection exist in a constant exchange. Rather than chasing bigger riffs or louder breakdowns, Loathe focuses on atmosphere and narrative, resulting in their most cohesive and ambitious record to date. A Stranger To You opens with ‘Entrance,’ featuring musician bucki sugar. Rather […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LOATHE: A STRANGER TO YOU

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 24 JULY 2026

Robyn Hitchcock          The Confuser   As ever, Hitchcock proudly carries the flame for a particular brand of traditional singer-songcraft, a deeply personal penchant sparked by his Summer of Love adolescence (detailed in his acclaimed first memoir, 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left) and furthered throughout the myriad cultural metamorphoses that followed. Samuel […]
Eagerly scanning the Silent Radio mailbox, ever searching for exciting new releases does create a transient, goldfish-like relationship with music. In March 2022, I favourably reviewed ‘World Contact Day’ by Blue States, a woozy, dreamy yet subtle record that I thoroughly enjoyed. In the intervening four years, I had completely forgotten the act and record. […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BLUE STATES: WHERE THE FADES MEET

ALBUM REVIEW – SPEARMINT: CHASE ME

Spearmint serves as a great example of the value of fierce independence. All eleven albums from their 1999 debut LP onwards have been released on their own hitBACK label, allowing the band to develop their own distinctive niche in which storytelling is paramount. There is an instantly recognisable quality to their music which is pop-focused […]
It got to a point where anytime I’d turn on the radio and a song came on that I liked, it was by Bradford-born Nia Archives. A quick listen to 2024’s Silence Is Loud and I realise that radio was right: this is an artist who absolutely needs to be heard. And we’re not the […]

ALBUM REVIEW – NIA ARCHIVES: EMOTIONAL JUNGLIST