ALBUM REVIEW: KING PRAWN – THE FABULOUS NEW SOUNDS OF

When the Silent Radio reviews editor offered me the chance to review a King Prawn release, I assumed it would be a best-of or a re-issue – I didn’t even realise they had re-formed in 2012 – but here I am, listening to a brand new album ‘The Fabulous New Sounds of…’, which does a […]
To use one of Craig Finn’s favourite lyrical phrases, much of the music world considered The Hold Steady singer-songwriter’s last solo album to be “pretty sweet”, especially the spoken-word track ‘God in Chicago’, which got buried by avalanches of praise from all angles and tells a tale of two people making a return road trip […]

ALBUM: CRAIG FINN – I NEED A NEW WAR

ALBUM REVIEW: COMPILATION: BIRTH OF A NATION – INEVITABLE RECORDS – AN INDEPENDENT LIVERPOOL 1979-1986

In the late 70’s and early 80’s it seems most cities had one or two indie labels, releasing a mixture of punk, new wave and what would be termed “indie” in years to come.  In Liverpool’s case, this was Inevitable Records. They captured the sound of Liverpool during this period, and this three CD boxset […]
Having supported the likes of Elbow in the past, C Duncan returns – this time with his debut album ‘Health’. One of the reasons why this little gem of the music industry has not yet been fully discovered, is perhaps because Elbow’s demographic is maybe people who are above the teenage/twenties group. C Duncan is […]

ALBUM REVIEW: C DUNCAN – HEALTH

ALBUM REVIEW: FONTAINES D.C. – DOGREL

As I walk through Manchester city centre gazing up at the cranes building new skyscrapers all around, with Fontaines D.C. in my headphones, the lyrical content of the album makes perfect sense. Although cities have to change, it’s important not to lose the culture and unique characters which made the place great originally, and that’s […]
Earlier this year, I saw Holy Moly & The Crackers live. “What kind of music was it?” my roommate at the hostel I was staying in asked me. “Sort of…folk rock?” is the guess that I hazard. “There was an accordian. And a violin. I danced a lot.” It was the sort of gig that […]

ALBUM REVIEW: HOLY MOLY & THE CRACKERS – TAKE A BITE

ALBUM REVIEW: SLEEPER – MODERN AGE

Listening to the new album it is clear Pixes are one of their main influences. The opening track Paradise Waiting has a very much late 80’s/early 90’s sound to it, with a youthful almost cliché’ chorus. It opens the album like a band starting in late teens would trying to break onto the scene. Yet […]
Here at Silent Radio, we don’t set store by stars or marks out of ten, but I would be surprised if Oozing Wound’s High Anxiety doesn’t turn out to be my “album of 2019”. I even love the front cover artwork and that hasn’t happened since 10,000 Days. I am going through some difficult times […]

ALBUM REVIEW: OOZING WOUND – HIGH ANXIETY

ALBUM REVIEW: MEAT PUPPETS – DUSTY NOTES

  Legends of the American underground rock scene and catapulted into more mainstream attention after backing Nirvana on their MTV unplugged gig and album in 1993, songwriters Curt Kirkwood and Cris Kirkwood have been mainstays of the U.S. rock scene for years. Starting off as a hardcore band in the 80s, Meat Puppets evolved into […]
How to fit five albums worth of music into one moderately sized review?  Not an easy task, as there’s one hundred and fifteen songs on this box set compilation, but it’s an aural feast for anyone with even the slightest interest in punk and indie! Although there’s been other compilations pulling together the origins of […]

ALBUM REVIEW: BIG GOLD DREAMS – A STORY OF SCOTTISH INDEPENDENT MUSIC 1977-1989