ALBUM: CRAIG FINN – I NEED A NEW WAR

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 […]
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 […]

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

ALBUM REVIEW: C DUNCAN – HEALTH

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 […]
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 […]

ALBUM REVIEW: FONTAINES D.C. – DOGREL

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

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 […]
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 […]

ALBUM REVIEW: SLEEPER – MODERN AGE

ALBUM REVIEW: OOZING WOUND – HIGH ANXIETY

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 […]
  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 […]

ALBUM REVIEW: MEAT PUPPETS – DUSTY NOTES

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

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 […]
It’s the constant dilemma for bands when they become successful and maybe have a bit more dosh, how to revive that impulse that drew you into making music in the first place. How do you keep your songs as meaningful to you, and hopefully your audience, as you did when you first started? In the […]

ALBUM REVIEW: SLEAFORD MODS – ETON ALIVE