ALBUM REVIEW – STEREOPHONICS: MAKE ‘EM LAUGH, MAKE ‘EM CRY, MAKE ‘EM WAIT

It is hard to think about British music without thinking of Stereophonics. From their debut album ‘Word Gets Around’ released towards the end of the Britpop era, they jumped in on a huge cultural movement, with their own unique blend of gruff vocals and the traditional British rock that had topped the charts for the […]
An absurdly busy week. Listening to new music could be a full-time job! There is lots to enjoy. Emma-Jean Thackray             Weirdo               The album blends influences as diverse as spiritual jazz, Detroit house, northern bassline, and psychedelic rock. It is a virtuosic work from Thackray who composed, played, recorded, mixed and arranged every note on the record. […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 25 APRIL 2025

ALBUM REVIEW – VARIOUS ARTISTS: ROOTS ROCKING ZIMBABWE – THE MODERN SOUND OF HARARE TOWNSHIPS 1975-1980

Like many other people of my generation, hearing bands from Zimbabwe, especially The Bhundu Boys, on John Peel’s radio shows in the 1980s was a revelation. It served as an introduction to music from around the world distinct from the Anglo-American diet that ruled the airwaves. The joyful guitars and rhythms were a marked contrast […]
I have great respect and enthusiasm for the music of Femi Kuti, and he and his band have definitely earned the name ‘The Positive Force’, for much more than the joyous and uplifting experiences I connect with their records and the live performances I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy. Femi and his family (including his […]

ALBUM REVIEW – FEMI KUTI: JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE

ALBUM REVIEW – REBEKKA KARIJORD: THE BELL TOWER

The seventh album by composer Rebekka Karijord has a multifaceted backstory that captures the imagination. Six years ago, she contacted the linguistics department at Stockholm University who undertake voice research with contact microphones used by people that have hearing and vocal disabilities. After the university made a few microphones for Karijord, she created a sample […]
Your Silent Radio correspondent for the tenth Manchester Punk Festival didn’t have a press pass and came home with more bruises than notes. My interactions with bands were limited to thanking them for their performances (and occasionally “bumping into them” in the pit or physically supporting them while they crowd-surfed!). I’ll just have to do […]

LIVE REVIEW: MANCHESTER PUNK FESTIVAL 2025: 18-20 APRIL – VARIOUS VENUES

ALBUM REVIEW – DEERHOOF: NOBLE AND GODLIKE IN RUIN

Listening to Deerhoof is the musical equivalent of watching a high-speed montage of the most physically impossible yoga positions. The tendency is to sit there thinking, “how on earth did they do that?” Free jazz drum patterns, sonic shards of guitar, oddball melodies mean that not only does each Deerhoof album sound different from previous […]
‘I can’t really describe how it felt watching someone you’ve known your entire life perform in front of thousands of people.’ Dial tone memories and party girl anthems stand proudly in place of a support act – because the only appropriate opener for a tour that is the musical equivalent of reading your diary out […]

LIVE REVIEW – CAITY BASER: MANCHESTER FAC251 – 18/04/2025

ALBUM REVIEW – VIAGRA BOYS: VIAGR ABOYS

Viagr Aboys is an album that takes you on a journey of what music is designed to be, fun! Launched via their new label Shrimptech Enterprises, it explores Viagra Boys’ charming humour and uniqueness as a band whilst maintaining their familiar post-punk sound. Delving deep within its lyrical architecture, the ‘supposed’ self-titled record explores frontman […]
In an elaborate yet glorious fusing of observation and honesty, paired with genre-blending musicality, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem returns with her third album ‘A Complicated Woman.’ Exploring themes of self-confidence, societal expectations and feminism, Taylor continues to place topics which typically go unspoken, right in front of you. Its cover itself lending into […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SELF ESTEEM: A COMPLICATED WOMAN