ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 5 JULY 2024

Here is Silent Radio’s guide to the week’s new releases. Kokoko!             Batu     Congolese act that replicates the frenetic feel of that dynamic nightlife – equipment being pushed to its limit, via saturated and distorted speakers, or the sonic push and pull of sounds after dark. Tendertwin     Ship Argo EP  A forager for half-lived stories. Born […]
  We have trawled through the forthcoming gigs in and around Manchester so you don’t have to. We believe that if we are going to recommend a gig to you, then it should be exactly that, a recommendation. There’s always plenty of great gigs going on in Manchester, too many to cover them all, but […]

GIG GUIDE: JULY 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – STEPHEN PASTEL & GAVIN THOMSON: THIS IS MEMORIAL DEVICE

I was gifted a copy of David Keenan’s novel This is Memorial Device by one of my good friends back in December, and I’ve had it hovering around me somewhere ever since. So, when I saw a soundtrack to the stage adaptation composed by Stephen Pastel and Gavin Thomson – being a big fan of […]
I’m always reticent to use the word ‘supergroup’ to describe bands like Sect, but if there were ever a band fit for the term, Sect would be it. A vegan straight edge metallic hardcore band featuring Chris Colohan of Cursed and Burning Love, James Chang of Undying, Steve Hart from Day of Suffering, Scott Crouse […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SECT: PLAGUES UPON PLAGUES

LIVE REVIEW:THE BREEDERS – ALBERT HALL (26/06/24)

It’s the hottest night of the year so far, and as the evening sunlight shines through the beautiful ornate windows of the Albert Hall, the place is packed. It’s been over thirty-three years since The Breeders burst on to the early 90’s indie scene with the astonishing debut album ‘Pod’, and with the 30th anniversary […]
While all the attention is focussed on Glastonbury, there are a healthy number of releases in danger of slipping out unnoticed. Here is Silent Radio’s roundup to rectify that situation. My Best Unbeaten Brother      Pessimism Pizza           Seven songs by three men from Croydon. Inspired by getting older, getting sadder, getting angrier with a post-Brexit world […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 28 JUNE 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – SACHI KOBAYASHI: LAMENTATIONS

In my experience, Ambient is a genre of music that people tend to shy away from. It oftentimes seems too pretentious or difficult to understand, or simply people do not see the point in it. There’s no lyrical content or obvious tune, why should I listen? Although voiceless Lamentations by Sachi Kobayashi airs out grievances […]
In a strange world, where pots and pans perform synchronised swimming routines, exists Max Blansjaar. Blansjaar has been to many places absorbing a myriad of  influences, all of which have fed into ‘False Comforts’. Born in Amsterdam and raised in Oxford, he recorded ‘False Comforts’ in Brooklyn, giving the album a genre melding, free-flowing feel. The boundless […]

ALBUM REVIEW: MAX BLANSJAAR – FALSE COMFORTS

FEATURE – REBELLION FESTIVAL – LOUD WOMEN BRING THE NOISE TO BLACKPOOL 1ST-4TH AUGUST 2024

Rebellion Festival has been an annual feature on the festival calendar since 1996 (then known as The Holidays In The Sun Festival), now the family run, all ages festival returns to Blackpool’s Winter Gardens 1st-4th August with another outstanding line-up of punk and new wave heavyweights including The Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, The Alarm, Toyah, […]
Picture this. I present to you a blank CD, I split it in two and begin adding ingredients to it while mystically waving my hands around the disc like it’s a crystal ball. I tell you we’re going to add ingredients to this disc and you look at me like I’m crazy! The first ingredient […]

ALBUM REVIEW – DAPHNE GUINNESS: SLEEP