ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 30 JUNE 2023

June ends with a lovely collection of releases which are gathered here in our weekly guide. Sweeping Promises – Good Living is Coming for You Boston post-punk band that dirties up earworm melodies with a lo-fi charm. Influences discernible on the album take in Young Marble Giants, Kleenex/LiLiPUT, B-52s and Blondie. Mong Tong – Tao […]
With their second album, Kansas based duo Sweeping Promises have got post-punk and riot grrrl influenced tunes that maximise urgency while retaining space and minimalism off to a fine tee. The ten songs that comprise ‘Good Living Is Coming For You’ pack plenty of inspiration into their tightly packed two and three minute durations. While […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SWEEPING PROMISES: GOOD LIVING IS COMING FOR YOU

NEWS: SIGUR ROS ANNOUNCE FIRST NEW ALBUM IN TEN YEARS

To coincide with their appearance at the Meltdown Festival and without any advance fanfare, Sigur Rós have unexpectedly released their first studio album since 2013, ‘ÁTTA’. Multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson has returned to the fold, joining frontman Jonsi and bassist Georg Holm. With three people in the room, they found themselves “just wanting to have minimal drums […]
The average home contains so much detritus on its shelves: dust, empty sweet wrappers, out of date tinned food, unread copies of ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Ulysses’. Daylight Saving Records clearly has a higher quality of material languishing in its vaults waiting to be rediscovered. The five songs on this EP date back to recording sessions […]

EP REVIEW – JOHN MONROE AND FIELD MUSIC: SONGS FROM THE SHELF

ALBUM RELEASES ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 23 JUNE 2023

While big names are clamouring for attention at Glastonbury, this week sees a range of interesting, smaller-scale releases. Cory Hanson – Western Cum A high-stepping, hard-dancing, first love/heartbreak, tonight’s-the-night, future nostalgia kind of good time with a heavier sound than previous releases. Skating Polly – Chaos Country Line Songs journey from art-punk to noise-rock to […]
For many years, the idea of classical music was intimidating to me. The class connotations were off-putting together with the sense of a white, male and stale canon. The absence of lyrics also meant there was less to latch onto. Michael Nyman’s score to Peter Greenaway’s film ‘The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover’ […]

ALBUM REVIEW – MANCHESTER COLLECTIVE: NEON

ALBUM REVIEW – CORY HANSON: WESTERN CUM

Three albums into his solo career, Wand’s Cory Hanson has conjured distinct and magical flavours each time. Debut release, 2016’s ‘The Unborn Capitalist from Limbo’, dealt out an unimpeachably lush psychedelia while its follow up, ‘Pale Horse Rider’, developed a country rock tinge. With his latest release, Hanson leaps into rock territory. To these ears, […]
This week Silent Radio offers you a selection ranging all the way from obscure experimentation to chart toppers old and new. SunYears – Come Fetch My Soul A collection of top-quality songwriting from Swedish singer/songwriter Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn and John) with guest vocals from Jess Williamson, Fruit Bats, Kathryn Williams, Ren Harvieu and an […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 16 JUNE 2023

FEATURE: JIM – LUSH HARMONIES, FOLK, AND SUBTLE ELECTRONICA COMBINE FOR NEW ALBUM ‘LOVE MAKES MAGIC’ FROM JIM BARON, MEMBER OF MANCHESTER’S CRAZY P

Manchester’s dance innovators Crazy P, have been shaking dancefloors all across the globe for two decades, so it’s some surprise to find out that Crazy P’s Jim Baron has released an album of delicate acoustic guitar tunes, ‘Love Makes Magic’, recalling Crosby, Still, Nash and Young, and fusing a hazy summer folk sound with subtle […]
‘PARANOIA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE’ is the latest release from Christine and the Queens since 2022’s much-loved ‘Redcar les adorables étoiles’. In the form of an intense 20 tracks, Redcar displays himself in full vulnerability to put forward his personal journey, including collaborations from Madonna and 070 Shake, this album really is full of surprises. ‘Overture’ […]

ALBUM REVIEW: CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS – PARANOIA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE