Now that we’ve set music festivals to rights (for this year) we thought we’d follow up on our White Town episode - a true one hit wonder - with a one album wonder mixtape. Which, as is our wont, turned into a two parter. So the remit is simple here - bands that have had only had one album. We’re not talking about bands that are on their debut album, but acts that were one and done. To bring some order to this, we’ve picked three albums each, and also come up with three buckets in which to place ...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 271
You may have noticed but England’s biggest festival, Glastonbury, took place recently. You know the score already - for a weekend a bunch of farmland in Somerset gets turned into a pseudo-city where people pay an crazy amount of money for a ticket to go and see some good, and some shit, bands. This year was the biggest (and probably most expensive) yet, with Guns n Roses, Elton John and Arctic Monkeys headlining. Naturally it sold out almost instantly when it went on sale last year. For the most...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 270
This week we're doing another UNSONG because Chris has very much wanted to talk about this song for a while. You're no doubt familiar with it, but the story around it is fascinating. A one hit wonder for sure, White Town - the long running project of Jyoti Prakash Mishra - has reflected a lot on his brief stint on a major label, whilst also being thankful of the fact he had a one hit wonder. A truly compelling story, there's a lot to get into with this one so we ended up with an double length un...
Jun 26, 2023•55 min•Ep. 269
In part two of our Lankum special we dedicate some time to talking about the band’s entire back catalogue before getting torn into their 2019 album The Livelong Day. Up until this record, the band had only really toyed with taking their sound in a darker, more extreme direction. Of course, both of those adjectives are relative - Lankum are not Pig Destroyer - but in the context of traditional music, or folk music, the band make a devilish, challenging noise that is certainly indebted to noise an...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 268
This week we've decided to tackle a genre we've yet to tackle - folk. Or traditional. Or traditional folk? Irish folk music? Irish folk drone ? Who knows what to label it, really. All we know is that it's traditional music and it's folk music. Yes, we're talking about Lankum. We've been trying to get this episode in the bag for freaking ages but after interviewing the band, we struggled to land a guest to guide us through the world of folk music. So we decided just to plough on through anyway, s...
Jun 12, 2023•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 267
We’ve been working on trying to pull together a very special episode which contains both an interview with a band, a special guest, and seeing us tackle a genre that we’ve yet to cover. We came so close to nailing one of these things but last week we were thwarted by illness. Which left us without an episode for this week. So we’re rolling out some bonus content for you and it’s episode FIVE of UNSONG where we talk about a single song that we think is an unsung classic. Chris has picked 80s pop ...
Jun 05, 2023•21 min•Ep. 305
We’re back with Joe McGlynn from Man Must Die (as well as In the Lap of the Pods Queen Podcast and Shit You May Not Have Seen Podcast ) for part two of our two-parter on “Heartwork” by Carcass. As Carcass plough their way across the UK this week on what seems like a fairly extensive tour, we pick up where we left off last week as Joe opens by telling us his story about the band, before we dive headlong into their two latest releases. There was a lot of noise made around their return in 2007, but...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 266
This week we’re revisiting a genre we haven’t covered in a while - melodic death metal. Ok, that’s kind of not true cause did Gojira not that long ago but they’re not THIS kind of death metal. Joe McGlynn from Man Must Die (as well as In the Lap of the Pods Queen Podcast and Shit You May Not Have Seen Podcast ) nominates Heartwork, the fourth album by Carcass. Originally a “goregrind” band, whatever that means, the Liverpudlian trio (at the time) were often mentioned in the same breath as Napalm...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 265
We all meet the reaper at some point in our lives. Most folks make it to a fair old age before they meet their end, but some, well, they depart the world a little too soon. This episode is dedicated to those that passed too early. We chat about some of our favourite artists, both obscure and well known, before we pay tribute to them by picking 7 songs each that we feel represent their lives and their work. Which means the trigger warning goes like this - we discuss not just death, but also suici...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 264
This week we are joined by special guest Shu Ying, an experimental/post-punk/electronic artist from China. In this episode we chat a little about her music and more broadly about the history of music in China and Hong Kong, the evolution of alternative music in the country, its unique sound, the differences to Western music and more. She also picked a few albums for us to get our teeth into by artists that are unsung in their influence on Chinese rock, punk and post-punk music. These include: Do...
May 08, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 301
You may have realised by now that UNSONG is a feature that we usually reserve for our Patreon subscribers. Occasionally we’ll release an episode to general public to give y’all a flavour of what you’re missing over in the Unsung Record Club . Put simply Unsong is basically Unsung but with one song. This week we’re gonna chat about the song Real American by Rick Derringer, a tune best known for being Hul Hogan’s entrance music. “Why have you dropped this on us in lieu of a regular episode"?” we h...
May 01, 2023•40 min•Ep. 263
Things went pretty well last week as we delved into the formative years of Placebo. The era that many fans consider to be the band’s peak. This week we discuss everything post Meds and our views are…well, let’s just say they are decidedly less rosy. With 2009s Battle for the Sun Brian made a lot of noise in the press about how this was a band searching for, and finding, a new identity. That much is true as the band’s sound is a lot more open, optimistic and less melancholic. Perhaps getting sobe...
Apr 24, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 262
After a quick break this week we’re back as Chris takes a journey into his youth and nominates Placebo’s self titled debut album. But before we get to that, we need to talk about the band’s history and their back catalogue. Coming onto the scene when Britpop was ascendant, Placebo were often lumped into with that lot even though they sound nothing like that. Taking cues from The Smiths, Sonic Youth, Depeche Mode and more, they were an alt rock band first and foremost. With breakout hit “Nancy Bo...
Apr 17, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 261
It’s been QUITE the week here in Unsung towers, with holidays and various other things happening, we weren’t able to get a regular episode recorded. So we’re dropping this bonus content preview. Please enjoy, and if you like it, consider signing up to our Patreon .
Apr 10, 2023•21 min•Ep. 297
This week friend of the pod Benjamin Power, otherwise known as Blanck Mass, joins us to discuss a record he loves by a band he loves - Broken Ear Record by Black Dice. In this episode we get to grips with the difference between avant-garde and experimental music, ponder what music actually is, and do our best to understand the weird, puzzling world of Black Dice. Strap in. It’s gonna get mental.
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 260
Much like Lil Kim, we announced our intention to do an episode on The Gaslight Anthem some time ago. But alas, it did not transpire, and it festered for a wee bit, hung over us, filled us with dread. But we’ve now finally exorcised it from our system with the help of emo scholar Marisa Androvik. Despite coming from the very fertile New Jersey punk and emo scene in the late 00s, The Gaslight Anthem sound nothing like their peers. On the album we’re covering this week, you may very well get hints ...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 259
Been a wee while since we did a covermount CD so this week Crag joins us from 12 hours into the future to have a look at “Wake Up! (15-Track Guide To New North American Indie)” which comes from the March 2007 edition of Uncut. North American indie at this period contained a hell of a lot of flannel, as well as a shit ton of Americana influence. That kind of thing comes up a lot in this compilation. It’s also quite twee which is a vibe unto itself. It may not be for everyone, of course, but it ce...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 258
This week we’re joined by American artist and academic Rebecca Yurivna to talk about the Russian band Shortparis. Shortparis is a Russian experimental rock band hailing from the city of St. Petersburg. The band was formed in 2012 and musically, the band are quite difficult to catagorise. They take in elements of post-punk, electronic, and avant-garde music with traditional Russian folk melodies and lyrics. Their sound is quite unique, and is characterized by intense vocals, complex instrumentati...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 257
Dave is back this week and he brings some seriously heavy vibes from French metal titans Gojira. After seeing the band live recently, he remembers how great their third album, "From Mars to Sirius," is. Mark, who was also at the same show, was pleased to get acquainted with them. Chris had heard of the band but never really took the time to get to know them until now. It's surprising to think that a band like Gojira has become as successful as they are. Starting out as a technical death metal ba...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 256
Everyone's got a collection of songs that they're really sick of hearing. Some are quite obvious - Wonderwall, we're looking at you - whereas others are perhaps not so obvious. And that's before we even get into the realms of talking about songs that were cannot abide for deeply personal reasons. What we're saying is that we all think a bunch of songs are overplayed. This week we dive into the world of overplayed songs. We go a little further than simply listing songs that are done to death, tho...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 255
We’ve taken a small break this week to record bonus content, so we thought we’d drop some of our older bonus content as a way to tease you into subscribing. Unsong is basically THE UNSUNG SINGLES CLUB. In it, we breakdown a single song to talk about why it works so well. On this episode, Mark has chosen Separate Ways by your dad’s favourite 80s band, Journey. If you’d like to get more of this kind of content, consider subscribing to our Patreon. From just £4 you can be a member of the club, and ...
Feb 20, 2023•16 min•Ep. 290
This week we get a little gloomier, sadder and generally more depressed than usual as we take a trip into the world of The Black Heart Procession. We delved into the band's unique take on indie rock(?), and try to get down to what makes this band work so well. As ever, we delve into the band’s entire back catalogue, and Vicki explains why she found herself torn between two of the band's third and fourth albums: "Three" and "Tropico Del Amore". Both albums showcase the band's ability to craft hau...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 254
Let's get properly nerdy. This week, we're talking about his third album Dangerous Days and in this bumper episode we don't only talk about his the dark, sugar rush of his music, but we also talk about the history of synthwave, his place in cybergoth and cyberpunk culture, video games and much more. For the uninitiated, Perturbator is an acclaimed French synthwave musician and producer whose works have been featured in video games and films. His whole catalogue of music is marked by dark and fut...
Feb 06, 2023•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 253
We’re really starting to think that a pound just isn’t very sound at all any more… This week we thought it’d be good to bring back your favourite Poundland £1 album review show. Except, Poundland doesn’t sell CDs anymore (probably a good thing), which means we had to start looking at other places to buy CDs for £1. Which meant going to charity shops and to be honest, that sits just fine with us. We roped Vicki into the latest edition, and instead of releasing it to our subs we thought we’d show ...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 252
With the history of the band now firmly out of the way, we take this week to dive deep into the band’s entire back catalogue. With Chris and Vicki being avowed fans of the majority of the band’s work, we go on a windy, tangent filled journey through each of their albums, talking about the best tunes, the worst tunes and more. Then the main course: a thorough run down of the band’s fourth album, Lullabies to Paralyze. Coming After Songs for the Deaf, it was always going to be a tall order to foll...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 251
Wow, 250 episodes. That’s crazy. It’s definitely more than that, but as actual episodes go, it’s rather a lot. Especially when you realise that most podcast don’t even make it to 8 episodes… As is our new year tradition, after our regular Christmas shenanigans tanked our numbers (it’s by the fans for the fans, after all) we always come back BIG and this year we’re going to be discussing Queens of the Stone Age’s fourth album Lullabies to Paralyse. But before we get into that, and the band’s enti...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 250
We were hit with a bout of illness and frankly rubbish personal circumstances over the last couple of weeks, but we managed to get our shit together long enough to sit down with the wonderful, Sibohan Wilson. Siobhan Wilson is a musician from Elgin who has been making music for over a decade. She has released four albums and one EP, the most recent being “Survivre” in 2022. She released the album via her own label, Suffering Fools Records. On today's episode we discuss her career, discography, r...
Jan 09, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 284
HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS! For those of you not based here in lovely Scotland, aside from having the 1st of January as a holiday we also get the 2nd, so today is another holiday for us. Which is great if you happen to work for an employer that recognises it. We digress. The wheels start to come off in this episode in quite a fun way, which is why it’s MASSIVE. In this episode we discuss the awfulness of folk metal, Baywatch, Weaver's grammar, nasty Japanese porn comics, Transformers and of course Sir...
Jan 02, 2023•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 249
Merry Christmas folks! Or Merry Boxing Day, I guess. We hope all of you had a wonderful time no matter what you did or who you spent it with. Part two of our Xmas special is a remarkably civilised affair, which you may be shocked to hear, given how these things usually tend to go. Some spicy takes are of course had, and there is mercifully little chat about Jones and Kushner this week, but there are some very cool questions and some cool guest answers too. We’re away to tend to the Xmas leftover...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 248
As regulars will know, our Xmas Xtravanganza is when all us have a few half lager shandies and answer questions that you have sent us. This year we had a whopping 35 to get thorough which meant things had to go in a much more orderly fashion than they usually would. Like last year, we’re joined by Weaver and Vicki and a number of VERY SPECIAL GUESTS answered some select questions too. Keep an ear out for them - some subs will be thrilled with who’s answered their questions. In part one we start ...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 247
