Unsung Podcast

Unsung Podcast

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Episode 261 - Placebo by Placebo (Side A)

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 Boy” charting highly in 1997 (almost a year after the self titled debut was released) they went to create quite the name for themselves not just in the UK, but across Europe and in the US too. Between 1996 and their fifth album, 2006’s Meds, the band kept getting bigger, garnering more acclaim and as a result becoming one the UK’s biggest rock acts. A legacy that still seems somewhat true today. In this episode we talk about the band’s pre-history and dive into everything from Without You I’m Nothing to Meds.
E261
17 abr 2023
1:08:22

In Session 6 - Chris Spencer from Unsane

We’d been working hard over the last few weeks to try and secure our next interview and we’re pleased to deliver this wee gem with Chris Spencer from Unsane/Human Impact/Lamb Unlimited (and more). A lot of prep goes into interviews so that’s why don’t do them very often. Also, we get offers to interview people all the time but it’s rarely people who we think might fit the mold of this show. Unsane tick all the boxes as being an unsung band, really. It just so happens that this coincidenes with announcement of a remaster and re-release of their debut, self titled album (due late September).. Our Chris is a huge unsane fan, so to be able to interview this Chris was a real treat. Chris S was game to talk about what he felt are the highlights and lowlights of his band’s career, giving us a bunch of cool details and stories from pretty much all of their albums thus far. Later, he picked an album that he feels is unsung - the self titled debut album from Killing Joke. We had a really fun chat around that too. Catch them in tour in the UK this October, where they will exclusively be playing stuff from their early years. The remastered version of Unsane drops on September 23rd.
E261
1 ago 2022
1:07:15

Episode 260 - Broken Ear Record by Black Dice w/ Benjamin Power (Blanck Mass)

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.
E260
3 abr 2023
1:31:29

Episode 259 - Sink or Swim by The Gaslight Anthem

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 of Hot Water Music. Perhaps also Alkaline Trio. As far as contemporary points of reference go, that’s about as many as you’ll find. For musicians from New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen looms large. Usually, artists will faintly acknowledge it, merely nod to it. Never embrace it. Unlike those bands The Gaslight Anthem wear the influence of The Boss firmly on their sleeve. Indeed, it is one of the defining features of their sound. But it’s not as pronounced on their first album, 2007’s Sink or Swim. The influence of Bruce Springsteen can certainly be heard, but it’s not as apparent as it would later go on to become. Only a year after their debut album the band released their second record, The ‘59 Sound. Their sound had shifted, they leaned more into their heartland rock/Jersey Shore Sound influences. They became much more evident but not overdone (well, depending on who you ask of course), and their trajectory changed. Rapidly. Once The Boss himself had gotten wind of the band, their star began to ascend at speed. In the albums that would follow (with the exception of their fifth album, 2014’s Get Hurt) they began to incorporate more of Springsteen’s varied influences, not just writing the big obvious rock bangers that he did, but augmenting their sound with elements with the of soul, RnB which always peppered his music. They also added in Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and a sprinkling of Social Distortion to boot. As the acclaim, and the record sales, and the size of their tours, began to grow, eventually Mercury Records came calling and what followed were two big rock records. It was the latter of the two, the aforementioned confused and confusing Get Hurt, that led that band to announce a hiatus in 2015, shortly after its release. As of 2022 they’re now a “full time band” again. What does the future hold? Well, with a new album in their sights, perhaps they can improve on the misfire of their last record and craft something closer to the soaring radio rock of 2012’s Handwritten. Or maybe they’ll go all the way back to the source and become a punk band again like they were on their debut album, which is the subject of this very episode. Who's to say. In the end, only one question really matters - is Sink or Swim an unsung classic? You decide.
E259
27 mar 2023
1:44:18

Episode 258 - Covermount Mixtape: Wake Up! (15-Track Guide To New North American Indie)

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 certainly was for a lot of people back then. As is the case with most of the covermount CDs we have reviewed so far, there is an abundance of well known artists but a sheer lack of good songs by those artists. There are a couple exceptions to the rule on this CD (TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me” is a straight banger and one of their very best songs period), but generally that rule holds well. Duff album cuts from the likes of Metric, Deerhoof, The Shins and Band of Horses can be found on this compilation. They’re slung alongside artists that…well, promptly vanished into obscurity when tastes moved on. Not the worst we’ve done so far, but certainly not the best either. Let us know what you think. Do you remember any of the bands from this era? Still a fan of them?
E258
20 mar 2023
1:37:58

Episode 257 - ПАСХА (Paskha) by Shortparis w/ Rebecca Yurivna

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 instrumentation, and a theatrical stage presence. More recent albums are almost exclusively sung in Russian, with the occasional lapse into English and French peppered throughout their career. Chris is fairly new to this band, as are Mark and Rebecca, so it was fun to get under their skin. We also chat about their political stance, which until the recent Russo-Ukrainian war, was somewhat ambiguous in their music. This often contrasts with their videos, which are more overt in their pro-LGBT+, almost anti-Russian stance. Indeed, they’ve become quite outspoken critics of Russia snice the war. In this episode we go through all of their records whilst also touching on the political situation in Russia today, and take a quick look at some other protest music that has cropped up in Russia since the war. Check out Rebecca’s music here, and give her a wee follow on Instagram here. It was great to have her on the show. Hopefully we can link up again soon! Let us know what you think of Shortparis on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
E257
13 mar 2023
1:58:23

Episode 256 - From Mars to Sirius by Gojira

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 band, it wasn't until their third album that they began to push the limits of what they could achieve sonically. Although some of the core aspects of their sound are present in their first two albums, it was during album number three that they truly came into their own. Their success led them to sign with Roadrunner and tour heavily in America, eventually leading to Joe and Mario Duplantier moving there. On their sixth album, they took their sound in a more melodic direction with 2016's "Magma." However, their signature sound was born on "From Mars to Sirius," which combines the ruthless technical death metal of their first two albums with groove metal and melody to create a unique sound. While it may not be their biggest seller, "From Mars to Sirius" is their most critically acclaimed record and a true fan favourite. Some may still consider it an unsung classic. What do you think? Let us know.
E256
6 mar 2023
1:40:28

Episode 224 - Split 7": The Boys Get Cancelled

Ok so the title is more or less a con - we’re not cancelled (we think?!) - but as an increasing number of artists we like/are aware of get cancelled (or in some cases - don’t even though they probably should) we always knew that one day we’d have to address cancel culture itself. But what does that actually mean? For some, it’s a blanket term that simply sees artists dismissed, leaving their credibility in tatters and making the very concept of things like “forgiveness” impossible. On the other hand, there are some artists with huge profiles with scores of allegations and convictions against them who everyone agrees should/are cancelled but whose listening figures on streaming platforms tell a very different story. Is a black and white thing? Is it even a thing? People all across the political spectrum are “cancelled” and “cancel” each other all the time. For those that are fervent supporters of the process there are others that decry it. So what does it mean? What does it entail? Is restorative justice possible? Are there people out there who should have been cancelled but are seemingly uncancellable? We do our best to reckon with all of that and then some in today’s episode as we take a deep dive into the cancel culture, its adherents, its victims, the motivations behind it and artists affected - and unaffected - by it. Strap in. You’ll disagree in places. We’re sure of it.
E256
27 jun 2022
1:12:24

Episode 255 - The Overplayed Mixtape

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, though. We go deep into the psychology behind why songs are overplayed, what it is about these songs that lead them to become overplayed, and try to come up with a few categories in which to put certain kinds of overplayed songs. We originally recorded this episode as a bonus episode for subs but it really took on a life of its own. Oh and our new co-co-host ChatGPT makes an appearance because why the fuck not use AI when everyone else is doing it? Any songs you think are particularly egregiously done to death? Let us know!
E255
27 feb 2023
1:33:51

Episode 254 - Three by The Black Heart Procession

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 haunting and melancholic music, but in very different ways. "Three" is a dark and brooding album that is characterised by its atmospheric sound and Pall Jenkins’ haunting, yet beautiful lyrics. Their distinct use of traditional instruments and electronic elements creates a unique and otherworldly sound that is both beautiful and melancholic. On the other hand, "Tropico Del Amore" is a more upbeat (relatively speaking - they are not an upbeat band) album that sees the band pushing the boundaries of their sound by crafting a truly cinematic record - it even had a film accompanying it - and taking their music in new directions. We also discuss some of the band’s side projects before we eventually get to grips with “Three” itself. Don’t worry though, the nexus pops in at the end to bring the energy back up, as ever. What you reckon? An Unsung classic? Let us know!
E254
13 feb 2023
1:48:17
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