ALBUMBLE

22 Look At Us Now by Gustaph

In a strange turn of events, Andy - not Ann - chose an album with Eurovision connotations, furthermore with Liverpool Eurovision connections. Stef Caers AKA Gustaph could well be described as the Nico Hulkenberg of Belgian pop: almost 20 years after their first foray into showbusiness they finally got the success they deserved.

The album uses the catapult of the Eurovision hit to explore the wider corners of the dance/pop genre with a generous dollop of  LGBTQIA+ storytelling on  top.  Discussions also look into which people and songs possibly influenced the song writing, possible reasons for the track order and the superb clarity of Gustaph's vocals. Listen out also for bonus Eurovision stats as well as some Belgian pop collab wish lists !

Our news round-up is bypassed this week as there was so much news last week we were newsed out!

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Look At Us Now is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Gustaph's work and whether you agree with our views !!

21 Cupid & Psyche 85 by Scritti Politti

It was Ann's choice of album this time and we delve into the back catalogue of a band that was lightly weaved into the fabric of 80s - and 70s and 90s - music but has never truly received the plaudits they deserve. In this iteration we see the band evolve from communist punkers to slick funk samplers.

During the episode we talk (not in much detail as we would be here for weeks) about how, on the surface, this album seems like a radio friendly slice of sturdy funk-pop but below the surface there are philosophical statements galore. There are also some interesting points to be made abut Green's unique voice and how, on some of the tracks, it is complemented by the clever use backing vocals to the point its almost a duet.

Our news round-up is compact although we do have a bit of fun regarding the Glastonbury 'news'.

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Cupid & Psyche 85 is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Scritti Politti's work and whether you agree with our views !!

20 Partie Traumatic by Black Kids

Welcome back to a more modern episode of ALBUMBLE.

We look back to the late 2000's and a bit of American indie pop rock with more than a shake of Britishness on the top. Black Kids hailed from Jacksonville, Florida and the band's multi-ethnic and mixed-gender make up seemed to give their music a unique edge and viewpoint culminating in this album which was the band's second release.

The album has a definite sound, without feeling too samey - although we feel some themes and ideas could have been pushed through little bit more. We discuss the "British Feel" of the production, what might have been the band's purposeful (or accidental) musical inspirations as well as putting forward theories as to why the singles were the singles and why some of the said singles did not fare very well when they really should have!

Also, big apologies for the technical glitches but we tried (within the time constraints) to give you a decent podcast with what we had left AND what we could remember !

To fully immerse yourself in the ALBUMBLE podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Partie Traumatic is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Black Kids and if you agree with our views !!

19 Headquarters by The Monkees

We are back!!!!

After our short yet slightly stressful Eurovision break we look back over the last few weeks and have a quick round up of news regarding some of our past ALBUMBLE alumni. On the subject of this podcast, we delve into the 60's with an album by The Monkees. "Headquarters" was the band's third album - and the third that reached number 1 on the Billboard album chart - although it contained a lot of firsts for the band as musicians.

Mickey, Peter, Mike and Davy were originally cast as a fictional band for the TV series of the same name. The foursome, however, at the start of their career had very little say in the music they performed and brought out even though they *could* actually play instruments and had the nous - together or singularly - to write a decent song and an entire hit album! Although they were a band very much of their time, their TV shows have been repeated all over the world and still can be found on satellite schedules this very day. 

To fully immerse yourself in the ALBUMBLE podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Headquarters is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of The Monkees' work (music Or television!) and whether you agree with our views !!

SOA2025-6

Welcome back to the final Shite Or Alright for 2025!
We start off this last - and hopefully exciting - episode by noticing if the similarity between seemingly disparate jingles may actually be by design. Ann also dumps the idea of Eurovision Tariffs because the EBU might be able to get some extra funding and expertise by appearing on a certain BBC business show...

Once we have our final show winner we look at all six heat winners and decide who is our "champion of champions" who will surely - almost definitely - will not be winning in Eurovision this year.

We hope you have enjoyed this Eurovision specials. We will be back bright-eyed and bushy tailed with the regular bi-monthly ALBUMBLE shows in June by reviewing "Headquarters" by The Monkees ! 

SHOW SIX - MONOGRAMMED COMMODE

Australia, Ireland, Montenegro, San Marino, Spain and Ukraine

Not even Blümchen... 
A performance they believe in 
Just wish it went somewhere
Never knew Jimbo and the Jet Set were so popular
It *should* be a shoo-in
Not serving subtlety

SOA2025-5

Welcome back to episode 5 of Shite Or Alright 2025!
Andy starts the podcast by revealing he has some kind of Eurovision malaise but don’t worry he has a belated Belgium-related fix to relieve it. We swiftly begin the judging with a lot of explaining to do as it has ended up being a rather loaded episode!!!! 

So here we go!

SHOW 5 - THE YEAR OF THE PLINTH

Albania, France, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands & Serbia

He does all the film voiceovers 
It's good - but it's not right
Under the auspices of Dr Evil

When are Liechtenstein doing Eurovision?
This was everything from Novelty Island - apart from Graham Lister
A rollover vote?

SOA2025-4

Welcome back to Shite Or Alright for 2025!
We start the podcast by considering how good Gilles de Coster, the Belgian host of “De Mol”, is at keeping secrets and a convincing straight face but that is all after relating the Monty Hall problem to why USB ports are so random… We eventually get onto the job at hand and judge some Eurovision songs… with some rather surprising results!!!! 

So here we go!

SHOW 4 - DANCERS AND CYCLISTS CAN'T SING

Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal & Slovenia

Ammonite contempowaft 
Greater than the sum of its parts
If Duncan Laurence could write a song
Clean Bandit from Temu
Doesn't have a leg to stand on... unfortunately
"Three riddles have I....!"

SOA2025-3

Welcome back to Shite Or Alright for 2025!
We start by wondering of the recent rise in talk about 'tariffs' could be leveraged in Eurovision and think about the categories of Eurovision tropes that could be incentivised and sanctioned so the entrance fee for the contest could be slightly negotiated. After that we judge 6 of this year's crop from 0 to 5 and find a show winner!

So here we go!

SHOW 3 - AN EXPLANATION OF URINAL CAKES

Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Sweden, & United Kingdom 

A till from the Grace Brothers
They can no longer afford trousers
Is there a culture of Panto...?
Dear Finland - your problem
Do Polish people want to watch things about Henry VIII?
Normal Collier processing

SOA2025-2

Welcome back to Shite Or Alright for 2025!
We talk about why we didn't really see Nemo coming for the win last year (I blame trains) but that 's after we start with a brief sojourn into reaction videos - and not just Eurovision ones - before Andy and Ann give their views on each song & performance giving them a score from 0 to 5.

So here we go!

SHOW 2 - SWEEP FOR ESC 2026

Armenia, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia & Norway

"Swashbuckle" graphics
A fan of Blue Peter
Enya... on drugs
Shoving fags in his face
A niche to carve out
The Quantum Leap Soundtrack 

SOA2025-1

Shite Or Alright is back for another year!
On our return to review the 2025 Eurovision songs, we have a brief moment to recall the (mostly not so nice) events of ESC 2024 and frame the themes and memes we have in store in 2025. We begin with why there are 37 songs on the menu and not the expected 38, why we're only reviewing 35 of them and why some countries are on a final warning.... After each clip Andy and Ann give their views and give them a score from 0 to 5.

So here we go!

SHOW 1 - HOLDEN'S CAULDRON

Azerbaijan, Belgium, Estonia, Poland and Switzerland 
Marmite
Those buildings looked frankly dirty
Whatever they are dancing to isn't that song
No need for a violin
That's what we do well

18 Service Station at the End of the Universe by Antony Szmierek

In this last episode before a Eurovision break we review a brand new album!!! This is Antony Szmierek's second album although it has been four years since their debut effort. He has been on the scene making waves not in the form of releases but more in the form of live shows and tours.

Former teacher Szmierek takes us for a ride (not like that!) to the world of the service station and is able to pull apart, visualise, imagine and dissect who is there, why are they here and what will happen next. The album itself is a bit of a rollercoaster ride as life, its meaning and its weight upon us is explained to and fought against on a peripheral and personal level. There is also a short discussion about how this spoken word artist is similar and very different to previous ALBUMBLE subject Scroobius Pip.

In April our airwaves will be full of Eurovision news - more about that in the pod. Our news round up is (once again) mostly full of Joost news! Even though the next ALBUMBLE podcast won't be out for a little while, we still reveal which album we'll be looking at in the next ALBUMBLE show which should be out on the 1st May.

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Service Station at the End of the Universe  is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Antony Szmierek's work and whether you agree with our views !!

17 Meat Is Murder by The Smiths

In this episode we 'celebrate' the 40th anniversary of The Smiths only chart-topping number 1, Meat Is Murder. Known, but not as well known as some of their other releases, this album has a slightly unusual collection of songs in terms of song style, song meaning, song tempo and song length but is possibly more known for the 'political' nature of the lead song and the album artwork.

This was their second studio album and spawned a rather disparate and not too well-known number of singles but the title track certainly captured headlines and hearts.  As we discuss, many of the songs had that stereotypical dreary Smithsness but there are a few rather chipper - almost pop - numbers proving they were more than just a one note band. In addition we also note that the tracks start to strengths of all of the band members not just Morrissey and Marr!

Our news round up is mostly taken up with Joost news! As always though, we reveal of the next albumble album which is a bit different as this album is literally days old as of recording!

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Meat Is Murder is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of The Smiths' work and whether you agree with our views !!

16 Smart by Sleeper

This episode sees us return to albums and back to the 90s, although for both of us, this wasn't something either of us had on our discmans (discmen?!?!) at the time of release

Sleeper got swept in with the cool kids of Britpop and their debut album has lyrics that are very of their time but, as we discuss, there is a little more too it than that. Smart was certified gold and spawned 4 singles although many of these went under the radar. We also realise many of the themes are much ruder that one might have anticipated and the nuances of a couple of tracks were possibly before their time. Maybe the Sleeper train was piled on because there was a strong female influence but that point of view is something that obviously needed airing!

Our news round up is very short this week as there is not much news going on! As always though, we reveal of the next albumble album which like Smart is also celebrating an anniversary!! 

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Smart is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Sleeper's work and whether you agree with our views !!

 

15 Shine On Me [EP] by Boys Wonder

This EP, of sorts, has an amazing back story - a story I felt needed to be shared on the podcast. Boys Wonder was a short lived band during the late 80s but their music wasn't really the expected 80s fayre which probably led to the band's downfall.

The London band released a small handful of songs during their tenure and although an album was mooted, it never materialised. But 35 years after their 'heyday' the band seemed to come back into prominence with people reconnecting with the tracks they loved but also a new batch listeners discovering the band's small but perfectly formed output... Soooooo what did happen all those years ago? Listen on to find out!

The Shine On Me EP is actually a modern release which combines some of their original single releases. The four tracks show a thematic similarity but also brings together a shedload of disparate influences which may explain their pull to the modern audience. We start with a brief recap over past ALBUMBLE reviews and the TV tunes we loved and loathed.

To fully immerse yourself in the ALBUMBLE podcast, listen to the release yourselves (Shine On Me EP is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Boys Wonder's work and whether you agree with our views !!

 

14 Next Day Shipping [EP] by Adult DVD

The run of EPs continue but this time a much more modern affair with the newcomers Adult DVD. This six-piece combo, who are originally from Leeds, have an abrupt and in-your-face (or should that be in-your-ears?) sound which embraces a realm of modern, quirky and retro edges. 

The band were formed in Leeds at the turn of the 2020s and have a small but perfectly formed back catalogue of individual song releases and bulkier EP offerings... Surely a decent sized long player is only around the corner!. The band's sound has an indie edge but an electronic sensibility, plus as you will hear what they sound like and what they look like do not necessarily gel!

Next Day Shipping is five tracks long and sets out their stall for their musical vision but is this a collection of disparate tracks, a homogenous gloop of similar things or something in between? To find out our opinion - listen on! We start with some very weird cultural chat and a very brief look at something that happened on the cusp of the new year. Remember to listen to the end to get the heads up on the next EP we're reviewing!

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the release yourselves (Next Day Shipping EP is on Spotify and possibly other places too) then listen to our appraisal. Remember to get in touch by tweeting us via @albumble and tell us what you think of Adult DVD's work and whether you agree with our views !!