The Loud And Quiet Podcast

Not only do we discuss our customary new albums this month (from Canadian microtonal space aliens Angine de Poitrine, NY electro punk band Lip Critic and new art rock greats Modern Woman) but also the Geese viral mirage, a very horrible football song and what exactly is the Met Gala? Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts. Further reading/viewingAngine de Poitrine KEXP sessionWired’s Geese marketing exposéNorth London ForeverModern Woman BandcampLip Critic BandcampAngine de Poitrine Bandcamp This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Support this podcast by subscribing to Loud And Quiet for just £3 per monthConsidering the city of Sheffield’s music heritage – from the future pop of The Human League to stadium rock giants Def Leppard, industrial pioneers Cabaret Voltaire, legendary electronic label Warp, Pulp, ABC, Arctic Monkeys, Self Esteem, hundreds more – it’s borderline impressive that it’s never been chronicled in one book. Other music cities (Manchester, Liverpool, New York) have been 100 times over, but the people of the Steel City are a modest bunch.Writer Daniel Dylan Wray has now written that book, spanning from 1960 to the early 2020s. It’s called Groovy, Laidback & Nasty, and is publish this week, on 7 May. I spoke with Dan about his first book, from Peter Stringfellow’s forgotten life promoting Jimi Hendrix to the 150+ artists he spoke with to help tell this story. There’s also some good advice for fellow writers, and some hard truths about how writing a book actually works.Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.Further readingOrder a copy of Groovy, Laidback & NastyTickets to Dan’s book launches in Sheffield, London and BrightonDan’s first article on Sheffield, about historic night club NicheJive Turkey for The GuardianDavid Lynch interview for Loud And QuietJust What is an Industry Plant Anyway? for Loud And QuietDavid Byrne interview for Loud And Quiet This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

When WU LYF were the band that every label wanted to sign in 2010 they rejected all offers, recorded their debut in a church with the help of their fans, and split up.15 years later they’ve unexpectedly returned with a second album. Less surprising is how they’ve released A Wave That Will Never Break, sticking to their original ethos of building a community of their own. This time around, what they’re rejecting most of all is streaming platforms, instead building their own via their website WORLDUNITE.ORG, which is the only way to hear the new record, other than buying a copy in a store. The site also features an Instagram-like journal, tickets, a fan chat and merch, all for fans who become members.Ellery and Tom from the band joined me to discuss why they felt they had no option but to do things this way, and what it was like to be the hottest band in the UK in 2010.Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.Support Loud And Quiet and this podcast by subscribing to our SubstackFurther reading/viewingWU LYF on the Culture ShowIs WU LYF’s return the most perfectly timed in indie history?WORLDUNITE.ORG This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Once a month 3 members of the Loud And Quiet team (Sam Walton, Gemma Samways and Stuart Stubbs) meet up to review 3 albums released over the last 30 days – usually records that had everyone talking. This month, it’s the turn of Harry Styles’ pivot to electro pop, James Blake’s first independent release, and the debut from NYC duo Fcukers.Revisited is the debut phenomenon from Arctic Monkeys, with the help of a quiz that is FUN. Remember that! It’s a fun thing to listen to and play along with.This episode is not sponsored by Gary Barlow’s wine company. Sadly.Further reading/viewingThe New Yorker article on album launches not hanging aroundJames Blake’s plate-spinning album coverSupport this podcast and all things Loud And Quiet via our substack newsletter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Before Canadian Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq starts any show she announces where the exits are in case anyone isn’t into her often aggressive and improvised performance. She’s completely fine with the walkouts, and we’ve perhaps not had anyone on the show before who’s as comfortable within themself as Tanya is.Also an author, visual artist, activist for the protection of indigenous rights in Northern Territory Canada and around the world, theatre maker, teacher and, recently, an actor in True Detective and North of North, Tagaq has just released her 7th album, Saputjiji. It’s a record that features her also singing conventionally for the first time.This episode of the podcast turns into something of a therapy session as Tanya talks of her life spent not caring what strangers think of her. We also get into how Björk ended up featuring on her 2005 debut album, if more acting is in the works, and how all of her life experiences have simply come to her, almost by accident.Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.Further reading/viewingTanya’s performance at the 2014 Polaris PrizeSupport the podcast and Loud And Quiet by subscribing to our newsletter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

One member of the Loud And Quiet team may have let slip during this episode of the Roundtable that they get their new music recommendations from The Graham Norton Show. Join Gemma Samways, Sam Walton and Stuart Stubbs for our monthly album reviews, taking on the 9th record by Gorillaz, Danny L Harle’s Euro trance debut/not debut Cerulean, and the heavy, heavy sound of Manchester industrial electro noise band Mandy, Indiana.We also put Radiohead’s King of Limbs back under the microscope 15 years on from its release – an album recorded at Drew Barrymore’s house.Listen above or on whichever podcast app you prefer.Support this podcast with a paid subscription at https://loudandquiet.substack.com/ where you'll receive our written interviews, reviews and essays too. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Gemma Samways, Sam Walton and Stuart Stubbs put 3 new albums under the microscope for the year’s first Roundtable episode of the podcast. Those albums are the third from south London post-punk band Dry Cleaning, and a couple of debuts, from LA big voice Tyler Ballgame and Phoenix underground rap duo By Storm.The anniversary record we take a second look at is of course Bowie’s parting gift, Blackstar, released 10 years ago, just 2 days before his death. Did we all get so caught up in grief that we loved that album without really listening to it, or does it stand up better than ever?Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search The Loud And Quiet Podcast.Subscribe to our newsletter and support Loud And Quiet at https://loudandquiet.substack.com/Further reading/viewingSam’s Dry Cleaning cover feature from 2022 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

One of the reasons Flying Lotus hasn’t released an album since 2019’s Flamagra is because he’s spent the last 5 years directing a sci-fi horror movie called Ash, starring Aaron Paul. Today he’s announced a new EP – a maximalist collection of tracks called Big Mama, the first to be released via his own Brainfeeder label, which has been releasing others since 2008. On this episode of the Loud And Quiet Podcast, FlyLo reflects on what making a feature film takes out of you, and how Big Mama came to be from a desire to not write music but sound.More music (new and old) is on its way in 2026, including a reissue of FlyLo’s long-out-of-circulation 2006 debut album 1983, which fans have had to find on YouTube until now.Recorded at the end of 2025, we also get into his new year’s resolutions, which range from profound self improvement to hanging out with a big reptile. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.Further reading/viewingBig Mama’s artworkAsh trailerKuso trailer‘Fire Is Coming’ with David Lynch This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Yesterday, Metronomy – a band who have been on a break since 2022 and estimate that they won’t be back until late 2027 at the earliest – announced a single surprise live show for 2026, at London’s LIDO festival on 14 June. The band’s songwriter and producer, who started Metronomy as a solo project in 1999, has been keeping himself busy in the meantime, working with others, including Robyn once again, and Adam Buxton, whose 2024 novelty record, Buckle Up, he produced.Speaking with Joe at his home earlier this month, he reflects on the band’s recent Greatest Hits album and explains why it doesn’t mark the end of the band; only that he isn’t rushing inspiration to make a meaningful return. He’s found a lot of that in Lily Allen’s most recent album, and would like Tim Rice or Tim Curry to play him in the biopic of his life. Or Mark Ruffalo. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts. Further reading/viewingTickets to LidoLoud And Quiet early Metronomy cover feature (Nights Out era, 2008)Loud And Quiet cover feature (Love Letters era, 2014)Elton John, Tantrums and TiarasFollow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack podcast post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

2025 has been the 30th year of Biffy Clyro, the Kilmarnock trio who always wanted to be 100 people’s favourite band 1 million people’s 10th favourite band. On this episode of the Loud And Quiet Podcast, frontman, guitarist and lyricist Simon Neil reflects on the band’s beginnings and what drove them to sign to a major for their fourth album, Puzzle. It was, says Neil, a no-brainer, despite them never wanting to be on a big label, and none of their favourite records coming from that world. The payoff has been undeniable, as Biffy became the UK’s biggest rock band, covered by an X-Factor winner and scoring four number 1 albums, including this year’s 10th record, Futique. Not band for a group of friends who were signed at T In The Park playing the Unsigned Band Stage, when their kit fell apart and was covered in blood. Further reading/viewingSimon on A View From A BridgeThe Loud And Quiet Marmaduke Duke shoot and interview‘Machines’, the Rock VersionFollow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack podcast post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

In the final roundtable of 2025, Gemma Samways, Sam Walton and Stuart Stubbs take on the new album from goblin indie band Sorry, Detroit rapper Danny Brown’s hyperpop record, Stardust, and Rosalía’s swing for pop opera greatness with LUX. Rounded off with our personal albums of the year. Further reading/viewingThe Loud And Quiet Albums of the Year listThe Danny Brown Show on YouTubeFollow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack podcast post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

As Wakefield trio The Cribs prepare to release new album Selling A Vibe, twin brothers Gary and Ryan Jarman remember the mid-00s indie scene they never fully belonged to, and explain why Steve Albini remained their hero after they recorded with the legend they’d admired since childhood.Paying attention to the last song on your album is important, they say, because it could be the last song anyone ever hears from your band. And that was nearly the case a few years ago, when they discovered that they didn’t own their own catalogue, which almost caused them to quit the band.For more from Loud And Quiet, and to support, visit https://loudandquiet.substack.com/Follow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack podcast post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Once a month Stuart Stubbs, Sam Walton and Gemma Samways get together to discuss the new albums that everyone has been talking about over the last month. In October 2025 that’s been Tame Impala’s first dance record, Dave’s verbose third, and of course Lily Allen’s revenge opera West End Girl. We always reassess an anniversary record too, and this month ask if Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor still stands up 20 years later. And would people be as outraged by a 47-year-old woman in a leotard in 2025? Further reading/viewingPitchfork’s Confessions on a Dance Floor reviewPitchfork’s Deadbeat reviewThe Sophist on Lily Allen’s West End GirlFollow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack podcast post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

As we leave behind the month of September, Gemma Samways, Sam Walton and Stuart Stubbs discuss new albums from Geese, David Byrne and Mark William Lewis. Plus a look back Grimes’ most successful record, but why aren’t we all still talking about Art Angels 10 years later?Support this podcast via our Substack page, for less than £4 per month! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

Back again for another look back at 3 key releases from the past month, Gemma Samways, Sam Walton and Stuart Stubbs discuss new albums from Ethel Cain, Mac DeMarco and Water From Your Eyes, with just enough time to reconsider MGMT’s willfully difficult second album Congratulations, release 15 years ago. Was it as bad as everybody said back then? Has it got better with age? And what’s it like to be a label who has to reject an album? Further reading/viewingDom Haley’s Water From Your Eyes interviewThe Guadian’s article on Terence Trent D’ArbyMac DeMarco on the Midnight Chats podcastMac DeMarco in AmsterdamFollow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack podcast post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit loudandquiet.substack.comKarly Hartzman started Wednesday in North Carolina (the only State she’s ever lived and, she says, will ever live it) as a solo project, until her sister made her put a full lineup together to play at her birthday. Things slowly grew, but 2023 was a supercharged year for the band when their forth album, Rat Saw God, became the year’s indie hit for all fans of indie- folk- and Southern-rock.Next month the band will release the even better Bleeds. A strange album for Hartzman and guitarist Jake ‘MJ’ Lenderman, it was written in the final months of their romantic relationship and recorded post-breakup. They agreed to keep their split from the band until Bleeds was recorded. Following a year of huge solo success in 2024, Lenderman remains a member of Wednesday when they’re in the studio, but will no longer tour with them.On this episode of the podcast – recorded in London last week – we discuss the split in the background of the band’s new album, how Karly has kicked social media with the help of a s**t phone, death by bears, and how Wednesday’s next album might be a hardcore punk record.Listen above or via your podcast app of choice.Further links and videos:Karly’s weird and wonderful websiteWednesday’s websiteGrizzly Man trailer

It’s the second installment of the Loud And Quiet Roundtable, where, this month, Sam Walton, Gemma Samways and Stuart Stubbs get the measure of 3 big albums released in June: Never Enough by US hardcore band Turnstile, Addison Rae’s shallow pop debut Addison, and Don’t Die Before You’re Dead by British rapper AJ Tracey.Back under the microscope, too, is Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. Heralded as a classic in 2015, how does it stand up a decade later?Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.Further reading/viewing:Stu’s Beyonce reviewStu’s Lana Del Rey reviewAddison Rae on Jimmy FallonFollow The Loud And Quiet Podcast on your favourite podcast app by visiting any Substack post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. Sign up to a paid subscription to unlock all full episodes of the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit loudandquiet.substack.comWhether a teenager dancing in Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance in Vegas, a member of conceptual mid-00s pop band The Pipettes, or touring schools and clubs as a “Kwik Save Kylie”, Gwenno Saunders has never not wholeheartedly thrown herself into what’s in front of her. For the last 10 years though, she’s found her true voice as an artist popularising often psychedelic music in both the Welsh and Cornish language. Her forthcoming, forth solo album, Utopia, is her first to predominantly feature lyrics in English, and includes lessons learnt in desert and in London’s mid-00s indie scene.Stuart Stubbs visited Gwenno at her studio in Cardiff this week to discuss her chaotic 20s and to convince her to do Eurovision.Further links and videos:My first interview with Gwenno from 2015‘Dancing On Volcanoes’ video shot in Vegas‘Pull Shapes’ video, by The Pipettes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit loudandquiet.substack.com“My dream for this album is for someone to hear it and not know who I am as an actor beforehand,” says Finn Wolfhard on this episode of The Loud And Quiet Podcast. As the star of Stranger Things and the new Ghostbusters reboot, it feels like a dream that’s becoming more and more unlikely, but Wolfhard began playing and writing music long before he started acting, learning bass at the age of 7 to emulate his hero Paul McCartney.Having already released records with his bands Culpurnia and The Aubreys, Wolfhard’s debut solo album, Happy Birthday, will be out in a couple of weeks, which gave me the perfect excuse to speak with him about the music he grew up on, his love of skateboarding, and what happens if his music career takes off.Sign up at loudandquiet.substack.com to hear the full episode. Already a subscriber? Link your subscription to your phone's podcast app of choice by visiting any Substack post and tapping the icon of your preferred appExtra viewing:‘Objection’ videoFinn’s Lip Sync BattleFacts’ ‘Retro Oceans’ video

Recording as we walked, Jack Barnett of These New Puritans joined me on this special episode of the podcast that captures the sounds of our shared hometown, Southend-on-Sea, Essex.It’s hardly a place known for the type of progressive music that Jack and his twin brother George have made since forming the band in 2006, but during our conversation he confirms my suspicions – TNP have such a distinct, heads-down approach to making music, it really doesn’t matter where Jack bases himself to write and produce these albums of classical, industrial, jazz and ballad explorations. Records made in Berlin, London and Greece all have a distinct TNP feeling of bleak beauty. Kind of like Southend itself.The band’s new album is called Crooked Wing (out 23 May via the Domino label) and has taken another 6 years to make. It features Caroline Polachek, choirs, church organs, field recordings and songs about cranes falling in love.Upcoming live datesThe new video for ‘A Season In Hell’ starting Alexander Skarsgård‘Industrial Love Song’ feat. Caroline Polachek‘Bells’Sign up at loudandquiet.substack.com to hear the full episode. Already a subscriber? Link your subscription to your phone's podcast app of choice by visiting any Substack post and tapping the icon of your preferred app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit loudandquiet.substack.com/subscribe