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ALBUMBLE
ALBUMBLE episodes
- 29 Babacar by France Gall
After our elongated Eurovision hiatus we are back - with a Eurovision related episode!
France Gall famously won the Eurovision Song Contest in the mid 60s, bringing a touch of the contemporary "yé-yé" sound to a sleepy, easy listening audience. She never really went away after her win but this particular album was deemed one of her 'comeback' releases. The songs on "Babacar" have a range of styles and genres; has an open heart and a global eye. This release spawned a number of her most treasured hits of the 1980s; now seen as French language pop standards and are still sampled/covered by contemporary acts.
Not much of a news review as there are too many acts to keep on top of!!
To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Babacar 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 France Gall's work and whether you agree with our views !!
47 min - SOA2026-ep5
AUSTRALIA, GEORGIA, MOLDOVA, MONTENEGRO, POLAND, PORTUGAL & UNITED KINGDOM
Accidental wrestling chatA block of flatsWell, it worked for LenaCzechia of the Balkans...?Man at C&ATwang on your harpThe revolving door of artists1 hr 5 min - SOA2026-ep4
AZERBAIJAN, AUSTRIA, BULGARIA, CZECHIA, ESTONIA, SAN MARINO & SWITZERLAND
Apex predator
it's an impressive rolodexBeenie ManHe lives with the strapless lads on Sadboi StreetThe dance break comes earlyMumsnet BandCovering up the punch53 min - SOA2026-ep3
Shite Or Alright is back for another year!
They said we couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't do it again but we are stubborn, opinionated and LOVE a routine... so here we are...Welcome (back) to Shite Or Alright where we - Andy (normal person) and Ann (ESC fan) review the tracks up for judgement at Eurovision which will, 11 years since the last time, be occurring in Austria. However this year seen the end of the ling run on non-capital cities holding the contest as we see ourselves back in Vienna! In the intro, we look back at the fallout from 2025 - and boy is there plenty of that - as well as giving some spoilers as to the tropes and memes we have to look forward to. Once again, we review *most* of this year's songs and give them a score from Parasite to Meteorite! Finally, the top entry of each of the 5 podcasts will go through to the 'Champions of Champions' round to see which one is our favourite of the year GUARANTEEING its fate as 'right side of the leader board' if not 'did not qualify'.So here we go!
SHOW 3 - FARLEY'S RUSKS & RED BULL
CROATIA, CYPRUS, DENMARK, ITALY, LATVIA, LUXEMBOURG & NORWAYNot everything has to be niche
Age approriatenessDoesn't need the gimmicksSponsored by BicThe signs are there that he is an emotional guyTeeth as white as the wigNo need for a key change59 min - SOA2026-ep2
Shite Or Alright is back for another year!
They said we couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't do it again but we are stubborn, opinionated and LOVE a routine... so here we are...Welcome (back) to Shite Or Alright where we - Andy (normal person) and Ann (ESC fan) review the tracks up for judgement at Eurovision which will, 11 years since the last time, be occurring in Austria. However this year seen the end of the ling run on non-capital cities holding the contest as we see ourselves back in Vienna! In the intro, we look back at the fallout from 2025 - and boy is there plenty of that - as well as giving some spoilers as to the tropes and memes we have to look forward to. Once again, we review *most* of this year's songs and give them a score from Parasite to Meteorite! Finally, the top entry of each of the 5 podcasts will go through to the 'Champions of Champions' round to see which one is our favourite of the year GUARANTEEING its fate as 'right side of the leader board' if not 'did not qualify'.So here we go!
SHOW 2 - OSTERDAHL'S BIN OF GOOD IDEAS
ALBANIA, ARMENIA, FINLAND, GERMANY, LITHUANIA, ROMANIA & UKRAINEMC Tunes lacking rhyme or bites
Dance Break? Very cleverThe Boy From SpaceStatus Quo movesWhy is the classroom on fire?Wine lake and butter mountainOn the brink53 min - SOA2026-ep1
Shite Or Alright is back for another year!
They said we couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't do it again but we are stubborn, opinionated and LOVE a routine... so here we are...Welcome (back) to Shite Or Alright where we - Andy (normal person) and Ann (ESC fan) review the tracks up for judgement at Eurovision which will, 11 years since the last time, be occurring in Austria. However this year seen the end of the ling run on non-capital cities holding the contest as we see ourselves back in Vienna! In the intro, we look back at the fallout from 2025 - and boy is there plenty of that - as well as giving some spoilers as to the tropes and memes we have to look forward to. Once again, we review *most* of this year's songs and give them a score from Parasite to Meteorite! Finally, the top entry of each of the 5 podcasts will go through to the 'Champions of Champions' round to see which one is our favourite of the year GUARANTEEING its fate as 'right side of the leader board' if not 'did not qualify'.So here we go!
SHOW 1 - SERBING GOTH
BELGIUM, FRANCE, GREECE, MALTA, SERBIA & SWEDENVeruca Salt
The last two winners?The Masked Singer... in reverseRBF stands for...Ends at the wrong bitYou will always remember where you were when you first heard that line...47 min - 28 Pop Couture by Youth Sector
Sorry for the delay but illness, school camp and technical issues got a bit in the way - but it's here !
This band from the south coast of England have been going for almost a decade it is seems that in this album they have tried hard to collate the best of what they have produced and show their point of view. Many of the conversation points that turn up in this album seem to revolve around the fact that a) they have a particular point of view which is very well articulated and that b) one should not be fooled by the funkiness/dancey/positive instrumentation. This also leads to wonder what else they might come up with net
To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Pop Couture 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 Youth Sectpr’s work and whether you agree with our views !!
40 min - 27 Hold On It Hurts by Cornershop
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!
In our first podcast of 2026 we start almost where we left off by looking at another album from the mid-90s but this one is seen and heard through a VERY different lens.
Seen by many (and wrongly) as a bit of a one-hit wonder, Leicester's Cornershop started off their album careers with this collection of ditties which at some points feel a little disjointed but leads us as reviewers down a lot of paths. What were they trying to do? Could we see where they were going? How much of this was the band and how much was down to John Robb...? The album incorporates a number of genres which skirt along the edges of punk, psychedelia, prog, Britpop fringed with south Asian influences. One interesting caveat to this album is that many, many MANY rears later the band revisited this album renamed "Hold On It's Easy" which also created more questions than answers!
Before we start though, we make a small brief allusion to the ESC 250 *yawn* as well as certain Dutchman's new material!
To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Hold On It Hurts AND Hold On It's Easy are 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 Go West’s work and whether you agree with our views !!
40 min - Farty or Party 2025 ep4It's the wrong time of year to be judging Eurovision songs (although national final season is already in full swing) but it *is* the right time for looking at this year's Junior Eurovision offerings!!! Ann and Marcus are here to decipher this year's 18 songs!This year's JESC is being held in Georgia after they won the title (again) in 2024 and were given first refusal of hosting. A few countries have withdrawn but a few have also re-joined giving us a reasonable show of 18 entries. Although the songs showcase a range of genres and singing styles, the cast list (bar Cyprus) contains almost exclusively solo singers which is disappointing. This may reflect the state of the music scene with its proliferation of solo acts over group, as well as indicating the strictness of personnel and monetary budgets the individual delegations have to spend on the project.By the time we started this podcast project, the running order had been set so we used this official order to structure our reviews rather than a random pick from a hat.
Here, we review the final 4 songs AND crown our winner of winners!
15 Georgia - Anita Abgariani "Shine Like a Star"
16 Cyprus - Rafaella & Christos "Away"17 France - Lou Deleuze "Ce monde"18 Albania - Kroni Pula "Fruta perime"19 min - Farty or Party 2025 ep3It's the wrong time of year to be judging Eurovision songs (although national final season is already in full swing) but it *is* the right time for looking at this year's Junior Eurovision offerings!!! Ann and Marcus are here to decipher this year's 18 songs!This year's JESC is being held in Georgia after they won the title (again) in 2024 and were given first refusal of hosting. A few countries have withdrawn but a few have also re-joined giving us a reasonable show of 18 entries. Although the songs showcase a range of genres and singing styles, the cast list (bar Cyprus) contains almost exclusively solo singers which is disappointing. This may reflect the state of the music scene with its proliferation of solo acts over group, as well as indicating the strictness of personnel and monetary budgets the individual delegations have to spend on the project.By the time we started this podcast project, the running order had been set so we used this official order to structure our reviews rather than a random pick from a hat.
Here, we review the next 5 songs:
10 North Macedonia - Nela Mančeska "Miracle"
11 Montenegro - Asja Džogović "I tužna i srećna priča"12 Italy - Leonardo Giovanangeli "Rockstar"13 Portugal - Inês Gonçalves "Para onde vai o amor?"14 Spain - Gonzalo Pinillos "Érase una vez (Once Upon a Time)"26 min
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We review albums we didn’t ’view’ the first time!