ALBUMBLE

Here, we review the next 5 songs:

5 Armenia - Albert    "Brave Heart"

In our final podcast of 2025 we look at a tricky album from the mid-90s which leaves us with rather more questions than answers regarding its release. On the plus side, its reason for being chosen for the podcast gives us a chance to share an interesting anecdote with you! We look into “Indian Summer” by Go West – an album released 5 years after their previous one AND containing a song which was a major hit 2 years previously. Without giving too much away there is an eerie imbalance in this album which leaves us… well you’ll have to listen and find out!

Peter Cox and Richard Drummie – who also co-wrote the majority of their output – started off as a pop-dance-rock outfit. However, by the end of the 80s their popularity had waned as the UK and US record buying public’s appetite veered towards the widening choice of dance from Europe and the vast array of pop personalities from the likes of PWL. All this and more pushed Go West's rather safe (nay bland) music to the fringes of the charts. This, seemingly twinned with their desire to be seen as a band with song writing and vocal nous, created this album which leans more into the Adult Contemporary/Blue-eyed soul sphere. Is this change of tact too much? Too little? Too late? Or does it leave them falling between two stools?

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Indian Summer 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 Go West’s work and whether you agree with our views !!

In this month's offering we analyse one album in order to review a whole slew of albums under the PWL umbrella. "F.L.M" was the only studio album by the duo Mel & Kim and was almost entirely produced and written by (Mike) Stock (Matt) Aitken and (Pete) Waterman whose signature pop/dance/electronic sound can be heard through many a UK chart act in the 80s and 90s.

The Appleby sisters were one of the few duos/groups in the PWL stable that stood out from the mainly solo crowd and, although their tenure as a pop act was incredibly short, they left behind a striking aural and visual legacy. Kim went on to have a few solo hits in the early part of the 90's, but it does make one wonder what *might* have happened if they had continued as a duo for even just a few more years. This said, we note that the Mel & Kim back catalogue has not really been touched on or covered very much but we come up with exactly the right platform to do it!

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (F.L.M. 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 Mel & Kim's work and whether you agree with our views !!

Hello and welcome back to ALBUMBLE and as you might hear we may be sounding a *little* different to normal!

In this pod we look at a very recent UK number one album - but by a band very few people may have actually heard of! This northern band seems to have a dedicated and stalwart fan base which was able to vote with their feet - or should that be purchase with a few clicks - enough copies of this album to make it top the charts.

The K's are, as Ann would describe 'Wools' - meaning that they come rom the area betwixt the metropolises of Liverpool and Manchester and it seems like the musical legacies of both conurbations (as well as many more further afield) has influenced their music. In terms of song writing the lyrics seem rather personal and the boys are not afraid to lift the lid on their own particular worries including physical and mental health situations. In 'Pretty On The Internet', the boys seem to linger not too far from the indie-pop songs from their first album but dip their toes into some slightly different genres.

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Pretty On The Internet 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 K's work and whether you agree with our views !!

Hello and welcome back to ALBUMBLE! Apologies for the wait for this episode to come out but we do profusely apologise and go through why we waited before doing the podcast properly!

In this pod we turn back the clock to a time - before both of us were actually born - where musical tastes and technology we in flux. Although the EPs run was extremely finite, it has been re-released on a couple of occasions to celebrate this records status as being one of the first 'punk' releases.

Without giving way too many spoilers about our views, I think it is safe to say that the recording is rather ramshackle, whihich in itself gives the record a rather edgy tone which might seem immediate to one but amateur to another. The Buzzcocks themselves (including Devoto who left the band) went on to hone their sound and the next year produced hits like "What Do I Get?" and the evergreen "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" Everyone - and every sound - needs to start somewhere!!!!

To fully immerse yourself in the Albumble podcast, listen to the album yourselves (Spiral Scratch 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 Buzzcocks' work and whether you agree with our views !!

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 !!

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 !!

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 !!

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 !!