ALBUMBLE

Welcome back to the final Shite Or Alright for 2025!

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... 

Welcome back to episode 5 of Shite Or Alright 2025!

So here we go!

SHOW 5 - THE YEAR OF THE PLINTH

Albania, France, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands & Serbia

He does all the film voiceovers 

When are Liechtenstein doing Eurovision?

Welcome back to Shite Or Alright for 2025!

So here we go!

SHOW 4 - DANCERS AND CYCLISTS CAN'T SING

Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal & Slovenia

Ammonite contempowaft 

Welcome back to Shite Or Alright for 2025!

So here we go!

SHOW 3 - AN EXPLANATION OF URINAL CAKES

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

A till from the Grace Brothers

Welcome back to Shite Or Alright for 2025!

So here we go!

SHOW 2 - SWEEP FOR ESC 2026

Armenia, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia & Norway

"Swashbuckle" graphics

Shite Or Alright is back for another year!

So here we go!

SHOW 1 - HOLDEN'S CAULDRON

Azerbaijan, Belgium, Estonia, Poland and Switzerland 

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 !!

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 !!

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 !!

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 !!