In this episode, we take a journey back to the 80s to explore Device's only album, '22B3', the choice of this week's guest co-host, our antipodean based pal, Crag!

We delve into the album's rich synth-pop-rock sound and discuss why it remains an underrated gem. The key member of this act is the overlooked, yet all time great pop rock songwriter Holly Knight. She was the mastermind behind many iconic hits from the likes of Tina Turner, Bonnie Tyler, Heart and penned songs for Kiss, Bon Jovi, Cheap Trick, Meatloaf and so many more. On 22b3, she takes centre stage and we use this episode to investigate her influential yet often overlooked contributions.

As we go through each track, we highlight the distinctive 80s production techniques, unique sounds, and memorable melodies. Crag shares insights into the equipment used and provides some industry context, which makes for a fascinating deep dive into 80s music culture. From discussing the album's standout tracks like 'Hanging on a Heart Attack' to exploring the various musical influences and collaborations, this episode is packed with intriguing details and anecdotes.

We also connect the album to wider music histories and trends, giving listeners a thorough understanding of its place in music lore. As always, we wrap up with our Nexus, this time linking Device to Debbie McGee in a surprisingly twisted route through music and pop culture history. If you're a fan of 80s music, keen on unsung musical heroes, or simply love a good musical anecdote, this episode is a nostalgic treat you won't want to miss.

In this episode we dive into a lesser-known compilation from Dundee, 1996, titled 'After the Storm', which was created to raise funds for 18U. We explore the tracks, uncovering a mix of genres from 80s power ballads to 90s dance and country influences. There's a lot of colourful and, shall we say, sometimes questionable, musical efforts showcased in this CD, and as ever we humorously navigate the ups and downs of their listening experience. Highlights include oddities like George McFarlane's rap experiment and a cheerful dance track by Bliss. They wrap up with an existential crisis triggered by Real Gone Kid by Deacon Blue. But it's all for your entertainment, so it's all good.

Oh, and yeah cause this week is particularly heavy the first 18 minutes or so are about Trump winning the US election. So feel free to skip ahead if that doesn't tickle your fancy.

00:00 Introduction and Birthday Banter
00:57 Post-Birthday Blues and Football Highlights
02:20 Political Discussion: Election Results and Reactions
06:31 The Impact of Information Economy on Politics
09:32 Misogyny and Conservative Trends in Gen Z
11:40 The GOP's Transformation and Democratic Challenges
16:11 Crypto Bros and Political Discourse
17:19 Middle Eastern Vote and Political Puritanism
18:32 Music Podcast Transition and Upcoming Topics
44:41 Country Vibes and Musical Influences
45:47 Highland Cowpunk and Unique Instrumentation
48:08 Exploring George McFarlane's Musical Journey
51:40 Dundee's Musical Scene and Hidden Gems
57:07 Ian Cusick: A Deep Dive
01:01:24 90s Dance Nostalgia with Bliss and Lucy Jules
01:04:42 Gary Clark and King L
01:07:37 Michael Marra: Dundee's Bard
01:19:10 Final Thoughts and Reflections

In this episode of the Unsung Podcast, we delve into Vessel's 2014 album 'Punish Honey,' a unique blend of electronic music and modern electronica. We provide an overview of Vessel's career, touching on past albums and collaborative efforts. We discuss standout tracks like 'Red Sex' and 'Anima,' highlighting the album's haunting, ethereal qualities. We also reflect on Vessel's transition to scoring for films like 'The Northman' and talk about the importance of his innovative approach. We end the episode with a Nexus segment linking Vessel to cyclist Chris Hoy.

00:00 Introduction and Banter
02:09 Podcasting Challenges and Humour
03:12 Introducing the Topic: Vessel's Punish Honey
04:28 Patreon Shoutout and Admin
05:30 Concert Stories and Anecdotes
12:36 Social Media and Platform Changes
14:01 Deep Dive into Vessel's Career
21:00 History of Triangle Records
27:00 Early Releases and Order of Noise
34:00 Track Analysis: Order of Noise
45:50 Exploring the Synth Sound
46:52 Discussing the Northman Soundtrack
50:26 Diving into Punish Honey
52:37 Track-by-Track Analysis
01:03:02 Sidebar: Ozzy Osbourne and Rock Legends
01:17:17 Concluding Thoughts on the Album
01:21:17 The Nexus: Connecting the Dots
01:30:19 Call to Action and Future Plans

David Scott from Moni Jitchell joins us again this week as we round off our deep dive into the discography of Los Campesinos!

We being picking up where we left off last week; in the midst of running through the band's discography. Mark then comes clean and says he actually took notes on the wrong album, before we all go down the rabbit hole of figuring out of Romance is Boring and/or Los Campesinos! are unsung.

A small reminder that if you want to support the podcast you can do so via our Patreon. Not only will you get episodes early, you also get access to our Facebook group (aye we know it’s boomer shit, but we’ve yet to find a better way of mass communication) and you can have some influence on what we cover on the show. There’s also the option of our higher tier, the record club, where your money will go towards supporting independent artists that we think are truly unsung.

If you want to learn more about Moni Jitchell, their most recent release is called Unreal, and you can get it here.

Guest time! In the first of two episodes we chat with David Scott from the band Moni Jitchell about Los Campesinos! and their third album Romance is Boring.

In part one we go into a lengthy deep dive around twee pop, the band’s history and then begin to look closely at their discography, using the band’s own ranking of their first five albums as a means navigation.

If you want to learn more about Moni Jitchell, their most recent release is called Unreal, and you can get it here.

We've briefly touched on geek rock in the past - Weezer and Laeto spring to mind - but never in any detail. That all changes this week as we look at the genre through the lens of The Protomen. We also chat extensively about the band, their discography and their frankly brilliant homage to 80s rock.

Last week we spoke about the music of the sequels to The Crow (1994). We also spoke about the new crow film (The Crow (2024)), but we kind of cut it a little short because we didn't talk about the music of the new film. We do that this week before we dive headlong into the original soundtrack of the very first film in The Crow franchise.

Not sure I can find a way to fit "The Crow" into this little blurb about our new episode on The Crow. So please enjoy this episode where we talk about the music from the 1994 film The Crow

Another episode where we're taking direct inspiration from something that we mentioned in an early show, we've decided to do two whole bloody episodes on the music of The Crow film franchise.

In episode one we talk about the music from the very poor sequels to the original film: City of Angels and Salvation. Surprisingly, even though the movies themselves are fairly terrible, the soundtracks are actually really good! So we dedicate a bit of time to those two.

We also talk about the place of The Crow in the wider pop cultural landscape, wondering whether it really was as popular as we seem to remember it was (subcultures are weird) before we talk about the brand new reboot The Crow. Which is... well, it's certainly not the worst of The Crow films, but that's not a high bar to clear...

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