ALBUM REVIEWS – The Shonk

No Wave Bliss, Chef’s Kiss Sensor Ghost Irritation on Demand

Hooked by the playful guffaw of the title track, Irritation on Demand I sought the album. Between September and Christmas it shot its way up the list of ‘most listened albums of 2025’ here at […]

Egg Spectrum’s Stinky Sketchbook 2025

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Responding to someone’s request on Facebook to ‘review their latest album’ can be dangerous territory. I vowed never to do it again, since most of the stuff I hear, I can’t articulate words for, holistic […]

LC Pumpkin & The Joy of Diegesis

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I’m at the 2025 Skynet LAN event and due to requiring an update the software that I use that strips ads from my Facebook feed isn’t working properly. As a result, certain adverts are creeping […]

POP DONE RIGHT BUT WITH A WINKY FACE – THE VANITY PROJECT

dukeofearl

Once in a blue moon we stumble across an album that makes us sit up right, pay attention and think ‘fuck this is how it should be done’ – a flawless collection of hits that […]

ALTERED MYTHS!

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Altered Myths /3113 This prolific pair from Penarth bring us an audio onslaught akin to apocalyptic omens and impending dread. 3113 is concise, focused and unsettling. Is it a track or a warning? It brings […]

DAVID HOPEWELL

dukeofearl

The corridors and offices of Shonk Towers are empty and dark. The causation, a global pandemic that has led to the extermination of most of our staff, with nothing more than an intern popping in […]

CARDIACS

dukeofearl

For months, maybe years I kept thinking about writing this piece, to just talk about my love for Cardiacs. Tim might have said ‘there’s no rush’ but those words can carry a lot of foreshadowing. […]

CHEW

dukeofearl

Alas, a component of my life I have missed this year is the ability to walk into a gig ‘ear-blind’ – It’s an amazing way to install new music into one’s mind. Clearly the solution […]

JERSKIN FENDRICKS

dukeofearl

Since I saw him opening for Black Midi at Rough Trade in a Bristol a couple years ago I have been awestruck by Jerskin Fendrix. I remember watching the show bewildered and excited by what […]

MY-HI

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From sunny and exciting Brighton, the town I talk about visiting but never do comes a three-piece who has peaked my aural appeal with their latest single Digital Depression. The band is MI-HI and within a […]

The Shonk 2026