ROUGH Archives ⋆ THE SHONK

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[ January 6, 2026 ] No Wave Bliss, Chef’s Kiss Sensor Ghost Irritation on Demand ALBUM REVIEWS
[ December 29, 2025 ] Egg Spectrum’s Stinky Sketchbook 2025 ALBUM REVIEWS
[ December 15, 2025 ] His Name is Jim E. Brown and the name of this article is ‘Jim E Brown might be this generation’s Gerard Hoffnung LIVE REVIEWS
[ December 6, 2025 ] The Diegetic Joy of LC Pumpkin ALBUM REVIEWS
[ February 27, 2024 ] BLACK WESKER – ECO PUNK, NO JUNK BY BAND

ASTRAL FEST VI BRISTOL 2019 (PT2)

July 25, 2019 DUKE 2,386

Our glorious day of absorbing some incredible music from all around the world was in full swing and after a quick stop at Pret A Manger for some nourishment and sustenance it was time for […]

REASONS TO ASTRAL

June 13, 2019 DUKE 2,580

If you’re a regular reader of The Shonk you will know that we don’t say anything that we don’t mean, so understand us when we say that if you haven’t bought your tickets for Astral […]

IDLES AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE

September 1, 2018 Jeni Hell Comments Off

Jeni Hell has been a busy girl; IDLES Joy exhibition followed by the Rough Trade Bristol show. There’s another one but I am sure she’ll talk about that later… The gig room in Bristol’s Rough […]

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

January 6, 2026 Comments Off on 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

December 29, 2025 Comments Off on Egg Spectrum’s Stinky Sketchbook 2025

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 [...]
His Name is Jim E. Brown and the name of this article is ‘Jim E Brown might be this generation’s Gerard Hoffnung

December 15, 2025 Comments Off on His Name is Jim E. Brown and the name of this article is ‘Jim E Brown might be this generation’s Gerard Hoffnung

Rising to the surface like a fart in the bathtub, ‘Beans on Toast’ by Jim E Brown started playing on one of the weekly playlists we cycle through – I remember exactly where I was, [...]
The Diegetic Joy of LC Pumpkin

December 6, 2025 Comments Off on The Diegetic Joy of LC Pumpkin

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 [...]
BLACK WESKER – ECO PUNK, NO JUNK

February 27, 2024 13,090

Black Wesker comprise a fusion of punk, indie and jazz with improvisation and stylistic changes that subvert the expecations of audiences and regular viewers. The band has developed a reputation for playing their songs in [...]
POP DONE RIGHT BUT WITH A WINKY FACE – THE VANITY PROJECT

January 31, 2024 11,717

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 [...]
PERIPHERAL OBSERVATIONS OF A FRESHLY-SHAVEN CYNIC

January 30, 2023 10,156

One of the many things the scribe gets off on when attending a ‘cultural event’ is watching from the side lines the secondary features outside of the reason he payed a lot of money to [...]