Ep 140: Sleaford Mods on 10 years of Divide & Exit, and one very bleak album launch

Part of this week's episode of MC comes from End of the Road festival, where Stu met up with Irish drone folk band Lankum and put your questions to Long Island sibling duo The Lemon Twigs. Even the one about the Muppets.   Back home Greg and Stu unpacked the fiasco surrounding Oasis' ticket sale nightmare, particularly the scam that is "dynamic" ticket pricing. And what's all this about the Smiths reunion not being as improbable as we'd all started to think. God help us all!  Other music news too, and 3 bands we think should have never reformed. You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod.  Further reading/listening/viewing ML Buch on Bandcamp Nourished by Time on Bandcamp Lankum Loud And Quiet cover feature Videopia at End of the Road Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate PriorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like it or not, Oasis are back together for the reunion tour that's surprised absolutely no one. As a former stan of the band, Stu really should be feeling better about this news than he is, while Greg is just happy that he finally gets to share the extremely important role he's played in Oasis mythology.  On this week's episode we get into how the story broke, what we think will happen next, and dust off our tales of seeing the band at their best and their worst.  You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Further reading/listening/viewing Stand By Me Little James Oasis split at Rock En Seine Noel Gallagher - Press Conference 6th July 2011 Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate PriorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charli XCX's career highlight was coming on our podcast back in 2018, for what turned out to be a rushed conversation about art school, living in LA, writing songs for Blondie and seeing songs as colours. With Charli's career still doing reasonably well due to the release of this year's album, Brat, on this week's podcast we revisit that conversation to see if it was as bad as Stu thought it was at the time, consider what it tells us about the rise of Charli, and ask what's next for the undisputed queen of alt. pop. You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate PriorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of their new album Romance, people can't stop talking about Fontaines D.C.'s new look. One week after Glastonbury, the Dublin band's singer, Grian Chatten, had Stu round to his flat to discuss the reason behind the band's new aesthetic, his prolific writing process, a strange 9 days spend working in a bar in L.A., and a record that draws influence from Korn, Lana Del Rey and Shygirl.  You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Further reading/viewing: Starburster video Jade 'Angel of My Dreams' video Loud And Quiet 2019 cover feature Chris de Burgh in The Mighty Boosh Sister Midnight Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate Prior    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York musician Cassandra Jenkins really shouldn't be on Midnight Chats, or any podcast talking about her new album, My Light, My Destroyer, because that record, near-perfect though it is, was never going to be made.  On this week's episode she tells Stu about how she had decided to quite music after releasing her last album, but things went unexpectedly well, so here we are, discussing one of the best albums that will be released in 2024, Jenkins' obsession with space, finding inspiration in a billionaire sending Captain Kirk into space, her Manhattan home life living with her parents, and what happens next is this "bonus round" of her life.  You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Further reading/viewing: Our 10/10 album review of My Light, My Destroyer The moment William Shatner returned to Earth The mighty Zabar's Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate Prior    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following on from last week's Mercury Prize predictions episode, Greg and Stu dive into this year's shortlist to see how wrong they were as they cast judgement on which of the nominated records they think might actually have a chance of winning this year's award. Stu picks out a clip from our 2018 Charli XCX episode, and you'll all invited to play our Mercury Prize audio quiz, safe in the knowledge that you'll more probably be better at it than Greg was.   You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate PriorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In two days time (25 July), the short list for the 2024 Mercury Prize will be announced. On this week's show, Stu and Greg discuss who they think will DEFINITELY be on the list, and who they hope will be.  Greg also spills the beans on what it's like to be on the Mercury Prize judging panel (something he's done 3 times), we ask how relevant the award is in the instant age of TikTok, and throw in some of all-time our favourite past winners.  Come back next week to see just how right we were about our nailed-on nominees.  You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Credits: Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate PriorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods release a 10-year anniversary edition of their breakthrough album Divide & Exit, frontman and lyricist Jason Williamson revisits the album that changed his life, the time he threw the bleakest album release party of all time, and how he finally found success in his 40s on his 7th album.    You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Links to stuff mentioned in the episode:  'Tied Up In Nottz' video Modern Life is Rubbish... still – early Loud And Quiet interview from 2014 Sleaford Mod Loud And Quiet archive  Jason on Episode 65 of the podcast Credits: Interview and editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate Prior  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Look around and you’d be forgiven for feeling the world is completely broken in 2024. War. Division. Crises. How did we get here? That’s the fundamental question Norwegian songwriter AURORA explores on her latest album What Happened To The Heart?. It’s a project that is technicolor in feeling, and in sound. Host Greg Cochrane went to meet her to talk about activism, conflict and why she and the iconic Brian Eno are like “an old married couple”. It’s a deep listen, for sure, but these are deep times – even if you can focus on the glimmers of light.  You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod. Links to stuff mentioned in the episode:  Hear Brian Eno discussing his work with AURORA on episode 127 of Midnight Chats The letter ‘We Are The Earth’ by Sônia Guajajara and Célia Xakriabá Credits: Interview by Greg Cochrane  Editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate Prior Video by Robbie Hamilton See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stuart got the hot ticket. Greg did not. In the field, and from the sofa at home, Midnight Chats does Glastonbury 2024.  Your hosts tackle the biggest talking points from the most famous music festival in the world. Did Dua Lipa fulfill her promise to turn Worthy Farm into a club on her headliner debut? Was SZA's microphone fresh out of batteries? Did Coldplay bring the world together in a moment of communal feeling, or was it a bad acid trip? Did Louis Tomlinson steal a TV from the local Curries? All these essential questions answered, and more. What did you make of this episode. Please let us know and share your thoughts and questions at [email protected] or DM us on Instagram @midnightchatspod.  And for those in the UK (sorry to those elsewhere), here are links to our top performances on BBC iPlayer. You've a month to watch before they disappear.  Sampha IDLESAURORA Little SimzColdplay LCD Soundsystem Dua Lipa Confidence ManPJ Harvey  Everything is bigger and better at Glastonbury, including my unexpected fits of crying Credits: Interview and editing by Stuart Stubbs  Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines Artwork by Kate PriorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.