Over/underrated: a music podcast with Fran and Babs

We're back with another Album Showdown Special™! Having previously discussed their two favourite Radiohead albums back in 2021, this time Fran & Babs are discussing their favourite records from another band that originated in the 90s, Placebo. They've picked their five fave songs from each album (Fran - Black Market Music, Babs - Sleeping With Ghosts) and, as ever, try and convince eac...

This week we're tackling one of the UK's most sacred musical cows and a 90s band on a similar wavelength... We knew that one day we'd talk about The Smiths, which we discovered at different times in our lives, likely shaping our differing opinions of them. Fran's playlist aims to best showcase the breadth of their sound (and Johnny Marr's skills).... Underrated pick Gene were discovered by Fran af...

As we're halfway through the decade, we decided to each share our top five albums of the 2020s... We also talk about other great songs from 2025 that didn't make our Best Of shortlist and round up our year in gigs... You can find ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠the ⁠playlist for this episode on Spotify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ - it includes all songs from our playlists, plus bonus ones from other artists we've discussed during t...

Part II of our favourite songs of the year! In this episode, Fran & Babs discuss what they think is the best song to listen to live, fave song in a genre you don't normally like, best solo song, best new act discovered this year and fave song from outside of Europe. Surprisingly, songs by two previous Taskmaster contestants made the shortlist, plus there are some unexpected hip-hop and emo...

For the sixth time, we're picking our favourite songs of the year! In this episode, Fran & Babs discuss what they think is the best collaboration, best song from a group, best non-English song, best sync track and the best rock song. There are more French songs in there than you would imagine - and find out which of Fran's picks Babs is DYING to try at karaoke. Listen to our Best of 2024 , ⁠⁠B...

We're back in North America discussing two Canadian music pioneers... These days, Grimes is unfortunately better known by her, er, associations than her music, so we tried to put her personal history aside - as best we could - and focus on her wide-ranging back catalogue. As often happens, we also talk about the complexities of separating the art from the artist... And Babs chose Peaches as an und...

Joined by podcaster and YouTuber Joe from the Tastes Like Music channel , we're in Blighty discussing two modern rock bands... The 1975 are one of the few recent British indie bands who have broken through in the USA - and many other countries besides, with NME coining the term "Healywave" to describe the scope of their influence. But what do we think about their music - and does lea...

We are tackling a behemoth today! We've wanted to talk about Taylor Swift for a long time, so we collaborated on a playlist that broadly covers all of her eras...will we think she's a Mastermind or more of an Anti-Hero? For today's underrated pick, Fran chose South African artist Baby Queen. Her songs have been featured on the TV show Heartstopper and her music is somewhat adjacent to...

Joined by chap-hop pioneer Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer , we have a wide-ranging chat about his latest album B-Curious, what it was like for him supporting Sparks on tour, the realities of the UK live music scene and what five songs he thinks are underrated and worth sharing with a wider audience... Mr. B will be at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival - check out his show B-Curious, which will...

We're discussing two North American behemoths this month! "In 1988, the Pixies sounded like no other band. By 1991, every band sounded like the Pixies" - the Boston band's influence is undeniable, especially from the four albums they made in this time period. But how does the rest of their back catalogue sound - and are they nevertheless overhyped? And while Sonic Youth is anothe...

Joined once again by Helen Sadler from the ⁠Flixwatcher podcast⁠ , we're being nostalgic about the 90's and assessing more recent British rock... Pulp are a quintessential Britpop band - with an arguably unique frontman spouting witty lyrics...but how do we feel about their smash hits - as well as the lesser-known songs from their back catalogue? And this month, Fran introduces us to a ban...

We're back in the Southern hemisphere for the fourth time on this podcast (and apologise again for any attempts at an Aussie accent...)! Tame Impala, a.k.a. the brainchild of Kevin Parker, is currently in the top 200 most-listened to artists worldwide on Spotify - but will we think his particular flavour of psychedelic-electro-pop is original or bland? And Babs has been wanting to talk about B...

We are back in Alba for the first episode of our latest season, which will continue to be released monthly! Fran has been a Simple Minds fan for a while - the band has 19 albums to their name, but Fran knows most people only know a few of their hits. He hopes his ten-track playlist introduces Babs and our listeners to lesser-known Simple Minds gems... Once touted as the 'next Coldplay', Id...

Joined for the second time by podcaster Matt Latham - whose output includes the Pick A Disc podcast - we are back in the biggest of apples to discuss two quite different bands... KISS have nailed the marketing of their band probably better than any other group - but what do we think about their music, especially as most people in Europe only know a few of their hits? And Matt picked Brooklyn-based...

As has become tradition, we have each picked our ten favourite tunes of the year! Like in 2023 & 2022, we have picked songs according to pre-determined categories - however as we spoke quite a lot during this episode, we've divided it into two parts - you can already listen to Part I here . In Part II, we discuss the best rock song, favourite collaboration, best song from outside of Europe, be...

As has become tradition, we have each picked our ten favourite tunes of the year! Like in 2023 & 2022, we have picked songs according to pre-determined categories - however as we spoke quite a lot during this episode, we've divided it into two parts (the next one will be out on New Year's Day)... In Part I, we discuss the best song by a group, favourite track in a genre we don't normally like,...

Joined by comedian and podcaster Sam Lake , we're talking about one of the most successful British contemporary popstars (and where Sam listens to her songs while he's at the gym), and one of the girl bands we're most fond of (as well as which snack Sam associates with each of their songs). Dua Lipa is a mega pop star - she has the two most streamed albums by a female artist of all time on Spotify...

It's been a while since we did a hip-hop episode and today we've picked two quite different acts to discuss in this episode! Eminem is one of the world's most successful rappers, who definitely helped popularise hip-hop among white audiences - however, he has always courted controversy with his deliberately caustic lyrics...Fran has toured his discography to make a ten-track playlist and we both d...

We're back in the world of pop, having previously discussed Billie Eilish and Charli xcx last season (and Charli xcx's BRAT in this season too )! The two playlists for this episode were created by Pop Underrated, whose Linktree you should check out . P!nk is currently ranked as Spotify's 100th most-popular artist in the world - she has gone through many musical phases and is more outspoken than th...

Why hello there people who snag their tights on lawn chairs, mean girls and those who think everything is romantic - don't worry if you don't understand what this means, join us anyway for a special episode where we discuss Charli xcx's latest album BRAT in depth - the songs and the cultural impact it is currently having this summer... We'd previously discussed Charli xcx (and Bill...

We're back to the noughties, discussing two British indie acts who have more than a flavour of electro in their tunes... Babs never really got into Foals after their first record, so she asked Fran to make a wide-ranging playlist - how will they rate the Oxford band's career? And Babs is delighted to finally delve deep into Tom Vek's back catalogue - so much so that her playlist includ...

We're travelling to one of our favourite eras, joined by special guest George Pringle - a music producer, artist & gallery owner. George made both playlists for this week's episode, and we start with a discussion about Eurythmics. Their influence in synth pop is undeniable - as was Annie Lennox's look, attitude and progressive politics - but is the hype justified? Fran & Babs h...

Welcome back to Season 8! Delighted our lockdown project continues, thanks so much for listening. We're back in the noughties, and our overrated pick is a hugely popular rock band that neither of us are particularly keen on, especially since their first album...nevertheless, Babs made a wide-ranging playlist of Arctic Monkeys songs so her and Fran could re-assess whether there's more gold in their...

The final episode of the season is our annual special where we each pick our favourite songs of the year! Like in 2022, we have picked songs according to pre-determined categories: favourite song by a solo act, best song by a group, favourite track in a genre we don't normally like, favourite song not in English, best collaboration, best sync song, favourite song we'd like to hear live, be...

Fran & Babs listened to (almost) the entirety of Björk's discography - having only previously dipped in and out of her music - and collaborated on a ten-track playlist spanning the decades to properly deliberate on her music and legacy... Natasha Khan a.k.a Bat for Lashes is this week's underrated artist - Fran thinks she has many good songs beyond her hits, while until now, Babs was m...