The XS Noize Podcast

Tony Visconti joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss David Bowie, Marc Bolan, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott, Blackstar, Scary Monsters, Holy Holy and the art of producing timeless records. Best known as one of the most celebrated producers in music history, Tony played on Bowie's early records and went on to produce some of the most important albums of David Bowie's career. He also...

Rosa Walton joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss her debut solo album, Tell Me It's A Dream , out now via Transgressive Records. Best known as one half of Let's Eat Grandma alongside Jenny Hollingworth, Rosa steps into a bold new chapter with her most personal and expansive work to date — a record full of light, colour, open skies, friendship, dreams and emotional honesty. In this...

Belfast rock duo Dea Matrona join Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss their second album, Hate That I Care — a bold, more personal and self-assured new chapter for Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe. Written, recorded and produced entirely by the band, Hate That I Care finds Dea Matrona leaning further into alt-rock while exploring vulnerability, identity, pressure, friendship, self-pro...

Danny McNamara from Embrace joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss the band's new album Avalanche , 30 years of Embrace, and why he feels more inspired now than ever. In this conversation, Danny reflects on the band's landmark debut The Good Will Out , the huge comeback with Out Of Nothing , and why new music — not nostalgia — is still what drives him. Danny also talks about the life...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Irwin Sparkes and Alan Sharland from The Hoosiers to discuss their new album Compassion , the toxicity that inspired it, and how the band found joy, self-belief and purpose again. The band first broke through in 2007 with their debut album The Trick to Life , featuring huge singles including "Worried About Ray" and "Goodbye Mr A." B...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast , Mark Millar is joined by Robert Arkins , best known to millions as Jimmy Rabbitte in Alan Parker's classic 1991 film The Commitments . Robert looks back on life before the film, his musical roots, fronting his own band Housebroken , and how his sister first introduced him to Roddy Doyle's book. He reflects on why he initially saw The Commitments as a possi...

Nerina Pallot joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss 25 years of music, her new career-spanning collection Fire Escape Symphonies: The Best of Nerina Pallot , and the songs, fans and experiences that have shaped her journey. In this episode, Nerina reflects on looking back across her catalogue, the emotional weight of "Everybody's Gone To War," taking an anti-war song onto Top of the...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene to discuss the band's new album, Remember The Humans . Kevin and Charles talk about where the title came from, how a joke about AI ended up capturing the emotional centre of the record, and why Broken Social Scene returned now with their first new studio album in nearly a decade....

Deb Googe and Cara Tivey join Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss The Golden Thread — their debut full-length album together as da Googie + Cara Tivey. da Googie is the solo project of Deb Googe, best known as the bass player in My Bloody Valentine and Thurston Moore Group. Cara Tivey is a pianist and composer whose career includes work with Billy Bragg, Everything But The Girl, Blur, A...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Glen Hansard for a warm, honest and deeply reflective conversation about his new live album, Don+t Settle - (Vol 1 Transmissions East) . Recorded at Berlin's historic Funkhaus with his road-hardened live band, the album brings together songs from Glen's solo career, The Frames and The Swell Season, captured with almost no fixes. Rat...

Miles Hunt joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to reflect on 40 years of The Wonder Stuff — from the band's rise through the late '80s and early '90s to what it means to still be carrying it forward today. With The Wonder Stuff set for a major 40th anniversary UK tour in October 2026, Miles looks back on audience loyalty, writing the early records, the impact of albums including HUP , Never...

Carol Decker joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to talk about T'Pau's return with Be Wonderful — the band's first album of original material since Pleasure and Pain in 2015. In this candid conversation, Carol reflects on the long gap between records, reconnecting creatively with Ronnie Rogers, and what finally brought her back into the right headspace to make new music again. She also looks...

The Boxer Rebellion join Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to talk about The Second I'm Asleep , their first full-length studio album since 2018. In this episode, Nathan Nicholson and Piers Hewitt discuss the six-year gap between records, the reset the band needed, and how the new album came together through a more instinctive, less overthought creative process. They talk about writing quickly,...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Courtney Taylor-Taylor — frontman of The Dandy Warhols — to talk about  Pin Ups and the real story behind the Dig! documentary. Pin Ups brings together a collection of covers spanning the band's journey — but as Courtney explains, it feels less like a traditional covers album and more like a "3D map of the band's DNA," shaped by i...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Roy Stride — frontman, songwriter and driving force behind Scouting For Girls — to talk about the band's uplifting new album These Are The Good Days . The album follows 2023's The Place We Used To Meet , which became the band's highest-charting record in eight years. This time, the focus is on perspective — and finding joy in the...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast , Mark Millar sits down with James Graham and Andy MacFarlane — the creative core of Scottish band The Twilight Sad — to talk about their powerful sixth album It's The Long Goodbye . Written across a seven-year period, the album became the band's most personal and emotionally direct record to date. Much of it was shaped during a difficult chapter in James Gr...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast , Mark Millar sits down with Damon Minchella — founder of Ocean Colour Scene, longtime bass player for Paul Weller, and collaborator with Richard Ashcroft — to talk about his candid and often hilarious memoir You'd Look Good on a Donkey . Across a musical life that has ricocheted between some of the biggest names in music — from Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast , Mark Millar sits down with legendary U2 producer Steve Lillywhite to discuss his work on landmark albums including Boy, War, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can't Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and No Line on the Horizon. Across a career spanning more than four decades, Lillywhite has worked with some of the most influential art...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Zak and Matty from The Dream Machine to talk about Fort Perch Rock — the band's third studio album and a record shaped by instinct, friendship and a deep connection to place. Formed in 2021, the band first emerged with their 2022 debut Thank God! It's The Dream Machine , followed by 2024's James Skelly -produced Small Time Monster...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Dave Pen of Archive to talk about Glass Minds — the band's 13th studio album and a bold new chapter in a 30-year journey defined by reinvention, collaboration and creative risk. Formed in Croydon, South London in 1994, Archive have evolved from trip-hop pioneers into one of Europe's most respected alternative collectives. Glass Mi...

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's third album Howl was a risk — one that nearly broke the band. In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Robert Levon Been to revisit the record that stripped away the noise and reshaped their identity. Originally released in 2005, Howl arrived as an unexpected curveball. The reverb-drenched guitars and white noise that defined the band's earl...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Mark Shaw of Then Jerico to talk about The Return — a moment that reconnects legacy, live energy, and purpose as the band bring their full show to Ireland for the first time. Watch the full XS Noize Podcast conversation below. Then Jerico are currently touring the UK and Europe, with debut full-band Irish headline shows at Belfast...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Kula Shaker frontman Crispian Mills to talk about Wormslayer — a record that captures the band feeling revitalised, confident, and creatively fearless. Watch the full video conversation. Released on 30 January 2026, Wormslayer is Kula Shaker's eighth studio album and sees the original line-up distil their explosive live energy int...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Dani Larkin to talk about Next Of Kin — a deeply emotive record shaped by time, patience, and a renewed sense of creative clarity.  Released on 23 January 2026 , Next Of Kin marks a bold progression in Larkin's sound and vision. Co-produced with Ruth O'Mahony Brady , the album expands her acclaimed storytelling into a cinematic, e...

In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Paul Draper to talk about Mansun Retold — a project shaped by distance, perspective, and the strange experience of meeting your younger self through song. Watch the full video conversation. Releasing on 20 February, Mansun Retold sees Draper revisit and reimagine key songs from the Mansun catalogue, rebuilding them from the ground...