This week on Beers & B-Sides, we're cracking open a few beers and getting stuck into one of the biggest albums of the late '90s — Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication.

But there's a problem… one of us had NEVER heard the album before this episode. 😳 The other three thought that was absolutely mental, especially considering how highly they rate this record!

As always, we kick things off with Home Brewed, our segment shining a light on an emerging artist or band from the North East of England. This week we're featuring The Avelons and their recently released single “Alice (On The Comeback)”.

Then it's time for Californication. We look back at 1999, exploring what was happening in the world of music and beyond when the album was released, before getting into the story of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, how they formed and their journey into music.

We'll be discussing the album's singles, our favourite tracks, weaker songs, our overlooked track, and whether Californication lives up to its huge reputation.

And, of course, we finish with our Last Orders Verdict — would we actually buy the album?

Expect plenty of laughs, friendly arguments, questionable opinions and the usual Beers & B-Sides banter between four friends having a few beers and talking about records.

🍺 Four friends. A few beers. One album. Plenty of opinions.

🎸 Home Brewed: The Avelons – Alice (On The Comeback)
💿 Album: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
🍻 Last Orders Verdict: Would you buy it?

This week on Beers & B-Sides, we’re cracking open a few beers and diving into one of the most iconic albums of the electronic music era: Depeche Mode’s 1990 classic, Violator.

But there’s a problem… we don’t all agree on it. 👀

Is Violator genuinely a masterpiece, or has its legendary status gone a little too far? With some of us absolutely loving the album and others struggling to see what all the fuss is about, this one gets VERY interesting.

Before we get stuck into the album, we kick things off with Home Brewed, our regular feature shining a light on emerging artists and bands from North East England. This week we're introducing Adam Henderson, who has recently released his new single Runaway.

Then it’s time for Depeche Mode as we take a proper trip back to 1990, looking at what was happening in music and beyond when Violator was released. We get into the story of Depeche Mode, how the band formed and found their sound, the album’s biggest singles, our favourite tracks, the weaker moments, the songs we think deserve more love, and our overall thoughts on one of the most influential albums of its generation.

And, as always, we finish with the Last Orders Verdict — would we actually buy Violator on vinyl?

Expect plenty of beer, laughs, disagreements, questionable opinions and friendly arguments between four mates who definitely don't always agree on music.

🎵 This week's album: Depeche Mode – Violator
🍺 Home Brewed: Adam Henderson – Runaway
📍 From: North East England
💿 Album: Violator (1990)

Who's right about Violator — the lovers or the haters?

Pour yourself a pint, stick the episode on and let us know what you think. 🍻

#BeersAndBSides #DepecheMode #Violator #MusicPodcast #NorthEastMusic

This week on Beers & B-Sides, we're diving into Arctic Monkeys' AM — the 2013 album that saw Alex Turner and the Sheffield four-piece take their sound from indie rock favourites to one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

Released in September 2013, AM delivered some of Arctic Monkeys' most iconic songs, including Do I Wanna Know?, R U Mine?, Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?, Arabella and I Wanna Be Yours. But is AM really the masterpiece it's often claimed to be?

We get stuck into the Arctic Monkeys AM album, discussing the story behind the record, its evolution from the band's earlier albums, the singles, the vinyl pressing, standout tracks, underrated songs, weaker moments and the all-important question — which side of the vinyl comes out on top?

We'll also be talking about the atmosphere, production and Alex Turner's songwriting, and why AM became such a defining album of the 2010s.

🍻 HOME BREWED

As always, we shine a spotlight on fresh North East music, introducing you to an emerging artist you need to have on your radar.

💿 LAST ORDERS VERDICT

After giving AM the full Beers & B-Sides treatment, would we actually spend our money on the Arctic Monkeys record and add it to our own vinyl collections?

Arctic Monkeys. AM. Vinyl. Four mates. Plenty of opinions.

This is Beers & B-Sides — a podcast about music, vinyl records, album reviews, indie rock, alternative music and the artists we can't stop listening to.

🎵 Album: Arctic Monkeys – AM
📅 Released: 2013
🎸 Artist: Arctic Monkeys
💿 Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative Rock
🍺 Podcast: Beers & B-Sides

This week on Beers & B-Sides, we’re diving into There Goes the Neighbourhood by Kid Kapichi — the explosive Brighton band bringing together punk, indie rock, alternative rock and politically charged British songwriting.

We get stuck into the album from start to finish, discussing the biggest songs, hidden gems, favourite tracks, weaker moments, the story behind the record and how it sounds on vinyl. As always, we’ll be asking the big question: does There Goes the Neighbourhood earn a place in our record collections?

And it wouldn’t be a Beers & B-Sides episode without our Home Brewed segment, where we shine a light on exciting emerging music from the North East. This week, we’re introducing Charlie Floyd, a talented North East singer-songwriter who recently released his latest single, Three.

Expect plenty of vinyl chat, album reviews, UK indie and rock music, emerging artists, North East music, music history and four mates arguing about records.

🎸 Album: Kid Kapichi – There Goes the Neighbourhood
🏠 Home Brewed: Charlie Floyd – Three
💿 Topics: Kid Kapichi, UK rock, punk, indie rock, alternative music, vinyl records, album review, North East music & emerging artists.

If you love discovering new music, revisiting great albums and talking absolute rubbish about records with your mates, you're in the right place.

This is Beers & B-Sides.

This week on Beers & B-Sides, we’re cracking open a few beers and getting stuck into one of the most iconic and influential albums of all time — Blondie’s Parallel Lines. 🍻🎶

But there’s a problem… one of us had only ever heard one or two songs from the album before this episode. 😳 So does Parallel Lines really live up to its legendary reputation?

We kick things off with our Home Brewed segment, where we shine a light on an emerging artist from our home region of North East England. This week we’re featuring Michael Gallagher, who has recently released his new EP Soul Food— and, because this is Beers & B-Sides, we get stuck into it on vinyl. 🎸💿

Then it’s time for Blondie.

We take a trip back to 1978, looking at what was happening in the world when Parallel Lines was released, before getting into Blondie’s formation, their journey into music and how they became one of the defining bands of their era.

We dive into the album’s biggest singles, our favourite tracks, weaker songs, overlooked gems, and whether the record deserves its legendary status.

And, as always, we finish with our Last Orders Verdict — would we actually spend our hard-earned money on Parallel Lines and add it to our own vinyl collections?

Expect plenty of beer, laughs, disagreements, questionable opinions and friendly football-manager-style arguments between four mates who probably take music far too seriously. 🍻😂

Is Parallel Lines genuinely one of the greatest albums ever made — or is its reputation doing some of the heavy lifting?

🎙️ Beers & B-Sides — four friends, a few beers, and a different record every week.

🎧 Listen now and let us know: what’s YOUR favourite song on Parallel Lines?

#Blondie #ParallelLines #BeersAndBSides

Four long-standing Liam Gallagher fans, one pint-filled table, and an album that saw Liam step outside his usual comfort zone.

This week on Beers & B-Sides, we crack open Liam Gallagher’s 2022 solo album C’MON YOU KNOW and give it the full B-Sides treatment. From the big singles and fan favourites to the weaker tracks and overlooked gems, we dig into what makes this album tick and ask whether it stands up as one of Liam’s best solo records.

Before we get stuck into the album, it’s time for Home Brewed — our weekly showcase of the best emerging music coming out of the North East of England. This week we’re featuring Provenance, who have recently released their new single ‘Only When You Mean It’.

Then it’s straight into Liam Gallagher. We take a trip back to 2022, looking at the biggest events surrounding the album’s release, Liam’s journey from Oasis to his solo career, how he found his way into music, the singles that came from C’MON YOU KNOW, our favourite songs, weaker moments, overlooked tracks and, of course, our overall verdict.

As four long-standing Liam Gallagher fans, C’MON YOU KNOW received a pretty warm welcome around the Beers & B-Sides table — but we also discuss just how adventurous the album was by Liam’s standards and whether that experimentation actually paid off.

Expect plenty of laughs, friendly arguments, questionable opinions and the usual beer-fuelled banter between four mates who really should know better.

🍺 Home Brewed: Provenance – Only When You Mean It
🎸 Album: Liam Gallagher – C’MON YOU KNOW
🍻 Last Orders Verdict: Would we buy it on vinyl?

Pour yourself a pint, put the record on and join us for another round of Beers & B-Sides.

Can one of the biggest pop albums of all time turn three Taylor Swift sceptics into Swifties?

This week on Beers & B-Sides, we're putting Taylor Swift's reputation to the ultimate test. One of us is a lifelong Taylor Swift fan, while the other three... not so much. So, can reputation change their minds, or will they leave the pub unconvinced?

Before we dive into the album, it's time for our Home Brewed segment, where we champion the best new music coming out of North East England. This week we're featuring Marketplace and their fantastic new single, "Jennifer Said." If you're looking for your next favourite band, don't skip this part!

Then it's onto reputation. We discuss the world in 2017 and the events surrounding the album's release, Taylor Swift's rise to global superstardom, the inspiration behind the record, its singles, standout tracks, overlooked gems, weaker moments, and whether the album deserves the reputation it has today.

Finally, it's time for our Last Orders Verdict, where each of us decides whether reputation has earned a place in our vinyl collection.

Will the Swiftie win everyone over? Or will the non-believers stay exactly that?

Grab a pint and join us for another episode packed with honest opinions, music chat, plenty of laughs, and the kind of friendly pub banter that only Beers & B-Sides can deliver.

🍺 In this episode:

• Home Brewed: Marketplace – Jennifer Said
• Taylor Swift's reputation album review
• Can three non-Swifties be converted?
• Favourite, weaker and overlooked songs
• Singles, album facts and music trivia
• Last Orders Verdict
• Plenty of laughs and pub banter

What makes a good music opinion... and what deserves a lifetime ban from the aux?

This week we're doing something completely different. Instead of meeting in our usual pub, the four of us jump on a video call for a special episode of Beers & B-Sides to react to some of the most controversial music opinions we've ever received.

We asked our followers across social media to send us their hottest takes, unpopular opinions and most outrageous music debates—and you definitely didn't disappoint. From legendary bands and overrated artists to classic albums, guilty pleasures and everything in between, nothing is off limits.

Along the way we also reveal some of our own controversial opinions that might divide listeners even more...

Agree? Disagree? Furious? We want to hear your thoughts. Let us know your hottest music take and we'll feature some of the best ones in a future episode.

If you enjoy the episode, please follow the podcast, leave a rating and share it with another music fan. Every bit of support helps us grow.

🍻 Beers & B-Sides is the podcast where four friends get together each week to chat all things music, vinyl records, albums, gigs and the artists we love.