W/e 05/12/25 - Andy Bell, CMAT, Nodega, Turnstile, Eminem

Our penultimate week of the year sees 2 new classmates join - welcome once again to Phil C, and long term listener/first time scorer, Carlo 🎉.

CMAT is our winner this week landing just inside our top 30 of the year, and takes the TOTW.

NOGEDA’s offering is sandwiched in the middle of the 2 BODEGA’s we’ve reviewed.

Paul has just his 2nd 😄 for the highest set of scores this week.

Phil C starts his adventure with the ☹️ (as Phil J will recall , this is not uncommon in the early days).

Eminem was a tough listen for some and he sits with Echo and the Bunnymen and Elvis Costello on the classics.

Guy

Andy Bell – Shoegazey as you’d expect with more than a hint of The Stone Roses in places. Apple Green UFO is almost a straight rip off. But it’s excellent nonetheless and the album is a very decent listen – 7.5

CMAT – An Irish Florence but better. The voice is really strong, the lyrics are Kate Nash / Lily Allen-esque – observational with a hint of humour. Tunes are infused with a bit of C&W but I won’t hold that against her. Some cracking tunes – such as EURO-COUNTRY and of course my TOTW – 7.9

Nodega – I do like this lot. Raw and full of energy with a classic NYC sound (Ramones / Strokes influences) but they do it in their own way – 7.7

Turnstile – What a melange of sounds. There’s heavy rock, screech, boy band, indie and The Police! I didn’t dislike this, but it doesn’t seem to have an identity of its own with all the influences. I’m going with the same score as the last album on that basis – 6.8

TOTW – The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station - CMAT

Eminem – It’s far too long and full of gay slurs but there are a few excellent tunes too and he’s got a very ownable rap style. – 7.5

Andy

Andy Bell - I went back to what I told Si about this album when it came out “I enjoyed it, it’s what you’d expect plus a cover of “I’m in love with a German film star” by The Passions” which I stand by 7

CMAT - This was nice enough but never really grabbed me, as much as I appreciated the country tinge. Give me Chappell Roan any day 6.5

Nodega - I couldn’t remember what I thought of Bodega, which never bodes well so I looked at previous reviews and saw they were NY art punks, well this offshoot really extends that as they pay tribute to the Ramones and its great fun. Too short though 7.5

Turnstile - Top 5 (maybe 3? We’ll see) of the year for me. Hardcore aficionados bitched at the time that it was a bit soft but there’s some power in here even with the more poppy stuff. Biggest regret of 2025 is not going to their live shows which were transcendent by all accounts. Get ‘em booked Melvin 9

TotW - Sunshower by Turnstile

Eminem - Cracking beats and excellent rhymes. Em really set a mark here and it even includes genuine hits. The domestic abuse stuff has aged very badly but it’s still a very listenable album 8.5

Phil J

Andy Bell 7.5

A bit shoegazey, a bit ambient, a bit droney, a couple of electro tracks; in other words, something for everyone. Very listenable too, especially Apple green UFO, which definitely shares its DNA with Fool’s gold.

CMAT 7.5

Very enjoyable mainstream pop. Some witty lyrics too and I liked the concept of Janis Joplining.

Nodega 7

Bodega’s punk side project, apparently. Enjoyable if unoriginal, but at least the words are more thoughtful than you tend to get with punk.

Turnstile 6.25

When metal turns to pop, eh? I don’t know Turnstile’s history and, just for once, I haven’t looked it up in Wikipedia. They sound like a metal band that wants to diversify. A lot of this is pop, quite a bit of it involves shredding, and those are the tracks I prefer. Oddly, a few tracks start as pop or metal and then drift into ambient soundscapes. Clearly, they’re popular so their fans evidently like what they’re doing. I remain baffled.

TOTW – CMAT – Janis Joplining

Classic

Eminem 7

In lots of ways this is a brilliant album. Eminem has always had a unique rap style and he shows it on The real Slim Shady, Kill you and especially the chilling Stan. But the homophobia and, in particular the misogyny, are hard to stomach He may have apologised for it since but I can’t excuse a song like Kim.

Sam

Andy Bell : an odd mix tho I liked the cover . My sister played that song relentlessly in the 80’s . 6.5

CMAT : lovely Irish country and western! Definitely a step above most other pop singers . 7.1

Nodega: right up my street , short and punky . 8.1

Turnstile: some people think they are poised to rule the world . So that’s why they have tried so many genres on this album . Parts were great , even when he went full Sting . Bit patchy tho . 7.2

Eminem : no one can rap like him . I listened to this album loads (25 years ago !!!) he says some hateful things which is a real shame , but his flow is unbeatable. 9

TOTW : Comatose Chameleon by Nodega

Simon

Andy Bell: have listened to this a lot and it's one of my favourite albums of the year - it's a series of pleasing and perfectly crafted sonic excursions into krautrock, shoegaze and ambient amongst others; rather appropriately on Sonic Cathedrals records and has Michael Rother from Neu! on board. Marvellous. 8.5

CMAT: I can see why it's getting plaudits but I couldn't get that excited by this - The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station is a banger but less keen on the country influenced tracks. 6.5

Nodega: very enjoyable, has the same effervescent thrill as their Bodega output - shame it isn't longer but sometimes these things work best in small doses. 7.5

Turnstile: a confident and ambitious album - I can see why people like it although it's not really my thing. 6.5

Eminem: didn't think much of Eminem when this first came out and my view certainly hasn't improved since - very little (if anything) to enjoy here, and some of it is just unpleasant. 3

TotW: Andy Bell - Panic Attack

Jim

Andy Bell 7.5

For transparency I thought this was gonna be the Erasure version. It’s mostly a treat with a few (fools) golden tracks. Panic Attack the stand out.

CMAT 7.5

Wondered what all the fuss was about , and I can see it now, in the first half at least that had a few gems . Tails off a little

NODEGA 8

Relentless high NRG rock. Loved it . And the duration . Comatose Chameleon my fav as well Sam

Turnstile 6.5

Heavy rock with normal singing , simples . Not sure they needed to go JJ on a couple of tracks, it was rollicking along quite nicely without .

TOTW: CMAT - When A Good Man Cries

Eminem 7

Handful of absolute bangers, some wit and his skills are unquestionable, but way too much homophobia and other shite to make it a really pleasant listen

Phil C

Andy Bell. Pretty bland. Have forgotten the entire thing already. 4.5

Cmat: Enjoyed this. Good bit of country pop. 7

Nodega: 6.5

Turnstile: A bit all over the place, but interesting for it. 7

Eminem: 3

Erol

Andy Bell - dull, plodding shoe-gazy electronica that left me rather bored by the end. 5

CMAT – how did we miss this in the summer? An uplifting range of pop infused with country that has undertones of Florence, Sigrid and Amy Winehouse throughout. This put a smile on my face. 7.8

Nodega - a more than decent slab of edgy NY punk rock. 7

Turnstile - a real muddled mix of sounds that left me feeling unsure about the whole experience. The rock tracks are the best and thankfully for once, there’s no devil screeching. 7

TOTW - When a Good Man Cries, CMAT.

Eminem - the hits are still strong and his rapping is so distinctive and fluent. It’s a shame that many of the lyrics/voice overs are so obscene and utterly inappropriate in this modern age. 7

Paul

Andy Bell (8.5)

Almost got my Andy Bell’s confused before listening to this one. But a lovely woozy album to get lost in. Really liked the gentle jazz drumming and didn’t mind the flute solo. A very nice listen!

CMAT (7.5)

Nice bit of pop, a good songwriter and more interesting than most you can see why she’s building a high profile.

Nodega (7.75)

Fast and fun punk, just sadly a bit too short

Turnstile (6.5)

Interesting combo of heavy tunes and light voice. Not what I was expecting but not bad overall.

Eminem (7)

Clearly one of the best out there but was v long and I lost a bit of interest towards the end. Does feel a bit dated with some of the themes but the hits are proper bangers especially The Real Slim Shady.

TOTW - Andy Bell - apple green ufo

Mark

Andy Bell - experimental sounds, with some of it sounding a little half baked, mind you he did well to put this out while also doing the Oasis reunion tour. Apple Green UFO is pure Fools Gold isn't it - 7

CMAT - Irish Euro C&W, whatever next. One of the big albums of the year and I can see why, just chock full of great pop, liked this a lot - 7.5

Nodega - Obviously Ramonesy, which I love, but I actually prefer Bodega - 7

Turnstile - definitely towards the more inventive, tuneful, and palatable end of the scale for this kind of thing, and all the more enjoyable for it. Can see them getting pretty big and, pre the advent of "Reading 2.0" would even have tipped them for a festival headlining slot - 6.5

TOTW - When A Good Man Cries, by CMAT

Annette

Andy Bell: 7.5

CMAT: 7

Nodega: 7.5

Turnstile: 7

TOTW: Running/planning by CMAT

Classic: Eminem - 6

Justin

Andy Bell - like hearing slightly muffled Stone Roses tunes.7.2

CMAT - the tunes are all quite catchy and bouncy particularly the first half. I suspect it would irritate me after a while. 6.9

Nodega - nice quick grungy blast 6.8

Turnstile - this seemed a bit all over the place and was a tough listen. 5.5

TOTW Andy Bell - Pinball Wanderer

Eminem - hits are great but some of the other tunes are a bit dull. 6.5

Adam

Andy Bell

Interesting mix of uptempo beats. Slightly dated sounds coming through in places. 6

CMAT

A lot of hype this year around CMAT. Good fun bit of punchy pop 7

Nodega

Cool punk sound. Excellent guitars throughout. 7

Turnstile

Some light, some heavy. Liked the range. 7

TOTW: I CARE - Turnstile

Classic

Stan the real star of the show on this album with The Real Slim Shady a good second. Remember the hype and moral outrage at the time. We don’t do compilations in this group but Curtain Call a top album. 6

Matt

Andy Bell - 7.7

CMAT - 8.1

Nodega - 6.6

Turnstile - 7.1

TOTW - The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station, CMAT

Classic - 8.5

Carlo

Andy Bell: 7.5

Enjoyed this. Incidentally, very productive to work to. Am I allowed to say Stone Roses?! Apologies to the purists – though I imagine plenty of you would enjoy it.

CMAT: 8

A few of the tunes really hit the spot for me. I’ll need a few more listens to figure out how I actually feel about the whole album.

Nodega: 5.5

Far too heavy for my delicate ears. That said, it’s musically very tight, and I like the mix of male and female vocals.

Turnstile: 6.5

I was quite excited, the first track had great synths and easy vocals… then what happened? I genuinely thought Spotify had gone on shuffle. A real mixed bag.

Eminem: 9

I usually focus on the music rather than the lyrics, but you can’t help getting pulled in. Far too crude… but he does it so well.

TOTW: CMAT Euro-Country (First Aid Kit feel)