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The Allender Calendar

Robin Allender

A monthly podcast in which Robin Allender talks to writers, musicians and performers about their work and inspirations.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 23 episodes
  • monthly
  • Avg 1 hr 6 min
  • English

Episodes 23

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  • S1 · E26
    Friday · 1 hr 1 min

    Episode 26: Jake Crawford (unpeople)

    This month I'm talking to Jake Crawford, singer and guitarist with the fantastic alternative metal band unpeople. unpeople's debut album, we are unpeople, is released today (9 October 2026), so please check it out! It's a brilliantly varied record; alongside influences from Deftones and Sikth, you can hear echoes of XTC, Cardiacs and Everything Everything. They're such an exciting and interesting band – brilliant musicianship, big pop hooks, proggy twists and turns, and heavy, heavy riffs. Jake was an absolute delight to talk to: passionate, knowledgeable and very funny. We talk about how the band came together and go through the album song by song. Hope you enjoy! Find out more here: https://www.weareunpeople.com And if you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Thanks so much for listening to the podcast so far! I'm taking a little break now, but will be back in December for a Christmas special, and then a new series next year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E25
    September 17 · 1 hr

    Episode 25: Anwen Crawford

    This month on The Allender Calendar I'm talking to the writer and visual artist Anwen Crawford. I met Anwen when she guested on The Clientele Podcast a few years ago and we stayed in touch. Anwen has such a precise and vivid way of writing, mixing personal biography with critical analysis. Her latest book, Morvern Callar, published by Fireflies Press, is about the 2002 film Morvern Callar, Lynne Ramsay's second feature film, which stars Samantha Morton. The film is based on the 1995 novel Morvern Callar by Alan Warner. These doublings/triplings (note Morton/Morvern!) are perhaps appropriate for a film that, as Anwen notes, contains 'eerie, impeded doublings – Morvern and the viewer, Morvern and the boyfriend, Morvern and herself'. The plot of Morvern Callar is decidedly gruesome, and yet the film is strangely hypnotic, moving, and darkly funny; a cinematic style that Anwen calls 'lyric realism'. We talk about how Anwen came to write the book, the differences between the film and the novel, and Samantha Morton's mesmeric performance as the title character. Content note: the plot of Morvern Callar hinges on a suicide, and we discuss that in this episode. You can buy the book from the Fireflies Press website here: https://firefliespress.com/Morvern-Callar Anwen's website: https://demandspopular.net/ If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E24
    August 17 · 1 hr 7 min

    Episode 24: Simon Reynolds

    This month on The Allender Calendar I'm delighted to be joined by the music journalist Simon Reynolds to discuss his new book Still in a Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984–1994. Simon has previously written about music's obsession with the past (Retromania) and the future (Futuromania), as well as publishing acclaimed volumes on post-punk (the essential Rip it Up), glam rock and rave. Still in a Dream is different from Simon's other books in some ways because it's less about a specific genre or musical impulse, and more about a particular moment in musical history, when bands sought to reimagine guitar music and challenge and intoxicate listeners with ravishing sounds and pure noise, offering an escape from grim reality into a narcotic dream. And Simon, as a writer for Melody Maker, was there on the frontline, in a team of young journalists working symbiotically with the artists they put on the cover. You can get hold of Still in a Dream here: https://store.whiterabbitbooks.co.uk/products/still-in-a-dream Simon's blog: https://blissout.blogspot.com/ If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E23
    July 16 · 1 hr 7 min

    Episode 23 (Part 2): Cass McCombs's Wit's End with William Doyle

    In part two of my interview with William Doyle about Cass McCombs's Wit's End, we go through the album song-by-song. We even get the guitars out to play along. If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E23
    July 16 · 49 min

    Episode 23 (Part 1): Cass McCombs's Wit's End with William Doyle

    This month on The Allender Calendar, it's a two-part special as I (Robin Allender) talk to the musician William Doyle about Cass McCombs's beautifully morbid 2011 album, Wit's End. In the first part, we discuss Cass's extraordinary lyrics, what makes him such a unique (and underrated) songwrite, and where we were when we first heard the album. Interview with Cass McCombs from around the time of Wit's End: https://www.thefader.com/2011/12/05/cass-mccombs-scorpio-rising Also in The Fader, this is my favourite interview with Cass from 2022: https://www.thefader.com/2022/08/17/cass-mccombs-heartmind-interview-new-album-2022 Never Ending Stories podcast interview with Cass McCombs: https://shows.acast.com/never-ending-stories-pod/episodes/nes-068-the-cass-mccombs-interview We briefly mention Cass's song Bradley Manning which was recorded before Chelsea Manning transitioned. William Doyle's Bandcamp page: https://williamdoyle.bandcamp.com/ If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E22
    June 16 · 1 hr 2 min

    Episode 22: Guillermo Stitch's The Coast of Everything with David Collard

    Happy Bloomsday! This month I'm delighted to welcome back writer and top-tier Joycean David Collard to celebrate the publication (on 16 June, no less) of Guillermo Stitch's dazzling new novel The Coast of Everything. Guillermo Stitch's Substack: https://guillermostitch.substack.com/ Support the podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E21
    May 8 · 1 hr 22 min

    Episode 21: John Robins

    This month on The Allender Calendar I’m talking to comedian, broadcaster, and very good friend John Robins about his book Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life. It's a beautifully written account of alcoholism and recovery – candid, profound and very funny. I’m positive it will help a lot of people. I’m extremely proud of John for writing this book, and for getting to the place he’s at now. It was great to talk to him about the writing process, and about addiction, spirituality and much more. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation! You can get hold of a copy of Thirst here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/465247/thirst-by-robins-john/9780241740040 And, if you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E20
    April 20 · 1 hr 9 min

    Episode 20: Simon Love

    This month on the pod I'm joined by London-based Cardiff-born musician Simon Love! Simon is a superb songwriter with excellent pop smarts, an innate feeling for hooks, and a gift for Ray Davies-esque scene-setting. His lyrics are often very funny (in particular the bridge-burning bitterness of 'Green Man Blues'), but there's a noticeable air of melancholy to his new album The One True Prince of Wales (in exile after abdication), which contains songs about grief, nostalgia, exile and childhood. Simon's album was released on 3 April by Hurrah Musica, and you can buy it here (it's also on the streamers): https://hurrahmusica.bandcamp.com/album/the-one-true-prince-of-wales And you can find out more about Simon's previous records here: http://simonlove.org/ Follow Simon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonloverules/ If you want to support the pod, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E19
    March 16 · 1 hr 4 min

    Episode 19: Julia Jacklin's Crushing with Celya AB

    This month on The Allender Calendar I'm talking to the fantastic stand-up comedian Celya AB about Crushing, the 2019 album by Julia Jacklin. We had a great chat about music in general, and vulnerability in performance, specifically relating to Celya's last show Of All People. Through the course of our conversation we ask the big questions like: Are people adicted to vulnerability cigarettes? Should we move Christmas? And what's the best brown noise playlist to listen to on a plane? Celya is taking her new show We Must Stop Meeting Like This on tour around the UK later this year. Dates are on her website: https://www.celya-ab.com/ 'Body' by Julia Jacklin: https://youtu.be/ktvJ2PiBgtQ?si=oZI51zwoF-c721M8 I play an Allender Band tune at the end of the show which you can stream/download here: https://robinallender.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-grip-of-light If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E18
    February 16 · 1 hr 1 min

    Episode 18: Wendy Erskine

    This month on The Allender Calendar I chat to the Northern Irish writer Wendy Erskine about her 2025 novel The Benefactors. The novel's central incident is the sexual assault of a teenage girl, Misty, at a party. The novel follows Misty, the boys involved in the assault, and their families – and also expands out to include countless other voices, some of whom are linked to the story and some who aren't. This polyphonic approach both deepens our understanding of the central characters and captures how gossip spreads through the community. The Benefactors is Wendy's first novel. She has previously published two outstanding collections of short stories: Sweet Home (2018) and Dance Move (2022). Wendy also guested on Your Own Personal Beatles back in 2021: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/wendy-erskines-personal-beatles/id1523996711?i=1000542363739 If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E17
    January 16 · 1 hr 10 min

    Episode 17: Ben Pester

    This month on The Allender Calendar, I'm chatting to the author Ben Pester about his debut novel The Expansion Project. Part corporate satire, part Lynchian dreamscape, The Expansion Project explores loss, parenthood, grief, and the ways in which identity and meaning are being distorted as technology takes over our lives. It's also very funny! We talked about balancing creativity with a day job, finding joy and humour in office work, and some key influences (including Gormenghast and The Unconsoled). You can buy The Expansion Project here: https://granta.com/products/the-expansion-project/ And Ben's fantastic collection of short stories Am I in the Right Place? is available here: https://www.boilerhouse.press/product-page/am-i-in-the-right-place-by-ben-pester If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Interview in The London Magazine: https://thelondonmagazine.org/interview-the-expansion-project-an-interview-with-ben-pester/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E16
    Dec 18, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min

    Episode 16: Pierre Novellie

    This month on The Allender Calendar I'm joined by the comedian Pierre Novellie to discuss his 2024 book Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian's Guide to Autism. It's a brilliant, and very funny, book which taught me so much about the condition. We discuss the misunderstandings and misconceptions surrounding autism, as well as Pierre's own experience of his diagnosis (following a heckle at a stand-up gig), and how it helped him to make sense of the way he experiences and interacts with the world. Find out more about Pierre here: https://www.pierrenovellie.com/ And you can follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pierrenovellie And Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pierrenovellie.bsky.social And you can listen to Pierre's interview with John Robins on the How Do You Cope? podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pierre-novellie-i-wasnt-able-to-get-what-i-wanted-out/id1793829037?i=1000711833374 If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E15
    Nov 17, 2025 · 1 hr

    Episode 15: Emily Breeze

    This month on The Allender Calendar, I speak to the fabulous Bristol-based musician Emily Breeze, whose lipstick-smeared and glitter-drenched album Rats in Paradise is one of my favourites of the year. And Emily very kindly gave me permission to include snippets from the album in the episode! We talk about the songwriting process, Emily's day job teaching at BIMM (the British and Irish Modern Music Institute) in Bristol, and about her literary and musical influences. We also frequently get sidetracked and end up chatting about queuing in pubs and the concept of Alan Partridge narrating Joyce's Ulysses. Please check out Emily's album here: https://sugarshackrecords.bandcamp.com/album/rats-in-paradise And you can follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/emilybreeze66/?hl=en Emily is playing a few shows in December: 6 Dec: The Prince Albert - Stroud 7 Dec: Burdall's Yard - Bath 13 Dec: The Old Pint Pot - Salford Also, I'm playing at The Prince Albert in Stroud on 5 December if you fancy coming down! If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E14
    Oct 15, 2025 · 1 hr 27 min

    Episode 14: Rose Ruane

    This month on The Allender Calendar I talk to the fabulous writer Rose Ruane. Rose has published two novels, Birding (2024), which was longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction, and This is Yesterday (2019). Rose writes brilliantly and insightfully about female relationships, the legacy of the 90s, and the ways in which we process trauma. If that all sounds a bit heavy, don't worry, she's also extremely funny and very engaging company. I particularly enjoyed our chat about the Manic Street Preachers and the ways in which their music has inspired her. You can find out more about Rose in this interview: https://leslietate.com/2023/05/29/rose-ruane-a-creative-life-story/ And you can follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regretteruane/?hl=en And Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/regretteruane.bsky.social Also, I briefly mention Rage Against the Machine's radical reading list; you can find that here: https://radicalreads.com/rage-against-the-machine-favorite-books/ If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E13
    Sep 15, 2025 · 55 min

    Episode 13: Jordan Brookes

    On the month's episode of The Allender Calendar I talk to the fantastic comedian Jordan Brookes. 2019 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Bleed: https://youtu.be/z5O3PI9whAo?si=K9WSnV8YrJftiliy I've Got Nothing: https://youtu.be/myOoRrMIyO8?si=YbwPZl5-Ei8348lD Body of Work: https://youtu.be/D_yQ9eHQq70?si=tBDyQ_9MRJ2G4Fua Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E12
    Aug 12, 2025 · 59 min

    Episode 12: Rebecca Watson

    This month on The Allender Calendar I talk to the novelist Rebecca Watson about her books little scratch (2021) and I Will Crash (2024). We discuss whether Rebecca is an 'experimental' writer, or if her unique fragmentary style is really just the most effective and immediate way of communicating first person consciousness. We talk about how both novels deal with trauma, and how the way she writes is suited to this subject. Sounds a bit heavy, but we also have a good laugh and chat about the merits of Sally Rooney's Intermezzo among other things. Rebecca's website is here: https://www.rebeccawatson.co.uk/ And you can find her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccawhatsun/?hl=en Great review of little scratch here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/31/little-scratch-by-rebecca-watson-review-a-daringly-experimental-debut And I Will Crash here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jul/03/i-will-crash-by-rebecca-watson-review-a-unique-take-on-sibling-torment All music featured in the podcast composed by me. You can listen here: https://robinallender.bandcamp.com/ And if you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here: buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E11
    Jul 14, 2025 · 53 min

    Episode 11 (Part 2): Gorky's Zygotic Mynci with Elis James

    Part 2 of my chat with comedian Elis James about the brilliant Welsh psychedelic folk band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Check out Rhodri Viney's latest EP here: https://ratatosk.bandcamp.com/album/1 And here are a few of my favourite Gorky's moments on YouTube: The Banana film with all the early music videos: https://youtu.be/nYt4KApiPMw?si=lJHHzfY9g5PsrsD2 Lucy's Hamper: https://youtu.be/nYt4KApiPMw?si=lJHHzfY9g5PsrsD2 Tears in Disguise: https://youtu.be/F7iFA71q-gY?si=uIneMkpCszOQWTkW If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E11
    Jul 14, 2025 · 1 hr

    Episode 11 (Part 1): Gorky's Zygotic Mynci with Elis James

    This month on The Allender Calendar I had the great pleasure of talking to the comedian and broadcaster Elis James about our favourite band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Because Elis and I chatted for over two hours I've decided to release this episodes in two parts (both out today!). In Part 1, Elis and I talk about the beginnings of the group and how we first got into them. We then discuss how the band evolved to create the perfect blend of folk, psychedelia and rock on the brilliant run of EPs they released on Ankst between 1994 and 1996 (all collected on the highly recommended album 20). We also talk about what it was like for Elis growing up in Carmarthen (and attending the same school as Gorky's), and about Welsh language music in general. The Gorky's Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/49120195877/ Gorky's Zygotic Archive on Instagram (run by Steve Tamburello): https://www.instagram.com/gorkyszygoticarchive/ Gorky's and John Cale playing O, Caroline II: https://youtu.be/jjgrw5oCs38?si=YcLWCOIDBgCS1uR0 If you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E10
    Jun 15, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min

    Episode 10: Bloomsday Special with David Collard

    It's the 16th of June which can mean only one thing: it's Bloomsday, the day on which James Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses is set. To celebrate, I spoke to the amazing writer David Collard about his book Multiple Joyce: 100 Short Essays About James Joyce's Cultural Legacy. And, of course, we also discuss what makes Ulysses such a brilliant, difficult, beautiful, hilarious, humane, and endlessly fascinating novel. You can buy Multiple Joyce here: https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/multiple_joyce/ And you can buy David's new book, A Crumpled Swan: 50 Essays about Abigail Parry's 'In the Dream of the Cold Restaurant', here: https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/a_crumpled_swan/ Follow David Collard on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/davidcollard.bsky.social And you can support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E9
    May 8, 2025 · 1 hr 23 min

    Episode 9: Evie King

    This month on The Allender Calendar I talk to the incredible writer and council worker Evie King. Evie's book Ashes to Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer was published in 2023 and is a profound and moving account of her job. Also, for a book about death, it is very funny. Evie writes brilliantly about the bathos and inadvertent comedy of working on funerals alongside complaints about bins and noisy neighbours. Content warning: we do obviously talk about death a lot in this episode, so I appreciate you may not want to listen on your morning commute! But I have to say, part of what makes Ashes to Admin so interesting is the way in which Evie is trying to make death less of a taboo; she hopes to make conversations around death easier, and her commitment to this, and to her job, is truly inspiring. You can find out more about Evie King, including where to buy the book, here: https://linktr.ee/eviekingwrites And if you want to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/robinallender Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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