In this episode, we sit down with brothers Chris and Pat Bradley of June Cleaver and the Steak Knives—a band whose music hovers between tongue-in-cheek satire and fearless experimentation. With roots in post-punk, art-rock, and a love of found sounds, their sound pulls from an eclectic range of influences: Wall of Voodoo, They Might Be Giants, Devo, The Residents, The Cure, and beyond.

✨ We talk about:
🎵 The evolution from early instrumental records ➡️ albums with more vocals
🎚️ How they craft an album’s flow despite genre-hopping tracks
🥁 The use of unusual instrumentation, sampling, and found sounds
🎨 Their love of album artwork & immersive vinyl listening
📀 The concept and storytelling behind Short Tales of Science Fiction and Family Dissonance (2024)

🔥 Song Spotlights:
• ⚡ Completely Lose All Self Control – machine-gun vocals, sharp guitar licks
• 🎻 Infantile Dreams – Radiohead textures + violin layers
• 🎸 This Mess – raw early post-punk, in the spirit of Wire & Magazine
• 👁️ With Her Eyes – quirky Devo-like satire (“brass knuckles on her lashes” 🔥)
• ⏳ Multitasking – ominous choruses on tech’s speed & distraction
• 🎹 Quarantined – layered vocals, pandemic reflections, haunting piano & synths
• 🚫 Xenophobia + John – no subject matter is off-limits

💡 From 2003’s Cleavage to 2024’s Short Tales of Science Fiction and Family Dissonance, June Cleaver and the Steak Knives prove that every track can be a strange, satirical, and cinematic experience—like a little David Lynch movie in song form.

🎧 Explore more music from June Cleaver & the Steak Knives:

• Spotify

• Apple Music

• Bandcamp

• Official Website

• YouTube Channel

👉 Follow Post-punk Heartstrings for more deep dives into the sounds that move us:

• Facebook

• YouTube

• Spotify

In this episode, we sit down with Peter Koppes, founding guitarist of The Church, to explore the deep currents of his musical life—from early influences to legendary albums, solo works, and new collaborations.

What we cover in this conversation:
• 🎹 Early beginnings: Why Peter’s first love was the Hammond Organ, how he wound up on drums, and the Beatles’ surprising link to bossa nova.
• 🎸 Forming The Church: The transition from Precious Little → Baby Grande → The Church, and setting the record straight on Steve Kilbey’s “firing” from Baby Grande.
• 🌌 The Church’s legacy: Recording Starfish, the happy accidents behind “Under the Milky Way,” and Peter’s reflections on key tracks like Almost With You, Reptile, and A New Season.
• 🥁 Behind the music: Richard Ploog’s contributions, producers pushing drummers to click tracks, and what changed between Starfish and Gold Afternoon Fix.
• 🎼 Solo artistry: Manchild & Myth and From the Well—his painterly approach to songwriting and the role of collaborators.
• 🌀 Syncretism project: A creative partnership with Dave Scotland, the track “I Live,” and weaving cultural/ambient elements into new soundscapes.
• 🌱 Family & future: Reflections on boxing lessons as a child, the spirit in music, and his daughters’ project Rain Party.

A candid, wide-ranging conversation with one of alternative rock’s great sonic architects.

👉 Follow Peter’s music:
Website: https://peterkoppes.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdn2kYdQR2yQJ6YcU0QluJQ/featured
X: https://x.com/peterkoppes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.koppes.3
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ENOFSRHD8RnVWRp4gQJha?si=pU-8kinsTBiteH-ciPTG8g

👉 The Church:
Shadow Cabinet: https://shadowcabi.net/

👉 Snow Koppes:
Bandcamp: https://snowkoppes.bandcamp.com/album/supastar

👉 O and Shea:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2vw6GFtH8CBLQmXATwArqW?si=rny5tquYQ2qkmlBzFGQMkg
Bandcamp: https://oandshea.bandcamp.com/

👉 Follow Post-punk Heartstrings for more deep dives into the sounds that move us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PostpunkHeartstrings
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjKWsuzqWiSY0vln1Py5ahg
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3kngtZ8HsbDL0YFt4m6otZ?si=8c5782e8d30e4258

Floodland by The Sisters of Mercy: Choral Doom and Drum Machines in the Twilight

With special guest Jerry Ossevoort

In this episode, we wade through the sonic fog of Floodland, the 1987 landmark from The Sisters of Mercy. With personal stories, deep dives, and a few laughs, we unravel the gothic myths, machines, and melodrama behind one of the most iconic albums of the era.

We open by sharing our first brushes with The Sisters of Mercy:

• Jimmy first heard “This Corrosion” but didn’t love it—so he never explored the rest of the album

• Jim recounts his own discovery story and first impressions

• Jerry came to SOM from a very different starting point: 1950s music

• Airdale’s track “Space Is Falling” comes up, with a reference to SOM that caught our attention

📌 And yes, the band’s name comes from a Leonard Cohen song featured in the 1980 film The Gun Runner—a literary touchstone that fits Eldritch’s brooding, poetic aesthetic.

We revisit the band’s early days and explore the Floodland era mythos:

• The Sisters formed in 1980 in Leeds, England

• Patricia Morrison’s role in the Floodland sessions remains one of rock’s more elegant mysteries

• SOM trading cards and other cult fan artifacts spark memories and conversation

• Jerry shares a concert story involving a flying cigarette from Andrew himself

• The “Dominion” video was filmed in Jordan and gives off major Hellraiser or Indiana Jones vibes

• And yes, they once toured with Public Enemy

We also talk about the striking contrast between Andrew Eldritch’s singing voice and his regular speaking voice—both equally iconic, in very different ways.

Dr. Avalanche isn’t just a drum machine—it’s a character in the band’s lore.

• From early hardware to upgraded samplers, this unblinking rhythm section keeps time with eerie consistency

• Brendan (of The Mourning) even has a tattoo of the band’s Merciful Release label logo, joining Chris from JC&tSK in paying tribute

• We share our own experiences using drum machines and discuss whether Avalanche feels cold and mechanical—or oddly emotional and essential

We discuss how Andrew Eldritch brought in producer Jim Steinman to co-write and co-produce “This Corrosion.” That move helped secure a £50,000 advance, and the result was one of the most over-the-top, anthemic tracks in goth history.

Jimmy admits that “This Corrosion” didn’t click with him at all when he first heard it—and that kept him from giving the rest of the album a fair shot for years.

We also explore the possible meaning behind “Lucretia My Reflection,” often read as a tribute—or critique—of Patricia Morrison.

Here comes the eternal question: Is Floodland a goth album?

• Eldritch has famously rejected the goth label for decades

• Yet between the cover art, the tone, the themes, and the fanbase… the case for “yes” is hard to ignore

• We explore how Floodland compares to work by Bauhaus, Siouxsie, or The Cure

• Does the album define goth, transcend it, or parody it?

We break down the songs that make Floodland such an enduring and unusual experience:

• “Dominion/Mother Russia” opens with a Cold War flourish

• “Flood I” introduces the spiritual, apocalyptic tones that echo throughout

• “Lucretia My Reflection” is taut, cryptic, and endlessly cool

• “1959” closes the core album with stark minimalism

• “This Corrosion” is either high drama or pure camp—or both

• “Flood II,” “Driven Like the Snow,” and “Neverland” deepen the mood further

We also touch on bonus tracks “Torch” and “Colours,” added on the remastered version of Floodland, and give a nod to follow-up album Vision Thing. Despite the acclaim, Floodland marked the beginning of the end for SOM's studio albums.

🖤 Thanks for listening to Post-Punk Heartstrings.
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