We’re VHS Poppin’
Wow, another genre episode! It’s been a while. What will they talk about this time? Will they talk about Bandcamp tags for an uncomfortable amount of time? Will they get hung up on overly niche hyper characterization of…
Night Clerk Radio: Haunted Music Reviews
Ever find yourself drawn to a melody that feels like it's echoing from an empty mall or a soundtrack for a forgotten dream? That's the territory explored on Night Clerk Radio: Haunted Music Reviews. Hosts Ross Payton and Birk McBirkinson act as your guides through the often-overlooked corridors of sound, focusing on genres like vaporwave and dark ambient where nostalgia and unease intertwine. Each episode is less a standard review and more a deep dive into the history and emotional resonance of this "haunted" music. You'll hear curated selections of tracks, but the discussion goes much further, unpacking why certain retro aesthetics or melancholic tones hold such power over us. The podcast regularly features interviews with artists and enthusiasts, adding layers of context and personal insight to the commentary. It’s for anyone who’s ever wondered about the stories behind the strangely comforting, sometimes unsettling music that exists just outside the mainstream. Tune in to discover not just what to listen to next, but to better understand the quiet pull of the shadows in our playlists.
Episodes
October New Music: The Gargoyles of Vyônes and INFINITY VOL.II
Another episode already?! That's right! We're working to return to our regular release schedule. In this episode, we're diving into some new October music. As usual, we've got two albums: Ross stayed on theme for spooky…
Spooky Video Game Soundtracks
It’s a late start to the spooky season! We’re jumping right in with a handful of soundtracks from recent horror video games. We’re checking out the big meaty six hour journey that is the Silent Hill 2 (2024) soundtrack.…
September New Music: VIDEOFUNK and Leviathan
In this episode, we're diving into some new September music. With summer coming to a close, it seems we were both inspired to explore some of our favorite comfort genres. For Birk, that's the hazy and nostalgic VIDEOFUNK…
The Curious Case of the Dungeons and Dragons Promotional Cassette
In this episode, we dare to enter Ross’s cherished domain: the tabletop role-playing game! We’re checking out “First Quest,” a 1985 promotional cassette released by TSR UK. The cassette features a wide variety of tracks…
August New Music: Xeeland and Nmesh
It’s time for our August new music episode. This time there’s no obvious overarching theme between our picks so no clever episode title, sorry! We’re starting off with Master Builder by Xeeland, an album that takes you o…
A Dungeon Synth Picnic
In this episode, we’re finally breaking out the summer dungeon synth. But first we ask: what even is summer in music when freed from the burden of marketing and publicity? After that mild diversion, we chat about five du…
Summer Dungeon Synth? No, Summer and Dungeon Synth!
In this episode, Ross and I set out to find some new summer dungeon synth. That didn’t work out, so by complete chance Ross went with dungeon synth and I went with summer. It doesn’t matter! We ended up finding two super…
Vibing with The Rat Man in Vermis
In this episode, we’re exploring one of our favorite metagenres: haunted media about media that never existed. This time, we’re delving into Vermis, a strategy guide for a game that doesn’t exist. It’s a beautiful and ev…
June New Music: Suburbia After Dark and Vistas
It’s time for June new music explorations and in this episode Ross and Birk have once again shown up with two very different albums. We’re discussing Suburbia After Dark, a compelling sample-laden darkwave journey, and V…
