Big Sonic Heaven braved the winter storm and kept our ears warm with some sonic delight! In the new music department, we heard a Twin Peaks-esque track from Violet Grohl, Club 8, Ladytron, a stellar Shoegaze track from The Giraffe Told Me In My Dream, and we took the new Deary single for another spin.

Check out the playlist below and listen to the show on demand for up to two weeks.

• “The Sadman” – Slowdive
• “I Wanted You To Feel The Same” – The Radio Dept
• “Setting Yourself Up For Love” – Ashes And Diamonds
• “History” – The Verve
• “Before” – The Giraffe Told Me in My Dream
• “Sugar Hiccup” –  Cocteau Twins
• “I Tried” – Shoestrings
• “Love (LP Version)” – The Sundays
• “Burrow” – AtticOmatic
• “Lost In the Weight” – Deserta
• “Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem” – Peter Murphy
• “23” – Blonde Redhead
• “Echoes Of Our Time” – Club 8
• “Percolator” – Stereolab
• “Lloyd I’m ready to Be Heart Broken” – Camera Obscura
• “Seabird” – Deary
• “Run” – New Order
• “Vanity (feat. Rachel Goswell)” – Drab Majesty
• “Like Cockatoos” – The Cure
• “The Garden Ends” – The Autumns
• “Caught in the Blink of an Eye” – Ladytron
• “I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)” – Kings of Convenience
• “Shake the Disease” – Depeche Mode
• “Like a Daydream” – Trentemøller
• “What’s Heaven Without You” – Violet Grohl
• “De” – Lush
• “Under Two Blue Stars” – Robin Guthrie
• “You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart” – Sinéad O’Connor
• “143” – The Know
• “Atmosphere” – Joy Division
• “Madder Lake Deep” – Andy Bell
• “Little Star” – Stina Nordenstam
• “Burst” – Shelleyan Orphan

Tonight, Big Sonic Heaven featured some great brand-new tracks. We heard “Seabird,” the first single from Deary’s upcoming debut album, “Birding.” They’re a three-piece dreampop band from London, signed to Simon Raymond’s label, Bella Union.  

Cigarettes for Breakfast is the project of Matt Whiteford. “The Color Wheel” EP is out in March, and we heard “Melting.”

Plus, “In the New” from singer-songwriter Kate de Rosset. She’s from North Carolina and has a brand-new album called “It Will Burn,” which was released earlier this month. 

In honor of filmmaker and artist David Lynch, who passed away a year ago last week, we heard “Falling,” by Julee Cruise, the Twin Peaks theme song. Lynch co-wrote the song with Cruise.

Checkout the playlist below and listen to the replay, available for the next two weeks.

• “Pink Orange Red” – Cocteau Twins
• “Lonely Town” – Steve Queralt (feat Emma Anderson)
• “Sacred Echoes (Part Two)” – The Church
• “All in my Mind” – Love and Rockets
• “Seabird” – Deary
• “Sleep Well Tonight” – Gene
• “Stranglehold” – The Churchhill Garden
• “Prayers for Rain” – The Cure
• “Waldorf Theft Song” – Au Revoir Borealis
• “Swordsman” – Night Tapes
• “A Girl Like You” – The Wolfgang Press
• “Dreams Never End” – New Order
• “After the Rain” – Orange Peels
• “Nirvana” – Glazyhaze
• “Half a Person” – The Smiths
• “You and Your Sister” – This Mortal Coil
• “For a While” – Fenne Lily
• “Sanvean/Tristan” – Dead Can Dance
• “Dead Sound” – The Raveonettes
• “Taste” – Ride
• “Melting” – Cigarettes for Breakfast
• “Vertigo” – Miki Berenyi Trio
• “Gabriel” – Lamb
• “In the New” – Kate de Rosset
• “If Only” – Nothing
• “Adorations” – Killing Joke
• “Little Galaxy” – Silk Daisys
• “A New Goodbye” – Nation of Language
• “Such a Shame” – Talk Talk
• “The Slab” – Slowdive
• “Slowdive” – Siouxsie and the Banshees
• “Falling” – Julee Cruise
• “Untitled 1” – Sigur Rós

Big Sonic Heaven has always featured talented female vocalists, and this week was no exception. 

This episode included Olivia Lee of There’s Talk, Chrisy Hurn of Basement Revolver, Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic, Dottie Cockram of Deary, Estonian singer-songwriter Iiris Vesik of Night Tapes, and Alessandra Stella of Nother and Moon Leap. We also heard from French vocalist Rosa Rocca-Serra, featured on Tricky’s project, “Theis Thaws.”

And let’s not forget the unmistakable voices of Karen Peris from The Innocence Mission, Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays, Björk, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, and Sinead O’Connor.

Checkout the playlist below and listen to the replay, available for the next two weeks at WDET.org.

Big Sonic Heaven Playlist for Jan. 11, 2025

• “Mercy Street” – Peter Gabriel
• “Prayer Remembered” – Slowdive
• “Until You Come Back Home” – Nother & Moon Leap
• “Pearl” – Chapterhouse
• “En Lögn, En Sanning (note: translates to “a lie, a truth.”)” – Kallsup
• “Sweetness and Light” – Lush
• “I’m so Tired” – Deserta
• “Six Different Ways” – The Cure
• “Louise” – Clan of Xymox
• “The Big Shake” – The Mary Onettes
• “Here’s Where the Story Ends” – The Sundays
• “Golden” – There’s Talk
• “Troy” – Sinead O’ Connor
• “Before” – The Giraffe Told Me in My Dream
• “Drive that Fast” – Kitchens of Distinction
• “The Robot Girl Psychiatrist” – The False Dawns
• “Morning Theft” – Jeff Buckley
• “Skin” – Basement Revolver
• “Those Eyes That Mouth” – Cocteau Twins
• “Renaissance Affair” – Hooverphonic
• “Helix” – Night Tapes
• “Life is Wrong” – Longwave
• “Swamp Thing” – The Chameleons
• “On Your Side” – The Innocence Mission
• “Fly to the Ceiling featuring Rosa Rocca” – Theis Thaws
• “I’ll Fall with your Knife” – Peter Murphy
• “Elegia” – New Order
• “My Love” – Silk Daisys
• “It’s Oh So Quiet” – Bjork
• “Fairground” – Deary
• “Become” – Beach House
• “Hollywood Daydream” – Cigarettes for Breakfast
• “Severance” – Dead Can Dance

The first Big Sonic Heaven episode of 2026 features a range of the latest music from around the world, including New York, Manchester, Germany, Lebanon, San Francisco, and Taiwan. And let’s not forget the Big Sonic classics.

See the playlist below, and don’t forget that this and every episode are available on demand for two weeks after it airs online.

Big Sonic Heaven Playlist for Jan. 5, 2025

• “Paris and Rome” – Cranes
• “Breaking My Light” – Minor Victories
• “The Loony Bin” – Jahrund
• “Love in Itself” – Depeche Mode
• “Silhouette” – She’s Green
• “I Want to Touch You” – Catherine Wheel
• “Phosphorous” – Lamb
• “Haunt” – Washed Out
• “Girl of Colours” – 24 Gone
• “The Great Unknown” – IVY
• “Doused” – DIIV
• “Lament” – The Cure
• “The Drift” – Deary
• “Hollywood” – Ashes and Diamonds
• “Memories Fade” – Tears for Fears
• “Goldmine” – Chokecherry
• “Someone’s Calling” – Modern English
• “Kiss of Snow (feat Krissy Vanderwoude from The Churchhill Garden)” – Longingsky
• “The Headmaster’s Ritual” – The Smiths
• “You Against the Rest of Us” – Airiel
• “Down with the Upward” – A Shoreline Dream
• “Blue Bell Knoll” – Cocteau Twins
• “Faît Accompli” – Curve
• “Wait” – Meena
• “Silently” – Blonde Redhead
• “Heaven” – Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
• “Before” – The Giraffe Told Me in My Dream
• “Celia’s Dream” – Slowdive
• “Clusters” – Emma Anderson
• “Once More” – Bathe Alone
• “The Him” – New Order
• “Construction Site” – Postcards
• “Raconte Moi Une Histoire” – M83

The last Big Sonic Heaven of the year features the latest from She’s Green, The Mary Onettes, Yndling, Night Tapes, 16 Underground, and more.

Plus, this episode features tributes to two music industry greats who passed away this week. Perry “Teddy” Bamonte, guitarist and keyboardist of The Cure, passed Dec. 26, and Howie Klein, head of Sire and Reprise Records, passed away at 77. Darren reminisced about long conversations with Howie and his love and dedication to music. 

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

• “Gold” – Sigur RósBlack
• “Celebration” – Depeche Mode
• “Little Birds” – She’s Green
• “From The Edge of the Deep Green Sea” – The Cure
• “Without a Trace” – 16 Underground
• “6 Underground” – Sneaker Pimps
• “No More Kissing in the Rain” – TrenteMøller
• “Sea of Tranquility” – Siouxsie
• “Champagne Charlie” – Ashes and Diamonds
• “Machine Gun” – Slowdive
• “Procession” – New Order
• “The United States of Amnesia” – Hooverphonic
• “What Else is There??” – Royksopp
• “Hurricane Heart” – The Mary Onettes
• “Musette and Drums” – Cocteau Twins
• “Pacifico” – Night Tapes
• “Blown a Wish” – My Bloody Valentine
• “Vertigo” – Miki Berenyi Trio
• “Jesseye ‘Lizabeth (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” – Mercury Rev
• “You Know How I Hate it (How the World Moves On)” – Yndling
• “You Do Something to Me” – Sinead O’ Connor
• “Vertigo” – The Love is Deadly
• “Snow Heart” – Lucy La Dusk
• “Leave the Lights” – Marta and Tricky
• “All Night Long” – Peter Murphy
• “Sacred Echoes (Part Two)” – The Church
• “Twisterella” – Ride
• “Like Suicide” – Actors
• “Atonement (feat Hatchie)” – Winter
• “For Love” – Lush
• “Out of Breath” – Melt Motif
• “Shine ’07” – Ulrich Schnauss
• “War in Heaven” – The Raveonettes

Sunday marked the Winter Solstice as we celebrated the longest night of the year in Big Sonic Heaven.

We played mix of traditional and non-traditional holiday songs, along with some of your favorite shoegaze, dreampop, trip-hop, and post-punk. Check out the playlist below. 

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

• “Silent Night” – Sinead O’Connor
• “Shanty” – Slowdive
• “Garden” – Maria Somerville
• “2000 Miles” – Deary
• “Stumble” – Meena
• “Christmas Reindeer” – The Knife
• “Merry Christmas from Björk” – Björk
• “All is Full of Love” – Björk
• “Christmas Don’t Be Late” – Rosie Thomas
• “My Love” – Silk Daisys
• “Winter Wonderland” – Cocteau Twins
• “Thoughtforms” – Lush
• “White Christmas” – 93MillionMilesfromtheSun
• “Warmth” – Glazyhaze
• “Stripped” – Depeche Mode
• “Holiday House” – Beach House
• “You Look So Fine” – Garbage
• “Emo Song” – The Haunted Youth
• “Christmas Time is Here” – Mark Kozelek
• “Song to the Siren” – This Mortal Coil
• “Christmas Will Break Your Heart” – LCD Soundsystem
• “Mad About You” – Hooverphonic
• “Just Drive” – Postiljonen
• “O Holy Night” – Bien
• “Gorecki” – Lamb
• “Until You Come Back Home” – Nother and Moon Leap
• “Happy Xmas (War is over)” – Cranes
• “She Won’t Be Home” – Erasure
• “Say You Will” – Ivy
• “Spirit”- Dead Can Dance
• “White Christmas” (2010) – Iggy Pop
• “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” (2007) – Asobi Seksu
• “Frosty the Snowman” – Cocteau Twins
• “My Christmas Prayer” – St. Etienne
• “All I Want For Christmas” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• “Oíche Chiún (Silent Night)” – Enya

Listen to Big Sonic Heaven with host Darren Revell Sundays from 9 p.m. to midnight ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Tonight in Big Sonic Heaven, we heard the latest from Silk Daisys, The Church, and Bluhm.

We also heard two songs featuring Shoegaze familiars, Rachel Goswell and Mark Gardener. 

A few holiday songs were featured to celebrate the season as well, including a beautiful rendition of Silent Night by Sinead O‘Connor and a not so traditional song by A Sunny Day in Glasgow. 

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

• Higher than the Sun – Primal Scream
• Fairground – Deary
• Little Galaxy – Silk Daisys
• Paralysed – Ride
• Sacred Echoes (Part Two) – The Church
• Disorder – Joy Division
• Kiss Her Kiss her – Blonde Redhead
• 10 Mile Stereo – Beach House
• You and your Sister – This Mortal Coil
• Goldmine – Chokecherry
• Neverland – The Knife
• Black Metallic – Catherine Wheel
• Birdseye – Babehoven
• Swordsmen – Night Tapes
• Lorelei – Cocteau Twins
• Silent Night – Sinead O’ Connor
• Slow Rewind – Bluhm
• Proud to Fall – Ian McCulloch
• Tic Tac feat Rachel Goswell – Pete International Airport
• Hands – Ms. John Soda
• I Want You Now – Depeche Mode
• Down with the Upward feat. Mark Gardener – A Shoreline Dream
• The Lonely Crowd Fades in the Air – Swervedriver
• Feed the Tree – Belly
• Broken – The Haunted Youth
• Stumble – Meena
• All I Want – The Cure
• Merry Christmas from Bjork
• Shut Your Mouth It’s Christmas – A Sunny Day in Glasgow
• Hollywood – Ashes and Diamonds
• Face to Face – Siouxsie and the Banshees
• Hoppipolla – Sigur Ros
• Hide & Seek – Airiel
• Slowdive – Primal – Just for a Day
• Nirvana – Glazyhaze

Listen to Big Sonic Heaven with host Darren Revell Sundays from 9 p.m.-midnight ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.