A S.T.I.T.C.H. in time

Fabric review

Rating –

It’s not often I review podcasts from Australia, in fact I never do. Until now that is. Months ago I had a message pitching this show to me, and as you have guessed, I forgot all about it among the other shows that pass through my ears on a daily basis. Therefore, I only recently subscribed and then went on a social media hunt to try and find out exactly where I heard about it. So before I forget, a big (and belated)  thanks to Fabric’s creator Miles Gibson.

So what’s it about?

Fabric kicks off as our protagonist Leyna Canary is going through her deceased parents’ belongings. She uncovers a box in the attic filled with tapes labelled with the name Lucas Canary, a name she doesn’t recognise. Who is this unknown family member, and why didn’t her parents ever mention him?

The contents of these tapes are unbelievable, and cause Leyna to reassess not only her own family, but the world at large. On the trail of this mysterious family member, and guided only by the tapes, she is soon heading down a very strange rabbit hole indeed. Suddenly, everything she thought she knew is thrown into question, from her personal history to the nature of reality itself.

Is it any good?

I must admit, when I started listening to the show, it was not without a small degree of trepidation. After all, long time readers of this blog may remember my disdain for the slew of “archives/tapes/files” type shows that sprung up after The Magnus Archives sealed itself as an all time classic podcast. My early feelings were soon dispelled though, because this is a very good show indeed.

The acting is very good on the whole, with no real evidence of the cast just reading off the script. I love the fact that the standards of audiodrama are constantly rising, and productions like this are now being released by smaller studios. While the larger production companies are in danger of becoming stale, it will be the indie producers keeping the format fresh.

If you are a fan of the SCP archives, and the recent craze of “liminal horror” such as The Backrooms* then you’ll absolutely love this podcast. The show leans more into sci-fi than other, similarly themed shows. I would perhaps compare it to Forbidden Cassettes: Consummation, although don’t think I’m dropping spoilers here, it’s just a stylistic touchstone if you enjoyed that show.

Final thoughts

You may wonder why, after me raving about this show, did it not get 5 out of 5? Well, this may be somewhat contentious, but a show that uses AI, will never get top marks from me. I don’t agree with it, and yes, I do understand that budgetary constraints usually play a part in the matter, but there are always ways around it. In the case of this show, they have used 11Labs software to create new voices. The first time I heard of this software was in the Silvertongues podcast. Yes, it is impressive, but I can’t condone it’s use. Sorry.

You can get Fabric here:

https://fabricpodcast.carrd.co

or wherever you get your podcasts. For some reason the usual podlink link isnt working for this show.

For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods

*I wholeheartedly recommend this, but do me a favour and watch Kane Pixels stuff, it’s better than any of the other rubbish that people are churning out.