The bad old days
Listen Through The Brown Window review
Rating – 
After the cannabis fugged SciFi of my last review, I revisited The Secret Life Of Songs to catch up. One of the episodes put me on such a downer that I needed something different. About a month ago, Tom, the creator of this show, sent me a message asking if I’d like to review this particular podcast. I had subscribed, but it ultimately fell by the wayside. Until now.
So boys and girls, turn on, tune in and freak out to Listen Through The Brown Window.
So what’s it about?
Listen Through The Brown Window is a crazy, hauntological, spoof of tv shows from 40+ years ago. There are many references and reminiscences from my early childhood. Each episode is packed with short sketches that bend memory and reality into some weird mess, rather like when you were young and accidentally mixed all the Plasticine colours together.
Each episode is different, although there are some recurring characters and themes. There are pastiches of Playschool, Tomorrow’s World, Dad’s Army, and many other classic tv shows that smell of Old Spice and nicotine, and taste like banana antibiotics and Lucozade from a glass bottle.
Is it any good?
It’s insanity. Actual insanity. There was a radio show from the early 2000s called The Harpoon. This show was a spoof of those boys’ adventure annuals from the 30s and 40s. This is similar, but set in the Late 70s, early 80’s. The only thing I could compare it to would be being off school with flu, and all the kids programs and daytime tv blur into some psychedelic fever dream.
It reminded me of the work of Sean Reynard (or Quentin Smirhes, as you may know him) particularly his videos of “Don’t You Start”. Looking at the cast list of episode one I was surprised to see him in the cast. Episode two actually has a skit of his that I had seen on Youtube a while back (you’ll recognise it if you’re a fan). Vaun Earl Norman is also a regular, and I recognised his voice instantly. His offbeat style is a highpoint of the show.
The original message came to me to let me know about their Halloween special, entitled The Orphan Frequency. This is not the usual disjointed hilarity you usually get with the main show, instead it’s a pastiche of the spooky kids drama shows from the early 80s. Think Doctor Who, The Box Of Delights or any classic tv shows in that vein. This is a nice contrast to all of the previous episodes. I wouldn’t say it’s better (that would be quite the task), but it is different.
Final thoughts
If your humour is rather pedestrian then you probably won’t like this, but for fans of Chris Morris, Peter Baynham, Limmy, and Vic and Bob, then you’re in for a surreal treat. I find this stuff hilarious, and since the death of Brain Cigar a few years ago, this fills the gap perfectly.
As the year draws to a close, I feel so lucky to have experienced so many genuinely brilliant podcasts. I can’t wait to see how 2026 pans out. Do yourselves a favour and support independent podcasts as much as you can. There is a burgeoning indie scene that is really giving bigger studios a run for their money. Particularly if you like more off beat stuff.
You can get Listen Through The Brown Window review here:
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