BBC Sounds

Something is interfering with people’s everyday lives… something that can’t quite be natural…

Although they present as individual plays, the episodes in the new BBC Sounds podcast Murmurs are actually all linked – even if that link isn’t clear after you listen to the first three. Each in their own way feels like something is impinging on the characters (the description on the website for the first episode unfortunately giving away the twist!) and everyone involved tries to deal with them in their own way.

Tom Crowley’s first episode seems to follow two different strands – a young American lieutenant (Peter Bankole) whose life seems, impossibly, to intersect at different times with that of a young woman, whose own life is in disarray. Is he her guardian angel, or something rather more sinister?

Janina Matthewson – who has acted as a guiding writer for the entire 10 tales – pens the second episode, which is a two-hander for Camille Coduri and Abra Thompson They’re mother and daughter, sharing a familiar dynamic, with the mother trying not to be perceived as worrying too much – but when things they wish for start to happen, both begin to be freaked out.

Beth Crane’s third episode is a more traditional horror/SF tale, as mould seems to take on far more of a life than it should. But where it did come from – and why is it so resistant to treatment?

The soundscapes in each episode are immersive, with certain distinctive elements that you may find a little grating – and I suspect, deliberately so. Each tale is unsettling, with a definite Twilight Zone edge that sets them apart from a lot of mainstream genre audio. It’s something maybe to listen to in small doses rather than try to binge the lot – and I’m intrigued to see where the other seven episodes lead.

Verdict: A distinctive, edgy set of genre tales – all around 30 minutes or less – that will unsettle you enough to make them memorable. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to listen to Murmurs on BBC Sounds