Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Being away from home does not stop people caring about you, it does not mean that you are able to shrink in stature or let the light of the song ever diminish; for by doing so, the light fades and allows darkness to fill the void. It is darkness that never once pokes its head above the trenches as far as the beautiful voice and song writing of Esme Bridie is concerned.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A riot by any other name can still sound just as sweet, however, a riot, the eruption of sound associated with The Buffalo Riot is almost without equal and to that end even the great plains of America would shudder with greater exposure and bounding resonance to this terrific band than a million buffalo or bison could manage as they stampede in unison.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10
Stillhet’s Strings and Things monthly Sunday evening shows at the Parr Street Studio have always been of the highest quality, friendly and forthcoming when it comes to having musicians on board who might have been away from the glare of the stage and the music lover’s hearts. It is a trait of kindness and gentleness that allows any sign of nerves to be dispelled and left to wander freely back out onto the road and pavements and wrapped in its own negative thoughts.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
July can be seen as month in which experimentation with the senses goes into a kind of overdrive, the pleasure of the discovery of something new going hand in hand with the sultry and aurally naked. The velvet touch offered by a craving to take the heat higher than should be allowed but in which the temptation catches fire and stokes the engine to the point where whistles blow and steam gushes out at such a rate that the explosion of sound spreads out across the room with rapid expansion and the wake of The Dirty Bomb leaving a collection of smiling faces.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Inge Bremnes may not seem to be a colossus, a man emulating the Gods of Norse mythology and whose stature comes with accompanying lightening strikes or with Freya’s beguiling charm but when he steps onto the stage a transformation seems to take place, the immensely likeable musician becomes something new, something exciting, and no matter how many times you have the honour of watching him the transformation from the humble to the riveting is rather thrilling and the music even more impressive.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A Sunday night in, the chance to rest, perhaps fall asleep in front of the usual television offering that the last day of the week affords, is a tempting offer. The weekend over, the winding down and wrestling with the thoughts of another seven days firmly implanted into the mind, is perhaps unavoidable and yet somewhere along the line, surely that means missing out on something nice, something tangible and with meaning, a sound that is haunting and beautiful, a set of songs in which the musician opens his heart live on stage and lets the words flow meaningful and with honour.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is folk music, then there is the granddaddy of the genre, the music that the immensity of the last 50 years owes as much a debt to the past as we, as listeners, owe the struggles and bravery of musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Ewan MacColl and Hamish Imlach. That granddaddy, the songs of the people in centuries past survive because they have a resonating truth that haunts every generation and stings them into some sort of resistance. The resistance might not take hold or be very strong but they at least leave a tangible fingerprint in which to remind that injustice should not stand.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It may seem a strange affair to consider, perhaps even rum in some music lover’s eyes, but not every rock/R&B fan likes Led Zeppelin. It seems to be a permanent question that hangs on the mouths of the pop fan like a drip feed tube giving nutrients to a coma patient, you like rock, then you must like Led Zeppelin. Whilst the Midland’s band might not be everybody’s personal liking, there is a young band who has climbed the slippery slope out of Leeds and who tickles the taste buds of musical sincerity with their debut E.P. Cottonwoolf.
Claire Sanders of Twisted Trees. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There will always be a place for your favourite music, the heart, nor brain ever lets go of any of the lyrics that you spent most of your life memorising to the point that if pushed you could recite them word for word under exam conditions whilst sinking in quick sand and rescue only possible if you even get the obscure releases pitch perfect.
Inge Bremnes at Studio 2 in Liverpool. June 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 7/10
There is a well beaten path that has emerged once more between the fiords of Norway and the port of Liverpool. It has come back to life in recent years as the city opens its arms with anticipation at the thought of more good music finding its way to the venues of the undoubted capital of music culture in the U.K.