Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are the creatures that howl when they are cornered, when they are pushed against the wall with the intention of directed pain, and there is the silent stare of beauty and appreciation which when the pressure becomes too much, too hot, too raw, results in a sudden explosion of noise that creates monumental electricity and a storm that releases The Beast and which the beauty cannot help but admire.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The vibe is just as important as the aftermath, the importance of feeling something in the air begin to glow, to shimmer with excitement, the build-up of atmosphere. The sense of the occasion grow like vines from the ground up, that vibe is what makes an evening become an event and when that event takes the attendee to places they thought they might not see again, when they feel the fine hairs on the back of their neck stand on end and the mind is completely transfixed to the point where they don’t know if anyone else is the room, that is when the vibe breaches the soul, that is when they know they have been taken to Heaven and back.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Everything in its place and delivered with such raw spirit, Thom Morecroft is an undeniable barometer of good music and introspective lyrics that highlight both his musical taste and the way he knits together certain textures and meanings together to bring a down to earth response and open mind view to any situation he wishes to cover in his songs, even the ones that are the most personal, the most delicate which shows the wounds he carries with honour.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A headliner’s duty is to make his presence felt, to set the seal on authority, and for Dan Owen the presence is so powerful that when a howling, brooding harmonica punches the audience with immediacy into Willy Dixon’s Little Red Rooster. It is evident to all those upstairs in Leaf that this sand-toned guitar and pounding stomp box have seen their fair share of theatres, blues bars and gig venues across Europe. One thing is for certain: Dan Owen is a truly relentless performer with a roots-shattering vocal that would make Gregg Allman blush.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Thom Morecroft at Liverpool Calling 2018. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Life is busy, we have made it our mission it seems to fill the hours in such a way that to sit still for a while and take in the sound of a local great might raise a few eyebrows on the faces of those who believe we should always be expending energy; that you are not actually being productive if you not moving a muscle.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Thom Morecroft at Leaf. May 2017. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
If ever there is a poll for the greatest artist to come out of Shropshire, there had better be a vote included on the ballot sheet for Thom Morecroft, not that such things in the end are important but for the man who made Liverpool his home and produces the type of music in which the veins inside the body crackle and pop with shuddering excitement, to which the nerves glisten with the sweat of anticipation and the joy of the smile is never far from the lips, such an accolade is always awaiting to be said with great sincerity.
To be alive in interesting times is to be seen as a curse, the strung out meted response by those who wish you ill; yet in many ways it should be seen as a blessing, that you were there in that specific time to see History unfold, to tell perhaps in your words, be it recorded or just to friends and loved ones, just what your take on the situation was. 2016 may go down in history as one that was cursed in terms of the amount of stars, beloved icons and unbelievable talent lost forever to us; the only consolations being that we saw them when they were magnificent and the abiding work that they have left behind for us to enjoy over and over again.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
When you have found yourself listening to a piece of music that leaves you feeling invigorated, refreshed and ready for the battle ahead, whilst simultaneously leaving the very best of thoughts, grace and boundless enthusiasm, then it is a piece of music to savour and cherish. For Thom Morecroft, the genial and certainly impressive import from the Midlands, his new E.P., After The Rain, is like finding out who Kenny Dalglish was after Liverpool signed him from Celtic or understanding just how good Lindsey Buckingham was after he first performed with Fleetwood Mac.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Although the E.P. title may allude to it, there is nothing Hand Me Down about the music writing and lyrical insightfulness of Thom Morecroft, a man who made Liverpool his home town, who has adopted it like a flag of honour but who also maintains the individual stride of pride in being a man inspired by his first surroundings of his native town. It is in this mix, potent, compelling and in many cases intoxicating, that makes his music a slice of enduring combination of Liverpool enthusiastic outpouring and Midland’s stoicism.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Ultimately all that can matter from a single release is whether it grabs you first time round and playfully suggests that you go and investigate the hopefully inevitable album or E.P. that comes a few weeks after. In the end the complete work is where the reveal into an artist’s soul and thoughts lay. Like a Shakespeare sonnet being read aloud in an English class and discussing it with knowledge without having read any of the others, the whole body of work is where the real insight comes into play.