Author Archives: admin

The Voodoo Sheiks, Norm. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Defiance in the face of uncertainty is a measure in which to know the protagonist of any story or tale. it is one of the reasons why we embrace the spirit of characters in literature who display guile, wit, cunning and intelligence, as well as vision.

This sense of defiance is why Beowulf will always vanquish Grendel despite being complex and flawed, why Sherlock Holmes endures even in a world that has seen police procedure surpass his intellect, and why the likes of Marvel’s Captain America still captures the imagination despite the attentions of a crowd that wishes to denigrate and vilify such actions undertaken by the graphic novel hero…defiance in the face of uncertainty is not an act of recklessness, it is the underpinning of courage.

The Voodoo Sheiks, Norm. Single Review. full post

(463 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

Thom Morecroft, The Beast. Single Review.

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.

Thom Morecroft, The Beast. Single Review. full post

(378 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Steve Lukather, I Found The Sun Again. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Even the hardest of working souls need to feel the warmth on their face and the pleasure of company, the friends that tell them they have made a difference to the world, the ones that smile without fear when the recipient of the compliment declares with open heart and mind, “I Found The Sun Again“.

Steve Lukather, I Found The Sun Again. Album Review. full post

(590 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Mike Blue, Dark Daze. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

These are times of illusion, confusion and stagnation, everything is moving at a pace of change in the way the daily slog dares not imagine, the sense of disproportion is damaging. For these are Dark Daze, staggering shock, constant calls for clarity, and ones for the poets to search out their own reasons to dispel the coming storm, to add a voice of harmony so that the clouds roll on past and that evaporate, like bad dreams, in the emerging sun.

Mike Blue, Dark Daze. Album Review. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

An Invisible Woman. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Felicity Jones, Ralph Fiennes, Kristen Scott Thomas, Perdita Weeks, Joanna Scanlan, Tom Hollander, Amanda Hale, John Kavanagh, Tom Burke, Susanna Hislop, Tommy Curson-Smith, David Collings, Michael Marcus, Richard McCabe, Gabriel Vick, Mark Dexter, Joseph Paxton, Charlotte Hope, Philippe Smolikowski.

How sincere is the light we shine on other’s flaws when we cannot acknowledge our own? The politician and the layman might preach and be found wanting and shunned from office, but the artist, how much do expect from them when it is their creativity and observation that can make them prone to fall in m oral outrage, and yet rise without sanction, without misgivings from the public as they continue to demand more from their insightful hero.

An Invisible Woman. Film Review. full post

(690 words, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)

Jessica Luise, Nice Try. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We are urged to try, and if we should fail, to try again, the experience somehow making us more immune to the sense of impending defeat or bitter loss that we feel in our hearts. Like Robert the Bruce, the sense of history weighs upon us by observing the courage of one who inspires with their actions and fortitude, and the oohs and ahhs of those behind us who appreciate the attempt but never quite understand the anxiety and pressure of wanting to believe that a Nice Try should count for something more than pity.

Jessica Luise, Nice Try. Single Review. full post

(396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

One Way To Denmark. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Rafe Spall, Darren Evans, Elis James, Joel Fry, Martin Frisley Ammitsbol, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Benedikte Hansen, Vicktoria Noell Ingberg, Jeanette Lindbaek, Simone Lykke, Steve Speirs, Benny Botchiaer Thomsen, Maylenah Carmen Angellina Wiliemsborg, Tim Woodward.

It is tempting at times to believe Government rather than Time and fate deal the cruellest hands when it comes to the way the ordinary person is dealt as if they have no right to expect decency or even just a quiet unassuming life, that the conspiracy of action is just that, kick a person when they are down and with that tough love they will raise themselves out of the situation they have been placed in, as if by magic, their lives will be restored, that growth and strength comes from being treated abysmally.

One Way To Denmark. Film Review. full post

(601 words, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Centigrade. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 3/10

Cast: Genesis Rodriguez, Vincent Piazza, Mavis Simpson-Ernst.

There is no such thing as an unimportant human story, just uninterested people who refuse to delve out of their comfort zone and place themselves into the shoes, the experiences of another person.

Centigrade. Film Review. full post

(514 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Pete McClelland, The Way Back To You. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The Way Back To You is one that the adventurer and the lover will often talk passionately of, but rarely undertake, knowing full well that what lies in wait is more than just temptation or the rekindling of a former affection, but also regret, one steeped perhaps in loss and recriminations; and it is in the end only the seeker of forgiveness, of the story teller, and the poet, that The Way Back To You becomes apparent, it is one of open ended compassion, of acceptance, a few fruitful lines in which to woo life and love as equal partners.

Pete McClelland, The Way Back To You. Album Review. full post

(376 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Richard Haswell, With The Changing Light. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

With The Changing Light, we see things in a way that either more appealing, or at least different, our perspective altered to the point where the dusk is illuminating, where the ruby brightness is blinding, where the transformation is to embraced.

Following up from his 2017 album Lamp Black, the Edinburgh based musician Richard Haswell returns to the fore to deliver an album that, whilst written and recorded during the ensuing social health storm of 2020, actually finds the space to ensue and proactively promote a sense of freedom, an embracing of frank expression. It is to this beauty in which the sound encompasses with inquisitive non-conformity, a burst of energy full of candour and colour.

Richard Haswell, With The Changing Light. Album Review. full post

(368 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)