Author Archives: admin

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is nothing reckless about Joanne Shaw Taylor, wild and as full of tempestuous cosmic storms that erupt from the Sun as it gives into its cycle of moods but never reckless, never irresponsible with the hearts of those who seek to spend their time in her company. She is attentive to the soul with a smile beguilingly appearing as the notes hang in the air and the manner of expression is savoured, it is the dedication to her craft that has created such an explosive sound and one that is cared for on both sides of the stage.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Ian Prowse, Here I Lie. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

In a world that insists on pushing more than one handcart towards Hell, it often takes a sincere conveyor of words and acute observation to make you stop and think of just how love and honour can arrest the final slide into oblivion, how a small momentary glance can unveil a wealth of information to which many who insist that they are blind, will force their eyes open and make them challenge their personal, and sometimes dogmatic, views.

Ian Prowse, Here I Lie. Album Review. full post

(468 words, 1 image, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Zidrou And Aimee De Jongh, Blossoms In Autumn. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is perhaps out of habit that we think of love as one created and owned by teenagers, the image of Romeo and Juliet declaring to the world, albeit with a sense of unnerving non-appropriate behaviour with consideration to their age, that their love is timeless, their love is written in the stars and cannot be contained.

Zidrou And Aimee De Jongh, Blossoms In Autumn. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(407 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Brick Up 2: The Wrath Of Ann Twacky, Theatre Review. Royal Court, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Jake Abraham, Roy Brandon, Eithne Browne, Danny Burns, Suzanne Collins, Paul Duckworth, Andrew Schofield, Francis Tucker.

Band: Howard Gray, Danny Burns, Adam Keast, Francis Tucker.

Revenge is a pudding best served piping hot and with all the flavour, texture and fruit mixed together to be delivered with precision, timing and a smile so wide that once served it is the talk of the town, and with the score settled and the laughter bellowing all around.

Brick Up 2: The Wrath Of Ann Twacky, Theatre Review. Royal Court, Liverpool. full post

(495 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Robin Trower, Coming Closer To The Day. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Creativity has no expiry date, there are no rules which dictate an age barrier to the artistic and productive flow and yet quite often we find ourselves extolling the virtues of the young and never giving credit to those whose time on Earth has been filled with the pursuit of all that is inventive and original. It sometimes must feel that the film Logan’s Run was just a radical idea taken up and put in place, that the philosophy detailed is Coming Closer To The Day when we disavow anything that has been fashioned by anybody older than a certain age.

Robin Trower, Coming Closer To The Day. Album Review. full post

(470 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

The Loch Ness Mouse, The Loch Ness Mouse II. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

If only a winning formula was available to those who seek inspiration but often find that their time is not in the right place, that their heart, for all their worth and experience, for all that they endeavour to achieve, is perhaps missing out because they strike out blindly and without the aid of knowing that all along what they needed to do was follow the rules of succession, namely that being recognised as unique and rare will attract the stories that are in search of exclusivity and passion.

The Loch Ness Mouse, The Loch Ness Mouse II. Album Review. full post

(493 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Cary Balsano, Versailles. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is not that we feel fear as a response to the moment we are confronted by the creatures that inhabit the darkness but that we shall find the fear is the greatest weapon we have in arsenal to combat and disarm the demons. It is in resolution to be greater than we are that we seek out the challenge instead of sheltering behind a wall, closed off, lacking in hope and valour, for once we remember who is watching us, we understand how courage works.

Cary Balsano, Versailles. Single Review. full post

(360 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Jon Fratelli, Bright Night Flowers. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They say that an artist should never find themselves continually painting the same view on the canvas before them, it stunts the overall vision, the observation, and whilst that particular canvas will show the continuing age, the scenic era as it blossoms and corrodes with time and be remarked upon for the one frame changes, it does nothing for the artist that they cannot surround themselves with other scenes, take in different ideas and paint with words, with pictures, with thoughts; change is necessary and essential to keep the art thought-provoking and stimulating the nerves of those who seek it out.

Jon Fratelli, Bright Night Flowers. Album Review. full post

(426 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

The Girl On The Train, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Samantha Womack, Oliver Farnworth, John Dougall, Naeem Hayat, Adam Jackson-Smith, Lowenna Melrose, Kirsty Oswald, Matt Concannon, Phillipa Flynn.

Physical human manipulation and ease in which we can find ourselves drowning in a sea of guided abuse never makes for an easy bedfellow in which to immerse yourself in. From the outside looking in you can see all the traits, the subtle digs at the way someone controls another person, influences others to see the worst in that person, and yet when you are the one being expertly handled, all you see is the relief that addiction of any type can bring, that it is no longer your fault.

The Girl On The Train, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Dido, Still On My Mind. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Not everybody likes the idea of Earl Grey tea being the signature tune in which to start their day, some prefer the idea of an infusion of exotic tastes to infiltrate their daily boundary, the skirmish between the beauty of sleep and the rigour of the time ahead which promises excitement, or arguably the same old, same old.

Dido, Still On My Mind. Album Review. full post

(526 words, 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)