A kiss in the dark,
hands held tight, the distant
pleasure of love
often alluding us, like water
in a barren land, but one
that still grows cacti
without hesitation;
a thousand stubbly pricks
in search of water
and the tendrils
that slip underneath the soil.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The modern age has taught us many things that our ancestors would have balked at, it may be just the way things work out, that our very nature is pre-disposed to argue with a voice that is full of nonsense, that we have forgotten the art and point of debate with civility in our hearts, that when we suffer defeat at the hands of those with greater persuasive qualities or indeed that their philosophy is of greater sound text, we belittle ourselves by believing all is lost and not Lost Is Not Losing.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It is only by accident that some of the greatest discoveries are made, that inner voice in your gut which suggests with high spirits, “Try me, you’ll like me, you will love me”; it happens so much but we often disregard the advice our senses tell us, implores upon us and yet if we did but listen the once, like the random happy accident that awaits, our hearts would undoubtedly be more fulfilled. It is a happy accident to come across art in the same way, the moment when you hear a snatch of a song and find yourself buying an album and not being disappointed at all.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
On fire, blazing with so much anger and hope that the only thing that might compare to a match held up close to the eye is seeing the Sun being so much in focus that the Earth may as well be hurtling towards its intense solitary star; Matchstickmen, the snare and crackle of Lucifer’s tip with added muscle of songs that radiate and roar like the finest stoked fire in a Scottish Highland’s castle on New Year’s Eve, it is the fact that Matchstickmen have produced such a fine and wonderful album that From Our Own Ashes somehow is going to be comfortably one of the great hard rock albums of the year.
I have a silver knife,
purchased from a stall
on a street market, with the faint
taste of Greenwich tea
hanging in the air
and making the early morning hunger
cripple my stomach.
It is blunt but beautiful,
this market letter opener,
it would do the job on my skin
if pressed.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
There is point where the general public’s opinion falls into the sphere of boredom, it is not the artist’s fault, it is perhaps though a reflection of the times that there is just too much of too much going on, that the pull on the heart of the ordinary Joe is too huge to truly get to grips with. Yet it has to be understood that in any art, any realm of the artistic, Too Much Is Never Enough.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The world is on a knife edge, a relentless march to its own seemingly assured destruction, one that cannot arguably be stopped and one that has left eminent scientist Stephen Hawking to conclude there may be only a 1’000 years for Humanity to survive and for the planet to be rid of its gorging hosts; perhaps the best thing to do to at least stem the tide is for the population to look deep in its own soul and Make Blues Not War.
Lost: The sense of propriety and its partner decency,
last seen wearing, The Emperor’s new clothes,
or even ragged, dishevelled suit, tramp like holes,
smells a bit off, funny, peculiar…but with a coin
or hundred million quid
in disposable, untraceable notes, watermarked,
wrapped in an old argyle sock with a promissory
note tied around the big toe’s end.
Noticeable features: none, just delusions of grandeur
and bucket loads of self-importance.
If found please contact, England, the United States
of America, possibly France, maybe Germany, Austria,
Hungry or Turkey, or phone the Kremlin
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Language may be a living breathing entity, an important part of what it means to be human, yet it has the despondency, the frightening ability to disappear if not nurtured and cared for. The Cornish language, spoken by so few people in the lands surrounded by the northern waters of Europe was very much in danger of dying out, of becoming as endangered as the once thriving tin mines, yet as the superb Duo that make up The Changing Room, Tanya Brittain and Sam Kelly, note in their third release of the year, The Magic of Christmas is enough to turn any tide and make language loved.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Deacon Blue just keep coming back to the Echo Arena, it would be astonishing if they didn’t turn up at the venue, unlock the door and make themselves several discerning cups of tea, such is the passion for performing in Liverpool and their fondness for the city’s crowd.