Author Archives: admin

Southern Tenant Folk Union, Join Forces. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

If there is anything in the world that is sadly lacking as we steam headlong and at times with no thought but selfish preservation running through our minds, it is that how much greater a species we could be if we actually listened, if we paid attention to what was being said without thinking what our reply would be. That if we were to Join Forces with those whose opinions veered completely in the opposite direction to us, we might perhaps actually achieve more, that by listening without raising our voices ever higher, we might just become more evolved than squabbling apes fighting over land, oil and water.

Southern Tenant Folk Union, Join Forces. Album Review. full post

(435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Bordellos, How To Lose Friends And Influence No-One. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Authority without substance is overrated, it is meaningless, it means nothing and achieves only resentment and disaffection, authority without the will of the people is the daily open warfare and guaranteed manipulation of the masses, playing one of against the other; it is the best way, the only way to show How To Lose Friends And Influence No–One.

The Bordellos, How To Lose Friends And Influence No-One. Album Review. full post

(423 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

White Pill.

White pill,

sexy mo,

keep me going,

who needs the blue triangle

it only gets wasted on sex,

white pill,

crumbled down,

beats the thought of Ginsberg’s

heroin in the eyes,

don’t need to be high

to write down thoughts,

just lucid

enough to care that it is right.

White pill,

no other beast for me,

white pill,

my liver is fine

and counteracted by the fire

that still rages in my heart

and soul,

white pill,

chalk dust memories

White Pill. full post

(92 words, estimated 22 secs reading time)

The New 52, Let Me Sleep. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It might sound as if the idea was to make Darragh Cullen a superhero, to don the spandex and the secret identity, to fight the crime of poor manufactured music by television moguls who have no idea what an inspired and beautiful song really sounds like. It could easily be an homage to the world of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, of dark alleyways and illuminated sidewalks, the hero stands tall and the people of the world who pray for musical salvation, The New 52’s Let Me Sleep sees justice done.

The New 52, Let Me Sleep. Album Review. full post

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

Jack Blackman, Nearly Man. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

There are times when you are searching for your roots where it might become possible to miss the lush garden that has been carefully cultivated for you; like a life that has been packaged, presented and adorned, you focus on the rough edges because everything else just looks too neat. The wildness of existence becomes alluring and the energy expended becomes more of a thrill than would arguably be necessary. Looking for the whole rather than the Nearly Man is the persuasive answer.

Jack Blackman, Nearly Man. Album Review. full post

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

Quiet Now, Do Not Let Me Mourn You Today.

May I ask a favour,

one that might upset you

as it upsets me;

just for one day,

on our anniversary,

do I have to mourn you?

Would it be O.K.

that today

on the day we remember

twenty-one years together,

that you allow me to grieve for you

without breaking my heart?

Our time was brief,

I knew of you for ten minutes,

before that I had never

heard your name;

yet somehow you have stayed

Quiet Now, Do Not Let Me Mourn You Today. full post

(200 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

Spine, Theatre Review. Playhouse Studio, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Rosie Wyatt.

It is the mantra of the age, everything has its price and everything is for sale. This diabolical hymn somehow has managed to include the voice of the angry teenager and the most ingenious of weapons, the written word, it somehow had diminished both to the same level of inconsequence, of being nothing more than the leftover in the three for a fiver bin or the silenced dream of the less than irritated willing to put on a tie and a suit and become a nodding dog filled with false outrage.

Spine, Theatre Review. Playhouse Studio, Liverpool. full post

(459 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

John Cee Stannard, It’s Christmas Time. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The dread of Christmas seems to come earlier every year, the small step of commercialism sneaking a peek into the wallets of the many who cannot afford it, to the tiring spectacle of it being so demanding, the forced smile on the face of the wary and without it letting up for a single minute and should you complain, should you point out the obvious, you become a pariah, a figure of damnation that is shunned and called out for all sorts by parents, friend and society alike.

John Cee Stannard, It’s Christmas Time. E.P. Review. full post

(429 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Buckle Tongue, All At Peace. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Peace is only achievable when there is nobody around to add to the noise, quiet, the lack of substance in the air is an illusion to the ears, for surely where humanity stands there must be a sound, for why else would our heart stir, why would it cause a commotion and beat with frightening regularity when the prospect of something illuminating comes along; when something stirs in the forest of reclusive Metal, all the world should hear.

Buckle Tongue, All At Peace. Single Review. full post

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

I Hate Marmite.

I hate Marmite,

however,

I defend your right to go to war

over it being withdrawn

from clean and enticing

shelves, with best before date

showing on the label,

to get agitated

and forced fed

as your mid-morning

mouth becomes the graveyard

of quick and easy snacks.

Remember, this is but the first shot

in the Marmite war, the skirmish

in the desert, the aisle of plenty

now bare, those that lived through

rationing know how to tighten

their belts by a couple of notches,

I Hate Marmite. full post

(117 words, estimated 28 secs reading time)