Author Archives: admin

Ma Polaine’s Great Decline, Small Town Talk. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The atmosphere is always right for the moody, for the sound of the noir to hit home and infuse and meld with the mind that hears the beat slightly differently, that hears the audio as a humorous progression and one that is a self contained pulse. The atmosphere is made by such bands as Ma Polaine’s Great Decline and the responses they urge in the feelings of listeners who come their way, whether in large numbers and where the conversation lights up the sky or as a just the gossip that titillates the guardians of Small Town Talk.

Ma Polaine’s Great Decline, Small Town Talk. E.P. Review. full post

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

Gotham: Series Two. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Ben McKenzie, Robin Lord Taylor, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Sean Pertwee, Camren Bicondova, B.D. Wong, Erin Richards, Cory Michael Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Morena Baccarin, James Frain, Jessica Lucas, Chris Chalk, Drew Powell, Michael Chicklis.

The city of Gotham, majestic, proud, historic and so it seems rotten to the very core of its existence with just a few people holding the barrier tight against all out disorder and mayhem – just the place for the man who is to become one of the city’s leading lights to hone his skills and get to grips with the darkness under his watch.

Gotham: Series Two. Television Review. full post

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

Haunt Me.

Every time, not just occasionally, but

every time I hear of a senseless death

at the hands of a lunatic,

the ones who believe they are

an avenging angel of death, of retribution,

of dark black clad mindfilled with hate

reckoning bathed in their own

self righteous haze,

I think of you.

 

It is bad enough you haunt my dreams

that I dare not sleep at times

because I know you will

come to me like a lover scorned,

Poe like finger shaking as the rotted corpse

Haunt Me. full post

(165 words, estimated 40 secs reading time)

Orlando.

…and all they wanted to do was kiss,

dance the night

away in some safe, secluded spot

and forget the world, forget the hate

and the day…

and the day

that should have driven by joy,

by finding a love, a sensual kiss

with someone so beautiful

instead turns red, turns violent

and where desire once filled the hall,

where attraction and solidarity

filled the air,

bullets now fly and tears, the sense of insanity

reigns in bitterness and recriminations

and the tears rue the day that Government decreed

Orlando. full post

(130 words, estimated 31 secs reading time)

Blue October, Home. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

If you could imagine for a single moment what life would be like if you had already heard the finest album you ever likely to hear before you even turn to the hopeful and fruitful years that being a teenager can provide, then surely to keep searching for the ultimate musical experience would be considered an act of folly, a dangerous illusion to which the only thing to suffer is your bank balance and your sanity. Yet somehow despite all that you keep searching, you keep hoping something will appear out of the dark, a vital moment will present itself to you and make it all worthwhile.

Blue October, Home. Album Review. full post

(420 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Jon Kenzie, Wanderlust. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The desire to keep moving, to find a way to forever keep the feet itchy and the mind in a permanent yearning state may well be called wanderlust. For many thought it is more about a sense of freedom, the liberty to pick yourself up and move on to the next town and see how they do things there; for in giving in to wanderlust is one of the great and utter delights that is afforded humanity and one that should be celebrated with keen thought.

Jon Kenzie, Wanderlust. Album Review. full post

(390 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

The Musketeers: The Hunger. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, Luke Pasqualino, Ryan Gage, Tamla Kari, Alexandra Dowling, Matthew McNulty, Hugo Speer, Rupert Everett, Dan Parr, Thalissa Tiexeira, Oliver Chris, Jan Spanbauer, Barry McCormick, Jodie Hay, Frances Magee, Janet Walker, Duran Fulton Brown, Matt Stokoe, Crispin Letts, Christopher Brand, Andy Linden, Ian Conningham.

The Musketeers: The Hunger. Television Review. full post

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

Bristol With Michael Palin…92-1

At Bristol Temple Meads Station,

a place I had known well

since the days of travelling, sideswiped

by having my soul

trapped between south and middle of the road

middle of decisions of going back and forth

on rails, on tracks, keeping on track…

I set out to conquer a new world

with the help of Michael Palin standing

directly behind me as the August

sun sapped my strength.

 

My father, the man who got me into

the beautiful game along with a man

Bristol With Michael Palin…92-1 full post

(410 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Sean McGinley, Donal Gallery, Ryan Donaldson, Iara McGowan, Chris McCurry, Marcus Lamb, Jonny Holden, Andy Kellegher, Paul Kennedy.

The lies and propaganda that was used to call up millions of men during World War One never seems to be anything but staggering, almost contemptible and yet those millions took the call to arms against people they had never met in a battle to preserve the status quo; as each county in the United Kingdom offered up more and more men to the front line, so too did the sense of belonging and camaraderie take hold in the trenches.

Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

James In The Fly.

James rolled his eyes inside the Fly

as we pulled down our glasses,

just a notch, enough to make the sentence

that passed round the table

to loud cheers

as football fans took

great delight in the opening goal,

to live and breathe in the land of innuendo.

 

The girl in ginger had long passed

off to another pub and we were left,

bereft upon the sea of groovy insinuation

and tied to the mundane,

until James, his wonderful

malapropisms and habit of ordering rum

James In The Fly. full post

(160 words, estimated 38 secs reading time)