Author Archives: admin

Malinky, Far Better Days. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It seems there is always someone proclaiming that Far Better Days are ahead, especially if it matches with their own agenda. The promises come round quicker than an election leaflet being dropped through the door or the assurance of a less than sincere lover promising that they will learn from their mistakes and yet repeating the same clumsy moves over and over again. Yet in some ways there are always better times waiting, whether it is in the realisation that some people just suck the life out of you and all you have to do is walk away from the drama or in that one day someone, somewhere will show you the glimpse of the universe beating in harmony, some things are to held tightly and enjoyed; for there is the possibility that there are indeed Far Better Days to enjoy.

Malinky, Far Better Days. Album Review. full post

(466 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Stacey Solomon, Shy. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

The 21st Century has not been kind in terms of putting up a barrier between the soul and media scrutiny. It has not fared well in the way that some people are perceived, maybe of their own volition, maybe because they are attention seeking so and so’s who offer nothing to the world but empty vacuous doctrine and a sample of the bile to expect if their brains should ever be examined.

Stacey Solomon, Shy. Album Review. full post

(584 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

Born A Girl.

…If I had been born a girl,

would I put myself through the pain of later life

or given in to this drill like resonance that courses

through my spine, like a jack hammer gone mad

and which turns my sick to bile and my thoughts

to a looping insanity…

If I had been born a girl…

I would hope I would have even more compassion

than I hopefully am in possession of now,

and be able to forgive even those that are unforgivable in their actions

Born A Girl. full post

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

Fables: Sons Of Empire. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

All empires must eventually wither, contract, fade and die. It is perhaps the most human of all truths, which nothing can, or indeed should, last forever.

The days of empire should surely be beyond thought and yet in many minds it is as necessary as breathing, from business to the old empirical values of ownership, empire is nothing more than a control set upon from afar, the will of one people over another. It is a mindset that is perhaps eagerly captured in Bill Willingham’s ninth collection of stories in his Fables series, the stunning Sons of Empire.

Fables: Sons Of Empire. Graphic Novel Review. full post

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

Mo Evans, Spilled My Love. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

Pedigree and genetics is possibly not the first phrase that might pop into your head first thing in the morning, unless of course you have been up all night worrying about your judgement at the latest round of Crufts. However, it a useful comment to remember when thinking of the sublime talent that lives and breathes with every sinew straining to break loose as you listen to the new E.P from Mo Evans, the scintillating and inspiring Spilled My Love.

Mo Evans, Spilled My Love. E.P. Review. full post

(536 words, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong, Morgan Paull, Kevin Thompson, John Edward Allen, Hv Pike, Kimiko Hiroshige, Bob Okazaki, Carolyn DeMirjian.

Classics never die, they may slowly start to rust away or fade into the obscurity afforded all things great and small, but like the Mona Lisa, Concorde or a 40 year old bottle of Balvenie, if someone is still thinking of them then like a replicant caught doing a Marilyn Monroe pose over a steam vent in a future New York City, then the image will remain forever.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool. full post

(489 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Shall I compare You…

…Like when the dog farts and stares round for the intruder,

you shift the smell of blame of on your own shortcomings and feverish intent,

on anything that moves within your eyesight and dress your lies in robes of fur

covering the brown stain that appears on your underpants with money well spent.

 

The Cowering Chihuahuas and possessive Terrier smells just as fragrant

as the keen eyed Labrador leading the blind astray

and yet all are equal to the roundworm that feeds under the skin with skewed slant

Shall I compare You… full post

(192 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

Jess And The Bandits, Here We Go Again. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Here We Go Again, the debut release from the impressive Jess and the Bandits, a group that many may have missed out hearing but one in which the spirit of adventure and willingness to shape the path ahead. Very much in the same vein that the likes of Alison Moyet who took under her control three decades before, and deliver songs in a controlled, female guile-expressive way but with the ability to capture the mood fully and dominate the proceedings.

Jess And The Bandits, Here We Go Again. Album Review. full post

(559 words, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Forthaven, Lifeline. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Everybody needs a lifeline in their life. Whether it is the friend that will take a call at four in the morning when the ebb is at its lowest, the chance to shine when everything else has been denied to them or even just the possibility that a feeling of hope may be reciprocated and followed through, there should always be a lifeline for everybody.

Forthaven, Lifeline. Album Review. full post

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

Wire.

There is still so much barbed wire surrounding the air between us,

gnarled and sharpened, it is only seen

when observed up close, through the flawed magnifying qualities

that a camera can capture on full zoom, or perhaps laid across

a piece of clear glass and seen through one eye, half closed, straining to scrutinise

the differences in opinion that has ensnared us, dangerously

and without feeling any empathy.

 

The barbed wire, svelt snake like, worm thin, scorpion sting,

is laid across mile upon mile of the territory marking out no man’s,

Wire. full post

(398 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)