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Aquaman, The Trench. Volume One. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

There used to be a saying that you were either a Beatles fan or a Rolling Stones devotee, the same could be said of the big two comic book publishers in America, D.C. Comics and Marvel. Like the argument between The Stones and the four Liverpool musicians, there will also be a crossover who say for example find the compelling stories of Batman or Wonder Woman just as exciting as the moral guideline set out by Captain America or the incredible life of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, just as there are those who love The Beatles but also see the appeal of Paint It Black or Sympathy for the Devil. However sympathy for D.C. Comics marine hero Aquaman has never really captured comic book fans in any kind of dramatic way.

Aquaman, The Trench. Volume One. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(522 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Emma Stevens, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9^1/2/10

It took a smile, the easiest of human reflexes and the most disarming to understand that this was going to be a set in which love would not just be felt but would in turn become admiration and fully encompassed respect. For Emma Stevens, the smile she wore for almost the entire set inside Zanzibar was not one of falseness, not just placed there in which to entrance an audience, but one of the most honest beams you ever likely to see on stage by a musician as they perform a set of music that just stole the heart.

Emma Stevens, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. full post

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

Alexandra Jayne, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. (April 2014)

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It may be the Easter break for many students up and down the country but that doesn’t mean that they either unwind over the spoils of Cadbury wars and gargantuan eggs, nor for the benefit of their own sanity or health hitting every single book for 24 hours a day ready for the impending exams that naturally hove into view once the last wrapper has been dispatched to its fiery hell.

Alexandra Jayne, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. (April 2014) full post

(481 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

TJ And Murphy, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

TJ and Murphy provided the harmonic dichotomy on a stage that had been and would be dominated in the early part of the evening by two female musicians, one on her own but with a voice that could break down barriers and playfully tease affection out of the sulkiest stone and the other whose refreshingly bright and breezy attitude reminded the world that a smile can be the most effective weapon in anyone’s arsenal.

TJ And Murphy, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. full post

(430 words, 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Hafdis Huld, Home. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are many reasons in which to find yourself as a listener immensely satisfied with exploring the music of Nordic tradition. Whether it is the music from Norway, Sweden, Finland, the exceptional talent of the island race of the Faroe Islands or even Iceland, there is so much beauty contained within the music that it can make a music lover hanker for less intrusive times, times when the narrative was the big sell and the music a picturesque addition, the soundscapes of the sea crashing into the rugged hardy rocks along the shores with a guitar being gently teased in the background.

Hafdis Huld, Home. Album Review. full post

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

The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Film Review. Picturehouse @ F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHann, Sally Field, Campbell Scott, Paul Giamatti, Embeth Daviditz, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Marton Csokas, Louis Cancelmi, Max Charles, B.j. Novak, Sarah Gadon, Michael Massee, Helen Stern, Stan Lee, Jorge Vega.

For all the good Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst bought to the Spiderman films of the previous decade, there is huge appeal in watching Andrew Garfield play the Marvel Comic book hero and the excellent Emma Stone as the immensely enjoyable Gwen Stacy in the latest Amazing Spider-Man film.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Film Review. Picturehouse @ F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(725 words, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)

The Tricks of The Mind

The sound of the Nordic God’s anger thunders in my ears

as Freya plays with seduction a song in which to entrap

My O.K. Internal Haze and give rise to the tricks of the mind.

The Nordic Gods play havoc with the landscape, the boundary

between my vision and the vast sea that was crossed by Freya in search

of someone to take notice of the gentle notes of joy, despair and anguish,

the dominant emotion of love for the guitar she wields with a shy smile.

Her weapon, simpler than the Ax favoured by more aggressive

The Tricks of The Mind full post

(279 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)

Play It Loud.

Time softened the edges
Wore down the dangerous demeanour
Blunted the horns on top of my head
Little trace of that famous defiance
On the outside of this monster
That walks amongst you
But inside?
Still blazing
Still nothing that you are
Ear-aching i-pod buds
Thunder his howling
His raging luminescence
Fires up the beast inside
Has me swaying
Snake-hips twitching
Contorting my face
Silent-shrieking every line
On this morning tram
Surrounded by shoppers
And assorted poor meek souls
Trying to get to work
I am that thing
That crazy in the corner
Wild eyed and mouthing
‘No, I don’t have a gun’
‘No, I don’t have a gun.’

Play It Loud. full post

(115 words, estimated 28 secs reading time)

Gilmore And Roberts, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Just watching Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts on stage for a short while is enough to confirm what the whispers and folk murmurings have been about for the last couple of years. To witness it live though is a pleasure that in some old fashioned way might feel as if it was knocking too much upon the memory for example of the likes of Ralph McTell, the genius of the narrative story laid out for all to see is worthy of the some of the greats of British Folk.

Gilmore And Roberts, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport. full post

(415 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Rita Payne, Gig Review. Atkinson Theatre, Southport.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Rita Payne, a band name so good there just had to be two musicians in there to fill the space and neither of them are called Rita. For Rhiannon Scutt and Pete Sowerby the last two years has been a big curve and the music they perform is not only enticing but also fulsome in its delivery and as they tour with new Folk heroes Gilmore and Roberts, the excitement they generate in the stories and playing is enough to convince all who made their way to The Atkinson in Southport that they had witnessed something very special and utterly adorable.

Rita Payne, Gig Review. Atkinson Theatre, Southport. full post

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