Category Archives: Music

Mike T. Kerr, Favourite Flatpickers. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The enjoyment that comes from being entertained does not always arrive pre-packaged with the expectation of all that you know repeating itself; sometimes you must immerse yourself in the new to feel the pull of the soul and the heartbeat working in tandem to appreciate that what others might suggest is uninteresting without the voice, is in actuality the stirring of motivation, the stimulus of the mind creating for the listener the sense of having always had a completed list of their Favourite Flatpickers to hand.

Mike T. Kerr, Favourite Flatpickers. Album Review. full post

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

Kintsugi No. 21, Everything In Reverse. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To reverse is not the action of retreating, but rather a strategic withdraw in which to counterattack at a later time with pride intact, with new ideas and attitude soaring high above the plains and fields, and where the trials and tribulations engaged and became inspiration to move forward, to conquer the darkness that holds us back, and where Everything In Reverse is actually the epitome of continuation and the blueprint for persistence.

Kintsugi No. 21, Everything In Reverse. Album Review. full post

(350 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Only Child, …And The Band Played On. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There is a special place reserved in art for the moments, the extraordinarily planned dichotomy that causes your brain to feel something entirely different to what your heart is focusing upon. It comes from the ability to paint a picture which has a beat a groove to it which feeds on the dopamine in the brain, whilst simultaneously imploring you to listen to the lyric, to fight the urge to feel the music and recognise the words of anger, lack of hope, and fearsome indignation contained within.

Only Child, …And The Band Played On. Single Review. full post

(441 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Matt McManamon, Scally Folk. Album Listen.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Outside of Liverpool, there are few towns and cities within the British Isles that appear to have engrained themselves so much on the artistic community, the singers, the musicians, the poets, writers, and playwrights.

London has its moments with groups such as Madness, a band of brothers who embody the London vibe and belief, but Liverpool, the city fed daily by the ebb and flow of the Mersey, that is the place where art takes on a different meaning, it is the place where the soul of the city emerges into every avenue where a word is written, where the sound of violin can emulate and evoke the imagery of the city; and where artists and their audiences revel in their uniqueness.

Matt McManamon, Scally Folk. Album Listen. full post

(515 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

UV-TV. Always Something. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Inspiration often comes from the sustained darkest moments we endure in life and not from the vagarious of fleeting joy and moments of stolen passion we are granted by fate or the gods. The love song is a by-product of regret and jealousy, the tempered lines of illumination are driven by having suffered and not wanting others to fall into the same sense of despair, and the exuberant declaration of peace that is roundly welcomed with flashes of over-the-top behaviour, are born out the memory that the innocent were amongst those that will not see another dawn smile upon them.

UV-TV. Always Something. Album Review. full post

(368 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

Joe Bonamassa, Now Serving: Royal Tea Live From The Ryman. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Joe Bonamassa has always cared, that is a given, a fact, an indisputable truth to which the musician has presented time and time again since he first brought his instinct, the impulse, and the love, to the Blues as a young performer. It is quite understandable that, with a few exceptions, Blues was creaking under the pressure of the weight of its own immense, and powerful past, and was in danger of leaving the turn of the century music lovers stranded in a place where the genre was of little value to the younger crowd, or worse, disappearing altogether, only to be looked upon as a vague memory, a sepia tinged recollection of how great, how captivating, the music was.

Joe Bonamassa, Now Serving: Royal Tea Live From The Ryman. Album Review. full post

(577 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

Gary Numan, Intruder. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The worst of intruders are those that gain access to what we believe is the most secure and personal belongings we own, our own dark thoughts, our altered memories that plague us, that worm into the mind when it is running on dormant, and which send our own belief, our presence of self, whirling, spinning, until we catch the Intruder and make it sing our song, loudly, with passion, with empathy.

Gary Numan, Intruder. Album Review. full post

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

Longstay, Heading Back (To Miss You). Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The last year has tested the resolve of us all; to keep going, to find peace in the eye of the storm, to find ways to remain above the rising water of concern and fury, to continue to find ways to keep the soul calm, but most of all to refuse to revisit old situations or people that we know caused us mental anguish in the past. We can go back to another place, but we must keep a tight rein on the emotions that forced us to leave, we have an obligation to be aware that what we have lived through of late does mean our heart has to overlook all that we escaped and return to it with open arms.

Longstay, Heading Back (To Miss You). Single Review. full post

(450 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Paul Gilbert, Werewolves Of Portland. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You can howl at the moon all you want, but only the wolf in human skin can feel the pull of our nearest celestial body to such an extent that the fur on the inside shows it natural bare teeth and smiling instinct to emerge, that the entertainer, the performer, the icon will not just howl, but will sense the muscles tense and ripple, the sinews expand, the eyes become clearer, brighter, more in tune with nature, and that howl is heard around the world, filling the void, making others listen to the music of a master.

Paul Gilbert, Werewolves Of Portland. Album Review. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones, Here To Tell The Tale. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When we look back at all the major events that have been the visual soundtrack to our collective lives in the last one hundred or so years, it is perhaps with wonder and astonishment that that any of us are Here To Tell The Tale, let alone talk about our truth with style and grace, with a passion that kicks out at the ignorant, with a fierce musical sidestep to keep other’s lazy lies from impacting, degrading our story.

Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones, Here To Tell The Tale. Album Review. full post

(505 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)