Category Archives: Music

John Cee Stannard, When The Time Is Right. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

A Little Bit More, the Dickensian call out for those who understand they still need nourishment from a valuable source or those that aren’t quite willing to let go just yet of what gives them pleasure.

The final act recorded is such that an audience may call for the actors and even the author to return to the stage, the poet being beckoned to perform one final favourite for the crowd, the rejected lover hopelessly imploring for one last kiss or heated, passionate argument, it is the act of continuing the dream, one that we want to live forever.

John Cee Stannard, When The Time Is Right. Album Review. full post

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

Ed Brayshaw, Fire Without Water. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Intensity without the ability to recognise that succumbing to rage can lead to a proposition of fate that will engulf all who come into contact with it, is akin to setting the world on Fire Without Water being on hand to control the engulfing concentration of passion, the ashes of integrity burning long after all who sought refuge have looked back with sadness at what could have been.

Ed Brayshaw, Fire Without Water. Album Review. full post

(413 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Lucinda Williams, Good Souls, Better Angels. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To display strength comes with its own warning, to do so, you have to be careful that you don’t crush the spirit of those you hoping to inspire with that one unrivalled extreme state, that of intensity, the comparison between the noble cause and the worthy pain, the contrast between Good Souls Better Angels and the penetrating voice which concentrates of the urge of passionate temptation; there must be the understanding in all who hear such a call that the soul is always going to waver romantically when they encounter the sound and strength of the siren.

Lucinda Williams, Good Souls, Better Angels. Album Review. full post

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

John Jenkins, Growing Old… Songs From My Front Porch. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It will be argued that in uncertain times we are never more acutely aware of the passing of the hours and days as we find ourselves fighting against the clock, against nature and the system which has somehow fostered the lie that we must be constantly be on the move, not just be productive, but to somehow have a schedule which is thirty hours a day long and ten days a week in breadth. It is the insanity of speculation which stops many of from dreaming about a future of reflection, looking back and understanding that growing old gives you the opportunity to tell all your stories in comfort and with a view.

John Jenkins, Growing Old… Songs From My Front Porch. Album Review. full post

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

Wendy James, Queen High Straight. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

To be considered fearless is not always in the best interest of the soul, it offers little, or arguably no leeway in how you deal with the unexpected disaster, the issues caused by others that are out of your control; you might be able to meet them head on and defeat them with impunity but where is the growth, where is the humility?

Wendy James, Queen High Straight. Album Review. full post

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

Braids, Shadow Offering. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The mealy-mouthed, holier-than-thou and hypocritical all have the same basic characteristics woven into their D.N.A., the advice they want to spread, with or without being asked, is quite often shrouded in a Shadow Offering, a contribution from the empty can, the verbal donation from the pulpit of their choice, looking down upon their idea of the wretched and in need. The darkness in which they preach coming from a place of insecurity, of envy, and one in which the brave and the soulful have to join forces to keep the others at bay.

Braids, Shadow Offering. Album Review. full post

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

Mike Batt, The Penultimate Collection. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The artist who can appeal to all ages and all tastes is quite rightfully to be lauded, revered for their generous influence, the mark of the person involved is not just one who sees their art progress but evolve, so that they capture the heart of the child, and then the imagination of the adult in later years; the spanning of time creating an oasis of beauty that never seems to fade, never runs out of charm and sheer depth of skill.

Mike Batt, The Penultimate Collection. Album Review. full post

(499 words, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)

The Lovely Eggs, I Am Moron. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

In the very darkest of hours, what is needed as much as compassion, is a particular type of humour, is the ability to combine anger, wit and resolution that brings the darkest times and those that brought them to the population’s door to account. A country, a world, that sees satire as misplaced juvenile comedy is missing the point, for without satire, without the strength of purpose that such moments bring, the world which happily listens to the words of those who utter such imbecilic declarations as if they were gospel, deserve to have a derogatory title stamped upon their heads forever.

The Lovely Eggs, I Am Moron. Album Review. full post

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

Abi Rose Kelly, Polaroids & Violence. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

A snapshot is just a fragment of time to which we should have no reference in which to base an opinion, and yet that brief microsecond is all that is needed in some cases for some to judge and speculate wildly, as if we were all in command of deciding someone’s fate or determining the status or strength of a relationship.

Abi Rose Kelly, Polaroids & Violence. Single Review. full post

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

Terence Blacker, Playing For Time. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To step back from the rush and haste of the world, even when it has been forced to re-evaluate its principles and the price it is willing to pay for the appearance of progress, is to be seen as Playing For Time, the imagery of hesitation, of uncertainty in the realm of expectation and demand galloping over the horizon as if to suggest that someone else will step in and claim the glory of what is rightfully belongs to the artist who wavered too long in their final delivery.

Terence Blacker, Playing For Time. Album Review. full post

(447 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)