Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are those who have issues with intimacy, it scares them and no amount of cajoling or warmth will ever change that. It is not a bad thing to be wary of such confidence and chance of relationship, but it can lead you away from a musical path in which the poise and lyrical attraction of the musician is all consuming, all powerful and understandably beautiful.
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The vastness and emptiness of the great seas is such that it is possible to lose sight of both land and fellow travellers along the way, that the only company is that in which you choose at the outset and there is no way to replace any of them until dry land comes into view. No matter how big the Armada, it can be a lonely life unless you are resolute and firm in your command Of An Ocean.
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It is a big step up from debut to the sheer scale of the so called difficult second album, the strides that need to be taken to ensure that the music continues to flow, that the result is heard with open ended honesty and the hunger just at the right level so it does not seem as if the band is gnawing at a bone which is exposed and bare; all its trapping and furs removed. It is an album that needs to see progression yet still be rooted enough in the same beauty that transfixed the original fans; to speed up and to shout out with guts and determination that they are Never Slowin’ Down.
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Music is everywhere, even those who profess not to like it cannot avoid it for as Trapt prove with heavy eloquent ease, it is in our blood, it runs amok in our veins, it tears the heart and brains apart and crushes any sign of dissent; it is the lifeblood of the Universe and it is in our DNA.
The building blocks of life, the genetic coding which determines what are physically if not emotionally, all can be stripped down and given a name but it doesn’t replace the way that actions and effects can have on the mind and make even the strongest doubt themselves or the so called weakest find courage when everybody else shrinks into the background.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The last man standing, the glory of the battlefield and the ceaseless noise that continues in the head long after the final bullet has pierced the skin or the last sound on the bugle has recognised victory or devastating loss; war is as old as humanity, it is the struggle against tyranny that keeps it fresh and the hope of freedom that stirs the blood lust.
There are moments when the world, or at least certain people with decency in their hearts and the courage in their minds, is able to make a huge difference. There are many problems to be discussed, to be addressed and be solved, no matter how far we come as a civilisation, no matter the dizzy heights of industrial might, of reaching out beyond our mortal capability into the stars and the progress of technical know-how, people fall through the gaps. They become unseen, almost invisible, past the point of sight until they blur into their surroundings and whether it is through the actions of someone else or their own misfortune, brought on perhaps by a Government and others that just don’t care, the cracks open up regardless and the streets, the parks and the obscured shadows become the home of the dispossessed and the homeless.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Energy is under appreciated, it sometimes gets confused with over confidence or unnatural exuberance, it occasionally can be grating and the waves of the overdone musician. Energy though is natural, the ally of the ear and if it doesn’t get the notes, if it feels as if the musician is holding back, then the ear takes offence and tells the heart to dismiss completely anything that comes from the recorded message.
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You live for the new as much as you find yourself clinging to the old and much loved, your life is not the preserve of everything you have listened to in your life but also it is a well freshly dug out well, one with an endless seam of possibilities in which to drink from, one that might lead down a different path, a stream of purer thought; or at the very least one that will nourish and sustain you in its raw and tempest like power.
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Sarah Beatrice radiates soul, vitality and musical honesty whether you are fortunate to meet her in the street or the venues, or if you have the providence of listening to her voice as she performs delicate but punchy songs that have width and scope wrapped around them like a much loved tale of romance and intrigue. As The Girl with the Strawberry Hair, Sarah Beatrice brings love to her songs, that rascal of the moment to which we all might be lucky to have at some point and one that comes across with beautiful melancholic ease in her new song Stay In The Light.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Surely at no point has Ed Harcourt had any valid criticism thrown his way, there is just so much to admire in the man’s music and thoughtfulness of the world we exist in that anyone finding a way to snipe or sneer is arguably only coming from the position of the a high ground that doesn’t matter.
The music has always been beautiful, rage filled, inclusive and honest, it is the sound of modest triumph and the keen eye of the observer patiently watching society, scrutinising each individual and bringing their tale to the table; whether in anger, solace or respect, Ed Harcourt has never let his fan base down and that discerning touch is all over his latest album, Furnaces.