Category Archives: Music

Conflict, Transform Into A Human. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It has long been said that if you poke the Russian bear, you are likely to get mauled. Unless of course you do it with a drum stick and point out the electric guitar and the impressive female vocalist waiting to get started, then the Russian bear, a polarising designate which isn’t worthy of the paper it is written upon for the Russian people are just as astonishing as the British when it comes to all things music, the Russian bear jams harder, beats faster and splinters more drum sticks in search of the perfect Metal rhythm than any other creature growling in the forests around the Steppes.

Stealing Sheep, Not Real. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

They are one of the most uniquely sounding bands to come out of the twin musical areas of Liverpool and Birmingham for some time but even then it doesn’t guarantee that a new album will have anything the intensity or the overflowing amount of passion that their debut or any of their abundant gigs have had.

Beth Hart, Better Than Home. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You can ask for many things in life, world peace, the end to hunger, humanity living side by side in genuine respect…the list is endless and in all honesty hardly likely to happen. You can though, and surely must always be allowed the privilege of hearing a Beth Hart album at some point during the busy weeks ahead. This is a pre-requisite for getting through Time, the chance to listen to a genuine female legend of 21st Century Blues Rock at her prolific best. This prolific, demanding the clearest mind’s attention nature is captured in true style with her latest release, Better Than Home.

Harriet!, Hidden Messages. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There will always be those that say that different generations cannot relate to each other, that the signs and signals sent out by one, are at best taken as nonsense and that they haven’t lived yet, at worst, degraded to the point of supreme arrogance and as condescending as anybody could ever hope to achieve.

Steve Thompson & The Incidents, Rainbows & Arrows. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Arguably there was a period of time when very little mattered music wise to some, the odd breakthrough artist such as Tori Amos, for some the battle for the so called soul of Brit-Pop between Oasis and Blur, a battle that seemed dog-eared and tired when compared to listening to the lyrical genius that lay in the words provided by Jarvis Cocker and Pulp and in others it seemed like the bland had taken over the musical asylum. The only way forward for some music lovers was to search beyond the offerings or to head back into safer waters and listen to what had come before.

Nicola Hardman, Little Fish. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Every good song needs a hook in which to draw the listener in with. Some have them placed so discreetly that it might not be until a couple of days later as you find yourself working in the garden or preparing a late night supper that the hook becomes apparent. Others have you at the very start, they tingle with energy, they are demanding in their instant appeal and have something so catchy about them that you cannot help but listen to them.

Grant Nicholas, Black Clouds. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is nobody quite like Grant Nicholas for when it comes to being completely sincere about the way he feels about the world at any given time, it is what makes him such an endearing musician to watch and an interesting man to listen to. From highs that have the air of despondency strewn through them, to lows which house a positive aspect so unshakable that it grips the heart muscle and aches in time with each plucked string, no emotion is ever left unturned and in his latest release, Black Clouds, the emotions are once again left out in the open to breathe.

Agnostic Front, The American Dream Died. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Nature doesn’t just abhor a vacuum, it sends it hate mail on a regular basis, it throws out invitations to it asking if it’s feeling lucky enough to be reckoned with over six rounds and finally takes the arrogant void round the back of the local pub for a friendly word down its empty headed shell like ear. Nature, the one wearing the white Stetson but whose own moral values are that which are vague as to which way in wants the outcome to fall, is determined that the vacuum should be consumed and an alternative sought. Whether in politics, music or in any other spectrum of Human activity, a vacuum is a dangerous entity in which to be stood next to.

James J Turner, James J Turner, Singer-Songwriter. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It might be a vision of things to come, or at least it could just be a one off confined to one very special musician; either way, a release before the release is not to be sniffed at, especially if it means fans of James J. Turner get a set of four new songs to listen to and enjoy.

Denis Parkinson, Liverpool Skyline. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Once upon a time, it seems at times so long ago that it could be just rumour or even sarcastic hearsay, all songs were created with the equality not afforded the species they were designed to entertain, namely the ability to make humanity think.