Category Archives: Music

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.

Beth Hart, Better Than Home. Album Review. full post

(540 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

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.

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

(408 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

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.

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

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

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.

Nicola Hardman, Little Fish. Single Review. full post

(361 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

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.

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

(436 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

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.

Agnostic Front, The American Dream Died. Album Review. full post

(473 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

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.

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

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

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.

Denis Parkinson, Liverpool Skyline. Album Review. full post

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

Laurence Jones, What’s It Gonna Be. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There is no stopping Laurence Jones, you could try, by all means if it pleases you to put obstacles in the way of sheer talent then so be it. However, be warned, like a beautifully preserved early 20th Century train going at full speed and with a driver so well versed in how his machine works and what it is capable of, those obstacles will be surely smashed to smithereens, the splinters flying into the detractor’s own pathway; for nothing except Laurence Jones can get in the way of this train.

Laurence Jones, What’s It Gonna Be. Album Review. full post

(459 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Brian Wilson, No Pier Pressure. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Legends never truly lose their shine in the world of art. The odd botched single along the way, the collaboration done for artistic vale but never truly welcomed by either fan or ready to poison the air cynic and perhaps the many brushes with the law with minor indiscretions that only fame can magnify to the point there every pore is seen and every mark suffering intense analysis, all add to the legendary status being saluted with ready open hand.

Brian Wilson, No Pier Pressure. Album Review. full post

(464 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)