Category Archives: Music

The Most, The Vinyl E.P. Collections. E.P. Reviews.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There was a time when the lands that encompass the Nordic sphere of influence weren’t, with one notable exception, particularly noted for their music output or inspiration on the twin cultures of America and the U.K. Every genre was met with the kind of derision that you expect from arguably self-centred dominant crop of major artists. Times change, spheres of influence move on, what was considered unattractive or just plain wrong can become the stuff of legends and as with Iceland, Norway, The Faroe Islands, Finland and Denmark, Sweden’s music has become something to savour, like the stunning landscapes that dwarf the fields, the lakes that capture the imagination, The Most are something to admire from a country that holds such things in the palm of its hands and nourishes them in a way that the U.K. at times seems to have forgotten.

The Most, The Vinyl E.P. Collections. E.P. Reviews. full post

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

Gramercy Arms, The Seasons Of Love. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If you wanted happening, creative, inventive and artistic way of life in America during the late 70s through to around 1993, then like the period before the Second World War and the smell of Jazz oozing out of the bars on 77^th Street like a victory parade caught in the heat of noon day sun, the best place to go was New York City.

Gramercy Arms, The Seasons Of Love. Album Review. full post

(521 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Manic Street Preachers, Futurology. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If the early part of The Manic Street Preacher’s career was an abundance of the brutal thought wrapped up in the assurance of a protection from four lads from South Wales then as the group have got older, as the more the world feels more insane and the feeling of being abandoned becomes more prevalent day by day, the more The Manic Street Preachers are needed to offer a light on the insidious, on the corrupt and corruptible and the need to understand that to feel angry is not just a feeling it is a right.

Manic Street Preachers, Futurology. Album Review. full post

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

Chicago, Chicago XXXVI. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Creatively Chicago were one of the finest bands to have ever come out of America, they rank up there with absolute greats and their blockbuster of an album which they wrecorded live Chicagio at Carnegie Hall still rates as one of the finest pieces of music ever captured in the rawness of the stage show. Yet time moves on, the slight off putting stale, fragrant-less aroma comes out every now and then as you listen intently to the ensembles latest release Chicago XXXVI.

Chicago, Chicago XXXVI. Album Review. full post

(492 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Me And Deboe, Here They Come. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9^1/2/10

There are times in life when you really feel honoured…beyond that, grateful, to have heard a set of songs by a band or an artist in which the long nights caress the furrowed brow and handles the inner music beast with the soft click of the finger. That ambient caress is never far away when it comes to ME and Deboe, yet they also manage to tune you into a different direction in life, the mere taste of a song can cause the heart to gain momentum, give it the energy to face a new dawn and ultimately make you relieved that music chose to infiltrate your soul.

Me And Deboe, Here They Come. E.P. Review. full post

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

Kilmara, Love Songs And Other Nightmares. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is always something that keeps even the sturdiest and happy go lucky minds awake during the hours of darkness, whether it the constant thought of repression, misplaced anger, guilt or unremitting sorrow, nightmares find a way into the deepest recesses and have an annoying habit of making you pay whilst you sleep as you do when you are awake.

What keeps them at bay can be just the knowledge that somewhere somebody truly loves you for whatever you and whatever you have done, tenderness and darkness so compatible, so alluring and cautious that it can only be described as Love Songs and Other Nightmares.

Kilmara, Love Songs And Other Nightmares. Album Review. full post

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

Richard Durrant, Cycling Music. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Imagine the days when a bike ride meant disappearing into the country for a while, round to nearest largest natural expanse of nature you could find or even when you could ride on the road unhindered by the feel of ever increasing technology dogging every turn of the wheel. Many have tried, and in some cases notably succeeded, to recapture what that feeling is like, to have the click of the milometer go up in stages before your eyes whilst taking in the surroundings without an engine interfering with the natural order of the world. Many have tried but Richard Durrant goes one stage further with his album Cycling Music, he captures the peace of the journey rather than the frenetic discombobulated three minute rage, the sunny day through winding roads and the taste of local food tempting the palate rather than the steam inducing affair of the Tour de France or of thousands of fans lining a route just to see a flash of sweat pass them by.

Richard Durrant, Cycling Music. Album Review. full post

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

Midge Ure, Fragile. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Midge Ure is arguably a man who has seen it all and lived it all, certainly when it comes to music. A member of one of the finest bands to come out of the U.K., the rich tapestry of working with the legendary Phil Lynot and Thin Lizzy, writing several hit songs including the superb Visage track Fade To Grey, Love’s Great Adventure, If I Was and been a founding member alongside The Boomtown Rats outspoken frontman Bob Geldof of Band Aid; and somehow in amongst it all somehow finding the precious time to keep going on the road and performing with absolute elegance to audiences up and down the country, he cannot be accused of being delicate.

Midge Ure, Fragile. Album Review. full post

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

Rachael Dunn, Placing Stars. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Like the good old 45 R.P.M single, the bastion of pop charts past, there are times when an E.P. can leave you trustingly wanting more. You love them; they speak to you in the same way that a novella or well-written Ernest Hemmingway short story can grab your attention for a while but you just cannot help knowing that a little more would send you over the edge into some sort of exquisite dream. Like the child only being allowed one small sweet lest the sugar content send them going into a crazy spiral of juvenile energy rush, the listener has to limit themselves to knowing what has been put out is enough, even if it is with a shrug of musical despondency.

Rachael Dunn, Placing Stars. E.P. Review. full post

(379 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Raelism, Freedom Within The Prison. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Everyone has a prison, a jail cell or gaol of their own making; it is how they deal with the thoughts inside that surrounding wall that set them apart from others. Sometimes your mind and imagination are the only Freedom Within The Prison.

Raelism, Freedom Within The Prison. E.P. Review. full post

(388 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)