Category Archives: Music

Rob Eldridge, Room Full of Gardens. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Unlike say New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles or Boston, you have got to have spent time in Pittsburgh to fully understand and appreciate its magnetic charm, both as a city and its history and for the culture that has developed out of the bars, theatres and dreams of the people who make the Steel City what it is. The other famous cities that litter the thoughts of those dreaming of seeing America with their own eyes are all visible in the daydreams of those willing to stretch their legs and their minds, Pittsburgh though has to be seen physically to be appreciated and appreciated it would be.

Rob Eldridge, Room Full of Gardens. Album Review. full post

(467 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

The Voodoo Sheiks, Borrowed & New. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Something old, something new, something borrowed, lots of things blue…The Voodoo Sheiks cover all the bases with their new album Borrowed & New.

Borrowed & New sees The Voodoo Sheiks lead with something rich, diverse and ultimately a pleasure to wriggle into, an album of many different features but with one goal squarely in mind, to give the Blues a good going over and rock the life out of it, to give it a good shake and tell it to misbehave, to disobey the sometimes tight regulation attached and play up all night long. In that Andy Pullin, Slowbox Dave, John Coombes and Adrian Thomas tear into the Blues, their own temple building songs and tracks by some of the greats, and start to put up the adjoining and naughty beat alongside.

The Voodoo Sheiks, Borrowed & New. Album Review. full post

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

Rob Clarke and The Wooltones, The World of The Wooltones. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If you can remember the 60s then as saying goes, you can’t have been there. You can’t have seduced by the sound that ensnared a generation and made the smallest hairs on their arms spring to attention as if a thousand watts of electricity had been pumped through every individual strand. Of course if you were born after the 60s and have had to make do with the stories of those who professed to having been at Candlestick Park, the Isle of Wight and the other hundreds of magic moments in which the 60s music hung round and the highlighted sores on society they captured.

Rob Clarke and The Wooltones, The World of The Wooltones. Album Review. full post

(502 words, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

Simon Cousins, Given Songs. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Music truly is about opening yourself up, like all art it responds to how you feel on the day, what mood you have climbed out of bed in and how that period of darkness has affected you and your thoughts. For Simon Cousins, once of the Wiltshire Folk rock band Ophiuchus and Liverpool’s own The Onset, the mood he must have come to be in whilst recording the tracks on Given Songs must have been somewhere between serene and tranquil with a little nomadic aside into the realms of tender affection.

Simon Cousins, Given Songs. Album Review. full post

(468 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Little Sparrow, The Wishing Tree. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Some creatures are more observant than others, be they slight or minute, what they see and reflect upon should still be taken as evidence of their existence and their right to require a voice that should be heard.

The journey through life is full of these voices and in Little Sparrow, music lovers have the chance to fully embrace someone whose observations and musical interpretations are amongst the finest you are likely to hear. The joyful sadness, the stirring, inspirational notes that Little Sparrow brings to her songs is akin to the fruitful day time walk through the woods closest to your home and discovering the world as it should be, bountiful, full of meaning and an exercise in letting go of the despondency which growls and gnaws at the flesh.

Little Sparrow, The Wishing Tree. Album Review. full post

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

Only Child, From Muddy Water To Higher Ground. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It seems an interminable age since Alan O’ Hare put forward the cause. The imposing marriage between the personal thought and the anger that burns within at the way that the world has taken a sudden turn to an extreme position in that all has been made steadily good now comes crashing down amongst the bitterness of memories. Yet there is hope, there should always be the glimmer of optimism that makes each day worthwhile and keeps the anger tucked up inside just that little bit longer. Such is the power of Alan O’ Hare’s writing under the banner of Only Child that the latest album, From Muddy Water To Higher Ground is just that, the anticipation of seeing your loved one smile whilst raging at the past and the future in the same breathe.

Only Child, From Muddy Water To Higher Ground. Album Review. full post

(532 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

Rita Payne, Stories From a Suitcase. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Everybody has luggage, some more than most; however it is what you do with it that can define you. The belongings that you carted round with you ten years ago is not the same as you carry round today. The bags may be heavier, that could contain less you imagine when you learn to shed some of the skin that surrounds it and occasionally, just occasionally you might misplace one and let the label fall of and flutter away like a winter bird returning to more northern climes. Regardless of how much luggage you carry, the Stories From a Suitcase will always be there to remind you how far you have travelled.

Rita Payne, Stories From a Suitcase. Album Review. full post

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

Nick Magnus, N’Monix. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Occasionally it’s possible to see greatness flow from one human being to another, to witness first-hand the skill and temperament that one may have in abundance and slowly be taken on by another. Of course some are born with natural ability and their expertise tends to blow people’s minds. Such is the tantalising prospect awaiting any listener who makes a bee-line for Nick Magnus’ new album N’Monix.

Nick Magnus, N’Monix. Album Review. full post

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

Elmo And The Styx, Happy. Album Review

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Happy? Some people aren’t and some are, it’s a fact of life for every person who is truly ecstatic somebody somewhere must be feeling the damage of life lived, the pain of suffering or even the slightest niggle of annoyance. Whether it’s down to that underlying Human emotion of jealousy or greed, they will probably resent the person who is just content with their lot in the life. Happy? It’s a feeling that needs careful nurturing, it requires on occasion to be kept hidden lest black shadows try to destroy it but ultimately it can be the most fulfilling of all sensations and the rather interesting title of the new album by Elmo and The Styx

Elmo And The Styx, Happy. Album Review full post

(423 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

The Fast Camels, Deadrooms and Butterfly Dreams. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

In some countries, the possession of a fast camel can lead to untold riches, being lauded in certain circles and the feeling of overwhelming power at the hands of an animal who can outlive a human when lost in the desert. In Glasgow, The Fast Camels are becoming just as lauded, just as hardy and should be just as celebrated as their desert counterparts.

The Fast Camels, Deadrooms and Butterfly Dreams. Album Review. full post

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