Kris Drever: The Best Of. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

“There are two sides to this story…”

As with any production of art that claims to have the structure of what defines the artist’s best work, it is always one that is up for debate, one that can divide the public to the point where it damages the intention beyond repair.

To the story of Kris Drever, nothing of the kind should ever cross the thoughts of those who have taken the Scottish musician to their hearts, and the fan to come who will undoubtedly utilise the album as a steppingstone to discovery, to what can only be reverentially understood as unearthing beauty.

Kris Drever: The Best Of. Album Review. full post

(382 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

The Stranglers: Norfolk Coast. Album Review. (2023 Vinyl Issue Release).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The world is a very different place to yesterday, so imagine how dissimilar it must feel to February 2004 on the eve of The Stranglers making a dramatic statement as they returned after six years away from the studio with the incredibly direct and musically thrilling Norfolk Coast.

If yesterday was different, then imagine how tomorrow must look, and that is the point of being able to finally hear the band as they release the album on vinyl for the first time; for whilst times change and alter in out perception, a moment of elegance and class is timeless.

The Stranglers: Norfolk Coast. Album Review. (2023 Vinyl Issue Release). full post

(591 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Sebastian And The Poor Valley Marauders: Live Vol: 2. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Some will never know the sheer thrill of walking through a venue’s door and being greeted by a fanfare of noise emanating from an excited audience already in the firm grip of the reveal that is about to take place on stage.

Some will feel the tension and the love but never truly understand the belief that entangles the heart and the soul as they watch with closed senses the spectacle and drive…and then there are those who will feel the weakness in their knees, the strength in their very being, and the beauty of the experience, close up and personal, the heady aroma of silk music and playful performance which is akin to a night of heavy drama in a theatre, and be forever captured by love.

Sebastian And The Poor Valley Marauders: Live Vol: 2. E.P. Review. full post

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

Jethro Tull: RökFlöte. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Music should find a way to always surprise you, even if it by the margin of a raised eyebrow rather than the full overblown slap of connectivity that you hope for.

There is a lot to take in when confronted by the appearance of Jethro Tull’s latest album, RökFlöte, so much to unpack that whilst the idea should come as no surprise, the delivery is one of quietly drawn respect and admiration for pulling off the spectacle. Not only is it the shortest turn around in between albums, coming hot on the heels of 2022’s The Zealot Gene, for 40 years, its central device is that which keenly involves itself in ways that hark back to the band’s early concept albums to which they made, in their own surprised way, a huge impression on the Progressive genre.

Jethro Tull: RökFlöte. Album Review. full post

(421 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

The Selecter: Human Algebra. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We are taught, quite rightly, as a child to not judge a book by its cover, but as we get older, more in tune to the universe, we cannot help in the field of art to gaze upon an album, a novel, a painting, and define it to our aesthetic enjoyment and be more likely to purchase the offering by the creative because of the way the cover stands out.

The Selecter: Human Algebra. Album Review. full post

(420 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Nope. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Devon Graye, Terry Notary, Barbie Ferreira, Donna Mills, Oz Perkins, Eddie Jemison, Jacob Kim, Sophia Coto, Jennifer Lafleur, Andrew Patrick Ralston, Lincoln Lambert, Pierce Kang, Roman Gross, Alex-Hyde White, Hetty Chang, Liza Treyger, Ryan W. Garcia, Courtney Elizabeth.

There may be many inspirations behind Jordan Peele’s latest cinematic offering, a whole wardrobe stuffed full of motivations and muse like stimuli, but in the end, it has to be observed what a sizeable contribution to the world of mystery and suspense the talented director has brought to the screens in the pulsating Nope.

Nope. Film Review. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Neil Campbell: Journey Into Space. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If we are to endure and thrive as a species, we must look further than our own home as a means of survival, we must continue to stride onwards, to take that often secluded Journey Into Space and seek out companionship in the darkness, in the void of that which surrounds us.

To ignore the beauty of what is directly above, to not want to see what lays beyond the clouds and reflective blue, is to not feel the inspiration that the heavens create with a sense of majesty and mystery. That inspiration is always there, it is deeply embedded within us, and to take that step is to understand that we are captivated by endearing magnificence and the persistence of Time itself.

Neil Campbell: Journey Into Space. Album Review. full post

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

Dean Johnson: Hip Shrapnel. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Loss is a great leveller, and a source of untold inspiration.

It may not feel like it at the time, but those personal bullet marks, the shrapnel that breaks our heart from the moment we learn of a life of a friend, a lover, a parent, has been taken by Time, give us a reason, should we wish to observe it, to honour the person that was. Be it a stranger, a fantasy figure, a respected artist, or any other soul that has in one way or another touched us, blessed our mind as well as our heart, we take that shrapnel and mould into a finer piece of reflection…no longer able to hurt us, it serves as an aide- memoire of the divine and the beautiful.

Dean Johnson: Hip Shrapnel. Album Review. full post

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

Magpie Murders. Television Series Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Lesley Manville, Tim McMullan, Conleth Hill, Matthew Beard, Alexandros Logothetis, Michael Maloney, Daniel Mays, Claire Rushbrook, Ian Lloyd Anderson, Karen Westwood, Jude Hill, Harry Lawtey, Joel Birkett, Pippa Haywood, Nia Deacon, Dorothy Atkinson, Chu Omambala, Karl Collins, Lorcan Cranitch, Sanjeev Kohli, Sutara Gayle, Danielle Ryan, David Herlihy, Nathan Clarke, Paul Tylak, Adam Ewan, San Shella, Azeem Alahi, Daniel Costello, Phina Oruche, Killian Donnelly, James Flynn, Kate Gilmore.

Magpie Murders. Television Series Review. full post

(536 words, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Renfield. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shorreh Aghdasloo, Brandon Scott Jones, Adrian Martinez, Camille Chen, Bess Rous, Jenna Kanell, Danya LaBelle, Rhonda Johnson, Christopher Matthew Cook, Michael P. Sullivan, Rosha Washington, James Moses Black, T.C. Matherne, Caroline Williams, Marcus Lewis, Derek Russo, Marvin Ross, Gabriel Rodriguez, Dave Davis, Keith Brooks, Joshua Mikel, Chloe Adona, Stephen Louis Grush, Christopher Winchester, John Cihangir, Krystal Tomlin, Camden McKinnon, William Ragsdale, Miles Doleac.

Renfield. Film Review. full post

(482 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)