Tears For Fears, The Tipping Point. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

They say everybody loves a happy ending, the chance to feel the warmth of humanity as a couple drives off into the sunset and all that witnessed the relationship go through its ups and downs to reach a point where the story ends; the freezing of a moment captured forever on celluloid, the last line of a saga in the written word, the final upbeat note framed forever as the song fades…and yet what seems to fade can come roaring back, a fashion of expression returns, a revival of a play not performed for thirty years, a major name in music returning after an almost twenty year studio album break…not everything fades to emptiness, and for the fans of Tears For Fears, not everything is perhaps as it may have seemed.

Tears For Fears, The Tipping Point. Album Review. full post

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

Leadfinger, Silver & Black. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A dominating spectrum of colour, one that could be seen as a response to the times we find ourselves in, an overwhelming sense of formality and richness to which people wish to portray in certain settings, or even the reminder of the heavenly body, our closest neighbour in the sky is bathed in the dark blackness of the solar system permanently on one side; whatever Silver & Black means to a person, it must be appreciated as being influential, it must be acknowledged that is stands out, an impact of force that acts as a counter to the blinding light of false security.

Leadfinger, Silver & Black. Album Review. full post

(375 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Bernard Allison, Highs & Lows. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We pay homage to those who came before us in more ways than we might ever consider. Such is the relationship between past and present that at points in our ever-extending repertoire we revert, perhaps fleetingly, but always with grace in our choices, to that which influenced us in our formative years.

Bernard Allison, Highs & Lows. Album Review. full post

(369 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Emma Gale. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Observation is the key to capturing the essence of the soul. You can find beauty in anything, but if you don’t truly look with more than just your eyes, if you don’t feel with more than just your heart, then what you observe is no more than a snapshot of a single emotion caught in the moment. Observation is key, but you must be prepared to see it through a kaleidoscope and not just a glimpse of a polaroid waved in front of you by a well-meaning, but ultimately over excitable friend.

Emma Gale. Album Review. full post

(415 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Paul Tasker, Tierra Quemada. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A policy of Scorched Earth historically does not bode well for humanity, spoken confrontations are not required to conjure up the imagery the message entails, and as we find the barrenness that comes from the destruction, so we perhaps cower at the prospect of finding anything other than the shell we once were, the soul marginalised, the belief dispersed to the winds.

Paul Tasker, Tierra Quemada. Album Review. full post

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

Jade Thunder, Alchemy. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Some will insist on calling such events magic, a charmed dreamlike beginning in which the artist is revealed in the fullness of time; and yet magic does not begin to cover the thrilling bewitchment that Jade Thunder places the listener within as she releases her new album on the unsuspecting and the mesmerised.

Magic is one thing, the knowledge of chemistry, the application of binding elements, the key to breath-taking miracles, lays in the possessor and practitioner of Alchemy, and it is to be sure an occurrence that is rare, it is conclusive, and it is to be cherished as one would value life.

Jade Thunder, Alchemy. Album Review. full post

(411 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Track Dogs, Where To Now? Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Sleeping dogs don’t lie, they only sing the truth and play music that is genuine and full of precision.

If sleeping dogs don’t lie, then Track Dogs are the ones who are constantly pushing the boundaries, refusing to seek rest upon any laurels put before them, and instead sets them to eagerly chase the tail of music at their immense disposal, and it is with a sense of vigorous self-belief that the band of musical brothers based in Madrid, find they can ask that most pertinent of questions put before any band; Where To Now? and arrive at the most auspicious of answers, anywhere they please, for the destination in this case is one of exactness, one of searing great tunes, and one to which the purpose and target of the journey’s end is actually just another stop on the road to enlightenment.  

Track Dogs, Where To Now? Album Review. full post

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

Carson McHone, Still Life. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We can deny the accusation all we want, but at some point, we have to admit to ourselves that we are capable of sabotage of the self, of causing pain to the inner child that resides within us all, and the complications we reap as we face the inevitability of the Still Life reflecting back at us from the pool of our soul.

Carson McHone, Still Life. Album Review. full post

(431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Gary Gardner, You Gotta Find Things To Know What To Keep. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Do we take enough chances in life, do we explore with the fascination of a child rummaging through every toy in the box just to find the one puppet or model that catches our eye and our soul and to which we forever hold in reverence, whilst still pursuing other toys, other enjoyments in which to compare with? Arguably it could be stated that we do, but it then becomes more about ownership, about possession, and unlike the child, the adult finds they want it all but have no real need for the toy, they just want to covet it and keep it out of other’s reach.

Gary Gardner, You Gotta Find Things To Know What To Keep. Album Review. full post

(411 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

A Discovery Of Witches. Series Three. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Alex Kingston, Gregg Chilingirian, Trevor Eve, Owen Teale, Malin Buska, Edward Blumel, Aiysha Hart, Valarie Pettiford, Lindsay Duncan, Aisling Loftus, Tanya Moodie, Adelle Leonce, Sorcha Cusack, Steven Cree, Daniel Ezra, Jacob Ifan, Greg McHugh.

A trilogy is only as good as its final part. If you can stomach that declaration then understanding is part of your deal, for a trilogy means nothing if the ending is unbelievable, if it goes against everything that has been set up in good faith before, then the whole structure falls apart, it becomes worthless, the one willing to sit through an entire season, take pleasure in the excitement of the ending, might arguably feel cheated, will feel the waves of cynical impression forced upon their time.

A Discovery Of Witches. Series Three. Television Review. full post

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