Oli Duerden, The Sometimes/Often E.P. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Bruising and full of angst, the torment of the soul as it is released, the freedom that transpires when concern is replaced by possible acceptance; such is the way that the creative side normally associated with the left-hand side of the brain manages to rebuild the soul, to override logic which can be tantalising, but rough to handle when emotions are in play, is quite often the reason why what we might discern as The Sometimes/Often is in reality the agreement we reach with our souls to put all other things aside and get on with creating art for our own sake. 

Oli Duerden, The Sometimes/Often E.P. E.P. Review. full post

(357 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Joe Tilston, Tightrope. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Not so much of a balancing act, but a tightrope walk between the sensuality and freedom of Folk, and the hard edged critical honest afforded to one who has illuminated the so called darkness of punk; and one navigated with belief and cool by Joe Tilston, and all without, it seems, by the use of a safety net, nor a large wooden pole to be found.

Joe Tilston, Tightrope. Album Review. full post

(366 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

The Goes Wrong Show: Series Two. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Henry Shields, Bryony Corrigan, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Nancy Zamit, Dave Hearn, Greg Tannahill, Henry Lewis, Chris Leask, Ellie Morris.

British television comedy is in the middle of much need, and timely, renaissance, one that isn’t afraid of entertaining the populace, of holding true to value, and is fully versed in being witnessed as unique, adaptable, and fierce in its motives.

The Goes Wrong Show: Series Two. Television Review. full post

(435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Martyn Joseph, 1960. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

How we view the world once we find a way to come out the double-barrelled shotgun effect of climate change and the global pandemic that has robbed people of their time together in the last couple of years, is not only important, but it will define how we move forward as a species, how we move on collectively, and for all the time that has been sacrificed, it is to the memories of the cherished people in our lives that will spur us on to make the right decisions.

Martyn Joseph, 1960. Album Review. full post

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

Tori Amos, Ocean To Ocean. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Where the waters ebb and flow, where the sea fills the ocean and crashes against the dynamic coast and the jagged rocks where wreckers once lay in waiting, there is the sense of the timeless, a prospect and unveiling of the merging eternal beauty which for the most part does not have a counterpart on land, except perhaps where the rugged yet feminine landscape lends itself to creativity and myth, of wonder and fierce allusion, for it is in the ocean where we look deep within ourselves and see the everlasting depths, and the strange waves that drive us.

Tori Amos, Ocean To Ocean. Album Review. full post

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

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, Julian Hillard, John Noble, Eugenie Bondurant, Shannon Kook, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Keith Arthur Boldon, Steve Coulter, Vince Pisani, Ingrid Bisu, Andrea Andrade, Ashley LeConte Campbell, Sterling Jerins, Megan Ashley Brown, Mitchell Hoog, Paul Wilson, Charlene Amoia.

The darker the days, the more we seem to look to omens, signs, and wonders to see us through our existence. We may believe we have reached a point in our evolution, in our collected history and ability to weave stories, that the unexplained is by its own insistence, is rationalised, efficiently excused, and our reasoning enhanced…and yet there are mysteries that continue to confound, that cannot be explained by cold logic, nor blamed upon human irrationality.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Film Review. full post

(561 words, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

It’s Karma It’s Cool, Homesick For Our Future Destinations. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The places we haven’t been to are no more strangers to us than the streets, the stomping grounds, we have played on all our lives, the only difference is the actual sense of physical presence to found compared to the projected images we see when we look to what may be imminent, what may be forthcoming.

It’s Karma It’s Cool, Homesick For Our Future Destinations. Album Review. full post

(395 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Jake Shimabukuro, Jake & Friends. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Ambition, if channelled wisely, is the gigantic spur of all artistic creation. To create out of freedom, of being able to look at the unblemished, untouched marble that stands between you and eternity, is driven by the unmistakable fact that what the artist sees is potential, to capture something unique in the detail.

No matter the field of artistic endeavour, the chance, the ability to practise what you preach is embedded deeply into the soul, and perhaps if that vision of immortality is shared, combined with another’s impressive prowess, then what is revealed is not only verging on the unique, but also irreplaceable.

Jake Shimabukuro, Jake & Friends. Album Review. full post

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

Dion, Stomping Ground. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

One cool daddy, one auspicious casual cat, but one with the rich seam of emotion that embraces the heart and mind together in a way that so few people can manage, can even contemplate, and in that full embrace the listener, the aural lover, will always find the one with love for humanity reaching out long after many have believed the message has stopped being sent. 

Dion, Stomping Ground. Album Review. full post

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

Dream Theater, A View From The Top Of The World. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

From a certain height you can see the whole of creation that stretches ahead of you, and what you left behind with clarity; no longer stuck between a rock and a hard place, A View From The Top Of The World is the vantage point where all can make sense, or at least seem that way as you balance belief and argument in one hand, and in the other you offer your soul to the winds and the music exploding out of ever sinew and muscle.

Dream Theater, A View From The Top Of The World. Album Review. full post

(396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)