Patterson Dipper, Unearthing. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Push the boundaries enough and what you find underneath is a true calling, a mystery unravelled and the pursuit of elegance; all of which combine to bring together the founding stones of serenity and insight, of the harbouring and unleashing of secrets.

In a world that has had to find another avenue of existing other than the rush and manic expression that has dogged humanity since the lurch to praising profit rather than the artistic achievement of the collective and the individual, it is telling that the dichotomy that is evident in Folk, both the outright anger and the calmness of expression, makes itself perfectly clear in the new album by James Patterson and John Dipper, the sensational Unearthing.

Patterson Dipper, Unearthing. Album Review. full post

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

Midsomer Murders: The Sting Of Death. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Nick Hendrix, Fiona Dolman, Annette Badland, Griff Rhys Jones, Imogen Stubbs, Wendi Peters, Jacquetta May, Jack Fox, Bryan Dick, Nina Toussaint-White, Derek Griffiths, Renee Castle, Ben Starr, Aaron Anthony.

Perhaps in all the ways someone can die at the hands of a murderer, it may be surprising that the creative team and the multitude of writers of Midsomer Murders have never considered using bees as a means of delivering the final, fatal blow.

Midsomer Murders: The Sting Of Death. Television Review. full post

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

Bob Leslie, In Praise Of Crows. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Despite crows being associated with the idea of protection, it is difficult for the wary to see them as anything as the harbinger of sorrow and ill omens, they, and their feathered cousins, are in the background of every graveyard scene, their voices sung not in admiration or compliment, but in forewarning, the portent of the sinister times and possible death.

Perhaps though, rather than steering clear of the song of crow, we instead should honour them by paying closer attention to the sound rather than what our perceived intentions are, for the music that such bird make should insist to us that we live In Praise Of Crows rather than demonising them.

Bob Leslie, In Praise Of Crows. Album Review. full post

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

Wheel, Resident Human. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *

We have much to discuss in the aftermath of all that has shaken the world and our souls in the last year. In truth it is a conversation we somehow have been avoiding for decades, allowing it to bubble under the surface, put to one side in the race for a share of the capitalist pot, and all the while the planet has suffered through our greed and lack of inspiring leadership, our ability to destroy rather than build with nature.

Wheel, Resident Human. Album Review. full post

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

Supergirl: Series Four. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Katie McGrath, Jesse Rath, Sam Witwer, Nicole Maines, April Parker Jones, David Harewood, Jon Cryer, Rhona Mitra, Robert Baker, Anthony Konechny, Bruce Boxleitner, Andrea Brooks, Sarah Smyth, Graham Verchere,  David Ajala, Donna Benedicto, Jessica Meraz, Azie Tesfai, Lynda Carter, Brenda Strong, Tiya Sircar, Vincent Gale, Cardi Wong, Fulvio Cecere, Xander Berkeley, John Wesley Shipp, La Monica Garrett, Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Grant Gustin, Jeremy Davies, Ruby Rose, Carl Lumbly.

Supergirl: Series Four. Television Review. full post

(611 words, estimated 2:27 mins reading time)

Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Jesse Eisenberg, Ciaran Hinds, Ryan Zheng, Amber Heard, Joe Morton, Lisa Loven Konsli, David Thewlis, Russell Crowe, Billy Crudup, Joe Manganiello.

You can have too much of a good thing, a statement that has been proved time and again throughout history, a well-ironed phrase that insists the buyer beware of consuming more than they can handle, or of inserting too much belief in the product that offers so much intensity and effects that the final product can leave you bloated, knowing that some of what you have devoured is akin to fluff and air.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Film Review. full post

(552 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Only Child, Straight Lines. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

We see connections every day of our lives, but we might not actually realise we are doing so until someone else takes the time to hold our heart and keep our minds enthralled long enough to show us that the pieces have been in place for so long that the physical synaptic fires have only to respond in a certain way and the edifice of control, of subterfuge and lies can come crashing down around the ears of those who seek to damage the ordinary person’s will and peace.

Only Child, Straight Lines. Single Review. full post

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

Ariel Posen, Headway. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

We are often trapped by the belief that we must be continually making large strides to be making any impact on the world, that we are noticed and admired by the heart-straining considered effort which eventually destroys the body too quickly, rather than the slow but steady pace of the ones who put one foot tentatively in front of other and who leave a more discernible path for others to follow.

Ariel Posen, Headway. Album Review. full post

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

Shadow Captain, April Moon. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Ahead of his new album being released, Liverpool’s Shadow Captain’s introduction of April Moon is to surely be considered, timely, focusing on renewal and one that understands implicitly the relief that a new spring moon can have on the soul in what has been an intolerable period of darkness.

There is something largely spiritual about the heavens when the northern hemisphere starts returning to lighter days, the moon seems to take on the glow of the healer and the protector after time in the dark, and so it is to art, that all-encompassing compassionate guide, that the moon’s presence seems to add so much hope and beauty within.

Shadow Captain, April Moon. Single Review. full post

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

Israel Nash, Topaz. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

No one knows everything, and for many the absolute mystery of existence is what fuels their desire to at least make their opinion known, or at least ruminated upon to the point of existential angst and frustration.

In isolation, there perhaps remains a vestige of the mind to acknowledge the urge to express yourself honestly and with care, to protect oneself from the nagging voice we mistake for insanity or is it rather the clarity of our thoughts speaking without interruption? If it were madness to believe that creativity and art cannot exist in a time of darkness, then rather curse those who argue for its demise, we should perhaps preserve them in amber, or at the very least protect their souls with Topaz.

Israel Nash, Topaz. Album Review. full post

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