Otherwise, Defy. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10


To kick down the door with insubordination, to shoulder the courage of rebellion and go out with all thoughts of making the world a place in which all can live in the comfort of their own skin and to take down the brutality of the charmless. To fight back against the insincere, that it is beauty that shines in the heart of all when they learn openly the act of defiance, the perfection of being able to openly Defy the orders of the inept and the rhetoric of the unwelcome.

Otherwise, Defy. Album Review. full post

(464 words, 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

Aetherna, Darkness Land. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We don’t need to enter the great works of fiction and musical fantasy to find that the modern world is one in which the land is fractured, the place where evil and light do constant battle, Queen spoke of the Ogre Battles and the dominion of the Black Queen, Tolkien opened the eyes of millions to Mordor, and yet for Italian Metal Band Aetherna the imagery is subtler, refined, an memory of ache and the concern for the future of our own take on reality; the Gothic/Hard Metal touch of Darkness Land is all consuming.

Aetherna, Darkness Land. Album Review. full post

(390 words, 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Dorothy Bird, Forgot. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The start to the Yuletide festivities always seems to appear out of thin air, and all too soon, we are surprised by its return as if we have navigated the year and then Forgot what the end of autumn actually means to the multitude, the sense of hopeful good will, the sound of constant music adding to the excitement. It is that the beautiful and reliable song is a must, regardless of the sentiment, whether or not it fits in with your vision of the time of year, it’s over riding message must be on of peaceful charm and the asking of human understanding.

Dorothy Bird, Forgot. Single Review. full post

(325 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

Rob Clarke And The Wooltones, Adrian Henri/ Statue At The Pier. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

You can write as much as you want about the world, but if you cannot describe your own backyard and make people visualise every crack in the stone work, every weed doing its damnedest to poke its head up through the drains that run underneath, then perhaps the world that you believe is your oyster doesn’t deserve your casual eye cast over it.

Rob Clarke And The Wooltones, Adrian Henri/ Statue At The Pier. Single Review. full post

(452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

The Twang, If Confronted Just Go Mad. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Change is inevitable, to hold on to the once stated as if it was written in stone, a mantra that ties the future and the past together like conjoined twins pulling against each other’s wishes in a symbiotic tug of war, that way lays insanity, it is to deny freedom of expression, it is to stand in the way of progress.

The Twang, If Confronted Just Go Mad. Album Review. full post

(461 words, 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Studio 2. Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cal Ruddy at Studio 2, Liverpool. October 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

There is no greater sense of satisfaction in the eye of the gig attendee or fan than to witness the musician-songwriter emerge fully into the light, the cocoon shed, the wings spread out as wide as possible and the flight they are about to urge you to join them on. A journey that has been practised and perfected upon and then with visible joy etched upon the faces of all who present, the artist earns their wings; all you can do now after  all the support, all the concerns and applause is to wish them well, for the next time you hear about them it might be with a personal postcard sent from Elliston Place.

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Studio 2. Liverpool. (2019). full post

(527 words, 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Studio 2, Liverpool. October 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Such is the music provided in the last ten years by what was once Liverpool’s fledgling music community, it would be forgivable to admit that you might not have been able to see every band that has frequented the pubs, the back stages and for some the recognition afforded by the larger venues that the city has to offer. However, there will always be a part of Liverpool that will belong to Jimmy and the Revolvers, a voice that emulates that of one of Liverpool’s favourite sons, Gerry Marsden and a vibe that sits at the heart of modern transposed joy, and to witness it live, for a first time, for a hundredth time, or perhaps for a last time, is to understand what you loved about music in the first place.

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2019). full post

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

Shed Seven, Going For Gold. Deluxe Vinyl Re-Issue. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The love of vinyl knows no bounds. The one-time message from the so thought of great and good that vinyl was a dying, cumbersome beast, has in fact turned out to be the worst kind of propaganda to have sullied the listening public’s appetite for searching out music history. Instead of being drawn into the fast-consuming affair to which compact discs and then downloads afforded the listener into consuming music at the touch of a button, vinyl was, and remains an experience to which overrides the immediate and asks only for care and attention.

Shed Seven, Going For Gold. Deluxe Vinyl Re-Issue. Album Review. full post

(494 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Ringo Starr, What’s My Name. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

When everybody knows who you are it can be forgivable to question your own image of yourself, after all, we live in a world in which our online presence is deemed sacrosanct and can be embellished to show the happy side of life at all times, whilst our real life experiences are questioned and invariably sneered at, the watchful eye of others ready to step in and bring you down with a jolt just for questioning life and getting you to admit that you feel lost, that you are looking for meaning, and that you may have to ask, What’s My Name.

Ringo Starr, What’s My Name. Album Review. full post

(472 words, 1 image, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Judy. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Renee Zellwegar, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Gemma-Leah Deveraux, Michael Gambon, Bella Ramsey, Andy Nyman, Gaia Weiss, Philippe Spall, Fenella Woolgar, Royce Pierreson, Phil Dunster, Darci Shaw, Diana Alexandra Pocol, John Dagleish, Natasha Powell, Lucy Russell, Tom Durant Pritchard, Tim Ahern.

Somewhere over the rainbow remains a memory of a star, an icon whose greatest screen role defined the age, of childhood and the abuse of power reigned over them by studios and their owners, whose character in the Wizard of Oz became a by word for the acceptance of others, and to whom a voice was given that few have been able to touch since.

Judy. Film Review. full post

(497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)