Hamlet, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Andrew Scott, Jessica Brown Findlay, Angus Wright, Juliet Stevenson, David Rintoul, Barry Aird, Calum Finlay, Joshua Higgott, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Marty Cruikshank, Amaka Okafor, Daniel Rabin, Luke Thompson, Peter Wright, Matthew Wynn.

There is always mileage in the heart of a universal play that means it never runs out of steam, it might falter and choke once in a while, it might be considered as bloated, overweight, have the wrong driver, be overwhelmed by passengers who contribute nothing to the aesthetics of the piece but on the whole it is one that often purrs along. The luxury on the outside replicated on the inside, the joy of seeing the production vehicle out on the road is a radiant sight and even when it is via the medium of television, the excitement and drama is one on which to celebrate.

Hamlet, Television Review. full post

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

Boldwood, Glory Of The West. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Glory comes in many forms, quite often it appears breathlessly in the unexpected, in the moments that the listener or observer might seem at first to mistake for candid reveal, the emergence of the heroic is not always heralded by the sound of golden trumpets, the muse does not always kiss the artist upon first urging, and yet still the glory comes. It requires no fame, no sense of legend or flashing of bulbs or the headlines proclaiming of how the bold spend their free time, all that is needed is the appreciation that it was done, the respect and perhaps the prominence of the position taken in bring something new to the attention of those around them.

Boldwood, Glory Of The West. Album Review. full post

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

One Last Infinite Jest.

 

What if she wasn’t dead,

found floating down river,

bathed in fallen leaves,

a dead man’s finger on her pulse

as her face turns grey, to draw

out a murderer, clever

hero, a feminine trope

dashed, thrown to her love

in England, a false sign of madness

spreading, in him melancholia,

in her a wailing of the emotions…

all lies, she drew the murderer out

and paid for it with her love,

as he lay poisoned by the touch of foil,

dead as she had thought to be

One Last Infinite Jest. full post

(102 words, estimated 24 secs reading time)

The Suns, Time To Burn. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When you are invited to a moment, a time in which the company of friends and those you love are going to be gathered around with smiles forever painted upon their faces, in which you already have the feeling that the moment is going to be one of joy, significance, a curiosity of attraction and passion, and then it suddenly becomes one of the most spontaneous, revealing, soul impacting and wonderful consequences down the line experiences; it makes you wonder about all the Time To Burn you once enjoyed and knowing that it all changes here.

The Suns, Time To Burn. Album Review. full post

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

Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Years. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

You have to admire someone to whom the thought of resting on laurels is an anathema, the work hard, play harder, sing and perform music with a sense of the absolute in their minds and hearts, to those that play this body assaulting and life inducing diversion from the world, appreciation and respect is given as well as being earned.

Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Years. Album Review. full post

(409 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Timothy Dark, Dark Day Afternoon. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is always a splendid thing when you find an artist willing to break their own audience’s preconceptions and go down a route that the crowd might not understand why they have left, even briefly, what they know and understand, behind.

For some this divergence is a step outside of their fandom in which the feeling of being uncomfortable is a brazen light shone in the face, the senses hurt and the misery of rejection can be like a slap in the face, and yet if they delve deeper than the initial thought of refusing to believe, what they might find is a different kind of acceptance, one that still shines that exclusive light, but one that does it with subtly in what is considered a Dark Day Afternoon.

Timothy Dark, Dark Day Afternoon. E.P. Review. full post

(388 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Kino, Radio Voltaire. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is an aura of inevitability that surrounds Kino, a sense of beauty that entwines itself around the mixture of the possible popular hit with the assuredness that goes hand in hand with the playground of the Progressive Rock culture; hardly surprising when you stop and think of pedigree involved in the Kino project, but one that still finds a way to stagger the mind and tickle the senses into a lullaby like submission.

Kino, Radio Voltaire. Album Review. full post

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

His Last Breath.

Seen

through the afterglow

and embers

of your love for me,

my face is burnt,

my eyes streaked with pain

and my heart broken,

a final beat,

a minute later

one more sign of life,

clouds over, the sun which once

streamed through the window

and gave a mystery to the room

now has been replaced by the stillness

of thunderstorms, and in that flash

of weightless lightning, my face is illuminated

one final time, killed

by the love you had

for me.

His Last Breath. full post

(90 words, estimated 22 secs reading time)

David Fitzpatrick, Parachutes In Hurricanes. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In a storm, any port will do, or so they will have you believe, a storm after all passes, it can be violent, it can be soul disturbing, but it is also Earth at its most beautiful, most tempting, to stand in amongst the rage, to find the sparks of illumination that carry lightning and thunder and to which we hope will be a sign, a portent of the mood to come. Any port in a storm, but perhaps it is more exciting to think of harnessing the energy that comes from using Parachutes In Hurricanes, from being swept along inside the ride of a wind that can throw you as high as you wish and still find the force to make you wish for more.

David Fitzpatrick, Parachutes In Hurricanes. Album Review. full post

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

The Black Delta Movement, Preservation. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *

Preservation is a noble pursuit, regardless of whether it is in art or in the fabric of society, the buildings that define a city’s heritage, London’s Westminster Palace, The Tower of London, Birmingham’s Town Hall, Liverpool’s St. George’s Hall, all should be preserved, be seen as equal to the Mona Lisa, the great works of Shakespeare, Dryden, Dickinson and Bronte, preservation for the future. However, preservation must not get in the way of revolution, of change, of building a better world or moving forward with ideas; the world doesn’t have to burn completely, but it should smoulder from time to time.

The Black Delta Movement, Preservation. Album Review. full post

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