Shetland: Series 10. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Ashley Jensen, Alison O’ Donnell, Steven Robertson, Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd, Stuart Townsend, Clive Russell, Greg McHugh, Ellie Haddington, Louise Brealey, Niall MacGregor, Chloe-Ann-Tylor, Samuel Anderson, Marie MacDonell, Lila Rose, Adam Rhazali, Jennifer Hartland, Steven Miller, Francis Grey, Adam McNamara.

Even on a small island there are places where secrets are so well hidden that they could lay undisturbed for hundred of years, just as with artifacts finally unearthed from a long lost bronze age discovery, what comes to light will leave some wondering how it was never found before, and for others the information will be too much to bare, the secret laid bare worth killing for.

Shetland: Series 10. Television Review. full post

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

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dare You. Big Finish. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Jack Ayres, Camille Coduri, Beverley Klein, Harry Myers, Dan Starkey.

The voices in our head are ones to which often guide us and steer us from trouble, they warn of the temptations, the moments that will knock us sideways, the ones that allow us to keep a clear conscious; it may be instinctive, it might be just common sense, but the voice of reason and respect is there to keep us from being foolish and a social pain.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dare You. Big Finish. Audio Drama Review. full post

(536 words, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Ashley Reaks: At Night The World Belongs To Me. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We think we deserve to be in the light, to be the sunshine of everybody’s life, to be seen as so bright that in our company wearing shades becomes obligatory and without causing anything but smiles and hearing the hearty words of congratulations. That is the modern effect of belief, installed into us that we can be all things to all people and they will thank us for the barest effort we show.

Ashley Reaks: At Night The World Belongs To Me. Album Review. full post

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

Fine Young Cannibals: FYC40. Album Boxset Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The 80s was a time of obvious change, a period which the everyday that had been hanging in the air without recognition suddenly shifted, the momentum quickened, the hangovers of previous generation became polarised and the passion of anger was relit, reawakened from the early days of Punk and instead utilised with force and beauty a different kind of music scene, one that made pop be more than just bubblegum and teenage dreams, and actually not just make a point, but hammer it home with aggression and a vibe of consistency.

Fine Young Cannibals: FYC40. Album Boxset Review. full post

(607 words, estimated 2:26 mins reading time)

Jan Akkerman: My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Class is permanent, as they rightly say, and technical mastery of an instrument lives long into legendary status, as Dutch supremo Jan Akkerman, the guitarist who successfully challenged the notion of dominance of British/American virtuosity that had had arisen, returns to the ears of the listener in a brand new live recording, My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow

Jan Akkerman: My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow. Album Review. full post

(403 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Robin Adams: The Beggar. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

We may beg for many a garnish in life, for the icing of the cake to be seen as smooth, flavourful, unveiling a rich texture that excites the palette, a revelation of taste, colour, and coherent disclosure; it is after all the final cherry that we expect to be pressed into place which will give us the reason to salivate and chomp at the bit of life.

Robin Adams: The Beggar. Album Review. full post

(389 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

The Harbinger: Gates Of Hell. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The Gates Of Hell are open and whilst all the devils and demons have been on Earth for some time, what is being evoked now is the sound of the cries of the human traitors allying themselves to causes that will surely bring destruction. Only the heralds of music for the masses, the portents of good fortune and live mentality can hold the un-songs at bay.

The Harbinger: Gates Of Hell. Album Review. full post

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

Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer: Some Other Stories. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Exploration of ideas is what always pushes the artist into new, unfound realms of discovery, the beautiful struggle of chasing down a song, endlessly correcting a piece of poetry, or indeed sculpting marble into humanity, all lead to the next big idea, Some Other Stories in which to bring to life and see the cycle continue onwards.

Melanie Crew and Ross Palmer seamlessly almost waltz into view once more, and on the back of their impressive E.P. Away From The City, and their enormous debut album Quiet After Midnight, the pair offer a continual drive of folk inspired passion in the release of Some Other Stories.

Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer: Some Other Stories. Album Review. full post

(348 words, 1 image, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Cheap Trick: All Washed Up. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The inference by many that rock has had its day, that the new generations coming through are no longer influenced by the thrilling demands of its riffs and lyrical bounty are to be frank, not only hogwash, but almost insulting to the genre. Classic Rock is by no means All Washed Up, indeed it has the continuing power to charm and inspire with weighted authority of rebellion that many others wish they could match.

Cheap Trick: All Washed Up. Album Review. full post

(384 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Amy Hopwood: I’d Rather Be Older (Than Dead). Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The vagaries of youth demand that we all look at the possibility of reaching a certain age as an almost impossibility, not denying the time spent on Earth, but the vents of frustration and niggles of pains that go hand in hand with it; it is the fine act of human balance called into question where with age comes wisdom but also arthritic knees, bad backs, and a host of other issues to which the user will complain, but to which with a smile and a song in the heart will explain that “I’d Rather Be Older (Than Dead)”.

Amy Hopwood: I’d Rather Be Older (Than Dead). Single Review. full post

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