Andy Bell, Torsten The Beautiful Libertine. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Whatever you want to accuse Andy Bell of, being beige is not one of the indictments that should cross the bridge between the brain and the wagging tongue, being understated or not interesting should be considered taboo and foul of speech. If the words from the lips deny that he is own man and not attention grabbing then they should be forcibly whipped and sentenced to their own miserable existence in a cold heartless lexicon; for Andy Bell is if nothing else a performer who knows where and who to kick out at.

Andy Bell, Torsten The Beautiful Libertine. Album Review. full post

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

Låpsley, Long Way Home. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It doesn’t seem five minutes since Låpsley was performing in venues in Liverpool and beyond the Merseyside border, it feels even less than that she was recognised by various media institutions across the city; in such a space of Time that has occurred, Låpsley has become an institution of great and impeccable renown.

From this point on where her debut album is now a physical entity in its own right, there is no going back, there is no Time in which to feel the urge to play Dorothy and follow a certain road back to when it was all less complicated; for in reality the music is playful, absorbing and dynamic, it really is a Long Way Home from here.

Låpsley, Long Way Home. Album Review. full post

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

Henry Sparks, Latest Waxing. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Folk music has this wonderful habit of sounding more polished when listening to it live or in the deep pleasure of a recording than arguably any other genre, its sincerity of spirit, its more natural appeal resounds with earthy refinement without having to play to the gallery of expectation and offer an over abundance of gloss. In is in that Earthy feel that Henry Sparks sits, almost musically naked and exposed, and with elegance of voice performs his newest E.P. Latest Waxing with diligence and care.

Henry Sparks, Latest Waxing. E.P. Review. full post

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

The Reason I Hold Your Hand.

If

I have held your hand

and told you that I love you,

then I have meant every damn letter

in that short sentence,

but don’t be misled

I have loved almost everybody

I have come into contact with;

for in their eyes I see possible and hopeless redemption,

I see a yearning to be understood

and I have tried my best to value that.

 

I have adored you like a eunuch lover,

I have told you in no uncertain terms

that I love you but I have not slept

The Reason I Hold Your Hand. full post

(161 words, estimated 39 secs reading time)

Stevie Jones & The Wildfires, Stratigraphic Heart. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The diary seems to be a long forgotten art, relegated to history by the insistence of social media where the everyday action is calculated, commented up and then soon abandoned in the search for the next gratification hit. There is no build up, no harmony of what has happened before and no concern for what the words hastily written down and unchecked will bring. The diary has the appeal in the modern age of appointments rubbed out and the condensed form of language strung out.

Stevie Jones & The Wildfires, Stratigraphic Heart. Album Review. full post

(392 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Geoff Carne And The Hatz, Get Close. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

In the modern age it seems that to get close to someone, to understand them and take a deep interest in their lives is almost the same as reducing yourself down to the level of some scurrilous gossip magazine or even be seen as intrusive. Contact must be made between people if we are to avoid being creatures afraid to come out from behind a computer driven persona, too scared of allowing the mask and guise of personality created by a social media hash tag, citizens of every country must find a way to Get Close once more and be seen to be someone who inhabits reason and rationale.

Geoff Carne And The Hatz, Get Close. Album Review. full post

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

Shetland, Series Three. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Douglas Henshall, Alison O’ Donnell, Steven Robertson, Mark Bonar, Julie Graham, Stewart Porter, Erin Armstrong, Anna Chancellor, Ciarán Hinds, James Cosmo, Saskia Reeves, Sara Vickers, Ace Bhatti, Andrew Rothney, Archie Panjabi, Jamie Michie, Jack Greenlees, Mark Cox, Struan Rodger, Kate Donnely.

The fairly uncomplicated lives of those who reside on the outlying islands of the United Kingdom is one that is prized and highly valued, it is a way of life that has many attractions and one that many could adapt to if they put their minds to it. However, for those forced to relocate out in to the storm tossed seas that surround the mainland, the islands can represent a jail with no locks, keys or guards, the solitude is enough to drive them to the point of no return.

Shetland, Series Three. Television Review. full post

(518 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Drawing The Line With Time.

I want to see the dawn approach

and the dead

of the night, in all its mundane glory

and sheltered sideways repose,

disappear into the distance

from the point where twilight begins

in earnest and the ghosts of memory

are caught in perpetual agony,

screaming for forgiveness

and let loose once penance is served.

 

I want to stand, shoulders back,

not hunched over like a carved and varnished stick,

worn by clutched hand and frightened

sentiment, I want to greet the dawn

with purpose and smile,

Drawing The Line With Time. full post

(134 words, estimated 32 secs reading time)

The Environmentalists, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Aaron Barker, Aaron Kehoe, Alice Corrigan, Callum Crighton, Chloe Hughes, Courtney Parry, Daniel Fitzgerald, Eiffel Lu, Ellie Turner, Emily Woosey, Ester Larkin, Felipe Pacheco, George Clarke, Georgie Lomax Ford, Hannah McGowan, Harry Seargant, Heidi Henders, Isobel Balchin, Jake Holmes, James Bibby, Jamie Pye, Joe Davies, Joe Williams, John Collins, Johnathon McGuirk, Jordan Connerty, Joshua Meadows, Katie Smith, Keeley Ray, Leah Gold, Lucy White, Luke Logan, Luke Patterson, Margaret Saunders, Melissa Waddington, Nadia Mohammad Noor, Nathan Russell, Nick Crosbie, Olivia Doherty, Paige Bradbury, Poppy Hughes, Stuart Dagnall, Tami Holland.

The Environmentalists, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(524 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Who’s Afraid Of The Working Class?, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound & Vision Rating: * * * *

Cast: Connor Lee Dye, Matilda Weaver, Michael Bryan, Sophie Cottle, Chris Mohan, Fia Harrington, Emily Kingston, Joseph Wood, Maisie Young, James Botterill, Anna Brochmann, Hailey Mashburn.

Performed by third-year L.I.P.A. acting students, Luke Barnes’ epic new play, Who’s Afraid Of The Working Class?, looks at the brief history of one fictional community, whose people are trying to keep their heads above water whilst all around them their jobs are being removed alongside the industry and the unions. Unity one is completely opened up for this production and all actors remain on stage throughout, completing costume changes and constructing the set for scene changes themselves.

Who’s Afraid Of The Working Class?, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(342 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)