Chris Laterzo, West Coast Sound. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision 8.5/10

The road ahead of us at times can seem long and arduous, it can resonate with the sound of the bleak or be thrilling with the view point of the triumphant; it is the road of discontent or the avenue of pleasurable ease, the road that no matter what keeps giving, it’s no wonder that Kerouac was obsessed with it.

It is a road that Chris Laterzo has travelled and if anyone has the ability to show how the highway of life should be traversed with style, an overwhelming amount of quality and a humility that is gratifyingly abundant then Mr. Laterzo has it all to offer and in his fifth studio album West Coast Sound, the offering is one that cannot and should not be ignored.

Chris Laterzo, West Coast Sound. Album Review. full post

(380 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Royal Blood. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

By what act does someone rule? Is it through force, by common consent, by noble succession or through unworldly power and legend? It is the theme of power and how it is employed that forms the basis of the Una McCormack’s Doctor Who novel Royal Blood.

Doctor Who: Royal Blood. Book Review. full post

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

The Tiswas Ode.

Saturday mornings held no fear

once I learned that young tigers’ anarchy could appear,

with The Beano read, Whizzer and Chips to come,

television primed and Tiswas beamed out to this Birmingham son.

 

Every young Midland’s child favourite kid

Lenny Henry in botanist impression, we followed all he did

O.K. and for some us the early intrigue in Sally James,

a woman who stoked the fires of early passion flames.

 

Our favourite uncle in Chris Tarrant, the leader of this anarchic day

whose exploits we cheered in every way

The Tiswas Ode. full post

(256 words, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)

Federal Charm, Across The Divide. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Following on from their debut self titled album, Federal Charm have returned in the same dynamic style with the release of the just as blistering, just as deep down and Rock-filled exuberance called Across The Divide.

In the short time between albums there has been a shift, not a great one, nothing that might be noticed by the casual observer of such things but nonetheless a shift that is discernible and hugely agreeable. A change in the way that a very good band can be heard and the attitude of really hammering out the song with style and authority; this is the divide that has been breached and taken control of and it is worth every cent, dime, penny and pound to hear the result.

Federal Charm, Across The Divide. Album Review. full post

(395 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

The Southbound Attic Band, The Willows Suite. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is a tale so beloved that it has had generations of children, and many adults, reading with the intensity of love and interest and finding that nature is truly a wondrous and bountiful place in which to find inspiration and joy from. Kenneth Grahame’s beautifully observed allegory and part reference to the English Pastoral is captured with vivid imagination in the book The Wind in the Willows and the characters are one of the few from that period that beneath the skin of a society that is now almost unrecognisable and one that beats in the heart and resonates with a yearning to return to simpler times.

The Southbound Attic Band, The Willows Suite. Album Review. full post

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

A Poet’s Lament For A Dying Year.

A poet dreams of the beauty that Spring lends

to the happiness of the heart, of sunken meadow

covered in wet, early morning dew and the sturdy Oak

stretching out beyond the low laying damp mist

that grips tightly to the birds sodden searching for respite

in the glow of the shadow haunted Sun

and smiles.

 

The poet, like the farmer, blissfully trades his future stock

for one roll in Summer’s golden lawn, the stray piece of straw

acting as inspiration for the longing of everlasting

A Poet’s Lament For A Dying Year. full post

(237 words, estimated 57 secs reading time)

Guts

This morning I killed my best friend

I had to pay professionals to do it in the end

Looking at it now, it was a lot of dosh to spend

This morning I killed my best friend.

 

I should have had the guts to see it through

I felt there for a moment that it was the thing to do

But going with the flow I walked along the tunnel view

I should have had the guts to see it through.

 

So should I ask myself, “Am I a man?”

Guts full post

(205 words, estimated 49 secs reading time)

Midwinter Of The Spirit, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 5/10

Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, David Threlfall, Sally Messham, Leila Mimmack, Will Attenborough, Doc Brown, Katie Dickie, Oengus MacNamara, Ania Marson, Nicholas Pinnock, Simon Trinder, Rachel Atkins, Paul Bentall, Siobhan Finneran, Eileen Nicholas, Vivienne Soan, David Sterne, Josie Walker, Stephen Walsh, Scott Wright, Kai Alexander, Neil Ashton, Scott Cutmore, Holly Kavanagh, Geoffrey McGivern, Stephen McKenna, Nisha Nayar, Martin Walsh, Deon Williams, Alexis Platt, Adrian Dobson.

Midwinter Of The Spirit, Television Review. full post

(465 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Squeeze, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is something quite comforting about watching Squeeze perform their huge back catalogue of hits, particularly when their set is now liberally laced with tracks from their first brand new album in 17 years – that being Cradle to the Grave, the “soundtrack” for Danny Baker’s life story telling sitcom currently running on B.B.C.2 starring Peter Kay.

Squeeze, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

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

Squeeze, Cradle To The Grave. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are not many bands that can make the ordinary extraordinary, that take a minute of a life and turn it into a whole progression of infinite possibility and yet still be down grounded and down to Earth enough for all who hear it, who understand the significance of it all.

For Squeeze, the words have long-held significance; they have proposed an urban romance since their first initial days of one of London’s New Wave and one that hasn’t been tainted by the spectre of time. It is the words and overwhelming playful music that brings the band back into the spotlight in some great fashion with their first studio album with brand new songs in many years, the gloriously enjoyable Cradle To The Grave.

Squeeze, Cradle To The Grave. Album Review. full post

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