The atmosphere at Wembley for the 134th F.A Cup Final should be looked upon as amazing. Yet the contrast in the two teams, Aston Villa and Arsenal on the sunny warm Saturday evening on the 30th May 2015 is perhaps more tangible and brutal than in recent memory. The Cup hasn’t been fought over in gladiatorial style between the Capital and arguably the second city of England since 2000 and the difference between the two cities in terms of football glory has never been more stark.
The Healer.
What do you do when Time has neglected to inform
that there has been an ache in your heart
which you never realised existed till the pain
hits you square in the jaw and rips your guts apart?
You can but smile and flash a grin, because you mean that emotion,
you revel in the mysterious and the unanswered question
for a short while until
Time has a habit of making you nod and securing a truthful exit
as you realise that deep down gnawing at your soul,
Young Benjamins, Less Argue. Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The mournful cry of a lost soul in the darkness is soon replaced with the almost sheer joy of a set of instruments let loose upon the mind, for the Young Benjamins, Less Argue is that place between weathering the storm and cursing the tempest as she swells and fires water bombs of destruction at your ever despairing life, and the warmth felt as the sun fight back and warms up the small island you have been cowering upon as you cling onto what remains of that soul.
John Jenkins, Sweet Delphine. Single Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
No matter how lonely you feel in life, cut off from the day to day and the sensation of being a wreck in your harbour, it arguably cannot compare to the feeling of thoughtful resentment felt by the knights of the sea, the sailors and their muses that keep them sane when the ocean tries to break their spirits. It is a feeling that is perfectly captured by John Jenkins and his debut single, Sweet Delphine.
Going Home
The room is silent
but I cannot help but hear the sound
of Billy Joel extolling the virtue of keeping faith,
the Piano Man with the tender voice that packed
several punches with each octave and tremble
on his lips, implores me to listen to the sound
of nothing there at all.
I head towards a home, one of many I have had
but one in which I didn’t appreciate till
I had been there a couple of years and the argument
I had one winter’s evening still pains me to recall.
Moss & Jones, Ella Brown. Single Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The past may well be another country but at times the borders between then and now shift and blur so much that what was once the highest form of art soon comes back to entrance once more. Like a woman in the flourish of youth at Court being presented in front of a gaping, slack jawed crowd and then returning 40 years later and still able to command authority with wit, guile and brains and having the same crowd dance to her tune, the past comes back with frightening agile speed to ensnare and beguile us when we least expect it.
Alun Parry, Live At 81 Renshaw Street. Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Stripped back, raw, uncovered, exposed and all the while the image of wonderful demeanour and a smile wider than the River Mersey and just as deep and meaningful. It is the only way to think of Alun Parry, one of Liverpool’s true Folk legends and a man who puts himself out there to make sure other’s voices are heard, a gentleman who can pen a song that break your heart into a thousand lonely pieces but who can then rebuild it stronger and able to withstand the next knock on the door and the size nine bullying its way across town.
Life Is Strange: Episode 3 – Chaos Theory (PS4), Game Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10
Life is Strange: Episode 3 – Chaos Theory is a third-person episodic adventure game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. The episodic action of the game continues with the third episode developed by Dontnod Entertainment who are known for creating games with powerful and dependant female characters that grow and become stronger through the duration of the game having previously released Remember Me in 2013.
Football Is F***** Again.
Revolutions have fought over less
and the French aristocrat, the English Knight and the
descendent of Mohammed agree on one thing,
the corruption of the battle field must be cleansed
and fire stormed right down its roots
and if takes the Marshal in his white Stetson and polished badge,
his deputies rooting through the rubbish of thirty
years of wasteland dust and paper trails that lead to one
man dressed in black and spouting his own gospel charm,
to help them bring down the despot of the so called
Paul McCartney, Gig Review. Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The love you take is equal to the love you make” sang McCartney’s sampled voice, mixed with some beats by the support DJ. It brought to an end the pre-show photo montage, which was accompanied by some fairly entertaining remixes of classic tracks.
Eschewing standard practice of the star following the rest of the band, Paul McCartney shuffled onto the empty stage alone, holding his signature Hofner bass…to a massive roar of the crowd, naturally. This humble manner was evident throughout the show. His in-between song banter is stilted and almost bashful; the polar opposite to his arguably over-rehearsed, P.R. style interview technique. McCartney realises that in the live situation, he doesn’t have to indulge in long introductions or throw rock star shapes. Rather, his astounding back catalogue does the talking and is actually the real star of the show.