The Poozies, Into The Well. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5

Who needs a good horror story to send the chill up the spine, the encouraging shiver of keen anticipation of a set of songs that place the hairs on the back on the arm to full attention and the wide eyed look of appreciation at a haunting piece of art? Who needs a good horror story when the beauty of four female voice well versed in their craft can achieve the same effect without the need to keep one eye open and clutching a loved one tight with fear rather than affection.

The Man Who Gave Me Nightmares.

I was driven to the dark side by you.

The psychological warfare you declared on my soul

was swift, brutal, embracing and total; for that is what you do,

the use of my fears, you coveted and stole.

 

You climbed into my bed and ravaged me late at night,

it is not an accusation, more of a memory of the first line

we shared, and then forever, I have kept you in sight,

even with you missing from the night time, your nightmares became mine.

 

The Voodoo Sheiks, Voodification. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Whilst something borrowed shows a deep sense of adoration to another lover, there is always something very special about having the new rub along with the novel and standing shoulder to shoulder with the fresh and innovative.

Following on from last year’s gracious Borrowed & New, The Voodoo Sheiks’ latest album Voodification not only celebrates the sheer beauty of the continued mix of Blues Rock that the previous album gave out in waves but also the intrigue that the band place before their fans in the new album. It is the dichotomy of the musical soul, the chance to stay lauded where you have previously laid the lyrics and testament of the well placed guitar note or move on, take yet another stride towards a kind of permanent place in the pantheon before them.

Dara O’ Briain, Comedy Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. (2015)

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Some people are just larger than life, some even make life large by pointing out the very small details, the details that are so acutely insane that they deserve to be picked out, shaken and handed to the audience as if they were small chewable nuggets of how to get through a crazy but memorable life.

I Want

Surely

there are no two words more dangerous in their combination,

than the pair that leads to the poison that is rank,

stinking jealousy

and the sickly covetousness of the  envious vampire like

drilled with suspicion and unhappy malice fucks.

There are no two greater words to cause such misery

on the shoulders of humanity than I Want.

 

Bitter jealousy and envy, the twin darlings of

the grasping I Want, mewling, mealy mouthed and despite

the odd good intention, such as I Want World Peace,

A Place Near Burnley (On The Day That Dara Came To Town)

There is a dwelling of myth and magic

deep in the heart of the British countryside,

a place near Burnley

where Polytunnels do reside.

They are grown in this place near Burnley

in secret, tested by Hamsters and a six foot Guinea Pig,

chased by unicorns and frolicking maidens called Rebecca

and mused over by a comedian whose reputation is big.

The Polytunnel holds many secrets

in the place near Burnley,

a shorter commute for the weary traveller,

closer than Liverpool anyway, surely?

When research is over

Black Diamond, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool.

Black Diamond, East Vilage Arts Centre, Liverpool. May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Black Diamond, East Vilage Arts Centre, Liverpool. May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The one to watch in 2015 has delivered to the point of fanaticism, dispensed with the thought of possibility and served up the righteous at room temperature an allowed to boil well into the night. For Black Diamond this particular gig at the East Village Arts Centre was astonishing, a tour de force of explosive beauty coupled with the heat of derision and the portrayal of band who cannot surely be stopped.

Diamond Days, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool.

Diamond Days at E.V.A.C, Liverpool, May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Diamond Days at E.V.A.C, Liverpool, May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

A change of scene is all it takes to get the full bloodied effect of what a band is capable of saying. Not just capable, but with style and accomplished grace, with passion and drive and the sweet serenade of a smile majestically raised to the heavens. The change is so palpable that it really makes the listener fully endorse the group as just oozing awesome from out of their collective shell.

Boston Manor, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Sometimes you just have to applaud the demeanour of a band that has just sweated copious amounts of sweat in the name of the cause. That sweat, almost pouring with the same majestic force as the water that tumbles over Niagara Falls after a torrent of rain has swelled the mighty beast to bursting point, comes ready packaged as part of Boston Manor’s short but high spirited and highly energetic set at the Fury Fest at the East Village Arts Centre.