The Foxglove Trio, These Gathered Branches. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Music is arguably never finer than when it conveys a story with strength of will and sheer abundance of spirit. When it throws a great tune into the mix, it positively roars with delight and somehow has the power to even start the day off on a brighter, less sepia induced tone. It begs the question of how much nicer the world would seem first thing in the morning, even if hailstones the size of golf balls were bouncing off the ground in rapid, quick fire succession, if the vast majority of people put on a record before going out to work rather than worrying that the bloated market is down a couple of points.

The Foxglove Trio, These Gathered Branches. Album Review. full post

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

Dark Horse, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are many names that sit like Kings of old on the throne of the nation’s favourite race horse and whatever the rights and wrongs of which there are plenty on either side of the argument, the fact that an animal is so revered is one of the great pleasures in life for many millions of people.

Dark Horse, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool. full post

(548 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

For Elke, In The Key Of H.

If not for Maaike, we would never have met that day

where the Animals flopped and cursed their lot

in the aftermath of an afternoon ripping to shreds

the carcass of an old, unloved and despicable novel,

its spine cello taped and flea encrusted as much as the search

for it exhausted us all.

If not for Maaike, the genuine affection found in my first loved

band and in yours also would never have been shared

on a broken bed, caused by several Animals

pretending they were once more young cubs and by our hostess

For Elke, In The Key Of H. full post

(241 words, estimated 58 secs reading time)

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4), Game Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9 out of 10

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a top-down 2D action shooter game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4, PS3 and PS Vita. This new game is the long awaited sequel to the sleeper hit Hotline Miami which was a success with critics and players alike, while the original earned awards and nominations for its gritty yet nostalgic gameplay which Wrong Number attempts to further improve upon.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4), Game Review. full post

(2574 words, estimated 10:18 mins reading time)

Little Brown Jug.

Bought for 50p in a jumble sale,

you look so nondescript,

small and square, dark brown, glazed.

Some might say you’re ugly too

but stamped on the underside

is your life story, a maritime heritage,

sold at Stoniers the housewares store

for the White Star Line.

Who poured your milk or water out?

Which ship were you on?

What sea tales do you have to tell?

Did you sail from Liverpool or another Celtic port?

A humble little jug, utility ware,

staring at me from the bookshelf,

Little Brown Jug. full post

(112 words, estimated 27 secs reading time)

Passion Pit, Kindred. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *

For many, being told as children that if you have nothing nice to say, then keep your mouth firmly shut, is a maxim to live by even into middle age or even to swear by as infirmity and shortness of breath lend a hand to day to day existence. The only trouble with that aphorism in the modern age, people tend to either believe you are being either provocative in your silence and therefore just fancy bashing you round the head with their sarcasm and ill judged retorts or, and possibly more damning, they might take the biting down on the tongue for mild acceptance, that they have done nothing wrong in life and you accept them for what they are, even if they have ventured into the beige and downbeat.

Passion Pit, Kindred. Album Review. full post

(507 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: The Entropy Plague, Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Mark Strickson, Alastair Mackenzie, Catherine Skinner, Robert Duncan, John Voce, Chris Finney.

Decay is a state of mind for which even The Doctor struggles to hold back at times, the sheer weight of history acting as a melancholic anchor for him to grasp hold of when all is against him. His collection of travellers past and present, those he has lost, those he has loved, all acting as the living embodiments of the Memento Mori he carries around with him in his little blue box; decay is something he runs from, never looking back, never going back for old companions in case he sees the futility of life. Entropy in the end is the toughest enemy The Doctor has and one that he cannot hope to defeat forever.

Doctor Who: The Entropy Plague, Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

(574 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

I Lived And You Didn’t.

…you should have been the one to live,

you should have walked tall and taken on the world

with all its prejudiced malice and spite for

we both know you would have made so much more

of the life once glimpsed on both our parts.

I can only offer false machismo, to the point

where I gave that up as bad idea, a notion unbecoming

at the age of seventeen, perhaps the moment

where we said goodbye on the corner, only to dream of each

other’s possible lives, still holding a part of ourselves close,

I Lived And You Didn’t. full post

(228 words, estimated 55 secs reading time)

Satin Beige, Gig Review. L.I.P.A., Liverpool.

Satin Beige, LIPA, Liverpool. April 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Relaxed, composed and only the barest hint of the immensity that resides in her fingers showing as they strain at the leash wanting to fly with the same feeling of majestic endeavour that she showed ahead of supporting Tommy Scott’s acoustic evening at Leaf in March, Satin Beige looks as if she doesn’t just want to give a performance to remember, she wants to show exactly why she is so highly regarded and so admired.

Satin Beige, Gig Review. L.I.P.A., Liverpool. full post

(396 words, 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Novacrow, Gig Review. L.I.P.A., Liverpool.

Kitty Staunton of Novacrow, LIPA, Liverpool, 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If every song needs a hook in which to guide it to the listener’s emotions then does it follow that every live performance needs something other than the music to really make it memorable? It either depends on how the sound is appreciated, a folk band for example certainly don’t need the extra polish attached their gig, neither does a solo performer serenading with almost perfect ease, and yet in some quarters, what is already rather enjoyable, even tremendous in some places has that little something extra with the visual memento mori attached.

Novacrow, Gig Review. L.I.P.A., Liverpool. full post

(438 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)