Yusuf, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

For many different reasons the man behind the superb new album, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone seems to have had two very different careers. Two distinct arenas in which he has performed in and separated only by Time. Even the one in which he carved his name out initially under the name of Cat Stevens and latterly Yusuf, the bohemian minstrel with a voice and lyrical ability unlike anything else around at the time, a man whose lyrics could cause tears to well up at a moment’s notice, is disconnected but so entrenched in each part that to enjoy one area of work is to simply be gratified and comfortable in the other.

Yusuf, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone. Album Review. full post

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

Chasing Infinity, Dance With The One That Brought You. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

In what seems the dim and distant past, another world existed within the musical spectrum. It was a world in which musicians and bands were given the freedom to grow at their own pace artistically, to be nurtured and perhaps allowed the room to breathe. Not every label was so forward thinking back then and perhaps even less now, everybody wants their piece of the action and worse perhaps the unholy chasing of the Pound/Dollar or Euro that goes with it.

Chasing Infinity, Dance With The One That Brought You. Single Review. full post

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

The Southbound Attic Band, Our Day In The Sun. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are those that seemingly take great pleasure in deriding the power of Folk music. They are willing to sneer and complain that the story, often or not a tale of great morality with twists that raise a smile, is irreverent to the way of the world now. It is not a complaint that passes the lips of those that have Celtic blood raging through their hearts or those with an understanding that Folk, whether Celtic, European or English, touches upon the very nature of communication, simple, effective and memorable.

The Southbound Attic Band, Our Day In The Sun. Album Review. full post

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

Doctor Who: In The Forest Of The Night, Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Abigail Eames, Jayden Harris-Wallace, Ashley Foster, Harley Bird, Michelle Gomez, Siwan Morris, Harry Dickman, Jenny Hill, Eloise Barnes, James Weber Brown, Michelle Asante, Curtis Flowers, Kate Tydman, Nana Amoo-Gottfried, William Wright-Neblett.

In a series that has welcomed new writers to the home of Doctor Who, none perhaps come more equipped to weave a tale of intrigue, fun and the very essence of danger whilst highlighting humanity’s need to depend on the natural world more so than Liverpool’s Frank Cottrell-Boyce and his debut story, In The Forest Of The Night.                       .

Doctor Who: In The Forest Of The Night, Television Review. B.B.C. full post

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

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Vince Killen Of Crowded Scouse.

There is a time and place for everything in life but sometimes the brutal truth of health is something that no matter what time of day it is, no matter the mood you have arrived at your chosen venue in which to talk to someone about their life and their plans, catches you unawares and knocked sideways, especially when delivered by someone so intelligent, full of life and as candid as Vince Killen of Crowded Scouse.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Vince Killen Of Crowded Scouse. full post

(2079 words, estimated 8:19 mins reading time)

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (PS4), Game Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5 out of 10

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments is a third-person and first-person detective adventure game available from retail stores and for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. The game is based upon the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes who was created by the Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the character evolving in his status ever since the original novel A Study in Scarlet was published in 1887 and The Sign of the Four in 1890 with serialisations and short stories following until the second set of stories came to a climax in 1927. Since the original incarnation of Sherlock Holmes there have been numerous theatre productions, television and film adaptations from across the world with videogames being another popular form of adaptation.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (PS4), Game Review. full post

(3077 words, estimated 12:18 mins reading time)

Heaven 17, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Lead us not into temptation… unless of course it is by the firm hand and knowing smiles of Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware of the sensational Heaven 17.

These words must have passed the vast majority of lips of those attending the second night of the Heaven 17 tour many times in the preceding weeks leading up to the gig at the East Village Arts Centre in Liverpool. By the end of the night, by the time that Martin Ware had conjured up enticing music from out of the ether and Glenn Gregory had sang with the power of a male siren luring all to the ship of musical entanglement and provocative craving, those words would have been uttered in each audience member’s sleep but with spoken with no conviction, for all it seemed were entranced by the stage presence and desire raging three feet above them.

Heaven 17, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool. full post

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

Blancmange, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Neil Arthur stood almost transfixed on the stage of the East Village Arts Centre. Seemingly beautifully hypnotised by the sight and sound that was taking place before him as fans, young and old, of Blancmange didn’t just sing back to him, they liberated and gave freedom to the symbol of musical expression.

Blancmange, Gig Review. East Village Arts Centre, Liverpool. full post

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

Fury, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jim Parrack, Brad William Henke, Kevin Vance, Xavier Samuel, Jason Isaacs, Anamarie Marinca, Alicia Von Rittberg, Scottv Eastwood,  Laurence Spellman, Daniel Betts, Adam Ganne, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Osi Okerafor, John Macmillan, Saul Barrett, Marek Oravec, Kyle Soller, Jake Curran, Jack Bannon, Branko Tomovic, Orion Lee, Vivien Bridson, Christian Contreras, Stella Stocker, Jacob Vonhendial, Lukas Rolfe, Leon Rolfe, Harry Hancock, Daniel Dorr, Bernhard Forcher.

 

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

(705 words, estimated 2:49 mins reading time)

Serena, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Rhys Ifans, Sean Harris, Toby Jones, Sam Reid, David Dencik, Blake Ritson, Ned Dennehy, Charity Wakefield, Michael Ryan, Kim Bodnia, Ana Ularu.

There are those that say that the great American epic is dead. That the days of the great American cinematic nature/love/natural landscape story is as over, torn apart by the digitisation and CGI effects on offer to the 21st Century audiences. It is hard to disagree with that assertion, no matter how much grief and pain it may cause when viewed from the darkness of a cinema screening of Serena.

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

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