Doctor Who: Deep Breath. Television Review, B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Neve McIntosh, Dan Starkey, Catrin Stewart, Peter Ferdinando, Paul Hickey, Tony Way, Maggie Service, Mark Kempner, Brian Miller, Graham Duff, Ellis George, Peter Hannah, Paul Kasey.

The Doctor is in, he just might not see you just yet.

The thirteenth man to take on the titular role of the long lasting and very popular series of Doctor Who might take some getting used to for some. After nearly a decade of having arguably a more youthful outlook but for many, surely the more than capable, erudite and wonderfully strange Peter Capaldi is a return to what bought success for the programme in its 1970s heyday.

Doctor Who: Deep Breath. Television Review, B.B.C. full post

(661 words, estimated 2:39 mins reading time)

(Pub Days) Tales From The Cambridge.

To sit in The Cambridge,

the air warm with excitement,

as beer flows and complements to the flavour

of the rousing conversational chase, back and forth,

hurriedly

slowly…

the odd glass or three of

Simon’s Cider peppering the aroma,

punctuated by a Ginger Goddess

staring into her empty glass with the shock value

of one in need of another

after a heavy day hitting the books,

the pages in between and the words beaten

into submission, black eyed, panda like,

sat under constant university

strobe flickering wildly,

(Pub Days) Tales From The Cambridge. full post

(595 words, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

Our World War: War Machine. Television Review.

Cast: Gerard Kearns, Luke Norris, Shaun Dooley, Danny Walters, Chris Reilly, Anna Bolton, John Hollingworth, Niall McNamee, Ryan Kiggell, James Wilson, Kyle Evans, Sholto Morgan.

The final episode in Joe Barton’s utterly compelling and extremely well observed series, Our World War, looked at the final days of the war and the comradeship forged in the newly formed Tank Company but also the grief and feeling of helplessness and desolation in those that were left behind and who to face up to the news from the front lines.

Our World War: War Machine. Television Review. full post

(481 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Mater Thallium, Abandoned By The Sun. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

There are very few things in life that are better than a detective story. The thrill of going down avenues and drawing your conclusions from the clues presented to you and whilst the likes of Poirot, Wallander or Morse are missing, the best kind of detective is on hand, the listener, who is privy to every detail in the latest album by Mater Thallium, Abandoned By The Sun.

Mater Thallium, Abandoned By The Sun. Album Review. full post

(447 words, 1 image, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Crimsonland, PS4 Game Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Crimsonland is a top-down shooter game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Crimsonland is a re-make of a game known by the same name that was released for Windows in 2003 and was actually 10Tons’ first ever game with the re-make providing a rather fitting celebration of a special milestone of having endured over a decade in the videogames industry! A decade in the videogames industry is not exactly easy, but congratulations are not just in order for over a decade in the industry, but also for such a diversity of games from Sparkle to King Oddball and even Crimsonland showcases a clear departure from one another, which takes plenty of enthusiasm, guts and imagination to achieve, so long live the exceptional indie games and long may they continue to flow onto PlayStation consoles for many years to come! However, does Crimsonland shape up to the same level of quality as their Sparkle games and King Oddball?

Crimsonland, PS4 Game Review. full post

(2169 words, estimated 8:41 mins reading time)

Steve Earle, Gig Review. The Galleria, Echo Arena, Liverpool.

steve earle in Liverpool. August 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The word legend is, at times, overused. It is the way of the English language that almost anything or anybody can have the word placed before it and that is perfectly acceptable. For what else is the fluidity of the sematic if not for marking out certain well used phrases if it has a sense of positivity attached to it?

Steve Earle, Gig Review. The Galleria, Echo Arena, Liverpool. full post

(540 words, 1 image, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

Red Sky July, Gig Review. The Galleria, Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Echo Arena is arguably the perfect place to go when you really want to be part of a large crowd, the heaving mass of humanity enjoying the finest that Rock and other genres have to offer, Whether it’s Roger Waters, Status Quo, Muse or even the legendary Neil Young, the arena has a vibe that means Liverpool music fans don’t have to travel to far off venues in Manchester, Birmingham or London.

Red Sky July, Gig Review. The Galleria, Echo Arena, Liverpool. full post

(407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Fables: Animal Farm. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Who killed Cock Robin? Well in any Revolution there are always going to be casualties, some will say those that die in ensuing civil war are martyrs to the cause, some are murdered by design and others, innocents like Cock Robin, were just caught in the cross fire of the opening skirmishes and jostling for position.

Revolutions in the mind of Bill Willingham though are so much more complex, the land of Fable is not as straightforward nor as nice as many believe it to be. If Fables in Exile set the stall out for what is a remarkably well written series then Fables: Animal Farm is the dark underside that makes the series make sense.

Fables: Animal Farm. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(414 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Game Review: Mahjong Gold (PS Vita)

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Mahjong Gold is a traditional Chinese puzzle game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS Vita. With Mahjong: Royal Towers and Mahjong: World Contest both being exceptional Mahjong games questions will surely be asked that can the sequel Mahjong Gold match up to or perhaps even better its predecessors?

There are six different categories of levels that are referred to as contests with each contest spanning twenty levels totalling to an amazing 120 levels! Each of the six contests has a specific name including: Lagoon of Trials; Mariner; Bootsmann; Midshipman; Captain; and Admiral with each being tied to a difficulty level ranging all the way from newbie to experienced, expert, master and champion.

Game Review: Mahjong Gold (PS Vita) full post

(2379 words, estimated 9:31 mins reading time)

K’s Choice, The City Of Music Two. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The humble compilation album can take many forms. In now what seems at times the dim and distant past, as distant to the younger generation coming through now as Sir Edmund Hilary’s and Tenzing Norgay’s ascent of Everest to those growing up in the 1970s, the past when to have your say in music meant taking the pick of the songs you may have proudly bought or even embarrassingly hidden away due to the absurdity of the song and placed onto a C90 tape and perhaps even then handed over with much ceremony to the person you perhaps fancied, the compilation stood for something pure.

K’s Choice, The City Of Music Two. Album Review. full post

(641 words, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)