Ron Sayer Jr and Charlotte Joyce, Hard To Please. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are albums which are just so seamless in their presentation that the listener can only imagine that the premium tailor in the country stitched it together with the finest deluxe invisible silk. Ron Sayer Jr.’s and Charlotte Joyce’s album Hard To Please fits that description so well that the outstanding guitar that Ron Sayer Jr. employs may as well be considered the sharp needle which weaves the notes together and then embroiders the beautiful voice Charlotte Joyce within in its sumptuous  tapestry.

Ron Sayer Jr and Charlotte Joyce, Hard To Please. Album Review. full post

(381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Stephen King, Doctor Sleep.Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For nearly 40 years Stephen King has thrilled his readers and on many occasions has put just enough wind up them to make them see something in the shadows, something unnatural that makes the reader slightly unnerved about turning over the next page but also too riveted to put down the book, even into the small hours of the day. His latest novel, Doctor Sleep, is no exception.

Stephen King, Doctor Sleep.Book Review. full post

(559 words, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Aliens Vs Predator Omnibus Volume 2, Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Where Volume 1 of Alien Vs Predator gave the graphic novel fans a taste of what could have been after the two of the greatest film monsters of all time reared their ugly heads, Volume 2 takes it one stage further with the same artistic endeavour but with a truly landmark script bursting within its 458 pages that really gets to grips with the idea of what makes these two franchises tick.

Aliens Vs Predator Omnibus Volume 2, Graphic Novel Review. full post

(499 words, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)

Pavilions, Gig Review. o2 Accademy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Even if somehow the name Pavilions somehow has managed to pass you by, by the end of their slot as part of the support for Chicago’s Medina Lake, there could be no doubting the buzz that was circulating round the room at the end of their set, the way they were greeted and cheered during it and the way each member handled themselves throughout.

Pavilions, Gig Review. o2 Accademy, Liverpool. full post

(389 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Medina Lake, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If a main act can be surmised by the company it keeps in the type of support it has on before them then Medina Lake should be lauded for being one of the most energetic, most lively and physically demanding bands of the last few years. The invisible energy that had been building up from the start with the outstanding Buckle Tongue, through the Fearless Vampire Killers and Pavilions and culminating in a cacophony of sweat, blistering power and a mutual admiration between rock act and Liverpool audience.

Medina Lake, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(416 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Fearless Vampire Killers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are mercurial substances when blended together seem to give the potent headiness that makes people swoon, scream with adulation at the very merest thought of having a hand touch a lock of hair and somehow make everything else in the world seem irrelevant; even for the briefest of moments. When the powerful aroma of burgeoning testosterone adds itself to the glitter of eye-liner, a theatrical moodiness and enough spray on pheromones to knock out the navigation systems of any passing passenger liner, then at some point those who made their way to rock gigs in the 1980s may have felt slightly caught unawares by the veneration shown by the crowd as the Fearless Vampire Killers made their way through their set in support of Medina Lake.

Fearless Vampire Killers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Perhaps it was fortuitous that Merseyside band Buckle Tongue opened up their set in support of Medina Lake at the o2 Academy with the song Grow. For in the space of ten months that is exactly what they have done. Ten short months from a place in which they were already impressing those who saw them to a point now where surely they are a band to nurture, to grasp with both hands and say please keep going. Liverpool doesn’t really do the very heavy side of rock but judging by the adoration they received from perhaps even the strangest quarters in the o2, they are ready for bigger things.

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(338 words, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

Babajack, Running Man. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There will always be one album that catches you unawares. No matter how many you manage to listen to in a week, occasionally something will ping in the back of the brain and you will sit down, disregard everything else that is going on and needs to be done and just sit mesmerised by the sound of the incredible, the stark reality of beauty that squeezes itself out of your stereo. Babajack have that in abundance on their latest album Running Man. Ignore the phone, make sure no one knocks on the door demanding to know if you are free for a drink, Running Man is much more important than any almost anything else you can be doing right now.

Babajack, Running Man. Album Review. full post

(379 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Crime And Punishment, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Adam Best, Mabel Clements, George Costigan, Amiera Darwish, Chris Donald, Cate Hamer, Jessica Hardwick, John Paul Hurley, Jack Lord, Obioma Ugoala.

There are moments in theatre where the ugly head of jealousy might just rear up within an audience member and show the person what they could have achieved if they were so minded. The chance to write, direct or even perform in a production of Crime And Punishment that is so magnificent, so constant in its relentless look at the way poverty, crime and descending psychosis, that even to have pulled the curtain up at the start of the play would have been an enormous thrill.

Crime And Punishment, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Aliens Vs Predator, Volume 1 Omnibus. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There will be those who remember sitting and waiting with varying degrees of patience for their favourite comic book title, as they seemed to be called once upon a time, to come out and then devoured greedily with relish as their favourite hero or collection of champions led the way through 40 or so pages of agonising self-worth and the inevitable fight, perhaps to the death.

Aliens Vs Predator, Volume 1 Omnibus. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(585 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)