The Jooks, E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

There is a lot to be said for the genre of Power Pop, along with the imagery of well crafter three or so minutes well-crafted song, it gives prominence to a section of music that sometimes gets lost in the overarching field of popular music. The initial years that saw the rise of crisp harmonies, a belting guitar sound with no need to Segway off into a solo performance that may as well hold its own concert seem so long ago now but there were some great bands throughout the years since those first forays against the music being force fed the post-war teenager and The Jooks have released a very cool self-titled E.P. to stand amongst them.

The Jooks, E.P. Review. full post

(390 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Lena Anderssen, Letters From The Faroes. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Faroe Islands might not be on top of the vast majority of people’s thoughts when it comes listening to music, it is a shame as the tiny archipelago with a population of about 50,000 has some excellent traditional music of which it justly and rightly proud but also some incredible contemporary musicians who give their all in their performance and studio albums.  One such musician is Lena Anderssen.

Lena Anderssen’s 2011 album Letters From The Faroes fills any musical void that may have opened up between the U.K. and the small set of islands is immediately plugged completely by the tantalising music on offer by the young Faroese woman.

Lena Anderssen, Letters From The Faroes. Album Review. full post

(403 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

The Sugarmen, Gig Review. The Cavern Club.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The Sugarmen have built up a steady reputation, one that a sweaty, sultry night in Liverpool’s The Cavern Club can only further enhance. Presented by Radio Merseyside’s legendary local music champion Dave Monks, The Sugermen gave a blistering account of themselves on what can only be described a scintillating night.

The Sugarmen, Gig Review. The Cavern Club. full post

(466 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

When The Rain Stops Falling, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Simon Hedger, Ruth Alexander Rubin, John Edon, Maria Swisher, Jake Norton, Liam Tobin, Jennifer Burgess, Samantha Meisner.

When the downpour starts it is hard to ever believe that it will stop, the rain just becomes relentless, never-ending and destroys more and more lives. What happens though When The Rain Stops Falling?

When The Rain Stops Falling, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(355 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Ladies Day, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Eithne Browne, Lynne Francis, Roxanne Pallett, Angela Simms, Jack Lord.

The glitter, the finery, the new frocks and strange alien language truly known only by a smattering of people can only mean one thing; that Amanda Whittington’s play Ladies Day is in Liverpool and under starter’s orders to go down as one of the great feel good productions of 2013.

Ladies Day, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(436 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Much Ado About Nothing, Film Review. FACT Cinema.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Alex Denisof, Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Sean Maher, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome, Ashley Johnson, Emma Bates, Tom Lenk, Nick Kocher, Joshua Zar, Paul Meston, Romy Rosemont, Elsa Guillet-Chapuis.

Quite simply, every actor and director really wants to get their hands on big budget version of one of William Shakespeare’s works. The doom laden chorus who persistently suggest that the man, who along with William Tyndale can be seen as one of the fathers of modern English, is not hip, not important enough to young cinema goers and that the language leaves people cold, could do worse than actually attend the screening of Much Ado About Nothing as it revels in the language, makes it completely accessible and performs superbly.

Much Ado About Nothing, Film Review. FACT Cinema. full post

(458 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

A Blinking Red Eye

I always looked north, a force of habit I allowed myself

As I took shelter from the rain and driving incessant wind that hung over

The valley and clung like a finely woven tight spider’s web around my throat on the hill.

I never went to the other side of the town and looked south

Even though my oldest friend lived in that direction.

My heart was beyond the boundary of the city, a village in all but name

As the Cathedral grew even out of the densest mist coming off the rivers.

A Blinking Red Eye full post

(439 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Kingbathmat, Overcoming The Monster. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Progressive Rock isn’t quite the same without a band releasing two great and phenomenal albums within a year of each other, Queen, when they were Prog managed it, Genesis revelled in it and now Kingbathmat show exactly why critics and the public loved them when they released Truth Button and now, just a few short months on they have come back with astounding Overcoming The Monster.

Kingbathmat, Overcoming The Monster. Album Review. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Ashbury Keys, Growing Up. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Ashbury Keys last, for now, full album was released back in 2004 and as with their debut release, the follow up Dancers and the E.P. Wake Up that was to come, the music that this power-pop trio creates is of such a high standard, a cornucopia of quality that it feels such a shame that Growing Up was the last big piece of work by this incredibly likeable band.

Ashbury Keys, Growing Up. Album Review. full post

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

Joe Walsh, The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get. 40th Anniversary Retrospective.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It was the album that made Joe Walsh initially but as he and the band Barnstorm cut this record 40 years ago, he couldn’t have imagined what was just that little further down the road as one of the seminal groups in American music history came knocking for him.

Joe Walsh, The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get. 40th Anniversary Retrospective. full post

(818 words, estimated 3:16 mins reading time)