Eyrn Non Dae, Meliora. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It’s been a while since this extreme of Metal sounded this good, call the genre that it subsets itself into what you will but Eyrn Non Dae and their 2012 album Meliora could almost wipe the floor with anything that pretends to be its equal. The sound is exquisitely loud, brash, fundamentally outspoken and following in the tradition the likes of Slayer, Cannibal Corpse and Birmingham’s Esoteric but with that Gallic charm that overpowers the senses whilst talking sweetly and lovingly in your ear.

Eyrn Non Dae, Meliora. Album Review. full post

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

The Cherry Bluestorms, Bad Penny Opera. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The U.K. had two versions of the 1960s. The first which revolved around Swinging London, Carnaby Street, the advent of women’s liberation and the pill, short skirts, sexual freedom, relaxation of antiquated laws, The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks. This world was there for the people of the U.K. to see but very few saw that glimpse of hedonistic Britain outside of the silver screen, news items and their dreams. For others, it was the second version, the world of Rita Tushingham and A Taste of Honey, The Wednesday Afternoon Play, Cathy Come Home, Carol White, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, social deprivation and unrest, sex scandals in Parliament, train robberies, Profumo and the threat of nuclear war between two superpowers either side of the U.K. It’s no wonder that people prefer to remember the sixties as a golden time in Britain compared to real life.

The Cherry Bluestorms, Bad Penny Opera. Album Review. full post

(490 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Broadchurch, Episode Eight. Television Review. I.T.V.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: David Tennant, Olivia Coleman, Andrew Buchan, Jodie Whittaker, Arthur Darvill, Tracey Childs, Matthew Gravelle, Peter De Jersey, Will Mellor, Jonathon Bailey, Charlotte Beaumont, Adam Wilson, Oskar McNamara, Joe Simms, Carolyn Pickles, Joe Sims, Jacob Anderson. Tanya Franks.

Broadchurch, Episode Eight. Television Review. I.T.V. full post

(445 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

The Cherry Bluestorms,Transit Of Venus. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are moments when you hear an album by a band, a solo musician, a collective of seemingly mismatched performers who somehow bring everything together to make a perfect record that you end up shedding a few tears of regret that you know you will never get to see them perform live. One such solo performer is the American musician Alexx Calisle, one such band is the sensational The Cherry Bluestorms from Los Angeles.

The Cherry Bluestorms,Transit Of Venus. Album Review. full post

(472 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, Eldrad Must Die! Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 172.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Sarah Sutton, Stephen Thorne, Nancy Carroll, Pip Torrens, Jessica Claire, Brian Protheroe, Mark Field.

It is perhaps fitting that some of the older foes from the classic series of Doctor Who make their way into the Big Finish roster, especially as the parent television programmes gears up for what is fast becoming a very special 50th anniversary but some monsters and villains having been used once during the 70s and 80s should be left where the memory of their time on screen can be quietly and easily forgotten and the relation to the programme left to slivers of reminiscence when the mood descends. Such is the fate of the latest release Eldrad Must Die!

Doctor Who, Eldrad Must Die! Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 172. full post

(473 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Endeavour, Fugue. Television Review. I.T.V.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Anton Lesser, James Bradshaw, Sean Rigby, Geoffery Streatfield,  Jack Bannon, Lavina Bertram, Robert Blythe, Paul Bullion, Sarah Crowden, Will Featherstone, Joanna Horton, Jack Laskey, Iain McKee, Michelle Morris, Caroline O’Neil, Kelly Price, Laura Rees, Lex Shrapnel, Robin Soans, Abigail Thaw, Sarah Vickers, Claire Vousden.

Endeavour, Fugue. Television Review. I.T.V. full post

(398 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Kate Nash, Gig Review. East Village Arts Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

As Kate Nash motored her way through a rather superb set at the newly opened East Village Arts Club, there was surely nobody in the excitable audience that couldn’t see how much the artist had grown as a performer and as a woman. The evidence was there for all to hear with the release of her third album, the exceptional Girl Talk, and yet somehow if that demonstration of womanhood was somehow and unlikely missed by the listener, anyone making their way to the plush new surrounds that house the East Village would have seen the corroboration with their own eyes.

Kate Nash, Gig Review. East Village Arts Club, Liverpool. full post

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

Voodoo Six, Songs To Invade Countries By. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

All that glitters is not gold, an old saying and one of the most profound. In music circles, as in politics, it is perhaps the medium that is most abused and most trusted proverb. Music that finds its way on to reality television can be a big hindrance to any aspiring band coming through that has worked their socks off, no matter the genre, to get where they are. The pain, despair, heartache and the struggle that goes hand in hand with any artistic movement is somehow by-passed in favour of quick glory, not even the 15 minutes of fame that Andy Warhol suggested. Instead, perhaps thanks to the way we live now it’s been downsized to the length of time it takes to open your mouth and start to sing.

Voodoo Six, Songs To Invade Countries By. Album Review. full post

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

MASC, The Actor’s Studio. Theatre Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Beckie Van Netten, Gary Power, Lisa Kenyon, Betty O’Brien, James Parr, Nancy Clarke, Emma Beldon, Joanne Vickers, Phil Birrs, Emma Devaney, Julie Connolly, Natasia Hodge, Faye Parkinson, Kiefer Lewis, Tom Oulton, Francesca Wright.

With Liverpool having an abundance of culture, music, both live and recorded, theatre and every other sort that most cities in the U.K. would gleefully grab hold with both hands the chance to attend even a tenth of what goes on by the River Mersey, the possibility of another troupe of talented artists forming another group that people want to go along to see could be a stretch, even for Liverpool.  However art is very much embraced in the city and when the company is MASC, even five minutes watching and listening is enough to convince the attendee that it is and that they sound great.

MASC, The Actor’s Studio. Theatre Review. full post

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

Doctor Who, Hide. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Jessica Raines, Dougray Scott, Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Aiden Cook.

An old haunted house, an empathic psychic, an old war hero dealing with his own distracting memories and a girl whose life remains a mystery…has Stephen Moffat been peeking at the Doctor Who fan’s Christmas list?

Doctor Who, Hide. Television Review. full post

(484 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)