Liverpool Sound and Vision 9/10
Whether you like your music to be organic, to have flowed from the streets that straddle the River Mersey in some age old ritual acknowledgement to the flower and testimony of Liverpool upbringing or to have had the chance to have been guided and nurtured to hone the craft of writing, what you cannot fail to miss is the passion that flows through each tempting note of either camp.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The Kazimier could not have anticipated what lay in store. Elements of Gypsy Jazz and Swing backed by Latin beats with a thundering bass, Ska influenced guitar, Samba and Mariachi style trumpeting and what can only be describes as shredding violin combined to produce an awe inspiring sound that shook the rafters and the audience in equal measure. Molotov Jukebox’s long awaited L.P. Carnival Flower was released in the last week and if the second gig following the release at Liverpool’s Kazimier was anything to go by it will see the band soar to the heights they truly deserve. The album speaks for itself but where Molotov Jukebox shines is in the vibrant and electric energy they bring to their live performance ensuring fans will leave the venue short of breath and grinning from ear to ear.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: David Cartwright, Sam Berrill, Alex Monk.
Not many evenings starts with three scientists arguing over the relative value of being able to extract the thought processes and the sometimes synaptic misfires in which hold the key to every person’s desires and ills. However Manic Chord Theatre, by intelligent word play and the same insane careful design attributed to the formation of random events that make life in the Universe possible, are able to show in 55 minutes just exactly what happens when you begin to think outside of the box in their play After What Comes Before.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Bruce Alexander, Andy Apollo, Jason Carragher, Callum Coates, Daniel Coonan, Julia Ford, Scott Hazell, Lloyd Hutchinson, Denise Kennedy, Tom Peters, Joe Ringwood, Shannon Tarbet, Liam Tobin, Daryl Wafer.
Arthur Miller’s plays are such that to miss out on a production of them is simply not good form. All you really need to know about life in the United States in the 20th Century can be found in the writings of one of the keenest minds of the time and his look at certain frailties of life, emasculation, deceit, dishonour and the destruction of a system that was corrupt and hopelessly out of touch with his thinking, are repeated over and again in the hope that someone, anyone might understand what is going wrong in the country.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
With a voyage to Australia just a few weeks away, a trip in which in he has arranged himself, somewhat expertly it could be suggested for such a young man and in which will see him play gigs in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Sydney, Matt Breen seems to take a particular delight in playing infront of an audience at The Baltic Social as part of this year’s Threshold Festival.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Whether it is the Winter and its bag of unfathomable woes or the thought of Spring hovering in the daylight air armed with hopeful future cheer, ME and Deboe just light up the room with their wonderful infectious in-sync guitar sound and the anger of a thousand years of female anger and frustration beating the drum in superbly made songs and lyrics that catch the attention of all who make their way to one of their gigs.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
In certain circles the name and more importantly the ability of Eleanor Nelly is well known. However with a short step up to the microphone and a guitar securely plugged in, what comes next just simply blows your mind.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
In a not so former life, Kevin Critchley was someone you had to find, almost hunt down with anticipated musical pleasure to get to hear perform. Things move on, tides change as regularly as the passing of the moon over the Mersey on a clear night but the one thing that hasn’t changed is when you get the chance to hear Kevin Critchley play, you grab it with both hands, diminish your heartbeat rate briefly then run headlong into the musical storm headfirst, letting the crafted hailstorm like approach of notes bombarded you again and again.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is no doubting Alex Hulme’s panache and confidence for they are well placed, they stand like a grateful beacon of light shining in the distance to ship-wrecked sailors caught in the squall and fast fading of hope. The sound he produces is one that has been honed since first Liverpool Sound and Vision saw him perform in 2011 and his voice could gently tease the most stubborn of raindrops clinging to the outermost part of an oak leaf down and into the palm of his awaiting hand. Surely even at the age of 20 there must be something in which to decry? No, this young man is only going to get better and better and be seen doing what he does for a very long time.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When Norway and the U.K., or more specifically Liverpool, collide, the artistry that seems to come pouring out like the water than finds its way past inlets and the fjords in a timeless motion of breath taking beauty, is surely one to sit back, take in and be astonished at the sheer grace and abundance of story-telling and music accompaniment.
Liverpool and Merseyside have always had such a strong connection with Norway and since L.I.P.A started the connection has got deeper and more valuable to both communities. Another one of the success stories to have come out of both camps, the Norwegian art of recounting legend and fable tightly bound with the know-how of Liverpool’s industry like approach to loveable music, is Nora Konstanse.