ALBUMs
- Album Reviews
It’s not every day that you listen to an artist who has a PhD in Ethnomusicology but, Kat Danser’s 6th album One Eye Open show sthe Ethnomusicologist to be in good form.
- Album Reviews
I guess there are two ways of reviewing an album. Number one – dive straight in. That way there are no prejudices, no forced connections, just a natural instinctive reaction to the music.
Number two – do the research, find out about the band, their attitude and approach and what they are about. That way you can get a better insight into what they want their music and lyrics to express.
- Album Reviews
An album title inspired by the drumming on an Al Greene song heard by singer/songwriter John Paul Keith from a passing car in his home town of Memphis.
- Album Reviews
Despite being around for many years, and sharing an umlaut in their name along with Motorhead and Motley Crue, Maximo Park are a band that have never really been on my radar ; neither recorded output or live. Not sure why to be honest......guess there are only a finite numbers of hours in the day to listen to music, and pesky work has a lot to answer for.
- Album Reviews
Arriving 5 years after volume two, the third in John Carpenter’s ‘Lost Themes’ series finds him treading familiar territory. Subtitled ‘Alive After Death’, these may be original tracks rather than music composed for his films but it’s easy to imagine them soundtracking one of his signature style of movies.
- Album Reviews
Rioghan Darcy is a poet and lyric writer from Lapua in Finland. During 2019 she teamed up with skilled songwriters and musicians to add more texture to her words by putting them to music. The four track EP 'Blackened Sky' is the favourable result of these collaborations and is Rioghan's first musical release.
- Album Reviews
At the onset of the pandemic, I heard suggestions from some quarters that the lockdown would herald the end of some bands who, like Black Country New Road, were on the cusp of registering more deeply on the consciousness of the music-loving fraternity. I didn’t buy it then and as we continue to trudge through the angst and isolation of the pandemic I’m delighted to report there has been no evident damage to progress of this particular seven-strong ensemble.
- Album Reviews
In a career of nearly 40 years Love and Desperation is Rick Shea's 12th album which as recording finished during 2020 is a product of musical distancing. The recording sessions started at Rick Shea's (guitar and vocals) studio in Southern California and the whole process finished with Shawn Nourse (drums and percussion), Phil Parlapiano, David Jackson and Skip Andrews (Accordions), Steve Nelson, Jeff Turmes and Dave Hall (Bass) adding their parts from their own recording bases.
- Album Reviews
The album comes at you full throttle in the middle of lockdown and with lyrics that demand your attention. If you are keen on loud post punk music with Mark E Smith northern style vocals then this album is for you (not that the album doesn’t have its quieter moments).
- Album Reviews
This is a superb and a ‘must listen to’ album. It’s the third from the band and is released on 22nd January via Easy Life Records. Full of energy, it transports you on a sonic carpet ride of beautifully crafted guitar riffs, blended with some fine drumming and powerful vocals.
- Album Reviews
Grieving the recent loss of his son, the wonderful Justin Townes Earle from an accidental drug overdose (J.T from the album title), Steve Earle assembles the Dukes and covers 10 of Earle Jr's songs by way of a tribute.
- Album Reviews
I Like Trains’ first full length album for 8 years. Lead vocalist David Martin decided on the theme as far back as 2013 so this has been long in gestation.
Moving away from their traditional approach on early albums where narratives were centred on historic events and characters, Kompromat adopts a more challenging concept, questioning the all too prevalent feature of news bulletins and politics which appear to build on misinformation, fake-news and conspiracy theories, particularly about covert Russian influence over home affairs.