Monthly Archives: August 2012

Only Child, Only Child. E.P. Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 22nd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Alan O’ Hare was one of the members of one of the finest bands to come out of Liverpool in the last ten years. As part of The Trestles, they didn’t just make good music, the exemplified a growing disaffection with the world and their debut album was one of the most important made by a Merseyside band in years.

When The Trestles went their separate ways, to those that loved the music, it felt as though a voice was being lost to the high pitch babble that is force fed on occasion from reality television programmes.

Only Child, Only Child. E.P. Review. full post

(457 words, 1 image, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

The Robert Cray Band, Nothin But Love. Album Review

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 22nd 2012.

L.S.Media Rating *****

When you want a job done properly, it’s best to call out a living legend. Sixteen studio albums down the line and Robert Cray still manages to make playing the blues sound like child’s play.

The Robert Cray Band’s brand new album, Nothin But Love comprises ten songs that are as rich and as diverse in their intricacy as it’s possible to get.  Robert Cray, Jim Pugh, Richard Cousins and Tony Braunagel blend their respective instruments together so well and weave a tale of supreme blues together that the sound they create is nothing short of exquisite.

The Robert Cray Band, Nothin But Love. Album Review full post

(359 words, 1 image, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

An Evening with Danny and Ben from Thunder. Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 28th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Since the men who made up Top British band Thunder decided to finally bow out of the very top of the rock tree at the end of 2009 after a fantastic and very high profile goodbye to their legion of fans, the various members have not been lazy or dined out on past glories.

An Evening with Danny and Ben from Thunder. Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(494 words, 1 image, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Lamb Of God, Resolution. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 28th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

The new offering by Lamb of God won’t be to everybody’s taste. It won’t, for example, spend weeks at the top of the British charts. It won’t by any stretch of the imagination be nominated for any awards by fans of those who find the mass appeal of manufactured music and distorted view of the 21st Century version of celebrity exciting.

Lamb Of God, Resolution. Album Review. full post

(430 words, 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Guardians. Gig Review. Mojo’s Liverpool.

The Guardians at Mojo. Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 29th 2012.

It’s funny what two years can do to a band. The name may have changed and given a more definitive harder edge. The group may no longer be known as Hippies on the Hill and now go by the more heavy rock sounding Guardians but the sound and the attitude is most certainly some of the finest Liverpool has produced in the last few years.

Guardians. Gig Review. Mojo’s Liverpool. full post

(455 words, 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Ian Broudie Interview, Parr Street Studios.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 30th 2012.

Parr Street Studios has Liverpool iconic status stamped heavily all over it. Its reputation as a place of musical birth is legendary. Bands, rocks groups and the odd solo star have recorded albums there, albums that have gone on to be best sellers. Even in the last few weeks Liverpool legends Space have recorded their long awaited new album there. Parr Street studios may not be instantly recognisable say as the waterfront skyline that visitors from across the globe see as they travel up the Mersey and dock underneath the three graces. Not as the much visited homes of the four Beatles or even as Penny Lane.

Ian Broudie Interview, Parr Street Studios. full post

(1256 words, 1 image, estimated 5:01 mins reading time)

Hugh Cornwell, Gig Review. The Lowry, Salford.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 30th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

If you are going to visit the The Lowry Theatre in Salford for the first time then it’s best to make the most of your time on stage. Hugh Cornwell has been around in the music scene for a long time, he’s seen it sang it and sold the tee-shirts by the lorry load, in terms of music he stands out as one of the greats but even the greats have a first night somewhere.

Hugh Cornwell, Gig Review. The Lowry, Salford. full post

(612 words, 1 image, estimated 2:27 mins reading time)

Birdsong, Part Two. Television Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 31st 2012.

L.S. Media Rating **

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Matthew Goode, Clemence Poesy, Richard Madden, Thomas Turgoose, Joseph Mawle, George Mackay, Anthony Andrews, Rory Keenan, Laurent Lafitte.

The second part of Birdsong, written by Abi Morgan, which worked well in parts in the first installment, unfortunately descended into cliché ridden and almost predictable deaths for some of the major characters within the plot. Even for those who have read Sebastian Faulks’ excellent novel it seemed to go from convoluted to create a dull ending.

Birdsong, Part Two. Television Review. full post

(489 words, 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Whitechapel. Series 3, Episode 1. Series 3, Episode 1.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 31st 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davies, Steve Pemberton, Claire Rushbrook,

If you are a fan of the whole historical story of Whitechapel, the abundance of dark characters that litter and parade through the East End of London’s dark and dismal past like a proverbial Mister Hyde to the City and the West End’s Dr. Jekyll, then the modern detective story of Whitechapel and its mismatched team of detectives is just the return you have waited for.

Whitechapel. Series 3, Episode 1. Series 3, Episode 1. full post

(563 words, 1 image, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, The Curse of Davros. Big Finish Audio 156 Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. February 2nd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Cast: Colin Baker, Lisa Greenwood, Terry Molloy, Ashley Kumar, Jonathon Owen, Rhys Jennings, Granville Saxton, Robert Portal, Christian Patterson, Nicholas Briggs.

It’s long been mooted, chewed over, discussed and debated but the simple fact is that the B.B.C. and in particular those in charge of programming in the 1980’s woefully let down the legion of fans of Doctor Who and more importantly the sixth man to play the Time lord, Colin Baker.

Doctor Who, The Curse of Davros. Big Finish Audio 156 Review. full post

(667 words, 1 image, estimated 2:40 mins reading time)