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As debut albums go, Norman Kelsey’s unveiling as a solo star was nothing short of excellent. A Talent For Loving takes the young man on a ride that is heavily influenced by the sounds of Prince, soul masterpieces and the best that pop can inspire, a disparate range of emotions and one of the sweetest voices captured on disc.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Maini Sorri has to be Sweden’s best kept secret as far as British audiences are concerned. The woman from Uppsala’s profile is really only known to the minority dedicated lovers of Scandinavian music in the U.K. and that is a shame as her album Someday: Volume Two is a sweet, intelligent and enjoyable piece of work.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Coming across a set of music that seems to have been sorrowfully neglected by the British public at large is sometimes a rare and agreeable hour of indulgence, the pleasure grows as it takes root and before you know it, the music is as infectious and you begin to feel bad that you never have had the chance to enjoy it before. Such is overall feeling of satisfaction that the listener can lose themselves in on R.O.C.K.S. – Humbucker’s 2011 album.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Born out of fire and created with a South Welsh attitude, the latest band to come from that thriving musical part of the U.K., the superb sounding Shadow of the Sun have finally released their debut album, Monument, and it is a colossus.
The energy that comes through every pore, every fibre that the group possesses is drenched in the sweat and power of this recording. Loud, extremely loud and pulsating with class, Monument is an album that typifies the raw power that is available at the hands of musicians who strive to show that good music doesn’t slot into just one typical genre, it can be instinctive as it wants to be or as those creating it want it to be.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Ian Skelly may have already tasted and enjoyed incredible success with The Coral but that doesn’t mean that the man ever sits on his extensive laurels and waits for the new long-awaited album by the band to take shape. If anything he has been kept busy by the release of his own album, Cut From A Star, and whilst fans of The Coral wait patiently for a new studio album, the anticipation will be made all the more worthwhile by listening to this excellent recording.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *
The trilogy is complete, Green Day have finally released the third and final album and all in all, it was two albums too many, roughly 25 songs that could have quite happily been written, composed and destroyed by any another band with half the talent that these three men have normally in abundance.
Tre! follows an unfortunate pattern that has arisen by the American band since they decided to publish three consecutive albums within a short space of time. It has also the inappropriate feel of a group deciding to go all out and make as much out of publicity and hype in a short space of time, by doing that, the quality they attained after a great career has now been dissipated and spoiled.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
He is called the Clark Kent of Soul, however for those in the U.K. that haven’t had the pleasure of this young man’s work yet, it is perhaps easier to say he is perhaps the most exciting American Soul singer/musician since the days of the irreplaceable Marvin Gaye. Not so much a superhero but a wonderful talent that justifies being included alongside in the pantheon of Soul greats and his latest album the sensational On The Rebound keeps that label intact.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The latest release by Hertfordshire band Shadowlight, the superb sounding Twilight Canvas, carries on in the same excellent form that James Hodkinson and Mark Wilson showed in the exceptional E.P. Winter.
Where the band have improved, if that is indeed possible with Shadowlight, is the addition of extra personnel in the form of Ed Williamson-Brown and Paul Collins on bass and drums respectively, the album oozes a quality that rarely gets heard on a debut album but then the foundations of the band were sown long ago with the musical partnership of James and Mark. It is perhaps a shame for any new fan coming into the band on the back of the E.P. or this new album that there isn’t a catalogue to explore. However the sounds they create on this debut signals the start of something very extraordinary.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The world of Progressive Rock has perhaps never been in a more healthy and thought-provoking state. The days of being labelled as dinosaurs and past it are long over, the new breed that fly the standard high, proud and youthful vigour such as Touchstone and The Reasoning sit alongside the giants of the genre and the old master who still show any aspiring musician just what is so cool about being able to thread together lengthy and intricate musical movements with a good lyric.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
How is it possible that one of the great American pseudo punk-rock bands of the last twenty years can deliver two wildly contrasting albums out to the masses in the matter of weeks?
If Uno! was the attempt to take back control of Green Day and take it away from the fan base that had held them in such high regard over two decades, then Dos!, its companion and much better sounding brother in a three course setting allows the fans to wrestle the idealism back and by everything that is considered musically holy, it can only be hoped that it stays there, or goes one better again for Tre! when it released soon.