EP REVIEW – JOSEPH LUCA: PART 2 OUROBOROS (DEATH)

What makes a good musician? Is it the ability to sing? The intelligence to write? The power to stand out amongst your peers? Maybe it’s having the audacity to be your most authentic, unapologetic self in an industry renowned for its tendency to shape artists into polished, shiny mannequins. If these are the qualities one […]
Who doesn’t like some free jazz improv? Oh, that’s right – most people. It’s a very-much maligned and derided form and in some cases there’s definitely a stuffy or cliquey or chin-strokey vibe that can be really off-putting, particularly in a live setting. There’s also the valid question of “what is it for”? Is the […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PANGHALINA: LAVA

ALBUM REVIEW – THE THING: THE THING IS

Hailing from Brooklyn- New York, The Thing consists of Michael Carter, Jack Bradley, Zane Accord, and a recent inclusion of Lucas Ebeling on the drums. With influences spanning from The Kinks and the Grand Funk Railroad before expanding the taste to that of the Blacks Keys and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. First playing […]
On his latest album ‘Springs Eternal’, William Doyle introduces a cast of narrators encountering a dizzying array of issues: global disaster, mental illness, addiction, heartbreak and death. Yet such is the melodic and musical accomplishment that it is a pleasure to accompany these characters on their troubled journeys. Aided by producer Mike Lindsay, who took […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WILLIAM DOYLE: SPRINGS ETERNAL

LIVE REVIEW: THE KAIROS – FUTURE YARD 01/02/2024

Heat swirls around the room as The Kairos captivate the crowd. Moving to the beat, hearts pumping with adrenaline, the audience gathers to see the band’s whirlwind performance. Dempsey, Chambers, Bradley and Forrester effortlessly show what it means to have raw talent and skill, which is seen so rarely. The crowd works in a system, […]
While songs are often referred to as soundtracks to the summer, it can be argued that there is greater value in vibrant tunes brightening the winter months. London Afrobeat Collective’s latest album, ‘Esengo’, certainly fulfils the function of adding colour to this season’s otherwise short, dark, dank and dismal days. The second word in their […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LONDON AFROBEAT COLLECTIVE: ESENGO

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 9 FEBRUARY 2024

Introducing this week’s charming selection of new releases. Imperial Wax     Tranquilliser      Band consisting of guitarist Pete Greenway, drummer Keiron Melling and bassist Dave Spurr, formerly known as the last and longest serving line up of The Fall release their second album showcasing a more complex style of song. Chelsea Wolfe                   She Reaches Out To […]
There is something inspirational about the room with a view. Numerous songs over the years have been written with the writer looking wistfully through a window.  It helps if that view is one of the most beautiful in the world. If it has associations with fondly remembered family members that’s all the better. It is […]

INTERVIEW – COLIN MCINTYRE (MULL HISTORICAL SOCIETY) DISCUSSES HIS ALBUM COLLABORATING WITH AUTHORS INCLUDING NICK HORNBY, IAN RANKIN & JACQUELINE WILSON

ALBUM REVIEW – DECLAN MCKENNA: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEACH?

1,253 days later, a new Declan McKenna album is here. Returning with his third studio album, ‘What Happened To The Beach?’, alongside 14 UK and Ireland tour dates, it is time for McKenna to soundtrack our upcoming summer once again. The whole album has a weirdly wholesome note to it. Despite the success Declan’s achieved […]
‘She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out To She” sounds like a repetitive, devilish tongue-twister.  My brain feels addled after attempting to repeat it ten times! However, it ideally reflects the album’s theme of interaction between past, present and future selves, changing patterns of behaviour and escaping toxic situations. Even played at a volume to […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CHELSEA WOLFE: SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE