Call Upon The Author

Dying To Confess, debut album from In Darklight, passes by in a blur of whiney inconvenience. Whilst listening to the opening track, ‘What’s Happening?’, the vocals seem quirky and give the impression that they could be the selling point of an otherwise average band. Yet as the album drags on, Ben Sellers’ whiney vocals begin  [ Read More ]

Sometimes, it seems, life likes to imitate the movies. The fact that Mike Connaris, a recording studio producer, first heard Brooke Sharkey’s voice floating through an open window and subsequently offered her free use of his studio, appears to be one of these times.
Listening to Brooke’s calm and relaxed vocals it’s hard not to be enthralled in the same spell that captured Connaris. Every now and then, there are bursts of song in which her voice is reminiscent of Liv Kristine’s, of the Leaves’ Eyes persuasion, and the guitar remains a gentle but prominent companion throughout the five-track EP, A Taste Of Truth.

Outside, in Bournemouth, the sun was shining brightly, almost without mercy as the market packed up for the day. Amidst the clang of metal against metal and plastic against the pavement was the excited chatter of those queuing outside the O2 Academy, waiting for the doors to open.
But who cares about what was outside? Who could care when in the depths of the cavernous academy one of the behemoths of music resided alongside one of Britain’s most exciting bands. Although diminutive in size and in name, Little Fish pack a surprising punch.

You know when you hear somebody on the radio and you’re quite content to ignore their existence, but then you somehow get to listening to their album and, rather frustratingly, you actually quite like it. Yeah? Yeah…this is one of those albums. It’s catchy, it’s slightly varied, when it loses you it’s quick to pick you back up and it’s full to the brim with radio friendly tunes…

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome! Oh, sorry, you want a proper review. Well, ok then, but just so you know those first five words are pretty accurate…

The clichéd cop out ‘it’s an acquired taste’ should be used sparingly but Neil Cowley Trio’s third album Radio Silence is indeed a taste that has yet to be acquired…

Small Town Eyes is a decent enough debut from the Youtube sensation, Justin Sandercoe. Since teaching the nation how to play guitar via Youtube, the Australian born singer/songwriter enjoyed some time touring with Katie Melua then withdrew into a studio to record his debut album…

A charming four track EP that doesn’t travel anywhere adventurous but neither does it creep towards the disastrous. This release is planted firmly in the middle, flourishing on the safe ground.
While Alessi’s voice has a certain charming quality about it, there is something to it that might irritate people. However putting that aside The Soul Proprietor is a good collection of songs…

It opens, atmospheric, tense, eerie. It promises something great, something perhaps deranged, something that could be sheer unadulterated rock, something glorious. The guitars are introduced, then the drums. A monstrously delightful mix. The vocalist, Steve Ayres begins to sing…

Mirrorkicks is an abysmal self-titled album from an abysmal sounding band. After the first couple of songs the entire album dragged on with no promise of a quick end. On TV and Anything were a somewhat promising start to what turned out to be akin to almost forty minutes of torture. Both of them were  [ Read More ]