Yearly Archives: 2024

EP review: ROOM11 – We All Fall Down

ROOM11

Website [Release date 03.05.24] ROOM11 are an eclectic power duo from South London whose debut release is this EP, ‘We All Fall Down’. In a very short time, ROOM11 has managed to achieve a unique sound that incorporates an old-school … Continue reading

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Book review: On track…THE POLICE – Every Album, Every Song by Peter Braidis

The Police On Track Every Album, Every Song

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 12.04.24] Forming when punk was starting to become a force, The Police – drummer Stuart Copeland, vocalist/bassist Sting and guitarist Andy Summers – released five albums between 1978 and 1983, coupled with a succession of hit … Continue reading

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Album review: BALANCE OF POWER – Fresh From The Abyss

Balance of Power

Massacre Records [Release date 19.04.24] Balance of Power are a band this reviewer has been aware of, mainly for featuring former vocalist Lance King, but would never class myself as a fan. Balance Of Power seemingly went missing in action … Continue reading

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Album review : UFO – Covenant + Sharks + Live (3 CD)

ufo_covenantsharks 150

Twin reissue package plus a bonus CD, from British rock legends, UFO. Covenant (2000), Sharks (2002) and Live At Blind Melons (1995). The problem with releasing a career high album like Walk On Water (1995), the band’s de facto “comeback” … Continue reading

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Single review : WILDSTREET – Heroes

WILDSTREET Heroes image

Golden Robot Records [Release Date 12.04.24] US band, Wildstreet, took note of music’s direction of travel (there’s no money in standing still) some years ago and have toured incessantly ever since… frequent appearances at SXSW,and M3 Rock Festival, plus 5 … Continue reading

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Album review: DAVE KELLY – Sun On My Face

Dave Kelly - Sun On My Face

Repertoire [Release date 13.02.24] ‘Sun On My Face’ could easily be a metaphor for the veteran British blues artist Dave Kelly, who in the slipstream of The Blues Band’s retirement,  can now enjoy exploring the formative influences that have helped … Continue reading

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EP review: ASHEN REACH, DEADAUDIOSAINTS, GEOFF CARNE

ASHEN REACH - The Fear EP

ASHEN REACH The Fear EP [Release date: 22.03.24] www.ashenreach.co.uk Liverpool-based Ashen Reach released their debut ‘Homecoming’ in late 2020 and since that time have appeared at numerous festivals in the UK including Steelhouse and Planet Rockstock. The EP is characterised … Continue reading

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Album review: A TREEHOUSE WAIT – Kaleidoscope

A TREEHOUSE WAIT - Kaleidoscope

Volkoren [Release date 25.05.24] Singer songwriter Jenny Gajicki and producer Emil Sydhage have come together again for this latest piece of Scandi Noir (their debut ‘Interlude’ was in 2016). Jenny has a vocal delivery not dissimilar to the late Dolores … Continue reading

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Album review: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT – Ghost Stories

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT - Ghost Stories

Frontiers [Release date 12.04.24] Blue Öyster Cult have always been an enigma and this ‘new’ album continues that trend, or as the press blurb states – “This highly anticipated album marks a fitting finale to the recording legacy of one … Continue reading

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Single review: HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT’S ADEQUATE – One Word That Means The World (Arkhipov)

HOGTA

Bandcamp Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – Malcolm Galloway (vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer) and Mark Gatland (bass, backing vocals, keyboards and co-producer) – are back with a new single, ‘One World That Means The World (Arkhipov)’. It is the first … Continue reading

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Album review : THE CRYIN’ SHAMES – Please Stay, Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes

CRYIN SHAMES Teachest 150

Cherry Red [Release date: 12.04.24] The Cryin’ Shames were late to the Merseybeat party, and departed almost as soon as they arrived. This a 2 CD reissue of every recording made by the band in its various guises. 48 tracks … Continue reading

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Album review: JJ GREY & MOFRO – Olustee

JJ Grey & Mofro - Olustee

Alligator [Release date 23.02.24] JJ Grey & Mofro’s tenth album ‘Olustee’ is a heartfelt journey through the musical swamp lands of North Florida, though the various story telling themes routed in the past, present and fired by his fertile imagination, … Continue reading

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Gig review: JOE BONAMASSA – Royal Albert Hall, London, 4 April 2024

JOE BONAMASSA- Royal Albert Hall, London, 4 April 2024

As he told us midway through the set, it’s now 15 years since the relatively inexperienced Joe Bonamassa gambled in following in the footsteps of his blues rock heroes at the Royal Albert Hall. It capped a meteoric rise, just … Continue reading

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Album review: EMERSON, LAKE & POWELL – Complete Collection

EMERSON, LAKE & POWELL - Complete Collection

Spirit of Unicorn Music [Release date 12.04.24] Emerson Lake & Palmer had imploded by the mid-eighties and the age of prog and pomp ceremony was seemingly over. In the late seventies there had been a last flourish of excess with … Continue reading

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Single review : KURT FROLICH – Another Heartbreak

KURT FROLICH Another 150

Golden Robot Records [05.04.24] Single release from Kurt Frolich, vocalist with Riley’s LA Guns. It has only a passing resemblance to the music of his parent band. Doesn’t make him a bad person, of course. In fact … The first … Continue reading

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Single review : RHAPSODY OF FIRE – Brave New Hope

RHAPSODY Brave image 150

AFM Records [out now] Rhapsody Of Fire’s vocalist, Giacomo Voli sounds more like Brother Firetribe’s Pekka Heino every day. Or maybe it’s the other way round. Those expressive vocals, bringing a lyric to life, are hard to match. ‘Brave New … Continue reading

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Album review: THUNDER – The Magnificent Seventh, Robert Johnson’s Tombstone, Bang! (reissues)

thunder_bang1a

BMG [Release date 04.04.24] The latest batch of Thunder reissues span the years 2005-2008. All are available on vinyl for the first time. In 2005 the band released their seventh studio album called, appropriately enough, ‘The Magnificent Seventh’. It was … Continue reading

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Album review: BEAUX GRIS GRIS & THE APOCALYPSE – Hot Nostalgia Radio

Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse - Hot Nostalgia radio

Grow Vision [Release date 03.05.24] And suddenly everybody is rediscovering their pop roots. In many ways Beaux Gris Gris’s ‘Hot Nostalgia Radio’ is the perfect title for an album which celebrates the art of songwriting and is fuelled by the … Continue reading

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Album review : BLOODBOUND – The Tales Of Nosferatu – Two Decades Of Blood (CD and DVD)

BLOODBOUND Tales Live Blood 150

AFM Records [Release date : 19.04.24] It was 20 years ago today that Swedish keyboard player Fredrik Bergh and guitarist Tomas Olsson jumped the genre ship from AOR to Power Metal. They left behind popular melodic rock band, Street Talk, … Continue reading

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Album review: PHIL THORNALLEY – Holly Would

Phil Thornalley - Holly Would

Lojinx  [Release date 29.03.24] This reviewer enjoyed Phil Thornalley’s last album, 2022′s ‘Now That I Have Your Attention’, a veritable musical delight for fellow lovers of ELO, Tom Petty and all things Jeff Lynne related. On this album Phil Thornalley … Continue reading

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Gig review: MR. BIG- Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 23 March 2024

MR. BIG- Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 23 March 2024

Mr.Big’s last UK tour was here six years ago and when original drummer Pat Torpey passed away months later, the band were effectively put on ice. However the surviving three members have decided to go out one more time, with … Continue reading

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Album review: THE MIDDLENIGHT MEN – Issue 2

MOONLIGHT DESIRES - At The Movies

Middlenight Records [Release date 05.04.24] Although The Middlenight Men first came to life in 2019, singer and guitarist Nick Hughes has a long and rich history in music – he’s been a member of Terrorvision for the last eight years. … Continue reading

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Album review: P.O.D. – Veritas

P.O.D. - Veritas

Mascot Records [Release date 05.05.24] It has been 30 years since they broke onto the scene with their debut album. Being a keen Nu-Metal fan, this was very  exciting for me and highly anticipated. I was hoping that the album would … Continue reading

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Album review: FOGHAT – Slow Ride – Live In Concert

FOGHAT - Slow Ride - Live In Concert

Cleopatra [Release date 05.04.24] British band Foghat, who were formed by members of Savoy Brown and Black Cat Bones in the early, have produced some of the finest blues/rock ever laid to record over the years, and some live albums … Continue reading

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News: ARMORED SAINT, SKID ROW, ANTHRAX (April 2024)

HALESTORM- Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 13 March 2022

ABBA release a 50th anniversary edition of their ‘Waterloo’ album on April 5 via Polar Music International. The reissue will include a limited edition box set of three vinyl singles originally released in 1974. Anvil release their new album ‘One And Only’ via AFM Records on … Continue reading

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