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Tag Archives: melodic
Album review: VARIOUS – Girls Go Power Pop!

Big Beat/Ace [Release date 28.08.20] Ace (via their Big Beat imprint) follow 2019’s impressive “Come On Let’s Go” power pop collection with a new 25 tracker. This time, compiler Dave Burke varies the theme by focussing on female-fronted acts. As … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged Ace Records, album, Girls Go Power Pop!, Go-Gos, melodic, pop rock, power pop, review, The Bangles, The Runaways, various
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Album review: ROY WOOD AND WIZZARD – Mainstreet/Eddy &The Falcons

Main Street Cherry Red Records [Release date 28.08.20] Two years later, apparently stifled by the “hit machine” expectations that weighed upon him, Wood wrote, recorded and released “Main Street”. It was his first real attempt to climb off the pop … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged albums, avnat garde, Eddy and The Falcons, ELO, jazz, Mainstreet, melodic, pop, pop rock, re-issue, review, rock, rock 'n' roll, Roy Wood, The Move, Wizzard
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Gig review: THE DARKER MY HORIZON – The Victoria, Swindon, Thursday 27 August 2020

So it’s Thursday 27 August and the wind down to a long weekend, what better way to get in the mood than to see live music – yes real, live, raw, rock in an amazing venue, the Victoria in Old … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged Bryan Adams, Fall From Ruin, gig, hard rock, live, melodic, modern rock, review, rock, Swindon, the Darker My Horizon
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Quick plays: RURA, JOSHUA BURNELL, GYPSY PISTOLEROS

RURA Live at the Old Fruitmarket [Release date 11.09.20] Rura releases this live album to celebrate the band’s tenth anniversary, recorded in February this year at the Celtic Connections festival, just before live shows stopped due to the pandemic. Their … Continue reading
Album review: MAD MAX – Stormchild Rising

SPV Records [Release date 21.08.20] The undoubted star of Mad Max’s umpteenth album is Michael Voss’s guitar. It provides blistering solos and fine textural detail, often in the space of a single track. That’s nothing new, but it might be … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, hard rock, Mad Max, melodic, Michael Voss, review, rock, SPV, Stormchild Warning
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Album review: JOEY MOLLAND – Be True To Yourself

Omnivore Recordings [Release date 16.10.20] As the sole surviving member of the classic line-up of Badfinger, Joey Molland’s pedigree in power pop circles is second to none. Over the years he has regularly produced solo albums, notably “After The Pearl” … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Badfinger, Be True To Yourself, Chicago, Joey Molland, Julian Lennon, melodic, Micky Dolenz, pop rock, power pop, review, Ringo Starr
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Album review: KATRINA – Hearts, Loves & Babys

Independent [Release date 28.08.20] Now a solo artist, Katrina, ex of The Waves, will always be known for her monster, worldwide hit, ‘Walking On Sunshine’. It can be an albatross as much as it can be a permanent passport to … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, country pop, Darren Loveday, Hearts Loves & Babys, Katrina, Katrina & the Waves, Kimberly Rew, melodic, pop, pop rock, review
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Album review: LEE ABRAHAM – Harmony/Synchronicity

F2 Music/Festival Music [Release date 04.09.20] ‘Harmony/Synchronicity’ was written and recorded during an intense 8 week period between April and early June 2020, and follows less than a year after Lee’s highly recommended ‘Comatose’ album. Lee is joined Gerald Mulligan … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Credo, F2 Music, Galahad, Harmony/Synchronicity, Lee Abraham, melodic, prog rock, progressive, review, rock
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Album review: BLACK ROSE MAZE

Frontiers Records [Release date 07.08.20] Black Rose Maze is Quebecois singer, Rosa Larichiutta. She comes to us via a major Canadian song contest, by way of The Trans Siberian Orchestra. So if you’re immediately imagining rock opera, and you’d be … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Black Rose Maze, melodic, review, rock, Rosa Larichiutta, symphonic rock
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Single reviews: JORDAN RED, IZAKMAN, MICHAEL COLTON, JD SIMO

JORDAN RED Hands The Built The World The latest single from Jordan Red is another impressive piece of modern alt rock, with massive riffs and impassioned vocals. The song is mixed and mastered by Romesh Dodangoda, who has worked with … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged alt rock, blues, country, Izakman, JD Simo, Jordan Red, melodic, Michael Colton, review, rock, singles
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Album review: ALCATRAZZ – Born Innocent

Silver Lining [Release date 31.07.20] There’s still heavy traffic on the rock’n’roll road back from obscurity, with Alcatrazz among an elite few jockeying for position in the fast lane. The band threatened to break through several times in the eighties, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Alcatrazz, Born Innocent, Graham Bonnet, hard rock, Joe Stump, melodic, Rainbow, review, rock
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Album review: CAYLEE HAMMACK – If It Wasn’t For You

Spinefarm Records [Release date 14.08.20] This is Caylee Hammack’s debut album – a huge moment in any artist’s career, and invariably something they’ve been working towards for a long time. In Caylee’s case she has pedigree – and that can … Continue reading
Album review: JACK BESSANT – Lucky Mountain

CHEDX [Release date 14.08.20] Jack Bessant is a solo singer-songwriter and the bassist in platinum selling rock band Reef. For Jack this album is something of a catharsis, confronting an intensely personal subject that has been buried deep. “I had … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, country, Jack Bessant, Lucky Mountain, mellow, melodic, review, Ride, Solo, surf music
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EP review: SEMISONIC – You’re Not Alone

Order link [Release date 18.09.20] Back in 2001 Semisonic went on hiatus before returning in 2017 with a series of shows. In between times singer and main songwriter Dan Wilson enjoyed a successful career as a songwriter and producer for … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged alt rock, EP, indie pop, melodic, pop, pop rock, review, Semisonic, You’re Not Alone
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Album review: RAMOS – My Many Sides

Frontiers [Release date 07.08.20] If you’re expecting the polished melodic rock sound of Hugo, Journey or The Storm, then look away now. The clue is in the title. There’s not many sides of Josh Ramos on display here, and the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Danny Vaughn, Eric Martin, guitarist, Heaven & Earth, Josh Ramos, melodic, My Many Sides, review, rock, Solo, the Storm, Tony Harnell
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Album review: SASKIA – Are You Listening?

www.saskiagm.com [Release date 31.07.20] Saskia certainly has an interesting backstory, giving up her Harley Street practice in 2013 to pursue her real passion, singing. Starting out by busking around the UK leading onto being a regular on the acoustic music … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Are You Listening?, folk, melodic, review, Saskia, singer songwriter
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Album review: SIMON SAYS – Spin This

Escape Music [Release date 14.08.20] Bit of a musical curio in Simon Says, a band who hail from Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada and were formed from the ashes of Spectrum and Rawx. ‘Spin This’ was originally released back in 1991, … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Reissues
Tagged album, AOR, April Wine, Escape Music, melodic, Queen, Queen Flash, re-issue, review, rock, Simon Says, Spin This
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Album review: DEEP PURPLE – Whoosh!

Ear Music [Release date 07.08.20] Classic rock legends Deep Purple remain a star on the highway, heading towards the next decade with studio album number 21. Long gone are the lengthier tracks, but the band’s ability to find a groove … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, blues rock, classic rock, Deep Purple, Don Airey, EarMusic, hard rock, Ian Gillan, melodic, review, rock, Steve Morse, Whoosh
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Album review: THE WILDERNESS YET

www.thewildernessyet.com [Release date 24.07.20] Named after a line from a Gerard Manley-Hopkins poem The Wilderness Yet are a young folk trio releasing their debut album. The Wilderness Set comprise former BBC Young Folk Award finalist Rosie Hodgson, Rowan Piggott (his … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, BBC Young Folk Award, environmental, folk, melodic, review, the Wilderness Yet
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Album review: JAMES REYNE – Toon Town Lullaby

Bloodline [Release date 10.07.20] The haunting, wistful title track, ‘Toon Town Lullaby’, takes us back to Reyne’s finest, post Australian Crawl hour, on his “A Whiff of Bedlam” album, released in 1994. That was the moment he truly found his … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, James Reyne, melodic, review, singer songwriter, Toon Town Lullaby, Warren Zevon
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Album review: ENUFF ZNUFF – Brainwashed Generation

Frontiers Records [Release date 10.07.20] There was a time Enuff Z’Nuff’s lineup seemed to go into an endless revolving door spin, but now, with founding member Donnie Vie apparently leaving for good, Chip Z’Nuff has assembled a solid, talented line … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, Beatles, Brainwashed Generation, Chip Z'nuff, Donnie Vie, Enuff Z'Nuff, melodic, pop rock, power pop, review
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EP review: MOONLIGHT DESIRES – At The Movies

Infamous Butcher Records [Release date 17.07.20] Moonlight Desires are a covers band hailing from Canada and their 2017 release, ‘Just The Hits 1981-85′ was good fun. This time they are still on a covers theme, going back to the 1980′s … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged At The Movies, Covers, Cyndi Lauper, EP, Eric Carmen, films, melodic, Moonlight Desires, Peter Cetera, review, rock, Simple Minds
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