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Music
Gustaffson’s ‘Black and White Movie’ Is A Captivating Cinematic Blues-Rock Record
Blues Rock 5 piece Gustaffson launched in venues across the UK in 2022 following the release of their debut EP The Jacaranda. An homage to lead singer Andrew Gower’s Liverpool roots, the title track quickly rose to anthemic ballad status becoming a staple at the bands packed out live shows. In the short two and a half years that followed, Gustaffson (formed by Gower and lifelong friend and guitarist James Webster in 2020) relentlessly worked…
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Music
Michael Aldag’s ‘Fantasia’: A Synth-Pop Dreamscape For A New Era
Michael Aldag effortlessly spearheaded his way to top of the sonic circuit with his breezy, synth pop since launching his solo career in 2021. With a rising social media presence and fan base, Aldag utilises his platform with innovative charisma, a position most upcoming artists begrudgingly wince at. But where his online presence is thriving, the Merseyside born artist’s music is equally as burgeoning, gaining millions of streams on Spotify. Described as the “beginning of…
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Music
‘Changing of Skies’ EP is Laura & The Ark’s Journey Through Growth and Healing
With Changing of Skies, Laura Bentley turns her attention to personal growth, pain and hard-won wisdom. Recording under the name Laura & The Ark, the Frodsham-based musician brings together this collection of five songs as a statement of intent, entrusting listeners with her deepest vulnerabilities and asking them to share in the healing process. The EP opens on a quietly optimistic note with Significant Ramblings, a song about trying to untangle reason out of chaos.…
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Music
The Kowloons’ ‘Give Love’ Is A Feel-Good Anthem
Merseyside’s fresh faced indie offering The Kowloons latest release injects a generous amount of feel good energy into the city, elevating their rapidly growing repertoire and fanbase. Give Love relishes in harmonies reminiscent and fitting of the four piece’s influences found in home-grown veterans such as The La’s and The Wombats. With a reflective, laid back essence and acoustic guitar at the forefront the track develops with a refreshing and vibrant quality. With lifting melodies,…
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Music
Live Review: Erland Cooper At Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room
Scottish composer Erland Cooper radiated with charisma at his first show at the Philharmonic Music Room on Tuesday (11 June). References to Macca’s Blackbird, emulations of Sunrise on a Ferry, excerpts of buried Master tapes and audience collaboration were all wrapped into a fascinating and inspiring hour long set. Liverpool’s esteemed Music Room is renowned for its enchanting sound, the soft panelled walls inviting music to permeate through the room with gentle precision. There are…
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Music
Embark On A Dreamy Alt-Pop Journey With Martha Goddard’s Debut EP ‘It Comes In Waves’
Martha Goddard’s endearing voice and dreamy pop production were swiftly introduced to Liverpool’s Alt-Pop scene in 2022 with single Fighter. Now, Martha is ready to share the labours of her craft with the release of her long awaited debut EP, It Comes in Waves featuring new track Teacher and a remix of Voices by Chè Wilson. In just two years Martha has quickly earned rising status as ‘one to watch’ with subsequent airplay on BBC…
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Music
Sophie Li Returns With Anthemic Single ‘Billboards’
Twenty-one year old songwriter Sophie Li returns with a refreshing confidence for her next indie-rock anthem Billboards. The track explores themes of self-doubt and “getting over the hurdle” of facing negative comments, both themes paralleled in the constant driving rhythm section of the track and illuminating lyrics delivered with a yearning purpose, a craft in which the young singer already excels. The confidence in Li’s vocals may be a result of a new creative…
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Music
Live Review: The Hanging Stars At St Michael’s Church
The Hanging Stars returned to a packed St Michael’s Church for the second time with their breezy, Cosmic Folk to promote new album On A Golden Shore. Hosted by Copper Blue Music Promotions, the night opened with a debut performance from Country/Americana solo artist Townsend Brown (Iain Morley), who set the tone for the folk-soaked night with alternate guitar tunings, and vocals seamlessly moving between his high tenor range to a soaring belt that filled…
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Music
Cheery’s Debut Album BLISS Is Full of Melancholic Magnetism
Cheery has released their debut album BLISS with Spirit House Records. Described as ‘Gloomy Art Pop’, BLISS explores cinematic production with flawless vocals and sincere lyrics in a fresh burst of retrospective pop nostalgia. After performing live across America over the last 20 years, Cheery creator, Katlyn Conroy uprooted across the Atlantic to Liverpool, undoubtedly having prepared herself for the all-consuming task of debuting a new project to fresh ears with a consistent run of…
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Music
Novelty Island ‘Taped Over’ EP Review
Following the release of his single 1102, Novelty Island (aka multi-instrumentalist and producer, Tom McConnell) is set to release his next psychedelic-pop EP, Taped Over. A companion record to Wallsend Weekend Television, also recorded during his time at Abbey Road Institute, Taped Over is the awaited addition into McConnell’s imaginative, sonic world. It’s a sound that could easily be praised for its dreamy melodies and solid progressions but instead takes it that bit further with…
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Music
Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King, Live From The Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room – Review
Liverpool has been enjoying a thriving surge in intimate tribute shows recently. Seasoned musicians, some of which are already on the scene with their original music have been re-creating their favourite albums in delicately crafted shows with a focus on more layered, nuanced performances rather than the high-energy sequinned covered nights we might associate the word ‘tribute’ with. With a welcomed return in the demand for live music there is a booming market for these…
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Music
Leonie Jakobi Releases Enthralling EP ‘Nothing More To Say’
German born pop-rock powerhouse Leonie Jakobi has been blazing her trail in Liverpool since releasing her debut single in 2020 and she’s ready to embed her name as one to watch with new EP Nothing More To Say. Fans of old school favourites Suzi Quatro and Janis Joplin won’t be disappointed with the anthemic, gritty vocals and grungy guitars that feature throughout. Although, fresh names on the scene such as Larkin Poe and Dorothy were…
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Music
Clean Cut Kid ‘A Crisis Of Faith At The Death Of A Loved One’ Album Review
Alt-rock quartet Clean Cut Kid have released their new self-produced album A Crisis Of Faith At The Death Of A Loved One today, breaking down the personal stages of grief against a backdrop of intricately layered production in 30 minutes of indie-folk bliss. Every track on the album is awash with the warm retro sound of analaog tape, which when paired with the underlying themes of melancholy within the lyrics, string arrangements and chord progressions…
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Music
Def.fo Releases Slow Burning Groove ‘Godly’
Def.fo is quickly earning a name as Liverpool’s freshest psychedelic, trip-hop artist as he prepares to release new single Godly. “Inspired by the rich mysteries of life and the boundless expanse of the universe”, Godly presents itself as a slow burning groove before drawing in its listeners early on with an elevating chorus that’s eagerly welcomed back the second time around. A steady incline into an ethereal realm of bass synths and layered vocals over…
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Music
Live Review: Chrissie Hynde And The Pretenders At CONTENT
Striding on stage in knee high white boots to a tentative audience, Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders gave Liverpool a sweaty, punk-fuelled reminder on Sunday night that they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The band emerged as the French opera classic L’amour Est un oiseau rebelle echoed through the 1,200-capacity room before blazing through 27 Pretenders tracks. Unmistakably Chrissie Hynde, (the 80s punk queen who topped the charts with rocky numbers including Precious, Brass in…
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Music
Thom Morecroft Releases Beautiful Album ‘Waiting For Leo’
Waiting For Leo is the new self-produced album from Shropshire folk artist Thom Morecroft. In a dynamic change of direction from his 2019 release, The Feng Shui and The Sushi, Waiting for Leo appeals sonically through the lo-fi presence of Morecroft’s delicate acoustic guitar melodies and his distinctive vocals. What unfolds are 14 short but sweet tales reflecting his personal journey through grief and fatherhood. Described by Thom as a series of recordings created in…
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Film & TV
Elvis: Film Review
It takes a mammoth production, crucially convincing cast and a wholesomely accurate script to pull off a biopic based on one of the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll King’s, but Baz Luhrmann ticks every box and more with Elvis. Emotionally triggering with tell-all revelations of Elvis’ infamous, never ending Vegas residencies, the plot follows his short-lived 42 years, regretfully narrated and reflected on through the words and voice of his increasingly cunning promotor and manager,…
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Music
KEEF Release New Track ‘She’s Like An Escalator’
Northwest based indie-rock band KEEF have been driving their sound into the world over the past year with a consistent stream of single releases. Their music, layered somewhere between psychedelic and alternative rock hints towards their working-class upbringing with lyrics touching on isolation from the real world, relationships and the commonly shared discontentment found in day-to-day life. New single She’s Like An Escalator follows the same trajectory, opening with a consistent and frantic rhythm section…
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Festivals
Smithdown Festival 2021: Preview
Liverpool’s renowned Smithdown Festival will return this weekend for its fifth year running. After the 2020 line-up was cancelled, the organisers revealed an impressive list of acts for this year’s festival last month. Alongside some of Smithdown Road’s most popular venues, a handful of new additions have been added to the line-up including Leaf Smithdown, Tavern Co, St Barnabas Church, Foghertys and Meatless. Since 2015 Smithdown Road festival has been home to a range of…
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Music
Jamie Webster Releases Powerhouse New Single ‘Going Out’
After topping the newly formed UK Official Folk Album Charts last year with his debut album We Get By, Liverpool born singer-songwriter Jamie Webster has continued to surpass expectations and create more music for his eager fans with his latest single Going Out. Feverishly energetic and unforgivingly honest, the lyrics feature all the emotions of a young twenty- something confined to their own four walls in an incomprehensible new reality. Synonymous with the football anthems…
