Blogcritics

Music Review: The Hushpuppies - Silence Is Golden

Jeff Perkins — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 08:48:12 EST

Having caused a stir in their native France with high octane live performances, the band is now busy crossing the Atlantic and taking on America.
Anyone out there who got Activision’s Guitar Hero World Tour video game for Christmas has probably already rocked out to The Hushpuppies’ track, “You’re Gonna Say Yeah”. They are in good company, as the game also includes tracks from R.E.M. and Modest Mouse.Having caused quite a stir in their native France with some...

Music Review: Pendragon - Pure

Jeff Perkins — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 20:11:20 EST

Weighty, meaningful, and utterly absorbing. Pendragon take it even higher.
Within the first few seconds of Pendragon’s latest album, my dog Dylan was salivating almost as much as me. The reason? Well for Dylan it must have been hearing the ‘dogs of night’ in the opening track “Indigo”. For me, I was quickly reduced to a dribbling shellshock victim by Pure, one the finest prog-rock albums I...

Music Review: Colour Kane -A Taste Of

Jeff Perkins — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 17:42:41 EST

Travel up and beyond the lowlands with Colour Kane.
Have you ever tried to eat a doughnut without licking your lips? For me, at least, it’s impossible. Now here’s an equally unachievable challenge. Try and review A Taste Of, by Belgium dream pop artists Colour Kane, and not include words such as dreamy, soaring, atmospheric, or the oft quoted ‘blissed-out’.Colour Kane emanate...

Music Review: Heidi Happy - Flowers, Birds, And Home

Jeff Perkins — Thu, 1 Jan 2009 20:20:57 EST

Life and all its emotions explored and revealed.
There’s a famous line delivered, and apparently ad-libbed by Orson Welles on post war Vienna’s big wheel, in the classic film The Third Man. “In Switzerland,” he declared, “they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” It’s not the...

Music Review: Alan Tyler & The Lost Sons Of Littlefield - Lonesome Cowboys

Jeff Perkins — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:10:02 EST

All the way from Nashville, North London.
So, just who are The Lost Sons of Littlefield, you may ask? To answer that, we need to go way, way back. Back to Waylon Jennings birthplace, in fact. Yes Littlefield is where the great man comes from but his inspiration has spread a great deal further. It’s not quite that simple though and we need to go digging a little deeper. Alan Tyler,...

Music Review: Beth Rowley - Little Dreamer

Jeff Perkins — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:51:12 EST

The album is beautifully lo-fi, radiating a warm glow of late night atmosphere amid some softly seductive vintage performances.
As soon as a promising white, blues-tinged, female soul singer arrives on the scene, it tends to ignite the inevitable comparisons to the likes of the legendary Dusty Springfield, amongst others. That, of course, is a huge legacy for any aspiring young singer to carry around. One of those who, along with Dusty -- and Amy Winehouse, for example --...

Music Review: Seven Steps To The Green Door -Step In 2 My World

Jeff Perkins — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:19:00 EST

Progressive music in the real sense of the word.
I am quite certain that most Prog fans, particularly those in Europe, have already switched on to Seven Steps To The Green Door. The band swooped in to conquer two awards at the prestigious German Rock And Pop Awards following the 2006 release of their debut album The Puzzle.Topping the Best Progressive and Best Experimental polls was no feat....

Music Review: Stevie Klasson - Don't Shoot The Messenger

Jeff Perkins — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:55:31 EST

What kept you Stevie?
If you have ever been to Stockholm in Sweden and whilst there felt compelled to buy a vintage guitar, the chances are that you bought it from Stevie Klasson's shop. Stevie knows a thing or two about them as he is also one of the country’s most highly regarded rock guitarists.His album Don’t Shoot The Messenger underlines that and...

Music Review: Hugh Coltman - Stories From The Safe House

Jeff Perkins — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:57:29 EST

He's back, from wherever he's been, with an album crammed full with observations of life.
Well here’s the news: Hugh Coltman is alive and well and recording in France. I thought he had disappeared into the ether, so when I saw his solo album, Stories From The Safe House, whilst strolling around a huge record store in Paris, it was a very welcome surprise.I am not sure where he has been these last few years, but he has clearly been...

Music Review: Karmakanic - Who's The Boss In The Factory

Jeff Perkins — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:25:41 EST

All that potential has come together to produce a work of incredible depth and quality.
If, like me, your school reports always seemed to include the phrase ‘could do better’, you may be able to identify with this review. Karmakanic’s first two albums, unlike me, showed great potential but you always knew and hoped that they could go further, and, yes, do even better. With this latest album, Who’s The Boss In...