I Saw First Light - Anna McClellan

 

Third album from Omaha singer/songwriter via Father/Daughter Records

This new album by the Midwesterner was recorded over two weeks with a multitude of local cohorts in her hometown of Omaha; it is a love letter to collaboration and how you become a sponge through engaging with influences.

Original in its context, unique in its execution this is an album full of perception and piano driven indie pop songs which has led to people compare McClellan to one Fiona Apple.

McClellan reminded this listener of another Anna, that being Anna Burch, another solo star who engages us with tales of relationships and social issues but with a strong individualistic slant to her songwriting.

The rollicking 'Feel You' is a call to arms of wanting someone to hold but remaining a personal identity; these go hand in hand with the ruminations found on tracks ranging from 'Raisin' and 'To Prove'.

These little sub-three minute nuggets also recall a band she toured with in 2016/17, one Frankie Cosmos, not to mention the work of Tony Molina a similar artist who did not waste time with song construction eager to share playful bitesize portions of energy .

There is a real tenderness as well to the album harking back to a bygone era somewhat with stalwarts of country music being channelled such as Lynn and Wynette seeping into this Nebraskan's work such as the beautiful violins on 'Gone'.

This album is about connecting with the outside world; her wistful vocal delivery coupled with the lush instrumentation of the compositions marks McClellan as one to watch.

While this may be her third album you to get the feeling this is merely the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more in terms of potential and ability at her disposal.

I Saw First Light is out from Father/Daughter Records on 20th November.

You can follow Anna McClellan on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.

Green Bay Packers v Indianapolis Colts Wk11 Preview

The Week 11 match-up features a fascinating contest between two probable Hall of Fame candidates as Aaron Rodgers travels to Lucas Oil Stadium to face Philip Rivers and the Colts.

The reason this is a fascinating match-up not only due to Rodgers and his elite wide receiver Davante Adams hoping to maintain the lead in the NFC North ahead of the resurgent Minnesota Vikings; but they have to face the quietly good defence of the Colts - coordinated by Matt Eberflus a team that did well to quieten the Tennessee Titans offense including stifling Derrick Henry.

The Packers have suffered two losses against two very good defences in Tampa Bay and Minnesota Vikings; admittedly they did not have Aaron Jones for either game but he is back now yet the defeats to well schemed defences and those who can stop the run and then force you to throw deep on third and long means this will be a familiar test for the Packers to overcome, remember they struggled to put away the lame Jaguars last week at home a big heave to Valdes-Scantling with a huge YAC proving to be the difference.

The Colts should be feared or at least offered more respect; the hope of winning this game coupled with the Titans facing the Ravens means the option to open a lead in the division and the possibility of a homefield divisional game. Under Eberflus, the Colts incorporate a Tampa-2 4-3 front, four man pressure allowing his defence to play; this leads to the Colts pressuring on 24% of QB dropbacks (12th in the NFL), yet only blitzing 19.9% of the time (fourth lowest in the league).

The addition of DeForest Buckner has been paramount to this uptick in defence quality - Buckner has 16 quarterback hits already this season (behind only Aaron Donald and Chris Jones in the league for interior linemen). The Colts last year were 15th against the run, this year they are 7th best and 6th best when teams run up the middle to face the immovable object that is Buckner.

They had the Ravens on the run until the fumble by Jonathan Taylor resulting in the limp attempt by Rivers to stop the return touchdown; the momentum swung to Baltimore ultimately. However, the performance versus the Titans on a short week on the road showed a great deal of character amongst a still young group of players with Rivers admiral of proceedings. They allowed a total 294 total yards off of 60 plays. They average a 4.83 yards allowed a play, still a yard behind what their offense is allowing in 5.70yds.

Expect the Colts run defence to force Green Bay into third and long situations frequently helping their Cover-2 show up on those throws to Adams, MVS and the returning Alan Lazard.  This proficiency up front of the run defence allows the back 7 to make plays - they have defended or intercepted 21% of thrown passes (60-286), the highest coverage play rate in the NFL.

A fascinating intra-conference contest that will tell us a lot about both franchises with playoff aspirations.

Beware The LA Rams

BEWARE THE RAMS

After a thrilling Week 10 of NFL action where a lot of divisional and intra-conference action (teams facing each other for the first time in four years) it was the match-up at the tremendous new stadium in Inglewood, home to both Los Angeles teams that turned heads.

The Los Angeles Rams hosted the once rampant Seattle Seahawks - whose wings have now definitely been clipped following a 5-0 start to the season and an MVP calibre start by Russell Wilson - have now lost 3 out of the last 4 to land on a 6-3 record following the Rams 23-16 victory yesterday.

The scoreline marks it out as a tight affair but the Rams forced three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble on the QB), they had 33 minutes of the clock due to their three headed monster at running back (Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown, Cam Akers) to hog the ball, yet it is the wealth of receiving talent at Jared Goff's disposal that jumps out - three receivers with over 50 yards (Josh Reynolds - 94, Tyler Higbee - 60 and Cooper Kupp - 50) as well as six receptions for Robert Woods - helped them amass 302 air yards to marry that 106 rushing yards off of 29 rushing attempts.

Yet it is the defence that again is resolute, while playing the Seahawks the numbers will inflate due to the structure of the game changing with Russell forcing plays they were restrained to 248 passing yards, top receiver Tyler Lockett had only 66 yards off of 5 grabs. 

The Rams allow on average 199.7ypg in passing and 96.8ypg on the ground; these are stellar numbers in the scheme of a season that is altering as a more pass happy league and a season where many teams are having success on the ground as the season draws on - think of DeAndre Swift and Antonio Gibson.

They have the best defender in the league in Aaron Donald who heaps pressure on the QB but he was overshadowed by his teammates - Leonard Floyd (3), Terrell Lewis (2) and Michael Brockers (1) - who combined for six sacks on Wilson yesterday.

This defence will be tested over the last seven games on the season no doubt. They travel to Tampa Bay for Monday Night football next week where the Bucs seemed to find the balance on offense following the egg laid against New Orleans with Roland Jones having a 98 yard touchdown amongst a huge day for himself.

There follows  back-to-back division tussles at San Francsico and on the road at Arizona; injuries have scupped the Niners attempt to defend their conference title while the darling Cardinals with Kyler Murray are atop the NFC West standings on a 2-0 division record; the two games between the Rams and Cardinals will most likely dictate who gets the home field divisional round playoff game and maybe even the overall #1 seed if the Saints cannot maintain fluidity if Drew Brees misses time with his rib injury.

After the first of the Arizona contests is an AFC East hosting of the Patriots and the sorry Jets before ending with a holiday double-bill of Seattle on the road and Arizona at home in the new year perhaps for the division title.

It promises to be an interesting end for the most competitive division in the NFL - the balance of the Rams is what stands out (passing offense, ground attack, stellar defence) against the Cardinals who are creative and riding a sea of consistency currently due to the air attack of Murray to his illustrious receivers. 

However, do not discount the Seahawks who are dearly missing the running back tandem of Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde who are both injured at least to take the onus off of Wilson to make magic happen always - if they get the ground force back the schedule is not awful. After this Thursday where they meet the Cardinals again they have a four game stretch of at Philadelphia, v Giants, v Jets and then in the nations capital to face the franchise before ending with Rams and at 49ers. On the face of it that is five winnable games on paper if they get healthy and still have Russell Wilson under centre.

Fascinating to see if two or even three teams from the NFC West make the now seven team playoff structure.

Staunch Honey - David Nance

 

New album from Nebraskan rocker David Nance from Trouble In Mind Records

David Nance turned many heads in 2019 with his last album, Peace and Slightly Pulverized, which was highly acclaimed with his fuzzy and bristling guitar rock.

Nance returns with his fifth studio album Staunch Honey, which he recorded the majority of at his Omaha home with assistance from longtime bandmates Jim Schroeder (guitar) and Kevin Donohue (drums), making this a recorded at home master due to the Covid-19 crisis.

A culmination of two years hard work, Nance recorded and reworked the album three times over, Nance has weaved a manic and sonic clash of mood and emotion from raging guitars to squealing feedback which was so prevlant on 'Pulverized..' to a more mellower form of songwriting fitting for a late night drive or hang at home.

This is never more apparent than on track 2, 'The Dark, My Love and I' a rocker of supreme intensity but goes hand in hand with the gentler 'Save Me Some Tears' and 'Gentle Traitor'.

Fans of Neil Young will love this album full of earthiness, there is a real connection to the land and how important music is to Nance comes through the speakers in all its feedback glory.

Nance continues to impress with his intelligent and provoking guitar rock, a few years back there was a renaissance of guitar led music with Nance and his group leading the charge along with contemporaries such as Rayland Baxter. Some groups still exist such as recent release by The Big Easy can attest to but in this year of isolation and introspection it is good and pleasing to see an artist willing to just let his hair down.

Staunch Honey is out on Friday 13th November from Trouble In Mind Records

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project is out on all digital platforms from 6th November 2020

This documentary by Matt Wolf examines the life of Marion Stokes, a woman who recorded television 24 hours a day everyday from 1975 until her death in 2012.

While this starts as a document about a life unknown outside of the Philadelphia region, Stokes is a trailblazer, a follower of a trend. The film slowly morphs into a document about how America has become desensitised in it's viewing habits with cable news becoming the mouthpiece for a nation.

From the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980 with the prisoners released on the day of Reagan's inauguration to 9/11 and the response time of networks to a tragedy that would hit them all.

The first half takes it upon itself to explain Marion Stokes' background, her flirtation with the Communist party and the possibility of a move to Cuba which was then jettisoned when common sense took over. Marion would appear on regional television in think piece shows where people of intellect would discuss topics at great length from racism, socialism, voter rights and so on. It was on this show that she met her future husband, John Stokes, a man who would give her a bigger world view, travelling to Europe - a place she only ever dreamed of in books.

Marion was forthright, stubborn, belligerent and this had an effect on the relationship she had with her son, a man who grew up to not obtain as great an intellect as hers, which she freely admitted.  Yet Marion would read voraciously, books, a dozen newspapers everyday and started recording her news in 1975 but it really came to ahead in 1979 when the American hostage crisis in Iran took place, she started watching and was struck by how the narrative altered from the outset and throughout the long process.  She noticed the point that the narrative would alter from day to day, like a long-running television drama series, combustible storylines, complex characters and altering narrative.  Marion and the news networks realised they had a hit on their hands, by making news the star of daily night-time schedules the networks could create the narrative and status quo - the art of fearmongering came front and centre. 

The hostage crisis took place in 1979 and into 1980 followed by the Soviet-Afghanistan conflict which prompted the USA boycotting the Moscow Summer Olympics.  It also coincided with the birth of CNN in 1980 and the birth of 24/7 news coverage for the beginning of a new decade and new Presidency, under Ronald Reagan.  An administration who knew how the media was as important as the bills passed to meld the public into their wishes of unknowing subordinates.

Marion was also a visionary, someone who was aware of trends in technology and media, able to see what companies were going places prompting her to urge her husband's board to invest in the early infancy of Apple and Steve Jobs at just $7 a share to begin with. This foresight led to great riches for the rest of her life.

Soon though, the recording prompted a reclusive nature to come to the fore, Marion becoming an obsessive and a collector, the film makes it clear that she is not a hoarder, despite having nine flats to keep hold of all the VHS tapes she and her husband had.

The second half of the film follows this tale of isolation, the watching of news and how Marion in effect become the first couch potato of the late 20th century, digesting daily news and noting how the big stories of the day and relevant time would be crafted by news agencies - the most important facet was that of racism in news media; black crime but most importantly, crime upon black people by authority figures especially police such as the Rodney King assault and the following riots across Los Angeles.

Director, Matt Wolf

Marion's husband passed away in the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century and this took a toll on her as she had lost her soul-mate, yet the recording did not stop by Marion nor her devoted staff.  The only problem posed as years went by was how technologies changed with the advent of digital media in more households it became harder and harder to source VHS tapes themselves in the greater Philadelphia area.

Following her death, the videos stopped recording and her son, struggled with how best to carry on her legacy and after 18 months of worrying, the Digital Institute in San Francisco took the bold step of buying all the VHS tapes, all 30,000 tapes in their entirety shipping them off to the West Coast, the intention to digitise all of them and then archive them into a digital storage available online.

The idea being that many local stations - those that Marion recorded - did themselves not have their own archive owing to costs and storage logistics, but Marion had the first 32 years of CNN at her disposal and all of closed captioning, an invaluable tool and resource for those who want it.  America loves television, and this is evidence again - for social anthropologists, historians and media scholars, the digital library Marion's tapes provide will be an unbelievable look into the history of America through a lense.

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project is released by Violet Pictures in 6th November 2020.

The Law of Innocence - Michael Connelly

THE NEW LINCOLN LAWYER NOVEL OUT 10TH NOVEMBER

Highly enjoyable entry into the Mickey Haller universe with guest appearances by half-brother, Harry Bosch.

Ordinarily with Haller stories, he is facing down the law on the side of the victim, chasing for clues and crooked cops as he seeks justice for the person he is defending and sometimes those he defend are not all they seem.

In this new story from the prolific Connelly, Mickey - the famous Lincoln Lawyer so well adapted in the 2011 thriller directed by Brad Furman and written for the screen by John Romano, and famously portrayed by the smooth-talking Matthew McConnaughey - is himself charged with murder after a routine traffic stop finds a body in his trunk, one that Mickey cannot explain but as the victim is a former client of his who owed him money it gets all a bit convoluted. 

The book descends into more a courtroom tussle, and puts Mickey in a difficult situation. He has to prove that he is not innocent just not guilty which is the law within the courtroom, he is worried that his professional career will suffer if he is not properly acquited and wishes an apology from the court and District Attorney if possible. Constantly the law of innocence is asked as Mickey staves off the first degree murder charges against him.

                                  

The swiftness of plot and effortless character arc and narrative is second to none; the inclusion of Bosch is deliberate but not overbearing, as a secondary character from his own universe may overtake proceedings but Bosch serves as an important part of Mickey's defence team to seek the truth.

I spent the whole time with the voices of Matthew McConnaughey and Titus Weliver in my head; this would be a tale ripe for adaptation - and Connelly makes it very much of the here and now with the tale taking place over November 2019 to March 2020 with the threat and worry over a possible pandemic incoming to the populus of Los Angeles, with little touches such as people wearing masks and general unknowingness of an impending doom.

As a fan of Connelly's work and the Amazon Prime original series Bosch this is thoroughly enjoyable fare of the highest order from a writer working at full speed and the top of his game.

The Law of Innocence is published on November 10th from Orion Books

Robbie & Mona - Wallpaper

FOLLOWING the announcement of another lockdown, the dreampop duo Robbie and Mona are happy to announce the delayed release of their debut album, EW, out on January 23rd via Spinny Nights. And they’re teasing for it today with the video for the single drop, “Wallpaper”.

The partnership of William Carkeet and Eleanor Gray, Robbie & Mona have found a vessel for their eclectic and atmospheric pop, combining hazy shimmering synths matched with Mona’s understated vocals.

The project began when William offered to produce Eleanor’s second album; that collaboration quickly transcended into the genesis of what is now Robbie & Mona. The majority of EW was recorded in the cellar of Bristol’s legendary The Louisiana, with additional bedroom recordings.

Influence by film soundtracks, “Wallpaper” would not be out of place in a David Lynch movie: that mix of tenderness and climactic synths, with guitars used sparingly around programmed drums.

Yet there was a far odder inspiration for this track, as Mona explains: “It’s about feeling quite passive and ghost-like, like you’re in the wrong realm, just an observer. The intro vocals were delivered without any thought in a bit of a daze.

“I think the tightness of the music was weirdly inspired by Napoleon Dynamite. We were watching it and really enjoyed how all the songs towards the end were just so deadpan.”

As members of that Bristolian collective Pet Shimmers, there is a fearlessness of combining sonic textures with familiar song structures, yet the songs carry that vibe of lo-fi indie. The album explores emotional complication and the feeling of alienation – it rewards multiple listens.

This minimalist approach to composition helps create an atmospheric aura of work for this duo who embrace harmony and theatricality to wonderful effect.

Follow Robbie and Mona on Facebook and Instagram.

The album is out on January 23rd from Spinny Nights

Sen Morimoto - Self-title LP Review

 

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Sen Morimoto releases his self-titled second album from Sooper Records on October 23rd.

This album is much anticipated and comes on the back of much fanfare from the much touted Morimoto, who remains much of an enigma on this side of the Atlantic.

Living in Chicago, Morimoto is a producer, rapper and while not necessarily a jack of all he is definitely a master of collaboration using label mates and friends from the Chicago indie label scene such as Lala Lala, NNAMDI, KAINA, Qari and Japanese electronic artist AAAMYYY.

Morimoto has been a busy person since releasing his debut album in 2018 and touring the world, as well as being a member of Chicago jazz collective, Resavoir and being musical producer of Kaina's breakout Next To The Sun and becoming part owner of Sooper Record Label, his own label on which this record is released.

Morimoto uses a wide array of musical genres and influences across this sumptuous and kaleidoscopic release evidenced in the single Woof which has a 60s jingle jangle guitar riff which harks back to Beatles cast offs, his voice is velvety over the production meaning this is not only a pleasing artist to listen to but he is also accessible due to his variety.

Perhaps the man himself can explain the concept of the album better: “Thematically, the album explores self-examination–the way reality breaks the distortion of subjective experience. Focusing on minutia, the album highlights the ways that our learned habits, such as shameful desires and righteous ideals, are inherited by everyday motions of modern American life. The grotesque and ignored emerging in dreams, begin to inform a cruel reality. Touring through a world on a wire, my dreams, in harrowing vibrant color, began to cross the threshold into my waking life. My self-titled album comes as a statement from somewhere in between those two worlds.”

Morimoto has shot for the moon with this album, an album of ambition married with unlimited potential has become one of this year's best albums. An album that comes along once in a while that becomes one of constant repeat plays in coffee houses and bars (when we can frequent them), this is helped by being not merely one of Morimoto's ability but in this day and age of a world becoming smaller an album of collaboration - he is cleverly using his platform as the opportunity to give that same platform to artists to gain access to the mainstream such as those mentioned before. Their parts are not throwaways but vital calling cards for the song and themselves.

At times hypnotic, at times intellectual at times flat out fun and funky; there will be something for everyone on this album ranging from cool chillout (The Box), electronic harmony (Goosebumps), chic rap (Daytime But Darker) to far out RnB (Jupiter) with a spaced out twist.

Sen Morimoto has given the world an album about the world and all the people in it, from all corners and how their voices can become one when given a chance to be heard.

Sen Morimoto is out from Sooper Records on October 23rd.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

The Green Child - Simmering Basset

 

New album from an Austro-American pairing - Raven Mahon and Mikey Young.

This insightful album of electronic and stipped back vocals is reminiscent to this listener of Ladytron and other electro pop bands of the mid-noughties; there is an earnestness to the music seemingly you have to listen to this music without being overbearing.

Lead single Fashion Light harnesses this energy of retro-futuristic with soundscapes of synthesizers and drum machines.

This lovely sound the pair create helped by Mahon's wistful delivery of the dreamy vocals make this a winning combination; harking back to the works of OMD, Tears for Fears and even the smooth vocals of Errol Brown and Hot Chocolate.

The band used to be a long distance collaboration with Mahon residing in California, before upping sticks and joining Young in his native Melbourne district. Moving on from their self-titled debut in 2018, this album shows a growth in the partnership living near each other and Mahon growing into a near place of familiarity and stability - the tightness of the band is evident in the work being created.

Raven explains further, “it feels more cohesive because over the year or so in which we wrote these songs I started to feel a desire to take the lyric writing part more seriously… my head is rooted in this new place now and that’s settled into the songwriting.”

From the flurry of 'Witness' to the album closer 'Double Lines' this is an album of melodic grandeur and musical expansion, a band ready to make a break for the big time; this is an album full of measured elegance from the exquisite production values to the dreamlike sound perfect for these dreary autumn weekends ahead.

Shimmering Basset is out from Upset The Rhythm on October 23rd.

My thanks to Mutante PR for the review opportunity

Those Who Know - Alis Hawkins

 

The third novel in the Teifi Valley series arrives from Dome Press. It has been my pleasure to be a part of the blog tour for the release

The novel brings us back together with Henry Probert-Lloyd, lead coroner for region who is having to experience a local election for his role against a favoured local. Henry along with his loyal subject, John Davies, are reporting on a local death of a popular school teacher, Nicholas Rowland, who has died under strange circumstances. Amidst the local hustings, Henry and John must find the answers to a local death which has become murder, rule upon the case and win an election while saving face - this threatens to undermine his ambition and his career.

Hawkins does a great deal of work in creating the gothic and eerie atmosphere of the surroundings of the Valley; what also must be said is how we are at a tipping point in Welsh history and for that reason the culture of body science. One character very much would like to conduct an autopsy of the dead victim to see the full extent of the injuries suffered, the belief being that you will learn more by opening up the body and discovering that the inside will tell more of a story than mere external contusions, lacerations and blood loss.

Following the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, there was a real fear of grave robbing and a fear of surgeons with god complexes who may well carve up bodies for their own reasons. Probert-Lloyd must cleverly weigh the aspirations of his medical career with a political aspiration and being a novice detective.  Lloyd must navigate this path of being true to science and rationality, and not use his intelligence as a weapon against those less fortunate.

Hawkins' expert research and natural storytelling creates a well written narrative; a story that can be dove into on newcomers to this series as well as existing fans.  In Probert-Lloyd you have an enjoyable but flawed main character who in partnership with John Davies is a tandem to follow and saviour.

Those Who Know is out from Dome Press in September.

My thanks to Emily Glenister for the review opportunity.

Follow Alis Hawkins on Twitter here

Death Bells - New Signs of Life

 

THE NEW album from Australian duo Will Canning and Remy Veselis, aka Death Bells, is a fusion of post-punk and emo-infused rock.

The band has become a more concrete two-person pairing since its formation in 2015, culminating in the twosome making the bold move to up sticks from Sydney, Australia, and transfer 7000 miles to Los Angeles, California, in 2018.

The duo have blossomed since then with a debut EP appearing in 2019 along with a single, "Metropolitan Indian". They've signed to Dais Records for their sophomore offering, New Signs Of Life.

Mixed and engineered by Colin Knight at Paradise Studios, there is a real sense of the band growing as people as well as a partnership. A tightness to the composition and sheen to the production has led to a sound not too dissimilar to Bastille while maintaining that alternative edge and not fully branching out into the mainstream.

Influences of Interpol, the National and Editors abound in the dispassionate vocal delivery, coupled with a definite new chapter in their existence which the title track heralds. Watch the video below:

Full of optimism and embracing guitars, brass and percussion, it offers a change of pace.

"We started writing New Signs Of Life'in Calgary whilst on tour around this time last year.

"More than anything, the song is about resilience in the face of change. It's a very deliberate statement and sets the tone for what's to come musically from us," the band explain.

The emo phasing and influence abounds with the inflection on the opening track, "Heavenly Bodies", which is very much redolent of Interpol's "Narc".

"Two Thousand And Twenty", a song about being burnt by the powers recalls those 80s' guitar bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen or Psychedelic Furs - a real panache and flair is apparent in most of the album.

This flair will be familiar to listeners of Death Bells' label mates Private World, whose 80s' electronic album and the two albums together share that same DNA of new romantic influence and positivity amidst the darkness.

It's an album of great potential and ambition from a pair to definitely keep an eye on; an album that in this most unusual of years, one of looking inward, fits neatly into the global mindset.

New Signs Of Life will be released by Dais Records on Friday, September 25th, and is available to order here.

Still Corners - The Last Exit

 Still Corners have released their first music from their forthcoming fifth studio album, due for release on 22nd January 2021. The title track 'The Last Exit' is available now on all platforms.

Lead single/Title track from Still Corners' fifth album

There is an accompanying video in support of the track which is below

The musical project of Greg Hughes and Tessa Murphy, the group formed after a chance meeting when waiting for a train in London in 2009. Over the last decade the band have produced a steady stream of romantic and reflective music.

Signed to Sub Pop quickly after, they released two albums with the label before forming their own label Wrecking Light to release Dead Blue in 2016 and Slow Air in 2018 to critical acclaim.

The first single, is the final chapter of the Still Corners' road trilogy. What began with 'The Trip' and was followed by 'The Message' concludes with the stunning 'The Last Exit'. The video inspired by Peter Weir's 1975 classic Picnic at Hanging Rock finds Tessa pulled into the mysterious rocks of Joshua Tree.

Tessa explains: "In a world where everyone thinks all the corners of the map are filled in we like to suggest there's something beyond that, something eternal in the landscape and in our psyche.  Maybe you don't see it every day but it's there and that's what we are trying to connect to."

With a galloping beat and silver tone guitar creating this hypnotic hippy sound, The Last Exit races down a highway to destination unknown a bracing bout of elegance of a world unseen.

The album listing consists of 11 tracks:

• 1. The Last Exit
• 2. Crying
• 3. White Sands
• 4. Till We Meet Again
• 5. A Kiss Before Dying
• 6. Bad Town
• 7. Mystery Road
• 8. Static
• 9. It's Voodoo
• 10. Shifting Dunes
• 11. Old Arcade

Tessa further remarks on how the pandemic has brought a different focus on the album: “There's always something at the end of the road and for us it was this album. Our plans were put on hold – an album set for release, tours, video shoots, travel. We’d been touring nonstop for years, but we were forced to pause everything. We thought the album was finished but with the crisis found new inspiration and started writing again.” 

To learn more about the band go to their website or follow them on Twitter.

The fifth album from Still Corners The Last Exit is out on 22nd January 2021 from Wrecking Light Records, pre-order link here

When The Past Kills - MJ Lee

Book Five of the DI Ridpath series is out on September 24th from Canelo

MJ Lee has developed quite a niche in recent times, his creation Detective Ridpath first appeared in the latter part of 2018 and since then Lee has written with a breakneck pace of regularity providing the fifth tale of his cancer survivor Detective Inspector who has to overcome office politics, his own career aspirations and the criminals of the Manchester underworld.

From the second tale Where The Dead Fall, which was this reviewer's introduction to the series, Ridpath has this relatable everyman quality that comes across in the page; not once in the second book did this reader feel left out of a secret club with the first book narrative being relayed quickly and called back at times without leaving the reader none the wiser.

In this new book When The Past Kills, Ridpath is centre to an investigation where people who wrongly jailed an innocent man before getting the guilty coroner are being subjected to assaults, scare mongering, one by one a chain of command is being followed including online deaths to the dark web, hangings by live feed - Ridpath is in a race against time before he becomes the next victim of the serial attacker.

Lee writes with such a whipcrack rhythm full of short chapters incorporating a range of character arcs, story development and dialogue which is both expositional but gripping; set amidst the gloom of Manchester - Lee is at pains to paint this city as much of a character as his protagonists.

Every Ridpath book is one to relish, as it serves up tales that are full of tension and enjoyment - a sense of satisfaction is apparent and this book also features one hell of a cliffhanger, leaving his reader eagerly anticipating Book 6 which will hopefully drop

When The Past Kills is out on 24th September from Canelo Publishing and all formats

Private World 'Aleph'

Hailing from Cardiff, Wales; UK indie pop outfit Private World embrace the 1980s soundscape of new romantic folklore of Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Talk Talk.

As lead single Blue Spirit suggested, this is a band who are keen to share a specific sound that will resonate with old and new listeners, something that will stir emotions within the listener for a fondness with ear worm worthy tunes.


The album as a whole is not telling a story but bringing tunes injected with a loop of pleasing and pulsating electronic fare.

Birdy equals this pleasure with a cyclical rhythm providing a perfect marriage of vocals and instruments, helped by the expert vocals of Tom Sanders who along with Harry Jowett writes the music for the band.

Keen viewers and fans will be familiar with Hypnagogia, the song that shows the band as that right side of sheen and cool reminiscent of Roxy Music, smart suits and a confidence within their work. A band that is less look at me but you should listen to this.

Following in the footsteps of Video Age's Pleasure Line, this is a reminder that the early 1980s influence of pop writing is very much here to stay and one continually mined for work.


This is a great album and very much a confident debut by this band. Ones to watch when the world returns to normal, but for now keep it private.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity

The Man Who Laughs

Released from Eureka Entertainment, this classic silent film garners a new restoration in 4K as a part of the label's ongoing Masters of Cinema series.

Made in 1928, the film was made by Paul Leni famous German Expressionist director from the early 1920s and his cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton who had made The Cat and the Canary (1927). This film is considered an early entry into Universal Studios now famous purple patch of horror movie classics under the stewardship of producer Carl Laemmle. From the studio head down, along with art director Charles Hall and make up guru Jack Pierce this collaboration was married with a defining performance at its centre by Conrad Veidt.

Veidt plays Gwynplaine, a carnival performer whose face is mutilated into a permanent ghoulish grin by his executed father's royal court enemies. Gwynplaine struggles through life with blind Dea (Mary Philbin) as his companion, and despite his disfigurement Gwynplaine still considers himself unworthy of Dea's affection.

The make up on Veidt's role has been acknowledged as direct inspiration for the first portrayal of the Joker in the DC Comics of Batman in 1940 and has become common place in screen portrayals through the years culminating in Heath Ledger's Oscar winning turn in The Dark Knight (2008).

Featuring moments of humour, tragedy, doomed romance and swashbuckling fight scenes, The Man Who Laughs remains as one of the most stylish entries into the American silent cinema era. With the sound era about to burst prominently onto the scene and the monsters of Universal pictures being able to talk come 1930-31 with Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster; it is wonderful to see the richness and detail within the film's production from costume to sets to narrative construction.

The film has been restored from Universal's 4K transfer to Blu-ray and features a score by the Berklee School of Music along with featurettes by horror expert Kim Newman and a booklet by Travis Crawford and Richard Combs.

The Man Who Laughs is available now on Blu-Ray from Eureka Entertainment

When The Dead Speak - Sheila Bugler

The second novel by Eastbourne based novelist Sheila Bugler out from Canelo

Bugler turned some heads with her debut novel I Could Be You released at the start of this year (which seems like ages ago), featuring a gripping page-turning tale set in and around the Southern coastal stretch of Eastbourne with train trips to South London.

This time Bugler takes a tale that is very much based upon you never really know what goes on in your own town and how secrets stay with families.

Dee Doran returns, typically tenacious and takes it upon herself to find out what has happened to a missing Polish immigrant set against a police investigation of a young woman, which her boyfriend detective cannot work on due to a conflict of interest.

Told with real care and precision by Bugler who builds out from the relationships we hold dear, it is key to see how relationships are tested by a see-all community and how such relationship is held in public view.

Again featuring a strong female protagonist, Bugler weaves a narrative that is gripping and finishes strong after a somewhat slow beginning, akin to her contemporary and Canelo stable mate, Marion Todd

For fans of Fiona Barton's work, this is a novel that can be devoured in quick time.

When The Dead Speak is out on July 9th from Canelo 

Lies To Tell - Marion Todd

The 3rd book in the DI Clare Mackay series is released from Canelo on 25th June, written by Marion Todd

Marion Todd is a Scottish writer, which is perhaps wrong to put here in that stable of Scotland as a writer, but the book she writes is so of the region that it makes sense to attach that stigma to her.  Todd is also what you would consider no spring chicken, and is a writer making up for lost time.

Her Clare Mackay character has now appeared in three books, and each book has appeared within the last 15 months in a brilliant period of publishing by Canelo which they have done before with MJ Lee's DI Ridpath series which has had four releases in as many years.

This is not unusual for writers to be prolific, John Grisham and Lee Child the biggest selling writers on the planet release a new work like clockwork with James Patterson operating now a factory line of consumption for thriller readers.

Yet, this is not like pulp fiction or dime novels, Todd is writing a character that is both relatable, honest and eye-opening; to get a woman of a certain age writing about a woman of a certain age who is good at her profession yet struggling with the perception that she should be settling down for a family in the eyes of other people and society.

Mackay showed in the second book In Plain Sight, that she is an industrious individual, pragmatic and believable, respected by her peers in the pursuit of rescuing an abducted child.

Lies To Tell finds Mackay again at the crossroads of her relationship status, her love Geoffrey (a professor) has moved to Boston for his work and Mackay is enjoying her work, work is busy as always in the police force yet the action picks up straight away with her being picked up by her superior Alan to go to a meeting with a mysterious computer specialist Gayle, who may or may not know about a possible leak in the St. Andrews squad in relation to an ongoing trial.

Gayle asks to be positioned in the headquarters to try and sniff out the leak, then a sub-plot of students going missing yet with lots of money in their bank accounts open up a can of worms.  This is coupled with Mackay succumbing to temptation with Alan her superior, and becoming friendly with Gayle. If Todd did not take the plot so seriously, the narrative of Mackay having two very heavy sessions at home would be played for comedy yet Mackay knows this is a break in character and a sign of weakness which her partner, loyal Chris mentions to her.

Personally, this reader found the book a bit harder to get into compared to the two previous books written by Todd, this may have been my personal circumstances yet my adage is start slowly but finish strong especially in crime or thriller tomes - and this rings true of the plot for this novel with Todd cleverly painting this ominous air of paranoia and fear for Mackay as she gets deeper into understanding the source of the leak and for this Todd should be praised. The ending is dynamic and gripping which is exactly what you need and for this reader expects of her after three novels now.

Lies To Tell is out on 25th June from Canelo Press.

Galaxians - Chemical Reaction

The second album from Leeds disco funk trio, Galaxians, out via Stargaze, on 26th June.

During the lockdown period and Covid-19 crisis, the music I have reviewed has been mostly works of internal reflection and contemplation, there has not been that music which has been reactionary in a sense of letting your hair down. We forget that the weather has been glorious throughout this period of personal isolation with temperatures soaring to nearly 30 degrees.

This new album release from Leeds' Galaxians is the album this period of prolonged sunshine has been asking for, a burst of potent sunshine that we need for these periods of barbecues and gardening.

Starting off with the title track not merely as a statement of intent, it is a statement of direct persuasiveness, Chemical Reaction is a jolt of five plus minutes of funk that does not give you the vocals of Emma Mason until two plus minutes into the track. The track is a burst of vibrant energy full of retrospective sounds but full of influence and the DIY scene.

Mason along with Matt Woodward (drums) and Jed Skinner (synths) are a band that they themselves refer to as fuelled by 'too much coffee and too many donuts'.  It is this carefree nature that feeds into the tracks ranging from 'Heartbreaker' about female empowerment to 'Not the Money' about working for the pride of working.

This harkens back to old-school summer vibes of Montell Jordan, Coolio yet with the influence of Roisin Murphy in the vocal delivery of Mason; there is the 80s post-disco funk of Evelyn King for example along with boogie, garage and basslines aplenty.

Tracks remind this listener of that other great disco album of the 21st Century, that of the Scissor Sisters debut album which had that infusion of pop and disco cred, this is more akin to that band's apex along with Moloko - a titanic female lead vocalist with cool production chops to match.

Chemical Reaction is out from June 26th and is available here.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.