ALBUM OF THE MONTH – MELISSA ETHERIDGE – ‘RISE’
I always get a bit annoyed by people that pick up a novel and read the final pages first to see how a story ends. But, hell, let’s break some rules!
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH – THE EMPYRE LEGACY
Last weekend, I went to Empyre’s website and I bought six or seven copies of their CDs. I already have their albums on CD and some also on vinyl, but news of recent weeks made me want to ensure I had back-up copies – and maybe even some extra copies I could gift tofriends in the months and years ahead. Maybe this exercise was […]
JACK J HUTCHINSON – ‘Battle Scars Live’
One word to describe this album and also the musical force behind it – authentic.
Death trap Halloween-party with Autumn Killers
I was intending to get a rock album review up for October but, this month, most of my standout album release choices are in other music genres. It’s good to sometimes pause and explore to the left and the right a bit.
QUIREBOYS LIVE AT ROCKPALAST
Time for a party – and at any time that you want. After a summer of endless studio album releases, the feel-good festival season kind of made it appropriate to turn attention to an album release that captures the irreplaceable magic of a live show, and that spontaneous connection between band and audience.
SPARKS – ‘MAD’
When ‘Mad’ landed it was the first time for years I felt suitably acquainted with Sparks music to welcome the new songs with a sense of familiarity and excitement – having grown particularly fond of ‘Hello Young Lovers’ and their nineteenth studio album ‘Lil’ Beethoven’ over the previous year…
BADFLOWER – ‘NO PLACE LIKE HOME’
Click the heels and make a wish – “You can go wherever you wish to go.” Badflower opens their fine new album with a line from the ‘Wizard of Oz’. Dorothy yearns to go home.
Those Damn Crows – ‘God Shaped Hole’
For the last decade, there has been much talk about the latent promise of bands from the rising rock scene – and Those Damn Crows could well be the band from a new generation that go all the way and bag a Number 1 album.
CRY FOR MERCY – ‘THIS MACHINE’
By a distance, it’s the best album Cry For Mercy have done – and in terms of charm, conviction and chemistry, it’s one of the best UK blues-rock albums of 2025 so far.
ELLIS MANO BAND – ‘MORPH’
Cutting through the relentless stampede of new music promotion and the white noise on social media, Ellis Mano Band drop a truly classy album to take 2025 up a level.