Recorded Music Reviews
Martin Kitcher is a music nut with various fingers in a multitude of musical pies, be they playing, recording, promoting or simply enjoying. At first, and
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02/07/2008
In name only, Kennedy seem to have been around the local music scene for years. Maybe they've played gigs, but they've been off the bh one radar until this year. Earlie
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02/06/2008
This could be tricky. I've written one review of Bob Fletcher prior to this, an extremely uncomplimentary review of a live performance back in August 2006. To his credi
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18/05/2008
Black Bart gig like starved dogs. They never stop; pubs, taverns, theatres, kennels, stopping by at a few local festivals in the summer. These guys are good at what the
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13/05/2008
'Shadow of Mercury' is the solo offering from Bournemouth/New Forest based musician, arranger and producer under the Castleman Corkscrew umbrella, Bob Burke.
T
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29/04/2008
Here we have 'Death By Stereo', the second extended play offering from ex-Mirrorball three piece, Mercury Sound. Looking back on the review of their debut ep I
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21/04/2008
Woodland folk, log cabins, trees not toiletries, The Douglas Firs are all about the wood. Yeah, I get it, but too much of this tree-trunk terminology and it al
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20/03/2008
Still very much underground and yet to surface as a live, visual entity, The Sables have released a follow up to their commercially successful (Radcliffe & Maconie's Record
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08/03/2008
Having been in possession of 'Cloud Cloud Cloud', True Swamp Neglect's delicate monster of an album for a couple of months now, a review can wait no longer,
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04/03/2008
First things first, the artwork is a great improvement on 'Snafu' - even if the disc isn't. Also, they've kept it at nine tracks again. These guys are performing more regularly now and have upped the ante regarding their musical output. Gone are the fe
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19/02/2008
So young so dumb, so full of cum, on the run until mum said...NO
So sings Johnny on the opener to this four-track ep from The Ramblings which ra
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13/02/2008
There's something really classy about Clams. No fuss, no bullshit, simply fuckin' good heavy rock, both live and recorded the swagger is all in the music. There's a fine line betwee
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31/01/2008
Since the release of their debut LP in April last year the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels have been living up to their name; misbehavin' and calling
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14/01/2008
”No more tummy aches. No more staying up late.”
About a year ago Michael Wookey sent me a copy of his last album ' Dreams Of You', asking me to rev
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23/12/2007
Oh, Thomas Philip Wykes, you absolute card. So, you “got bored and made a cover album of Bournemouth people” did you? With limited help from fellow A+E Liners Steve (backing voc
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11/12/2007
“Let's run away, free from our circles let's escape. Shake off our burdens I don't care where we go. As long as we're together. If I trip will you steady me? If you fear I will comfort you. I'll be true to you.”
The first time I heard
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04/12/2007
Let’s say this: it starts off well enough. When I last saw Tex La Homa at the Portman back
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29/11/2007
Waysted formed way back in 1983, and included Pete Way (bassist with UFO) and Fin, who most around these parts will know for his work at the recently revived Gander. Now, m
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22/11/2007
Wow. An unexpected musical treat. Three weeks ago The Sables were a band that (to me) rung a faint distant bell somewhere. I'd heard of the name, but were they local? I wasn
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12/11/2007
Watching Lou Brown perform live there is no question of where she is coming from as she wears her heart, body and soul on her sleeve. No hidden messages, no metaphors or
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23/10/2007
No wonder Jinder didn't have time for Nine Plan Zero. He had (questionably) far bigger things up his sleeve; a three-piece put together at the start of the year by I
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11/09/2007
Good things come to those who wait. Though on the flip side of the proverb, waiting too long for something can ultimately lead to a disappointing anti-climax. The arrival of Dutch Husband's debut album has become part of Bournemouth folklore for most o
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13/09/2007
Fearne. Lovely Fearne. Their new long player 'Colour In A World Of Grey' has seen their sound change very little since their previous album, but there are several signs here of fu
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03/09/2007
Removed from the post-punk limelight heralded by their 2001 debut, they
threw us all in a trench and stuck a monument on top. Liars have been
allowed to follow their own instincts, frustrating as many minds as they've
blown with concept albums centr
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01/09/2007
The opening track 'Got Me Waiting' on this offering from The Sloth gives a good indication of the quality of this recording, drums and bass kick in with samples from
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09/08/2007
Sixteen tracks hand-picked from live sessions on Hospital Radio Bedside, an album from which the money earned will go towards raising the £25,000 a y
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03/08/2007
It could be said that knowing Language,Timothy! like I do helps somewhat when it comes to reviewing their new long player, 'Spring Corner'. On the other hand,
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26/07/2007
Ryan Adams is a man the press never tire of talking about. Despite meagre record sales (just two
of his previous eight solo albums have scraped the UK top 20), Adams has remained in the public
eye by virtue of squiring various Hollywood starlets and f
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02/07/2007
Toupé really are on a hiding to nothing when it comes to recording a studio album; there is absolutely no way they can replicate the sheer onslaught they can produce during a live p
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27/06/2007
From the remnants of notoriously loud indie five-piece Mirrorball, three have remained and formed Mercury Sound. Katfish, Jason and Mark remain and are not just d
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11/06/2007
For the last month or two The Velvet Hearts seem to have been making a lot of noise. Never actually seen 'em, never actually heard 'em, but the hype was migh
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10/06/2007
This ain't rocket science. A simple rock formula of guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Those whose musical bag is something a little more leftfield or experimental might want to steer clear, those who like straightforward riff-heavy rock with strong hooks
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11/05/2007
Out soon-ish on the Sound Destination Label is the latest ep from
the rather special Pirate Ship Quintet. Mastered by Cult Of Luna's Magnus Lindberg, this three
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30/04/2007
One thing always guaranteed from Martin Ruddock and Vincent Kelly's former musical guises was decent songs. Melody, harmony, rhythm n groove and lyrics not to be thrown away. Well, nothing has changed with their most recent venture – the Dirty Rotten S
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25/04/2007
‘Revenge Songs’ is the new album by Jacob Golden, and as the title suggests, this sounds like the music of an artist who has cut his teeth in bands for years,
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19/04/2007
Technically, you'll be hard pushed to find much better than Ten To Never. The sound quality on their new 4-track EP is top notch, as good as it gets. Watching these guys
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05/04/2007
Numidian Wish - a fantastic lead singer, little in the way of intensity to the music. Well, that was my opinion prior to owning new offering 'Home Time & Butterfl
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17/03/2007
My attention has been drawn to Alex Roberts over the last few months having seen him play on a number of occasions at local acoustic nights. A very comfortable per
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13/03/2007
Having been in possession of 'Cloud Cloud Cloud', True Swamp Neglect's delicate monster of an album for a couple of months now, a review can wait no longer,
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01/03/2007
When I told friends I was going home to listen to Fearne's new album ‘Doing all I can to make you smile’, I was surprised by their emphatic response …‘They’re amazing live, just y
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12/01/2007
Despite hearing much about Sancho over the last couple of years, my first taste of the band was literally days before their recent launch of new album 'Mystery Year' at more
24/11/2006
Live, Black Bart are like a runaway train, packed with full-throttle urgency. Their talent shines through the rawness, but that rawness makes the band what they are: yo
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16/11/2006
It's been a fair wait for this album. Rice's much-lauded debut, the millennial singer/songwriter benchmark "O" was unleashed, subtly, on the world via the artist's own label in early 2003. I first heard it in New York City's Virgin Megastore in the Jun
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12/11/2006
Loud, hard anthemic rock is not usually my cup of rosy, but I have to say this four-track ep from Kings Of Hearts really is rather good. The production is superb f
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19/10/2006
Having seen The Poet Hi-Ho perform just once at the re-opening of The Gander back in March this year, I had a basic idea of what to expect here - not your average poe
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12/10/2006
A new album from Dylan. I for one was looking forward to it, but to be honest I can’t say I was looking forward to his last two releases, 1997’s ‘Time Out Of Mind’ and ‘Love and Theft’ from 2001. I think this was just because I didn’t feel I would find
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01/10/2006
It’s always with a certain amount of trepidation that I approach albums by young British groups that describe themselves as “Alt-Country”. To paraphrase the Arctic Monkeys, I ready myself to yell “You’re not from New York City, you’re from Parkstone” a
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04/10/2006
They made it up as they went along you know. There’s no real point trying to make sense of it all; there is no message to unravel. Maybe bits of it are worth working out, but the rest – just take it for what it is. Brilliantly overly creative minds wit
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28/08/2006
On this, the first long player by Bournemouth’s own Rushing With Apathy, I’m somewhat confused by the cover artwork - like an acid house smiley on a comedo
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22/08/2006
O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, o come ye, o come ye to Be-ti-ka. Rejoice! For ‘Halflove’ is upon us, an album of beauty, intrigue, darkness and joy. Whilst on first and
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29/07/2006
Guerilla Tapestry’s ‘Incendiary Intent’ isn’t far off being a quality ep. Instrumentally especially it’s solid and both ‘Burnin’ and ‘Betty’ have a 73/83 glam
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17/07/2006
Jinder’s second album ‘I’m Alive’ is an exploration of the iconography of Americana. Lyrically and musically it is exceptionally visual – images of ‘Paris Texas’ and Steinbeck no
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13/07/2006
It allegedly took Neil Young nine days to record (and write most of) this collection of songs. It’s taken me about a month to review it - partly because I’ve been feeling “tired and emotional” but mostly because I REALLY didn’t want to give Neil a bad
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21/06/2006
Waves gently break, and the beauty and sadness begin. “I was born by the beach, buried in the sand, this is where I am.” Matt Maher has recorde
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19/06/2006
Born in 1960, Chris Whitley was a classic musical visionary, living the peripatetic life of a largely solo, unclassifiable troubadour, all the while eluding and, in turn, being eluded by, commercial success. This was despite (or quite possibly due to)
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14/06/2006
So, how best to describe this brand new six track offering from Pandajam? Being overly critical I would say it’s a collection of random, self indulgent, wannabe mini-operas. T
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29/05/2006
The Death Valley Riders’ seven track demo album ‘Seven Reasons To Kill’ is upon us, highlighting the talents of lead guitarist Lucy Wood, aka Minnie Sota, ably backed by Kallie Fornia on rhythm guitar, Fran Cisco on bass and Al ‘Pigbin’ Abama on drums.
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17/05/2006
A two word review of this cd would be: Martin Grech. But an in depth analysis would take it apart as follows: The first of the four tracks, ‘Last Tape’, begins with the intro to P.J.Harvey’s ‘Mansize’, then the Grech-style vocals kick in and take it fo
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03/05/2006
Well I got my copy of ‘Eccentric Elvis’ last week and here’s just a few things that I thought!
Martin Kitcher’s ‘Suspicious Minds.’ A good choice for an opening track, and boy it gets straight on with it too. A full on raptastic war to kick off t
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02/05/2006
A few months ago at a Solid Air night at The Green Room I walked in and heard a strange noise. It was someone doing something because they had to, not because they wanted to appear interesting and sensitive to girls. The source of all the noise was a m
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01/05/2006
The most eagerly awaited debut single of the year is here, and it does not disappoint. Thumping bass, sweet melodies, chaotic vocals, this has it all.
Former Libertines main man Carl Barat and drummer Gary Powell are getting over their split from wild
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28/04/2006
I saw this fella once. He was accepting an honorary degree at a Goldsmiths College graduation ceremony. Meek, shy, humble, nervous. Nerdy, even. This can’t be the same man. Can it? Spunky lyrics, chunky guitars, punky beats, words and music from a song
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29/03/2006
In a recent interview Wayne Coyne hinted that, for their latest album, The Flaming Lips wanted to sound like "a crazy, druggy prog-rock band again". Which begs the question - when did they ever stop sounding like a crazy, druggy prog-rock band?
< ...more05/04/2006
Ten years gone and seven albums strong, Scottish popsters Belle and Sebastian show no signs of letting up on their trademark formula for success on new release ‘The Life Pursuit’. Precious lyrics and whimsical melodies abound throughout with depth not
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29/03/2006
As a long-time Van fan and massive Country Music nut, the prospect of this album - 15 tracks of Van and his exemplary band working their way through a selection of country standards and 3 all-new original tracks - was a mouth-watering prospect, especia
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28/03/2006
With Jinder’s upcoming album ‘I’m Alive’ due for release at the end of May any preceding single may be an indication of what to expect. Well, Jinder’s gone honky-tonk, baby! Sweet ‘n’ gentle honky-tonk to be precise. ‘Hill Country’ rambles along like a
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30/03/2006
