Album Review: “384,000” – Terence Collie. Words: Sammy Stein

Terence Collie is a talented pianist, composer, and leader. At age seventeen, he joined a band in Jersey, Channel Islands which led to a weekly gig at the Blue Note Bar in St Helier, where he experienced playing supportive concert slots for visiting artists including Teddy Edwards, The Average White Band, Georgie Fame, Andy Sheppard, Jason Rebello, and Digby Fairweather. In …

Single Review: “Vienna” – Ultravox

On 1st January 2013 Ultravox’s 1981 hit ‘Vienna’ was voted the UK’s favourite number two single. The song topped a poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company to find the greatest track to miss out on the number one spot. Vienna was held off by novelty track ‘Shaddup You Face’ by Joe …

Single Review: “PWMS1” – Robi Theophilus

This track is short and sweet! Clocking in at 0:56 it still has an impact. There’s a lot here. It starts off with a vocal that I suspect Robi’s sampled and is playing back on the keyboard. The voicing of the chords are so cool! Add to that 808 drums, guitar, bass and a piano …

Single Review: “Save Yourself From Me” – Jim Pearson

This is track three from Jim’s new album “Death To Mortality”, and is probably my favourite track on the album especially for the bass groove from 2:11 in. This song fuses a bit of 70s prog rock with the synths, folk rock style vocals, and the soulful musicianship. The bassline has a hint of James …

Single Review: “Ruby” – Offing

This is the new single from my friend Offing. It’s not your run of the mill indie pop song, it’s a different time signature to most, 6/8 time with a slight swing to it. I love the stops and starts and the synths deployed here – having looked at her instagram I think she’s using …

Single Review: “Unfinished Sympathy” – Massive Attack

This track is just beautiful! Why did I pick it for the throwback track of the day? Well back in 1998 listeners for BBC Radio 1 voted this number 1 in the 100 national anthems. For me this track has got everything, lush strings, scratching, a breakbeat with hypnotic bells in there too. The vocals …

Single Review: “Air, Part 2” – Lycio.

What I like about this track is the use of synthesisers on it, it’s nice and spacious overall! The crackle of the vinyl at the beginning gives you the feeling this could have been recorded in the 80s, and this is reinforced with the way that the drums have a bit of a swing to them …

Single Review: “Somebody’s Daughter” – The Deep Blue

This song….  It got me through my morning cuppa and emails. It then got me through my walk around sainsbury’s. It got me through putting my shopping away.  I’ve been sat at the keyboard playing around with the chord progression too.  What a beauty! The electric piano is what did it for me, especially in …

EP Review: “Modern Artifice” – Freyja Elsy

Freyja is here and she’s brought four stunning tracks! Let’s get into it. Sad Girls This track opens up with ethereal sounds, bells and what sounds like an arpeggiated muted guitar. The drums are quite complex once they get going – hi hats switching between 8th note rhythms to 32nd rhythms, the rim shot playing …

Album Review: “Green Park” – Benet McClean. Words: Sammy Stein.

It’s the energy that grabs you. I reviewed Benet Mclean’s ‘The Bopped and The Bopless’ back in 2016 and have not tired of it. So, it was a little trepidation I pressed ‘play’ on Mclean’s latest release ‘Green Park’. I mean, how can you top ‘The Bopped and The Bopless’? Mclean does not even try …