Dave Franklin
Musician, scribbler, historian, gnostic, seeker of enlightenment, asker of the wrong questions, delver into the lost archives, fugitive from the law of averages, blogger, quantum spanner, left footed traveller, music journalist, zenarchist, freelance writer, reviewer and gemini. People have woken up to worse.
Black White Red – Wilderness States (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
What a disturbing cover! But what gorgeous music.
It is music like “Black White Red,” the new one from Oxford’s Wilderness States that reminds us that while some...
Sugar Twin – Goddamn Wolves (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Okay, here’s a pop quiz, in both senses of the meaning, for you. What connects Hal Blaine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, 60’s girl-groups, and modern...
Reflets – Tim d’Aboville (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If the compound genre-tag of folk-pop suggests a blend of the singer-songwriter finesse of the former with the accessibility and ease of the latter,...
I Don’t Mind – Mahta (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The most remarkable thing about this remarkable new single from Mahta is how it not only sounds vastly different from anything you have heard before and...
Cyanotype – Agnes Uncaged (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Cyanotype not only sounds like the best bits of alternative rock from the last three decades, but as if we were hearing them for the...
Spit – St Divine (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If you think that rock and pop are in some way opposing camps, the former all about the art of the heavy, low-strung groove,...
Karma Smile – Coolonaut (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
While many artists might choose to tease the prospective audience with such marketing lines as “the sound of tomorrow, today,” a better sonic soubriquet for...
Colour My World – Mia Moravis and The New Bardots (reviewed...
How artists choose to interpret another artist's song is always interesting to observe. But for me, it is the song that they select that...
By The Book – Olina (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
On reflection, the way we (and when I say we, I mean lazy journalists… not me, other lazy journalists) like to package music, film,...
Songs From The Trees, a new EP from Chris Murphy and...
Los Angeles-based Americana/roots rocker/world Musician Chris Murphy is excited to announce his new seven-song EP 'Songs From The Trees', a collaboration with British folk royalty...
Sunrise – Logan Metz (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
We, humans, are solar-powered creatures. The sun comes up and recharges our batteries. It gives us the energy to get on with our day,...
Point of You – The Heard Eye (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As a title, "Point of You" is a wonderfully open and ambiguous phrase. Is it accusatory? Is it a chance to list your achievements?...
A Glimpse For Bobby – When Mountains Speak (reviewed by Dave...
Although written in tribute to the recently departed Bob Weir, visionary musician and one of the founder members of The Grateful Dead, you could...
When Alone – MatAre (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is a very telling comment in the accompanying blurb for this latest single from Atlanta sonic dreamscaper MatAre, and it is this. When asked about the making...
Immersed in Sound and Vision: A step into the multi-disciplined world...
Found constantly juggling a busy career in both film and music, I managed to sit Bosco down long enough to chat about his latest...
Time – Martin Kuiper (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
In the sixties, popular myth tells us that you were either a fan of The Beatles or The Stones, one tribe or the other, the choice was intricately...
Take a Ride – Jeff Vidov (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Jeff Vidov makes music that takes the familiar and re-presents it as a fresh entity. He fashions a modern, of the here and now sound from sonic...
Bottles – The Unfamiliars? (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is undoubtedly a pop-punk element to “Bottles,” particularly when it hits its stride and races away, but even then, it is the other...
What Living Is For – George Collins Band (reviewed by Dave...
Before I get into the actual sound of the latest one from George Collins, I need to talk about the spirit of his music, those intangible...
Bright Star – Mr Nic (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
"Bright Star" is one of those smart tracks that carries you along without you even registering the fact, slow-burning from understated sonics to anthemic...
Devil’s Got Your Soul – Mangy Mutt (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The Blues has always had an unhealthy relationship with the darker forces of the world. It’s a dirty job…and all that. And not only...
To Stay – Sasha Joy (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
To be able to weave together a sound that both echoes the sound of long and lauded, soul-soaked R&B and feels perfectly at home...
Out of Obscurity – Bill Barlow (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As “No Stopping Me Now” kicks off this excellent value for money album (23 tracks !), as this opening salvo’s seductive flavours and deft...
Likethelast – Highroad No. 28 (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
“Likethelast” is many things, but before you get stuck into what the song is actually woven from, as it sets off on its sonic...
Overlord – Forgotten Garden (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Blending a modern alt-pop vibe with a slightly post-punk sonic spirit, “Overlord,” the latest single from Scottish-Portugese duo Forgotten Garden, is both timely and timeless,...
To Love To Peace Today – Ooberfuse (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There are many reasons to like, admire… and indeed love what Ooberfuse do, from their adventurous and eclectic sound, their ability to blend the fresh with...
Amarna Letters – Lekursi (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I love it when my two worlds collide, those worlds being music and history. Music might be how I pay the bills, but history...
Nothing Will Stay The Same – MothBreath (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If I have faced a certain problem with MothBreath’s previous singles, “Freedom Machine” and “Misty Blue,” then it is doubly the case with their latest,...
Cage of Water (the Remixes) – David Cloyd (reviewed by Dave...
I’m a big fan of the idea of songs having long and alternative lives. By that I mean that whilst we all have songs...
Going Round – Adoria (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Adoria is not a band; it is a story, or so the accompanying blurb claims. It tells of that age-old first step of musicians throughout...
