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.
Cupcakes and Taffy – Between Two Horse Pikes (reviewed by Dave...
You have to love a record that makes you reconsider its chosen genre half a dozen times within the first minute of the first...
Dropout Boogie – The Black Keys (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There has never been a better time to engage with The Black Keys, especially this new album Dropout Boogie. That may sound like a...
Premier: The Vrbs – The Vrbs (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I do like a good concept album. Well, I did grow up at a time when the New Wave of Prog was raging across...
Lina Luna 4k – Thy Veils (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
For many people, music is just a throwaway commodity, something to be consumed and exchanged for the next fad or fashion that is following...
Soho Rain – Weimar (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If last time out Weimar was regaling us with tales of “The Girls of L.A”, now they use their music to paint soggy scenarios...
Unkind – Ernest Moon (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I’ll always take clever lyrics over catchy music, though let’s face it, Ernest Moon has proven to be adept at both. I’ll always take...
Ephemeral Feast – La Jungle (reviewed by Peter Cousins)
La Jungle is a noise duo. From Belgium. This is their new album. It’s their fifth.
This particular album was born in the heart of...
Ancient Alibi – Akif Daboor (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is something cool, odd, and oddly cool about the way Ancient Alibi kicks off, the piano line closely matching the beat behind it...
Roman Candles II – lone wooF (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Anyone who has played in bands which have opened for the likes of Kurt Vile and Fugazi, surely has to be someone worth checking...
Exposure Therapy – Mr Johnny Ba$h (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Blues and country music has always had a gothic younger sibling, the wild and restless member of the family that you can hear in...
Another Short Conversation with Afton Wolfe
It’s been a year since we last spoke when “Dirty Girl” and “Kings For Sale” were being released, how has the world treated you...
Antidote – asmoo (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I have to admit that the term Slap House has only been on my radar for a short while, it seems that in a...
Bongo Boy Records, Vol. XXI – Various Artists (reviewed by Dave...
Just like their awesome TV series showcasing new music, Bongo Boy's compilation albums are the perfect place to keep up with the fads and...
Cult of Judex – The Judex (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Hey, what’s that sound? The one that sounds like Elvis having a nervous breakdown after he became the Stooges’ front man in 1969? Yes,...
A Small Meadow Act – Grasslands (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I love artists who seem to be chasing something other than fame, fortune, spotlights and adulation. Grasslands is one of those people. By day...
Early Grave – Chris Murphy (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If there are any troubadours left in the world, Chris Murphy is surely one. It’s not just that he has spent a lifetime taking...
For The People – Rupert Wates (reviewed by Ian O’Regan)
I always find myself approaching the term “contemporary folk” with an abundance of caution. It's a loosely defined term, if indeed it's ever been...
Lost In The Jungle – Secu (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is easy to see the musical styles that Secu uses to build his sound from - trippy urban rhythms, groovesome R&B vibes, soulful...
Covered In Blood – Joshua Ketchmark (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Blood, the album that this is taken from, contains plenty of tracks that could be put out as singles. But Covered In Blood is...
Run Rabbit – Cary Shields (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Built from the same musical structures that made blues both accessible and relevant, Run Rabbit is the modern successor of a century or more...
Blood – Joshua Ketchmark (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It's been a while since Joshua Ketchmark has passed by my pen, my fault not his. But I do remember being impressed with Her...
A Deep Dive Into the Gothic Music Scene
There has been a real resurgence of late musicians taking the dark designs that the original gothic music scene was built on. They continue...
Night Out – Bob McGilpin & Annemarie Picerno (reviewed by Dave...
As I Thank God For This Moment so elegantly and eloquently proved, Annemarie Picerno is an expert at working with established music traditions and...
If Only – Walker Brigade (reviewed by Peter Cousins)
They’re from LA. You can hear LA on this album. It screams it. In the peculiar way bands from around here might not all...
Scoundrels, Dreamers and Second Sons – The Remittance Men (reviewed by...
When most people make a connection between driving and music, that connection is driven (see what I did there?) largely by the clichéd marketing...
Fentanyl Flowers – LiiN (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Whereas with most musical styles it is enough to stay relevant and move with the times, electronic dance music always needs to sound like...
Bongo Boy Rock n Roll TV Show Series Season 11 Episode...
Just when you have finally checked out, absorbed, explored, considered and generally squeezed every essence of goodness out of the musical suggestions presented to...
St. Paul’s Boulevard – Michael McDermott (reviewed by Peter Cousins)
“Music makes a deep connection when it strikes that delicate nerve separating the personal from the universal. If the listener can use the songs...
Trial – Mr Johnny Ba$h (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Imagine if instead of being part of the post-war country music boom, Johnny Cash instead began making music in an age of samples and...
Volume I – Supplemental Pills (reviewed by Tim Thomas)
Supplemental Pills succeed with this fantastic debut release. At times primal and raw, Supplemental Pills crest on a wave of drone, and fuzz, songs...
