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.
Album Premiere: Powers of Observation – Seven Crows (reviewed by Dave...
Although Chris Murphy, the man behind the Seven Crows moniker, has been dropping singles for many months as a build-up to this album, hearing Powers of Observation in...
Album Premiere: The Chariot – Sawtooth Witch (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The blending of folk music with electronic elements is, quite logically, called “folktronica”, but clever as that tag is, it isn’t quite right for what Sawtooth...
EP Premiere: The Risk of Happiness – The Long Honeymoon (reviewed...
Just as I finished waxing lyrical about how impressive The Long Honeymoon’s songwriting chops were on the delicious The World is Waiting (okay, I was a bit...
Beast Machine Theory – Storm Boy (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Like all good bands, you can’t always pin Storm Boy down stylistically, but you can always point to their general direction. They are over there, running...
Sumatra – Paula Boggs Band (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
“Soulgrass,” that’s the name Paula Boggs has given to the music she and her band make. And although genre labels are often odd and arbitrary affairs, I...
The Noticer – Mt. Kili (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is something intimate at the heart of Mt. Kili’s songs, something hushed and whispered, as if they were never meant to be played to...
The World is Waiting – The Long Honeymoon (reviewed by Dave...
New bands, generally, come in two types. Firstly, there are the young whippersnappers, champing at the bit for attention, chasing their first taste of notice...
Against The Waves – Cable Street Riot (reviewed by Dave...
Although many bands are increasingly turning their attention to political matters and engaging in sonic social commentary, using their platform to advocate, well, anything...
We Are Echos – Across Phoenix (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Opposites, they say, attract, and that is certainly true in the case of "We Are Echos," the latest one from Across Phoenix. Somehow, they...
Floating Sheep – Floating Sheep (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Floating Sheep might easily be labeled as a “nu-jazz” outfit, but the emphasis is definitely on the word “nu.” Of course, jazz vibes and such...
8th and Alvarado – Youth “Champagne” Remix – Darling Black ...
Name-dropping is all the rage. Especially in artists’ press releases. Usually, such sheets are full of information that relates to the fact that a...
Island Ghosts – Alex Lakustra (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Rock and jazz have hardly been strangers over the 70 or so years that they have shared a space in the popular music world....
Album Premiere: Thunderbird Lodge – The Flavor That Kills (reviewed by...
Rock music is not generally known for having much to say, at least little in the way of the poignant and the profound. It...
On Reality – Tabitha Zu (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
We live in an age of nostalgia. A time when tribute bands rule the grass roots roost, where iconic bands are reforming to cover...
Please Don’t Make Me Come Back From the Moon – E....
It is quite timely to find this latest release from E.G. Phillips drop just as the Artemis II moon flights are hitting the headlines. And if the 1969...
Kielder Water Music – Dan Moore (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If there is a place that perfectly typifies where sound and psychogeography meet, where music attempts to encapsulate the idea of a place, is...
Skin on Fire – Camille Baziadoly (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
While perceived wisdom suggests that the opening track of any album needs to grab the listener fairly quickly, that doesn't mean an artist has...
Freedom – Margaret Hermant (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The worlds of classical and electronic music, of traditional orchestral sound and digital creativity, might seem, to some, to be at opposite ends of...
Hope To Hell – The Gated Community (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Music has always been a powerful tool, a voice for important issues, to provoke thoughts, spark dialogue, and make your opinion heard. The fact...
Tragedy on Market Street – Untold River (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Hear the term singer-songwriter and many people will think of those old seventies icons, or, if their thoughts turn to something more contemporary, a more...
No Dissociation – Tim Hort (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As you listen to the opener of this latest album from Tim Hort, a double no less, you get a glimpse of the complex...
Album Premiere: First Light – Dark Pale (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Progressive rock has, for some at least, been a much-maligned genre, often conjuring images of keyboard players dressed as wizards, songs about taking rings...
Mallorca 360: Ambient Wonders (Original Soundtrack) – Franco Esteve (reviewed by...
Music without lyrics is always an intriguing proposition. All too often, words guide the listener directly to the artist's intended meaning, leaving little room...
Bloom – Lady Nade (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
“Bloom” is a much-needed message of hope and support in a world where it is easy to be dazed by the speed at which...
Kaleidoscope – Michael Lazar (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If you are going to make pop music, you might as well dive right in and embrace everything the genre has to offer. And...
Down at the Polystereophonic Dive Bar – Greg Roensch (reviewed by...
The fact that Greg Roensch is, as well as a singer-songwriter, also a poet, a fiction writer, and a filmmaker, makes perfect sense when you listen...
The Mountain Lion – Merwulf (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is a wonderful swirl of contradictions at the heart of “The Mountain Lion,” the new single from Merwulf, a blend of juxtapositions and a jumble...
adreamwithinadream – ru·is (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
With a title such as "adreamwithinadream," you will probably have some idea as to what awaits you when you drop the needle on this...
On E Street (Remix) – DownTown Mystic (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Now, I’m not for one second saying that just because you happen to have Mr. Garry W. Tallent and The Mighty Max Weinberg as your engine room, you...
Lamentations – Crescent (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Okay, we’ve been here before, and without wanting to repeat myself, I love the blend of forward-thinking indie know-how and slightly acid-laced hippy-psych reverie...
