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.
Sombra Del Sol – Spanish Castles (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It’s a hot day; the sun is streaming through the office window; the cat is lounging on the wall outside doing a passable impression...
Vox Populi – Deadlight Dance (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
With all things goth, post-punk, and darkwave having a real resurgence of late, Deadlight Dance finds itself perfectly placed to surf the dark prevailing zeitgeist. Not...
Sunrise Hunters – Tessa and Friends (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Even though Sunrise Hunters, the latest album from Tessa and Friends, runs from the most understated indie to quite anthemic rock, there is always something dreamy...
At Last, I Found You – Christine Plays Viola (reviewed by...
If there is a hallmark element to what we broadly term the gothic sound, it is the twin attack of those driving beats and...
Flo Crowe & The Dilemmas – Flo Crowe & The Dilemmas...
As “Bigger and Brighter” explodes from minimal chill-step into a bigger and brighter (ha!) electro-pop soundscape, you realize that what you thought might be...
What A Way To Go – Shawn Brown (reviewed by Dave...
If Bruce Springsteen made pop records, this is what they’d sound like. Okay, that is a bit of a throwaway, rhetorical statement, but it does get...
Make America – Charlotte Morris (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is very easy to be enraged by world events; the fractures and entrenchment in America at the moment are perhaps the most conspicuous...
Lucky For Me – Chris Keaton and The Millennials (reviewed by...
Playing such traditional music in this supposedly progressive age could be seen as an act of rebellion, a bit like not having an arm...
Violin Songs – Maura Dunst (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If you are going to cover other people’s songs, then you need to bring something new to the table; otherwise, what is the point?...
Stuck – Camille K (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As a “music writer,” I tend to have a high-falutin ‘ opinion of myself, as if I’m using my accumulated years of scribbling experience...
In The Blur (remixed) – Waves Crashing (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As I have stated many times before, I am a big fan of the remix. I’m old enough to remember when remixing tracks was...
Witness – The Life of Christ – Miguel De La Wiest...
Instrumental music is, by its very nature, a more expressive form of communication than mere words. Where music that relies on lyrics to tell...
Ain’t No Fool – Mortal Prophets (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
While many bands make albums as part of an ongoing, zeitgeist-adherence, expectation-delivering next step in a predictable journey, as Mortal Prophets, John Beckmann is everything opposed to...
Tides – The Bergamot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I have waxed lyrical about Nathaniel Paul’s gorgeous and graceful music many times before on this platform, so it was fantastic to read that The Bergamot is...
Sky Bleeds – MothBreath (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Most of the music that lands on my desk is merely work. Of course, I put the effort in, but at the end of...
t-shirt sleeves – teo tala (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Do you believe that pop music should be instantly infectious from the first beat and bar? Do you like witty music? Relatable? Nostalgic? Do...
Better Off Lost – The Songs of Butler & Cupples (reviewed...
If this is the future of indie-folk, then I’m all for it. If this is a vision of what Americana might be if it...
Pouring Rain – Clarity Liao (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is dream-pop, and then there is dream pop. Let me explain. If the former refers to a genre, a place of shimmering soundscapes...
David – Mazmere (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
David is an EP of music connected by a stark theme: loss. It wasn’t intended that way, but both via subject matter and collaboration,...
How To Replace Anxiety With A Broken Heart – James White...
The fact that what starts out feeling like a snippet from the local news ends up moving through the realms of psychology and philosophy,...
Neverending Night – Rough Grind (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There can be a temptation for bands in the realm of rock music to approach every new album as if they have to reinvent...
Welcome To My Heart – Zachary Mason (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
With Welcome To My Heart, we find Zachary Mason at his most vulnerable, three intimate songs that are unambiguous, not to mention brave in their openness and...
You Can’t Spell Sweetheart Without Thea – carolesdaughter (reviewed by Dave...
There is a clever conundrum at the heart of the music found on You Can’t Spell Sweetheart Without Thea, a juxtaposition of music that is...
Freeze – Adrielle Bow Belle (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Singles can be just that: stand-alone pieces of music. But that isn’t always the case; something that gets slightly lost in this age when...
Rain, Steam and Speed – Hellkern Warriors (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Those with even the smallest appreciation of art will recognize the title as taken from a famous painting by J.M.W. Turner, the personification of steam...
Castles in the Sky – Alias Wayne (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
This seductively simple and wonderfully graceful new song from Alias Wayne covers a lot of ground, explores many hidden depths, and weaves together some...
Light. Hope. Faith. – Cara Paige (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Devotional music is often thought of as speaking only to those who share the artist's beliefs, but the finest examples transcend faith, drawing on...
Little Gold Spark – Melissa Reed (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Music can be many things, and at its most extreme, it can shoulder the weight of the world, exploring complex emotions, difficult truths, and...
9/8 – Leyla Romanov (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A dance track that is tricky to dance to? Who would do such a thing? Well, that is the sort of boundaries we find Leyla...
Mind Control – The Heat Inc (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
When I say that The Heat Inc is the antidote to the clever-clever-isation of rock and roll music, I'm not for one minute saying...
