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.
Losing (The Only Game In Town) – The Scarlet Goodbye (reviewed...
Not that you can ever pin down The Scarlet Goodbye as they creatively careen and sonically skid all over the musical map, or at least the...
The Noise Is Ours – Seasurfer (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As the chiming, crystalline vocals of ‘Flurry Glory’ give way to equally chiming and crystalline, yet dark and dense shoegaze textures, we find Seasurfer leading us...
Coming Home – The Real Anthem (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Sitting in a space that touches the generic fringes of all the sounds that have been a constant in my life – post-punk, alt-rock,...
Bird That Used To Sing – The Sunmills (reviewed by Dave...
The Sunmills have, over the last couple of years, built a reputation for delivering a lively collision of indie rock and energetic funk, a sound...
Mondo Judex – Judex (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
When you read through the annals of music history, it is never the big success stories and multi-platinum-selling bands, the artists that make enough...
Parakeets – Oaken Wires (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I really enjoyed Oaken Lee’s run of spacious, modern-folk singles that drifted into the review pile last year, but this latest release, which sees him...
Practiced Lines – French Inhaler (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is fair to say that recent singles from French Inhaler, namely ‘TV Love’ and ‘Plastic Ocean’, piqued my interest in this Chicago trio, and after all,...
Farewell The World – Carlos Grassot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Some people keep a record of their life through a journal, a place where they can write down their intimate thoughts and muse on...
not with me – Sophia Casson-Smith (ft. George Mercer)
‘not with me’ is music from the Deep South…Hampshire, UK, to be exact. But it is flavored with sounds recognizably from below the Mason-...
Down For The Ride – Tristan Roberson (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The opening, title track tells you everything you need to know about why Tristan Roberson is becoming known as the poster boy of the modern...
Ben Lester – Ben Lester (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Ben Lester has been forging his own signature sound from an early age, combining intricate melodies, ambitious arrangements and a fascination with studio potential. Like...
Fly Away – Steve Stinson (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Travel might broaden the mind, but there comes a point where you find yourself so far out, so far from home, so ready to...
Just Another Me – Lala Vale (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
While you might argue over where ‘Just Another Me’ sits in the grand scheme of things – pop, rock, indie – it is the...
Kill The Algorithm – Shaven Primates (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Progressive grunge? Is that a thing? Well, if not, it is now! That is perhaps the best way to concisely frame the songs on Kill...
Inside Out (Radio Edit) – Sean MacLeod (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I’m sure such undercurrents have always been there, but ‘Inside Out’ and the album it’s taken from, That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star, feel...
In Your Eyes – Dysmusia (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If pop music is generally shiny, instantaneous and groove-led, and folk music more often leaning towards the rustic, raw and real, then ‘In Your...
Failure to Comply – Mr. MiLK (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
'Failure To Comply' is less a piece of EDM and more an exercise in soundscaping, less about the consistency that usually goes with music...
Helvegr – Skarnheim (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
‘Helvegr’ seems to come from a very different place than most contemporary music, especially as, in many ways, it doesn’t sound that contemporary at...
One Shot – Bliss Carmxn (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Okay, a quote from a Rocky...
Revenge of the Bond Girl – Bond Girl (reviewed by Dave...
James Bond is a divisive figure, definitely a character who hasn’t moved with the times, and even the modern take on him is of an...
Cheap Rosé – Jay Saint James (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The singer-songwriter image has often been that of an earnest, folky, coffee-shop gigging roots player, disseminating serious songs about social issues and insightful introspection....
Buck Up/Sweet Tooth – Samantha Starr Stefanik (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
New Jersey singer-songwriter Samantha Starr Stefanik has built a reputation for a very distinct signature sound. But it is hard to place on the...
Always Be Mine – Ed Sykes and Friends (reviewed by Dave...
A lifetime of listening thanks to the day job (there is a pun in the band name if you look deep enough) means that...
Have Much – Bog Witch (reviewed Dave Franklin)
Wendy DuMond’s sonic world is not like others, and I mean that in the very best of ways. It just works differently, because, I...
The Bee Charmer – Emily Ashberry (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Emily Ashberry has one of those voices, one of those crystalline, timeless, and Joni-esque sounds that feels as if it would sit perfectly in any...
Terror By Night – Arms & Armour (reviewed b y Dave...
I know that it is my job to put music into words on behalf of the music that falls under my pen, but sometimes,...
Being Here – Litvar (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Experiencing certain significant life events often makes us look at the world differently. Similarly, they can make musicians approach their craft with new resolve, exploring...
Road Less Traveled – Circus Mind (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Circus Mind have been teasing the tracks of this album out, one succulent single at a time, for the past year, a great way to...
Dancing With The Spirits – MatAre (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although MatAre has made a name for himself blending the more pop-infused, polished end of the post-punk sound into music suited to the current age, his...
Bongo Boy Rock n ‘Roll TV Show Episode Number 7 Season...
At the beginning of the month, Bongo Boy put out The 250 Years of America, a double album to celebrate that country's semiquincentennial, a...
