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.
The Book of Secrets – Loreena McKennitt (reviewed by Dave...
Loreena McKennitt is not a household name for many, though she has been creating a very unique brand of music for many years, her...
Rubies and Ruffians – Strumpets (Jezus Factory)
Considering the musical endeavors the various members of Strumpets have on their musical CV (The Parallels, iH8 Camera and close connections to the heart...
The Trumpet – Mexico Indigo
Although Mexico Indigo list the usual gutter punk and indie influences by way of explaining the self styled Trashy Melodica sound that is their...
Gold or Dust – Cocos Lovers
The flippant journalist might say that Cocos Lovers are the band that Mumford and Sons wish they were. Being a flippant journalist I definitely...
Groovers on Manoeuvres: The Lovers – The Victoria, Swindon 25th April...
Pop music has always suffered from style over substance to a large degree, but when did the music take a back seat to stick...
The Slow Show, The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, 8th November...
Big test for The Simo, this one---. How on EARTH do you review a band that you’ve fallen instantly, head-over-heels, HOPELESSLY in love with?...
The Plum Tree and The Rose – Sarah McQuaid (Waterbug Records)...
After exploring the traditional styles of Ireland and The Appalachians on previous albums, her third, The Plum Tree and The Rose, has its feet firmly...
Buffalo Nickel – Dan Baird
After ten years as front man for the Georgia Satellites, Dan Baird decided to fire himself from his own band and head out on...
Navigating by the Stars – Justin Sullivan
Justin Sullivan is a man who may need an introduction, as he is not exactly what you would call a household name. He is...
One Night on Fire – Tiny fish
Generic music labels are tricky beasts at the best of times. They may be easy (or lazy) handles but they can be very limiting...
The Siege of Shoreham – Attila the Stockbroker’s Barnstormer
Although this album is listed as being by Southwick's punk poet extraordinaire, it is in fact a wider collaboration than the cover at first...
Waiting For Bonaparte – The Men They Couldn’t Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang have always been a band that are difficult to define in the scheme of things. More a rock band...
Jesus Was a Socialist – David Marx (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Coming to this album as I did at the same time as the brilliant My Crucial Execution, opens up many opportunities to compare an...
My Crucial Execution – David Marx (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
In a time long assigned to the past, but which was in reality the mid eighties, I was the owner of a demo tape...
Morrissey – Manchester Evening News Arena – 28th July 2012
Our man about town Richie Rochdale was there for a hometown show by the mercurial mozzer and tests the oft repeated slogan that suggests "Manchester is...
Metal Box In Dub, Laugharne, 15th April 2012 (reviewed by Richie...
The band featuring ex-'Public Image Ltd' Jah Wobble & Keith Levene, with Johnny Rotter & drummer Marc Layton Benett, performing the best of their...
LoveJunk – The Refugees (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The genres of pop and rock have always seemed worlds apart to many, fans and writers alike. Both are awash with cliché’s and self...
The Devil writes about all the best tunes – Apathy For...
It’s easy to forget in these days where music journalism has been reduce to sound bites and amusing lists, banal questions about fashion or...
Navigation of The World by Sound – Atari Pilot...
When putting pen to paper on behalf of Atari Pilots debut album, Navigation of the World by Sound, because it's a genre I don't...
Day In, Day Out – Moody Tuesday (reviewed by Dave...
As the opening track kicks in, lazy journalists would have Moody Tuesday pegged as just another bunch of Oasis wannbees; laddish, anthemic rock that...
Live at The Grand Pavillion – Mabon (reviewed by...
It seems that folk is becoming increasingly perceived as something to be bolted on to indie music by earnest young guys in beards and...
Bells and Proclamations – Big Block 454 (reviewed by Dave...
A lot of people are prone to levelling the argument that modern music has become safe, derivative and unadventurous. That may be true if...
Miscued Vein – Miscued vein (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Sometimes the simple approach is the best. When so many bands seem to regale themselves in convoluted mission statements, surround themselves with mysterious musical...
Mantrasphere – Mantrasphere (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
History has shown that mixing music and spirituality rarely pays off. The results are largely shallow, new age kitsch at best or stiff necked,...
The Big Red Spark – Tinyfish (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The Concept Album. Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. Okay, I suppose it never really went away but it is certainly a...
Richard – Ben Myers (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Sitting somewhere between a novel and a biographical account, Richard could be termed, for want of a better word, an imagining. Laid out as...
Stolen Conversations, Three Chords and The Truth – Tommy...
The world inhabited by Tommy Hale's songs seems a much brighter place these days. Not that it was ever overly morbid or dark, but...
A Weapon Called The Word (20th anniversary edition) – The...
1990 was a formative time for me regarding music and two bands would appear on my radar that would be both important to me...
The Antiquated and The Arcane – Three Daft Monkeys...
What is particularly appealing in the broadly termed roots and world genres, is the fact the best music seems to come from using the...
Sometime Soon – The Snakes (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Watching a band evolve over time is an interesting experience, an experience made even the more enjoyable when the people involved are familiar to...
