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.
One Blood – Mind Museum
Even thought they are a Bristol based outfit, through their working relationship with Swindon based Secret Chord Records, Mind Museum are slowly becoming part...
Give The Anarchist a Cigarette – Mick Farren
With the recent passing of Mick Farren, it seems the perfect time to look back on the man’s life and what better way to...
The return of The Racket
As a wise man once said, “The boys are back in town,” and they definitely are, the boys in this case being The Racket. It’s...
Hormones – Dead Royalties (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It seems very apt that in a week when every music publication worth its salt is reminiscing on the god-like legacy of Kurt Cobain,...
On Hire – Cole Stacey & Joseph O’Keefe (reviewed...
Imagine a dusty old backstreet antiques shop that sold not the heirlooms and curios of the past but the music of those eras, not...
Between Dog and Wolf – New Model Army
Tumbling out of the wreckage of the dying punk movement, New Model Army were always flag bearers for a darker and more thoughtful alternative,...
The AK Poets @ The Beehive, Swindon – Feb ’14
There is a well-worn adage about old dogs and new tricks, but when the old tricks seem to be much more entertaining than anything...
Watchword – Mr Love and Justice
Historical, socio-political, agri-folk pop does not form a massive section in the local music shops, but if Watchword, the latest album from Mr Love...
Life in the Loading Bay – Shriekback (reviewed by...
Clichés can be useful tools, some of them anyway. For example, good things come to he who waits and quality over quantity are both...
I Tried – David Celia
From the outside, the world of the modern musician may be perceived to be one of tour busses, jet setting, swimming pools and all...
The Sound of Meat – Schnauser
I think Schnauser come from another planet. That’s not a social comment on the state of Bristol; I suspect Bristol is just the town...
Run Back To The Safety of Town – Benny Zen and...
I always look forward to the little packages of CD’s that I am sent from Jezus Factory Records, they tend to be amongst the...
Bending The Dark – The Imagined Village
Like a bunch of genetic scientists beavering away in secret laboratories, for the last decade The Imagined Village have been exploring the secrets of...
The Last Days of Rock and Roll – The Snakes
Alt-country is a loaded tag, especially the second half of the term. Most people who think that country music starts with Dolly Parton and...
Drunkaleidoscope – Sukilove (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Like pretty much all of the music that emanates from the Jezus Factory roster, Sukilove are a band that defy easy labeling. You might...
“I Couldn’t Die Now, I’d Only Just Got A Video Recorder.”...
Danny Baker has lead a charmed life; and like fellow music obsessive and presenter Andy Kershaw it has largely about being in the right...
Neptune Estate – King Krule
The Zoo Kid is back! Well, I guess he never went away. It’s just with ever shifting stage names to match the differing styles...
A Funny Thing You Said – Superman Revenge Squad (reviewed by...
Things I like. Bands with tongue in cheek, ridiculously long names (though not those over-earnest metal bands that try too hard…who wants to go...
Wake Me When It’s Over – The Courtney Yasmineh Band
Well, if you ask me (and if you are reading this you kind of did) the evolution of the rock chick and all that...
I Wanna Be Okay – Melinda Ortner (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
After a slew of UK Brit School babes being turned out with an eye on dominating the charts, from the nostalgic soul drenched Adele...
Phantoms – The Driftwood Fairytales
Although an easy label for The Driftwood Fairytales would be folk-rock, it’s a term I really despise; most bands associated with the name are...
A Thousand Times Before – Goodbye Labrador
Long distance relationships are pretty hard to work with, more so if that relationship happens to be based around being in a band. The...
Urban Fox – Steve Folk
The word troubadour is banded around all too readily these days, I’m as guilty as anyone, but anyone who spends a summer living, recording...
Familiars e.p. – Familiars (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Networking, that’s the word. Or put another way, it pays to badger those people who may be able to help your band get on. ...
Being Ragdollian – George Wilding (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I know it is a rather clichéd thing to say, but isn’t it great when you stumble across a young, local artist who is...
Cave of Swimmers – Arcade Parade
When I reviewed the single Cave of Swimmers at the end of last year, I praised this young band as “one to watch” for...
18th Century Romantic Poets – The Illustrations.
It’s always nice to come across young bands who remind you that the future of the local music scene is being passed on to...
Horizons – Whitemoor
When we find ourselves this far down the indie highway, you could assume that everything has been tried and tested. From it’s post punk...
Letting Go – Great Cynics
A lot of bands list influences that are more wishful thinking that an accurate description of the noise that they make. I’ve reviewed bands...
Inch of Doubt – Born Thief
In a world that it is generally filled with indent-i-kit indie rock at one extreme and disposable, studio hatched, created by committee, dance music...
