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.
We Are Chaos – The Graceland Conspiracy (reviewed by Dave Fanklin)
For a song with such a provocative title, The Graceland Conspiracy gives us something decidedly dreamy, accessible, light, and lovely. But I guess that gets to...
Festival in a Bar – Fools Arcade (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
‘Festival in a Bar’ is a wonderfully self-referential song. It’s both a love letter to the music pubs and basement venues that keep the...
Conditions – Cable Street Riot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As the claustrophobic intensity of ‘Conditions’ envelops the listener, as the disorienting glitchiness scratches at your consciousness, and the bass pulses, firing salvos of...
Wild West: American Stories – Grant Maloy Smith (reviewed by Dave...
Most music made in the modern age is made for entertainment, and to a degree, that has always been the case. But there was...
Unanswered – mokroïé (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I remember watching a short film years ago that visually chronicled a journey from the outer reaches of the known universe to the molecular-level...
Invisible (Four Ways) – Energy Whores (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is a widely accepted fact that any song of value can stand up to reinterpretation or remix, reimagination or reworking, proof that it...
Sellout’s Prelude – Ava Renn (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Calling Ava Renn a pop artist would do her a disservice, or at least only scratch the surface of the music she makes. Okay, if it...
Keeping it Real: The Real Anthem on genre, geography and what...
With two singles now out ahead of an album to follow, it was the perfect time to sit down with Matt King, Andy Mitchell and Shawn Helton of The Real...
Spaceship414 – Zoë Zohar (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If dream-pop is a very specific genre, woven from shimmering sonics and neo-psychedelic vibes, and dreamy pop is more an approach to mainstream pop where atmosphere and haze...
Take Me To The Sea – Mothbreath (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The word ‘elemental’ hardly begins to sum up ‘Take Me To The Sea,’ the latest musical marine odyssey from Mothbreath. They have always made music...
LA to NY – Harley DiNardo (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
One discussion that comes up in musical circles from time to time is the question of the difference between rock ‘n’ roll and its...
That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star – Sean MacLeod (reviewed...
I’ve probably said this before, but it is worth repeating: the best music doesn’t fit neatly into one genre or another. Doesn’t it stand...
Now or Never – Broken Colours (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Give ‘Now or Never’ an initial spin, and you might come away thinking, yes, a pretty cool indie track. Go again, and you pick...
Feasting – The Sway (HK remix) (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I love what The Sway has done with ‘Feasting,’ not only because it reminds you of what a great remix can achieve, but also because...
Crinkles – Random Shapes (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
You don’t go to a local gig expecting to leave with an album that sounds like both a long-lost jazz-funk-prog record and the sound...
Abbey Road Impressions – Alex Otey (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Abbey Road isn't simply the name of The Beatles' final album; the studio of the same name is regarded as one of the great...
A Cure That Will Save the Both of Us – Gwen...
Gwen might sound like the name of a female folk-popster, but it's actually a New York art-rock outfit, and a rather smart one at...
Matchbox – SUNTWIST (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
SUNTWIST: a band so cool, they are as hot as hell! Listen to their latest EP, Matchbox, and you’ll find music that flows beautifully as it...
Run – Tallulah Rendall (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although the lyrics of ‘Run’ seem to describe a panic attack, at least on the surface, dig a little deeper and a bigger picture...
Deadlight Dance/Flowers of Sacrifice @ The Tuppenny, Swindon 17th Sep ’26
Ahh, those were the days, my formative years spent in basement rock clubs drenched in dry ice, the smell of patchouli, the floor sticky...
Living in a Dream – Alex Tranter (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
You often see music like this tagged as easy-listening, which it is in the most objective meaning of the phrase, but this oft-maligned term...
The Eternal Conflict – Erik Hansen (self-released)
How do you appeal to those happy in the rock-and-roll comfort zones but who want something new? How do you lean into the great...
Single Premiere: The Greatest Gift – Leem of Earth (reviewed by...
Taken from the band’s forthcoming album, SEE, an ambitious concept album inspired by George MacDonald’s Victorian-era fairy tale The Princess and Curdie, ‘The Greatest Gift’...
The Monologue Conversation – I Plead Irony (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I always feel that a band can say much before you even get to the music; artwork and titles can speak volumes. So with...
Slightly Out of Focus – Brendan Ranney (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Everyone needs a breather now and then, a bit of a rest to come back recharged, refreshed, and ready for the fray. But come...
Single Premiere: Do As You Please (Live & Unplugged at the...
In the creative world, with the technology available in a modern studio, even a small setup in the corner of a bedroom makes it...
Spill My Guts – Jess Yaffa (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although ‘Spill My Guts’ is quite a graphic-sounding title, what follows is a dreamy and drifting pop song, one built of deft lines and...
I Could Love You – Midniter (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
This fourth and final single, which paves the way for the release of Midniter’s debut album, Xeno, is not only a gorgeous slice of alt-pop; it’s...
RUBBERNECK – Robyn Maddox (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It’s not so much that ‘RUBBERNECK’ sounds timeless in the way that you would usually use the word – beyond generic chronological categorisation –...
Time Blindness – GU-RU (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The GU-RU is back…hurrah… and ‘Time Blindness’ is a real winner of a tune…hurrah again. If you are looking for a bit of an escape from...
