The Aristocrats… is there really anything left to be said about this obscenely talented band? Guthrie Govan, Marco Minnemann and Bryan Beller have spent more than a decade releasing albums of mind-bending – but always with a point – content…
View More The Aristocrats – DUCK
Acapela Studio, Pentyrch, Cardiff Thursday, 22nd February 2024 It’s cold and wet outside, but inside the cosy confines of Acapela it’s warm and filled with the smell of freshly baked pizza. Arriving fairly early to make sure I could grab…
View More Soft Machine
The Victoria, Swindon Sunday 18th February 2024 The Vic is a lovely venue, friendly and welcoming with an excellent stage room downstairs, today laid out with seats to rest the weary bones of the 30+ lucky audients who have assembled…
View More Richard Wileman & Chantelle Smith / VÄLVĒ
The Bunkhouse, Swansea Friday, 9th February 2024 Swansea… breaker of dreams and, for a long time, the cultural equivalent of putting the bins out. But wait! Things are beginning to change, and we’re now seeing bands from as far away…
View More Godsticks / Karmen Field / Edit The Tide
Some musicians stand head and shoulders above the rest as legends of their chosen instrument, and John McLaughlin is undoubtedly in that category, the ‘legend’ tag fitting him like a glove. As the title of Matt Phillips’ enthralling unpackaging of…
View More Matt Phillips – John McLaughlin: From Miles and Mahavishnu to The 4th Dimension
Richard Wileman’s fourth solo album, The Forked Road, sees him integrate more of the elements he has used so vividly through the years on his Karda Estra releases whilst retaining the distinct personality of the recent work done under his…
View More Richard Wileman – The Forked Road
Eight months to the day after the release of the fantastic collaborative album from PoiL Ueda, a second volume has arrived, entitled Yoshitsune. The initial release is hands down my favourite of 2023, underlined by the two shows I saw…
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Sin City, Swansea Monday, 11th December 2023 Music is the best. Frank Zappa’s words continue to resonate, and seldom is music better than what was delivered on this particularly rainy night in Swansea – it was wetter than a haddock’s…
View More Jon Gomm / Jo Quail
Cellist and composer Jo Quail has been wowing live audiences with her solo shows for a number of years now – with particular love coming from the metal community, for whom she plays regular festival shows. Her new release, Invocation…
View More Jo Quail – Invocation / Supplication
Acapela Studio, Pentyrch, Cardiff Sunday, 5th November 2023 I recently saw Italian band The Watch at the lovely Acapela Studio near Cardiff, the same venue where I caught them nearly two years to the day before. This time was the…
View More The Watch