Month: February 2017

• Kreutzer Quartet: Choreography, The Soundtrack

  So: you make a film about the importance of seeing music being played, featuring pieces that have a strong visual component (by Stravinsky, Ligeti, Lutoslawski and Finnissy). Then you release a CD soundtrack of that film. In other words, this is a CD of music that’s meant to be seen being played, that accompanies a […]

  jerobear

  February 28, 2017

  Classical

  albums, Alsager Chronicle, Biddulph Chronicle, buy this, Choreography, Congleton Chronicle Series, good music, György Ligeti, Igor Stravinsky, Jem Condliffe, Kreutzer Quartet, London, Metier MSV92105, Michael Finnissy, Mihailo Trandafilovski, Morgan Goff, Neil Heyde, new music, opinion, Peter Sheppard Skaerved, review, Royal Academy of Music, Sandbach Chronicle, Second String Quartet, String Quartet, The Duke’s Hall, The Soundtrack, Three Pieces for string quartet, Witold Luoslawski

• Leif Vollebekk: Twin Solitude

  Vollebekk is a Montreal singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is/was a fan of Nick Drake. We’d also guess he’s a big fan of David Gray, whose White Ladder this sounds very much like. For older readers, Gray was a singer-songwriter whose fourth album White Ladder was massive, partly helped by a memorable televised performance at […]

  jerobear

  February 27, 2017

  Folk, Indie, Pop rock

  albums, All Night Sedans, Alsager Chronicle, Biddulph Chronicle, Big Sky Country, buy this, Congleton Chronicle Series, East of Eden, Elegy, good music, Into the Ether, Jem Condliffe, Leif Vollebekk, Michigan, new music, opinion, Rest, review, Road to Venus, Sandbach Chronicle, Telluride, Twin Solitude, Vancouver Time

• Nell Bryden: Bloom

  “Singer-songwriter and BBC Radio Two favourite” says the Press release, which almost tells you all you need to know. It’s very melodic and carefully crafted and, for style, Carole King / Carly Simon. Classy, melodic tunes, delivered in a classic style. On one level, it’s flawless. Bryden has a pleasing, soulful mid-range voice, does nothing […]

  jerobear

  February 25, 2017

  Pop rock, Uncategorized

  albums, Alsager Chronicle, Barcelona’s Gone, Biddulph Chronicle, Bloom, buy this, City Rose, Congleton Chronicle Series, Dared the World and Won, Feels So Good to Cry, good music, Gunshot Grey, Holes In My Shoes, In the Morning, Jem Condliffe, Lie to You, My House, Nell Bryden, Never Too Late, new music, opinion, review, Sandbach Chronicle, The Olive Tree, Thought I Was Meant For You, What Is It You Want

• Lower Than Atlantis: Safe In Sound

  This is Lower Than Atlantis’ fifth studio album, which means they’re pretty good at what they do: delivering friendly, accessible melodic rock. The obvious references we can think of are on the pop side: Athlete (on a good day) and even ELO, though maybe a little of Incubus and melodic rock bands like Jimmy Eat […]

  jerobear

  February 24, 2017

  Uncategorized

  A Night to Forget, albums, Alsager Chronicle, Biddulph Chronicle, Boomerang, buy this, Congleton Chronicle Series, Could Be Worse, Dumb, good music, I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore, I Would, Jem Condliffe, Long Time Coming, Lower Than Atlantis, Money, new music, opinion, review, Safe In Sound, Sandbach Chronicle, Work For It

• Amber Run: For A Moment, I Was Lost

  Amber Run play atmospheric indie pop of a kind that you’ve heard before, but it’s got a fresh sound and it’s entertaining. It’s emotional pop with soaring harmonies aplenty and slightly falsetto vocals, the instrumentation lush and multi-layered. It starts off well with Insomniac, an emotive tune that reminded us of Longview. Amber Run also […]

  jerobear

  February 23, 2017

  Pop rock

  albums, Alsager Chronicle, Amber Run, Are You Home?, Athlete, Biddulph Chronicle, buy this, Congleton Chronicle Series, Dark Bloom, Fickle Game, good music, Haze, I Was Lost, Insomniac, Island, Jem Condliffe, Machine, new music, No Answers, opinion, Perfect, review, Sandbach Chronicle, Stranger, Wastelands, White Lie

• Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes: Modern Ruin

  A friend in music radio once told us that some pretty decent bands fail because their members are so unpleasant — be mean to venues, music journalists and sound engineers and your career will be short lived. By the same token, Frank Carter must be the nicest man in music. Despite a decade-long career that’s […]

  jerobear

  February 22, 2017

  Punk, Rock

  Acid Veins, albums, Alsager Chronicle, Biddulph Chronicle, Bluebelle, buy this, Congleton Chronicle Series, God Is My Friend, good music, Jackals, Jem Condliffe, Lullaby, Modern Ruin, Neon Rust, new music, opinion, Real Life, review, Sandbach Chronicle, Snake Eyes, Thunder, Vampires, Wild Flowers

• Menace Beach: Lemon Memory

  The new year is not even a month old (well it is now, but not as we write) and we have already got two albums that could still be favourites at the end of the year. One is Frank Carter (see elsewhere) and the other is this. Menace Beach are certainly confident — they open […]

  jerobear

  February 21, 2017

  Indie, Pop rock

  albums, Alsager Chronicle, Biddulph Chronicle, buy this, Can’t Get a Haircut, Congleton Chronicle Series, Darlatoid, Give Blood, good music, Hexbreaker II, Jem Condliffe, Lemon Memory, Maybe We’ll Drown, Menace Beach, new music, opinion, Owl, review, Sandbach Chronicle, Sentimental, Suck it Out, Watch Me Boil

• Kenari Quartet: French Saxophone Quartets

  This fun album features pieces that used what was still a relatively new-fangled instrument in the classical form. The sax was invented in 1846 by the eponymous Mr Sax, and the pieces on here (from Dubois, Pierné, Françaix, Desenclos, Bozza and Schmitt) were written in the early to mid-20th century. French composers apparently went mad […]

  jerobear

  February 20, 2017

  Classical, Uncategorized

  albums, Alsager Chronicle, Andante et Scherzo, Biddulph Chronicle, Bozza, buy this, Congleton Chronicle Series, Desenclos, Dubois, Françaix, good music, Introduction et variations sur une ronde populaire, Jem Condliffe, Kenari Quartet French Saxophone Quartets, new music, opinion, Petit quatuor, Pierné, review, Sandbach Chronicle, Saxophone Quartet, Schmitt

• Natalia Andreeva: Piano Sonatas

  We reviewed her Preludes And Fugues the other week and it was delightful, the pianist interpreting various piano pieces for their spiritual side. This companion CD is less ethereal in feel, more of the concert hall than the cathedral, the closing section from Debussy aside. In the (again, very clear) sleeve notes, she writes she […]

  jerobear

  February 18, 2017

  Classical

  Beethoven, Debussy, Estampes, L. 100: No. 1. Pagodes, L. 100: No. 2. La soirée dans Grenade (Evening in Granada), L. 100: No. 3. Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain), ma non troppo – Più mosso – Tempo primo, Op. 14: I. Allegro, Op. 14: II. Scherzo: Allegro marcato, Op. 14: III. Andante, Op. 14: IV. Vivace – Moderato – Vivace, Op. 70, Op. 90: I. Mit lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck, Op. 90: II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen, Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major, Piano Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Piano Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Prokofiev, Scriabin

• The Wintertons Unmuzzled: The Life and Times of Nick and Ann Winterton by Sarah Winterton

  Former MPs Ann (Congleton) and Nick (Macclesfield) Winterton are very much Marmite figures. People either detest them for their right-wing views that seem to date back to Empire days (Ann is opposed to gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia), or love them as hard-working constituency MPs who stood up to authority and always spoke their minds. […]

  jerobear

  February 17, 2017

  Books

  he Wintertons Unmuzzled, Sarah Winterton