Category: Album Reviews

June 6, 2023 / Album Reviews - Archive

IN THE WAVES (Earshift) 8/10 From the first time I heard Steve Barry, it was clear he was not just a good player, but a musical forcefield. That was around 2009, and this album is the finest instalment to date of the pianist’s bristling musical intelligence, rhythmic mutability, melodic flair…

April 3, 2023 / Album Reviews - Archive

RITUAL DIAMONDS 8/10 Imagine gazing out at a placid, turquoise-coloured lagoon, then diving in, only to discover it’s seething with sea-snakes. This music is a bit like that. The surface is all high-gloss melodies that often carry a certain beguiling tranquillity, and if you play it too softly or are…

March 13, 2023 / Album Reviews - Archive

ACROBATS 8/10 What’s this? John Farnham’s You’re the Voice?! Now there’s a song I never thought could be teased into a freer, jazzy treatment. Nonetheless, here it is on Jo Lawry’s Acrobats album, the singer proving there few barriers to her daring. She and her collaborators strip it of all…