Album Review: You Me At Six – SUCKAPUNCH (2021)

The first album cycle you share with a band, at whatever part of their career they're at, is always special. The excitement at all of the new stuff, the desperate attempts to absorb all of their old stuff (if they have old stuff to absorb), the raw beauty of discovering new music at the same …

Book Review: Luke Jennings – Die For Me (Killing Eve book 3)

The saga which inspired one of the most talked-about TV shows of all time appears to have come to its' conclusion - and I don't know whether to be disappointed or thankful. It's impossible to not compare the written story with that of 'Killing Eve', and I must say, for the most part, the books …

The Sound of 2020: Ryan’s Top 25 Songs Of The Year

I listen to a wild amount of music. When I say wild, Spotify Wrapped told me that I listened to 1,816 different artists this year... and when you listen to that much, there's always going to be a massive range of music. From rock to pop, to drum and bass and indie, there is something …

Album Review: Paloma Faith – Infinite Things (2020)

Amidst a pandemic, health scares and a pregnancy, Paloma Faith is back with 'Infinite Things', her fifth album. I've only over the summer got into Paloma's music, primarily her third album, 2014's 'A Perfect Contradiction'. For some reason, I started to truly appreciate her baroque, 1960s-influenced sound only this year. However, on starting to listen …

Album Review: Kylie Minogue – DISCO (2020)

Disco queen Kylie Minogue has released her fifteenth album, a disco-themed disco album, fittingly called... 'Disco'. Album 15. Not many even get that far, and even fewer get to it still writing incredible tracks and making brilliant music. We've known for twenty years or more (well, people who are old enough to remember when I …

Album Review: Little Mix – Confetti (2020)

Following on from leaving Simon Cowell's label after 2018's LM5, Little Mix are back with their sixth studio album, 'Confetti'. From the first bars of 'Break Up Song' - both the first track and the lead single - you're immediately transported to the mid 2010s and before, when life was simpler. It feels nostalgic and …

TV Review: Pose (Seasons 1&2)

This review will (obviously) contain spoilers. Don't read on if you want to avoid them... just press play. Season 1: ★★★★★★ (6/10)Season 2: ★★★★★★★★★★ (10/10) It's my first review for this blog for a long time. A month is a very long time in this world, but maybe I've realised that I need to shut …

TV Review: Des (2020)

The chilling true story of Dennis Nilsen's killing spree between 1978 and 1983 has been tastefully placed into an ITV three-part drama, to universal acclaim. With some incredible acting performances - especially from David Tennant and Daniel Mays - it's two and a half hours of television which is worth a catch up on the …

Book Review: Lucy Foley – The Hunting Party

An Agatha Christie-esque modern whodunnit, set in a remote location in the Scottish Highlands... but in this murder-mystery, not only the killer was in question until the final twist.... 'The Hunting Party' is an ingenious work of fiction, which in some ways proves that books can still create stories which would not work on television …

‘Hypersonic Missiles’ is the perfect album for 2020 – here’s why it has made such an impact on me

Although written in extremely different circumstances between 2017 and 2019, Sam Fender's debut album feels as if it was perfectly written for the toughest year that many of us have ever - and hopefully, will ever - face. I could have written a retrospective review of 'Hypersonic Missiles' - next week marks one week since …