One of the reasons for Liverpool’s cultural richness is its ever-changing nature; though the docks are no longer the huge influence they once were, the influx of nationalities and artists from regions all over the UK and Europe is testament to the pull the city has.
The World Capital Of Pop is offered up here on a compilation heavy on the art of songwriting. Paul Wilkes, a kind of more wistful mini-Ashcroft, pops up next to ‘Scousewegian’ angsty rocker Kaya, while The Prelude’s delightfully-titled Go Folk Yourself is self-explanatory and draws on the skiffly Celtic rock that pops up in Liverpool bars from time to time, mirrored by the 60s groove of The Cubical, complete with Beefheart-esque vocals.
Elsewhere, Lizzie Nunnery provides the purest folk on the release, with a voice to span the centuries, and Friday’s Ghost up the broodiness quotient. Ragz, one of the most natural talents the city has produced for ages, comes over all fairground-folk-rock on Run, and the rather infectious Life’s Alright ends it all, courtesy of Mark Jones. You could ask 10 people to put together a compilation like this and get 10 different tracklists – the sign of a healthy artistic crucible and one that’s represented sensitively here.
