Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song

Reviews

Archive

May 22, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: There’s Only One Thing Better…

the mandarins were in the
fridge (where I wanted them)

I took them and put them
in a bowl (to gather the skins)

there is a sugar rush that comes
from eating mandarins (but my dad

doesn’t believe that fruit has
sugar, or else his doctor-friend

would have mentioned it one
night, over tennis…surely…)

Now. Where was I? Oh yes…
Mandarins…(mmmmmmmm)

Posted in Blog, Miscellany, Reviews · Tagged Mandarins, Poem, Poem: There’s Only One Thing Better…, There’s Only One Thing Better… ·

Archive

May 21, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Dirt Does Dylan

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Dirt Does Dylan

MRI

There could be an entire section of Dylan Covers Albums – if not in a music store, then certainly in my record collection. I’ve bought and sold many. A few stick around, most recently I’ve loved what both Bettye LaVette and Emma Swift had to say, and the way they said it – not least because they looked wide within that vast catalogue and found surprises, chose wisely. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album, Album Review, Bob Dylan, Covers, Covers Record, Dirt Does Dylan, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Dirt Does Dylan, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here ·

Archive

May 18, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Halloween Kills: DVD

Halloween Kills

Director: David Gordon Green

Universal Sony Pictures P/I

I finally caught up with Halloween Kills – now streaming and on DVD, I had missed its brief cinema run and was disappointed, having rewatched most of the franchise in anticipation. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged David Gordon Green, DVD, DVD Review, Film Review, Franchise, Halloween, Halloween Kills, Halloween Kills: DVD, Horror, Horror Film, Michael Myers, Movie, Movie Review, Reboot, Sequel, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here ·

Archive

May 17, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Music for Sleep: The Healing Power of the Moog

Music for Sleep

The Healing Power of the Moog

Rohs! Records

Music for Sleep is one of the monikers used by Sardinian composer, record label owner and photographer, Andrea Porcu. He is a prolific creator of minimalist music and The Healing Power of the Moog is a single, album-length track of improvised music inspired by Randall McClellan’s book, The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory, and Practice”. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Ambient, Andrea Porcu, Instrumental, Minimalist, Moog, Music for Sleep, Music for Sleep: The Healing Power of the Moog, Rohs! Records, The Healing Power of the Moog ·

Archive

May 16, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Steve Moore & Bluetech: Liminal Migration

Steve Moore & Bluetech

Liminal Migration

Ovoid Crafts

Liminal Migration is the first full collaborative album between Steve Moore (Zombi) and (Evan) Bluetech, though they have contributed to tracks together ahead of this. But here we get the synth-y soundtrack feels of Moore, couched in the comforting electronics of Bluetech. It’s a showcase for both their styles (Moore on opener Gutter Talk, Bluetech on downbeat tempo throwback Entrain Light) and a chance to hear how they combine those elements (Memory Beta) with the title track perhaps offering the perfect snapshot into this new world. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Bluetech, Collaboration, Duo, Evan Bluetech, Liminal Migration, Ovoid Crafts, Steve Moore, Steve Moore & Bluetech, Steve Moore & Bluetech: Liminal Migration, Synth, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, Zombi ·

Archive

May 13, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Zombi: ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1

Zombi

ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1

Relapse Records

The prolific Zombi (Steve Moore on bass and synths, Anthony Paterra on drums) reached out to a few friends (members of Trans Am, The Sword Zao and Pinkish Black) to help them realise a few choice power-pop and prog-lite covers. It’s a wonderful range of music that explores the synth-y or boosted by their synths outer limits of what was trendily dubbed Yacht Rock a few years back. So, Eagles, Alan Parsons Project and Michael McDonald-era Doobies then. But also Eddie Rabbit, Dionne Warwick and more. It’s a brilliant selection of tunes, winningly kicked off by a soulful and stirring version of the Barry Gibb/Barbra Streisand duet, Guilty. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Anthony Paterra, Covers, Daron Beck, Pinkish Black, Relapse Records, Steve Moore, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, Vol. 1, Volume 1, Zombi, ZOMBI & Friends, Zombi: ZOMBI & Friends Volume 1 ·

Archive

May 11, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Daniel Pemberton: Slow Horses – Season 1 (ATV+ Original Series Soundtrack)

Daniel Pemberton

Slow Horses: Season 1 (ATV+ Original Series Soundtrack)

Apple Video Programming LLC/Jackson River Films Limited, Polydor/Universal

I’m a big fan of the show Slow Horses – genius writing, casting, excellent source material, the look and feel of it is perfect too; a winner. And Daniel Pemberton’s score is instantly part of that magical, memorable for the action-frenzy cues (Airport Takedown, Floor By Floor) as well as the slinky accommodation of Mick Jagger’s sly theme tune (Strange Game appears in full at the top but Pemberton, co-writer, infuses it in some of his own cues, Slough House for instance). Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged [OST], Apple, Daniel Pemberton, Daniel Pemberton: Slow Horses - Season 1 (ATV+ Original Series Soundtrack), Gary Oldman, Mick Jagger, Score, Season 1, Slow Horses, Slow Horses: Season 1 (ATV+ Original Series Soundtrack), Soundtrack, Strange Game, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, TV ·

Archive

May 11, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Prince: Tokyo Dome 1990

Prince

Tokyo Dome 1990

Timeline

In 1990, Prince’s Nude Tour was an interesting culmination of the various live experiences he had offered to date; it wasn’t quite a pivot, but then it wasn’t really ever in celebration of either of his recently released studio albums. Yeah, you could hear a track or two from both his Batman “soundtrack” and Graffiti Bridge, but you weren’t getting layers of new songs and just a hit or two. At the same time, it wasn’t quite a greatest hits set – because some of the hits were reworked anew (Little Red Corvette) and some of the new songs were treated like giant hits (Partyman). Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged 1990, Album Review, Bootleg, Japan, Live, Live Album, Nude Tour, Prince, Prince: Tokyo Dome 1990, The Nude Tour, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, Tokyo, Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Dome 1990 ·

Archive

May 5, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Francis Harris: Thresholds

Francis Harris

Thresholds

Scissor And Thread

We’re barely hanging on, and so is this music. Must be why ambient feels – more and more – the perfect fit in this day and age. Francis Harris is an artist, DJ and producer and Thresholds is his latest set of ambient excursions. Where previously, there might be a universal theme holding an album together, Thresholds feels more like a series of musical polaroids, arranged after to create the equivalent of a photo-essay. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Album Review, Ambient, Francis Harris, Francis Harris: Thresholds, Scissor And Thread, Thresholds, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here ·

Archive

April 30, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Gig Review: Garageland (April 29, Wellington)

Garageland: Last Exit To Garageland 25th Anniversary Tour

San Fran; Wellington

Friday, April 29

Contrary to what you might think, given my obvious size and shape, I was always a fast runner. At high school I was more athletic, very busy with sports and though I was big I was quick. In the relay running team – and fast over 100m. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged 2022, 25th Anniversary Tour, Anniversary, April, April 29, Coronavirus, Covid, Covid-19, Friday, Garageland, Garageland: Last Exit To Garageland 25th Anniversary Tour, Gig, Gig Review, Gig Review: Garageland (April 29, Last Exit To Garageland, Live Gig, Live Music, Pandemic, San Fran, Wellington ·

Archive

April 29, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

BOX OF HAMMERS: Fallen Star – death of a Space Tourist

BOX OF HAMMERS

Fallen Star: death of a Space Tourist

(Independent/Bandcamp)

Wellington-based guitarist and sonic landscaper John Kingston records and releases under the name BOX OF HAMMERS. His latest EP continues his work exploring the space and texture that lies in the wake of an electric guitar when it’s layering sounds through a maze of pedals, effects and channeling the mind of the creator as he weaves a science fiction story, wordless and told through the shimmer of guitar debris. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged (Independent/Bandcamp), Album Review, BOX OF HAMMERS, BOX OF HAMMERS: Fallen Star - death of a Space Tourist, EP, Fallen Star: death of a Space Tourist, Guitar, Instrumental, John Kingston, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here ·

Archive

April 29, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Nicholas Britell: Succession – Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack)

Nicholas Britell

Succession: Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack)

Home Box Office, Inc, under exclusive license to Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

Succession has stayed in my mind across the last four years – there was a long wait for season three (due to the pandemic halting filming) and as well as rewatching favourite episodes from seasons one and two, I would go back to the soundtracks for a little reminder, a little salve. Nicholas Britell’s music for the show was instantly appealing both in the context of the show and as an album of soothing, piano-based modern classical music. There’s dramatic edge, but there’s also soft corners. You can listen to this music as the soundtrack to your dinner, your reading, your daily life and you can let people into that world that have never seen the show. Read More »

Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged [OST], Album Review, Billy Joel, Cover, HBO, Honesty, Instrumental, Jeremy Strong, Kendall Roy, Nicholas Britell, Nicholas Britell: Succession - Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack), Piano, Score, Season 3, Soundtrack, Strings, Succession, Succession - Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack), To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, TV ·
← Older posts

Popular

  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 11 – Lindsey Buckingham
  • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Dirt Does Dylan
  • The Way It Is With Prince
  • Sweetman Podcast: Episode 73 – Janna Lapidus Leblanc
  • R.I.P. Vangelis
  • Apparently The 30 Best Horror Films Of All Time
  • Time Casts Its Spell: When Silver Springs Became The Secret Weapon It Had Always Threatened To Be

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Blog Book Book Review Chat Compilation DJ DVD DVD Review EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Poetry Record Records Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spines Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2022 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press