Music Reviews

Hefner

Breaking God’s Heart

Too Pure/Beggars Banquet

I’ll wager that “having a voice that could break God’s heart” has appeared in a review of Hefner – vocalist Darren Hayman could certainly live up to that comment. And just as Dutch and New Zealand pop genres have developed a very distinct sound, so have the Scots, and Hefner’s sound falls squarely in that bracket. Actually, I’m not sure if Hefner is Scottish or not, but they sure sound it. Songwriter and vocalist Hayman easily sets up shop in that thin gap between the sugary and the discordant, and his voice makes up for its moments of weakness with a conviction so strong it easily carries everything, as if it weighed no more than a feather. Things are kept simple but heartfelt – the liner notes end with the message “Buy More Beach Boys records.”

And just as it has become cliche to sing about the poetry of the mundane, Hefner takes it on with grace, in songs like “A Hymn for the Postal Service,” a rememberance of mail romance that yields the classic line “it makes me guess the circumstance under which she wrote it, why she used the f-word when she never even spoke it” and “The Librarian,” where doomed infatuation is summed up with “… he will never kiss her eyelids.” A wonderful addition to my growing pantheon of Scottish heroes. Beggars Banquet, 580 Broadway, Suite 1004, New York, NY 10012


Recently on Ink 19...

Slamming Bricks 2023

Slamming Bricks 2023

Event Reviews

Small-town Grand Junction, Colorado, comes out in droves to Slamming Bricks 2023, as our beloved queer community event eclipses its beginnings to command its largest audience yet. Liz Weiss reviews the performance, a bittersweet farewell both to and from the Grand Valley’s most mouthy rebel organizer, Caleb Ferganchick.

Grand Valley – Issue 002

Grand Valley – Issue 002

Issues
The October 2023 issue of our printed edition, focused on the music and culture of Western Colorado's Grand Valley. Available free at Triple Play Records in downtown Grand Junction.
Garage Sale Vinyl: Linda Ronstadt

Garage Sale Vinyl: Linda Ronstadt

Garage Sale Vinyl

This week, Christopher Long nearly fights a famed rock star in defense of his 1970s pin-up princess. To prove his point, Chris goes into his own garage and digs out his musty vinyl copy of the self-titled 1972 alt. country classic from Linda Ronstadt.

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd

Archikulture Digest

A former convict returns to London to avenge his former enemies and save his daughter. Carl F. Gauze reviews the Theater West End production of Sweeney Todd.

Garage Sale Vinyl: KISS, The Solo Albums

Garage Sale Vinyl: KISS, The Solo Albums

Garage Sale Vinyl

This week, cuddly curmudgeon Christopher Long finds himself feeling even older as he hobbles through a Florida flea market in pursuit of vinyl copies of the four infamous KISS solo albums — just in time to commemorate the set’s milestone 45th anniversary.

Borsalino

Borsalino

Screen Reviews

Starting with small-time jobs, two gangsters take over all the crime in Marseilles in this well-paced and entertaining French film. Carl F. Gauze reviews the freshly released Arrow Video Blu-ray edition of Borsalino (1970).

%d bloggers like this: