MUSIC - DUNCAN HASKELL

Album Of The Month

Rapture by Emily Breeze

Considering that we live in a city with one of the UK’s most vibrant music scenes, it’s about time that we shine a light on one of the most talented local artists out there making it happen. Emily Breeze describes her new album as being, “A collection of coming-of (middle) age stories which celebrate flamboyant failure, excess and acceptance.” Combined, these musical vignettes make a compelling argument for why we should all grow old disgracefully.

It’s also an album anchored in the local scene. On shimmering opening track Ordinary Life, Breeze muses on the passing of time, reflecting, “Someone was gonna spot me walking down Stokes Croft and say/ ‘Hey kid, I’m gonna make you a star.’” It’s not all nostalgia and the everyday, Breeze also gazes up at the sky by sprinkling the album with excerpts clipped from science articles and quotes from cosmologists.

For us though, it’s the insights into Breeze’s life that draw us in like snippets of conversations escaping a warm pub on a cold winter’s ever. That pub is specifically, The Bell, where Breeze has popped in for a few drinks with friends Amy and Mike. In the company of people who know her better than she knows herself, Breeze is replenished with love, hope and happiness – and has written a rocking anthem to tell us all about it.

Sonically, Rapture feels like a collaboration Patti Smith and LCD Soundsystem may have created had they been raised in the West Country on a diet of Pulp. Breeze’s insouciant delivery imbues songs like Confessions of an Ageing Party Girl with authentic cool. Don’t be fooled though, she is also a singer of range and beauty who just chooses to use those weapons sparingly, making them all the more potent when fired. Part of Me, the album’s centrepiece, is one such track. It’s Chrissie Hynde fronting The Pogues and is both cinematic and down-to-earth - a microcosm of everything that makes this album such a delight.

Next Step CACTI by Billy Nomates

Though originally from Leicester, Billy Nomates, the project of songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist/ producer Tor Maries, is now based in Bristol. Such is the strength of her recently released second album, we’d be fools not to cling on to her and claim her as our own.

Post-punk, electronica, indie-pop… Nomates adroitly changes lanes throughout the record’s twelve songs. Her observations, equally cutting and poetic, are the constant that keep things from veering off track. Those thoughts often act as a mirror. “I’m the saboteur/you know I get a kick from turning you off,” she declares over a synthy pillow on Saboteur Forcefield, before revealing on wonky ballad Fawner, “I put my foot in my mouth/And do things inside out.” Yet, as we all learn to readjust to life following the pandemic, her reflection seems universal.

By the time of album closer Blackout Signal, with its industrial percussion and 80s production, Nomates has exposed her struggles, traumas and successes to the listener. Vulnerable yet bold, her story is one we can all relate to.

Podcast of the Month

Joanna Lumley & The Maestro

We’re leaving our beloved city behind to spend some time with Joanna Lumley and her husband, the revered conductor Stephen Barlow. Inviting the listener into their home, the couple take us into the world of classical music. Lumley plays the role of the enthusiastic amateur, a surrogate voice for those of us who have always wanted to ask questions such as, “What do conductors actually do?” As charming as it is informative.

Duncan Haskell

Defibrillator Locations

The number of Automated External Defibrillators, or AED’s, in prominent, accessible 24/7 locations in our area continues to grow. Detailed below are the locations of the existing defibrillators accessible 24/7 that I am aware of in this area, together with the “what3words” locations for them.

• The Crafty Cow, 635 Gloucester Road, Horfield, BS7 0BJ clip.wiping.racks

• St Mary’s Church (Hulbert Rooms), Sneyd Park, BS9 1QJ zest.calm.insert

• 42 Westbury Lane, Coombe Dingle, BS9 2PP heat.shop.sofa

• Blaise Inn, 260 Henbury Road, Henbury BS10 7QR exists.sugars.buns

• Salvatore’s Barbers 19A Druid Hill, Stoke Bishop, BS9 1EW hulk.courier.bells

• The White Lion Passage Road, Westbury on Trym, BS9 3HN scale.miles.petty

• Methodist Church Hall, Westbury Hill, Westbury on Trym, BS9 3AA olive.belly.score

• Trinity United Reform Church, Waterford Road, Henleaze, BS9 4BT belts.edges.bucks

• Bristol Chiropractic, 2 Kellaway Avenue, Redland, BS6 7XR swept.salsa.reap

• The RAFA Club, 38 Eastfield, Westbury on Trym, BS9 4BE allow.quench.doll

• St Monica Court, Cote Lane, Westbury on Trym, BS9 3TL (part of St Monica complex). taking.clubs.tiger

• The Beehive Pub, Wellington Hill West, Henleaze, BS9 QY. cans.type.loving

• Avon Fire & Rescue (Southmead Fire Station), Southmead Road, Southmead, BS10 5DR. held.demand.deep

• Bristol Property Centre, 14 Chandos Road, Redland, BS6 6PE. wacky.relay.closes

• L’affinage Du Fromage, North View, Westbury Park, BS6 7PY. edgy.slap.invite

• Bristol Prison Site, 248 Gloucester Road, Horfield, BS7 8NZ moving.spoon.folds

• Westbury Park Primary School, Bayswater Avenue, Westbury Park, BS6 7NU bubble.trunk. waters

• Cafe on the Square, 136 Shirehampton Rd, Sea Mills, BS9 2DY. shaky.trail.motel

• Boyce’s Avenue, Clifton, BS8 4AA goad.chef.recall

• Redland Park United Reformed Church, Whiteladies Road, Redland, BS6 6SA stole.rust. prime

• Westbury Baptist Church Hall, Reedley Road, Westbury on Trym, BS9 3TE. demand.dose. aspect

• The George Inn, 4-6 High Street, Shirehampton, BS11 0DE. park.leaves.cotton

• Future Leap, 1-3 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, BS7 8AA. book.zebra.boat

• Charlton Road, Brentry, BS10 6JU. back.flats.hogs

• The Treble Chance, Greystoke Avenue, Southmead, BS10 6AG prove.liked.super

• The Downs Cafe, Stoke Road, Durdham Downs, BS9 1FG chemistry.costs.proof

Please, if you can, take a photo of this page on your phone and save it for emergency use, or cut the page out and keep for reference. The what3words location is given in red for each AED location.

What3Words is a location finding app available on iPhone and Android phones and tablets which allows you to name, pinpoint and share locations anywhere in the world by way of a unique 3 word identifier. It is increasingly being used by emergency services to help locate people and incidents, and using it will enable you to find the exact location of any of threse defibrillators in an emergency. Why not download the app to your phone now? Using what3words can save lives.

Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers

After Laurence Stephen

Lowry, (1887-1976) – signed print –

‘Britain at play’

£2,000 - £3,000

The Spring Specialist Sale is now online

Thursday 9th March at 10:30am

To browse and bid visit: www.clevedonsalerooms.com

FREE VALUATION DAYS

Held at the salerooms

Every Monday (except Bank Holidays) 10am - 1pm & 2pm - 5pm

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY

NEXT BRISTOL VALUATION DAY

Tuesday 2nd May 10am - 3pm

Stoke Lodge, Shirehampton Rd, Stoke Bishop, Bristol, BS9 1BN

Free, No Obligation Valuations