Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It is not against the law to have conflicting emotions when listening to a new song by a band of great repute, to understand those conflictions though when they are born out of knowing that whether past offerings were of very good quality and the immediate impact that a new sound, a solid state of reflection and increased buoyancy, somehow surpasses it; it only goes to show the heart that Things Get Better, no matter how much the past influences the present.

For Joe Symes & the Loving Kind, things don’t just get better, they change, evolve and become bigger than they could possibly be expected. Whether it is the leaving behind, for now at least, of the trusty acoustic guitar which landed a more defining punch than any heavyweight boxer could manage over the course of a title bout, or the increased awareness of both lyrical grace and performing on B.B.C. Introducing one day and then being played by the local ambassador George Sephton the next at Anfield, things and situations do get better all the time.