Simon Maltman Blogs

2018 Books, Music & T.V For what it's worth, here's my two pennies on what I thought were high points this year. This is just a quick run through of my personal faves. Books 13- Steve Cavanagh The tag line is all you need- 'The serial killer isn't on trial- he's on the jury.' Grab yourself a copy if you're one of the few who hasn't already! In a House of Lies- Ian Rankin Rebus returns, along with your favourite Rankin characters. There's much to savour in seeing an older and failing Rebus involve himself in a tense mystery. Disorder- Gerard Brennan The prose is anything but disordered in this multi-protagonist noir. Take a hard-boiled, sometimes gritty and comical tour of the streets of Belfast. Albums Alice in Chains- Rainier Fog The grunge survivors hit back with their best album since Layne Staley's passing. A satisfying blend of big riffs and scorching harmonies. Walking Papers- W2 Walk...

Swampy Swagger and Blistering Ballads For the uninitiated, Walking Papers are a bluesy hard rock outfit from Seattle. It began as a project between Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Mad Season) and Jeff Angell (The Missionary Position). They ended up writing an album's worth of killer songs together with the swagger of some of their previous bands, with also the soulful and melancholy elements of say Mad Season. Overdriven guitar riffs sit comfortably next to vibraphone and double bass. Along for the ride were the likes of Mike McCready (Pearl Jam, Mad Season), Duff McKagan (GnR, Velvet Revolver), and Ben Anderson (Missionary Position). The minor label release of songs was so well received that Duff and Ben joined full time and they were all signed up to rerelease the album with a major label. What followed after was a great critical response, extensive touring and ultimately lots of ideas for a second record. The band then went in and cut this record, but with Duff inv...