Things I'm watching on Netflix - Love

I love Love.
Love is a new Netflix Original series with all season one episodes ready to stream.
It's so funny and the script is good. I'm watching it now and I just literally clapped at a joke.
I guess if I were to compare it to another comedy, as annoying as it can be when people do that, I'd say Love is that a hipster Curb Your Enthusiasm. The laughs are loud and short between and I can relate to the way the characters feel about things.

The main story is a will they won't they between Mickey Dobbs (Gillian Jacobs) and Gus Cruikshank (Paul Rust). Let's just say I'm already in love with Mickey and I want Gus to be my best friend (although I'd have to take them in small doses - they have BIG personalities).

I've lost track of what episode I'm up to (it's episode 7).
And anyway, Gus is a really nice guy. He tries to be polite to everyone he meets but usually ends up unintentionally saying something stupid or vulgar and people give him strange looks. He works in television.

Mickey has had a string of apparently dysfunctional relationships with seemingly maladjusted men. She's comfortable with sex but she's not been lucky in love. She's funny, likes partying hard, is a recovering alcoholic and likes taking drugs. Her heart's in the right place.

I spoke to a friend on Twitter about Love. She watched it ALL IN ONE GO. She said: "It's easy to binge-watch." She was right but I think that could be doing it a disservice as it could suggest the show is all fun and little substance, which it isn't!

So if you like witty American comedy or Rom-Coms, give Love a chance, you might find it's all you need.

FACT: If they invite you to a party, it's on. #LoveOnNetflixhttps://t.co/mvstnnQFuf

— LOVE (@love) February 25, 2016

Cinema reviewed: The Hateful Eight, The Revenant, Deadpool, Spotlight, Star Wars, Janis, Macbeth, The Big Short, Moonrise Kingdom, The Danish Girl

I've watched a lot of films lately. I used to have next to no interest in movies, probably because I find it hard to concentrate on one thing for more than five minutes..................................................
Anyway, where was I? I've seen pretty much all the hyped movies of 2016 so far and to give a big reveal early in this article, nothing I've seen made my 'favourite films' list.

The Revenant was hyped for a long time and it looked so good. It looked like exactly the film I wanted to see. But ultimately, there was a lot missing, such as a storyline. I guess that's where films lose out to books.

DiCaprio has been in much better films and acted better. Catch Me If You Can for one! I didn't enjoy Inception, sorry! It looks like Leo will get his Oscar at long last though. At least it'll put an end to the 'Will Leo ever win an Oscar?' saga.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was even more built up than The Revenant and a lot of die-hard fans were eagerly anticipating its release only for many of them to feel let down. Don't ask me why - I wouldn't know - I've always been a casual observer where Star Wars is concerned. Watching parodies on Family Guy seemed to suitably prepare me with enough background knowledge to follow the latest production though and I really liked it!

Obviously Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were the stars of the wars. It was just a very entertaining film with great special effects. It was nice to see Harrison Ford and Chewbacca return. They added some humour in a generally witty film.

Out of all the films I've seen recently, Macbeth, starring one of my favourite actors, Michael Fassbender and another I like, Marion Cotillard, was the one I expected to love. I didn't though. I don't think it translated to the screen although Cotillard was fantastic. Fassbender was lacklustre, for me, but maybe it was his part that let him down? He was the lead of course, but Cotillard's (Lady Macbeth's) soliloquies stole the show. The film's worth watching just for the drama she creates, on her knees alone in a room. I had forgot how amazing she is. Time to watch La Vie en Rose again?

The Big Short wasn't short of big names. Ryan Gosling - God bless him - turned up, Christian Bale - the man the legend - starred. Brad Pitt was there, though his part was easy to forget. It was an interesting and witty take on the credit and housing collapse in the mid-2000s focusing on a few bankers who forecast the disaster and took advantage of it. I left the film feeling sort of helpless in the world and remembered how unfairly the world's wealth is distributed and how there's probably nothing I can do about it.

The Danish Girl was beautifully-acted by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander who looked good doing it too. The film is about Danish artist Einar Wegener (Redmayne), who finds it increasingly difficult to hide his discomfort at his own masculinity and desire to act like and be a woman from his beloved wife, Gerda (Vikander). The film is based on the true story of Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. When Einar eventually opens up to Gerda about who he really is, Gerda stays with her husband and supports him in his journey to becoming a woman physically as well as spiritually. I really enjoyed the experience of watching The Danish Girl. It was easy on the eye, shot in colourful Copenhagen and the femininity Redmayne managed to evoke was mesmeric. He should win best actor at the Oscars but DiCaprio will.

The best of the rest in my opinion, was The Hateful Eight. It's a really fun movie and long if you have nothing to do all evening!

Prepare for controversial realism with Manchester-based TV drama The Endz

Posted Monday, August 29, 2011 - 12:38

By James Briscoe, Arts & Culture Correspondent

The Endz is nigh!  Fans of Coronation Street and Shameless: prepare for a realistic take on Manchester street life with new Sky drama, The Endz.

Be warned: this no-holds-barred production contains all sorts of behaviour with drug abuse, violence, racism, radical views and gang crime all prevalent.

The makers of The Endz say it is unlike other dramas in its class as it allows the actors and audience to live as the characters.

They also claim there will be no glamourisation in this take of life in ‘the ends’ of Manchester and its gritty nature might make you double check your door at night.

The Endz director, Chris Kenna, who also stars in the 12-part series, said: “We expect our audience to be shocked and appalled yet socially reflective on what they observe and learn.

“I loved Shameless but I thought it was the only thing of its kind (based) in Manchester and I thought we could show something diverse through local people.”

Chris said that about 90% of the cast of The Endz come from Manchester and they portray the gritty way of life in the city brilliantly.

The series is currently being filmed in Manchester on a Canon 7D and Canon 5D mark 2. It is the first TV series to be filmed on such equipment, Chris said.

This minimalistic way of filming shows the potential for cutting edge drama with fewer and smaller cameras and is an exciting step for the industry.

Chris had a meeting with Sky chiefs in London and the prospect of a second series is apparently ‘favourable’.

The show premieres on Wednesday, September 21 on Sky My View Channel 219 at 10pm and will show once a week.

My Big Mouth: Jeremy Clarkson, the BBC and Salford's MediaCityUK

Outraged Mancunians are hitting back after BBC presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, slammed Salford when talking about the BBC’s MediaCityUK.

Clarkson, 51, said Salford, in Greater Manchester, is a ‘small suburb with little to offer beyond a Starbucks and a canal with ducks’.

He added: “Every year we’d end up making a Christmas special from the Dog and Duck or the nearest Arndale Centre.”

He also said he would rather quit his job than move up to the BBC’s new venture in Salford.

BBC legend and It’s A Knockout presenter, Stuart Hall, 81, has come to Salford’s defence with a characteristically eccentric response, calling Clarkson ‘deluded’.

He said: “Does he imagine that at the advance of effete southerners we retreat to our outside lavatories with ripped-up copies of the News of the Screws?

“Manchester is a seat of knowledge, a breeding ground for brains.”

Once again, the so-called north/ south divide is highlighted and designer Peter Saville and comedian Victoria Wood have defended Salford and Manchester.

Wood said she did not really follow Clarkson’s career and that all she knows about him is that he wears a denim jacket.

Mr Saville, who was a designer for Factory Records, said: “Manchester is a great place for it to be.”

I think Salford can look after itself though. Northerners know the sorts of things Southerners think about them and vice versa. It is the way it has always been.

The Today Programme’s Evan Davis wrote an arguably patronising article following Clarkson’s comments, saying: “I have been up there for the first time this week."

The heading to his article on the BBC website said the ‘BBC should give Salford a try’. I’m not sure how Salfordians will take that. They probably feel like they are coping fine as they are.

Cllr Bernard Lea, who will be Salford’s mayor in 2012-2013, said: “Having lived in Surrey during my teenage years, I can appreciate the image seen by Southern Softies. The reality is quite different.”

He added: “If I were to use two words to describe his (Clarkson's) utterances they would be PITY and PRAT.

“A PITY he chose to make an uninformed comment, and he has made himself look a right PRAT.”

I am from Cheshire but I have spent plenty of time in Salford and I don’t even feel slightly offended about comments like Clarkson’s.

Salford is a city on the up and everyone who lives and works there should be proud of this.

Salford, in my opinion, is not the most beautiful place in the world and yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however, that is a reason MediaCityUK will be a brilliant thing for the city.

In fact, the plans have already created hype in the area; there is more hope and people want to come to live and work in the city because they see it as something which will become better and better in coming years.

The argument that there is more working talent in London and that the BBC might not produce the same quality of TV as it does there is a valid one and it is not hard to see why the young and gifted would want to leave the provinces to test themselves in the country’s melting pot.

However, people seem to be missing the point about this new venture. They are wondering, ‘What can Salford do for the BBC?’ but the question should be, ‘What can the BBC do for Salford?’

The BBC says that it is paid for by the whole of the UK and it needs to reflect the depth and breadth of our culture.

It added that BBC North will help meet the commitment to get as close to their audiences as possible.

I doubt many Northerners were not surprised when they heard the BBC would be moving several of its departments to Salford but surely most people will support something that will help to improve an area which still requires a leg-up.

Anish Kapoor’s “Flashback”

This is a quick reminder that sculptor, Anish Kapoor’s, “Flashback” exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery will close on Monday June 5.

So if you are interested in “dark”, thought-provoking sculptures then get to the Manchester Art Gallery on Mosley Street, just off Piccadilly Gardens.

Kapoor describes his work (1981): “I don’t wish to make sculpture about form – it doesn’t really interest me. I wish to make sculpture about belief or about passion, about experience that is outside of material concern.”

Ponytail: Do Whatever You Want All The Time

Ponytail is an indie pop band from Maryland, America, consisting of Molly Siegel - vocals, Ken Seeno - guitar, Jeremy Hyman - drums and Dustin Wong - guitar.

They were named "Best Live Band" by Baltimore City Paper in September 2007 and "Best Band" in September 2008 and now they return with the aptly named, "Do Whatever You Want All The Time".

Ponytail's chaotic and impulsive style gives the impression that they're not worried what the mainstream music media think. They seem to play just for the love of music so their work leaves them more open to criticism.

This naked exposure is refreshing especially compared with bands trying to stand on the shoulders of giants. It's liberating to hear a band expressing themselves, freed from the shackles of trying to sound familiar.

Some bands have to rely on sounding a certain way, because they don't have the bravery or the musical ability to branch out on a limb but Ponytail grow their music like drug-taking, love-making hippies who grow their hair long.

Having said that, I hope that if I ever get a chance to see Ponytail perform live they don't turn out to be extremely serious "artistic types".

None of the tracks are less than four minutes long but they are so vibrant and generally played at a high-tempo that they seem to go by as quickly as a magic moment.


Do Whatever You Want All The Time begins with "Easy Peasy" which includes some rhythmic wind instruments echoing like sea breezes blowing through driftwood.

Soon enough we're introduced to arguably the star of the band and the album, Molly Siegel. She is the lead singer of Ponytail and, although reminiscent of Karen O from the New York band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, her voice is awesome in its own right.

The second track on the album, is predictably named "Flabbermouse" - not sure why it is, although Molly Siegel's voice is quite squeaky. It's a track with everlasting energy, created by Justin Wong's guitar and maybe should be called "Duracellmouse" instead.

"Honey Touches" comes in with a powerful but friendly enough drum beat, a bit like Nellie the elephant. Again, Siegel's voice keeps the momentum going and then some big guitar riffs remind us of the band's instrumental skill. Nearly half-way through the album and there are no signs of this small but mighty band showing signs of weakness.

When "Beyondersville// Flight of Fancy" plays, I'm left wondering where Molly Sigel went. For the first few minutes of the song, Siegel's voice isn't heard, just a melodically beeping pair of keyboards. While the track is an inoffensive segway, I think I'll have to say it is a flight of fancy and maybe Ponytail should stick to their strengths. However, it displays Ponytail's continuing desire to experiment.

The album continues with "Tush", which mixes sexy feminine yells and rip-roaring guitar riffs. I'm almost lost for words as I hear a fountain of sounds, including what sounds like electro-keyboards, a wind instrument and Jeremy Hyman's drum but I'm no expert.

"Music Tunes" is the last track on the album and it leaves us with a crescendo of high-pitched notes on an acoustic guitar which is artificially sped up until you start to think, "Are they having a laugh?"
The 'song' settles down soon enough though and we're again able to bask in the lovely sound of the boyish but cute Molly Siegel.

The album will be released by Popfrenzy on April 12.


Label: Popfrenzy

Released: Tuesday 12 April 2011

Warm Ghost - Uncut Diamond

Warm Ghost is made up of Paul Duncan: songwriter and singer and Oliver Chapoy: composer and all round facilitator.

You could say, 'like band name, like music'. Warm Ghost is a 'synth pop' DJ duo from New York, yet their tracks lack the cold, mechanical nature which other 'hip' DJ partnerships, such as 'Crystal Castles' could be accused of. It is also eerie and mysterious, sometimes even as frightening as a spectre.

The first track on the EP, 'Open The Wormhole In Your Heart' is accompanied with an 'arty', extremely revealing video (not included with the EP), which shows naked flesh writhing around on a lubricated surface. Maybe that's where the 'uncut' comes from. If I was to make a metaphor to describe the feeling at the heart of this track, I would say it's a bud in a forest, sprouting, growing a stem and leaves and growing and growing until its leaves reach the sunlight or it's like waking up to a brand new day, feeling optimistic and ready to attack the rest of your life. Paul Duncan's celestial, god-like singing gives this image - a fantastic way to start a day and an EP then.

'Without A Dancer' continues with the otherworldly and upbeat feel of The Wormhole In Your Heart and we are introduced to a warm, eccentric chorus of keyboarderie. It sounds like we're being invaded by little, friendly ET's who just want to contribute to the Uncut Diamond EP. Aside from the little green men, the track is extremely chilled out, the slow introductory beat mimics a slow heart beat and will comatose anyone who listens to it - you've been warned. I like the simplicity of Without A Dancer; we hear the same line, 'without a dancer, my love, it wanders and crawls', repeatedly, in a morose tone and we know what the track is about immediately.

'Claws Overhead' continues the synthy sound and we're treated to more extravagant vocals. Paul Duncan, the man who writes the songs, says that he is inspired by The Cure, Depeche Mode and OMD, however, this third track has the essence of The Shins, the main similarity coming between the two enigmatic voices. It is also very '80's pop' and it benefits from the uplifting torrent of the music of that care-free decade. It's almost impossible to gauge what Paul Duncan is singing in Claws Overhead and I'm left wondering if the EP would benefit from the vocals being more forthright. You could say that it is the mysterious nature of the vocals that gives the song its appeal. Maybe I'm just going deaf but lowering the volume of the synths and boosting the vocal, I believe, could make this track even more kind to the ears.

Paul Duncan has a history of song writing; this isn't just some futuristic sounding chords played on a digital keyboard. In fact, the more you listen to Uncut Diamond, the more it seems that these songs are almost all about the lyrics. The synths are just there to create an atmosphere.

I will allow you all to discover the three remaining tracks, the eponymously named 'Uncut Diamond', 'Resignation Rights' and 'Let My Angst Unfold In The Water Like A Hounds Tongue' for yourselves. I will hint that the 80's sound does continue and the tracks might become even more hypnotic. The EP will be available to buy from Partisan Records on February 15^th 2011.

WARM GHOST // OPEN THE WORMHOLE IN YOUR HEART from HOLY COW COLLECTIVE on Vimeo.

Help, I'm alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer.

I'm not gonna thank myself for this tomorrow but I need to write something so here's a review of Metric's album, Fantasies. It was actually released on April 7, 2009, which for some reason amazes me, because it's now 2011 of course. So much has happened in that time. I guess all time is is what happens during it.

Firstly, I'll say that Fantasies has to be my favourite album ever. I feel/ felt so connected to it and connected to Metric's music when I first listened to it. I had recently come to know Metric's music. Their 'Live It Out' album is nothing short of brilliant as well. After Live It Out, I was sceptical as to whether Metric could produce anything close again but it seems that they did. At the time of writing Fantasies, Emily Haines, Metric's iconic lead singer, had became scared about the future and she now admits that she was contemplating never writing again and quitting Metric. She did actually 'go solo' for a time before she wrote Fantasies. She created a new one-person act which went by the name of 'Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton' and released an album interestingly named: 'Knives Don't Have Your Back'. It is actually pretty good itself so I would recommend checking it out. I think it's fair to say she has enough talent to put Elvis to shame.

Fantasies received good reviews from almost every publication but, personally, anything less than a five out of five for the album is a bit churlish. On most albums, there are a few songs it seems are shoved in just to make the album seem like better value for money but that isn't the case here. I would almost stretch to saying that all ten songs would make it in to my favourite 100 songs list, almost anyway. It's hard to pick out the highlights but if my life depended on it, I'd say the three supreme tracks are: 'Blindness', 'Help, I'm Alive', and 'Collect Call'.

During Emily's difficult time where she struggled for artistic creativity, she travelled to Buenos Aires and stayed for a while. She said: 'I went there because it was the one place I felt that I could discover for myself, and I didn't know a single person, which was important. The songs that I wrote here were the simplest and clearest writing that I've done in my life'.



I think Metric have always been fairly difficult to define. They are obviously a rock band but they have often dabbled with digital keyboards, making them more of a 'new wave' group. I'd suggest that if you're the type of 'muso' (as the Aussies say) who likes bands who write good lyrics and play knife-sharp, skin-piercing guitar riffs, then Metric could be a band for you.

Blindness lyrics:

Send us a blindfold, send us a blade
Tell the survivors help is on the way
 
I was a blindfold, never complained
All the survivors singing in the rain
I was the one with the world at my feet

Got us a battle, leave it up to me

Find us a trap door, find us a plane
Tell the survivors help is on the way

I was a blindfold never complained
All the survivors singing in the rain
I was the one with the world at my feet
Got us a battle, leave it up to me

What it is and where it stops nobody knows
You gave me a life I never chose

I wanna leave but the world won't let me go
I wanna leave but the world won't let me go

What it is and where it stops nobody knows
You gave me a life I never chose

I was the one with the world at my feet
Got us a battle, leave it up to me

Are you a Belieber?

I have been looking at America's Billboard charts on www.billboard.com and decided to finally voice my thoughts on Justin Bieber's seemingly astronomic rise to approval, fame and fortune. According to Wiki, he was discovered on Youtube in 2008 and now he must be the most famous and iconic teenager since Macauley Culkin (comment if you disagree). In America, they have the 'American Dream' philosophy. People who believe in it believe that in America, anyone can be anything they want. It's also about working your way up from being poor to having a nice house and a loving family but that the more old-fashioned, maybe heart-warming, philosophy. Anyway, it seems that Justin is taking full advantage of the opportunities the American Dream brings.

You look at Justin Bieber and listen to his music and wonder why he has done so well. Of course, he's cute and his songs are sometimes fairly catchy. I think it says more about his fans than his own limited talent. Young girls desperately need a boy to dream of, one they can imagine making their own, especially girls who might not be very popular with boys who they know in their everyday lives. There was obviously a gap in the market for a cute, young singer. It's not really the same with boys though, is it? Young boys don't fantasize about girls their age. If they have fantasy girls, they usually dote over women in their twenties, like Megan Fox, for example, which seems more of an issue of approaching sexual maturity.

Notwithstanding, there are so many artists with limited talent, doing well in America especially, but also in Europe, that it seems any sly promoter with an eye for potential, could strike gold in music today. It should be the most talented who become the most successful but we all know that isn't the case and the argument about manufactured bands and singers became boring a long time ago. Having said that, the talent will usually still get through and Amen to that.

Ute - The Gambler EP

Alcopop! Records

Released: Tuesday 7 December 2010

I must admit, at first I did not know what to make of Ute's, The Gambler EP; their first release under Alcopop! Records. What Ute offers us here would be foreign to many and you could say it was a bit of a gamble. Great risks bring great reward, though, and despite an indifferent start to 'Innocent Tailor', once you give it a chance, like when you gain the trust of a female, she will show you her hidden fears and her beauty.

Whether it is the repeated guitar riff in the final stretch of Innocent Tailor I am not sure, but the guitar work makes this track seem so ice cold fresh, like a constantly pulsing breeze, coming through a car window as you go on a drive on a seaside mountain road. The vocals on the track do at times come to an intimidating and dark pitch but you can appreciate the visceral energy in the voice.

'The Refuser' starts disappointingly clichéd. It is underwhelming after Innocent Tailor's never-ending guitar riff and frightening vocals and I am left confused as to where the EP is going in terms of style. The long held out notes are all-too reminiscent of the vocal experimentation already done by bands, such as Vampire Weekend, however, when Michael and Ollie's voices overlap, it transforms the song and makes it much more worthwhile and original.

'We Used to be Friends' is a melodic interlude, you could call it a filler, in between the other four major articles. It shows again Ute's intention to experiment with vocals; it seems like all three band members add to a layered chorus in this track. I am totally supportive of vocal dice-throwing and I applaud Ute for this. However, this short track does not really have the same crescendo that some of the EP's other songs have. Nevertheless' it does have that ongoing vocal 'landscape' that many music fans love, it is just not my thing.

'Brother' is another experimental and melodic track. It has a pleasant accompaniment of a soft and sweet guitar and a sensitive vocal performance from Ollie. It starts off slow-paced but picks up by the time the four-minute glass is half full where more abrasive and compelling guitar playing is introduced.

After Innocent Tailor starts off the EP with a raucous bang, the main meat of the track list is quite low-fi and calm so when 'Bunker' comes around, it is a necessary change of pace and atmosphere. It is a six-minute-long track but Ute really hit the jackpot and display what I believe are their best traits: their ability to be scarily loud and violent, their vocal energy and their ability to change the pace of a song seamlessly. The difference between Bunker and We Used to be Friends could not be starker. Bunker is six minutes long but seems to last for a shorter period due to its engaging nature. This is what I want all of Ute's tracks to sound like. However, I guess without slow and quiet, you could not enjoy quick and loud and after quick and loud, you might want some peace to relax you.

The main idea we get from Ute's Gambler EP is that they do like to gamble when it comes to vocals. Ute like to experiment and they also like to be dark when appropriate. They do not turn their amps to eleven just because it is 'rock & roll'; they are stubborn in their docility at times. For their rousing traits, though, I think Ute are definitely worth keeping an ear on.

Volcanoes - Badchild Farsight

Badchild Farsight is a new EP from Yorkshire band, Volcanoes. It’s a record that’s getting lots of positive reviews. I usually hate to go with the crowd but, on the face of it, I will have to go along with it like Shaun the Sheep- bahhh!

Volcanoes are still unsigned despite their popularity around Leeds and Sheffield, however, they don’t sound like an unsigned band, oh no. Volcanoes have all of the instrumental skill, lyrical creativity and musical identity to make them, what I see as a ‘proper’ band.

I believe, ‘Talking Shadows’ is the high point of the EP as it displays each of Volcanoes’ talents. The classic guitar intro lets us know that what’s coming will most likely please us and then the vocal greeting confirms that. This is how I want the whole EP to sound but Volcanoes seem to lose their way a little on other parts of the EP. On the other hand, we have to remember Badchild Farsight is an EP (extended play) and due to this, it’s an experimental recording of ideas Volcanoes have. Talking Shadows incorporates harmonies reminiscent of Mystery Jets and you can’t go wrong there.

Despite the experimental nature of the EP, pretty much everything on Badchild Farsight sounds grrrrreat. ‘I think I know stuff reading the news’ has the chirpiness of The Holloways but also sounds like The Paddingtons, maybe as their lead singer is also from Yorkshire and these are favourable bands to be likened to. I mean, The Paddingtons’ guitarist, Josh Hubbard used to date Agyness Dean, didn’t he?

As I mentioned before, in ‘I think I know stuff reading the news’, Volcanoes don’t sound like an unsigned band, they sound like they’ve been in the limelight, on TOTP and Jools Holland and in NME for years. They have a very experienced and confident aura.

When I questioned the consistency of Badchild Farsight before, I was alluding to the track, ‘Monkey Gossip Cross Tesseract’. It’s not that it’s a bad song, in fact it’s very good but it doesn’t seem to fit with Volcanoes’ identity. It sounds like an electro-punk band, such as Test Icicles. Now, I’m a huge fan of Test Icicles but you wouldn’t catch them playing ‘Whatever’, by Oasis, would you?

‘Harlequins’ is another dark-sounding song but more of what I’d expect to hear from this band. It has engaging guitar riffs and some delightfully harmonious vocals. Guitars and vocals go together like eggs and bacon, everyone knows that and I think that when Volcanoes put these two ingredients together, they can’t go wrong. Volcanoes already sound like seasoned pros. Let’s hope they get that record deal and the media attention their potential warrants.

Shugo Tokumaru

Port Entropy

P-Vine Japan/Zoom

Released: Friday 5 November 2010

It is great to see Asian and Western culture colliding like this, in the form of Japanese singer/ songwriter, Shugo Tokumaru and his fourth official album, 'Port Entropy'. Shugo is from Tokyo, in Japan and first started playing the piano when he was five-years-old, before he took up the guitar and other instruments as a teenager. How often do you see someone from a far eastern culture dressing like Indie bands and playing the guitar? Yeah, you get Eurasians in western bands but Shugo Tokumaru is very clearly Japanese born and bred. It is not easy for Far Eastern kids to express themselves in creative ways like this. Their culture is more constrictive than Western culture. So Shugo's music is certainly something new and unusual.

He only sings in Japanese, which brings another perspective to his music. Most of us cannot understand his words but with the tone of his voice and the hum of his guitar, we can tell the main essence of the story he is telling. It only takes one person who tries something different to create a chain reaction and maybe Shugo will start one in East Asia.

It is actually refreshing to not be able to understand what a singer is singing when there are so many bands and artists around singing about the same old same old. With Shugo, we can simply listen and enjoy the glorious sound of his voice and his intelligent use of different instruments.

Track 5 on the album, Rum Hee, despite seeming quite suitable for your average 'hip' Hollywood film starring Michael Cera or Zooey Deschanel, is a lot of fun. The waves of harmonies are beautiful and pull you along with them on a wonderful, happy ride. It has some similarities to upbeat, US/ Canadian bands, such as Born Ruffians, but that isn't a bad thing. Rum Hee is a four minute song yet it feels like its half that length, which is a compliment to the constant movement and evolution of the song. It's such an enchanting track.

Of course, hearing someone singing in another language is always going to be novel at first but the entertainment doesn't seem like it will be short-lived. 'Lahaha' is another fun track on the record with what sounds like a wind instrument starting off proceedings. Again, it has similarities to upbeat, American bands but it has that kitsch, amusing personality, which you could only find in something from East Asia.

'Linne' is a more downbeat song about Shugo diving off a sinking ship and surfacing out of the water where he sees a bird flying away. It serves as a necessary change of pace as a constant happy tone would become sickly sweet. However, Shugo goes back to making us smile again with, 'Malerina'. It's another upbeat track but it has a seventies American rock 'n roll feel about it but with Japanese lyrics.

For most of you, this will be the first time you've heard of Shugo Tokumaru and unfortunately, who knows how many more will. I don't know how well a Japanese singer can do in the British or American charts. I mean, there is a reason it feels like such a find hearing his music. This makes Port Entropy a haul of treasure though and it has made me want to discover more East Asian bands and singers. I really recommend you listen to the album!

The Duke & The King live at the Deaf Institute, Manchester 31/10/2010

I think the Halloween demons might've got to the band after all 

It was Halloween yet no-one in the building was dressed for the occasion (including me). It could have been something to do with eighty per-cent of the audience, who had come to see The Duke & The King, being middle-aged but who cares, I hate Halloween anyway?

The artist in support was Gabriel Minnikin, a folk singer from Nova Scotia, Canada. Apparently, he was a last-minute inclusion and despite not being able to decide if I liked him, a longer set would have helped me to decide and would have eaten in to the massive, sleep-inducing wait we had before The Duke & The King arrived. Nevertheless, his short set was genuine and honest and he seemed to mean what he was singing. It was just that when Gabriel told us that the following would be a song about people from back home in Canada, it was a somewhat uninteresting introduction.

After Gabriel Minnikin left the stage, a young scallywag stumbled as he walked to his seat and spilled some of his beer on a shocked old woman – nice bit of light relief after the constant low-tempo but well-intentioned country twang.

For some reason, maybe to create an eerie atmosphere on Halloween, the workers at the Deaf Institute turned all of the lights off apart from one behind the bar, which lit up bottles of spirits. This made the one hour-plus wait for The Duke & The King all the more excruciating after a hard day’s work. It didn’t create a scary atmosphere either, it just looked like there had been a power cut. I felt for the audience who were standing on the dance floor – at least I had a hard wooden seat to sit on in the football stadium-like seating area. After about half an hour – forty minutes, a few bold and impatient old souls in the audience began to do a slow clap while some stomped their feet on the wooden floor boards, in protest at the long wait. Standing around waiting all night isn’t exactly what you want to do when you just came out for a nice time.

Eventually, after about an hour and twenty minutes, four Americans who look like the Village People plus one foxy chick, moseyed on to the stage. I actually didn’t remember them apologising for the late arrival so I was wondering if their performance would make up for it.

The Duke & The King’s low-fi sound and old-fashioned, hippy appearance is understandably attractive to my parents’ generation. However, you should know that if the oldies are in to a certain band or artist then, most of the time, the act must be half decent. These guys grew up in the 60’s and 70’s when music was at its best!

The Duke & The King opened with ‘If You Ever Get Famous’. It was immediately obvious that Simone Felice is the leader of the band and despite being a poser, his charisma and strong singing voice shone through. The song is laid back, not really what I wanted after such a long wait, but the emotion in the song and warmth of the guitar perked me up and the audience seemed to slowly become appeased.

In ‘No Easy Way Out’, we saw that the band is full of beautiful singing voices. Simi Stone took the lead here and her voice is just as pretty as her face. So clear and fluttering with colourful tones, she could win the heart of any man and sing any babe to sleep.

The Duke & The King is a very talented theatrical troupe, however, I believe the jewel in their crown is Nowell Haskins’ husky, soulful voice. When he belted out, ‘Shine On You’, I was reminded of the late Marvin Gaye. He has the same ability to convey strong emotion.

Most of The Duke & The King’s songs seem to be autobiographical but I’m not sure where their song, ‘The Morning I Get To Hell’ comes from. I mean, yes, the band did look a bit ‘happy’ and seemed to be somewhere else in their heads, but the line doesn’t really fit with their ‘let’s all hold hands and sing around a camp fire’ image. However, it seems to be more of a spiritual lament to what it might be like to die and see God than a song about wishing you were dead.

Ultimately it seemed that those who were stamping their feet and clapping their hands in frustrated protest before The Duke & The King were finally on stage, were eventually won over by the talents of this big-hearted, sweet-sounding, soulful band.

Shugo Tokumaru

Hey biznitches. Just a quick hello to say I'll be reviewing Shugo Tokumaru's soon to be released album, 'Port Entropy'. I will probably post it on the day of the albums release, November 5th. Hope you're all doing well. Today I had an interview and a test for a journalism course, in Manchester. I think it went well :)

Little Comets - Club Academy, Manchester (12/10/2010)

So I eventually got to see Little Comets live at Manchester Academy. They were supporting New York's own Darwin Deez. After a short delay, which I filled by going to quench my thirst at the bar and catching some of the England vs. Montenegro game, Robert Coles' Geordie accent ensued.

The room was packed with teenagers who seemed to be lapping it up. It appeared that Little Comets have a bigger following than I had first realised. There was a pretty girl near the front, singing every word, eyes glazed over in a heavenly trance.

Isles sounds like a soundtrack of a whole host of British culture in the near future just like Blur's Parklife was in the Nineties. The ever enthusiastic Robert Coles sings, 'In the B.R.I.T.I say British Isles, the streets are bleak the kids are running wild'.

You can never truly judge a band before you have heard/ seen them live. I think I have made this point before but it is a valid one and it is important to stress when reviewing Little Comets. Their single, Isles, which is to be released on October 18, is a decent, catchy tune when listened to at home but to really appreciate the track, you have to hear the sound coming directly from Robert Coles' passionate, emotive gob.

They go on to sing 'Joanna' and seem to enjoy performing it more than any of their other tracks. They are laughing and smiling at each other throughout the song. Due to their accent, it sounds like Little Comets are singing a made up word, 'chuanga' - I assumed that was what they were so amused at but no. Regardless of how fun the song is due to the band's enjoyment, it is hard not to warm to it with its high tempo and Robert Coles' Enthusiastic delivery and equally fervent backing vocals. In fact, I am going to keep singing, 'chuanga' instead of 'Joanna' because it makes me laugh.

'Adultery' is another 'feel good' track, despite it's title. At first you hear a happy, scratching guitar intro, played by Michael Coles (yes, it is another band of brothers) and you expect the song to be about loving a girl but Robert Coles goes on to explain that, 'this is a tale of a boy of a man of a girl of a wife' and you start to see the story in the song coming to light. It is another very catchy song and by this point, I am starting to sweat with the musical waves Little Comets are bombarding me with. My skin is tingling and I am reminded that live music can be fun if the band you are watching care about the quality of their performance.

Drummer, Mark Harle, has to be given credit as he is the engine of the musical machine behind little Comets' live performance. He keeps the tempo fast and he keeps Robert Coles' consonants in time.

Prior to the gig, the only song of theirs that I knew well was, 'Isles', but they bowled me over with songs I had never heard before or only remembered vaguely and I left Club Academy wanting to buy their album whenever it comes out.

Carl Barât - Carl Barât (album)

Arcady Record

Released: Monday 4 October 2010

Barât's voice is unmistakable. It was one of the main power tools that gave The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things their catchy sounds. His is not a voice like Marvin Gaye or Axel Rose but it is a voice that you feel familiar with in a good way. It has an innately warming affect on me, which not many voices do. Of course, the album, also named, 'Carl Barât', is more low-tempo than most of the songs which we associate with the man in question. In many cases, this wouldn't work. Many bands rely on the energy they evoke in their fans from their up-tempo songs to succeed and if that tempo is slowed, the band or artist becomes just an average act. This doesn't seem to be the case with this record though.

For those of us who wondered if Carl Barât could be as lyrically apt without the help and muse that Peter Doherty gave him will most likely have their question answered here. There is no question mark about the wonderful tone and sheer catchiness of his first solo album.

He steels and mixes lines from the song, 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone?' written by Pete Seegerin 1955 in first track, 'The Magnus': 'Where have all the flowers gone? Gone to young girls every one.' - An interesting bit of inspiration there as the original song was about women plucking flowers and their husbands who had joined the army. Don't you just love a badly-hidden pop-culture reference? I do. In fact, it's a poignant reminder of our boys in Afghanistan.

The second track on the album, 'Je Regrette, Je Regrette', (I regret, I regret) is a bit more brisk and it's amusing and refreshing to hear Barât sing, 'I'm a wretch, I'm a wretch, a tosser at a stretch'. It's great when an 'artist' doesn't take them self too seriously, especially when it is someone who you imagined would be somewhat diva-ish.

The record offers value as well as quality for money as its ten tracks are at an average 3 minutes 48 seconds long. This extended song length goes to show the way in which Barât tells a story in the majority of songs on the album. I think most good songs are stories. The narrative makes you want to continue listening to find out how the story or song ends. In fact, several of the songs on the album seem to be about losing someone he is infatuated with. He repeatedly sings, 'better let her go', in the swinging, 'Run with the Boys'.

I won't tell you about any of the other tracks on the album. All you need to know is that it's worth listening to. Carl Barât certainly isn't a half-arsed attempt at a debut solo album. I will be cautious saying this but it might even be as good as anything Barât has done before. There have been others before him who have succeeded after going solo, in fact it seems to give artists a new lease of life. Look at Robbie Williams (even though he's back with Take That now) and then there is Beyonce Knowles. Even Feist only truly shines as a solo artist away from Broken Social Scene. It seems to be the era of the solo singer and Carl Barât surely merits that title now.

Maps & Atlases - Perch Patchwork

Maps & Atlases are one of only a handful of truly memorable bands I have listened to in 2010. Their qualities are based on simple talents, mainly Dave Davison’s voice along with Erin Elders on guitar, Chris Hainey on drums and Shiraz Dada (what an awesome name) on drums. They only formed six years ago when they met in art school (that’s unusual) at Columbia College, Chicago, however their sound is very mature, like they have been recording together for decades.

Before the release of this, their debut full-length album, they released a single from the album, called ‘Solid Ground’, which I reviewed also. Solid Ground creates a beautiful and harmonic musical landscape. Dave Davison’s voice, along with some exciting guitar work, played by Erin Elders, and some distinctive piano chords make the song a milieu of rich tones. You could listen to the track wherever and whenever.

‘The tide has turned across the pond again.’

‘Israeli Caves’, sixth on the album, continues with the harmonies of Solid Ground, however, it sounds more like you would expect from an American East Coast band. It has that folk style which is popular in East Coast cities at the moment. American Cities like, New York and Chicago, seem to be the main areas where interesting, intelligent music is coming from. A few years ago, it was London, which created bands like, The Libertines and Klaxons but now the tide has turned across the pond again.

If I were to say they sounded like any other band, it would probably be Vampire Weekend, however, with their song, ‘Will’, they continue to show they have something different to offer. In Will, which is fairly short at only 2:16 minutes, Maps & Atlases get creative with unusual sounds from voices and instruments.

It is difficult to be original in music these days with bands attempting to recreate or even improve upon the great music of past decades but I feel that Maps & Atlases are one of a group of bands making music at the moment (mainly from North America) who are at least trying to make something new and great which might be remembered as great music in twenty or thirty years’ time. I am not saying it will be but if bands like Maps & Atlases continue to be creative and consider unusual ideas, it might just happen.  

Perch Patchwork could be described as ‘easy-listening’; you could listen to it all day as it basically sounds great and it is not too intense. Nevertheless, it also has that quirky aspect that I have previously mentioned which will keep you interested. If you are already a fan, I would certainly suggest getting hold of the album. If not, at least give some of the songs a listen and definitely keep an ear out for their future releases. Maps & Atlases could be big.

MGMT - Congratulations

MGMT

Congratulations

Columbia

Released: Monday 27 September 2010

Congratulations is a song from MGMT's new album, of the same name, a record which has a lot of work to do in order to live up to their previous mark-making album, Oracular Spectacular. So I'll try not to size this track up against tracks, such as 'Kids' from OS. The psychedelia of Oracular Spectacular is still there, however, but with a bigger budget and more fine-tuned musical abilities, Congratulations makes a technical improvement.

In Congratulations, we hear exotic, beach-borne sounds from instruments, like steel drums and xylophones. It is a chill-out track and Andrew Vanwyngarden's voice is reminiscent of Marc Bolan in the seventies. It is not just Vanwyngarden's (did he make up this name to confuse journalists?) voice that has that funky seventies flavour. I guess it is the lack of artificial sounds. You do not hear electronic keyboards, just a strumming guitar, a set of drums and a voice. Considering MGMT are releasing this track as a single we can conclude that this 'stripped-back' sound is something that MGMT are planning on using as they develop their song writing talents.

Congratulaions is maybe an offering that fans of MGMT will be a bit underwhelmed by as it is not as radical as some of the songs from Oracular Spectacular, however good music is good music, and Congratulations is a quality song.