Film Preview: Inside Llewyn Davis
Cannes is fantastic, obviously I would never say otherwise. But it’s not without its faults. Namely that I never go and I spend the whole period getting insanely jealous of those that do go whenever when I see anything about it in the paper or online. Nevertheless, it’s always a good way to get yourself excited about all the upcoming decent releases.
To make matters worse, The Coen Brothers have a new film premiering there. Inside Llewyn Davis follows a week in the life of a failing folk singer-songwriter in 1960s not-so-glamorous New York City, who persistently fails and struggles to be a success. The people surrounding him aren’t much more supportive either but it’s safe to say Llewyn Davis doesn’t make matters easier for himself.
Movie Review: The Great Gatsby – It’s Many Things, But Great Isn’t One
Those who know me are aware of my undying love for this book. Previously mentioned in my own pieces, I’ve noted that this has been my favourite book since being thirteen years old. I don’t think I ever tire of it – whether it’s being stunned by green lights and gold cars or TJ Eckleburg’s eyes, thinking of Gatsby as the most romantic man of all time, perhaps the most tragic, or the myriad of themes spanning from self-deception to classism, Fitzgerald’s novel defines the term ‘masterpiece’ for me.
Baz Luhrmann’s piece exemplifies most what I hate about all of his previous work. It’s gimmicky (let’s just not mention the 3D) and it’s reliant on you forgetting that you’re actually watching a film but rather a Vanity Fair photo-shoot.
Check This Video Out: King Krule @ Fred Perry SubSonic
As part of their extremely successful series, SubSonic one of the finest labels around, Fred Perry, are giving yet another fantastic under-the-radar act the coverage they really deserve. Having made a place on the BBC Sound of 2013 Poll, King Krule has confirmed he is most certainly ‘one to watch’. This performance at Fred Perry’s SubSonic is indicative of his raw, passionate, playing married with his frenetic lyricism (reminiscent of Jamie T). Be sure to check it out!
KING KRULE – Rock Bottom Sequence from De Facto on Vimeo.
For more performances and interviews from King Krule and many more go to www.fredperrysubculture.com
Interview with The Family Rain
Having signed to Mercury Records, had their newest single Pushing It premiere on Zane Lowe’s show, and supported bands such as The Courteeners in the past months, it’s safe to say The Family Rain are well on their way to big success. And deservedly so! I spoke to the band briefly to talk their upcoming debut album, approaching new material and tour essentials.
I Want You To Meet… Hungry Kids of Hungary
Steadily gaining a large fanbase in their homeland Australia, the quartet with a fantastically catchy name are set to break all over the world. The band’s potent mix of mature, confident songwriting over fizzy guitar riffs will be sure to feature on your summer playlists.
Indeed, this is the blueprint for perfect summer music. No matter how dark the subject matter of the tune, these sugary, sweet songs will be sure to brighten your day. It’s all very fun!
Movie Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Be Reluctant To See It
Based on Mohsin Hamid’s bestselling, highly lauded novel of the same name (with himself co-writing the screenplay) Mira Nair’s latest outing proves to destroy all the delicacies of Hamid’s cleverly crafted story and spoils all sorts of subtlety from the film.
I Want You To Meet… POST
POST do a fantastic job of blending chilled out surf-rock vibes with full-throttle post-punk guitar riffs that’ll run round your head like hamster in a spinning wheel.
On R.I.T.H as the lyrics “Our eyes align and we clash like gladiators,” are sung, it strikes you that if someone told you that you were listening to an early Maccabees demo, you’d believe them.
Anthemic and laugh-yourself-silly fun, POST’s tunes are definitely worth a listen. You can download their 7 Track album now on bandcamp, which was featured in NME in February.
Album Review: Heart of Nowhere – Noah and the Whale
Charlie Fink and co. have never been men that are afraid to show their tender side. And rightfully so! There aren’t any other bands that can display such unaffected emotion quite as poignantly and elegantly as Noah and the Whale. Heart of Nowhere finds these men growing up and examining what they truly want in life in such a way that is endearingly honest, humble and not in the slightest conceited.
Lead single There Will Come A Time shows that incredibly well; “There will come a time where you might need your friends tonight.” – What NATW do so well is talk about the kind of honest, ideals we all aspire to without making it seem pretentious. The group don’t sit on their high-horse and abase you. Fink sings about his own experiences and the lessons he has learned himself. There will come a time absolutely, but as following track says, Now is Exactly The Time. What’s the point in waiting around to experience things? That’s what life’s about right? Experiencing something, meeting new people, fading in and out of each others lives, conflicts and resolutions, break-ups and makeups, finding who you are. That’s right, this is 100% a coming of age record.
Interview with Casual Sex
Check out what Casual Sex had to say about their bizarre name, meeting in toilets and their stellar new single Stroh 80, which I highly recommend!
Q: Hi Casual Sex! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview – really appreciate it! To start with, how did you guys all meet?
No problem! As far as I’m aware, Ed and Sam met in a bar toilet somewhere in Glasgow. It’s not as dark as it sounds and I don’t know how or why it happened, but that’s how they met Me and Pete met Sam through the studio he works at, The Green Door. I’d just finished working on an album for my other band [Male Pattern Band] there and his studio colleagues and I went for drinks at the appropriately named Nice n Sleazy after the session. I was introduced to Sam – he was looking for a drummer for his new project – I said I played and he handed me a CD. It looked great and sounded better – so we started playing together.
Q: How did the name for the band come about?
The name is another mystery – there are many conflicting stories here, each more fantastic than the last. I like to think it was just a good band name, therefore it stuck!
Album Review: The Great Gatsby Soundtrack – Various Artists
It’s important for me to preface this post by saying that The Great Gatsby is truly my favourite book of all time. Ever since I was 13 years old, I’ve consistently been blinded by its brilliance. But let’s talk about the soundtrack not the book or the upcoming film adaptation directed by the ever so flamboyant, Baz Luhrmann.
Jay-Z, also executive producing the film, and musical supervisor Anton Monsted have certainly concocted a rather eclectic mix of music for the movie. Indeed, Jay-Z seems to be a rather odd-choice for a film set in the Jazz Age, but the director spoke about how he feels that hip-hop music today is the way to communicate the Jazz Age to people now, “We—our audience—are living in the ‘hip-hop age’ and want our viewers to feel the impact of modern-day music the way Fitzgerald did for the readers of his novel at the time of its publication.”
Sure, it’s an interesting choice but does it make a good soundtrack? In short, there are hits and misses.