Download: Here Sometimes (Pantha Du Prince remix) – Blonde Redhead

Fans of the brilliant 4AD band Blonde Redhead will be happy to know that they released a new album Penny Sparkle in September.  Yours truly has her hands on a copy and will review it shortly.  In the meantime, I leave you with the Pantha du Prince remix of “Here Sometimes” which is the first track from the new album. The remix sounds nothing like the original track but it is quite funky and over ten minutes long.  As a free download, it is well worth your money!

For me, the best part about the track is that you can simply click the pretty widget below and download (or just listen) and no sign up is required!  I am not a fan of these widget thingies that make you sign up first and give away your email address. 

Film news: Burlesque – trailer and photos

The synopses for the new Sony pictures film Burlesque don’t seem to do the film justice and certainly doesn’t begin to describe how lush and colourful it looks from the trailer and promo photos.  Burlesque is about a young girl called Ali who takes a one-way ticket to Los Angeles and lands a job as a cocktail waitress at The Burlesque Lounge, an ailing theatre and revue bar.  The choreography and stunning costumes of Burlesque capture Ali’s imagination and she vows to perform there on day.  Little does she know that it is her voice that will restore The Burlesque Lounge to its former glory and save the club proprietor Tess (played by Cher) from her financial woes.

The film stars Christina Aquilera as Ali and co-stars Cam Gigandet as love interest and fellow musician Jack and Kristin Bell as rival and fellow dancer Nikki.  Other cast members include Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, Eric Dane, Julianne Hough and of course, Cher.

Burlesque sounds like it could be a modern day reworking of the excellent Coyote Ugly.  Of course, there have been several similar films released over the years and I am kind of over the small-town girl makes the big time in the big city films but something about the trailer and these gorgeous promo shots really makes me want to see it.  There is no doubt that Christina Aquilera is a born performer and I think she will probably pull this role off to great critical acclaim.  Of course, I do have a rather large soft spot for both Cam Gigandet (The O.C.) and Kristin Bell (Veronica Mars) anyway so I am likely to see the film just for them anyway.

 

 

Burlesque releases in the US on 24 November and the UK on 17 December 2010.

Music Monday ~ 36: Groove Armada - Look Me in the Eye Sister

I went to see Groove Armada in concert on Friday night and they were absolutely amazing!  I just wish I could turn back the hands of time and go back to Friday night and relive it.  It is all really sad because the band have now retired as a live act and say that we’ll only see them in the studio and as producers and DJs in the future.  Oh well, at least I got to see them once.

To celebrate seeing them in concert and the release of their new album White Light I thought I’d share my favourite track from their Black Light album.  (White Light is a live studio remix of the tracks from Black Light).  They opened the concert with “Look Me in the Eye Sister” and I immediately knew just how brilliant the evening was going to be.

I love this video because they have a bit of fun with it.  I love the “fan footage” towards the end.  It reminds me of my own attempts to record gigs and how they never come out because I’m cheering and dancing too much.

You can read all about the concert here: Concert Review: Groove Armada – O2 Brixton Academy, London, October 15, 2010.

Blu-ray review: Being Human: Season Two

In 2008, Britain’s BBC Three channel ran a series of one hour pilots with the view to awarding one of the shows a full season.  Being Human was by far the most popular of the pilots and was awarded a six-episode series shortly after airing.  The quirky plot revolves around a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost sharing a flat together in Bristol, England.  It sounds like a good way to start a joke but Being Human falls firmly in the horror-drama genre and it is one of the most popular series to come out of the UK in recent years.  Following a shake up in the cast following the pilot, Being Human stars Russell Tovey as werewolf George, Aidan Turner as vampire Mitchell and Lenora Crichlow as ghost Annie.

Season 2 opens with tensions rising high in the house as George struggles to come to terms with having killed Herrick at the end of season one while his girlfriend Nina (Sinead Keenan) makes a devastating discovery about herself.  We learn of a sinister organisation CenSSA that could spell the end for all supernatural entities and beings and we realise that they have their sights on George and Mitchell.  Mitchell starts to assert his independence from his housemates and for a brief moment entertains the notion of a normal relationship with a doctor at the hospital, Lucy (Lyndsey Marshal).  That plan is put in to serious disarray as the local vampire community descends into chaos and mutiny and Mitchell steps up to re-establish order.  Meanwhile, Annie decides to get a job at the local pub and meets Saul who seems lovely at first but we soon realise that he, too, has been touched by death.  This is all just the beginning of the season but to say too much more would be to give away spoilers!

So much happens in this season of Being Human that it is hard to believe that it is just eight episodes long.  Benefitting from the BBC’s lack of mid-show commercial advertising, the episodes run for a full hour and each episode wraps up an entire sub-story.  The result is excellent character development and a plot that is decidedly darker, more violent and infinitely more exciting than the first season.  Russell Tovey, Aidan Turner and Lenora Crichlow shine as the slightly off-beat supernatural trio but there are also some impressive performances from the supporting cast.  Paul Rhys and Amy Manson are fantastic as the deranged vampire couple Ivan and Daisy and Lucy Gaskell puts in a fine performance as George’s girlfriend Sam.  The stars among the supporting cast are undoubtedly Donald Sumpter as religious zealot Kemp and Lyndsey Marshall as Professor Lucy Jaggat.

This is the season where everything changes and by the end of it George, Mitchell and Annie realise that they can never return to the little house the shared together in Bristol.  It is an explosive season (literally!) and I would have to say that I enjoyed every single sub-plot, character and storyline.   It is a good thing that season three wrapped up filming in Cardiff last week because I cannot wait to see what the next season has in store.

Being Human is known for fantastic special effects and vampires, werewolves and ghosts alike are presented in absolutely brilliant, sometimes startling form.  The costumes are fantastic too and I loved the scenes where the characters flashed back to the sixties and earl seventies.  Although many of the scenes were dark, mirroring the darkness in tone of this second season, the series is visually stunning at times and the darkness is often contrasted with bright red flashes of colour, often blood.  All of this makes Being Human a perfect series for the Blu-ray format.  Presented in HD 1080i video, the visual quality of this set is outstanding and it really brings the story to life in crisp, flawless and often gory detail. 

  

Being Human features a really beautiful score by composer Richard Wells and this is presented well on the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack.  Popular music also features highly in the show, especially in the flashback scenes and I was delighted to hear The Velvet Underground and Jefferson Airplane this season as well as Bat For Lashes.

The Being Human: Season Two Blu-ray set is packed full of special features and is a collector’s dream.  The second season of Being Human was marketed by a strong viral campaign across the Being Human blog, Twitter and YouTube.  Part of that was a series of CenSSA mockumentary clips showcasing the discoveries and research of CenSSA and these clips feature as hidden menus on the Blu-ray.  I’d recommend watching the season first before watching the clips though as they do contain spoilers.  CenSSA stands for The Centre for the Study of Supernatural Activity and you can also see the clips on the CenSSA website.

The Blu-ray also includes several featurettes including “Blood Bursting”, “The Caves”, “Unleashing the Beast”, The Swinging Sixties”, “Behind the Makeup”, “Making the New Werewolf” and “Train Carnage”.  These are certainly some of the best special features I have seen in ages and make the Blu-ray experience a must-have for fans of the show.

It is not hard to see why Being Human is so popular but it really is one of the best shows on television.  It is one of the few shows I would seriously take the time out to watch again and again as the dynamic and story is just that good.  I would absolutely recommend the Being Human: Season Two on Blu-ray and do not hesitate to give it five out of five stars.

Buy Being Human on Blu-ray at Amazon.co.uk:

Season 1 ¦ Season 2 ¦ Seasons 1 & 2

 

Photo credits: © Warner Brothers Entertainment

Click on the photos for higher resolution shots

Article first published as Blu-ray review: Being Human: Season Two on Blogcritics. This review contains affiliate links.

Stream: Klaxons – Surfing the Void

SoundCloud is fast becoming one of my favourite sites and now they have the entire new Klaxons album available to stream.  This is a fantastic way for a wider audience to discover and listen to Klaxons’ music and I’d really recommend giving them a listen.

Surfing the Void by Klaxons

I’m still on the fence with this new album and it is certainly not of the same calibre as Myths of the Near Future.  I’m conscious though that Klaxons were my favourite band and I’m going to try let the album grow on me before passing my final judgement.

Music Monday ~ 35: The Wall part 2 – Pink Floyd

 

Please allow me to be ever so slightly adolescent.  I’m studying at the moment (again, I know) and I take part in web seminars in the evenings from about 6pm to about half-past 8pm.  It is really tiring and the classes move ever so slowly.  Anyway, as the lesson ended today I knew that I had my Music Monday song for today.

Incidentally, Pink Floyd’s The Wall is my most-watched film of all time.  I used to watch it every, single day after school and the only other film that comes close to that would be Bugsy Malone. 

Perhaps when i have the house to myself this weekend I can watch The Wall again.  I’d never subject my poor husband to it as it would no doubt do his head in.

Are you taking part in Music Monday?  Leave a link in the comments – I’d love to hear what you’re listening to.

Download: Mutts – Complete EP Collection

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Mutts are a three-piece blues rock band with grunge and garage influences.  Chatting with front man and manager Mike Maimone, I was able to get a feel for just how hard it can be to break out in the musical industry and how artists suffer for their art.  As Mike says, music is finally starting to pay the bills but it hasn’t always been like that!

Mike describes how he went to college, got qualified as an accountant and then quit his auditing job after a year to Portland, OR to join a band.  When that band broke up, he moved to Chicago where he lived on a couch in a recording studio.  He made his money in the studio by filling in for bands that didn’t have keyboard players and he also cooked and cleaned from time to time.  “I managed to make a solo record by tracking after hours while I was there, too!” says Mike.  Obviously an overachiever then!

It was through this studio work that he met Bob and Chris.  They were both playing for big Chicago bands which Mike says intimidated him at first but they all began jamming together once both of their bands broke up.  Despite the success they had seen previously, all three band members needed to work odd jobs just to get by.  “Bob and Chris sometimes walk dogs, and I've done random things from digging ditches to manicuring a cemetery lawn to selling knives,” explains Mike.  “But for the most part, music is finally paying the bills”. 

This is fantastic news because Mutts is a band that deserves to be heard and deserves their spot in the limelight.  They have a wonderfully loud and energetic blues rock sound and the good news is that they are giving away three of their EPs for free on their website.

Pretty Pictures was first released in September 2009 and the piano features strongly in all four tracks.  The first track “Stolen Bricks” has a great garage sound while “Trust” continues with a jazzy sound.  There is no disputing that this is hard rock though and something about it reminds me of Faith No More or perhaps Mike Patton’s Mr Bungle.  This is just better. “Uncivilized” slows down the tempo and is a really great blues song while “On The Rope” speeds it right up again.  I love the funky hook on this last track and it is a good finish to a really strong EP.

We Float was released in May 2010 and begins with the psychedelic and energetic “Beggar”.  This EP is quite different from Pretty Pictures.  It is quite a lot heavier and relies more on keyboards and guitars than the piano heavy tunes of the former EP.  This is especially evident in the title track “We Float”.  “Handcuffs” and “Mama’s Boy” are funky songs and “Handcuffs” features a great blues melody on keyboards.  The EP finishes with “Let It Be” which is unfortunately too noisy even for an old lover of noise like me.

The Tells of Parallels is their latest EP and was released on October 1, 2010.  I immediately noticed that it has a more polished sound and I was really impressed with the first track “Terranaut”.  I liked the first two EPs but this was the track that made me realise that I wanted to hear a full Mutts album. It is a bold track with plenty of blues and psychedelic influences and seems to get better each time I listen to it.  It seems that Mutts have found their musical groove as “Symmetry”, “Gone” and “Masquerade” continue this bold, energetic, blues sound.  The EP finishes with “Junior” which slows down the tempo slightly and is a great blues track about a father and son.

Mutts are offering all three of these great EPs for free on their site muttsmusic.com.  You can enter the download page, choose your EP from the selection on the right and then name your price.  There is no minimum download price and you can pay nothing.  Of course, if you’d like to keep this rising band in business, it won’t hurt to donate a couple of dollars!

Article first published as Chicago Band Mutts Offer Their EPs for Free Download on Blogcritics.

iPhone App Review: Ubrain

Ubrain is a binaural beat application that promises to boost energy, enhance the mind and change mood while the allowing the user to listen to their favourite tracks on their iPhone.  Binaural beat technology works by transmitting two separate frequencies into the listener’s ears at two different frequencies resulting in a median third beat.  This third beat has been linked to various beneficial, short-term effects such as enhanced focus, energy, mood, relaxation, wakefulness and concentration.

When starting to use the Ubrain application, it is a really good idea to follow the instructions properly because strangely enough, it works better if you set it up correctly.  There is a handy Ubrain tutorial available to take you right through the set up. 

You start on the home screen and enter through “users”.  Once you have entered your name and set your voice pitch, you tell the app what you’re doing (working, travelling or going to sleep); how you’re feeling (dead or lazy) and what you would like to do (wake-up or fall asleep).  The app then suggests a couple of programs for you lasting from eight to twenty minutes.  The programs are the frequencies which you then layer over your own music by choosing songs from your playlist (you will need music on your iPhone to use this app). 

So does it work?  The answer is yes.  I listened to a couple of focus and concentration related programs yesterday evening and certainly found my brain responding to the beats.  I felt more alert and able to concentrate for far longer than I usually manage of an evening.

I tried the energy and wakefulness options while commuting this morning but I don’t think taking caffeine through an intravenous drip would have helped me this morning.  I tried the aptly called “espresso” option and although the effect wasn’t as definite as it had been last night, I did find that I eventually responded to it and certainly felt more awake and alert by the time I got to work.

I didn’t conduct a controlled experiment but it does seem that the app works then.  The biggest problem I encountered (apart from user error due to initially ignoring the set up instructions) was the actual sound of the beats.  It is certainly possible to reduce the volume of the program but what it essentially sounds like is a low-frequency droning noise layered over your music.  It worked better with dance music (I listened to Chemical Brothers and Does It Offend You, Yeah?) but it did not work well at all over indie or alternative music.  The idea would be to switch the volume of the app down while still ensuring that you can hear it (and experience the benefits).  It helps if you can switch the volume of your music right up but it is not always nice to do so on a crowded rush-hour train.

Another problem I experienced was that the app stops working if your phone auto-locks.  As you are meant to be relaxing while listening to the app, this is likely to happen and the only way to overcome it is to disable auto-lock, which is not ideal.

Ubrain is available on iTunes for $4.99 or £2.99.  Despite the problems experienced, I’ll probably continue to use it when I really need an energy or concentration boost but it is not something I could use daily.  It is a pity the droning sound is so prominent because if it blended more with the music, this could be a really ace app.

Article first published as iPhone App Review: Ubrain on Blogcritics.

Music Monday ~ 34: Anthem for a Doomed Youth – Veil Veil Vanish

 

One of these days I think I might write an essay on music videos.  For now I’ll just say that money-grabbing music labels that disable embedding of artists’ videos on YouTube are killing music!  And artists who don’t make videos are losing out on one of the best promotional tools out there.  I love watching music videos and I think it is one of the safest, most effective ways of sharing music.

I really like Veil Veil Vanish and I love the brave new world sound in this song.  It reminds me so much of 1988!  I hope to have a review up of their album in the next week.

New Deathly Hallows banner posters

I love these brand new poster / banners for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.  The film will be released on November 19, 2010 in both UK and USA.  I wonder when they’ll start previews?