The Brit Awards 2013

It’s that time of year again, when the famous and beautiful people of the world get dressed up in their designer frocks and suits and parade on the red carpet for awards ceremonies. The Brits used to be an evening of mishaps and anticipation for what cock-up would happen next, but it seems since the awards stopped being live it may have lost its excitement.

James Cordon played host for the second year in a row, and although some may not agree, he actually did a decent job, his jokes went down well and he didn’t cut anyone’s speech short this time. The live performances were a bit hit and miss, Robbie Williams put on a good show as usual, despite singing his increasingly annoying song "Candy". Justin Timberlake failed to impress with his new single "Mirrors", this was mainly down to the song just not being catchy and interesting enough. He still has the moves though that’s for sure. Mumford and Sons killed it with “I Will Wait”, which was arguably one of the best performances of the night, with Emeli Sandé performed amazingly too, closing the show with “Clown” and “Next To Me”.

Ben Howard was probably the most unexpected winner of the night, winning two awards for Best Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act, despite being less well known than other nominees. After The Brits, Ben has seen his album sales rocket, which suggests he’s going to have another big year ahead. The Global Success Award went to One Direction, which is understandable as they have seemingly conquered the world this last year, however, considering Adele is playing at the Oscars, and Mumford and Sons have won a Grammy this year, it’s debatable whether they were the worthy winner.

Overall the Brits was entertaining enough, but it needs a bit more unpredictability like it used to before it was pre-recorded. It does, however, still give a platform to emerging artists such as Ben Howard and Tom Odell to propel them into the mainstream. 

I'm back!

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I posted anything on this blog, so it's definitely time to start writing again! As you can see I've changed my blog title and the layout, I hope you like it, and I'm open to feedback of course. Another change is that I've decided that instead of just writing reviews, I'll be writing about pretty much anything I can think of. . I'm off to the Harry Potter Studio Tour next weekend so I'll let you all know what that's like, and then the weekend after I'm going to Paris, so there should be some good photos, so basically what I'm saying is keep a look out!

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

  

If you’ve been missing stunt packed, explosion filled Tom Cruise films recently then you’ll be pleased to know that Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol once again takes the action to another level, literally.  Despite the fact that you can basically predict the majority of what happens in M: I films, small changes such as Ethan Hunt going separate from the Impossible Missions Force, and the Addition of Simon Pegg, made a slight difference to the narrative.

In true M: I style, the film opens epically with Ethan Hunt fighting his way out of prison with the help of Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton), the reason he was there in the first place doesn’t become clear until later in the film (and I won’t spoil it for you). From the moment we are introduced to Benji, you can tell he is going to be a typical geeky, clumsy Simon Pegg character, but he does play it very well, and it is a welcome contrast to Ethan Hunt who can seemingly do anything, and make it look good at the same time. As the film develops, Ethan gets cut off from the IMF and only has his three colleagues to help him complete his mission.

The filming is excellent, as expected; full of impressive wide shots which show the audience the scale of the stunts and surroundings. By far the best stunt is where Hunt must scale the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, during an approaching sand storm. The camera work shows the stunning views of Dubai, while maintaining the focus on Hunt climbing the building, and of course there are moments when, even though you’re sure he will fall, his skill as a climber stops him.

Although some may see the predictability of a Mission: Impossible films as a downside, isn’t the whole point of seeing a Mission: Impossible is because you know what you’re getting? Exceptional stunt work, explosions, and a storyline which takes a lot to believe. If you enjoyed the previous Mission: Impossible films then you’ll enjoy this, and Simon Pegg is a great addition to the cast, so if you fancy a fast paced, thrilling blockbuster then give it a watch.

Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker is known for his glum social commentary, and his latest creation Black Mirror is no different.  The three part series explores many areas of pop culture, from politics to the X Factor phenomenon, and forces you to question the accepted aspects of our lives.

The first instalment The National Anthem followed to actions of the Prime Minister as he was blackmailed into fornicating with a pig in order to save a Princess Susannah. At the beginning of the episode the Prime Minister discovers that the princess has been kidnapped, and the only ransom her captor asks for is that the Prime Minister has sex with a pig on television. Out of the whole series, the message of this episode was arguably the hardest to pinpoint, but the public’s acceptance of such a lewd act says a lot about how accustomed we are to seeing shocking images on television. You are forced to draw parallels between the fictional characters and real life public figures, which makes this episode even more thought provoking.

15 Million Merits focuses on the culture of X Factor, discussing how far a person will go to achieve success. This episode is set in a strange futuristic world where you must exercise to earn money, which makes for a rather mundane undertone. However, the excitement begins to pick up when the main character, Bing, buys his love interest, Abi, a ticket to enter the talent show ‘Hot Shot’ as a romantic gesture. Unfortunately this backfires and she is cajoled by the judging panel to become a porn star. Bing then returns to the show because the guilt had got too much for him, he intends to change people’s attitudes towards this mind numbing form of television. The episode ends with a speech from Bing on his own television show, which felt like Brooker almost shouting at the audience to wake up and realise how low television shows such as X Factor really are. This episode seemed to drag on more than the others, but to some extent this could have been the intention, to make us think about how we accept the mundane aspects of our lives as long as we have an exciting television show to look forward to.

The final episode, The Entire History of You, with contribution by Brooker, but written instead by the makers of Peep Show, predicts how we would cope if we could relive every moment of our lives just by pressing a rewind button on a remote. The reaction of the main character actually seems reasonable; he focuses on minute details such as peoples facial expressions and body language, making inferences about his wife’s relationship with an ex boyfriend. Possibly the most interesting of all the episodes, you question how you would change if you could watch your life back like a DVD, and the reality is that most of us would become obsessed with our past. 

This series explored many areas of modern culture which many writers wouldn’t dare to, and it was refreshing to see a television programme unlike any other around currently. Although we shouldn’t expect any different from Charlie Brooker than a cold hard look at ourselves, instead of his usual in-your-face rants, he subtly makes us question our culture without making it too blatant.

Arctic Monkeys: Evil Twin

Sheffield boys Arctic Monkeys showcased a new B side to their single Suck it and See at their live show in St Lois, so what’s the verdict?

Evil Twin has The Monkeys signature stick-in-your-head chorus and fast paced guitar, but their best work comes from when they change their sound and experiment, so it’s disappointing that Evil Twin seems to have gone back to their ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ days. The song isn’t bad by any means, and it certainly seemed to get the crowd going in St Lois, but it would be nice to see them stray from their typical sound like they did in ‘Humbug’. Come on boys, be brave.

The Stroke: Angles

It’s finally here! The long awaited new album ‘Angles’ from ‘The Strokes’, ever since I listened to ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ I’ve been waiting for this album, after all, it has been six years since their last one, but was it worth the wait?

There are a few songs on this album which I absolutely love, and the first one has to be the opening song ‘Machu Picchu’, it has lots of lively guitar and an odd Jamaican sound to it, even with Julian Casablancas’ voice which is completely different to anything I’ve heard from them before. This is one of those songs which you just can’t stop listening to, the beat is totally infectious and it has a catchy chorus which I’m a bit of a sucker for I must admit. It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album, but in a way this doesn’t matter because it works well as a standalone track; they should definitely release this as their next single.

Next is the single ‘Under Cover of Darkness’, which again, I can’t get enough of. The guitar is energetic and definitely the driving force of the song, coupled with Casablancas’ energetic yet slightly monotone voice, it’s a tune you can’t stop listening to. You can definitely feel the emotion and passion coming through in the lyrics, specifically the line ‘we’ve got the right to live, fight to use it, got everything and you can just choose it.’

As the album progresses it seems to me that the more exciting songs are the ones which I prefer, this is my personal opinion but for me I like that they’re trying new things and experimenting a little. They appear to be doing this in ‘Taken for fool’, the vocals in particular are exquisite, and they’re so passionate and rough that they almost gave me Goosebumps. The chorus sounds a bit like their old work, but with a new edgier twist which I like, one of my favourites for sure.

‘Two kinds of Happiness’ is a bit of an unusual one, it starts off sounding like it should be on a 'Police' album, I think this is down to the beat, but then the vocals come in and this changes immediately, it does sound like they’ve slipped back into their old, slightly depressing, style so it’s not the best, and after the hugely energetic opening two songs, it does fall flat a little which is disappointing.

‘You’re so right’ is by far the weirdest song of the bunch, occasionally sounding like a song from ‘The Mighty Boosh’ due to it having that same rhythm and robotic style vocals, really strange and not something I’d expect to hear from ‘The Strokes’. This changing of the vocals doesn’t work very well to be honest, it sounds too out of place and the guitar isn’t up to their usual standard, however it is quite energetic and when they slip back into normality it gets a bit better.

The final song on the album ‘Life is simple in the moonlight’ (a lovely title I must add) is mellowed down a little, but in a way which is relaxed and composed, the song starts with a slightly psychedelic feel to it. I love the chorus where Casablancas’ voice works its wonders again, singing catchy, lovely lyrics, great finish I think.

This album has its up and downs, I don’t think it competes with ‘Is This It’ but there are some truly great tracks which have a whole new energy to them, and the vocals on these tracks are definitely a step up from their previous work. I’ve been a fan of The Strokes for a long time so it doesn’t take a lot for them to impress me, and by and large they did, but they miss the mark on a few of the tracks, still worth a listen though.

Amplifier: Octopus

I thought I’d review something a bit unusual this time, and I came across something quite...interesting. Mancunian Alternative rock band, Amplifier, have just released their third album ‘Octopus’, and I have to say I was quite taken aback by their music having never heard of them before. It’s a fairly large album, with 16 tracks, and one song clocking in at eleven minutes, but you don’t actually realise that you've been listening to them for so long because they're so unusual.

The album opens with a purely instrumental track, it has an odd mixture of noises like footsteps, and something which I think is supposed to resemble the sound of a bird. It even has occasional moments of silence before another lot of strange noises. I do like the piano at the end as it’s a taste of normality, which is a really nice contrast and works surprisingly well. This song sets off the album, and makes you realise that you probably shouldn’t try and pigeonhole them into one particular genre or sound; this song shows that they are, if anything, unpredictable.

The ‘Minions song’ is second on the album, and it changes the tone again, it’s mellow and showcases lead singer Sel Balamir’s pretty decent voice. He resembles Dan Gillespie-Sells, lead singer of ‘The Feeling’ possibly because he also sings in a British accent. One aspect of this song I particularly like is the almost chant like chorus, we hear ‘Sing along to the Minion’s Song’ sang repetitively, making it empowering and strong. We hear some piano played throughout, which, compared to the ripping electric guitar on later tracks, is very pleasant to listen to.

Then the album slips into slightly heavy metal, which I have to say I’m not a huge fan of, so ‘The Wave’ and ‘Interglacial Spell’ weren’t to my taste, I much preferred it when they were experimenting with sounds, and not fitting into a generic style. However, they redeem themselves with some of the later tracks such as ‘Octopus’, which keeps that unusual weirdness about it, after all, there's nothing wrong with some bells and a xylophone. You are then surprised to hear acoustic guitar on the track ‘Oscar Night//Embryo’, a nice track which again shows off Balamir’s voice. As for the final track ‘Forever and More’, it feels like they’re finishing off, it’s mellowed down and comes to a slow end, possibly a bit drawn out, but nonetheless a nice way to conclude.

The length of the songs is a slight hindrance with the album, but not to the extent that it gets boring, besides, their sound is so varied that it feels as though you’re listening to a new band every other track. The album artwork for this album is very interesting, and quite beautiful actually, it reflects their music in that it’s unusual and creative. I’m really glad I stumbled across this band; I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them from now on.

The Strokes: Under Cover of Darkness

Ok was it just me who though The Strokes had split up? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that they haven’t as I’m a huge fan of the band, and when I heard that they were bringing out a new album I think I may have done a little dance, but it does seem like a long time since they’ve had any new music. They haven’t released an album since 2005 so you would hope that their upcoming album ‘Angles’ will be spectacular, considering they’ve had such a long time to work on it, and by the sounds of the albums first single ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ they’re on the right track.

The band originated in New York, and has been going since 1998, with their first album ‘Is This It’ released in 2001. They haven’t released an album in six years, and Bassist Nikolai Fraiture has said that they are going back to basics with this one, which sounds rather exciting.

I first discovered the band when I saw them play at V Festival in 2004 and I was instantly hooked; their catchy rhythms and Casablancas’ unusual voice sounded amazing live, and I think the fact that he looked quite intoxicated while he was performing may have added to that festival feel. As for their albums, ‘Is This It’ is number one for me personally, because the tunes are really catchy, you can connect with the lyrics, and there isn’t a bad song in the bunch. It’s very rare that you find an album like that which you can listen to all the way through without wanting to skip a track so when you do find one, it becomes quite special. It’s difficult to explain the feeling when an album really strikes a chord with you, but for me that’s how I feel when listening to ‘Is This It’ and I definitely recommend giving it a go if you haven’t already.

‘Under Cover of Darkness’ starts with a fun toe tapping guitar riff; this gives the song a hugely energetic feel. Then Casablancas’ voice comes in and there’s a distinct change between his slightly moody, low tones from previous albums. There’s one point where he actually goes quite high which is something I would not associate with him ordinarily, but he does it really well and it’s a really nice change. About half way through the song there’s a lovely, but brief, guitar solo which again has a really energetic rhythm. The song reminds me slightly of ‘Reptilia’ because of the great guitar riff, but it does have a new, fresh feel to it as well. Where their previous songs may have been slightly monotone, this song sounds like they’re trying to steer away from that slightly, it’s lively and exciting and Casablancas is trying out new things with his voice which works really well. Definitely give the song a listen, even if you haven’t previously been a big fan of the band because it’s a great new side to them.

After listening to the song I’m even more excited for the release of the album, in some ways they’ve gone back to their roots but in others they are trying out new things and bringing a new feel to their music. I hope the album, due for release on the 21st of March, brings more of this and that they don’t stop making new music soon as I’m not quite ready to say goodbye just yet.

The Joy Formidable: The Big Roar

The Joy Formidable are a new Welsh Indie band, and oddly titled ‘The Big Roar’ is their debut album. They factor that makes them stand out from other indie bands is that they have a female lead vocalist, Ritzy Bryan, who’s strong voice blends well with this type of music and gives it a modern Blondie style, even more so because Bryan had bleach blonde hair and striking blue eyes.

The album begins with ‘The ever changing spectrum of a lie’ which, if I’m honest, sounds like a bit of a cacophony of noise at the start and the end, but in between it becomes slightly psychedelic. Bryan’s voice is soft and provides a lovely contrast to the guitar in the chorus. The lyrics are very inventive in this song; I particularly like the line ‘love is the ever changing spectrum of a lie’ which creates a strong image in your mind. I’m not too keen on the finale to the song as it drags on and seems unnecessary, but in general the song is enjoyable to listen to, and a suitable opening to their album.

One song which I particularly like is ‘Cradle’ it has a fun beat and the vocals are very strong. It is perhaps a bit repetitive but it’s enjoyable to listen to and definitely uplifts you. The video to ‘Cradle’ is very creative; the camera is fixed on a close up of Bryan on a see-saw,  and cuts between her, and various people on the see-saw with her, it’s well filmed and the rhythm of the see-saw fits in well with the beat of the song.

You get the feeling that this band likes experimenting with sound, song names, and the filming in their videos. With song titles like ‘Llaw = Wall’ and ‘A heavy abacus’ you can tell that they are unusual, and their music video’s reflect that. For instance, the video for ‘Austere’ feels a bit like you’re having a drug fuelled hallucination, with strange shapes and bright red singing lips, very unusual but actually very clever.

It seems this band has a bright future ahead of them, and they are a breath of fresh air from the usual copy cat indie bands that seem to be around at the moment. They have a strong debut album behind them now and can build on that, as long as they keep their individuality they will go far I’m sure. I think it’s great that they have a female lead vocalist as it gives an edge to their music and helps them stand out from the crowd. I'd expect to hear a lot more from them in years to come.

Plain White T's: Wonders of the Younger

Illinois indie band Plain White T’s have just released their latest album Wonders of the Younger, and surprisingly they’ve steered clear of emulating their previous success with previous effort Every Second Counts.

I first became a fan of their work when I heard Hey there Delilah, which, although slightly overplayed, was quite a lovely song, with emotional lyrics, so I was excited when I noticed they had a new album out.

Album opener Irrational Anthem begins slow and melodic, but then goes into an energetic, catchy chorus. This change of tempo makes the song really enjoyable and a great way to start the album. It does bare some resemblance to their songs on Every Second Counts, but this could be because front man Tom Higgenson has quite a distinctive voice. This is a really good way to start the album, and sets it off nicely.

Another song which really stood out for me was Welcome to the Mystery; it has a strange mix of sounds which almost makes you feel like you’re in a hall of mirrors at a fair ground, it’s quite weird, but in a good way. I like that they tried to change it up and evoke an unusual emotion from the listener, bringing us back to our childhood. This song is definitely linked to the album cover which shows a rundown fair ground, suggesting that the concept for this album is creating sounds which remind us of when we were young. This is a great idea and the song has an eeriness about it which definitely struck a chord with me.

By far my favourite track of the album is Rhythm of Love which has a great summery beat, helping to beat those December winter blues. This is a tune you can’t resist tapping your toes to, and his voice is at its best, with moments of stunning falsetto. Although it didn’t chart, I think it’s a great single because the chorus is memorable and it really lifts your mood when you listen to it.

Overall this album is pretty good, it’s light hearted and Higgenson’s voice is soft, and easy to listen to. A few of the songs do sound similar to each other, but there are some real gems in there so I recommend giving it a try.

Imran Yusuf: Wedgewood Rooms Comedy Club

Having never been to a comedy club, or the Wedgewood Rooms before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, apart from hopefully lots of laughs. It took a while for the entertainment to actually start, an hour and a half in fact, but it was definitely worth the wait.

The first act of the night was Zoe Lyons, who I recognised from ‘Mock the Week’, and she was just as good as on the TV. She has a great way of using imagery to make things funny, for instance she made a good point that spiders would be a lot less scary if they were extremely camp, and instead of scurrying, they minced across the carpet. She’s a very naturally funny lady and is clearly very comfortable on stage, which is understandable because according to her she’s ‘never had a proper job’. She made the audience very comfortable when she was performing, and even when she interacted with the people at the front it was in a light hearted friendly way, which helped avoid any awkwardness. She’s definitely a must see act.

Next was magician Ali Cook, who I hadn’t heard of but apparently he has been in programmes on Channel Four, Five and Sky 1. His act was full of gross magic tricks which were at times a bit hard to take. His final trick was eating razor blades, which would have been impressive if it didn’t contain masses of fake blood, this was personally a bit too hard to stomach, but I’m sure less squeamish people would enjoy this type of thing. He was very clever and the tricks were impressive but he is a bit of an acquired taste.

The headline act was Imran Yusuf, a cockney comedian who came to fame on ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’ who was particularly hilarious. Obviously the best way to judge comedians is by seeing which one makes you laugh the most, and Yusuf won by far. His use of racial comedy without alienating the audience was clever and frankly brilliant. I also loved the way he ended his act in a similar way to Russell Howard on his ‘Good News’ programme, by finishing on a light hearted note, talking about how we are all the same and we should live together peacefully.

At the end of the night my sides were actually hurting from all the laughing, which is proof enough that it was a hilarious evening. I strongly recommend giving the Wedgewood Rooms Comedy Club a try as it has a great atmosphere and you’ll come away with a great big smile on your face.

Kings of Leon: Come Around Sundown

 

I have to say I've been pretty excited about hearing ‘Kings of Leon’s’ new album ‘Come Around Sundown’. I wouldn’t class myself as a massive Kings of Leon fan, but after all the success of their last couple of singles I was eager to see what they came up with next.

Kings of Leon have been around for about eleven years, which is surprising because they only seem to have majorly broken into the mainstream with their last album ‘Only by the Night’, which earned them number ones and numerous awards. ‘Kings of Leon’ seem to have a knack of changing their sound with almost ever album, despite lead singer Anthony Followill’s highly distinctive voice.

As for the album itself, they’ve done a pretty great job. It gets off to a solid start with a strong drum beat and then a great guitar riff, before the stunning voice of lead singer Anthony Followill comes in. Although this song isn’t the highlight of the album, it’s still a good way to start. ‘Radioactive’ is by far the best song, and reached number seven in the singles chart. The reason it’s so good is due to its amazing guitar riff which comes in at the beginning of the song, and Followill’s brilliant, almost pained voice.

One of the less impressive songs on the album is Mary, it’s highly repetitive and has very little vocals, which seems strange considering the quality of vocalist they have. After a while it does get frankly quite annoying, and I have to say it’s one I would skip past.

However, one song stood out was ‘Back down South’, it has a country feel to it and you can really sense that the band is coming back to their Tennessee routes. The reason it sounds country is due to the acoustic guitar and the rhythm Followill sings at. The next song on the album ‘Beach Side’ is a stark contrast to ‘Back Down South’ with its summery holiday feel. This could be seen as a symbol of their move from humble Tennessee to stardom, typically associated with sunny California.

It’s nice to see that Kings of Leon have not played it safe and made songs that sound similar to their previous successes, and on the whole it’s a great album. It’s chilled and easy to listen to, I recommend it if you’re a Kings of Leon fan.

Mcfly ft Taio Cruz: Shine a Light

I should probably start this post with a confession; yes I am a Mcfly fan. Their cheesy but fun brand of pop rock was really easy to listen to, and although they’re not the coolest band to like, it’s clear that they have genuine musical talent.

They’ve been pretty quiet lately but it seems that’s because they’ve been having a complete image overhaul. They have a brand new sound, look and attitude, and I have to say, it really works. The band needed to become relevant, and it seems they’ve done just that.

‘Shine a Light’ is the second single from their upcoming album ‘Super City’, produced by and featuring chart sensation Taio Cruz. The song starts with their recognisable cheesy high vocals, which I have to say I’m not a fan of, but then Danny Jones’ frankly beautiful voice comes in, and that’s where the song kicks off. The Chorus is catchy, but it feels like Cruz takes over a bit too much, his albeit great voice overshadows Tom and Danny’s, which is disappointing because Danny in particular has a voice which would rival Cruz’s.

The video is a bit strange because unless you understand the story behind it then it doesn’t make much sense. The band sent their fans messages on Twitter with clues to different destinations around London; if they found the end then they had a chance to be in the video. Once you know this, you can understand the video better.  

All in all it’s a pretty good song, a bit generic but I can definitely see it being popular as it fits well with what’s being played in the charts at the moment. As for Mcfly’s new image, it seems to be for the better, and I think it will open up a new audience for them, plus they seem to have somehow got better looking which I'm sure won’t harm their success.  

Jimmy Eat World: Invented

Jimmy Eat World are a band I remember well from my early teenage days (that really makes me feel old) and I have to say after listening to their new album ‘Invented’, which came out this week, I’m re-converted.

Listening to their 2001 single ‘The Middle’ really does make you feel quite nostalgic, and it shows how different this latest album is from their previous work. Jim Adkins and the band have moved on from their soft American pop rock and have come out with an album which is sophisticated and a pleasure to listen to.

The song which stands out the most for me is the title song ‘Invented’ which has a wonderfully mellow acoustic guitar and stunning vocals from Courtney Marie Andrews, who has backing vocals on five of the songs on this album. ‘Invented’ is probably the furthest away from their old stuff and it’s nice to hear them calming it down and taking a risk, although at seven minutes it is a tad long and goes unnecessarily crazy near the end.

One of the more upbeat and catchy songs on the album is the recently released single ‘My Best Theory’. It has the classic Jimmy Eat World guitar and a fast pace which really lifts your mood and forces you to sing along. However, one of my least favourite songs off the album is ‘Action Needs an Audience’, it sounds like they’re trying a bit hard to be screamo, and not really succeeding. Although passionate, it’s straying into another genre which sounds a bit strange.

If I had one criticism of the album as a whole, it would be that some of the songs sound a bit similar, but it has a few real gems that make it a really great piece of work by the Arizona band. If you remember Jimmy Eat World from your youth then have a listen to how much they have changed, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Eat Pray Love

Queen of the Rom-Com, Julia Roberts, is back with her usual romantic feel good movie, and once again she’s done a pretty fantastic job. Eat Pray Love, from the creator of Glee Ryan Murphy, is a very girly movie about a woman who feels as though she is trapped in her marriage, and this leads to her going on a journey to various places around the world, in order to achieve ‘balance’ and find what is missing in her life. As the title suggests, in the first country she eats great food, in the second country she finds religion, and in the third she, of course, finds love.

As an aspiring jetsetter myself, I really engaged with the movie, as well as Julia Roberts' character Liz Gilbert. In the same way that street dance movies make you think you could be a dancer yourself, Eat Pray Love makes you think that one day you will be able to travel the world and be as happy and content as Liz after her adventure.
James Franco has a small role in the film as Liz’s New York boyfriend, but unfortunately doesn’t make a very big impact. As for Roberts, you really believe that she has a connection with the character, this could be because she is supposedly a practising Buddhist and meditates regularly, or it could just be that she’s a good actor

Overall it was a lovely, uplifting film, and Roberts was a great choice for the lead as she’s doing what she does best (cry lots and fall in love with good looking men). If you don’t like cheesy romantic films then this isn’t for you, but if you enjoy films which bring a tear to your eye and make you really empathise with the main character then you should definitely give it a go.

Brandon Flowers goes solo

There have been lots of new releases this week, but one that especially caught my eye was ‘Crossfire’ by Killers front man Brandon Flowers. As a huge Killers fan I was very excited to see if Flowers could hold his own when the rest of the band decided to take a break. This single is the first from his debut solo album ‘Flamingo’, apparently named after a road in Las Vegas, the city where Flowers was bought up.

His first solo single has done pretty well in the charts, with ‘Crossfire’ landing at number eight, but this is to be expected due to his previous success with the killers, so is the song actually any good? Well yes, actually, with a catchy chorus and Flowers’ strong but vulnerable voice, it makes for quite a reasonable track. The lyrics don’t seem to make much sense, but at least they sound good together, which is the main thing.

The video is quite strange, and doesn’t really seem to have any particular point to it, but it’s doubtful anybody’s going to be taking much notice of that when you’ve got a battered and bruised, yet handsome Brandon Flowers and stunning movie star Charlize Theron to look at. With samurai swords and ninja warriors it does in fact look like a scene from a Hollywood movie.

Although it’s a perfectly good song, it’s not really different enough from The Killers songs for it to stand out as obviously just Flowers by himself. It doesn’t have the wow factor that the first Killers album did where pretty much every song on it was potentially a hit single, maybe he’ll have some great stuff on the rest of his ‘Flamingo’ album, but this didn’t blow me away like I hoped. Maybe after Flowers has finished experimenting with his solo career he’ll go back to The Killers and make some music that lives up to ‘Hot Fuss’, we can hope anyway.

One Night Only: Say you don't want it

Yorkshire indie band ‘One Night Only’ released the first single from their self titled new album earlier this week. The single ‘Say you don’t want it’ has been highly anticipated due to front man George Craig’s girlfriend, and Harry Potter star, Emma Watson appearing in the video, but does the single live up to the hype? 
 

‘One Night Only’ released their debut album in 2008, so they’re still quite new to the music world, and from what you can hear from this single, their sound hasn’t changed particularly. They’ve kept their classic ‘easy on the ears’ sound which will be sure to push it up the charts. Most people will recognise ‘Just for Tonight’ and ‘You and Me’ from their first album but they seem to have disappeared from memory the last couple of years. 

The very first few seconds of ‘Say you don’t want it’ feel slightly out of place and unusual, the almost Muse like sound was a little strange. However, the song is a toe tapping, upbeat song that has awesome lyrics you can’t help but sing along to. The line ‘The big screens, the plastic made dreams’ in particular rolls off the tongue very easily, and when lead singer Craig belts out ‘Say you don’t want it’ it’s said with determination and infectious enthusiasm. The message of the song, it seems, is people’s reliability on material goods, one line in particular ‘paint all your soul with the brand designs’ pretty much sums up the point of this song.   

The beat and the guitar in particular, drive the song forward, which makes it easy to listen and move to. The fact that it’s repetitive makes it stick in your head, but not in an annoying way, and its upbeat rhythm makes it really enjoyable to listen to. Overall I really liked this song and I can see it being very successful, but not just because Emma Watson is in the video.  

Hey There!

Welcome to my blog, i'm going to be talking about music, films and the occasional TV programme, it's my first blog so I hope you like it, and a review should be up soon.