Author Archives: loreleiirvine

Lost In Music: Cocteau Twins – Treasure

Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie may have said to the British music press, “Treasure was such an abortion. I hated it”, but the 1984 classic is still one of the band’s best-selling, best-loved studio albums. Originally, this, their third studio album, was to be produced by Brian Eno, but the band’s Robin Guthrie took thatContinue reading “Lost In Music: Cocteau Twins – Treasure”

Film Review: Jonathan Miller’s Alice in Wonderland

One of the finest adaptations of the Lewis Carroll classic, Jonathan Miller’s Alice In Wonderland is singular, surreal and beautiful. A psychedelic phantasmagoria, this Alice feels like the epitome of sixties counterculture, evoking early Pink Floyd, Timothy Leary and Granny Takes A Trip vintage clothing. It’s all reinforced by Ravi Shankar’s lovely score, and theContinue reading “Film Review: Jonathan Miller’s Alice in Wonderland”

Film Review: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched

Subtitled, A History of Folk Horror , Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, written and directed by Keir- La Janisse, is a pretty comprehensive documentary guide to films set in rural landscapes where terror lurks. Essentially, folk horror is defined as “the juxtaposition of the prosaic and the uncanny” . At over three hour long, itContinue reading “Film Review: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched”

Lost In Music: Will Gregory Moog Ensemble

While his singing half treads a more commercial path these days, Will Gregory from Goldfrapp has a project that’s experimental, doffing a hat to pioneers like Stockhausen and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It’s wonderfully out of step with current trends in modern music, like the recent jazz revival and hyperpop. Will Gregory Moog Ensemble isContinue reading “Lost In Music: Will Gregory Moog Ensemble”

Book Review: Kathleen Hanna- Rebel Girl

Artists currently making music like Caroline Polachek ,St Vincent and Big Joanie undoubtedly owe a debt of influence to the fearless trailblazer Kathleen Hanna. Her new memoir, Rebel Girl, is as expected, unflinching, affecting and lucid. She writes prose like lyrics, in short, sharp bursts. Nothing is spared, from navigating a difficult,abusive home, to survivingContinue reading “Book Review: Kathleen Hanna- Rebel Girl”

Album Review: Marcel Wave- Something Looming

This is a hell of a debut. Featuring members of Sauna Youth and CoId Pumas, Marcel Wave are a promising lot. Singer Maike Hale- Jones delivers witty, gobby vignettes on the state of Britain, flanked by Oliver Fisher and his bruising guitar, and organ from Lindsay Corstorphine. It’s in the grand tradition of UK post-punkContinue reading “Album Review: Marcel Wave- Something Looming”

Overlooked Classics: Marc Almond With The Willing Sinners- Mother Fist

Much more than just beautifully crafted filth, Marc Almond’s third studio album from April 1987, created with backing band The Willing Sinners, is a doozie. Taking inspiration from Jean Genet, Judy Garland and the Weimar republic, Almond ‘s musical palette was ever widening, full of left turns and his trademark bon mots- he’s always hadContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Marc Almond With The Willing Sinners- Mother Fist”

Are You Loathsome Tonight? Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla

There is a scene in Sofia Copola’s very fine film Priscilla which sums up her sad predicament: she’s about to give birth to her daughter, but rather than focusing on her breathing, she stands at a mirror and carefully, almost as if in a trance, puts on a full face of make-up. Cailee Spaeney portraysContinue reading “Are You Loathsome Tonight? Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla”