loreleiirvine

Why Faster Was Prescient

Written in 1999 by New York author James Gleick, Faster was ridiculously ahead of its time. Gleick, a brilliant science writer with a particular focus on technology and its sociological impact, postulated that the internet and the speed of progress was going to be corrosive, creating a collective burnout. From examining the time people tookContinue reading “Why Faster Was Prescient”

Lydia and Rowland- Some Velvet Morning

Cover versions are always interesting when they’re cut to ribbons. So it is with Lydia Lunch and Rowland S Howard’s 1982 version of the Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood classic. Already pretty trippy, as befits a proto- psychedelic nursery rhyme, Lunch and Howard decided to make it even murkier. The duo, who met during Howard’sContinue reading “Lydia and Rowland- Some Velvet Morning”

Lost In Music: Gazelle Twin &NYX- Deep England

Halloween weekend is here, the thin veil between the dead and the living. Come stroke the red velvet interior of your worst nightmares. A hundred snakes constrict, a hundred shark mouths consume. There’s an infinite karaoke held by Nigel Farage. Directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the wonderful creative duo behind the stunning Nick CaveContinue reading “Lost In Music: Gazelle Twin &NYX- Deep England”

Album Review: Parquet Courts- Sympathy For Life

You could be forgiven for thinking this is just another ebullient, scrappy album from the New York indie stoners, or however we’re stereotyping them this week. After all, the irresistible bounce of Walking At A Downtown Pace seems to personify this, with Max Savage’s rollicking rhythm and their trademark shouty refrain. But album seven isContinue reading “Album Review: Parquet Courts- Sympathy For Life”

Make It Gorey

As Halloween doth approach e’er closer, I felt it fitting to doff a silken top hat to the great genius of art and literature, Edward Gorey. A true eccentric, Gorey, who wrote luxurious macabre prose augmented by pale, spindly creatures often meeting their untimely demise, wore fur coats and sneakers, oft with moustache and beard,Continue reading “Make It Gorey”

Album Review: Lotic- Water

MusIc that knocks you sideways and rearranges vital organs is rare these days, but occasionally, something appears that sounds so otherworldly that you feel quite changed. Water by Lotic does this to me. It’s like experiencing an infatuation. It’s experimental electronica, future- soul, with bewitching, hard to fathom sounds that are impossible to shake off.Continue reading “Album Review: Lotic- Water”

Film Review: Here To Be Heard (2017)

There was no one quite like The Slits, and there never will be again. It’s eleven years since lead singer and force of nature Ari Up passed away from cancer at just 48 William E Badgley’s documentary charts the first all-female punk band and their formation in 1976, featuring interviews with Kate Korris, the originalContinue reading “Film Review: Here To Be Heard (2017)”

Divine Pop Intervention

Everybody knows Divine from her John Waters films. But the icon, who didn’t really want to be known as a drag queen, had another successful career in pop. Harris Glenn Milstead, who would have been 76 yesterday, fell into recording kind of by accident, as her outrageous live shows led to producer Bobby Orlando seeingContinue reading “Divine Pop Intervention”

Felt: You Say Jangly Like It’s A Bad Thing

Before indie became somewhat homogenised, there was Felt. Eccentric lead singer Lawrence didn’t allow journalists to use his loo, mumbled a lot and acquired something of an awkward reputation, often hiding behind his hat. He was often portrayed by the NME like an indie Howard Hughes, which seems a tad reductive. Maurice Deebank, meanwhile, wasContinue reading “Felt: You Say Jangly Like It’s A Bad Thing”

Teleman- Simple Like Us

Teleman have always, in their own unassuming way, crafted perfect Day-glo pop since they formed from the ashes of Pete and the Pirates. As with other low- key UK indie bands like Metronomy, Field Music and Hot Chip, they seamlessly meld electronics with slightly playful, occasionally melancholic songwriting. The new single, Simple Like Us ,Continue reading “Teleman- Simple Like Us”