There is a shot of David Bowie travelling on an escalator in Japan which seems to sum up the otherworldly aesthetic of this unique film – he seems to float like an angel. Eschewing the usual cliches of talking heads, song clips and cultural commentary, Brett Morgen’s vibrant visual patchwork is more like a PopContinue reading “Film Review: Moonage Daydream”
Category Archives: Music
Review: Sonic Symbolism Podcast
Bjork has never been one for indulging in nostalgia, so this podcast, alongside friends, writer and philosopher Oddny Eir and music historian Asi Jonsson, is a welcome deep dive into the influences and creative process behind each of her solo albums. From the shy newcomer of Debut, who had to get the songs bursting outContinue reading “Review: Sonic Symbolism Podcast”
Overlooked Classics:Summer Camp- Welcome To Condale
Ninety nine red balloons burst in the air. Polaroids are taken, curfews rejected and the Veronicas have taken over the prom, armed with little more than Harmony hairspray and sarcasm . If you recognise these references, chances are you’re in your forties and fifties. Married pop duo Summer Camp and their 2011 album Welcome toContinue reading “Overlooked Classics:Summer Camp- Welcome To Condale”
Edinburgh Festival Review: Pain and I (Audio)
Sarah Hopfinger’s Pain and I is an incredible piece, accessible to all, as it’s both a live dance performance and online auditory piece. Hopfinger’s audio piece, featuring gorgeous string arrangements from Alicia Jane Turner, is at once personal tone poem and mantra. Charting her long struggle with neurological pain and back pain, Hopfinger’s words areContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Review: Pain and I (Audio)”
Eerie Wanda Is Back!
Marina Tadic, aka Eerie Wanda, is back with her gorgeous, ethereal dreampop. After a brief hiatus, the Dutch- Croatian singer -songwriter has a new single, Long Time, released ahead of the forthcoming album Internal Radio, released in September. A more expansive sound doesn’t mean she’s compromising. She’s still unique and low-key, making it all soundContinue reading “Eerie Wanda Is Back!”
Overlooked Classics: Gus Gus- Polydistortion
Why do so many people still not know about Gus Gus? The Icelandic collective are pretty much superstars in their native country, like Hot Chip or Chemical Brothers, but much stranger and sexier. From the bruised vulnerable Why? performed by Emiliana Torrini, to Believe, a squelchy sinister banger, Polydistortion, which came out in 1997, seemedContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Gus Gus- Polydistortion”
THAT DIFFICULT THIRD ALBUM: Kate Bush – Never For Ever
Yeah,yeah, we all love Hounds Of Love and acknowledge that it’s a game changer, but I am rather partial to Kate Bush’s third album , Never For Ever. Released on September 7th in 1980, it is wilfully eccentric (Babooshka, The Wedding List, Violin) febrile and beautiful. Even the cover points to the esoteric strangeness within:Continue reading “THAT DIFFICULT THIRD ALBUM: Kate Bush – Never For Ever”
Edinburgh Festival Preview: Americana- A Murder Ballad
This show, premiering at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, couldn’t have captured the zeitgeist more, as headlines about yet more mass shootings and the new firearms law in New York remain fresh in our minds . Written by leading Scottish playwright Morna Young and featuring music composed by Davey Anderson, the production from Pepperdine Scotland isContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Preview: Americana- A Murder Ballad”
Edinburgh Festival Preview: Shrimp Dance
Paul Michael Henry makes the kind of work that requires audiences to lean in. It’s not safe, bland or reassuring; rather, it’s powerful, intensely rendered and beautiful, the kind of work that resonates and stains your vital organs. His performance for the Edinburgh Festival, Shrimp Dance, is no less a disquieting piece. At once aContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Preview: Shrimp Dance”
WHEN POP GOES EXPERIMENTAL
Something interesting is currently happening within pop- it’s getting experimental again. Surely it’s no coincidence that Kate Bush, the Queen of reinvention, should be rediscovered by twentysomethings this year, thanks to Running Up That Hill featuring in Stranger Things. The spirit of the eighties which meant more esoteric artists like Bush, Prince and The SugarContinue reading “WHEN POP GOES EXPERIMENTAL”
Hit The North 