“It’s very romantic” , David Bowie explained to a bemused Russell Harty in one of their many infamous awkward chatshow exchanges, after of course the pompous host remained fixated on the aesthetics and not substance, yet again. He was of course referring to The Man Who Fall To Earth. Low, the album of around thatContinue reading “Fallen To Earth, Low But Not Down”
Tag Archives: Experimental
Documentary Review: Bowie- The Final Act
Sadly, it’s been almost a decade since the passing of the Thin White Duke. This documentary, which aired last night on Channel 4 in the UK, is a bit lopsided. Essentially, Bowie: The Final Act, directed by James Stiasny, initially comes across as a greatest hits of Bowie information, aiming for the gravitas and inventionContinue reading “Documentary Review: Bowie- The Final Act”
Album Review: Haai- Humanise
The second album from London based electronic artist Teneil Throssell, aka HAAi, is absolutely sublime. Continuing with the gorgeous experimentation from debut Baby I’m Ascending, Humanise features friends like Jon Hopkins, Obi Franky, ILA and TRANS VOICES on the majestic ‘Satellite’. Elsewhere, we find Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor on ‘New Euphoria’ and Kam-Bu on ‘Shapeshift’.Continue reading “Album Review: Haai- Humanise”
Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Bend Sinister
Mid-eighties Fall were, as ever, a strange proposition, fast becoming a cult band; yet always wilfully on the sidelines, casting caustic barbs at the more banal elements of pop culture. So it was with the ninth album, the brilliant Bend Sinister. It was named after the Nabokov novel. Even the cover points to the kindContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Bend Sinister”
Album Reviews: Otoboke Beaver- Live At Taku Taku/Live At Fandango
What’s better than one live Otoboke Beaver album? Two live ones. The Japanese “knock out or pound cake” band are one of the world’s most exciting live acts, with fans like Dave Grohl and Jack White, and now their massive whirlwind of sound has been captured in show form. And they’re both, unsurprisingly, excellent inContinue reading “Album Reviews: Otoboke Beaver- Live At Taku Taku/Live At Fandango”
Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- I Saw This And Thought Of You
Friend of Hit The North and all -round legend Anna Secret Poet is back with arguably her most epic album to date. There’s some introspection wrapped in a piledriving anthem (‘Aimless’) a soupcon of cheeky country grunge with ricocheting guitars (‘ Old Unfaithful ‘) and the typical eccentricity we’ve come to associate with her songContinue reading “Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- I Saw This And Thought Of You”
Album Review: Debby Friday- The Starrr Of The Queen Of Life
All the best pop bangers have a yearning undercurrent: think Madonna’s ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl ‘, Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’, St Etienne and ‘He’s On The Phone’. This is also true with R & B- any number of artists, from The Supremes to Solange, mine dark corners of the dancefloor toContinue reading “Album Review: Debby Friday- The Starrr Of The Queen Of Life”
Album Review: All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop
Philip King’s compilation of late-seventies – mid-eighties synth pop has a similar, if less political, approach as Adam Curtis: find leftfield, obscure tracks and highlight them, creating a sideways look at pop culture. As the title suggests, there is a DIY, deliberately un-glossy attitude to much of the music on offer. Frankie Goes To HollywoodContinue reading “Album Review: All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop”
Album Review: Rival Consoles- Landscape From Memory
What a beauty. The gorgeous, endlessly inventive new album, from Rival Consoles, aka Ryan Lee West, invokes a kind of synaesthesia: you can almost hear colours. It’s textured, layer upon layer, like a kind of complex tromp l’oeil painting in sound. Tracks like ‘Catherine’, ‘Known Shapes’ and the stunning, shimmering ‘Soft Gradient Beckons’ appear likeContinue reading “Album Review: Rival Consoles- Landscape From Memory”
TV Review: Shifty
Film maker Adam Curtis has many detractors: his naysayers suggest he’s cynical, paranoid, unwatchable, a conspiracy theorist. I think this is all a tad unfair. He simply curates archive footage, patchwork style, adds ideas and weaves it all deftly together, both a satirist and retro-futurist. He lets the viewer go along with his non -linearContinue reading “TV Review: Shifty”
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