“Michael! Michael! “ I’m trying not to get too nostalgic here, as any nostalgia suggests there’s nothing worth dipping into in contemporary culture, but Charles Atlas’ fictionalised account of Michael Clark was like a firework going off in my soul. Something just sparked within me. Epiphany is an understatement. This was something I wanted inContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Hail The New Puritan (1987)”
Tag Archives: Experimental
Film Review: Beau Is Afraid
Pitched between hysterical mayhem and an eerie calm, Beau Is Afraid makes Get Out look like The Wiggles. This almost three hour epic is trippy indeed, with all the logic of a fever dream.Although written and directed by Ari Aster it’s like a Kafka compendium created by Paul Thomas Anderson, with a soupcon of DavidContinue reading “Film Review: Beau Is Afraid”
The Singular Line
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Film Review: Boom For Real
Anyone who’s ever seen Julian Schnabel’s good but flawed film Basquiat knows where this documentary gets its name from: a news report that artist Jean – Michel Basquiat sampled this anguished line from, and turned into an artwork. Sara Driver’s documentary, from 2018, subtitled The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat , takes a muchContinue reading “Film Review: Boom For Real”
Mercury Prize 2023
What does everyone reckon to this year’s Mercury Prize nominations then? I’m pleased at the diversity this year, as I like a wide range of music. It’d be excellent to see Shygirl win for Nymph , as she bends beats into interesting shapes, and Sega Bodega are superb producers.Lankum are great, but I can’t imagineContinue reading “Mercury Prize 2023”
Album Review: PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying
There are many Polly Jean Harveys, all shedding skins, one by one. While an introspective album using her poems as songwriting templates was never going to be a sonic battering ram as so much of her previous work, there are still good things to be unearthed. This is her tenth studio album and is producedContinue reading “Album Review: PJ Harvey – I Inside The Old Year Dying”
Favourite Cover Versions: The Fall- Lost In Music
The Fall never did anything by the book, and their covers are always fun (more of which later) so what a delightful surprise it was when I heard this for the first time, aaaaaages ago. MES took Sister Sledge ‘s Disco classic by the lapels and shook it, until all the glitter fell off. HisContinue reading “Favourite Cover Versions: The Fall- Lost In Music”
Textures and shadows
Lost In Music: Sofia Kourtesis- Madres
It’s one of the singles of the year. Rising dance music star Sofia Kourtesis fuses samples of dialogue with eclectic music and field recordings, and the result is sparse but elegant and urgent. Madres is beautiful, a warm, 3 am embrace in a sweaty club. It’s dedicated to mothers everywhere, in whatever form they take.Continue reading “Lost In Music: Sofia Kourtesis- Madres”
Album Review: Katie Gately- Fawn/Brute
The third album from American experimental artist Katie Gately has an illustration of two characters on the cover reminiscent of a Harlequinade. This seems apposite for a record that’s full of strange characterisation. Each title is one adjective only. Again, fair enough, as there are whispers, whoops and dark, nefarious threats lurking in corners. ForContinue reading “Album Review: Katie Gately- Fawn/Brute”
Hit The North 