Fuse issue 58

Fuse.

Platform festival Blue Resolution gaming Five albums that defined us Kickstarter

SHORT FUSE

Sparks.

EA suck, but only as much as the next gaming company

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or the second year in a row, EA has been honoured with the title of ‘worst company in America’. Not only that, but voters on Consumerist’s website bestowed EA with 78 per cent of the vote, a landslide win over the Bank of America, bestowing the games giant with the prestigious ‘golden poo’.

Whether they’re selling online passes separately, overcharging for sub-par products or swallowing independent studios, EA has become the frustrating controller of the gamer world.

No amount of keyboard bashing will make them work for you.

The latest SimCity fiasco has only made matters worse.

Players found themselves in an online queue for up to an hour and many lost their hard-earned communities.

The cause? EA’s always-online system did not account for the demand for the game, meaning inadequate servers and a sloppy execution.

What we must remember, though, is that EA is a large company. They are not a gamer

sitting at a computer and wanting the best content for the least money.

Neither are they a small, altruistic studio with a ‘by the people, for the people’ mantra.

They do business.

And irritating as it may be to pay for a game and then have to pay extra to get the ‘true ending’, or find the game is only playable with an online pass sold separately, they are things that EA will do because of their strategic business plan.

EA’s marketing is lavish and

effective, while their games are still entertaining and addictive.

The title of ‘worst company in America’ is a paradox. In order to be voted the worst, notoriety is essential. Notoriety comes from success. Far from being the worst, EA is simply a vast company doing what all companies do. Its Achilles’ heel is its consumer base – a generation that communicate almost exclusively online.

Edith Hancock

We don’t have a problem with vinyl, just those that buy it

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ccording to figures recently released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, last year’s sales of vinyl records were at their highest for 16 years.

This news appears even more baffling when considering the fact that physical music sales as a whole are declining at a rate of about five per cent annually.

In an age when online streaming and digital downloads are quickly becoming the principle source of the music industry’s revenue, dusty old vinyl is refusing to go quietly.

So what is it about vinyl that seems to be protecting this musical relic from extinction?

Ask any music fan from the ‘good old days’ the response would be almost universal.

Dr, who is that she’s so sexy?

Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

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n light of the recent series of Doctor Who, which ended with Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill bowing out, it may not come as a surprise that former producer Waris Hussein has criticised the show for having become ‘too sexy’.

After all, was it really necessary to name the humanised version of the TARDIS ‘sexy’ and have her kiss the Doctor in her debut episode?

Hussein may not have thought so, but for the majority fans, this wasn’t an issue at all. The episode’s particular storyline was engaging and moving, and played on one of Matt Smith’s quirky mannerisms, calling his blue box ‘sexy’.

The episode title, ‘The Doctor’s Wife’, also suggested that ‘sexy’ wasn’t intended to be overtly sexualising, just flirtatious and fun. But for Hussein, this aspect is what’s caused the familyoriented show to lose some of its original charm.

What must be considered, though, is that Hussein directed Doctor Who in 1963, when it was only airing its first series, and social expectations of the

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programme were different.

Coming up to its 50th anniversary this November, the programme has clearly changed over time. The original naivety of the show has allowed it to be more experimental with the relationships between Doctor and companions now.

In a comment last week, John Hurt, who is currently filming his role in the highly anticipated 50th anniversary episode, hinted that he disagreed with Hussein, stating he’d “never begrudge a kiss, or kissing scene”.

While undoubtedly subjective, this shows that the division in views cannot be confined to older and younger generations; Hussein and Hurt are of a similar age.

What really seems to be separating them is whether they endorse the more actively romantic aspect of modern Who. While Hurt seems to be taking it in his stride, Hussein may need to move with the times and accept that viewers enjoy the show’s intimacy between the Doctor and his companion.

Kate Lovatt

Reams of gushing admiration for the ‘warmth’ and beauty of music played through vinyl that simply can’t be achieved by any other platform.

But how many of those who bought the UK’s biggest selling vinyl album of 2012, Coexist

by The xx, did so to appreciate that?

Unfortunately, it seems that recent increases in vinyl sales are merely the product of a massive resurgence of vintage style.

Sadly, very few of the albums themselves will ever enjoy revolving slowly on a turntable being tenderly touched by a needle. Instead, most will be confined to an existence hanging on a wall, purely to be ogled at whilst the album plays out over iTunes.

Dale Callaghan

Editorial Fuck guys, it’s our last ever issue. Well, not Fuse’s last ever issue, but the last one for this team. It’s gonna be hard to say goodbye, but eventually they’re going to start banning us from the Media Hub so we kinda have to.

We’ve been involved in Forge Press since we started university three (or four, in some cases) years ago, and it’s undoubtedly been one of the highlights of our time in Sheffield. Hopefully the new team will feel the same way.

In this issue, we’ve got some pretty good features (as we do every fortnight). The Music girls have taken a look at their favourite albums, Arts have have been looking at Platform festival and Screen have been weighing up the pros and cons of crowd-funding and finding it wanting, and Games have chatted to Emma McArthur, an indie developer from Sheffield.

Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go have a little cry and eat our weight in ice cream.

Arnie Bennett Coral Williamson

Oh God, what are the new team going to do when Manuel Fuentes leaves? We love him.

Q&A.

SHORT FUSE

TRIBES Will Ross had a chat with Tribes’ guitarist Dan ahead of their show at Plug

The Guardian compared Tribes to Nirvana, what do you think of that?

Is the party in the video for ‘Sappho’ a standard night out for you?

not have to wear a shirt and tie to work. I’ve made my hobby my jobby, so fucking yeah.

I can’t see that myself, I think that’s just lazy. I think that’s a case of someone coming along and writing something very quickly at 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon.

We’ve always been influenced by attitudes, I suppose, of bands we respected. Everyone loves the Stones but we particularly respect their attitude to music and that’s always stuck.

Aesthetically, sound-wise, I think it started off a bit heavier, a bit punky, a bit more garage, a bit more 90s.

The first album that we did was kind of about the last 20 years, retrospectively about our growing up period.

And I think the second album was a bit more about us, here, looking forward. So we’ve kind of taken all that stuff and sucked up all those influences, and we’re trying to forge our own ways of doing things.

Well that’s just Camden I suppose. I moved to Camden as soon as I was old enough to move out. It’s a great place and we have some brilliant friends there.

If it wasn’t for Camden we wouldn’t be sat here on this bus. The initial community that we were playing in gave us this great foundation to sort of jump from.

But yeah, the parties are good! And they’re the weirdest people you’ll ever meet, and the best people in Camden.

Next time you come down, come for a party! It’s the only way you’ll really know.

Was the video to ‘We Are the Children’ a planned gig?

Who’s to blame for the general Tribes air of poppunk dishevelment?

I don’t know if it’s me personally, I mean we’re all as bad as each other. I just think clothes are fun, you know? I’m lucky enough to

Well we’d just signed our record deal, literally that week, and they said ‘Right, do a single’ and we were like, ‘Fuck! Uh, well let’s do ‘We Are the Children’. Then they were like, ‘well you’ve gotta make a video,’ and then they threw a grand at us.

So me and my mate Nicky took the grand, and we remembered some bloke we met at a party in Camden, who said we had to play a gig on his balcony one time, so we just did.

We just put the speakers out and started playing, it was amazing! There was this massive crowd, I like to think a thousand at least.

And all the traffic stopped, and it was market day so it was so busy, it was fucking amazing.

The police were banging on our

GIAN: Film Unit Ultimate Golf In Yemen, the bunkers were laced with landmines, but that aspect of the “sport” hasn’t survived the crippling pressures of globalisation.

Bring a bottle of water.

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he best received and most critically acclaimed French film for years, Amour is a heart-breaking tale about life, death and love. Amour follows Georges and Anne, two retired music teachers in their eighties and their daughter, Eva. As Anne’s health begins to worsen she asks Georges to promise never put her into care.

Renowned filmmaker and double Palm d’Or winner Michael Haneke writes and directs this unforgettable investigation of the meaning of love.

We recorded our first album in Liverpool, but it was written in the back of a bus. The second album was recorded in LA which is a bit different!

So we did a little tour of LA and met this guy Kevin Augunas, he ended up producing the record.

And he’d just bought the studio Sound City, which Dave Grohl had just made the documentary about. We met him at a gig and he said ‘I love your stuff, I wanna make a record… by the way I own Sound City.’

Is there anything else you want to add?

Yeah. It’s really fucking hard for bands today. So they deserve all the support they can get.

If you’re gonna listen to their music, trade.

Don’t download for free! So many of our friends have really struggled just to sustain, you know, you’ve got to support your bands if you’re in to them.

For the full feature, head over to forgetoday.com/music

Tickets: £2.50

Available from the SU box office

Saturday April 20: Django Unchained: 3.30pm, 7.30pm

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ristling with more gunfights, violence and slick dialogue than any Quentin Tarantino project yet, Django Unchained is the follow-up to the highly praised Inglorious Basterds. Set two years before the American Civil War, Christoph Waltz returns to play Dr. King Shultz, a bounty hunter who hates slavery and frees Django. The pair go on a murderous journey of revenge in hunt of Django’s wife and meet plantation owner Calvin Candie and his house slave Stephen.

Sunday April 21: 3.30pm, 7.30pm

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Flight:

n a routine flight airline captain William Whitaker’s plane fails and goes into a dive. In a move that no other pilot could replicate, Whitaker manages to save everyone on board.

However, traces of alcohol are found in his blood and soon questions are raised about who is to blame for the plane’s failure. Director of Back to the Future Robert Zemeckis delivers an engrossing and cinematic film including support from Don Cheadle and Kelly Reilly.

Fuse.

Thursday April 31, meet @ IC at 5.30am, £25 per person (insurance not included)

Friday April 19: Amour: 7.30pm

Tell me about the difference recording each of your albums.

Alright, you know, how can you say no to that? It’s one of the most famous studios in the world. He took us to the studio, and as soon as you walk in the door it’s like a dream.

And in the middle they’ve got Johnny Cash’s grand piano, and there’re cigarette burns and the left where he’s been playing and left his cigarette burning, and it burnt through the wood. It was so awesome! So it was like a little bit of heaven, amazing.

Friday April 19 2013

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here are those that suggest ultimate frisbee isn’t a real sport, and they might have a point. If they thought that was frivolous, though, they should give this a go (and so should you): ultimate golf.

Hailing from the arid slopes of Yemen as a by-product of 2010’s Arab Spring uprising, ultimate golf is a counter cultural movement of similarly anarchistic proportions.

The differences between ultimate golf and traditional golf are acute, and strangely arbitrary. You cannot use a driver on the fairway, but must use one on the green. Putters are outlawed altogether (and irons are heavily frowned upon).

door, trying to shut us down, but we had to play the song three times so we could get enough shots for the video. Our mate Big Carl, who’s like seven foot, he’s a big lad, he stood on the door like ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about mate.’ It was so funny, and we got away with it.

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ARTS

Feature. PLATFORM FESTIVAL

Performance Festival Elsa Vulliamy finds the highlights of the annual student arts festival, which raises money for Cavendish Cancer Care and gives students a chance in the limelight

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he Platform Festival has taken place annually since 2010. Set up and run entirely by students, it aims to encourage those who are interested in the performing arts to share their passion, whatever type of performance they are interested in. It also tries to raise as much money as possible for local causes. Both groups and individual performers have a chance to take part.

Since it first began, the money raised from Platform has gone to Cavendish Cancer Care, a Shef-

field-based charity that have worked for almost twenty years to provide emotional support for those affected by cancer – both sufferers and their families.

Head of Fundraising Ellen Jurczack said “Sheffield is definitely a city that gives a lot to students, in all kinds of different ways, and so we think it’s really important to give something back”. Last year the festival raised £2,000, and the committee is hopeful that this can be beaten in 2013.

The Platform Festival has

something for everyone, accurately representing the diversity of talent within the university.

Everything from improvised comedy to poetry readings will be put on over the weekend, as well as the acting, singing and dancing we have all seen before - but often with a twist.

It gives the opportunity for students to come forward and show what they’re good at, while opening the rest of us up to a world of performance we haven’t previously been aware of.

A multitude of societies are involved with the project, including the Dance Society, SUPAS, SuTCo and Forge Radio. Many new plays will appear, written by the budding playwrights of the university’s student body and utilising the amazing acting talent we have here at the University of Sheffield. Live music will also feature, as well as work from the Art Society which will be exhibited in the Union throughout the weekend.

Importantly, though, the Platform organisers stress that previ-

ous involvement in SuTCo, SUPAS or any performing arts within the University is not required for taking part in the festival. Students of all ages from any department may take part – the only requirement is passion and enthusiasm for the project.

The festival is a great opportunity to try out something new, support the performance artists at the University and raise some money and awareness for an important local Sheffield charity.

Highlights Friday Acoustic Night 9:00pm, The West End

Featuring local favourites Friday Night Jazz Ensemble, Sian and Daisy, Emali and Hali and Sigrid and the Family Band

Blood Ties, 3:15-3:45pm Gallery

One of three short plays about unconditional love, Blood Ties is a play written by Amy Wells and tells the story of brother and sister Polly and Jake as they struggle to cope with the loss of their father.

Radio, 4:15, Gallery Room 3

A one man show by Kevin Matthews (presented as a rehearsed reading) where we hear a character tell the story of his American family changing location.

Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

This Wide Night, 5:30-7:00pm, Gallery Room 2

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A play about the lives of women within the criminal justice system which follows a woman who has just been released from prison and her old cellmate as they try to live life on the outside. First premiered by Clean Break.

Saturday

Sunday

The Shrimps, 7:00-8:00pm, Coffee Revolution

Alive and Kicking 3:15-4:00pm, Gallery Room 3

SUPAS Showcase, 8:30-10:00pm, Coffee Revolution

Bash: Latter Day Plays, 1:00-2:00pm, Gallery Room 3

Improvised comedy from the University and Sheffield’s very own troupe.

The the freshest musical theatre talent brought to you by the Sheffield University Performing Arts Society featuring hits from Broadway and the West End.

Be My Baby, 5:45-6:45pm, Gallery Room 3

A poignant, emotional play about a 1960s girl who finds herself pregnant and is sent to a home full of girls in the same position.

Dance Showcase, 4:00-5:00pm, Coffee Revolution

An exciting mixture of dance styles brought to you by the Dance Society and the Belly Dance Society.

A comic piece from Duck à L’Orange Theatre Company which follows several members of a forensic pathology team.

Writer and director Neil Labute explores the Mormon religion in three one-act plays.

Fresher: The Musical, 5:00pm-6:15pm, Coffee Revolution SUPAS return with their original musical all about being a fresher.

Going Back, 12-12:30pm/3-3:30pm, Concourse

A duologue written by Max Cunningham about a seasoned soul returning to life.

She makes choices about how her second life may go, while being observed by trainee angels learning how to avoid the subject of immortality.

Feature.

Words: Phil Bayles Image: Lisa Maltby

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ickstarter is a website that allows members of the public to donate sums of money to help creative talents like filmmakers, musiciansget their projects off the ground.

The incentive is that the more you pay, the more that the creators of a project will be willing to give you as a reward; rewards that range from t-shirts and keyrings to copies of the end result or, if you’re feeling particularly generous, a producer credit.

Recently, the creators of Veronica Mars – a cult TV show from the 90s starring Kristen Bell – announced their own Kickstarter campaign for a movie based on the show. If fans could raise $2 million to cover budget costs, Warner Bros. would agree to distribute the finished film.

The campaign had a time limit of 30 days. It took less than 12 hours to reach the $2 million mark.

You don’t have to be a mathematician or a film buff to understand that this is an unprecedented milestone in the history of filmmaking. For all we know, this could be the start of a revolution, and in a few short years we humble audiences could hold just as much power as, if not more than, the multi-million dollar studios that bring movies to life.

Obviously, it’s not difficult to see the advantages of crowdsourcing; namely that it gives first-time direc-

Look at Finnish director Timo Vuorensola; a few short years ago he was nobody, but thanks to his film Iron Sky, a crowdsourced sci-fi comedy about Nazis on the moon, he’s become a cult icon in the film industry.

And crowdsourcing hasn’t just allowed Vuorensola to get his films made; it’s allowed the public to actually influence the shape of the film. For his upcoming project, Jeremiah Harm, Vuorensola has asked members of the public to donate not just money, but ideas, designing characters and even suggesting plot points – some of which actually make it into the final product. Imagine watching a film and seeing some of your ideas brought to life on screen.

So by giving the public the chance to fund projects, you not only allow stuff that might be deemed too risky a genuine shot at success, but you also give people the chance to hone their creative talents and shape something truly great. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, they say that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and while audiences generally know what they want, we do sometimes make mistakes: the third Transformers movie is still the fifth-highest grossing movie of all time. Just because we can use Kickstarter to bring our favourite dream movies back to life, doesn’t mean we should.

Put it this way. All of the greatest TV series ever made – The West Wing, Firefly, Blackadder – were great because they had a finite number of episodes and stopped before they ran out of ideas.

Some of them may have been unfairly cut short, but at least they all finished while they were still brilliant. And while the idea of more episodes may sound great the truth is that, like The Phantom Menace taught us, the reality will almost never live up to expectations.

The studios don’t need the money – at this point they can pretty much snap their fingers and will any movie into existence, regardless of petty things like quality. But why should they reach for their wallets, when there are hundreds and thousands of people willing to do it for them?

“But no!” I hear you cry. “The studios wouldn’t rip us off like that!”

Oh no?

Student tickets are getting more expensive all the time. If you want to see the movie in 3D – because you’re the kind of idiot who thinks 3D improves films – that’s another fiver for the ridiculous plastic glasses. Add in a drink and some stupidly loud food to chew on and you’re on your way to paying £20 for this movie. You’ve been ripped off before the trailers have even started.

So the studios say “OK. We’ll fund Battleship 2: Revenge of the Pegs 3D, if you give us $10 million in crowdsourcing to cover some of the cost.” Which means the public ends up paying twice – they pay to get production started in the first place, and then they have to fork out more money for a ticket to see it in the cinema (not including all the other aforementioned nonsense).

But that’s OK, because they got a t-shirt too, right?

Crowdsourcing is by no means inherently evil. When it’s done properly, its intentions are good and noble; giving people with a vision the chance to bring it to life, in an industry where innovation is often looked upon with fear.

But we can’t forget that with great power comes great responsibility.

We can’t let huge studios take advantage of websites like Kickstarter, or the people who use them, to churn out more unoriginal movies at twice the profit; all the while fooling us into thinking we want them.

Otherwise the revolution of crowdsourcing will just give birth to yet another oppressive regime.

Fuse.

But there’s a darker side to the whole crowdsourcing thing. It’s possible that studios could actually use it to hold projects to ransom. How many people out there believe that Zach Galifianakis’ horribly

annoying character in The Hangover deserves his own movie? Or that there should be a sequel to Battleship? Or any other of a million terrible ideas?

Friday April 19 2013

But can we handle the enormous power that Kickstarter and other websites like it have bestowed on us?

tors, who’d otherwise have a snowball’s chance in hell of finding financial support, the opportunity to get started.

SCREEN

POWER TO THE PEOPLE? Crowdsourcing is fast becoming an important part of independent filmmaking, but is there a chance the revolution could turn sour?

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MUSIC

Feature. ALBUMS THAT CHANGED OUR LIVES

You can go your own way The Shins’ debut album Oh, Inverted World introduced us to their ability to create incredible indie-rock songs about heartache and loss, and also fuzzy, scatty, pop-twinged catchy melodies. Featuring the iconic ‘Caring Is Creepy’ and ‘New Slang’, which went on to become part of the soundtrack to the influential cult film Garden State, it can be argued that Oh, Inverted World is the Shins masterpiece.

The album is only just over half an hour in length, but it displays frontman James Mercer’s impeccable songwriting style and incredible, calming voice to full potential. It signals the start of the Shins success and the popularity of singles, in particular ‘New Slang’, helps establish Oh, Inverted World as one of the definitive indie-rock albums of the noughties.

Their dreamy indie-pop sound grows and is fine-tuned throughout the decade but it’s Oh, Inverted World that holds that moving meaning and extra special charm that I love.

LW

I know it’s cliche but what is a ‘five albums that changed my life’ list without the mecca of all life-changing albums?

Rumours’ effect on me was because of the time I came to love the album. I grew up around bands like Fleetwood Mac, but it was when I grew up that I really appreciated the music.

The period between A levels and university was when it had its biggest impact. It’s a crazy time where nothing is ever really certain and you have three whole months to be confused, fall in and out of love, fight with friends, come to terms with leaving and such an emotional album can help that. I know nothing I’ve experienced is anywhere near Stevie’s and Lindsey’s relationship but I can empathise with everything about Rumours.

‘Go Your Own Way’ and ‘Silver Springs’ will always be two of my favourite songs.

AH

M83’s sixth studio album was the one that brought them to commercial fame and also into my heart. This is the album that I go back to again and again and never tire of it. From ‘Intro’ with Zola Jesus’ incredibly matched vocals, all the way through to ‘Outro’, this album is an impeccable journey of emotion, soundtracked by the amazing Anthony Gonzalez in an incredible mixture of new wave, electro and dream pop.

This album also changed my life in the fact it was my first ever London gig, at Shepherd’s Bush which is an incredible venue, especially for this kind of atmospheric music.

Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

And I can’t mention M83 without saying that ‘Midnight City’ is one of my favourite songs. Apparently the French can make good music.

AH

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Siamese Dream is the album that almost never happened, and included a writing and recording process posed with so many issues that frontman Billy Corgan suffered a nervous breakdown. Once it was released it was an immediate hit and is still widely considered today as one of the best albums of all time. With Siamese Dream, the Smashing Pumpkins created their own version of progressive noise-pop that has such a recognisable sound that you only have to listen to the first opening bars to recognise the band.

Emotional tracks like ‘Disarm’ and ‘Mayonnaise’ really hit home the way Corgan was feeling when he was writing Siamese Dream, but the fuzzy sounds of ‘Cherub Rock’ help lift the mood of the album and show that they can do both styles amazingly well.

The dreamy ‘Today’ is a contrast to itself, as on first listen it sounds like a feel good, uplifting anthem but on closer inspection actually has a bleak and dark meaning behind it. It is still one of the most distinctive and iconic songs of the 90s, with a brilliant video where the band ride around in and vandalise an ice cream van.

LW

Brand New are the only band I listened to during my emo days that have really stuck with me. In fact, my adoration for the band has only grown since I left the black hair and studded belts behind back in 2006. Deja Entendu sees Brand New mature significantly from their debut Your Favorite Weapon and proves that they are much more than just another emo band, and that Jesse Lacey is an amazing songwriter.

The lyrics are intelligent and incredibly well-thought out and each song on the album is worthy of being there as each adds to its atmospheric quality. The music is just as clever, the intro to ‘Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades’ creates a sense of tension and anticipation that adds to the whole experience.

Deja Entendu is an album that I won’t listen to for months but I will always come back to and retrospectively its made me realise that all genres of music are worth investigating, even if it is now outside your usual comfort zone. There are musical gems to be found in all genres.

LW

MUSIC

Music editors Lianne Williams & Amelia Heathman tell us the albums that shaped their obsession and changed their lives

I discovered this album dancing in my best friend’s kitchen to her mum’s vinyl copy when I was 13. We were ecstatic because it was vinyl and vinyl was cool and also that our mums both had copies. This album was what made me appreciate big guitar music and 80s electro beats and the minute I could drive, I burnt myself a copy because driving to ‘Stone in Love’ is a wonderful feeling.

It’s also this album that taught me to hate the X-factor and Glee chart toppers, because being in love with a song since you were 13 stresses you out four years later, when everyone else latches onto it.

Luther’s wonderful, wonderful Never Too Much album was the one that made me appreciate soul music. I adored all Burt Bacharach’s music so I was already a fan of ‘A House is Not a Home’ but Luther’s version is so heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

I wanted to see them in 2005 in Manchester but my parents refused to pay for me to see some ‘ageing rockers’. They stifled my creativity from a young age.

AH

Songs like ‘Sugar and Spice’ are so fun and energetic, along with the title track ‘Never too Much’, and it makes soul a refreshing change from constant indie guitar and electro that seems to surround the playlists on my ipod.

The importance of Never Too Much to me is that it was a definitely a gateway album into other types of soul and old disco, like Curtis Mayfield and Diana Ross. I also think that without this album and the appreciation of this type of music, I wouldn’t have adored Channel: Orange as much as I did, which was without a doubt, my favourite album of 2012.

AH

The Mercury Prize nominated debut from Villagers, the moniker of Irish singer-songwriter Conor J O’Brien, is to me, 11 tracks of pure perfection. Each song is crafted beautifully and shows off O’Briens delicate vocals which are controlled stunningly, reaching an unimaginable range of pitches. There is no weak link on the album, each track is memorable in its own unique way and leaves an individual impression.

It is an album that fits together like a puzzle and is best when played as a whole, as each song flows into the next effortlessly. Title track ‘Becoming A Jackal’ won the prestigious Ivor Novello award for best song musically and lyrically in 2011 and the rest of the album follows suit, being just as strong, if not more.

Becoming a Jackal returned to me the feeling of really experiencing an album fully, without feeling that need to skip ‘filler’ tracks, as there are none. It is a marvel and will undoubtedly become a classic in the indie-folk genre.

LW

This seminal Bright Eyes album is a mixture of vibrant indie folk and spine-tingling acoustic ballads that all tell stories and in doing so, take the listener on their own individual journey.

LW

Back in 2005 when I was young and didn’t really like ‘popular’ music, this album, along with the Killers’ Hot Fuss, made me love indie rock music. Maroon 5’s stellar debut definitely changed my music taste as a young, impressionable 12-year-old and still today it remains one of my favourite albums.

With tracks like ‘She Will be Loved’ yearning and heartbreak to the beautifully sexual ‘Shiver’, every single track on Songs About Jane is a classic. “This city makes us crazy and we must get out” never fails to make me feel young again.

It is this staunch defense of Maroon 5 that makes me try to like everything they’ve produced since. While It Won’t be Soon Before Long was ok, Hands all Over, definitely didn’t get the recognition it deserved but Overexposed was an absolute shocker. Still, whenever I listen to Songs about Jane, all is forgiven.

AH

Fuse.

I’d challenge anyone to listen to ‘Poison Oak’, with its delicately strummed acoustic guitar and heartfelt metaphors and not feel something. This album alone, even without considering many other exceptional Bright Eyes records, is enough to put Oberst up there as one of the best songwriters of our generation. The last verse of ‘Poison Oak’ shows this, with lyrics ‘I never thought this life was possible/You’re the yellow bird that I’ve been waiting for’ being so relatable, moving and agonising all at the same time.

Friday April 19 2013

Brights Eyes became an obsession of mine from the very first time I listened to I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning. From Conor Oberst’s rambled monologue at the start of ‘At The Bottom Of Everything’, to the uplifting, epic protest of ‘Road To Joy’, I cannot fault Oberst’s outstanding lyrical prowess, his varied musical ability and even his croaky, unconventional vocals.

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GAMES

Feature. BLUE RESOLUTION GAMING

How to be a gam

Emma McArthur, games design student at Hallam, has set up an indie game company:Will Ross finds out how she did it

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Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

lue Resolution is an indie games development company originating from Sheffield Hallam University. I chatted with Emma McArthur, one of the eight team members, who is keen to get her company known.

Emma sets the scene for me , explaining “Blue Resolution started out as something entirely different to what it is now. We are a group of eight students, who all met on the same course, that wanted to create our own game alongside doing our degrees, simply as a side project to help us out a little with some practical application. But, as we’ve grown as a group of people, we’ve turned into our own small development team and decided to take it from there. In all honesty, we didn’t really plan to form a company from the start; it’s something that we have spent a couple of months considering and as everything is progressing quickly, and efficiently as well, we have decided that it’s the right move for us to make.”

So what kinds of steps have to be taken for a company to get going? Emma had never actually thought about how to make games. She had to learn the processes from scratch, exploring how to market, design and release a game. One benefit Blue Resolution has is that all of the team members get on, and work well as a team. Each member has since been assigned various positions, meaning the com-

8

pany flows as well as the games they’re making.

Emma continues “The first idea we had was to create a game as a way to actually apply what we have been studying and to see how we would all work as one unit; and as everyone has different skills they bring, it makes everything flow very smoothly. It also means that we have come so far from where we started really quickly. Originally, we never set out to become a company but everything has been going well, we decided that it would be a great step for us.”

Blue Resolution is based within Sheffield Hallam, and over the next few years will remain there.

But once the team have finished their degrees, they hope to move into somewhere more professional.

have decided that we would like to work purely as the group that started out and figure everything out for ourselves before we start joining up with others.”

On the subject of long- and short-term goals for Blue Resolution, Emma’s spotlight is on their debut release, Scribble Block Adventures.

Emma elaborates on her hopes for the company’s future, saying “In the short term, we would like to get as many good quality games made and released as soon as we can, and to get our name out there and start to build a reputation for ourselves.

For a while we want to focus on the 2D mobile market. But as we progress further with the company and increase our overall skillset. In the far future, who knows what we will be aiming for.”

Positions within the group include ‘business and marketing’, ‘art’, ‘design’ and ‘programming’. Everyone involved in Blue Resolution has to have an equal voice in everything that they do, so each decision they make is made as a team.

“We did think about joining up with people that have been working in the industry for a while or other students that know a little more than we do, but we

So their aims are pretty much the same as any other games developer, but I wanted to know what makes Blue Resolution different. Aside from being local to Sheffield, there’s one factor that makes them more awesome; they don’t care about the money.

They just want to create fun.

She says “What makes us different from most development teams is that we want to make great quality free games. Our main concern is making games that people will enjoy. A lot of people are just ‘in it for the money’ and that’s just not what we are about. We simply want to create fun. Fun for people that have those long and otherwise boring journeys, to fill their time with something enjoyable and engaging rather than staring blankly at a screen. And that’s all we aim for, fun.”

“Blue Resolution started out as something entirely different to what it is now”

At the moment they’re aiming at the mobile app market, since it’s one of the fastest growing widely accessible markets out there. They know the competition is huge, but Emma’s hoping that their crafting of fun will win gamers over. The style of games they are making are aimed mainly at casual gamers, although everyone can play them. They hope that anyone who picks up a copy will enjoy themselves.

But it can’t have been easy.

Not everyone can just start up a fully-functioning company like that. They’re new to the industry and obviously because of this, aren’t well known yet. Trying to be successful without previous experience is going to be, and has been, quite difficult.

Emma confesses “We’ve been dealing with this by sticking with what we are trying to achieve and believing in ourselves. After all, if we don’t believe in ourselves, how can we expect other people to?”

They aren’t expecting anything to be too difficult in the immediate future, although it is best to be prepared for anything that could potentially happen. The most difficult part will be building a solid reputation, maintaining it and then standing out from the crowd as well: “The industry is so competitive, as there are new indie companies popping up all the time, making it difficult to be unique.” However, they do believe that taking the time to properly refine and develop any games that they make -even if it takes them a little longer to create that higher quality- will make Blue Resolution unique in itself. I asked Emma about her inspirations.

She says “I have been playing games for as long as I can remember, the first one was Super Mario World on the SNES. In all honesty I have more consoles than fingers to count them on and

I have almost been collecting them for many years.

“And although I adore the complexity and realism in a lot of today’s games, the way that you can become lost in a world through the way story and imagery are so powerfully used; personally there’s nothing like picking up an 8-bit retro game that I know I have completed so many times before, but still find the same joy in playing it through just one more time.”

Arguably the best moment for Blue Resolution, and their greatest achievement, was playing the first ever prototype to Scribble Block Adventures.

“Seeing everything we had worked on come together to make something actually playable was amazing and I am just incredibly proud of our team.”

So will Blue Resolution take over the gaming world? Are they in it for dominance, or merely their own entertainment? Well, it’s certainly a Blue Resolution ambition to one day be revolutionary, but for the time being, they want to make their mark on the industry at home before pushing the boat out.

Eventually, we’ve been promised that they’ll add their own twist to the market, which is

certainly something to look forward to.

The press release about Blue Resolution’s debut releaser, Scribble Block Adventures states that “Scribble Block Adventures is a brick breaker style action/adventure game set in the dream world of a young love struck boy.

“It takes you on a journey to save the damsel in distress from the Evil Emperor that has captured her. You travel through time and space, breaking down the Emperors defences one by one to chase him down and save your love from a wicked fate.

Emma proudly states that “This will be Blue Resolution’s debut game that will be released onto a wide range of platforms accessible to everyone. Our projected release for Scribble Block Adventures is the end of May this year which we are all really excited about.”

What else can we do but wish Emma and the rest of the team at Blue Revolution the best of luck in this and all their future escapades?

GAMES

me developer

Friday April 19 2013

Fuse.

9

GAMES

Reviews.

BIOSHOCK INFINITE Xbox 360/PS3/PC 10/10

E

xpectations are high for BioShock Infinite, but you will simply be blown away by the dizzying heights that this game reaches, truly earning a place amongst the very best of this generation.

You play as Booker DeWitt, a New Yorker tasked with retrieving a girl from the floating city of Columbia in order to settle his gambling debt. Booker quickly becomes public enemy number one and realises that his mission may be harder than he first imagined.

The target of Booker’s extraction mission, Elizabeth, is by your side for the majority of the campaign. Elizabeth is key to the story, and is one of the best AIs in gaming. She is a useful companion who helps you out in many sticky situations, usually by opening up ‘tears’ in the world and bringing useful items in from other universes.

“Columbia is a beautiful setting” Whilst you are in a tense firefight, Elizabeth will also look around for helpful items to toss to you. Many times you will be nearing death and at the last second Elizabeth will toss you a

GEARS OF WAR: JUDGMENT Xbox 360 8/10

Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

I

t has been just under two years since Gears of War 3 drew the epic struggle against the Locust and Lambent threats to a conclusion. As the fourth entry in the series, Judgment serves as a prequel to the Delta Squad narrative by following the endeavours of Lieutenant Baird and Augustus Cole on E-Day. Alongside newcomers Garron Paduk and Sofia Hendrik, the campaign focuses upon Kilo Squad’s struggle at Halvo Bay against the threat posed by Locust General Karn.

Gameplay-wise, Judgment stays faithful to the mechanics of its predecessors. Aside from a few minor control changes, which satisfyingly streamline the playing experience, Epic Games

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health kit, saving your life. This, together with a really natural evolution of Booker and Elizabeth’s relationship, helps the player to develop a strong connection with her.

enjoyable. With eight available vigors and an array of weapons to choose from, each fight feels different from the last.

A feature new to the BioShock series is the use of skylines, rollercoaster-like rails that you can hook onto and fly around the city. Fun as they are to navigate Columbia, the real joy is found when you leap from them at top speed to take out an enemy, something that will probably never get old.

Whilst the surface successes of BioShock Infinite make it a great game, it is the thought-provoking, mind-blowing, deep story that makes it spectacular. The ending especially will have you contemplating all of the layers to this superb narrative long after the credits are over.

“Elizabeth is one of the best AIs in gaming” Columbia is a beautiful setting that will have you pausing to just look around and take in the stunning vista on more than one occasion. It is a city that has personality (arguably more so than BioShock’s extraordinary Rapture) and you will see it at its best and worst, changing drastically at various points.

The city is brought to life by the people that fill it. You will find yourself becoming lost in the words of the eerie Lutece twins who seem to speak entirely in riddles. Children singing on the street about being thrown from the floating city for misbehaviour will draw your attention (if only for a second) away from the storyline. This sort of detail is phenomenal.

The gameplay of BioShock Infinite is similar to that of the previous entries in the series, gun in one hand, powerful Vigors (Plasmids) in the other. This familiar system is effective and very and People Can Fly wisely adhere to the series’ critically acclaimed formula.

“Judgment stays faithful to the mechanics of its predecessors” Barring several impressive setpieces, the plot fails to match the heights of the previous entries in the series. However, the inspired inclusion of optional Declassified objectives and star ratings adds a worryingly addictive dimension. While the campaign can be

Infinite is simply a game of the highest quality.

Whether you are an occasional or seasoned gamer, it is an experience not to be missed.

Reece Nunn

“One of the best games of all time” Without spoiling anything, it is a brave move for a game to delve into philosophy and theoretical physics and is one that really elevates this game above anything else on the market.

BioShock Infinite is not just one of the best games of the year; it is one of the best of all time.

With a stunningly gorgeous setting, addictive gameplay and a superbly complex ending, BioShock completed within six or seven hours, these challenges provide a level of greater difficulty and an impressive degree of replayability.

Veterans of the series will be familiar with much of Judgment’s online experience. Modes such as Domination and Team Deathmatch return alongside new modes such as Free-for-All and Overrun. The latter in particular provides a refreshing alternative with the introduction of a class-based system as COG and Locust teams battle to defend or destroy the objective respectively. However, fans will be most disappointed by the absence of the ‘Down But Not Out’ feature which had been a trademark of the Gears online experience.

Overall, Judgment represents a worthy addition to the popular series. It is unlikely to convert any detractors but for fans of third person shooters, it proves to be a thoroughly enjoyable single and multiplayer package.

Chris Knight

Cult Corner.

OKAMI

PS2/PS3/Wii

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60-hour epic set in Feudal Japan, in which you play a wolf god who manipulates the universe with a magic paintbrush, doesn’t sound like the easiest idea to make. But thank God someone did, because Okami is one of the finest games ever to have graced the PS2.

You play as Amaterasu, a Sun goddess who’s brought to Earth to vanquish the eight-headed demon Orochi and save the world. In a journey that takes you from tiny Kamiki Village to the Celestial Plains you’ll fight demons and meet a cast of brilliantly realised characters, who inhabit one of the greatest worlds ever made for a videogame.

The art style, which looks like an ancient Japanese watercolour painting, is just achingly beautiful; after six years – and an entire console generation – it still has the power to make you stop and stare, open-mouthed,

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at the gorgeous scenery.

But the brushwork isn’t just aesthetic: it’s also a core gameplay mechanic. Hold down a button and you bring up your Celestial Brush, which can be used for just about anything. Cut enemies in half by drawing a line through them, fix bridges by painting over the gaps, or even turn night into day by drawing a crescent moon over the sky.

And all of this takes place over the course of a story packed to the brim with action, humour and heart-wrenching emotion. It’s almost depressing to think most modern games are only just getting this good in the story department.

It may not be perfect – it lags in the middle, and the chittering voices get old almost instantly – but Okami is one of the standout videogames of the past decade that feels years ahead of its time.

We might not all agree that videogames are art, but for Okami we should make an exception.

Phil Bayles

Drama Studio 8/10

T

he latest SuTCo production is a riveting and visceral adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ unsettling masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange, which centres around the hedonistic lifestyle of ‘Young Alex’ (Mathew Malone) and his ‘droogs’, Dim (Alfred Reynolds), Pete (Woz Arshad), and Georgie (Alex McArdle).

In this dystopian future, designed to satirise western society, Alex and his gang, fuelled by milk, drugs and Beethoven, wage a relentless ‘ultraviolent’ battle against the older generation.

After betrayal by his gang when a debauched night goes wrong, Alex is left at the mercy of the corrupt judicial system and controlling government that intend to change his very character to suit ‘normality’. However, A Clockwork Orange makes us question whether normality can ever truly be normal if it is not our true nature.

With SuTCo’s A Clockwork Orange having only a cast of 14, the multi-roling by all characters except Alex really add-

HIDDEN TREASURES: JAPANESE ENAMELS Weston Park Museum 8/10

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rganised by the V&A, Weston Park Museum’s exhibition space now holds a series of Japanese and European enamels dating from the 19th and 20th century.

The exhibition is composed of a selection of enamel objects including vases, plates and decorations for samurai swords and helmets.

The items all date from 1880 and 1910 and are all the culmination of very complex techniques of the ‘Golden Age’ of sophistication that was the enamel industry in Japan during this period.

As you walk into the exhibition

ed to the production, and enhanced the spotlight on Malone as the central figure.

Malone’s acting skills really were put to the test. Alex is a challenging role simply due to his outright strangeness, but he shone with a faultless and innovative performance, highlighting Alex’s terrifying and sexuallycharged character.

This was reinforced by a strong, dynamic and humorous cast who all worked together flawlessly to produce this stunning but twisted vision; the hipflask suckling nun comes to mind.

SuTCo also had their own take

on the music in the play, as they fused the Beethoven mentioned

by Burgess and used by Kubrick, with modern techno such as a remix of Daft Punk’s ‘Harder, Better, Faster’ to create a chaotic and fast-paced play.

Much of the classical music came from an onstage live band (Harry Goulding, Abi McKee, Denise Butler and Andrew Greenwood) which enhanced the atmosphere in the theatre effectively and added another dimension to the performance.

The adaptation addressed the huge philosophical of questions of A Clockwork Orange head-

on, whilst dealing with the horrifically violent scenes through intelligent stage choreography and design.

With the production sticking closely to Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film adaptation, everyone wondered how SuTCo could perform the highly controversial rape scene of F. Alexander’s wife (Bethan Ratcliffe).

Through highly disturbing and sexual acting from Malone and the use of a backlit gauze and silhouettes, the scene produced a shocking effect without being unnecessarily graphic.

Indeed, this can be said for

the entire production, as without graphically showing the ultraviolence or “in-out, in-out”, SuTCo relied on lighting, sound and physical theatre to produce an even more disturbing and cerebral result.

Abbey Bursack

space you are greeted by two small black vases and a Japanese doll which were bought back from Japan by the gunsmith Mr Wilson of Sheffield.

This clear link between the city and Japan brings the collection to life instead of just being a selection of vases you see inside a glass case.

Though this starts a process of unveiling, as some of the enamels were created in Sheffield whilst others were created in Japan, at times it was difficult to tell the difference between some pieces as all had their roots in traditions and techniques. It was a bringing together of cultures.

The space is the perfect size for an exhibition like this as the enamels are both small and beautiful and suit the small setting of the exhibition but it uses the space well and organisers displayed the collection in the

best possible way.

The use of spotlights to bring out the features of the enamels works effectively as you can see the detail on each piece of the collection. The highlight of the exhibition is definitely the gorgeous blue and white vase with the painted fish on the main body; it was so calming walking around the space and this object defined the collection.

The exhibition is open until the June 2 so, if you find yourself gazing out of the windows of Western Bank wishing to get away from work, the Seven Treasures exhibition is the perfect getaway. That and the prospect of Weston Park in the sunshine of course.

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

were changed as the scenes progressed.

By the time of Brad and Janet’s arrival into the castle, however, the scenes became much more elaborate. This made the production so much more suited (and loyal) to the show itself as it does take you ‘on a strange journey’ as the narrator promises.

The choreography also perfectly encapsulated the overall fun of the show. Audience favourites were definitely ‘The Time Warp’ and ‘Sweet Transvestite’, proven as well by the fact that the entire cast performed the two again at the end for everyone’s enjoyment.

The production also used Richard O’Brien’s original, and some would say classic, script. The actors, the set and the lighting, the choreography and the band all did a brilliant job of bringing it to life.

Those people who have not seen The Rocky Horror Show before, are in for a treat, and those who are likely to dress up, shout out things at the stage and get their toast and water pistols confiscated at the theatre door, will not be disappointed.

Rhiannon Pickin

Lyceum Theatre 10/10

T

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Rhiannon Pickin

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he latest production of The Rocky Horror Show celebrates the 40th anniversary of the show and Sheffield is the latest stop for this year long UK tour. Christopher Luscombe returns as director following the 2006/07 and 2009/10 tours, so for avid fans of the musical it’s safe to say the show is in good hands.

The show is set around two clean-cut kids in early 1960s America when their car breaks down on their way to visit an old college professor. Brad Majors (Sam Attwater) and his fiancée Janet Weiss (Roxanne Pallett) are forced to seek shelter in a nearby castle owned by the mad transvestite scientist Dr Frank N Furter (Oliver Thornton) who is throwing a party in celebration of this new experimental success; the reanimation of a very muscly man named Rocky.

The acting in this production was of a very high standard.

The characters of Brad and Janet were very well performed

by Attwater and Pallett as their portrayal of two very squeaky clean people came across very clearly in their renditions of the two characters whilst also being able to sing very well.

The star of the night, though, had to be Oliver Thornton as Frank. He did a brilliant job with the character and the singing was impeccable. (He could also really work a pair of platform heels).

The set from the beginning until the middle part of the first act was mostly large, interchangeable flat surfaces tat

ARTS

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Reviews.

DOT COM

11

MUSIC

Reviews. RELEASES JUNIP

Junip City Slang 7/10

T

he self-titled Junip is the second album from Swedish band fronted by José González.

The band infuses acoustic, folk and ambient to create a relaxed, intimate sound that is topped spectacularly by José’s distinctive soft vocals.

The album seems to draw influence from many different cultures, and José himself describes the three-piece as ‘somewhere between a German jazz band and an African pop band.’

As obscure as this sounds, their songs do use a variation of techniques that seem to span many styles.

Songs such as ‘Line of Fire’ and ‘Walking Lightly’ echo rhythmically syncopation you might find more often in African music.

‘Baton’ sounds minimalist and more robotic, incorporating José’s strange whistling techniques and an unsettling synth loop, but also has more relaxed, tribal-style drums.

The strange contrasts the band uses work well to create a unique and distinctive sound.

‘Your Life Your Call’ is an infectious, synthesiser-heavy popelectro song with the catchy hook ‘It’s your life/It’s your call/ Stand up or enjoy your fall’.

It’s reminiscent of 80s synthpop such as New Order and Depeche Mode, and once again is a complete departure from the syncopated drum beats and Latin American-style maraca sound effects.

‘Villain’ features a notably heavier reverb guitar riff, which has a Black Keys feel to it, teamed peculiarly but effectively with José’s transient vocals.

The varied and well-constructed album ends with ‘After All is Said and Done’, an ambient

finale drawing resemblance to Radiohead and Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’.

The album makes for a relaxing and enjoyable listen, filled with lovely musical nuances and subtleties that are neither overt or ostentatious but colourful and effective.

The album may be a tad slow moving in places, but anyone can appreciate the thought and care that has gone into creating it, as well as the diversity of cultural influence.

José’s vocals make Junip particularly distinctive, and if minimalist and tranquil appeals to you, then I’d certainly give this album a listen.

Sarah Dawood

Now Playing

W BROMHEADS

Choro Marquis Chacha 7/10

B

THE THERMALS

Desperate Ground Saddle Creek 5/10

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he Thermals’ latest album Desperate Ground is very similar to previous works, they’ve kept safe by sticking to what they know and it’s paid off.

A lot of the songs sound quite similar, but each has a distinct something which helps the album flow. The distinguished sound of Hutch Harris’ tinny, distorted voice comes through heavily over the instrumental melodies, masking the simple if not slightly boring basslines and drum patterns.

But this is the sound that the Thermals have established, and it works. Kathy Foster on bass provides the majority of the tune,

Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

orn from the ashes of Bromheads Jacket, this twopiece Sheffield band manages to ride the border between garage-rock and indie -rock with an impressive result.

The first full album under the moniker Bromheads, Choro is a whistle stop tour of the band’s sound. Clocking in at just under 24 minutes, the album doesn’t outstay its welcome, but with 11 tracks, each hovering around the two minute mark, those listeners used to slightly longer tracks may be left a bit dissatisfied.

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If the songs were much longer, the album would lose the momentum it gains from the very first beat of the first song, never stopping, never slowing down.

This is a band who have found their sound.

And it’s a sound that is hard to describe; raw and rough with lyrics to match. Fans of Arctic Monkeys or the White Stripes should find something to enjoy on this album. Filled with killer riffs, loud distortion and supported by a driving drum beat, this two-piece does anything but sound like a two-piece.

When listening to the tracks individually, they seem to end just after starting, for some, this is no big deal, or even a bonus, but it just leaves a bit of a cold

feeling. No matter how good a song is, two minutes is still a bit too short.

When listening to the whole album it is difficult to pick out specific highlights, but tracks ‘Jeans Are Tight’ and ‘T-shirt’ are definitely high up there, both being high energy songs with catchy choruses and brilliant, but simple lyrics.

And here lies the beauty of this album - simple songs, filled with passion and energy, allowing the listener to just completely fall into the music without being distracted by over complication.

spicing up each song individually.

Many of the songs, such as ‘Born to Kill’ and ‘The Sword By My Side’ tell semi-aggressive stories of conflict, both in the forms of combat and of relationships. This tone continues throughout the album, making the majority of the tracks merge into one another, so none particularly stick out.

Check out ‘You Will Be Free’ for an overall taste of the album.

It’s catchy, the lyrics are easy to pick up on, and it’s also a good decider for whether you’ll like the rest of the album.

‘Where I Stand’ and ‘The Howl of the Winds’ have pretty much the same introduction but verge off into their own songs after a while.

Hutch describes his band as “loud, distorted, catchy and

smart,” which is an accurate description. His voice is distorted and scratchy, and not something that everyone can tolerate, but sounds right alongside his comrades.

Considering they lost their guitarist Joel Burrows last year to a car accident, the Thermals have managed to come back strong, with a meaningful sixth album.

They can be compared to the likes of the Vaccines, but an American, post-pop-punk version with fewer members. They’re the sort of band you might come across as a support act and happily dance along to.

Desperate Ground isn’t anything particularly special, but the unique sound of the Thermals through all of their albums is enjoyable.

Will Ross

Rob Surgenor

ith the abundance of new releases each week it can be difficult to sift through the shit in search of the gold, so Fuse has handpicked some of the musical highlights for you.

We are loving the first single from Nottingham trio Wolf Club which we were introduced to this week. The track ‘Collapse’ is insanely catchy and the bands electronic indie-pop sound is really fun and refreshing. There energetic and fresh style is helping to get us in the mood for summer.

Bleech have released a stream for their new track ‘Not Like You’ and we just love their distinctive indie-rock sound. The song is taken from their new album Humble Sky which is set to be released this summer and we are so excited about it. We love the urgency of ‘Not Like You’ along with the grungey vocals backed up with softer harmonies.

The new single from She & Him ‘I Could’ve Been Your Girl’ was shared on SoundCloud this week and we really like its

retro feel and melancholic melody. It is the first track to be taken from their forthcoming album, Volume 3 which will be out May 13. It is a slightly different sound from the lively folkpop we’re used to from She & Him, but we love this new 50s inspired style and we can’t wait to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.

Finally, Vampire Weekend are back at last and their new song ‘Step’, taken from their third album Modern Vampires of the City, is one of their best to date and is definitely a grower. Ezra Koenig’s vocals sound amazing with the simple melody and the lyrics are so sharp and intelligent. We can’t get enough of it and are counting down the days until we can hear what they’ve got in store for us on their latest album.

LW & AH

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KATE NASH

Monday April 9 The Leadmill

K

ate Nash begins her show by imparting her wisdom on the crowd: “If you take anything away from this gig, I want it to be this: be whoever you want to be and let nothing stand in your way.” Truer words were never spoken by 25 year old Kate Nash, with cat ears nestled in her dark hair as she thrills the crowd as Leadmill’s latest headliner.

After debut album Made of Bricks topped charts in 2007, the singer-songwriter is now touring with her third album Girl Talk, a riotous and punk-ridden collection of songs.

Whilst the more pop-happy streak has faded, the London born girl is still following her outspoken and tongue-in-cheek roots. All be upstanding – Kate Nash is back.

She opens with tracks from her new album. ‘Sister’ begins as a

beautiful, heartfelt lilt; ‘There was this cool, cool girl/She was about your age/She kinda had your smile’ before breaking into raw, unrestrained cries. It’s a side to Nash we haven’t experienced before, a sharp move from her cutesy, witty persona.

Her promotional single ‘Underestimate The Girl’ is equally distortion-heavy and for want of a better word, a bit shouty. Nash owns the stage in her ruffled red dress, electric guitar in tow, but there are definitely a few bemused faces in the crowd. The lyrics are such a far step away from her first album you can’t help but wonder if she’s alienating some of her hard-core fans.

However, nothing can take away from her brilliant stage presence, regaling cheeky anecdotes between songs to the delight of the crowd, such as meeting the Kooks in an airport and playing them a tune on her new tin whistle.

“I remember thinking, ‘What the fuck just happened?’”

It’s clear from her winks and

giggles that she’s loving what she’s doing, and you can’t help but love her in return for that.

Nash returns to favourites from her first album much to the delight of the audience. ‘Do-WahDoo’ starts the crowd screaming, arms flung in the air and feet stamping as she jumps into the crowd to dance with her adoring fans. ‘Foundations’ is met with equally enthralled screams. It’s clear this is what the audience has been waiting for – Nash at her most fun, fruity and clever.

Miss Nash may have made a leap of faith with her new album but there’s no doubt she’s still winning people’s hearts with her smart-tongue and passionate attitude to new music.

There were definitely individuals leaving the gig with a new girl crush, and who can blame them really? She’s a devilish treat to the ears.

Eve Betts

Reviews.

MUSIC

LIVE

Kate Nash: Eve Betts

Blessa: Lorna Halliday

ALGIERS

Thursday April 11 The Washington

T Kate Nash: Eve Betts

Tribes: Neil McCarty

TRIBES

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riers.

But once Tribes make their way onstage, drunken crowdsurfing breaks out, and an effective moshpit begins in the centre of the dancefloor.

Johnny manages to ignore the heckling from one particular girl in the front row for a while, but eventually gives in and presents her with a smile of appreciation.

Tribes were thankful ‘til the end of their set for everyone who came to support them, as times are rough for bands, especially with illegal downloads.

The Plug security guards must hate Tribes, as the band openly encourage what the burly bouncers were trying to stop.

But the crowd were satiated, and Tribes did their thing.

Will Ross

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DOT COM

Fuse.

he Camden boys from Tribes are welcomed onstage at Plug on Saturday with open arms, many belonging to screaming young hipster girls.

The crowd consists of so many generic music fans it is easy to feel lost – but the love of this band’s obscure rock lyrics and riffs brought everyone together.

Support acts Blue Lip Feel and Twin Bears do a sterling job of warming the crowd up for their headline act.

Twin Bears come across a lot like Frightened Rabbit when they first arrived on the Scottish music scene, with a calming air about them.

Their soft lyrics and gentle

guitars were quite a contrast to the Blue Lip Feel image. The glam rock bad boys drive their reputation of sexy riffs and wacky outfits to new levels and gain a whole new feel of respect from the Sheffield fan-base.

Oliver’s extraordinary mullet and exposed arms cause havoc among the front-row girls, with many of them fighting for his attention, and shouting out declarations of love.

In direct contrast, bassist Will couldn’t give a shit and just riffs his heart out, knocking mics over and getting in people’s way. It is brilliant to see the bassist receive so much attention for being awesome.

Plug is relatively empty for the duration of the first two bands.

Only when Blue Lip Feel say their thanks and walk off does the bar really start to pile up and a crowd form by the bar-

Sarah Dawood

Friday April 19 2013

Saturday April 7 Plug

he first band to take to the stage of pokey-but-cosy local pub The Washington (accompanied by mini-disco ball) is Secret Islands.

The group is a slightly more ambient and shoegaze-esque take on bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Noisettes. Lively female singer Delia Taffler is armed with a strong voice, and is not dissimilar vocally to either Karen O or Shingai Shoniwa.

The lead singer is full of quips for the audience, describing one of their songs as ‘like taking a warm bath with the window open’, and sure enough she gives the relatively drowsy music a bit more bite with her vocals. They shake things up with a few ska guitar riffs and are an impressive start to the evening.

Next on are Sheffield band Blessa. Another female-fronted group, but very different to the last. Lead singer Olivia Nellar has a lovely and enchanting voice comparable to the likes of Anna Calvi, and the band fits comfortably into the indie bill for the night.

Dreamy melodies and heavy bass lines makes their sound similar to bands like Swim Deep and Summer Camp, and they captivate their loyal following from start to finish.

The pace is increased a little with headliners Algiers who are raw, stripped down guitar-based indie without the frills. The duo (guitar and drums) draw an uncanny resemblance to Maximo Park, particularly the lead singer’s vocals and the fast drumbeats.

Joking consistently, they keep the small crowd sufficiently entertained and put on a really great, professional performance that didn’t sound lacking, considering there were only two components.

‘Uncover Me’ was a particular highlight.

All in all, three really talented but different bands who filled out the tiny, cramped venue and entertained their audience.

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SCREEN

Reviews.

OBLIVION

Dir: Joseph Kosinski 7/10

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t’s 2077, humans live on Titan, and the Earth is a desolate rock after being invaded by aliens and ravaged by nuclear weaponry. Two humans remain behind to harvest resources before they soon travel to be reunited with the rest of their species and allow the aliens to have what remains of Earth.

This is the compelling starting plot of Oblivion, which takes five minutes of voiceover to explain while the camera pans over stunning vistas of what was once America. But it is where the film takes you later on that will shock, amaze, and confuse the heck out of you, that makes this one of the most memorable sci-fi films of recent times.

Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are an excellently acted duo just getting on with their jobs until complications featuring Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman) throw the story into a black hole it never escapes from, and is all the better for it.

Just like other classic sci-fi films before it such as Moon, Oblivion is full of twists, some of which you may see in advance, but many of which you definitely will not.

The film is the vision of one man; Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) wrote, produced, and

A LATE QUARTET Dir: Yaron Zilberman 6/10

Fuse.

Friday April 19 2013

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powerful, moving film, A Late Quartet is about a group of friends struggling to keep their string quartet together. It may sound boring, but director Yaron Zilberman manages to add unexpected levels of drama into the storyline to keep the film moving.

Essentially a narrative about how relationships get in the way of work, ‘don’t poop where you eat’ couldn’t be a more appropriate catchphrase.

Peter Mitchell (Christopher Walken), cellist and oldest member of the group, develops Parkinson’s disease, causing havoc with his mental health and ability to play. As a mentor and friend to his fellow string players, he has to try to keep them confident in the Fugue quartet, and in themselves.

But things start to fall apart when Robert (Philip Seymour Hoffman) asks to swap violin roles with Daniel (Mark Ivanir), and then cheats on his wife, vi-

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directed Oblivion, based on an unpublished graphic novel of his own creation. This shines through in keeping a coherent theme and unleashing a very complex plot; unfortunately the pacing of this plot is one of Oblivion’s downfalls.

Large sections of the film’s first half could have been missed out altogether, yet the finale is rushed. Kosinski may have done this to cover up for sections of the story that even he can’t properly explain but it does feel a little jarring and at times even boring.

“One of the prettiest films you’ll see all year” There is a clean, Apple-esque aesthetic to modern technology in Oblivion, and the design of ‘Tower-49’ will make you start throwing money at the screen for a deposit.

The home of Jack and Victoria, it is supported high above the clouds by only an elegant metal pole with an overhanging, clear-bottomed swimming pool that is sadly only shown during the slow, dragged out first half of the film.

This is one of the most visually stunning films to ever hit the silver screen, and would definitely benefit from an IMAX viewing. olist Juliette (Catherine Keener), when rejected.

Meanwhile, Daniel is sleeping with Robert’s daughter Alexandra, whom he is meant to be tutoring. Whilst it is kind of cute seeing their ‘love’ develop, it’s still weird to watch an older eastern European man seducing and shagging his best friend’s kid. Everything kicks off and drives a stake through the group, worsening Peter’s condition.

As a film aimed at an older audience, the stereotype of teenage Alexandra (Imogen Poots) is surprisingly not too awful. And when it comes to the composition of a married couple’s breakup, the acting is superbly and realistically done.

Walken’s performance is brilliant as he holds the foursome together with strength and wisdom.

There’s only so much non-diegetic string music one can comfortably take between scenes, and with the entire story being based upon a single piece of music, Beethoven’s ‘Opus 131’, this almost becomes too much.

Luckily, however, the Brentano String Quartet who actually played the recorded music are

The filming crew went to great lengths to use real vistas in Iceland to shoot on location which creates a truly substantial, believable depiction of post-apocalyptic America.

Green-screening has been kept to a minimum here, yet all of the special effects and CGI are nothing short of masterful. When a two tonne robotic drone crashes into the ground you don’t just see it, you feel the scraping of shrapnel, the formation of sparks, and the intense rumble of the landscape.

The sound design at work is also impeccable, as one of the first feature films to be fully mixed in the latest ‘Dolby Atmos’; one of the standout times I have actually noticed surround sound at work in a cinema, was during this film.

Stunning, epic, confusing, and emotional, this is one of the prettiest films you’ll see all year, but one that forgets to explain half the story and leaves you with a rushed finale lacking in closure.

Christopher O’Grady

More reviews online Read more reviews online at Forge Today

DOT COM

fantastic.

Confusing time jumps make it slow at times, making it seem much longer than the hour and forty minutes you go in for. But this is forgiven through the pangs of emotion you’re likely to feel for the adoring old man with a degenerative disease, or empathy for a failing marriage. It’s not necessarily a tear-jerker, but it’s easy to well up at times.

It was imperative for Zilberman (and co-writer Seth Grossman) to pick the right piece of music around which to frame the story. ‘Opus 131’ is played without breaks, a continuous piece that flows from one movement to the next, much like the film itself.

It has ups and downs, varying speed, calm and power.

Whether you’re knowledgeable about classical music or not, this piece is able to illustrate the love and passion needed to master the instrument you’re bound to.

It’s a well-presented film. But ultimately, as this year’s other ‘yay for oldies’ film alongside Song for Marion, it will be forgotten.

Will Ross

Small Screen.

MAD MEN

Wednesday, 10pm Sky Atlantic

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eason 5 of Mad Men ended, unforgettably, with protagonist Don Draper being asked: “Are you alone?” Ever since the curtain fell on that finale, we’ve all been left waiting tentatively and wondering infinitely as to what the reply may have been.

For any fans of Mad Men, the arrival of season 6, which opened with a double length episode called ‘The Doorway’, has been a long awaited event in this year’s TV calendar, and in fact, for many, one of the only dates worth looking out for.

‘The Doorway’, in a fashion very similar to season openings that have come before it, almost reservedly unravels in front of the viewer.

Ever so elegantly, we are reintroduced to the world and, of course, politely reacquainted with the characters themselves.

It appears with ‘The Doorway’ that the production team behind Mad Men are still in no mood to rush perfection, and Mad Men’s trademark enigmatic nature means that, as ever, nothing is moving too fast. If it ain’t broke,

don’t fix it.

‘The Doorway’ opens as Don (Jon Hamm) and his wife Megan (Jessica Paré) are holidaying in sunny Hawaii. Sensibly, the main body of the opening episode focuses on Don, but he is not the sole focus of the episode.

Rather nostalgically for any long-time fans of Mad Men, it seems that Betty (January Jones) is once again in line to become increasingly involved in this season’s intertwining storylines.

Having been very much in the sidelines for the last couple of seasons, Betty’s role in the ‘The Doorway’ is arguably one of the most intriguing.

Through Betty, in this inaugural episode we are offered a view deeper into the Mad Men universe. We are familiarised, very cleverly, with some of the issues facing 1960s America that are sure to influence this season’s narrative.

All unfolding in the ominous shadow of the Vietnam War, season 6 appears thus far to be as stylish and refined as anything previously offered by Mad Men. Certain not to be without the subtle drama and scandal to which we are so addicted, it appears that Mad Men definitely remains the sexiest show on TV. Dale Callaghan

SHOCK TREAMENT Dir: Jim Sharman 1981

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ots of people are familiar with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but perhaps fewer people will be aware of Shock Treatment, its lesserknown sequel released in 1981.

Following the cult success of the first film after its run in cinemas, creator Richard O’Brien wrote the script and score for a new story starring the two main characters of Brad and Janet.

The film takes place in a TV studio which encompasses the town of Denton, and which broadcasts a Truman Showesque 24-hour reality show.

Following their traumatic experiences in the first film, Brad (Cliff De Young) and Janet (Jessica Harper) decide to get some marriage counselling on a reality TV show called ‘Marriage Maze’, leading to Brad being wheeled off into the TV channel’s insane asylum, ‘Den-

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES Dir: Derek Cianfrance 8/10

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banks to provide for his son and ex-lover Eva Mendes. The other is an honest cop, Avery Cross, whose moral integrity is compromised as he becomes embroiled in the corruption of the police department.

The Place Beyond the Pines is a melancholy triptych: a tale of three parts.

The pines, the place, and the place beyond. The encounter between the characters is tragically brief, but this brief tragedy bears ramifications for

SCARY MOVIE 5 Dir: Malcolm D. Lee 3/10

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whole seven years after the fourth instalment of the Scary Movie franchise, the paranormal parody is back, and it seems that many audiences have indeed been left horrified.

Sadly, this dismay was not intentional and did not come from any artistic feats. The fifth Scary Movie film seems to be yet another step down for the franchise after the questionable reception of the previous few. Despite including many famous faces, and parodying some of the most successful films of the year, Scary Movie 5 has not been able to impress.

The plot surrounds new parents Dan (Simon Rex) and Jody (Ashley Tisdale) who adopt three children. These children (for reasons completely unexplained) happen to be the lost children of Charlie Sheen (who we see killed in the otherwise largely uneventful prequel scene) and are conveniently found in a strategically placed ‘cabin in the woods’ by Snoop Dogg (playing himself). the remainder of the film as an inevitable butterfly effect gradually unfurls. The idiosyncratic Gosling, most notably, is sublime.

Cianfrance grabs you by the scruff of your neck, dragging you face-first into Schenectady, NY. Your eyes soon peel back like Alex’s in A Clockwork Orange; you can‘t look away, and you

So far, so pointless.

The children, left alone in the woods for so long, have created what appears to be an imaginary ‘guardian’ for themselves whom they call ‘Mama’ (in reference to the Spanish-Canadian horror film which achieved an unexpectedly good reception following its release earlier this year) who makes random and yet completely pointless appearances throughout.

What follows is an extremely clichéd and generally unsuccessful attempt at a comedy. In place of any real creative slapstick humour, most of the ‘funny’ moments involve the audience being presented with the same characters undergoing the same injuries time and time again. These injuries are not at all strategically placed, and there are so many of them that even the biggest sadist will surely have stopped laughing after the first half hour.

Slightly more humorous is the parodying of Darren Aronofsky’s Academy Award winning Black Swan. Jody, it turns out, is a budding ballerina, and the film does manage to elicit a few laughs through the refreshingly tasteless references to the main character’s obvious eating disorder and the sexual predation of the bal-

let’s director.

Many will also confess to giving in to the immature yet admittedly rather witty allusion to the ‘controversial’ sex scene, which takes place in the original between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. Though you could call it an easy target, Scary Movie 5 does make good use of Black Swan’s shortcomings.

It is worth considering the fact that Scary Movie does not strictly aim to please the general population of film fans. There are, however one may feel about this, some people who will find themselves in hysterics over the sight of an overweight character putting on a bikini, the maid cuddling a hoover in her sleep and even a scene where the infamous pool cleaner from Paranormal Activity throws a party for its other pool cleaner friends.

However, despite having the chance to pay homage to an array of recent hits and utilise some talented up-and-coming actors, Scary Movie 5 largely fails to impress, and its immature satire, slapstick and almost non-existent plotline are unlikely to impress anyone old enough to see this 15 certificate film.

won’t miss a single feeling or expression. Raw emotions are exposed like frayed wires as the camera lingers upon character’s faces, as if almost waiting longingly for a reaction. Not since Blue Valentine has cinema felt so invasive, so intimate.

Gosling is quickly becoming affiliated with atmospheric music, like the towering Drive soundtrack, and Pines features an equally poignant score by Mike Patton, supplementing the sweeping cinematography and heartfelt emotions perfectly.

And from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Iver, this soundtrack is a real feat in its own right.

Contrary to Crash, this isn’t merely a circumstantial window into multiple lives. Instead, it tries to tell so much in so little

time that certain roads are left feeling unexplored. The latter half of the film in particular suffers from misdirection and the ephemeral moments of ennui that accompany, but paying attention pays dividends, and when the plot gets back on track it soon gathers an emotional crescendo culminating in a gripping second climax.

Unlike the protagonist’s chiseled torso and exquisite facial features, this film isn’t a demonstration of perfection. But beyond the narrative flaws, and this reviewer’s questionable sexuality regarding the aforementioned comments about Gosling, lies a compelling story with real depth and gravitas which grapples with issues of morality and illustrates the cyclical nature of life.

Graham Wardle

Elsa Vulliamy

Friday April 19 2013

yan Gosling’s second collaboration with director Derek Cianfrance, The Place Beyond the Pines is an audacious outing which explores themes of fatalism and fatherhood.

This powerful crime drama is a grandiose vision reminiscent of Crash (2004), interweaving stories of love, loss and redemption, supported by outstanding acting performances from two of the hottest leading men in Hollywood.

Gosling and Bradley Cooper live two parallel lives. One is Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stuntman who descends into a hedonistic life of crime, robbing

tonvale’.

Whilst Brad spends the majority of the film in the asylum, Janet is groomed by the TV executive Farley Flavors to become a part of his new ad campaign.

Janet spends less time worrying about Brad and more time worrying about her appearance and her fame - an interesting parallel to the nature of reality TV in the modern day.

The film features an array of familiar faces from The Rocky Horror Picture Show - including O’Brien himself, Patricia Quinn, Charles Gray and Little Nel - as well as some surprising appearances from Barry Humphries, Rik Mayall and Ruby Wax. Although it’s not as good as Rocky Horror, Shock Treatment does have its moments - the title song is a particular highlight.

It does gets ahead of itself at times though and it can make for some cringe-worthy viewing, but above anything else its good fun to watch.

Rhiannon Pickin

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