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The Horrors The sky’s the limit The Guard Brendan Gleeson dons the blue uniform and heads west In The Rough After Rory’s glory, Northern Ireland suffers another setback Warpaint The LA Women with Ireland in their sights
Spit ‘N’ Polish
The continuing legacy of Northern Irish punk
Dublin Scene Report A look at the latest goings-on in the Irish capital
FUNKADELIC | LE BUTCHERETTES | WIRELESS MYSTERY THEATRE | COURGETTE | THE VASELINES | THE TAQWACORES | GAME CONTROLLERS | ELBOW
my inspiration Dizzee Rascal
Learn, master and achieve. Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)
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Photography by Tim and Barry.
MAGAZINE ISSUE 75 | CONTENTS EDITORIAL
UPFRONT News and views from the world of AU
Summer in Northern Ireland is an officially weird time. In most cities of the world the season with the best weather, and when people have the most free time, usually heralds an influx of tourists and an increase in the amount of activity and stuff happening all around. Northern Ireland is a bit different though. At this time of year, and July in particular, there is an exodus of folks deserting the place and heading to literally anywhere else. Granted, it hasn’t been quite as severe in recent years, but add the fact that a huge chunk of students go home as well and there is a period of a few weeks where the place can feel a little ghostly. In recent years the Trans Festival and Urban Arts Academy had gone a long way to at least keeping Belfast alive during the period, and making it feel like it was only a few days that were a bit askew. Unfortunately, Trans and the UA are no longer running, and with the recent rioting and prospect of more to come, we can expect a period of weird quiet once again. It sucks, but the problem is so old and ingrained that nothing is going to change any time soon. But hey, at least we have Glasgowbury to look forward to.
REVIEWS The AU Verdict
ROLL CALL Publisher / Editor-in-Chief – Jonny Tiernan Editor – Chris Jones Business Manager – Andrew Scott Contributing Editors – Francis Jones, Ross Thompson Album Reviews Sub-editor – Patrick Conboy Design – Tim Farrell Illustration – Stephen Maurice Graham. Shauna McGowan, Mark Reihill Photography – Carrie Davenport, Lili Forberg, Suzie McCracken, Aoife McElwain, Dave Mitchell, Gabe Murphy, Loreana Rushe Contributors Kiran Acharya, Josh Baines, Niall Byrne, Patrick Conboy, Brian Coney, Dave Donnelly, Neill Dougan, John Freeman, Daniel Harrison, James Hendicott, Adam Lacey, Stevie Lennox, Ian Maleney, Kirstie May, Nay McArdle, Darragh McCausland, Karl McDonald, Aoife McElwain, Mike McGrath-Bryan, Aoife McKeown, Kenny Murdock, Lauren Murphy, Joe Nawaz, Dean Van Nguyen, Shannon Delores O’Neill, Mike Ravenscroft, Steven Rainey, Eamonn Seoige, Jeremy Shields.
STUPID THINGS SAID THIS MONTH Why am I buying this?! Oh it’s ok, I already ate my other cookie. This weekend: popularise bruschoda. I like syncopation! I’m surprised with you and your hipster pals that you don’t get Karen O. So you’re a keen oyster diver then? Perhaps we should go to a convenience store?
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Going Out or Staying In
Page 8 – Hot Topic – In The Rough Page 10 – Scene Spirit: Dublin Page 11 – Teethgrinder Page 12 – Warpaint Page 13 – Season’s Eatings Page 14 – The Golden Age Of Wireless Page 16 – Unknown Pleasures / Games Page 17 – B-Movie Lightning Page 18 – Cut O’ Ye! Page 19 – Take Control Page 20 – Safe From Haram Page 21 – Download Report Page 22 – Back Of The Net Page 24 – Incoming: Diagrams / Ford & Lopatin / Nazca Lines / La Buthcherettes
47 Album Reviews Page 47 – Album Reviews Page 53 – Young Blood Page 54 – Live Reviews Page 55 – DVD & Game reviews
REWIND AU rolls back the years Page 56 – Flashback: The start of MTV Page 57 – Classic Album: Funkadelic Page 58 – History Lessons: The Vaselines Page 60 – In Pictures: Willowstone / AU Vs Glider
This is the future. You know the way you’re quite feminine, do you have any lip balm? I dont need to get married now. This is all I’ve ever dreamed of.
FEATURES AU goes in-depth
Let the boys commence.
If you’d like to stock AU in your business, or you live in an area where AU isn’t currently stocked, but you’d like to see it available, then drop info@iheartau.com a line. We’ll sort you out. To advertise in AU Magazine contact the sales team Tel: 028 9032 4888 or via email: andrew@iheartau.com The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. Copyright remains with the author / photographer / designer. Send demos / mail / material to: AU Magazine, 2nd Floor, 21 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HD For more info contact: info@iheartau.com For all general and editorial enquiries call: 028 9032 4455 AU Magazine graciously acknowledges funding support from the Arts Council Of Northern Ireland
26 A to Z of Summer Page 30 – Cashier No.9 Page 36 – The Horrors Page 40 – Brendan Gleeson Page 42 – NI Punk
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62 The Last Word: Elbow
THE DVD
STAYING
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
IN
The set-up – a bunch of pampered dropouts hanging out in a bar doing nothing much of merit – might be familiar, but this sitcom is closer in tone to Seinfeld than Friends as its main characters are despicable douchebags who never miss an opportunity to indulge their own selfish whims. The show has become a surprise cult hit, thanks largely to its tendency to break all manner of taboos and find humour in the most unlikely of places, and the gag rate is high even if some of them make you wince. RT It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 1 is out now on DVD
The Borgias THE TV SHOW
Sex, intrigue, murder, corruption… all are present and correct in Oscar-winning director Neil Jordan’s new TV show. Studying the first family of 15th Century Rome, The Borgias looks set to be a saga on a cinematic scale – sumptuously shot and starring two giants of British acting – Jeremy Irons in the lead role as Rodrigo Borgia, the newly elected Pope Alexander VI, and Derek Jacobi as a cardinal who plots against him. Given that the real Borgia dynasty was Mario Puzo’s inspiration for The Godfather, it’s fair to say that piety will be in short supply. CJ The Borgias premieres on Sky Atlantic in late July
Post Everything THE BOOK
Erstwhile musician Luke Haines is not known for holding his tongue. To say that his lyrics for his various guises The Auteurs and Black Box Recorder are caustic would be kind. However, Haines has carved himself a new identity as a writer who can balance Wildean quips with vituperative rants about the state of contemporary music. Both are in full effect in Haines’ new set of memoirs Post Everything, the follow-up to the well-received Bad Vibes, in which he is just as merciless about the industry after Britpop. RT
Post Everything: Outsider Rock And Roll is published on July 7
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CF Records Compilation 2
F.E.A.R. 3 THE GAME
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
The popular first person shooter series grows even darker with its third outing, for which its manga stylings of the paranormal, thought control and your classic dark-haired spirit girl are pushed right to the fore. These supernatural elements imbue F.E.A.R. 3 with qualities at least a little different from your standard duck and cover shoot-‘emup, and gaming junkies will lap up its oppressive atmosphere and relentless orchestra of blood splatter, explosions and head-bursting. It’s no party, that’s for sure. RT
THE FREE ALBUM
If the Dublin indie-pop scene is dominated by the Popical Island collective, then Belfast is well looked after by CF Records (formerly known as Caff/Flick and Cass/Flick, confusingly). Run by Girls Names and Sea Pinks member Neil Brogan since 2006, the label has released music by his own bands and Belfast peers Charles Hurts and JL Seagull, as well as American acts like High Places, Cloud Nothings and Mt. Eerie. The label’s second compilation features songs from all these and more – 19 tracks of unvarnished indie goodness, and it’s free. CJ
F.E.A.R. 3 is out now for PC / PS3 / Xbox 360
Download the compilation from cfrecords.bandcamp.com
Google+
Coin Drop
As if you didn’t waste enough time on social networks already, here come the ever-questing Google with yet another alternative. Will it be the new Facebook, or the new Bebo? The main selling point is their concept of ‘circles’, which basically allow you to pigeonhole everyone you know as ‘friends’, ‘acquaintances’, ‘colleagues’ or anything you like. It sounds cold and calculating, but means you can be selective about who you share status updates and links with. So if you don’t want your boss or your wee niece to see what an utter dirtbird you are, this may be the site for you. CJ
The goal of this charming little spin on pachinko is to drop coins (duh!) down compact and bijou levels and collect the four bad pennies in each one. However, that simple premise is jazzed up significantly through teleports, magnets, lasers and Arkanoid style destructible blocks. The visuals are gorgeous, particularly in the cute, colourful animation of the coins themselves, which yip and cheer adorably as they bounce down the screen. Like all good games it is wickedly addictive: as with Angry Birds the lure of gaining three stars is much too tempting. Fantastic stuff. RT
THE APP
Coin Drop is out now for iPhone and iPad.
Check it out at plus.google.com – but you need an invite
Your Highness THE DVD
Not many movies feature the Giant’s Causeway, Natalie Portman in a thong and a severed minotaur’s penis. But Your Highness – the fantasy epic-spoofing spawn of cult funnyman Danny McBride and even-more-cult director David Gordon Green – isn’t most movies. McBride plays a weed-smoking, wench-chasing prince outclassed by his more wholesome bro (James Franco). Together with Portman’s take-no-shit warrior chick, they embark on an action-packed, expletive-ridden quest to save a damsel from being besmirched by an evil wizard. Think Mel Brooks if he’d grown up on Saturday Night Live and keg parties, and shot in Northern Ireland instead of the Warners lot. AJ Your Highness out on DVD August 8.
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Electric Picnic Reliably the best festival in Ireland, Electric Picnic’s early September slot seems infuriatingly far away, but it does at least give us something to look forward to all summer. Set in the gorgeous grounds of Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois, it’s a world away from the soulless, bleak expanses that house certain other festivals (cough), and it’s totally conducive to a weekend of pure escapism. And the USP is all the other good stuff besides the music – at times it feels like wandering around a village fete while off your mash on the best drugs money can buy. As ever, then, the atmosphere and attractions will be second-to-none, but what about that music line-up? Arcade Fire, the reformed Pulp and The Chemical Brothers top the bill, and further down is the usual mix of proven class (PJ Harvey, Mogwai, DJ Shadow), festival favourites (Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, OMD) and cutting edge talent (Flying Lotus, James Blake, Warpaint). Simply put, there is no excuse for getting bored at Electric Picnic. The catch? The weather. But we can hope and, if it’s your bag, pray. CJ
LAOIS
STRADBALLY, CO. LAOIS, SEPTEMBER 2-4. WWW.ELECTRICPICNIC.IE
BELFAST
DUBLIN
CORK
Belsonic
Vodafone Comedy Festival
Indiependence
The Belsonic organisers have once again curated nearly two weeks of quality gigs in the heart of Belfast. As ever the line-up is comprehensive, offering something to please all kinds of music fans. The festival has attracted two of the UK’s biggest pop stars in Dizzee Rascal (pictured) and Tinie Tempah, whilst Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica in full) and Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye are sure to attract huge crowds. Elbow are always reliably terrific live, especially as they have such a wealth of stirring anthems to draw from. And that’s only half the names on a high profile bill. RT
CUSTOM HOUSE SQUARE, BELFAST, AUGUST 16-27. WWW.BELSONIC.COM
They may have difficulty in reading the small print about the big figures in their corporate tax return forms, but Vodafone don’t shy away when it comes to backing top comedy. The Vodafone Comedy Festival 2011 will feature an impressive line-up of 65 international and Irish comedians over four days in the lush surrounds of Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. Stewart Francis (pictured), Andrew Maxwell, Tommy Tiernan and Ardal O’Hanlon will be amongst the many names in a celebration of all things funny and festivally. JN
IVEAGH GARDENS, DUBLIN, JULY 21-22. WWW.VODAFONECOMEDY.COM
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The humble Mitchelstown festival has come forward in leaps and bounds from its days of headlining with faded popstars and trad bands: since rebranding as Indiependence in 2006, the three-day shindig has become a fixture in the summer festival calendar, maintaining a certain Cork character by limiting the numbers this year to 5000. Funnily enough, the headline acts maintain a distinctly Northern flavour, with Therapy?, ASIWYFA (pictured) and Ash all appearing across the weekend. Others along for the ride include BATS, Editors, Enemies, The Frank and Walters and Jogging. MM-B DEER FARM, MITCHELSTOWN, CORK, JULY 29-31. WWW.INDIEPENDENCEFESTIVAL.COM
DRAPERSTOWN
DUBLIN
BELFAST
Glasgowbury
Another year, another glorious Glasgowbury. After a decade on the inexorable up and up, Paddy Glasgow’s ‘small but massive’ music festival still manages to maintain its intimate and deliciously unvarnished edge. This year’s line-up may read like a definitive directory of the very best contemporary Northern Irish music, but for hardcore festival goers, the luscious likes of cover stars Cashier No.9, Foy Vance, LaFaro and Phil Kieran also comprise the essential, ever-changing soundtrack to another memorable Glasgowbury experience. JN
@ The Park
Belfast Pride Festival
Dublin’s Marlay Park has played host to the likes of Radiohead, R.E.M., The Who and many more, and this summer they are adding to that list with a series of marquee (geddit?) shows. Between July 22 and August 6, the big tent will play host to seven different gigs, each with stellar support bills. AU recommends Villagers with Beach House (pictured), Joanna Newsom with Bert Jansch and James Vincent McMorrow, and the legend is Roger Daltrey, but there is plenty more to get stuck into. CJ
Last year was Belfast’s biggest Pride festival to date, and this year promises to hit the heights yet again. Alongside the huge mix of club nights and fundraisers (sadly, last year’s Handbag Fling isn’t making a comeback) is the Catalyst Arts Centre’s ongoing (Dis)playing The Other exhibition and cabaret star David Hoyle’s excellent Opening Up in the Europa Hotel on the 23rd. Or why not bring your bike and join Critical Mass in sailing through the carnival-like parade in style? Guaranteed fun, whatever you choose to do. AMcK
EAGLE’S ROCK, NR DRAPERSTOWN, CO. DERRY, JULY 23. WWW.GLASGOWBURY.COM
MARLAY PARK, DUBLIN, JULY 22-AUGUST 6. WWW.MCD.IE
BELFAST CITY CENTRE, JULY 23-30. WWW.BELFASTPRIDE.COM
TULLAMORE
BELFAST
GALWAY
Castlepalooza
Belfast Festival of Fools: Sunday Treats
Galway Arts Festival
Dubbed the ‘Best Little Music Festival in Ireland’, Castepalooza is Co. Offaly’s relatively unassuming answer to September’s Electric Picnic. Set in the grounds of Charleville Castle, this year should really deliver with an eclectric line-up featuring Hudson Mohawke (pictured), Jape and Adebisi Shank to name but three. Even better, combining a diverse range of aural delights à la Derry’s Celtronic with the earthly charms of Glastonbury, it promises to be three intriguing days full of “magic, madness and mind-blowing memories”. Nice. BC
CHARLEVILLE CASTLE, TULLAMORE, JULY 29-31. WWW.CASTLEPALOOZA.COM
As Alan Partridge once almost said of the lord’s day: “...the kids are running round, you’ve got to mow the lawn, wash the car, and you think, ‘Sunday, bloody Sunday!’” That was when Sundays really were crap and way before the Belfast Festival of Fools loomed on the city’s horizon. Now they’re back with a feast of free fug-busting Sunday treats between now and the end of August. You’d be a holy fool to miss out on some of the inspired street antics on display at Cotton Court and St Anne’s Square. JN
BELFAST CITY CENTRE, EVERY SUNDAY UNTIL AUGUST 28. WWW.FOOLSFESTIVAL.COM
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Musical highlights of this year’s Galway Arts Festival (now three decades old) include influential alt-rockers The Vaselines, a Gemma Hayes/Ann Scott/Elaine Mai triple-header and acclaimed singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow; while Roisin Dubh favourites And So I Watch You From Afar will be supported by electronic wizard Toby Kaar. The Festival Big Top plays host to De La Soul (pictured), Bell X1, Afrocubism and Blondie, while elsewhere there’s the usual smorgasbord of theatre, comedy, visual arts, literary events and street performers. DH VARIOUS VENUES IN GALWAY, JULY 11-24. WWW.GALWAYARTSFESTIVAL.IE
Words by Chris Jones Illustration by Stephen Maurice Graham
Summer in Northern Ireland just isn’t like most other places. After the massive optimism of May and most of June, the recent Belfast riots have left us wondering how far we have really come. AU reflects on a turbulent six weeks, and ponders what’s next. It was all looking so rosy. On a warm Sunday afternoon in Maryland, USA, a young golfing prodigy from County Down sank the winning putt in the US Open, securing his first major tournament and the promise of many more to come. As he walked off the course, his good friend and fellow countryman Graeme McDowell was on hand for a bear hug and the words, “Legend. Enjoy.” He knows that his mate will enjoy – McDowell won the same tournament last year, becoming the first European ever to do so. And here was Rory McIlroy following in his footsteps – two winners from Northern Ireland in successive years. It was almost unfathomable. The 22-year-old McIlroy is a shining emblem of the new Northern Ireland, an immensely talented and popular young man who draws his support from across the political and religious divide – the type of sporting hero whose successes we can all enjoy. The next day, the Belfast Telegraph – never slow to latch onto a local hero – dedicated almost a quarter of its pages to McIlroy. “A champion, a great… and he’s ours,” read the cover alongside a full-page photo of the golfer and his trophy. And it wasn’t just at home – McIlroy’s boyish grin adorned front and back pages all over the world, as Northern Irish golf yet again made the headlines. That glorious weekend of golf came hot on the heels of two very different state visits to Ireland, both of huge significance to the North. Despite the justifiable complaints over the cost to Irish taxpayers and the disruption it caused in Dublin, the Queen’s visit was a huge success. Most pundits agreed that both the Queen and President McAleese said and did all the right things, not shirking any challenge and creating some images that will live long in the memory. God Save The Queen playing at the Garden Of Remembrance.
The Queen beginning her keynote speech in Irish. Then Barack Obama came along and made us go all dewy-eyed, heaping praise on the people of Ireland, north and south, in making peace a reality. You could see the warm glow from space. And then… The day after the US Open, while Rory McIlroy’s success was dominating the news agenda throughout the UK and Ireland, a famous Northern Ireland export of another kind was yet again rearing its ugly head. In east Belfast, just a short walk from the city centre on the other side of the River Lagan, clashes between loyalists and republicans brought hundreds onto the streets in some of the worst rioting Belfast has seen for years. Off-guard police were left scrambling for reinforcements as rioters hurled stones, bottles and petrol bombs at each other, and shots were fired from both sides. The next night, Tuesday June 21, saw more of the same with the violence seemingly out of control. A photographer working for the Press Association was shot in the leg. All of this meant that by the time Rory McIlroy returned home to Holywood on Wednesday, he had been shunted well down the news agenda. A glance at the Twitter page of Channel 4 News’s Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson (www.twitter. com/alextomo) gives you a neat summation of the timeline. On Saturday and Sunday he was in Holywood, reporting on home-town boy McIlroy’s glory and soaking up the atmosphere: “At Holywood Golf Club. Hot. Steamy. Beery. Cheery. Expectant,” he tweeted on Saturday evening. On Monday, before the rioting kicked off, an update from his desk in London: “Joy - back to Belfast tmrw for The McIlroy Homecoming!” And yet, several tweets later, this: “Forget McIlroy - back to rioting in E Belfast for C4N tonight. More my parish, I guess.” If a tweet can be said to convey sadness, this one did. Like so many British journalists, Thomson used to live in Northern Ireland and he knows all too well the turmoil that our small country has endured. Yet again, the image of Northern Ireland was sullied, and the grim reality of a country divided surfaced once more. There followed a period of calm in East Belfast, and a BBC Spotlight report hard-headedly examined the whys and wherefores of what went on on the
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nights of June 20 and 21. The following weekend, thousands of music fans packed into Custom House Square to see Laura Marling, Fleet Foxes and Villagers perform at the Open House Festival, little more than a stone’s throw from where chaos had reigned. Life goes on. But unfortunately, so do the tensions. We are now well used to the danger posed by dissident republicans, who have been responsible for the murders of British soldiers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey and Catholic police officer Constable Ronan Kerr, as well as several bomb attacks around Northern Ireland. Now it has been widely reported that the loyalist paramilitary group the UVF – supposedly observing a ceasefire but apparently under hotheaded new leadership – was behind the attacks on Catholic homes that sparked the trouble at the end of June. Further skirmishes at the beginning of July underlined the tense atmosphere, and we approach the climax of the marching season with trepidation, memories vivid of last year’s fierce rioting in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast, during which several police officers were injured. It would take a brave, or a foolish person to bet against something similar happening this year, in Ardoyne or elsewhere. And next year. And the year after that. And yet, we must be optimistic, and enjoy the progress that has been made. We must take heart at the sight of erstwhile enemies Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness sharing the top table at Stormont and, for the most part, doing so with grace. And there is plenty to celebrate – lots of tourists, a vibrant festival scene, a Belfast that is nearly unrecognisable from 20 years ago and the knowledge that the vast majority of people really do want to get on with life, free from the nonsense of the past. Rory McIlroy’s success embodied all of that. But the more that bank bombs, shootings and sectarian riots hit the headlines, the more all of that seems at risk. Will the tourists be too afraid to come? What does that mean for our fragile economy? Will promoters see it as too much of a risk to put on the big festivals that bring music fans from all over Ireland and beyond? And will increasing numbers of young people just get fed up and leave the country as they did in the past? At the minute, life in Northern Ireland is pretty good. Let’s just hope we aren’t about to throw it all away again.
SCENE SPIRIT: DUBLIN Our series of scene reports reaches Ireland’s capital, and Harmless Noise blogger and journalist Nay McArdle is on hand to give us the skinny on her home city.
JAPE
LE GALAXIE
All-day gigs, all-year albums, hot new hang-outs and a constant supply of music, art, movies and food: it’s no surprise that Dublin is considered to be one of Europe’s most varied cultural capitals. Stalwarts Few can argue with The Redneck Manifesto’s reputation as the finest instrumental band this island has ever produced. While the band gig less frequently now, its members are still active with their own projects, particularly where bassist and Choice Prize winner Richie Egan is concerned. He’s been busy with fellow Redneck Niall Byrne making music as VisionAir but this September sees the release of Richie’s highly-anticipated fourth Jape album Oceans Of Frequency, and a recent taster of two free downloads from japemusic.com hinted at the good stuff still to come. The lineage of Large Mound can be traced through hard rock and metal back to 1997 but 2011 has seen them stronger than ever, releasing great new singles each month as part of their new album Another Year Of Rock. Estel are another band still going strong with more than a decade of music to their name, while it’s great to see TwinKranes back gigging, recently accompanied
CORNUCOPIA
on tour by Thread Pulls. Other artists have an equally distinguished career despite less time on the block, such as Patrick Kelleher who has gigged constantly since his first album emerged in 2009 and is set to release the follow-up Golden Syrup on July 15 through Osaka Records (see our review on p.50). Newcomers Filling up Whelan’s of Wexford Street with an ‘allday pop extravaganza’ for the launch of their second annual compilation album, the Popical Island record label are moving away from newcomer and towards established status. However, many new bands are finding their first footing as part of the collective, such as Goodly Thousands, Rhino Magic, We Are Losers and, while not exactly fresh-faced, Retarded Cop. In a matter of months the ‘Cop somehow went from one guy rocking out on YouTube via a webcam in his bedroom to a cult following, a full band and an album of great punk songs in the space of just three gigs. Other great new rock sounds are coming from Ginola, Spies, Turning Down Sex and Veroa, all of whom have quickly mobilised their skills into EP form. Venues Each year a certain venue becomes the hip joint to hang out, as many great nights in predecessors The Button Factory, Andrew’s Lane Theatre and
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Twisted Pepper can attest to. Both launched in the last year, The Grand Social and The Workman’s Club lie practically opposite each side of the River Liffey and by dint of geography it seems the southside Workman’s Club has won the race for Dublin’s favourite new musical stomping ground of 2011. Long, wide and lined with seats along the sides, its music venue is rapidly proving popular as a site for album launches, such as that of Le Galaxie, who chose it as the venue for the epic party to bring their debut album Laserdisc Nights 2 to a lively, glowstick-brandishing crowd. Things to do The magnificent Chester Beatty Library has an exhibition of paintings by Henri Matisse that runs until September 25, while the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar is celebrating the release of The Tree Of Life with a retrospective of its acclaimed director Terence Mallick. Sample the city’s finest vegetarian food in Cornucopia on Wicklow Street, or the best confectionery at The Cake Cafe on Camden Street. The brand-new Loft Bookshop has just opened in Twisted Pepper, while a new photography gallery The Picture Rooms has just opened on Wellington Quay. Check out Nay’s relaunched blog at harmlessnoise.entertainment.ie
clouded by oftentimes extreme grief, and what mediums offer isn’t so much closure as it as a lie. And the thing about lies is that they have a nasty tendency of coming back to bite. Witness Pam and Craig Ayers of Missouri. Renowned psychic Sylvia Browne told them, live on US television, that their kidnapped son Shawn had “passed on.” She described a vague location where his body was buried; she even identified his killer as a Hispanic man. Imagine their surprise – and joy – when Shawn turned up alive and well three years later, seemingly none the worse for having been murdered.
Self-described psychics like Edward rely on what’s known as cold reading: they’ll fish for clues from the audience, throwing out a first letter or even a full name in the hope that an eager participant will manufacture a connection to their own life. Tricky bunch, the dead, aren’t they? Can’t shut them up while they’re alive, but once tucked up the grave they only speak in riddles. They don’t tell you that at the funeral.
I recently lost a close relative of my own so it’s hard not to feel a particular disgust for these bullshit peddlers, whose supernatural ability to converse beyond the grave seems to become peculiarly potent in the presence of other people’s money. The people who turn to mediums are often in the most traumatic stage of grief and the sheer abusive power that mediums wield over them sickens me utterly.
It’s easy to make light of these 21st century shamans, and in most cases I tend to agree that a fool is best parted from his money. However the people who seek solace from psychic mediums aren’t hapless idiots – they’re people whose judgement is
What the likes of Edward do isn’t illegal – just grossly scummy and morally indefensible. So if you see him around town in Belfast, Cork or Dublin, feel free to give him a giant “fuck off!” from me and all my dead relatives. Bet he won’t see that coming.
THE
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - LIMELIGHT - AUNTIE ANNIE’S - KATY DALY’S SPRING & AIRBRAKE - LIMELIGHT
Of all the things I could do on a Friday or Saturday night, talking to the dead doesn’t really rank that high on my agenda. There are simply too many good gigs on these days. However, for many the price of closure is never too high, and later this month thousands across Ireland will pay upwards of £60 for an audience with American “psychic medium” John Edward. South Park fans (for it’s from Matt & Trey that I derive all my life lessons) will remember Edward as the titular “Biggest Douche in the Universe,” as nominated by an incredulous Stan and ratified by an intergalactic council of aliens.
ORIGINAL
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - 23rd JULY - 8PM
the
doors alive
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - 4TH AUG - 8PM
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - SAT 13TH AUG - 7.30PM
+ ROB SMITH
SPRING &SPRING AIRBRAKE -& SATURDAY 25th JUNE - 8PMSEPT - 7PM AIRBRAKE - 11th
MARK WATSON
COMEDY SPECIAL
AUNTIE ANNIE’S - 24th SEPT - 7PM
North Atlantic Oscillation
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - 28th SEPT - 8PM
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - 7TH OCTOBER - 8.30PM
THE LIMELIGHT - 10TH OCTOBER - 8PM
BROOKE FRASER
emmy the great
THE LIMELIGHT - 16TH OCTOBER - 8PM
THE LIMELIGHT - 18TH OCTOBER - 7.30PM
THE JOY FORMIDABLE Tickets available from KATY DALY’S, Belfast Ph 0844 277 4455 or www.cdcleisure.com
SPRING & AIRBRAKE - LIMELIGHT - AUNTIE ANNIE’S - KATY DALY’S SPRING & AIRBRAKE - LIMELIGHT
Our new columnist Dave Donnelly sets the world to rights. This month: ‘psychic mediums’.
AUNTIE ANNIE’S 23rd JULY - 7PM
RUDE BOYS
TEETHGRINDER TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
www.cdcleisure.com
L.A. Women AU hears what makes Warpaint tick, and why they’ll keep evolving.
By the time Los Angeles-based fourpiece Warpaint reach Ireland at the end of August, they will have spent the best part of a year touring – and talking about – their acclaimed debut album, The Fool. When AU catches up with affable bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg, we ask her whether the increased media spotlight brings added pressure. “I don’t really read a lot of the press and whatnot, for that reason alone,” she says. “I think things start to get a little convoluted and foggy and you tend to lose the purpose of what you’re doing when you read the press.” The band may have been touted as rising stars by the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll, but they’ve been around a surprisingly long time. First forming in 2004, they went through numerous line-up changes, took a brief hiatus and released a well-received EP (2008’s Exquisite Corpse) before last year’s debut album really started turning heads. Dealing in hypnotic, patiently unfurling songs that simmer with quiet intensity, The Fool is well and truly a
slow-burner. Songs like the excellent ‘Undertow’ reel you in with haunting harmonies and intricate, interlinking guitar lines. Were the band themselves happy with how their sound progressed from the EP to the album? “Yeah. I really like the EP and I’m proud of what we did with it. I think at that time we did our best at recording where we were at that moment. I think The Fool is a bit like an evolution, I like to call it the bigger sister of the EP. It’s not like ‘Woah, who is this?’ – it still sounds like us, just maybe a more mature version of ourselves.” The band have credited the arrival of drummer Stella Mozgawa as the final piece in their jigsaw puzzle. Since she only joined the band during The Fool’s final demo stages, the songs featured on that album have continued to evolve in the live setting, as Lindberg explains. “We hadn’t had ample opportunity to really ‘discover’ the songs as live songs with all four of us, so since we’ve been on the road they have totally taken on new life for us – I would say almost 100%. It also keeps it exciting for us when you play the same songs every single night. You want to make the audience feel like they’re part of a new experience and you’re not just on autopilot or doing your job.” Whether live or on record, one of the things that strikes you about the band is their interplay – there
A Ballroom Blitz It seems like every year that Red Bull is involved in Oxegen they up the stakes and make their presence even bigger. And this time they’ve upped the ante even further. 2011 sees the introduction of the Red Bull Electric Ballroom, with the event centre
almost seems to be a telepathic connection between the four members. Lindberg, Theresa Wayman (guitars and vocals) and Emily Kokal (vocals and guitars) are long-time friends, and the bassist acknowledges the role this plays. “I don’t think we would write the kind of music we do if we hadn’t established a friendship before then. There’s a sense of trust, understanding and acceptance. We feel open enough to basically express very emotional parts of ourselves. It’s hard to do with just anyone.” This sense of openness is key to their live performances, and Lindberg happily admits to feeding off the reaction of their audience. “I think we would be robots otherwise. There’s an energy happening when you’re on stage and there are people in front of you. I think there’s no way you wouldn’t be able to feed off that energy. When they’re really responsive you feel like you’re being supported and you feel comfortable up there doing what you’re doing. You don’t feel so exposed – you feel vulnerable but you feel comfortable being vulnerable. Therefore you step it up and you reach further inside and go for it, you know? There are no limits, no boundaries, which is a good feeling.” Daniel Harrison Warpaint play the Spring & Airbrake, Belfast on August 24, Roisin Dubh, Galway on August 25 and Electric Picnic festival, Co. Laois on September 2. www.warpaintwarpaint.com
getting a full makeover to turn it into a full-on art-deco style ballroom. It’ll have chandeliers, hanging prints, giant portraits, a grand entrance and a ton of other stuff that’ll make it feel like something straight out of the 1930s. That’s not the most important or impressive thing though, what’s really exciting is the line-up for the tent. Dance
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fans will be in their absolute element, as the list of names playing reads like a who’s who of current big room electro. The Bloody Beetroots, Crookers, Diplo, Shit Robot (pictured), Steve Aoki, Tiga, Afrojack, Alex Metric, Fake Blood, Justin Robertson and loads more will be belting it out across three days. Prepare for carnage.
SEASON’S EATINGS The cucumber’s exotic cousin, the courgette really comes into its own in the summertime. Here’s how you can get to know this summer squash a little better. The summer months see many a fruit and vegetable looking and tasting its best, including the often overlooked courgette. It’s true they can taste a bit bland during the cold winter months but, come July, the courgette reveals hidden depths of taste. Head to your local farmers’ market to get your hands on these beauties, who love to be paired with ingredients like tomato,
mint, chilli, feta cheese and potato. This courgette, potato and ricotta bake is a sort of pasta-less lasagna, and a substantially hearty veggiefriendly lunch. I’ve used a version of an amatraciana sauce, a bad-ass tomato sauce from the Italian town of Amatrice. It adds incredible layers of taste to dishes as a base, but works equally well on its own as a pasta sauce.
Courgette, Potato & Ricotta Bake (Serves 3-4 as a main)
Words and photo by Aoife McElwain
THERE’S THIS LITTLE PLACE...
Ard Bia at Nimmo’s Spanish Arch, Long Walk, Galway
T: +353 (0)91 561 114 W: www.ardbia.com
Four years ago, Ard Bia and Nimmo’s were two separate entities. Ard Bia was a homely cafe on Quay Street, while Nimmo’s was a restaurant specialising in exceptional seafood housed in the Spanish Arch premises. 2008 saw the two businesses fused, creating the most wonderful balance of outstanding food served in a laidback, welcoming manner. One of my favourite places to eat in Ireland, it’s great for brunch, lunch and dinner. If you’re more thirsty than peckish, you can visit their recently opened wine bar upstairs, also serving nibbles. Best of all, it’s less than 10 minutes walk to the legendary Roisin Dubh bar/ venue. I want to go to there. Again.
For the amatriciana sauce Olive oil 1 medium white onion, finely diced 150g of pancetta (smoked streaky bacon will be lovely as well), diced 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced 100ml of white wine 1 red chilli, finely diced 2 x 400g of chopped tomatoes 5 or 6 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped Salt and pepper
For the rest of the bake 3 medium courgettes 6 medium potatoes, peeled and finely sliced 1 tub of ricotta cheese
Start by making your tomato sauce. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add the diced onion and fry for 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and pancetta and fry for a further 5 minutes.
Your potato slices also need to be parboiled. Pop them into a pot of boiling salted water for no more than 5 minutes. Do this when your courgettes are nearly ready, so that you get your timing just right.
Next, add your white wine. Cook until all the wine has evaporated. This will take about 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to move on too quickly from this stage – be sure that the wine has completely evaporated, stirring from time to time. The onions will be translucent and almost creamy looking at this stage.
Once all the components of your bake are ready, you can start layering everything up in a medium-sized roasting dish. Start with a layer of potatoes, covering the bottom of your dish. Now add a layer of tomato sauce, followed by a scattering of about six teaspoon-sized dollops of ricotta cheese. Finally add a layer of courgettes, as close or as far apart as you like. Add another layer of tomato sauce before you repeat the original layer once more.
Once the wine has completely evaporated, add your chilli and finally add your tomatoes. Now season with salt and pepper. Simmer over a low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add your chopped basil for the last 5 minutes. Meanwhile, wash your courgettes and slice them lengthways so you have long ribbons about 1/2cm thick. Brush them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat your grill and cook the courgettes until they’re beginning to brown. You don’t want them to be overcooked as they’ll be baking in the oven for 15 minutes once your sauce is ready.
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Heat your oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 4. Now pop in your roasting dish and cook until the tomato sauce is bubbling and your courgettes have a lovely golden colour. This should take about 15 minutes. Serve with a crisp green salad and some crusty bread. Check out Aoife’s food blog at www.icanhascook.com
THE GOLDEN AGE OF WIRELESS How a Belfast theatre company is keeping the radio play alive Aislinn, who already has some experience in the theatre, saw taking these shows from radio to stage as a natural progression as well as a way to make them appeal to modern audiences. Because of the minimal staging and the fact that actors can perform with the scripts in hand, the company have managed to put on several plays in a short space of time. Ad breaks are also a feature, with commercials from the period in which the show was originally broadcast played during interludes to give the performances an even more authentic feel. While the group remain as faithful as possible to the original scripts, one task they faced was recreating the sound effects. Few records exist on how these sounds were first generated. The person mostly responsible for this is Reggie Chamberlain-King. According to him, for the most part it’s just trial and error. “For the first production, we needed the sound of a door,” remembers Chamberlain-King. “I was completely unsure how I was going to go about doing this. I was walking down the street one day and found a full length front door lying in somebody’s garden. I just went in and asked if they needed it anymore. They were glad to get it taken off their hands. I cut it to quarter of its length. Now we have a door that’s an absolute pain to transport, but is perfect for the job.”
Before the 1960s, when television became the focal point of most families’ ‘quality time’ in the Western world, it was the wireless that was king. As well as blasting out swing, jazz and pre-Beatles pop music, plays were broadcast as a way of bringing theatrical performances into the household. Such was the creativity put into these pieces that in 1938 Orson Welles’ adaptation of The War Of The Worlds managed to fool some American listeners into believing an actual alien invasion was taking place. These plays have spent the last 50 years largely forgotten as they were blown away by visual media. However, there is a small group of Belfast-based performers captivating audiences once again with the
Ram Raiders Lisburn piano man builds up to debut EP
original manuscripts from these performances. The Wireless Mystery Theatre recreate old radio plays from the 1940s and ‘50s, acting them out a stage dressed to replicate the look and feel of an old fashioned radio studio. All the actors are presented in period dress, scripts in hand, giving spectators a look into how these plays were originally performed. So far shows have taken place all over Northern Ireland, as well as the Republic, and have including Welles’ The War Of The Worlds and WR Rodgers’ The Return Room, a play considered a classic of Northern Irish radio. Founded in June of last year, the group is led by producer Aislinn Clarke who dreamed up the idea while working on her creative writing MA at Queen’s University. “I was writing radio plays so I was just doing a bit of research,” says Clarke. “I listened to quite a lot of the old CBS plays and I thought, ‘these are really engaging’. There was a reason why people used to all huddle around the radio. People were really into it and we’ve kind of forgotten about all that and there must be a way of bringing it back.”
Fresh from a winning performance at Glastonbury on the BBC Introducing stage (search YouTube for clips), Peter McCauley’s Rams’ Pocket Radio have a busy July in store, leading up to the release of their debut four-track EP Dieter Rams Has Got The Pocket Radios, which is out on July 25 via Reel to Reel Recordings. The band spent the start of July
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Such has been the success of the group that they are taking their act to the Edinburgh Festival where they will put on an incredible 18 different plays in just nine days between August 17 and August 27, excluding the 23rd when the group get a well deserved day off. Aislinn explains the schedule: “They’re all short, horror-mysteries. Well do a 20-minute play, then an ad break, then another 20-minute play every day. We’re presenting it as if it’s a radio series – they can tune in the same time the next day but they’re all standalone stories as well.” Recreating a golden age of radio that was assumed to be outdated, the group have been delighted with the response with critics and punters alike. “When we were doing A Christmas Carol last Christmas we had people returning to see it again and again,” beams Chamberlain-King. “The response has been completely overwhelming.” Dean Van Nguyen www.wirelessmysterytheatre.com
gigging through the UK, and they have a Belfast headline show at the Auntie Annie’s-based Animal Disco club on July 15, with a Saturday night gig in Warrenpoint the following evening. Then they appear at Glasgowbury Festival on July 23. Fans of Ben Folds would do well to check them out.
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E3 Is The Magic Number
UNKNOWN PLEASURES
Games convention ticks all the right boxes
Niall Byrne digs deep to uncover the freshest new music
THUNDERCAT
Blog: Post-Dubstep Sure, it’s a silly signifier used to describe the producers that came after the Skreams and Bengas of the dubstep world, but it’s a useful one in context. However you describe it, this Tumblr blog is doing a wonderful job of collating and charting new releases and artists under that exciting musical umbrella that is inspired by dub, R&B and sparse arrangements. Expect the likes of James Blake, SBTRKT, The Weeknd, Koreless and more. - postdubstep.tumblr.com Mashup mix: James Drake Speaking of James Blake, it didn’t take too long for an excellent 30-minute mashup involving Blake’s music to appear. The other side of the mashup equation comes from tracks and raps from Drake and the result was conceived and solved by Philadelphia DJs Bombe & Caribbean who described it as “a soundtrack for sippin Robitussun & Alize in an abandoned Cathedral, covered in a velvet blanket with a sexy stranger on a dark night…” - futurebombe.com/james-drake Blog Buzz: Thundercat Fans of Flying Lotus will be have heard Thundercat’s vocal style on last year’s Cosmogramma cut ‘Mmmhmm’. A full-time bassist with hardcore punks
BIOSHOCK INFINITE
Suicidal Tendencies, Thundercat also played bass throughout the album. Brainfeeder will release his own Fly Lo-produced debut The Golden Age of Apocalypse at the end of August and judging by tracks released so far, it’ll be a doozy. Check out the sumptuous, jazzy, soul-filled cover of George Duke’s ‘For Love I Come’ for starters. - soundcloud.com/brainfeeder Band Buzz: Nightbox Who’s looking for the next Two Door Cinema Club? Too late, they’ve already been signed and snapped up to the same cool French label, Kitsuné, as Two Door. Nightbox are a Canadian-based five piece who are originally from Wicklow and they are making some significant moves towards Two Door’s electro pop-rock crown with their eminently catchy debut single ‘Pyramid’. - nightbox.ca Album: The Caretaker Composer James Leyland Kirby has been making music inspired by ideas around the human mind throughout his career. His latest album as The Caretaker With An Empty Bliss Beyond This World, takes inspiration from “the ability of Alzheimer’s patients to recall passages of music from their past and connect them to specific people and places”. The music was sourced from a massive collection of 78rpm records and as such it draws from the ballroom music of another era reproduced through a filter of ambient musical techniques. The result is a haunting album that degrades with static, like Alzheimer’s frustrating effects on the brain. bit.ly/caretakeralbum
WWW.NIALLER9.COM
Every summer, the world’s gaming community gathers in Los Angeles to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, a massive show-and-tell for all the designers to proudly display what they’ve been up to for the past 12 months. In short, E3 is vital to a game’s success: it can generate excitement or disappointment in equal measures, and effectively make or break a title’s momentum long before its release. This year the quality of future games was encouragingly high, proving that there is life yet in the current generation of consoles. Bioshock Infinite, although given rather arbitrary coverage, looks absolutely fantastic. It retains the alternate timeline, beautiful art design and eerie mood of its predecessor but transfers the action from under the sea to a city in the clouds. Mass Effect 3, now enhanced with Kinect jiggery-pokery, looks set to close the revolutionary series in typically bombastic style. Meanwhile, Bungie’s big ‘surprise’ (read: not a surprise at all) was announcing Halo 4, the first in a new trilogy for the franchise. More curious was the promise of a hi-def remake of the original, Halo: Combat Evolved. Speaking of shooters, Battlefield 3, the sequel to arguably the most enjoyable multiplayer out there, has all the boom and bang as you could hope for, with dynamically destructible environments and strategic online skirmishes. Tomb Raider receives yet another reboot: an origins story of sorts with a much younger, inexperienced Lara and a grittier storyline. It looks noticeably influenced by Uncharted, which also has another sequel, Drake’s Deception, in the last throes of development. The
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exclusively PS3 series has always offered globe-trotting Indiana Jones type fun, and the latest romp is set to be equally exhilarating. Elsewhere, there was Batman: Arkham City, in which the Dark Knight grapples with the entirety of Gotham being turned into a lunatic asylum; a Wii follow-up to the underrated Luigi’s Mansion; and more details on the Modern Warfare and Gears Of War threequels which will go head to head to gobble up Christmas money this fourth quarter. E3 also marked the public unveiling of the Wii U (awful name, btw), the console Nintendo hopes will claw back some of the hardcore gamers who flocked from its family-centric forerunner. The controller is a weird cross between a joypad and a tablet replete with screen, but the mooted list of titles (Darksiders 2, Tekken, Assassin’s Creed, Ninja Gaiden) will hopefully redress the company’s bad habit of failing to adequately support new tech. Frankly, it’s hard to believe that the U won’t fall into the trap of putting bells and whistles before gameplay. Ross Thompson
LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE Galway’s Mike Smalle on the one-off treat of the year and that, and a microphone. It’s very ‘bedroom’, I suppose, but there’s a lot of that now. The whole idea of going to a studio is not as important.” When it came to tightening up the tracks, though, he did enlist the help of producer and Saint Etienne touring member, Ian Catt. “I went to London for three days and we did some recording and he mixed seven tracks. I like Saint Etienne; they’re a band who’ve managed to do lots of different types of pop music and I thought he’d be a good guy, so I approached him. I sent him some of the initial demos and he was really up for it. Had I had the budget it would’ve been wonderful to have done everything, and done way more.” It’s not the first time he’s brushed shoulders with a luminary figure beside the mixing desk; Smalle previously collaborated with the likes of Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas/Microdisney/ Stereolab) and Mark Eitzel (American Music Club). “In Cane 141 we were big American Music Club fans and liked Microdisney, The High Llamas and Stereolab and all that kind of stuff. O’Hagan’s work with Microdisney was wonderful – we were big fans of that. It was a great thing to do, but we had someone who could actually make it happen. It was a good time.”
Following the demise of his old band – the hugely underrated Cane 141 – in 2007, Mike Smalle set his heart on making a pop album. It’s a process that’s taken over three years but, now operating as B-Movie Lightning, he finally released Rain On A River last month. Bursting with exquisite electro-tinged, abstract pop songs from start to finish, it’s without doubt one of the finest Irish records of the year. Getting to this point, though, has been something of a learning curve for the Galwegian, despite being in the business for over a decade. “The last time I made a record I had a label and, promotion-wise, they did everything,” he says on going down the DIY route. “Being the person that’s doing that is an interesting thing. You don’t know where it’s going to go now and who’s going to pick up on it and how they’ll pick up on it.”
But it’s not just his new-found PR role that Smalle has had to become accustomed to. Having been used to studio environments and bandmates being involved, he found himself alone throughout most of the recording stage. “It was me and a laptop. I had guitars and old analogue organs and synths
Let’s Go Outside
Kowalski announce new single It’s been a long time since we’ve had any new music from Bangor’s Kowalski – although they have toured Europe with Two Door Cinema Club – but we have news of stirrings, with a new single on UK label
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Now that the album is finally done and dusted, Smalle doesn’t foresee a long-term future for B-Movie Lightning. “It was very much the idea of just wanting to make a pop record, very simply, without any kind of consideration for much else in terms of the marketplace or anything like that. It was a very personal thing and the whole idea was just a one-off: a pop record, 13 tracks and that’s it. I’ve got an EP that’s coming out later in the summer, which will be a collection of remixes and then I’m going back to become a librarian in September, so I guess the focus for the next while will be on doing that.” Patrick Conboy B-Movie Lightning’s album Rain On A River is available to buy through Bandcamp now. b-movielightning.bandcamp.com
Everybodysstalking. Yet another slice of pristine, chiming indie-pop, ‘Outdoors’ is out on August 22 and the word is, there will be vinyl. Lovely. You can listen to the track at the label’s Soundcloud page – soundcloud.com/everybodysstalking Meanwhile, the band play Glasgowbury Festival on July 23 and Forfey Festival on August 6-8.
Cut O’ Ye! AU singles out the stylish for pictures and probing
Name: Shannen Linden Age: 18 From: Belfast Last fancy dress costume? Zombie, Always a classic.
Name: Claire Mcelduff Age: 21 From: Omagh Last fancy dress costume? The Corpse Bride
Name: Arthur Newman Age: 26 From: Birmingham Last fancy dress costume? Went 50s for a Mad Men party.
Name: Katie Ellis Age: 16 From: Belfast Last fancy dress costume? Native American Indian, feathers and things!
Name: Jennie Wasson Age: 31 From: Carrick Last fancy dress costume? Kigurumi cat.
Name: Jade Tracey Age: 22 From: Belfast Last fancy dress costume? A Viking.
Photos and words by Suzie McCracken.
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TAKE CONTROL!
The humble controller. Interpreter of commands, taker of spur-ofthe-moment abuse, inseparable and ever-evolving friend of gamers everywhere. A good controller sets the tone for a console’s reception; a bad controller, on the other hand, can derail it entirely, condemning it to an afterlife of ridicule. In the light of the staggering new Wii U controller, AU takes a look back at gaming’s finest input methods. Words by Mike McGrath-Bryan
Joystick (1967-present) The grandaddy of all control methods, dating back to the very first computer game, Space War (1967), the humble joystick was the bedrock of arcade and console gaming for two decades. Although it now plays second fiddle to joypads and Wiimotes, it lives on in a variety of applications, from flight sims to the now-fashionable arcade sticks associated with 2D and 3D fighting games. Nintendo NES Controller (1986 - 1990s) In 1986, Nintendo were hell-bent on shaking up the games industry, and having experienced immense success with the Game and Watch’s cross d-pads and A & B buttons, brought the immediacy of those early handheld classics to a whole new arena. Videogaming is still feeling the impact. Sega Six-Button Controller (1991-2000) As much as we’d love to hand it to the SNES controller for furthering the ergonomics aspect of controller design, Sega’s six-button monolith, used for its Megadrive and Saturn consoles, easily tops it, edging closer to the arcade experience than ever before and adding a whole new dimension to home conversions of the coin-op classics.
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Sony Dual Shock Controller (1998-present) Although Sony’s PlayStation had been well in its element since launch, its decidedly anaemic controller still lacked that certain something. The solution would become a gaming standard, with dual analog sticks, force feedback and best of all, a nighon indestructible construction that felt rock-solid in the hand. Still the standard design on Sony’s home consoles some thirteen years later. Nintendo Wii Remote (2005-present) Another seismic shift in the videogame world, Nintendo threw its increasingly clunky pad designs out the window in favour of a wireless remote that required you to get off the couch and move your arse. Perfect for just about every gaming app and infinitely expandable. Nintendo Wii U Controller (2012) And so Ninty continues its march onwards, with new console Wii U’s mad tablet design serving a number of functions – a touch sensitive screen that can act as anything from a HUD to a golf tee, a second monitor to play on when other people want the telly, as well as the opportunity for endless mini-game madness. Just when you think they’ve outdone themselves, eh?
SAFE FROM HARAM Art imitates life imitating art in Muslim punk movie The Taqwacores The movie, directed by Eyad Zahra and scripted again by Michael Muhammed Knight, is in the interesting position of being released after the real Taqwacore scene took off, lending its fiction more of a docu-biographical authenticity. It’s certainly made an impact with movie critics – huge acclaim at last year’s Sundance Film Festival is followed up with a run on this side of the Atlantic. With an agenda that sticks up two fingers to establishments of the social, cultural and religious kinds, it adapts the tropes of the indie teen, Gen X drama to illuminating cinematic effect. Dominic Rains, who plays Mohican-haired dreamer Jehangir, the troubled, soulful heart of the film, knows all too well the existential tug of war at the heart of many young Muslims today. Rains – whose family were originally from Iran – came to live in Dallas from London when he was just eight years old. He sees the broad Taqwacore spirit in everything from meditation to Tupac Shakur and, talking to AU from his LA home, the actor admits that three years after filming, The Taqwacores still has a profound significance to him.
There’s something stubbornly counterintuitive about putting the concepts of ‘Islam’ and ‘punk’ together. Like warm milk and lemon vodka – they just don’t feel right combined. Yet the two merge seamlessly in The Taqwacores, a thoughtful new US indie flick about to hit the big screen. Based on the searing 2003 novel of the same name by Michael Muhammed Knight (‘the post 9/11 Salinger’), The Taqwacores – ‘taqwa’ means awareness or fear of god – describes a fictional youth movement of the disenfranchised disenfranchised. In it, the ‘generation next’ of the broad Islamic family prod, poke and provoke the prevailing conservative
dogma and often breathtaking contradictions of the faith. Sufi Mohicans, radical feminists in fullon burqas and pot smoking Indonesian skater boys coexist in a shared house in the ‘burbs of Buffalo, where sex, drugs and rock and roll are as essential as praying to Mecca – whose direction is signified by a hole kicked through a wall. Originally written by a disillusioned Knight as a response to the codified strictures and demands of organised religion, life has zestfully imitated art as the liberating DIY cultural ethic of The Taqwacores has subsequently become the blueprint for pockets of angry, questing young Muslims all over North America. Bands, artists, comedians have broadly aligned themselves with the moniker and righteous punk outfits such as Secret Trial Five and Kominas formed in the wake of Muhammed Knight’s incendiary literary broadside.
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“I think it’s a cult classic in the making,” says the self-effacing actor. “It’s the kind of movie that will find its audience, or else its audience will find it. I’m hugely proud to have been involved. For young Muslims growing up now in the US, I can see that inner struggle that the film portrays so beautifully. There’s chaos beneath the surface of their identity. You are born in a very westernised country yet at the same time you’re told to remain true to your faith, your culture, your bloodline. The Taqwacores shows that it’s possible to face that pain, that confusion and face it down. Islamic punk rock is representative of that struggle. My parents taught me that religion was fluid like an ocean rather than something from a book. That’s exactly the ethos of the film.” It isn’t giving too much away to say that Rains character ends up an ambiguously placed martyr to the cause. A meditative Rains puts it like this: “The ending of The Taqwacores is about not believing or trusting any one path. Even Jehangir’s path. Follow your own star – make your own decisions. There is a universal sense of goodness, we all know good from bad. When you think about what religion is – there are some great moral values. You just don’t have to be a Nazi about it.” Joe Nawaz The Taqwacores is showing at the QFT, Belfastfrom August 12-18. Book online at www.queensfilmtheatre.com www.taqwacore.com
ALL MY BEST FRIENDS ARE METALHEADS Meet the fans and bands at the mecca of heavy music Toni Hodges From: Coleraine “There’s a lot more oldschool rock this year. I can’t wait to see System of a Down. And as sad as it is to admit, I can’t wait for Avenged Sevenfold!”
Richard and Karen Langley From: Leeds
PHOTO BY CARRIE DAVENPORT
Metallers used to be in the minority but the last 20 years has seen an explosion of heavy bands, genres and festivals. Download, now in its ninth year, is the most diverse of the bunch. Def Leppard headline the main stage while dance-rockers Pendulum simultaneously lay waste to the second. The next day, a newly-reformed System of a Down compete with Alice Cooper’s classic rock horror-schlock. Amongst the fans is Wayne from Wakefield, hoping to get an Avenged Sevenfold autograph tattoo. Dave and Sian from Wales spend more than a grand for travel and the festival’s ‘RIP’ tickets. “We once took the kids to Disneyland,” they say. “But it felt like living inside Soundgarden’s video for ‘Black Hole Sun’.” On the smaller tents acts like Versa Emerge and Letlive impress, but at 11am on the Saturday the NI-born, London-based quartet Fighting Wolves enjoy the first performance of their career. Formed by Paul Blue after dismantling the trio Hovercraft Pirates, they draw a decent crowd and win applause with songs like grungey closer ‘One Minute More’. “Before today we’d only played in the practice room,” says guitarist Michael Donnelly. “For a first gig, I’m over the moon.” Formed in November 2010, they’ve recorded the Prelude EP and aim to tour later this year. “We’ve had no press, a little bit of radio,” says Blue. “Hopefully this is the beginning.” Also beginning are English quartet You And What Army, who like Derry band No Mean City
were amongst the winning acts in last year’s Red Bull Bedroom Jam competition. They return to Download for the second time. “Last year was the first festival I’d ever played,” says bassist Jamie Hancox. “I was so nervous. But his year it was like: triumphant return.” You And What Army emulate Download headliners Linkin Park, mixing dance beats and metal riffs with raps and roars supplied by lab-coat wearing sound-scientist Dave Brown. As a band they love the Swedish pop producer Max Martin as much as the ultra-modern metal micro-genre known as djent, a sound originating from acts like Meshuggah and Periphery. Not everybody at Download loves modern metal. Samantha Morton and Beck Cross have been attending festivals together ever since they met wearing the same My Ruin t-shirt. Today Beck wears one saying ‘Death to Nu-Metal’. “I think there was a time and place,” she says. “I’m 31 now, and it had its day when I was 14. I like my stoner and doom stuff. We’ve just been to see Ghost.” “I like System of a Down,” says Morton, “but we’re going to go see Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister.” Morton has been going to festivals like Wacken and Ozzfest since the age of 16. “Metal becomes a part of you,” she says. “It’s about more than just the bands.” “When I was a kid my parents thought it was just a phase,” says Cross. “But now, 15 years later, my Mum’s still trying to talk me out of buying a black wedding dress.” Kiran Acharya Highlights from Download 2011 including System of a Down, Def Leppard and Alice Cooper appear on Sky Arts HD, July 9 and 10. www.downloadfestival.co.uk
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“We came seven years ago. Everybody here is so friendly. We really enjoyed Korn. You can’t go anywhere else to get this kind of music.”
Paul Blue Fighting Wolves “The festival’s been excellent, given it’s our first gig. But we’ve no tents to stay in, unless we could stay in that one covering the main stage.”
Ciara McMullan From: Portstewart “It’s my first Download – I’ve been to Glasgowbury and Pigstock. It’s good to have a metal festival but there are great dance and rap acts as well.”
Clare McDonald From: Liverpool “Best thing about Download? The hot dogs. No today, for me, it’s Skunk Anansie and System of a Down. And Bowling for Soup are playing twice!”
WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?
Words by Neill Dougan
Kids’ TV shows are ace. Kids love ‘em (obviously), and parents love to stick kids in front of ‘em and get a bit of peace for half an hour. But they’re not always as harmless as they seem, and in fact can be quite terrifying to a young mind. Your correspondent was mentally scarred for life as a nipper after watching the frankly terrifying animated adaptation of Watership Down, and that was nothing compared to these twisted efforts. So parents, before you thoughtlessly plonk the little tykes in front of the box and forget about them, make sure they aren’t watching anything of this ilk. You’ll thank us when your children don’t grow up to be gibbering emotional wrecks. The Devil’s In The Detail
Wiggle It, Just A Little Bit
Members Only
Here’s a five-minute animation that could truly warp a child’s mind. Based on Mark Twain’s unfinished novel The Mysterious Stranger (which is quite honestly unsuitable source material for a cartoon), in this adaptation three kids meet a terrifying character named, erm, Satan, who creates some clay people, then kills them mercilessly, all the while musing ominously on the pointlessness of existence. Shudder-inducing.
Wiggles is a kids’ show that is apparently written by a gang of deranged lunatics. Here, a happy house tune exhorts us relentlessly to “Point your finger and do the twist”, as a gang of puppets sporting hideous rictus grins throw frantic shapes in front of a psychedelic backdrop. Lobsters, lizards and pirates haphazardly feature, as does a breakdown that randomly declares: “Fruit salad / Yummy, yummy”. Unnerving.
Here’s Bimbo, a cartoon dog who is innocently strolling down the street when suddenly he’s sucked into a sewer and, for no apparent reason, subjected to a series of ever-more outré torments by a sadistic gang of hooded creatures who taunt him with the chant, “Wanna be a member? Wanna be a member?” Quite possibly written in the midst of a bad acid trip.
- TINYURL.COM/TWAINSATAN
- TINYURL.COM/WIGGLEIT
WEIRD WIDE WEB
Ever since wrestling finally admitted that it’s not possible to consistently knock someone out for five minutes with a leg drop, it’s mostly become the domain of children and hard-to-impress superfans called ‘smarks’, who are in the know. If you’re not the former, you may as well embrace becoming one of the latter with Botchamania, a YouTube clip show of screw-ups and almost unending hilarity, aimed at those who never stopped loving the powerbomb.
A cult figure in Canada and increasingly across the world thanks to the powers of the internet, there is no-one quite like Nardwuar. Ostensibly the world’s most annoying music interviewer, in a kids’ television type of way, each Q&A follows a particular pattern: interviewee instantly dislikes Nardwuar, Nardwuar hits them with ridiculous levels of research, Nardwuar and interviewee become friends. Pharrell and Snoop Dogg are notable, unlikely pals.
botchamania.com
nardwuar.com
- TINYURL.COM/BIMBOSINITIATION
Words by Karl McDonald
It used to be no small source of self-destructive pride for Dubliners that it was, as James Joyce posited in Ulysses, impossible to cross the city without running into a pub. Inconveniently, a software developer named Rory McCann has managed to ruin this for everyone by writing an algorithm that plotted a completely dry route using online maps. He didn’t include hotels or restaurants though, so you’re still safe. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003915
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STORY OF THE VIDEO Friendly Fires
"aaagh! my eyes!" The column that can’t put down the crack pipe for even five minutes Words by Neill Dougan
TINYURL.COM/OLDLADYSMOKING “Fuck it,” thought Rita, “There’s not much point in quitting now.” Title: ‘Hawaiian Air’ Director: Chris Cottam
Shooting a Friendly Fires video must be a dream gig, and Chris Cottam is a man who knows. Following his sun-drenched video for their 2009 single ‘Kiss Of Life’, Cottam is involved again for the fun promo clip for ‘Hawaiian Air’. Cue yet more exotic locations – Chris tells AU about it. I assume it wasn’t just the promise of another sunny location that made you want to work with the band again? No, we pushed for the location because we thought it a bit lame to shoot on the roof of a studio in London when the song is about Hawaiian air. What brought me back is that they are great guys to shoot with and hang out with. Brilliant songwriters and all round top gents How was the treatment decided upon? I spoke to Ed [McFarlane, vocals] on the phone and he said he liked the idea of doing a really stylised plane interior, which is what I had in mind as we didn’t want to go too near the Foo Fighters video from a couple of years ago. We wanted to keep the tone light and not too serious but also
keep it looking good. I needed Ed to act a bit. He actually did a great job; I think there is an actor in there... Were the location scenes actually shot in Hawaii? Yeah, actually we were lucky enough to get there as the band were on their promo tour on the west coast of the US and I was in LA, so it was a hop on a plane and hanging out in Maui for a couple of days. Sounds like fun but it was a hell of a lot of work to get it done as they were in mid-tour so we sort of rushed in, shot it and rushed out again so they could get back to their shows.
TINYURL.COM/PORKFORDINNER A ravenous Sean decided he fancied some pork chops. Followed by some bacon.
How much footage did you get of Ed’s famous dance moves? Does he need any encouragement to break them out? It’s always great to get loads of footage of Ed dancing. I think it brings the film alive. It’s so distinctive and people love it. He needs to warm up a bit with a G&T because it can be tricky just pulling off those moves in the middle of a beach at 8:30 in the morning. I always carry round a bottle of gin with me and a lemon. A bit of Dutch courage never goes amiss and you can look like a gentleman drinking it as well. WATCH THE VIDEO ONLINE AT BIT.LY/HAWAIIANAIR WWW.WEAREFRIENDLYFIRES.COM
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TINYURL.COM/SIAMESETENNIS The inaugural ‘Siamese Twin Doubles’ events certainly spiced up he ATP Tour.
Diagrams
Ford & Lopatin
Nazca Lines
Real Name: Sam Genders Based: London. For Fans Of: Sufjan Stevens, Woodpigeon, The Beta Band. Check Out: Debut EP Diagrams, out July 11 on Full Time Hobby. Website: www.diagramsmusic.co.uk
Members: Based: For Fans Of: Check Out: Website:
Members: Formation: For Fans Of: Check Out: Website:
Everyone loves an enigma. Without so much as printing his name on the liner notes, Sam Genders – formerly of folktronica act Tunng and the brains behind the pseudonym – does nothing to dispel the mystery. His unique sound – minimalist experimentation with pop sensibilities – is brimming full of influences from across the musical spectrum, and he cites names as varied as Micachu, Vivaldi, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon as having “floated through my subconscious at some point or another”, while he simultaneously wanted to “have some fun with different instrumentation and types of song”, evidenced in the lush string and brass-laden sections of EP highlights ‘Hill’ and ‘Antelope’, among others. The sound on Diagrams’ debut EP owes much to the crisp, detailed production values of Mark Brydon, who, by Genders’ own admission, has had a major influence on where the writing and the sound of the record has gone. Snappy snare sounds and tight vocal production characterise Diagrams’ sound, and where ‘crisp’ can often translate as ‘soulless’, Brydon’s hand ensures a seasonal, optimistic warmth throughout. Yet to perform live, hearing Diagrams’ intimate sound translated onstage remains a mouth-watering prospect to contemplate, and with an album expected next year (“it will be close in sound to the EP, but how close I’m not yet quite sure”), the ball is very much in Diagrams’ court. Stevie Lennox
Joel Ford, Daniel Lopatin (both production) Brooklyn, New York. Gatekeeper, Chromeo, Beaumont. Debut album Channel Pressure, out now on Software Records. www.soundcloud.com/games
There’s a perfect synthesis to how Ford & Lopatin’s retro electro-pop came together. Childhood friends who “listened to and learned about music together from day one”, Joel Ford and Daniel Lopatin moved in opposite directions – Ford in the Hall & Oates-aping pop act Tigercity and Lopatin with his avant-garde project Oneohtrix Point Never. When they came together again as Games, they found a comfortable mid-point, incorporating smooth R&B, Eighties-tinged synth-pop and plenty of abstraction. “Making music has always been an extension of our friendship,” explains Ford. “We were in lots of bands together over the years,” Lopatin adds. “In 2006 we started swapping audio files over email and that was how Games happened.” The world at large took notice with last year’s That We Can Play EP – four sublime tunes (and a Gatekeeper remix) which nodded towards Italo disco while remaining resolutely pop. However, the debut album has emerged under the pair’s own names due to a copyright dispute. “It was pretty frustrating,” says Ford. “We really loved the name ‘Games’.” It’s not just the name that has changed, either – contrary to the sugary pop hit of the EP, Channel Pressure takes time to reveal its charms, with pop gems like ‘The Voices’ and ‘Emergency Room’ lurking among more experimental peers. But with Prefuse 73 (“a genius”) on mixing duties and influences including Scritti Politti, Kraftwerk and DJ Premier, perhaps that’s not too surprising. At any rate, we are promised plenty more music to come. Get on board. Chris Jones
THE EMERGING ACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
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Cory Alfano (vocals, guitar), Brett Wedeking (guitar), Ryan Minch (bass), Andrew King (drums). Seattle, 2005. Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi, Q And Not U. New album Hyperventilation, out on Therapy? drummer Neil Cooper’s label Stressed Sumo on August 22. www.myspace.com/nazcalines
With the prevailing trend in American music for knowing reappropriation and recontextualisation, it feels somewhat comforting to know that there are bands who are simply continuing the tradition they came up with. Ironically, if you’re committed to simply being a rock band in this day and age, that can actually be the thing that makes you stand out. “Sometimes it feels like we are doing something new or significantly different because in the Northwest there really aren’t many rock bands right now,” says singer Cory Alfano. “There’s a lot of neo-folk and hip-hop and other stuff. And that’s totally cool, some of it is great music, but it can be hard to find bands to play with that mesh well so it can feel like we’re expanding musical boundaries. In reality though, there’s nothing new in popular music anymore; we’re just trying to play fun, interesting music and play it well.” Hyperventilation, the band’s first album to be released by a label, was produced by Matt Bayles, known for his work with his own band Minus The Bear, Blood Brothers and Fall of Troy. “He has a great ear and didn’t let us get away with any sub-par performances. The final product is aurally overwhelming and we entirely credit him with that.” Nazca Lines come with no frills – just good, loud music. Karl McDonald
Le Butcherettes Members: Formation: For Fans Of: Check Out: Website:
Teri Gender Bender (vocals, guitar, keys), Gabe Serbian (drums), Jonathan Hischke (bass, keys). Guadalajara, Mexico, 2007. Hole, PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Debut album Sin Sin Sin, out now on Rodriguez Lopez Productions. www.lebutcherettes.net
Back in ’07, Teresa Suaréz, aka Teri Gender Bender, formed Le Butcherettes in her adopted home of Guadalajara. Originally an all-girl duo comprising Suaréz and Auryn Jolene, Le Butcherettes quickly developed a reputation for their ‘in-your-face’ punk attitude and arresting stage show. However, their partnership was shortlived. Teri moved to LA where she set about reforming the band and soon secured high-profile support slots with indie royalty like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their frenzied live performances soon had tongues a-wagging and attracted the attention of Mars Volta virtuoso Omar Rodríguez-López. Sensing the potential, he quickly agreed to both produce and release their debut album on his own label. Far more than a down-the-line garagepunk album, the newly released Sin Sin Sin showcases the diversity of Suaréz’s talent, and Teri’s fascinating story is as multi-faceted as her music. The death of her father when she was a child caused a massive upheaval in her young life. “My mother decided we’d move back to Mexico to be with her family, even though they largely ignored us,” she recalls. “I was very sad and angry. I hated Mexico up to that point. Mexicans who are born in the States are totally different from natives. However, I soon learned to write Spanish and embrace Mexican culture, which I soon grew to love.” What she experienced growing up in Guadalajara hardened her social outlook. “My teen years were a huge learning curve,” she says. “I had all these mixed feelings of anger, hate and I took it out on paper. In Mexico you could pay off a teacher to get good grades. Corruption is simply everywhere. I could channel that anger through writing and eventually performing. It’s like my therapy! I’m too much of a coward to confront issues in person, so this is my release, how I vent.” Having spent her formative years growing up in Mexico, Teri made the big move to Los Angeles over
a year ago. It was time for change. Auryn had left the band and Teri set about auditioning not one, but two replacements. “You know, it was kinda weird… When I moved to Mexico I was the pale skinned ‘gringo’ and when I left for the US I was seen as a traitor, turning my back on my homeland. But I felt that my band didn’t belong there anymore and moved to California. “I definitely have a conflicted relationship with Mexico. I do love it dearly, the culture and heritage. However, the rock fans, journalists and promoters there often looked at us with disrespect. In Guadalajara we never got any credit for our music. Even when we got a slot at Lollapalooza it was basically ignored. We sing in English and I guess they didn’t feel comfortable about it. Mexico is also quite a macho society and the idea of a girl fronting a band wouldn’t go down too well!” Social ills, and particularly feminist issues are very dear to Teri. The struggle of women in certain parts of the world to gain parity with their male counterparts is a constant source of song-writing inspiration, and newly released debut album Sin Sin Sin will most certainly turn heads. From the provocative cover artwork to the well-crafted and varied songs, Le Butcherettes are keen to make a statement. “I think countries that were under the domineering power of the Catholic Church are in many ways damaged,” she says. “It’s like they have this strange sadness to them. The album title draws attention to the religious creation that is sin. The idea that we are born sinners. When I moved to Mexico, my mother’s family insisted that I was baptised. It was a terribly demeaning experience for a girl of 14 and I felt very compromised. They teach that you must be committed to God and have faith in him. I think we should have faith in ourselves, faith in the power of people. I don’t like being told how to think!” Eamonn Seoige
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Words by Neill Dougan Illustration by Mark Reihill
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As AU writes these words, it is teeming with rain to the extent that we’re about to go out collecting pairs of animals and commence building an ark. Yet the sun was splitting the skies not two hours ago. This completely schizophrenic weather can mean only one thing: it’s summertime in Ireland. Wahey! Hey, here’s a great idea – since there’s a deluge of biblical proportions outside our window, why don’t we have a barbeque? Or better yet, go to a music festival where we have to camp outdoors? Truly, we are a strange race of people indeed.
A
is for Anthems
Everyone has their own personal summer anthems – those big pop tunes that, when heard, immediately summon nostalgic images of long, carefree, sunny days spent living it up with friends. AU’s own selection might include such youthful favourites as ‘Oh Yeah’ by Ash, ‘Alright’ by Supergrass and, of course, ‘Meat Hook Sodomy’ by Cannibal Corpse.
B
is for Blockbusters The summer blockbuster is a long-standing cinematic tradition – a cracking, feel-good romp intended to entice people off the beach and back into movie theatres. Back in the day we had great blockbusters – Back To The Future, Jaws, Indiana Jones and so on. What have we got now? Transformers 3. Just one example of how everything these days is rubbish.
C
is for Caravans
f
is for Festivals
in aluminium factories, landscape centres and branches of McDonalds. It was ok though, because we were always fully confident this ‘working’ lark was a temporary inconvenience and we’d never actually reach a point where we’d have to have a job, full-time, for a living, for the rest of our lives. And that turned out to be completely wrong.
The summer festival phenomenon was covered in depth in last month’s A-Z (what d’you mean you didn’t read it? Tsk), so we’ll just say this: Buy a ticket. Bring sunscreen. Bring wellies. Have a blast. Come home. Sleep like a dead man for a minimum of 24 hours. Do it all again the next year. Brilliant.
G
is for Gardening
H
I
is for Holidays
J
Is for Ibiza
is for Jobs
D
The best thing about the summer months is surely the extra daylight hours, which ensure that youths can mooch about aimlessly on street corners for that little bit longer. Get a job, you bums! is for Exposure
A bit of sunny weather is guaranteed to have people shedding those layers of clothes they’ve been hiding under all winter in order to show off a bit of skin. This is quite wrong, of course. Our bodies are sinful and dirty and we should be deeply ashamed of them.
I
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is for Monsoons
n
is for Nudist Beaches
Nudist beaches are generally popular in Mediterranean countries where the climate is warm and the citizens are tanned, healthy and handsome.
Ah, the summer job – rite of passage for manys a reluctant teen. AU spent his summers toiling
is for Daytime
E
M
We love to moan about the crappy summer weather in Ireland and the UK, but spare a thought for South and East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. While we complain about a few drops of rain, they’re contending with floods and proper deluges. And yet they choose not to hold numerous music festivals during this time, which seems downright odd to us.
AU has many cherished childhood memories of summers spent caravanning, whether it be in our grandparents’ ‘static caravan’ (long rectangular domicile on stilts that never moves) in Portrush, or trips throughout Ireland and beyond in our parents’ square, reassuringly boxy trailer. Great inventions, caravans. A right bugger to be stuck behind on the motorway, mind you.
is for Love
“Summer loving, had me a blast/Summer loving, happened so fast,” sang John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in 1978’s smash hit movie Grease. And, indeed, there’s something memorable about those holiday romances – maybe it’s the sense of adventure, the exotic locations, the feeling that anything is possible. Or maybe it’s the fact that you’ll never see this person again in a few days, so you can make up a load of nonsense about how you’re really a helicopter pilot.
Traditional holiday location of choice for hedonistic 18-30 year olds, where pastimes include dancing to Balearic house music for hours on end and attempting to have sex with as many people as possible, all the while ripped to the gills on vast amounts of alcohol and recreational drugs. Good, clean fun in other words. Well, not good or clean. But definitely fun.
L
There’s no better feeling than getting away from it all, whether it be to a foreign paradise or just a few days down the country. The important thing is the opportunity to escape the soul-sapping drudgery of the daily rat-race for a vital few days of rest and relaxation. Which you will inevitably spoil by partying so frantically that, by the trip’s end, you’re actually more exhausted than when you started. That’s the way to do it. I i
is for Kids
Hey parents! Here’s an idea. If you must bring your horde of screaming brats (sorry, adorable darlings) on holiday with you, stick them in the resort’s Kids Club for the week or something. Some of us are trying to get drunk here, you know.
Many people these days assume that fruit and vegetables actually originate in Tesco and Asda, but in fact it is possible to grow your own. Of course if you live in this country they’ll probably be withered and small and kind of pathetic due to insufficient sunlight, but still. Fight the power.
K
W
O
is for Oz
June, July and August are actually the winter months in Australia. And yet, for the most part, the winter weather down under is actually better than our summer. And they have Kylie while we’re stuck with Cheryl Cole. Where’s the justice?
P
is for Parades
Here in Northern Ireland, the marching season is a longestablished summer custom. Just as long-standing is the accompanying tradition of controversy, contention and dispute over the routes, timing and very existence of the parades. Still, at least such disagreements are dealt with in a civilised and enlightened manner and never degenerate into rioting, sectarian violence and mindless thuggery. Oh, wait...
Q
is for Quartz
Next time you’re holidaying on the coast and someone remarks “I’ve got sand in my shoe,” simply reply “Actually, my dear fellow, those are merely particles of rock and minerals, composed mainly of silica in the form of quartz.” This bravura display of scientific smarts will instantly render you king of the beach. Possibly.
R
is for Road Trips
Popular summer pastime in huge countries like the US where there is a vast expanse of land and a huge
is for Volleyball
Beaches are for lazing around on – fact. Yet some foolhardy folk love nothing more than erecting a net on the sand, over which they bash a ball at each other for hours on end in the boiling hot sun. Crazy behaviour. Mind you, the women’s beach volleyball on telly is strangely compelling, for some reason.
V They’re less common in this part of the world, where the people are pasty-white, beer-bellies abound and the bracing coastal breeze tends to make your genitals shrivel. Er, or so we’re told.
V
variety of scenery to take in. Less popular here in Ireland, mainly because you can drive from one end of the country to the other in a day and it mostly all looks the same.
S
is for Summer Schemes
The Summer Scheme – basically a mass gathering of youths during weekdays in July and August, usually in the grounds of a church or youth club – is a win-win situation for all involved. Parents get a few precious hours of respite from their children. And the kids get to spend all day playing football, hanging out with their mates, going swimming and (if you’re AU) unsuccessfully attempting to secure kisses from girls. Ah, memories...
T
is for Tournaments
The summer months are sheer heaven for the sports fan. Every other year there’s a football tournament, either a European Championship or World Cup. Every four years you have the Olympics. And the Rugby World Cup. And Wimbledon every year. Just remember to bet on any and all British and Irish entrants failing miserably – you’ll be quids in more often than not.
U
is for Ultraviolet Radiation
The sun’s great and all, but remember, as you’re basking in its golden rays, that sunshine actually comprises beams of ultraviolet radiation that can do real damage. So get that sunscreen on lest your attempt to cultivate the tanned skin of a bronzed Adonis leaves you instead resembling – and indeed feeling like – a partly boiled lobster.
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W
is for Watersports
Surfing, kayaking, canoeing, water-skiing and windsurfing are just a few of the many watersports that are best enjoyed in warm, sunny conditions and which are fun for all the family. Why, what did you think we meant by ‘watersports’?
X
IS for Xanadu
Based in the holiday resort of Grand Bahama in the Bahamas, the Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina was once the preferred getaway spot for stars like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Cary Grant, as well as notorious recluse Howard Hughes who lived in the Penthouse suite. Now on the market for a mere $45million. Who wants to go halfers?
Y
is for Yachting Come summertime, the rich and famous love nothing more than to hop onboard their massive, ostentatious luxury yachts and cruise to the likes of St Tropez to live the high life. Indeed AU’s very own father once witnessed both Bono and P Diddy alighting from yachts in St Tropez on the very same day (true story). Who knows, perhaps they’d arranged to meet there to collaborate on a song. This was several years ago, mind you, and there’s no sign of the finished tune. We can only assume it was quite literally too good for public consumption.
Z
is for Zoos
A zoo is a much more cheerful place to visit during the summer months, when the climate and conditions occasionally almost resemble the native habitat of the captive creatures. Contrast this to a zoo in the depths of winter when – if the animals aren’t actually hibernating – they look more depressed than Amy Winehouse when the drugs have run out.
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Cashier No.9: The Long Road To Success In December 2008, AU asked Danny Todd a very pertinent question. It had been quite a year for the band, with their debut single, ’42 West Avenue’ securing the band much needed airplay and press coverage, not to mention an increasingly interested fanbase. The days of Cashier No.9 being a bedroom project were over, it appeared. “Where do you see yourself in a year’s time?” we enquired. “On the cover of your magazine,” came Todd’s confident reply. Yes, it had been quite a year, but this level of confidence seemed unprecedented; a good single is one thing, magazine covers are quite another. Two years later, and here we are, debut album and critical acclaim on the horizon, smiling faces on the cover of this very magazine. On the eve of their tentative first steps into a bigger, brighter world, AU wonders what’s next for Carryduff’s finest indie export. Words by Steven Rainey Photography by Lili Forberg
Northern Ireland seems jam-packed with music these days, the world and their mother being in some kind of hot young prospect. Comparatively, Cashier No.9 are veritable veterans of the local scene, having existed in some shape or form for quite some time, long before this so-called ‘Golden Age’. Indeed, most of the band have served their time in various other outfits, harking back to a metaphorical dark age, with names like Alloy Mental, Corrigan, The Embers, Cecil’s Flea Circus, and Yakuza being part of this particular tale. In a time when the right song, the right gig, or the right video can help you ‘make it’ overnight, Cashier have come the long way to success. Frontman Danny Todd and drummer Phil Duffy in particular seem to have been around forever, with Duffy having played the role of ‘drummer for hire’ for several years now, whilst a look through
“It was always going to evolve into something like this,” begins Danny Todd. “It was just a matter of getting the right people involved and figuring out how to do it live. We’re thinking of getting another member of the band in, not that we’re going to go all Arcade Fire or anything.” With the line-up expanding to include James Smith on guitar, Stuart Magowan on bass and Phil Duffy on drums, the songs began to take form, moving far away from the ramshackle experiments of yore, with real pop hooks beginning to emerge. In keeping with a band made up out of battle hardened veterans, the performances started to take on a real edge, unmatched by anyone else in the city. Where moments of beauty and power had been merely hinted at previously, now the band roared, not afraid to show their claws.
“Other labels had heard things and went, ‘What age are you guys? Do you have a pot belly?’. Bella Union just love good music.” Belfast indie history finds Todd popping up all over the place, the journeyman guitar player of the Belfast indie scene for longer than anyone would care to admit. Stints in Corrigan and Alloy Mental, as well as acting as a hired hand for the likes of David Holmes and Robyn G Shiels, only serve to secure his pedigree as a musician. Yet, rather than casting the band as old hands, these preludes to the main act have only strengthened the confidence and craft of the band, turning a band few would have voted ‘most likely to’ into one of the most exciting prospects to come from Belfast in a very long time. Back in their embryonic early days, the band consisted of just Danny Todd and a laptop. They were shambolic days, a far cry from the streamlined indie-rock machine on display today. But the songs had charm, and the performances, whilst occasionally ropey, were beginning to coalesce into something interesting.
‘42 West Avenue’ got them attention, ‘When Jackie Shone’ turned them into local legends, and live performances bolstered by the addition of Yakuza’s Ronan Quinn turned the band into a force to be reckoned with. The time was right for something new. “This is what we do,” says Todd, with something approaching defiance. “This is what I want to do. All of us have played in other bands, and I don’t see there being any real limits to what we want to do creatively.” “Obviously becoming more popular was a big thing, and having more attention being paid to us was a big deal,” chimes in James Smith. “There’s a big scene of people who know each other in Belfast, and I suppose we don’t really feel a part of that. There’s a few other people we know, but it’s been exciting seeing it pick up pace.”
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GLARING OMISSIONS To the Death of Fun has been a long time coming, but the finished product contains two glaring omissions – ‘42 West Avenue’ and ‘When Jackie Shone’. These singles are rightly regarded as absolute classics in Northern Ireland, and their omission is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows. With its jangling guitars and thumping kick-drum, ’42 West Avenue’ was a confident enough opening statement to leap directly on to AU’s special 50th issue cover CD celebrating the best Northern Irish songs of the magazine’s lifespan, whilst ‘When Jackie Shone’ unleashed a kick-ass guitar riff that promptly found itself popping up all over the place on television and radio. But before the hardcore fans lament their absence, Danny Todd and James Smith set the record straight. Todd: “Those tracks are out there already, and people can hear them if they want to dig into the collection. They just didn’t fit in with the record.” Smith: “We tried ‘42’ again, and we couldn’t make it better than the original. It might have fitted in with the record, but with ‘Jackie’, we just couldn’t make it fit in at all, in terms of the feel of the album. It just stuck out. A lot of people are asking about them, like my mum, and it’s really disturbing a lot of people. But we think there’s enough great songs on the album to get by.”
At this point in the story, it would be nice to say ‘Enter David Holmes’, but the truth of the matter is that he was always lurking in the details. Todd played on Holmes’ acclaimed The Holy Pictures album, and early gigs took place in his now mythical Lifeboat club by the River Lagan. Stepping in to help the band capture their sound, as well as adding his own je ne sais quoi to the proceedings, the ball really began to roll. Stories of recording in LA began to circulate Belfast bars, with musicians whispering that Holmes was using his Hollywood connections to secure the band a deal. Whatever the reality, the band kept plugging away, getting better and better, honing their craft. Phil Duffy, the powerhouse behind the drum kit, is no doubt as to how much of an impact Holmes had upon the record. “In the last two years, David Holmes has played a big part in mentoring us, not just in the studio, but in how we approach the live show.” “We’re learning from his mistakes,” chips in Todd. Duffy: “Not that he’s had many.” Todd: “It came quicker with his knowledge. We would have got there somehow without him, but it came quicker.” Duffy: “He just found out how much craic we were and wanted part of that.”
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In a sense, Cashier No.9’s story is that of good fortune, the luck of having a celebrity benefactor, and being in the right place at the right time, but more accurately, the band’s momentum is down to good, old fashioned hard work. These gigs don’t play themselves, and the band has worked hard to develop its Northern Irish and Irish fanbase, as well as making the jaunt overseas to win people over to the Cashier sound one by one. On top of this, the album has been refined, and refined again, Holmes providing invaluable input into the creative process, rather than acting simply as a ‘name’ to get the band noticed. Years of experience have taught the band how to do it right, albeit in the old fashioned way. Everything with Cashier No.9 behind the scenes has been a methodical process, one step at a time. Todd: “I think this is the first full album with another band he’s produced. We started for the Cherrybomb soundtrack, where we recorded one of our songs with him, and one song became two, then it became three, and eventually we decided to do a whole album! David really wants to be involved in the next record. I’m getting stuck into writing it.” Duffy: “We don’t want to get too deep into it, though.” Todd: “I do! I just want to get the next one fucking done!”
Smith: “David’s hopefully going to be involved. He’s threatened us‌â€? Duffy: “He’s going to swim back from LA.â€? Todd: “It will happen‌ by hook or by crook.â€? Duffy: “It’s like the boy who cried fox. Danny actually said that last week!â€? Todd: “And different strokes for different people.â€?
Cashier No.9 are to headline the main stage. “I think for any band in Northern Ireland, to be asked to headline Glasgowbury is a big thing,� says Phil Duffy, clearly proud of the achievement. “Paddy and Niall [Kerr] are such ambassadors of Northern Irish music. When they ask you to be part of their festival, it’s a big deal.�
After the involvement of a high profile figure like David Holmes, the next step was always to get the record out there. Coming to the attention of a respected label is no small thing, and it speaks volumes of the band’s charm and professionalism that they attracted the eye of Simon Raymonde, formerly bassist in the Cocteau Twins, latterly the guy in charge at Bella Union, home of Fleet Foxes, Midlake, Lift to Experience, and many more. All the years of hard graft have paid off, and Raymonde was sufficiently impressed to sign the band without even seeing them live, and having planned not to release
With their debut album To The Death Of Fun working its way into the hearts of music fans across the country, the next few months are going to be crucial for the band. After reaching their destination the old fashioned way, not resorting to fads, not becoming a flash in the pan, and knowing the virtue of hard work, the band can rest confident that there’s sure to be an interesting journey ahead. But conversely, in an increasingly uncertain climate for the music industry, there must be a certain amount of trepidation as to how a good ol’ fashioned pop band, with an album stuffed full of indierock tunes – just like they used to make – is going to do in these hype
“I love a perfect, structured, beautiful pop songâ€? another album in the near future. But you can’t put a price on quality, and Cashier No.9 have it in spades. “We got the tracks to Simon and he loved it,â€? laughs Todd, still clearly taken aback by this moment of good fortune. “He said, ‘I’m not looking to sign anything’, but the next day there was a gushing paragraph about how much he loved it! It sent the hairs on the back of my neck on edge‌ ‘Fuck, someone’s actually into this!’. Other labels had been looking at it. They’d heard things and went, ‘What age are you guys? Do you have a pot belly?’. Those guys just love good music.â€? In keeping with a band that has a long pedigree of being in other bands, Cashier No.9 are still intent upon supporting the local scene in Northern Ireland. They might be on the rise to a wider public consciousness, but there’s no sign of the band leaving behind their roots. “I wanna see Robyn G Shiels pull his finger out this year,â€? laughs Todd. “I’ve known Robyn for seven or eight years, and I recorded his first record with him, and he’s such a talented guy. He’s got Use Your Illusion 5, 6, and 7 already written! Desert Hearts are doing a new record too, so we’re excited about that.â€?
dominated times. After all, there’s no real ‘gimmick’ to sell the band on, and they aren’t likely to start trying out different images, Ă la Lady Gaga... “I love a perfect, structured, beautiful pop song,â€? explains Todd. “I’m a huge Abba fan! I think the next record is going to be a bit different. A little more twisted. We don’t write eight or nine minute long math-rock songs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! There’s bands like And So I Watch You From Afar, and their new album is incredible. You can dance like Michael Jackson and headbang like Kerry King to it!â€? This simplicity in approach may well be the band’s secret weapon when it comes to winning over the unconverted. After all, with nothing particularly divisive about their sound or appearance, there’s no real reason for you not to fall completely in love with the band, as Phil Duffy explains. “I think it has a really wide appeal. I mean, as Danny said all along, good songs are good songs, and good music is good music. And he’s the boy who cried fox.â€? To The Death Of Fun is out now on Bella Union
As well as their support of their peers, Cashier have strong ties to the Glasgowbury festival. Founder Paddy Glasgow has long been a champion of Northern Irish music, and this year it seems only appropriate that
Cashier No.9 headline the Glasgowbury festival at Eagle’s Rock, Draperstown on July 23. www.cashierno9.com
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JAMES HUISH PRESENTS The Michael Buble Tribute Night
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The Sky Is The Limit How times have changed for The Horrors. From being dismissed as ‘cartoon goths’ when they emerged in 2006, the Southend quintet reset the dial three years later with the magnificent Primary Colours. AU dodged Mancunian showers with lead singer Faris Badwan to discover why their gigantic new album, Skying, could well see The Horrors reach even greater heights. Words by John Freeman We are sat on a bench under a tree with Faris Badwan. It has been raining and, because pools of water take up half the seat, AU has invaded his personal space and we are snuggled up – thigh to thigh – lest either of us get our trousers wet. Faris is extraordinary looking; he is impossibly tall and thin, with huge brown eyes and a heroically long nose. He is not the most forthcoming of interviewees (probably the consequence of a strained relationship with the UK music press) and is quick to correct even the tiniest misinterpretation. He is confident, bordering on the slightly arrogant – when we comment on the night’s sold-out show, he tells us “that’s not much of a challenge” – but has good cause to be that way; Skying is a wonderfully impressive album. “I think this record is our best one,” he says. “I really totally believe in it. It’s the right record for us to have made at this point.” During the preceding hour, we watch Faris and his bandmates soundcheck ahead of an intimate gig. It is one of three dates as part of a pre-festival season cobweb dust-off. Oddly, during a pause in proceedings, drummer Coffin Joe instructs the lighting guy that the band “don’t want green lights, but red ones are fine.” We never find out why. But, in the empty room new songs such as ‘Dive In’ and ‘I Can See Through You’ sound vast. The Horrors have made an album destined to bounce off the walls of arenas. After the success of Primary Colours, this is no mean feat. Loved by fans and critics alike, their second album (following the ragged 2007 debut Strange House) could have been a daunting prospect to follow. “I guess it is our own desire to develop as a band which is our motivation,” Faris tell us, idly picking at his bottom lip. “Any sort of recognition for something that you put a lot of yourself into is good. But, really, if Primary Colours had been crushed it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing, because I was really happy with it. If you have got any little doubts, then those sorts of things matter, but if you have made a record that you are really proud of, it just sort of washes over you.”
There is a distinct sonic evolution since The Horrors formed in Southend, fuelled by a mutual love of Bauhaus and The Birthday Party. Skying sounds more synth heavy, leading some wags to comment that lead single ‘Still Life’ sounded like Eighties stalwarts Simple Minds. Faris is rightly irked at the insinuation. “I definitely don’t think we’ve made a Eighties record, which some people may suggest – the album is more than that,” he states. “I just think there is more everything [on the album] and a lot of the time the guitars sound like synths, which is gonna add confusion.” This career trajectory could appear pre-planned – a band’s debut album is dismissed, they reinvent themselves with an acclaimed follow-up and then further embellish the winning formula on album number three. We ask whether The Horrors sit down and plan how a new album might sound. “A lot of bands do work like that. We don’t – we have always taken great care to get as much spontaneity and as much natural excitement into our records as possible. A lot of the recordings are the original recordings from rehearsal room demos. So, you still get that feeling of a band that has just stumbled upon an idea. So, we don’t plan it – themes just present themselves. I think for us that is the best way. The best thing about The Horrors is that period between a demo and having a finished song, because you see the song developing in a way that you never expected. It is really affirming to see a demo come to fruition. I just don’t think we can sit down and decide to sound a certain way.” So, there is a certain element of fate left to define the progression of The Horrors, and Faris appears more than happy at where his band is currently at. “I think with each album we’ve become harder to pin down,” he says when asked about his perception of how the group has evolved. “The only real way to pin us down is to say that we sound like The Horrors, if people want to be accurate.” Skying was recorded in the band’s own studio, built in London’s East End. Badwan acknowledges that finally having their own recording facilities was the
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album’s “biggest influence.” The album was selfproduced, a significant change from working with Portishead’s Geoff Barrow on Primary Colours. “I definitely think there was a point when we worked with Geoff when we would just send him a bit crackers,” Faris admits with a wry smile. “We would be trying a tiny little variation on one note for the 20th time and he’s not about that. So, for us, this was the right moment for us to record ourselves.” If Primary Colours established The Horrors as a creative force, Skying should see them entice new listeners and elevate their status. Expectations must be very different now for a band which has an established fan-base. We ask Faris whether he would be disappointed if the new album didn’t do
compromise,” he states, fixing us with a don’ttry-and-fuck-with-me stare. “I’m determined to succeed and I’m really intent on making The Horrors as big as they can be. I don’t mean by writing rubbish songs, I just mean by working as hard as possible to make the songs that we make do as well as they can.” Later that evening, The Horrors perform to 300 sardine-packed fans. The atmosphere is slightly muted – the band understandably trying out new tracks which the vast majority of the audience haven’t heard – and Faris seems somewhat grumpy. When a couple of fans dare to crowd-surf towards him, he pushes them away with a little too much force. But, musically, all is good. To our ears, the
It is ridiculous – we recorded them at double speed. They’ve settled into a more natural groove now.” So, all seems good in Faris Badwan’s world; back in April, his side-project Cat’s Eyes released an excellent debut album. Pitting him alongside soprano and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira, Faris admits to finding the collaboration a wonderful liberation. “Again, it is a record I’m really proud of. It is a different way of writing and it gives me the freedom to make a record whenever I want. To be able to do that is a big release for me.” And the duo has legs – “We’ve started writing a second album – it is half written. I think Rachel is going to do a solo one as well, which will be cool.” And as for the fourth album from The Horrors, we
“I’m intent on making The Horrors as big as they can be” ‘better’ than previous releases. “I dunno – I am quite careerist,” he admits. “I think with each album we have made a really good step up. I’d be disappointed if this album didn’t deliver on that. I think we should be looking to reach a wider audience each time. This record is really melodic and accessible, it’s not three-minute pop songs but there are lots of points of entry for people. Melody is the thing that connects with people most and there is room for plenty of people to get into this record. I’m looking forward to seeing how it is received.” AU is wrestling with Badwan’s assertion that each album is created as an act of spontaneity, against his confession of career aspirations. If he wants to reach a larger audience with each record, wouldn’t that preclude a certain amount of obscure experimentation with The Horrors’ sound? “When I say I’m careerist, I don’t mean I’m willing to
new songs sound amazing (and far too grandiose for the soulless venue). What is most startling is the development of Badwan’s voice, which is now richer and languorously textured. Faris concurs, “I’m a better singer now. It’s probably more obvious than any other instrument to watch someone’s singing voice develop. I think I sing more naturally now and I find it a lot more straightforward.” When we tell him that parts of Skying remind us of Eighties Mancunian under-achievers, The Chameleons, he asks us “Is that because of my voice? I discovered them by people making that comparison.” What is also apparent during the gig, is a change in pace of the older songs. Faris laughs at his own theory for the general mellowing of their back catalogue. “When I listen to Primary Colours, which doesn’t happen very often, we play the songs so much slower now than we actually recorded them.
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safely assume that there is no sense of how it might sound. “Your guess is as good as mine. I really have no idea. None of us do – that is why it is really exciting.” As we conclude the interview, we chit-chat about the new Tom Vek album (“It took five years and sounds the same as the last one”) and Ryan Giggs’ social life (“Do you think people came down harder on him because he tried to get them to keep quiet about it?” he asks mischievously). Faris then shakes our hand and quickly makes his way back into the venue. Literally 10 seconds later, and with AU still fumbling with the tape recorder, the heavens open and an apocalyptic rain shower ensues. It’s as if he knew – a man at one with the sky. Skying is out now via XL Recordings
Once Upon A Time In The West Of Ireland
Brendan Gleeson talks up The Guard
Words by Ross Thompson
With a voice as rich as unearthed plunder and an everyman appeal at odds with his classic education, Brendan Gleeson makes for a formidable screen presence. Whether he’s playing a Spartan king, a French knight, a terrorist or one of Harry Potter’s professors, Gleeson not only fills the frame with his imposing physicality but also with his magnetic charm. He frequently becomes the focal point of any movie, as evidenced by his lead role in John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard, a whimsical western of sorts set in, of all places, Connemara.
For the past 20 years Gleeson has carved out an enviable career through collaborating with world class talents such as Cruise, Spielberg, Scorsese, Boorman and Boyle and more than holding his own. The list stretches on, but what is most striking is Gleeson’s ability to alternate effortlessly between small and big budget pictures. For every tentpole blockbuster there are three character studies made purely for the love of the source material. The Guard lands squarely in the latter camp: it’s an offbeat, affecting yarn which flits between different genres but at its core follows Garda Gerry Boyle hunting some very bad men running drugs through his beloved home. “When we first meet Gerry, he comes across a car full of young fellas speeding down a country road,” Gleeson explains. “Now, normally in a movie, the next thing you’d see would be the cop car chasing after them with the siren blaring. But Gerry has seen all this a million times before so he has a good idea about what’s going to happen next. The car crashes and Gerry goes and cleans up the mess as best he can. That’s the opening scene, and it’s where we set out our stall. We’re looking to turn the audience’s expectations upside down. When a dead body turns up with a cryptic message daubed in blood on the wall, you’ve got your typical film noir murder mystery set-up. An FBI agent named Wendell Everett comes to Galway to investigate this gang of drug dealers who have a shipload of cocaine to unload.” Clearly, The Guard is a mishmash of opposing influences: a touch of evil noir here, a soupcon of spaghetti western there; a buddy movie where, and
It’s fair to say that Gleeson excels in the part, notably in the scenes with his mother, which have the same softness he conveyed as the doting if shambling father in 28 Days Later (2002). That’s a hard trick for any actor to pull off: to be equally credible in expressing a lifelong affection and threatening to put a bullet through a man’s eye. “Gerry is not a hard man at all, although he might think he is. You can see his softness with his mother and his gentlemanly behaviour with the Dublin girls he meets up with. He’s lonely, really. He’s always looking to make a connection with someone and wants to meet someone with the same integrity. All the other men around him are sleeveens on the make, looking to drop a few bob in their back pockets. Gerry is constantly being confronted with a pretty miserable excuse for manhood, so when Wendell comes along, he has someone he can respect.” Wendell, essayed by the always value for money Don Cheadle who Gleeson graciously describes as “lively, intuitive and very intelligent”, is the archetypal foil: the straight-laced jobsworth to Gleeson’s cynical sergeant. We’re not quite in Lethal Weapon territory but The Guard definitely is aware of its heritage, and much of the laughter and drama stems from their unlikely chemistry. “Wendell wants to catch the crooks but Gerry is more interested in figuring out the mystery, how it’s all connected, and isn’t too bothered about the rights and wrongs. Gerry doesn’t sweat the small stuff, he’s fairly relaxed about procedure and you’re never quite sure what he’s going to do next. Wendell, on
“We’re looking to turn the audience’s expectations upside down” here be clichés, the good and bad cops move from clashing ideals to respectful acceptance. “It’s all of those things, and probably a few more,” the actor admits, “but for me The Guard is a character study. Obviously, the story must move forward and things must happen in a narrative, but ultimately a film is about the characters and how they interact with one another. It’s a very individual take on all of those things, like a black comedy crossed with an action film but fundamentally, it’s about this guy who not only upsets everything just for the hell of it but also to make the people around him reveal their true colours.” If The Guard is reminiscent of any other movie then it’s In Bruges (2008, directed by McDonagh’s younger brother Martin), the potty-mouthed black comedy which somehow managed to filter The Sopranos through Harold Pinter and benefited no end from Gleeson’s turn as a self-loathing hitman. He brings the same melancholy to reluctant hero Boyle. “Gerry is a grand idealist,” says Gleeson. “He’s frustrated in his idealism but he perseveres. He has this idea of heroism that he might have gleaned from watching westerns like High Noon and Shane. He didn’t join the Guards to push a pen around in an office, doodling rabbits on a jotter, so he’s constantly disappointed by the banality of what’s going on around him. He’s one of those people who’s looking to meet his match, just dying to find someone who isn’t shocked by his carry-on but has the principles to stand up to him. Wendell is this straight-laced, dogged kind of guy with this steely core who enjoys puncturing all Gerry’s balloons, if you know what I mean.”
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the other hand, plays everything absolutely by the book. So Gerry the smart-aleck does everything he can to ruffle Wendell’s feathers. He says the most outrageous things, really not politically correct at all, and expects Wendell to crumple. But Wendell has been dealing with guys like Gerry all his life and he’s made of sterner stuff.” It should be becoming clear that The Guard both flirts with and subverts expectations. Audiences may be painfully familiar with the craggy Irish landscape but in few other instances will they have seen it soundtracked by Calexico brilliantly imitating Ennio Morricone. These disparate references are glued together by, to use Gleeson’s songs of praise, “an insanely brilliant script” which is as warm-hearted as it is scatological. For all its sailor parlance and at times erratic tone The Guard has a genial, distinctly Irish charm which has already seen it become a sleeper hit at the Tribeca and Sundance film festivals. “It was possible that the audience might not stay with it long enough to figure out how great it is,” says Gleeson. “But they really responded to it and I think Don’s character really helps. Wendell takes the audience by the hand and leads them through the story. You feel safer with him than with Gerry, you know? ‘It’s OK to be a little confused in this strange place’, he kind of says, ‘I don’t understand it yet either, but we’ll get there in the end’.” The Guard is showing nightly at the QFT, Belfast from July 29 to August 4.
SPIT ‘N’ POLISH Words by Steven Rainey
How the spirit of Northern Irish punk is being kept alive It might seem strange to say it, but there’s a definite sense that Belfast was one of the major centres of punk in its heyday in the late Seventies. It didn’t come here first, no radical new directions emerged from the city, and it might not have been the best at dealing with its legacy, but punk just seemed to mean a lot more in Belfast than simply being snotty and sticking a safety pin through your ear. As a new punk label prepares to unleash some more righteous punk rock fury, AU attempts to put aside the bullshit, and see what this was really all about.
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“It was more than the music” Perhaps more than any other musical genre, punk has been used and abused, misunderstood, and misrepresented more than any other. However, despite this, it is possibly more enduring than anything else, and still shows no sign of slowing down. Sure, it’s gone through countless changes, and is probably now virtually unrecognisable as what it initially started out as, but punk flows through the veins of popular music more strongly than any other substance.
LEFT: STIFF LITTLE FINGERS 01. THE OUTCASTS 02. TEARJERKERS 03. THE UNDERTONES LEAD PIC AND PICS 02, 03, 04, 08 BY SEAN HENNESSY PICS 01, 05, 06, 07 COURTESY OF SEAN O’NEILL
At the root of this longevity is punk’s DIY, ‘have a go’ ethos, a quality that particularly struck a chord in Northern Ireland. Whilst punk started in New York, and came to prominence in London, Belfast is perhaps where the candle burned longest. The Seventies were a virtual dark age as far as Northern Ireland is concerned, kids having the very real threat of the Troubles to worry about, rather than following the latest trends or fashions, and punk’s
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‘anti-glamour’ stance struck a chord. In the almost complete absence of touring musical acts, Northern Irish kids picked up cheap guitars and started singing about the stuff that mattered to them. Sean O’Neill was one of those kids inspired by punk to get up and do something, and over 30 years after the Sex Pistols told us there was “No future”, he is still active, dragging musical history, kicking and screaming, into the present day. “It was more than the music,” he insists. “It was the clothes, the DIY culture, everyone coming together to make record sleeves and fanzines. I was just a fan, and a collector. I have a room that’s just full of old vinyl, fanzines, gig posters. I’m nearly collected out now!” This desire to archive and educate led to him writing a book with fellow Antrim punk alumnus Guy Trelford, that opened the floodgates on this particular piece of history. Published in 2003,
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“Northern Ireland punk was Good Vibrations records, The Undertones, and Stiff Little Fingers, but there really was so much more than that” It Makes You Want To Spit was a frighteningly comprehensive look at this forgotten chapter in rock and roll history, a time when clothes were bad, haircuts were questionable, and the music was raw and fast. Unearthing a wealth of previously unexplored information, O’Neill and Trelford offered a glimpse into the world of regional punk rock, an unflinching account of a scene that existed purely because it had to, where prospects seemed increasingly remote, musical or otherwise. “Myself and Guy were just so sick of reading these books about the New York scene, or the London scene, you know everybody has these great scenes. Northern Ireland was always written about affectionately, and whilst maybe it came a little bit later to here, we had one of the last punk strongholds when it had died out everywhere else, and it had never been written about. Any time it was mentioned, it was skimmed over. Northern Ireland punk was Good Vibrations records, The Undertones, and Stiff Little Fingers, then ‘cheerio!’ and move on. But there really was so much more than that.” Bringing to light music by the likes of The Outcasts, Protex, Ruefrex, Rudi, The Androids and many more, the book showed that whilst no-one outside of the country was paying any attention, Northern Ireland’s punk scene was alive and kicking, a vibrant slice of youth rebellion in a time where kids had to grow up fast and face the problems of a country in turmoil.
Whilst Belfast hit the musical map because of Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones (despite them being from Derry), the city was far from the only punk stronghold in the country, as O’Neill explains. “There was Coleraine, Omagh, Bangor…people sometimes think that if it wasn’t happening in Belfast, then it wasn’t happening,” he says. “People thought that if you weren’t in Belfast, you were some sub-normal retard with a funny accent. We went into it pretty deep, a lot of them were bedroom bands, and we just tried to document it as much as we could at the time.”
sense of ennui. Many of these people faced a life of dead-end jobs or paramilitary violence, and for them, the empowering spirit of punk allowed them to get up and be someone, to break away from the norm and do something with themselves. It might not have changed the world, but it certainly changed people’s lives. “Obviously bands like the Sex Pistols and The Damned were my foot in the door,” O’Neill recalls, “but when you went to see local bands like The Outcasts, Rudi, Stage B, they’d be there chatting to you at the bar, then they’d go up and play, and then come back and keep talking to you! It was probably that aspect of it, they were so approachable, and that wasn’t always the case with other bands.”
One of punk’s great strengths is to make a positive out of a negative, and Northern Irish punk was no exception. Whilst a sense of hopelessness pervaded the country, this same hopelessness was turned into an asset by many of the bands, young punks revelling in their smalltown, ‘go nowhere’ attitude. “There was no record infrastructure here at the time,” says O’Neill. “Some of the bands like The Outcasts elected to stay here, rather than go and chase a record deal in London. To me, nearly all the bands from here had at least one good song. I don’t know why it struck a chord, maybe the timing was just right?”
After the success of the book, a website was launched, and so began an ongoing period of archiving and cataloguing the scene, a history that is still writing itself. Social networking sites have allowed more and more people to come out of the woodwork, more and more bands coming to light. Chances are, no matter how small your town is, it had a punk band. “With the site, there are bands and people getting in touch and letting us know things that we couldn’t have ever known. There’s one band called Positive Reaction from Fermanagh. The singer contacted me, and hadn’t heard from the other band members for years. Then, the two brothers who’d be in the band as well got in contact with me, and all got back in touch with each other.”
The book is littered with stories of bands doing their best to kick out the jams, whilst the country tears itself apart. Unlike the fashion punks in London, and the decadent art punks of New York or Hollywood, the Northern Irish punks lived with the threat of real violence, rather than a dislocated
Armed with a wealth of archive material, the site continues to grow, as well as bringing together long forgotten punks from some of the darkest corners in Northern Ireland. Gig posters, ticket stubs, photographs… it was only a matter of time before the move was made to actually releasing records.
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“The scene is alive and well, and it’s well worth documenting before everyone croaks it” go beyond that, it’s all great. But it’s primarily for myself to get this stuff out. There’s things I’ve had for years and years, and you just want to share it with people.” As with everything O’Neill has tackled, the label poses certain challenges. Thanks to the internet, every scene, no matter how small, is granted access to a wider audience. But even on these terms, the Northern Irish punk scene has been left in neglect. Many of the records are out of print, the gigs halfforgotten by those who are there. “I’m trying to keep it previously unreleased – there’s no point in duplicating stuff that’s already out. But it’s like being a detective! You have to get in touch with all the members of the bands, the people who wrote the songs, took the photographs… it’s not like a band coming to you with 12 tracks they recorded and they’d have an idea of what they want. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that!” However, something about this blip on the radar continues to fascinate, and Northern Irish punk has an appeal outside of the country itself. Filmmaker John T Davis is responsible for three seminal punk rock documentaries that have helped keep the flame burning in the wider world. O’Neill cites Davis’ work as an influence, as well as something that has helped make the book and the label a reality. “I think a lot of people have John T Davis to thank for the interest in Northern Irish punk, with his trilogy of films, Shellshock Rock, Self Conscious Over You, and his Protex in New York film. Those travelled the world and, pre-Internet, spread the word. He documented a lot at the time, and if he hadn’t it probably wouldn’t have travelled as far. The scene is alive and well, and it’s well worth documenting before everyone croaks it!”
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08. Spit Records is O’Neill’s latest venture in this labour of love, a label dedicated to bringing this music to a set of fresh ears, as well as delighting the people who heard it first time around. “I’ve always kept my hand in collecting this stuff, and of late, the time just seemed to be right. The Outcasts were re-forming, and I had these recordings, and it’s something I always fancied doing. So I set up a label to put it out to coincide with them doing some gigs. I’m already working on the next one. I think it would be a bit sad if it was just people looking back, but there’s younger people getting into it and giving really good feedback. They didn’t know that a punk band ever came from their town.” The first release is a live album by legendary Belfast punks, The Outcasts. Whilst their more
07. THE UNDERTONES 08. DIVIS ST, WEST BELFAST, LATE 1970s famous brethren went off to find fame and fortune, Stiff Little Fingers becoming the first band to have an album released through Rough Trade records, and The Undertones being picked up by Seymour Stein’s Sire label in New York, The Outcasts remained in their native Belfast, doing things their way, and ignoring the rules. The album is culled from two live concerts the band played in Lyon in France, and stands as a significant document of a band at the height of their powers. “I’m maybe not the most objective. The Outcasts were my favourite band. Even they were shocked by how good they sounded on the release, and there are unreleased tracks that collectors would be keen to hear. So I think it’s still relevant. I know there’s a niche market for this stuff, but if I
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There’s a second release in the pipeline, and despite the niche appeal of what he is doing, Sean O’Neill clearly believes that it is a worthwhile endeavour. Northern Irish punk rock deserves to find a wider audience, and this determined man might be just what it needs. “I don’t even know what The Outcasts are going to look like or sound like, so you always approach it with a certain degree of trepidation. But the way I always look at it is to try not to be too precious about it. Like when the Sex Pistols reformed, and people were appalled, I just felt, ‘Why not?’. If you’re alive and can play your instruments, then why not? You’re a long time dead.” The Outcasts play the Playhouse, Portrush on July 29 (support from The Defects) and the Empire Music Hall, Belfast on July 30 (support from The Sabrejets) www.spitrecords.co.uk
Coming in August: The brand new AU website.
All the best in features, news, reviews, galleries, competitions and tons of other stuff. Plus, the all-new AU Guide, filling you in on the gigs, clubs, events, activities and happenings that you need to know about. www.iheartau.com 46 AU75
• pg 46 Record Reviews | pg 53 Young Blood | PG 54 Live Reviews | pg 55 MOVIE & GAME REVIEWS •
Illustration by Mark Reihill
YACHT Shangri-La
DFA
The term ‘Shangri-La’ was coined by novelist James Hilton in his fictional novel Lost Horizons. Inspired by classic Eastern philosophy, it depicts a vision of an earthly paradise, populated by eternally-contented residents. It’s a state of mind commonly aspired to by many walks of life. Let’s face it, everyone from earnest hippies to dance music disciples crave a little slice of utopia. Kicking on from the sci-fi vibes of See Mystery Lights, YACHT’s chief conspirators, Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans, mine the notion of an earthly heaven for floor-filling inspiration and, while the concept may be lofty, the music remains grounded and funky. The Portland electro-pop darlings set
out to dazzle without reinventing the well-worn wheel; they simply want to spin some clever dancefloor bliss. Matters kick-off with some no-nonsense disco divinity before gradually broadening the album’s musical palette. Opener ‘Utopia’ sets the tone from the off. It’s a superb churn of misty vocal harmonies set against a frantic electro thump and afrobeat rhythm. Like a re-imagined Talking Heads after a relaxing stint in a Tibetan monastery, it calmly beckons you to the dancefloor. Sometimes an intellectualised vision of heaven is simply a kicking, grimey party into the early hours. Follow-up track ‘Dystopia’ sees Claire Evans take centre-stage. Her powerful and emotive vocal is bathed in swathes of layered synth. It’s possibly the album’s finest track, a moody morning-after, serotonin-deprived mirror-image of the euphoric opener. Evans paints a catastrophic scene: “We are hungry, we are all tired. Our tongues they are all on fire.” While previous YACHT releases were noticeable for their off-beat quirkiness, Shangri-La sticks
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very much to the road more travelled. The DFA influence is often unmistakable – think LCD Soundsystem exploring abstract lyrical themes and remixed by David Byrne. In anyone’s book, that ain’t no bad thing. The slow, grinding build of ‘Holy Roller’ imagines Evans’ as a foreboding preacher delivering a sermon filled with impending doom. Just as light follows dark, the joyous, banging chorus elevates the track to a higher plane. The visionary Evans pronounces: “Don’t you worry about God up above, we’re gonna live life in love.” Lyrically a little cheesy? Maybe, but, no major cause for complaint. The album closes with the title track – a soothing comedown after the sustained adrenaline rush. A well-crafted and thought provoking collection of party-starters. Eamonn Seoige
KEY TRACKS: ‘DYSTOPIA (THE EARTH IS ON FIRE)’, ‘HOLY ROLLER’, ‘UTOPIA’. FOR FANS OF: LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, GANG GANG DANCE, MGMT.
Sole & The Skyrider Band Hello Cruel World EQUINOX/FAKE FOUR INC
Sole’s second album with the Skyrider Band comes after the Battlefields EP and the news that he has abandoned Anticon, the ever-growing label he helped to establish. The move hasn’t diminished his productivity, with a slew of tracks, mixtapes and albums available online. Hello Cruel World is amongst the most distinguished. The intense raps are measured against accomplished, electro-heavy backgrounds. ‘Napoleon’ includes a trembling, clench-jawed chorus from Xiu Xiu, and Sage Francis appears on ‘Progress Trap’. On ‘DIY’ he says: “All I ever wanted was to make an honest living / But it’s only honest if I’m honestly living.” On the evidence of Hello Cruel World, one of hip-hop’s most engaged provocateurs is very much alive Kiran Acharya
KEY TRACKS: ‘NAPOLEON’, ‘HELLO CRUEL WORLD’, ‘PROGRESS TRAP’. FOR FANS OF: EL-P, CASINO VERSUS JAPAN, HYDRA DA HERO.
Le Galaxie Laserdisc Nights 2 BATTLEPULSE
Le Galaxie may sound like they’ve been bundled into Bill & Ted’s time machine circa 1985 and flung forth in time for a brief sojourn, but this blend of old and new embodies what the Dublin electro-peddlers are all about. Harnessing the energy that makes the quartet’s live performances so commendable isn’t an easy feat, and it’s true that their mostly instrumental debut loses
Diagrams Diagrams EP FULL TIME HOBBY
London-based Diagrams’ first EP could not come at a better time, seasonally speaking; the eccentric pop-makers combine acoustic, electronic, brass and string sections to carefully form a minimalist’s delight, perfectly soundtracking the onset of summer perfectly with its contrast of sparse beats and of orchestration. Given that this concise release contains only five tracks, the level of diversity maintained is impressive – from the ghostly, Nick Drake-like presence on ‘Icebreakers’ to the off-beat faux funk of ‘Antelope’ and ‘Hill’, all of which echo shades of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois. Diagrams have on their hands a shockingly accomplished debut release which showcases their diversity, while setting out their own sound. Stevie Lennox
KEY TRACKS: ‘ANTELOPE’, ‘ICEBREAKERS’. FOR FANS OF: THE BETA BAND, SUFJAN STEVENS, NICK DRAKE.
momentum as it progresses. Yet the chiming synth attack of ‘Midnight Midnight’ and the addition of audible guitar on the brilliant ‘Orion’ recall the more experimental facets of Eighties synthpop acts (Heaven 17, Human League), while ‘Earth’s positively modern pulse quickens and grows faint before exploding in a mass of synthesised vocals. An enjoyable caper, but the live show’s still where it’s at. Lauren Murphy
KEY TRACKS: ‘ORION’, ‘MIDNIGHT MIDNIGHT’. FOR FANS OF: THE HUMAN LEAGUE, HADOUKEN.
Pursuit Grooves Frantically Hopeful TECTONIC
Though this is her fourth solo full-length, it sounds as if Vanese Smith is only hitting her stride. Adding some New York grit to the smooth keyboard samples and double-take drums familiar to anyone keeping an eye on the beat scene in LA, the Brooklyn resident combines funky hiphop with ultra-modern electronic noises and acid-house bass-lines to create a unique blend of danceable soultronica on a par with any of her West Coast peers. Using her voice more often than ever before, she sounds stronger and more confident, especially on tracks like ‘Clueless’ and ‘I Sink’. With the instrumentals as soulful as ever, Frantically Hopeful marks a career high in Smith’s ability to find undeniable grooves in the strangest of places. Ian Maleney
KEY TRACKS: ‘I SINK’, ‘MARS IS RISING’, ‘BAILOUTS’. FOR FANS OF: TOKIMONSTA, AESOP ROCK, FLYING LOTUS.
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Machinedrum Room(s) PLANET MU
If the contemporary vogue for UK bass music rests largely on the potentially troubling concept of ‘newness’, then Room(s) – the mingling of footwork’s high bpm jitter and anti-groove with the snare-led stiffness of UK funky – should make it stand out from the glut of weighty, rhythmically propulsive dance music littering the shelves of record shops and the virtual spaces of Boomkat and the like. This, however, doesn’t quite come to fruition. Put simply, there’s too much going on: too many stop-start percussive breaks, too much gloop on the synths. Indeed, too much of Room(s) sounds like filler on a Rinse FM show to be truly unique. Newness, then, doesn’t necessarily make for a great album. Josh Baines
KEY TRACKS: ‘U DON’T SURVIVE’, ‘GBYE’, ‘DOOR(S)’. FOR FANS OF: LIL SILVA, GIRL UNIT, DJ NATE.
Wolf Gang Suego Faults ATLANTIC
Produced by Dave Fridmann (MGMT, Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips), this debut album by London singer-songwriter Max McElligott is a glinting pop mirage; a mirage because, although it shimmers in all the right places, it promises more than it actually delivers. McElligott seems a nice chap and that’s precisely the problem – Suego Faults is far too nice for its own good. Upbeat numbers are always appreciated, but in the interests of balance you need a little of the dark stuff – not tar-pit black
necessarily, just some shade from the unremitting pop glare. The sugary awfulness of ‘The King And All Of His Men’ may induce a diabetic coma, whilst the title track is a piano-led weepy that Owl City fans will find deeply affecting. However, there are moments when Wolf Gang threatens to slow the avalanche of melodic jauntiness and saccharine sentiment – ‘Something Unusual’ is a slight, electropop number that nags cutely, ‘Planets’ has a little of that glossy oddness that Steely Dan excelled at and ‘Back To Back’, all thwarted romance and washedout chorus, echoes Grizzly Bear. Francis Jones
KEY TRACKS: ‘BACK TO BACK’, ‘DANCING WITH THE DEVIL’, ‘PLANETS’. FOR FANS OF: EMPIRE OF THE SUN, AQUALUNG, FRANKMUSIK.
Washed Out Within And Without WEIRD WORLD
The blogosphere has a lot to answer for; it can change the lives of bedroom musicians, making an international commotion of their secretive operation in a short space of time. That’s what happened to Ernest Greene, a 28-year-old smalltown boy whose lo-fi, chilled-out synth stylings caught Sub Pop’s ear in his native USA. Within And Without’s languid Balearic dance beats are swathed in muffled riffs and echoed vocals, and the thread holding each of these nine songs together is robust, if predictably linear. There are some excellent standalone tunes (the blissful ‘Amor Fati’ is especially compelling), yet there’s also a frustrating detachedness to this set, too. It’s certainly an album to blog about, but is it one to really cherish? Lauren Murphy
Junior Boys It’s All True DOMINO
For every band that constantly shifts shape, reinventing itself with every album, there is one happy in a constant process of refinement, never straying too far from its core sound. If that sound is boring and derivative to begin with, you have a problem. But if you’re Toronto duo Junior Boys, you can get away with it. Since 2004, Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus (plus the departed Johnny Dark) have pretty much defined their own brand of smooth and, dare we suggest, sexy electronic pop. Incorporating elements of modern R&B, disco, house and, most obviously, Eighties synth-pop, they don’t tend to stray too far from one record to the next, and so it’s often hard to warm to each one at first. But they get you in the end. Although it’s unlikely to go down as a career
KEY TRACKS: ‘AMOR FATI’, ‘YOU AND I’. FOR FANS OF: MEMORY TAPES, NEON INDIAN.
Steve Mason & Denis Bovell Ghosts Outside DOUBLE SIX
In what may be seen as one of the stranger musical tangents taken this year, Steve Mason has decided to remake his latest album, last year’s Boys Outside, with the help of dub production legend Denis Bovell. What this entails on a musical level is a lot of echo, heavy triplet rhythms, clean brass, up-stroked guitars and then some more echo. So far, so reggae. However, Mason’s voice is clean and sweet, creating a juxtaposition that can be difficult to swallow at times. Despite some interesting tracks towards the end, Ghosts Outside scans like a throwaway experiment and while it works perfectly well in the background, there’s really not enough going on here to hold your attention for too long. Ian Maleney
KEY TRACKS: ‘UNDERSTAND MY DUB’, ‘DUB OUTSIDE’, ‘DUB HER IN’. FOR FANS OF: GONJASUFI, UB40, MAX ROMEO.
highlight (they will do well to ever top So This Is Goodbye), It’s All True is no different. It’s awkwardly sequenced (placing the sleepy ‘Playtime’ second was a mistake) but Greenspan’s come-to-bed voice is in full working order, and there is just enough variety for success. ‘Itchy Fingers’ is well titled, with an unusually high bpm and jumpy rhythm, but the switch into the half-time chorus is beautifully executed. ‘Kick The Can’ and especially ‘Banana Ripple’ – the band’s longest ever track – also have an eye on the dancefloor, but unlike their sort-of peers Hot Chip, Junior Boys aren’t a party band – they’re just too goddamn sophisticated for that. It would be easy to castigate this band for being stuck in a rut, but when the results are as seductive as this, there is no option but to surrender. Chris Jones
KEY TRACKS: ‘ITCHY FINGERS’, ‘YOU’LL IMPROVE ME’, ‘BANANA RIPPLE’. FOR FANS OF: HOT CHIP, CARIBOU, MATTHEW DEAR.
Soft Hearted Scientists Wandermoon
Hey Colossus RRR
THE HIP REPLACEMENT
RIOT SEASON
Like a semi-precious nugget of pure Sixties psychedelia, Soft Hearted Scientists boast all the freshness of new kids on the block. In fact, Wandermoon is their fourth album and it’s clear the Cardiff-based four piece have spent their 10year lifespan honing the sort of sweet-natured trippy pop that made Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci the darlings of the same scene more than a decade ago. Taking the delicious, off-the-wall parts of Barrettera Pink Floyd – think ‘See Emily Play’ in glorious technicolour – there’s a warmth, heart and almost folkiness to the album. The reassuring familiarity to Soft Hearted Scientists’ strangeness on opener ‘Mountain Delight’, wherein mountains have a consciousness, is unusual but comforting in its oddity. Kirstie May
KEY TRACKS: ‘THE TREES DON’T SEEM TO KNOW THAT IT’S SEPTEMBER’, ‘ARRIVAL SONG’, ‘WESTWARD LEADING’. FOR FANS OF: PINK FLOYD, THE BEATLES, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS.
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If, for some reason, you require the soundtrack to an ill-fated (though potentially rewarding) acid trip, London-based Hey Colossus’s seventh album, RRR, could well do the trick. Something of an instant classic at melding swooping neo-Krautrock with the spazziest of analogue noise, it is bunged with Royal Truxian experimentation, frenzied vocals reminiscent of Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes and several drony mantras brilliantly evocative of Growing. At best, while the sludgedoom onslaught of ‘The Drang’ sounds like Pig Destroyer jamming Kyuss circa Wretch, ‘Rotated For Success’ is an exhilarating experience from its genesis of fuzzy loops to its morphing into a 4/4 rampage channelling both Can and Wet Hair. In summation: (a) don’t take drugs, kids and (b) get this album. Brian Coney
KEY TRACKS: ‘ROTATED FOR SUCCESS’, ‘THE DRANG’, ‘ALMERIA, SPAIN’. FOR FANS OF: WET HAIR, CAN, BUTTHOLE SURFERS.
Various Artists Popical Island #2 POPICAL ISLAND
A year after successfully convincing people that Ireland has a worthwhile indie-pop scene, Popical Island have released their second compilation, tying together the various strands of twee and lo-fi circulating on the island today. The first selection featured Squarehead’s ‘Fake Blood’, Irish track of the year for Nialler9 readers, but while Squarehead return, there’s nothing quite as immediate as that here. No matter. It’s mostly a state-of-the-union affair, and things are healthy. Goodly Thousands and Sea Pinks provide highlights from either end of the emotive indie-pop to disaffected lo-fi spectrum. The inclusion of Michael Knight, who were doing this sort of thing for half a decade before Popical Island came along, is a pleasant surprise, but Retarded Cop’s ode to the Popical Island club night, ‘Popicalia’, is the real anthem. Karl McDonald
KEY TRACKS: ‘POPICALIA’, ‘KISS ME UPSIDE DOWN’, ‘CANDLE’. FOR FANS OF: ROUGH TRADE INDIEPOP 1, C86.
Zomby Dedication 4AD
The thing about being an anonymous producer/ enigma figure is that you have to constantly keep people guessing. Keep them wrong-footed and unable to focus on you, the mysterious one behind the music. Of course, while the puzzle will draw people in, it’s important that there is something of real substance there to keep them listening. This, unfortunately, is not always the case on Dedication. Despite some real highlights, such as early single ‘Natalia’s Song’ or the collaboration with Panda Bear, ‘Things Fall Apart’, songs are too often left under-developed, ending abruptly and not too far from where they started. Dedication is an interesting exercise in minimal texture, though one lacking in depth and it leaves all too much to the imagination. Ian Maleney
KEY TRACKS: ‘NATALIA’S SONG’, ‘THINGS FALL APART’, ‘ADAGIO FOR LUCIFER’. FOR FANS OF: BURIAL, WILEY, APHEX TWIN.
Popol Vuh Revisited& Remixed 1970-1999 SPV
Led by pianist and keyboardist Florian Fricke, Popol Vuh were a major pioneering influence on ambient/ new age electronic music. The 10th anniversary of Fricke’s death sees the release of this compilation, which includes a selection of their own material along with a disc of remixes by contemporary producers. The German act were perhaps best known for their soundtrack contributions to the films of Werner Herzog – such as the dreamy, almost-spiritual soundscape of ‘Aguirre I Lacrima di Rei’ (Aguirre) and the eastern-tinged drones of
‘Through Pain to Heaven’ (Nosferatu) – but the non-soundtrack material is equally impressive: the intricate percussive patterns and cosmic vibe of ‘Train Through Time’ still sounds fresh and innovative today. Reworks that stand out on the second disc include Mouse On Mars’ wonky, bleep-heavy take on ‘Through Pain to Heaven’ and Thomas Fehlmann of The Orb’s gently pulsing reinterpretation of ‘Schnee’. Daniel Harrison
KEY TRACKS: ‘TRAIN THROUGH TIME’, ‘AFFENSTUNDE’, ‘SCHNEE (FLOW EDIT) (THOMAS FEHLMANN MIX)’. FOR FANS OF: CLUSTER, KLAUS SCHULZE, HARMONIA.
The Dead Trees Whatwave AFFAIRS OF THE HEART
The second full-length from The Dead Trees owes a lot to its LA surroundings, with its part indie rock, part alt. country sound. The lazy, day-dreamy vocals of frontman Michael Ian Cummings are none too distant from the slacker stylings of Beck or Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, while the same comparisons can be made with respect to the ‘less is more’ ethic of the musical arrangements, relying on its strong melodies and occasional meandering, intentionally sloppy lead guitar passages, which only add to the overall charm of the album. Indeed, Whatwave is an album to soundtrack a lazy summer’s day. It doesn’t have to challenge nor condescend to the listener; instead, Whatwave’s strength lies in its ability to take you on its own whimsical, nostalgia-laced trip. Stevie Lennox
KEY TRACKS: ‘PLAY YOUR HAND’, ‘MY TIME HAS JUST BEGUN’, ‘ARROWS’. FOR FANS OF: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, PAVEMENT, BECK.
Lamb 5 STRATA
In the eight intervening years since the Mancunian duo’s last album, singer Lou Rhodes escaped to the Wiltshire countryside to nurture a solo career of hymnal folk, while Andy Barlow released music with, amongst others, Luna Seeds and Hoof. When Lamb reunited in 2009 – to a worldwide rapturous reception – the idea for a fifth album was sown. 5 is magnificent – Rhodes’ aching, spacey vocal is still the perfect foil for Barlow’s cauldron of triphop, intricate electronica and coffee-table acidjazz. ‘Existential Itch’ finds Rhodes in playful, coquettish mode, while the simple acoustic pluck of ‘Rounds’ and a duet with Damien Rice on ‘Back To Beginning’ both pack a gut-punch of emotional clout. 15 years on from their stunning debut, Lamb remain a mesmerising listen. John Freeman
KEY TRACKS: ‘BACK TO BEGINNING’, ‘EXISTENTIAL ITCH’, ‘BUTTERFLY EFFECT’. FOR FANS OF: KOSHEEN, PORTISHEAD, LOU RHODES.
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Nat Baldwin People Changes WESTERN VINYL
Written in the solitude of a log cabin deep in the forests of Maine, the songs on People Changes, the latest solo release from Dirty Projectors bassist Nat Baldwin, sound as spacious as the New England wilderness itself. Opening with a rendition of Arthur Russell’s ‘A Little Lost’, it’s Baldwin’s voice that immediately grabs the listener’s attention as it rises into momentary, whimsical falsetto above the bowed grunt of his double-bass. While there are hints of his day job in the song structures, his background in free jazz also comes to the fore, making numerous segues into loosely-constructed jams with flurries of dizzying strings and stabs of detuned brass, as on ‘Lifted’ and ‘What Is There’. All told, People Changes is a lovingly-crafted, exciting collection of tunes. Patrick Conboy
KEY TRACKS: ‘A LITTLE LOST’, ‘WEIGHTS’, ‘LET MY SPIRIT RISE’. FOR FANS OF: DIRTY PROJECTORS, EXTRA LIFE, ZS.
Patrick Kelleher & His Cold Dead Hands Golden Syrup OSAKA
Never far from the scene when an unusual sound is coming from a speaker in Dublin, Patrick Kelleher’s second record benefits from something his occasionally perfect scattershot debut album lacked: consistency of sound. No longer like a box of chocolates, Kelleher has settled on a darkwaveinfluenced basis, with retro synths and drum machine beats out of a sinister Eighties crime movie. While the hit-or-miss element is removed, it does mean the inspired, intimate moments that had Kelleher briefly dubbed ‘freak folk’ are almost absent. Nonetheless, if a soundtrack to a midnight bus trip (possibly while imagining dancing in a disco full of skeletons) is what you’re after, songs like ‘Too Many Harsh Words’ and the title track will scratch that itch perfectly. Karl McDonald
KEY TRACKS: ‘GOLDEN SYRUP’, ‘TOO MANY HARSH WORDS’, ‘BROKEN UP NOW’. FOR FANS OF: GIORGIO MORODER, JOHN CARPENTER, THE CURE.
The Horrors Skying XL
In 2009, while producing The Horrors’ excellent Primary Colours album, Geoff Barrow advised the Southend band to ‘go it alone’ on their next record. The Portishead guru believed Faris Badwan and company had the tools to build on their mighty synth-rock sound. The Horrors agreed and after painstakingly building their own studio in the comically hip London borough of Dalston, set to work on, this, their third album. Skying is the sound of a band unleashed, indulging their love of synth-
laden, druggy pop songs. Opener ‘Changing The Rain’ has an almost baggy beat and a tinkling Moby-esque piano riff, all swathed in Tom Furse’s sky-scraping keyboards. ‘I Can See Through You’ is a pulsing head-rush of jagged guitars and Faris Badwan’s über-cool drawl. Badwan’s vocal is almost unrecognisable from the yelp of 2007’s Strange House debut, as he turns the plinky Eighties synth line on lead single ‘Still Life’ into a powerful pop anthem. Barrow’s guidance was spot-on – The Horrors are now a band primed with self-belief and assured in their craft. Skying is big music done mightily well. John Freeman
KEY TRACKS: ‘YOU SAID’, ‘DIVE IN’, ‘I CAN SEE THROUGH YOU’. FOR FANS OF: THE CHAMELEONS, CAT’S EYES, BAUHAUS.
Nazca Lines Hyperventilation STRESSED SUMO
Post-hardcore has always been a little too serious to be ironically recast in the way that a lot of Eighties and Nineties genres have been in recent times, possibly because Ian MacKaye wouldn’t stand for it. Nazca Lines are an interesting case in point. They sound modern and full of energy, but it certainly couldn’t be argued that they’re updating the Drive Like Jehu/Fugazi milieu in any noticeable way. With respect, emotion and distortion pedals, they add decent songs – ‘Bones In Boxes’ and ‘Swedish Kiss’ in particular – to the canon, but not many new ideas. Still, there’s no reason for even the crustiest Dischord fan to dismiss this. It’s solid, honest music that makes its noise at all the right moments. Karl McDonald
KEY TRACKS: ‘BONES IN BOXES’, ‘SWEDISH KISS’, ‘FOUR FOXES’. FOR FANS OF: DRIVE LIKE JEHU, FUGAZI, ASIWYFA.
Brother Famous First Words GEFFEN
All musicians take their influences from somewhere and some are even openly derivative, but the key to reviving a genre is breathing fresh vigour into an old sound and creating something new. Unfortunately for Slough’s Brother, it’s hard to see how another Nineties indie rehash is going to capture the imagination of anyone who didn’t already have Be Here Now on repeat. While there’s nothing cerebral about the lyrics, ‘Darling Buds of May’ does show that the band are capable of crafting a tune, and ‘New Years Day’ is a catchy pop anthem. Far worse bands than Brother have gone on to sell obscene amounts of records, but Famous First Words just doesn’t stray far enough from safe ground to leave a lasting impression. Mike Ravenscroft
KEY TRACKS: ‘NEW YEARS DAY’, ‘DAVID’, ‘TIME MACHINE’. FOR FANS OF: THE BLUETONES, OASIS, THE WOMBATS.
Shabazz Palaces Black Up SUB POP
Gonjasufi’s Grammy-winning cousin Ishmael Butler – he of Digable Planets fame two decades ago – is back with mysterious project Shabazz Palaces, having released two EPs in 2009 to bubbling critical acclaim. Known as Butterfly in his Digable Planets days, Butler now answers to Palaceer Lazaro, but the music is no less intoxicating. There’s plenty of bass, jazz, space, echo, hazy flow, synthy weirdness and trumpet on show here and Butler’s ability
to draw together seemingly disparate tracks is nothing short of genius. The night-air minimalism of ‘Recollections Of The Wraith’, the sub-bass jazz-out of ‘Yeah You’ and the uneasy playground swagger of ‘An Echo From The Hosts That Profess Infinitum’ sit together beautifully to create an audacious album that will thrill fans of Themselves or Lil B. A classic. Adam Lacey
KEY TRACKS: ‘AN ECHO FROM THE HOSTS THAT PROFESS INFINITUM’, ‘RECOLLECTIONS OF THE WRAITH’. FOR FANS OF: DIGABLE PLANETS, LIL B, ERYKAH BADU, THEMSELVES.
Wooden Shjips West
Shapes Monotony Chic
THRILL JOCKEY
BIG SCARY MONSTERS
Ripley Johnson can do no wrong. Mere months after releasing one of the albums of the year so far, Moon Duo’s Mazes, he’s back with Wooden Shjips’ third studio album proper. And it’s a corker. It’s no great departure from previous records; the tunes are built around an insidious, low bass drone, relentless, twitch-inducing riffs and the melodious swirl of Hammond keyboards. Opener ‘Black Smoke Rise’ is a familiar blast of reassurance to hardcore devotees. ‘Flight’ has a slower, filthier groove, like the cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Contact’ on Vol. II, and closer ‘Rising’ is a brain-melting fusion of insistent bass riffs, noodling Eastern guitars and reversed vocals. Only ‘Home’ hints at some other new direction down the road of cult, indie-rock polymaths, but that’s why we have Yo La Tengo. Expect Wooden Shjips to pip Moon Duo and Josh T. Pearson in end of year polls. Exceptional. Kenny Murdock
KEY TRACKS: ‘FLIGHT’, ‘LAZY BONES’. FOR FANS OF: MOON DUO, AMON DUUL II.
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There are some albums that come at you and no matter what easy reference you grab for, it’s never going to be quite enough. This would be one of those records. BSM’s newest charges, Shapes, bring a ruckus indebted to hardcore, but even that feels vague, with math tendencies and a (dare we say unwittingly?) indie-friendly bent. In any case, it’s legit. ‘Lipstick Vulture’s nightmare swagger and filthy bass is a sure-fire live favourite, while the smart riffing on ‘The Victim’ sneaks a wink to both math and post-hardcore. With Eskil Lovstrom (Refused, Meshuggah) on the desk, production is confident and solid, a wall of sound becoming of the tunes on offer. It’s a difficult one and takes several listens to unravel, but patience reveals an intriguing debut from an alt-rock fixture in the making. Mike McGrath-Bryan
KEY TRACKS: ‘LIPSTICK VULTURE’, ‘ALLURE A HORE’, ‘THE VICTIM’. FOR FANS OF: REFUSED, BLACK FLAG, GLASSJAW.
Kaiser Chiefs The Future Is Medieval B-UNIQUE
After three years pursuing other lines of employment, Kaiser Chiefs’ comeback is not the overwhelming return to form their fans might have hoped for. The Future Is Medieval is a ‘construct it yourself’ album, allowing fans to pick their ‘top 10’ of 20 online tracks and mould them together to form their own version of the fourth album. There’s even the capacity to earn: you’ll get £1 for every time your version of the album is downloaded. It’s a nice idea in principle, but, predictably, the result is a haphazard and poorly-formed selection of tracks that don’t feel like they’re designed to fit together at all. Some – like ‘Little Shocks’ – would have sat nicely amongst the songs on Employment, while others, such as ‘Heard It Break’ take on a new sound that’s bordering on tropical. Overall, though, The Future Is Medieval feels wafer-thin and markedly mellow, and is unlikely to either impress fans of the ‘I Predict A Riot’ and ‘Ruby’ eras or win over many new converts. James Hendicott
KEY TRACKS: ‘LITTLE SHOCKS’, ‘DEAD OR IN SERIOUS TROUBLE’, ‘THINGS CHANGES’. FOR FANS OF: LITTLE COMETS, THE AUTOMATIC, THE ENEMY.
Blanck Mass Blanck Mass ROCK ACTION
Wiley 100% Publishing BIG DADA
“To thine own self be true” is one of the most famous lines Shakespeare ever scribbled. It could also be the mission statement for 100% Publishing. As that title suggests, Wiley’s doing it all himself – writing, performing, producing. And it seems he’s still smarting over the accusations of selling out that followed the release of ‘Wearing My Rolex’, with only the bubblegum beats of ‘Pink Lady’ and carnivalesque melody of ‘Boom Boom Da Na’ here hinting at the party guy immortalised in that hit single. Relative newcomers such as Tinie Tempah have stepped
into the breach, giving grime a pop coating and bringing it to the mainstream, leaving Wiley to return to his roots. ‘Your Intuition’ reinforces the idea of following your own path, whilst the title track – all rubbery synth and lurching beats – finds him pledging his devotion to the grime scene. Implicit is the message that, whilst parttimers like Dizzee Rascal and Chipmunk bask in the hollow glow of showbiz, Wiley – illuminated only by the sodium vapour glare of the streets – is keeping it real. Francis Jones
KEY TRACKS: ‘100% PUBLISHING’, ‘YOUR INTUITION’, ‘YONGE STREET (1,178 MILES LONG)’. FOR FANS OF: ROOTS MANUVA, TINIE TEMPAH, WRETCH 32.
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Blanck Mass is the debut album from Benjamin John Power, one half of supremely unsettling noise merchants, Fuck Buttons. With Blanck Mass, it seems, Power can leave behind the rockstar posturing and indulge his fascination with soundtracks, nature and the pioneering work of astrophysicist Carl Sagan. The music is more organic than his previous work, combining trademark searing white noise, deep bass drone and warm analogue synth. ‘Land Disasters’ feels like finding a lost outtake to Sagan’s awardwinning Cosmos: A Personal Voyage series from 1980. It is intense and overpowering, like staring at a brilliant celestial light through a telescope, desperate to identify it before you’re permanently blinded. ‘Chernobyl’ is an icy blast of isolation, a wretched low moan of bass guitar juxtaposed with the sonorous chime of steel drum. It stands as an aural warning of man’s power and folly. Though lacking the wider appeal of Power’s day job, Blanck Mass is still a rewarding project that will burrow its way into your heart with each listen. Kenny Murdock
KEY TRACKS: ‘CHERNOBYL’, ‘ICKE’S STRUGGLE’. FOR FANS OF: FUCK BUTTONS, TANGERINE DREAM.
Young Blood Your indispensable guide to new releases from up-and-coming acts Words by Chris Jones
Craig McConkey Three-Track Demo Singer-songwriters are ten-a-penny and therefore need something different to help them stand out, and McConkey has it with his sweet, Norn Iron-accented voice, quirky lyrics and way with a melody. There is variety, too. ‘The Fact Is... Nobody Knows’ is a gorgeous, sweeping ballad, ‘Right Nervous Sometimes’ is a winning slice of blue-eyed soul, and ‘His Trousers Didn’t Fit Him’ is a protest song about the Iraq War, albeit a slightly heavy-handed one. If he sticks to the endearing minutiae of relationships (and references to Daily Milk and Pro Evo) of the first two tracks, he could go far. - Craig McConkey Music on Facebook
Slow Motion Heroes Pop EP It’s always good to hear people trying something different. Slow Motion Heroes contain members of some of Cork’s heaviest bands, but this EP is aptly named. Much as Blood Brothers’ Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato went on to form the decidedly poppy Jaguar Love, so a six-piece containing Dan Breen and Barry McAuliffe (who have served time in Hope Is Noise and Rulers Of The Planet respectively) dive headfirst into hyperactive postpunk-pop. The results are excellent, and full of hooks and kinetic energy – cop a load of ‘Tick Tock’, with its infectious “Wooo-ooo” backing vocals and “We got answers!” refrain. Great stuff. - breakingtunes.com/slowmotionheroes
Bomb City 7 Songs From Bomb City 7 I don’t really know where to start with this. Bomb City 7 have a reputation as a Buckfast-fuelled, party-starting live band – Belfast’s answer to the north coast’s Team Fresh – but in the cold light of day it’s hard to known whether to laugh or cry. The rapping is completely awful, but the band kills it, and the lyrics… my god, the lyrics. ‘This P(r)etty Place’ is a love letter to Belfast that hilariously eviscerates local radio jock Pete Snodden, while elsewhere, they stick it to the paramilitaries, McDonalds, and crap drugs, but the pièce de resistance is the truly filthy – but weirdly touching – ‘A True Love Story’. Toilet humour, righteous anger and selfdeprecation… fun, but I need a wash. - reverbnation.com/bombcity7
INPROFILE: ACT: FROM: FOR FANS OF: WEBSITE:
Craig McConkey Newtownards, Co. Down Rainy Boy Sleep, Fionn Regan, Jamie T. Craig McConkey Music on Facebook
It’s early days for young singersongwriter Craig McConkey, but his beautiful three-track demo has us charmed. With a support slot for The Lowly Knights, a Balcony TV session in Dublin and a spot on a recent IMRO showcase compilation, ears are pricking up. We had a word. How long have you been writing songs? When did you start recording and performing? I’d say the first song I wrote was about four years ago, and I started recording when I auditioned for the Belfast Urban Collective two years ago, and got selected. They funded some recording time for me in Kaya studios in West Belfast. How would you describe yourself as a musician? I’d say I’m still quite naive and have a lot to learn...
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Who are your main influences? I think my music taste changes every couple of months, and I’ve gone off most music I listened to in the past couple of years. I’d say I have been influenced by loads of artists though. I love Bob Dylan, Jamie T, The Tallest Man On Earth, Foy Vance..... And anything I hear with good lyrics, really! Can you tell me the story behind ‘His Trousers Didn’t Fit Him’? It’s a story about a guy I went to primary school with. He got a good lot of stick, and I always remember his trousers were too short for him, you know the type I mean! But I saw him recently in the shop I work in for the first time since I was 11, and got talking to him briefly. I was taken back at how much he had grown up and changed. He said he had joined the army and was heading off to Iraq the following month. He’s probably the last person I would have expected to be a soldier fighting in a war! So then I just got thinking about how he is heading out to risk his life, and what for?! It’s pretty much my thoughts on the supposed ‘war on terrorism’ and the lads that are heading out to fight in the Middle East..... Do you have any plans for the rest of the year? I have plans to get this debut EP released very soon, and have a big launch night somewhere around town for it. I have been toying with the idea of going abroad for a few months as well... Don’t know though, we’ll see what happens!
Body And Soul Festival Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath
LIVE REVIEWS
There’s been quite a seachange in the Irish festival landscape in recent years. Unfortunately, a number of factors, including the dreaded recession, have forced a significant number of events to exit the summer calendar. The harsh reality is that, in a country as small as ours, only a few were fated to survive. However, those that have are slowly beginning to thrive. Amongst the finest small-tomedium shindigs on offer is the wonderfully diverse Body and Soul Festival. Set amidst the lush, rolling countryside of the Irish midlands, Body and Soul is quickly becoming a byword for artistic enterprise and imagination. Those of us fortunate enough to have frequented Ballinlough Castle during solstice week were left marvelling at the exquisite detail and general people-friendliness of the event. The brainchild of festival co-ordinator Avril Stanley, Body and Soul became a festival in its own right last summer, having acted as the Electric Picnic’s creative centrepoint for many years. However, to simply describe this pandora’s box of ingenuity as a music festival is to do it a massive disservice. Whilst the weekend’s musical line-up is very impressive, including such fêted acts as Fat Freddy’s Drop, Plaid, Holy Fuck and Lisa Hannigan, it’s almost a peripheral side-act to the myriad activity elsewhere. Imagine the scene, if you will; a picturesque walled garden populated by random performers and curiosities. The pathways are peppered with jugglers and stilt-walkers, while a jazz band sitting on a nearby lawn begins an impromptu set. The attention to detail is staggering. Everywhere, the work of skilled hands is evident; many hours spent decorating this wonderful location. Around the corner in the orchard, people sit about sampling a host of delectable foods and others in fancy dress wander to and fro from the nearby woods. The woodland area resembles a latter-day garden of earthly delights. PHOTO BY DAVE MITCHELL
And So I Watch You From Afar Nerve Centre, Derry These guys have been on the touring trot for a hell of a long time now but by no means are they tiring out, and after long stints around Europe, Russia and the States as headliners and briefly as support to rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, they are mightier than ever. Tonight in Derry the northern heroes unleash a visceral attack on the ever-ready ‘asseewafa’ audience, pumping feedback and bass into our very cores. Coming onstage after hardcore trio Event Horses, they plough straight into the back catalogue, playing songs from the Letters EP, Gangs and their first album. ‘D is for Django the Bastard’ is
renamed in light of the opening of the city’s Peace Bridge to ‘D is for Dissident Fucking Wankers’. This, along with ‘A Little Solidarity Goes a Long Way’, goes down a treat. Guitarist Tony Wright later states before ‘Set Guitars To Kill’, “Don’t let the assholes hold us back” and the ‘fighting for peace’ motif is perfectly encapsulated by their strident music and the solid, militia crowd. As the opening notes echo forebodingly around the dark hall, the song (as it always does), gets the pit in full ‘Kill em’ all!’ mode as the newly carpeted floor shakes beneath our feet. The crowd becomes a choir for epic ‘Don’t Waste Time Doing Things You Hate’, and doesn’t settle until the band returns for their encore. Giving us a full hour-and-aquarter of mayhem and destruction, they end with ‘The Voiceless’, promising that a return “won’t be so long next time”. Good news indeed. Shannon Delores O’Neill
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A phenomenal amount of blood, sweat and tears have been invested in this project. While many of the larger-scale events feel that booking quality music acts is the sum total of a festival, Body and Soul aim to provide a rounded experience, where name acts are only a singular component. Late into the night, punters pack the Latin themed Casa Habana, swaying to the sound of Cuban salsa. The main-stage area also draws the crowds, most noticeably for a storming set from Toronto noise-merchants Holy Fuck and a Sunday evening glimpse of Jamaican dub legend Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Not even heavy rain on Saturday night spoils the vibe as organisers were quick to mask the mucky underfoot conditions with bales of hay. As small festivals go, Body and Soul has few equals. Whether you’re interested in learning about native crafts, sampling the hippest electronic sounds or simply excited about running amok through an enchanted forest, then Body and Soul is for you. Massive respect to all involved for curating such a marvellously eclectic fiesta. Eamonn Seoige
Justified
Writers: Elmore Leonard, Graham Yost Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Natalie Zea, Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts, Joelle Carter Cert: 15
DVD:
Originality is a rare commodity in contemporary television but rich seams of it run through this western/ cop show mash-up from seasoned crime writer Elmore Leonard. Chief among its qualities is lead actor Timothy Olyphant, previously relegated to handsome but vapid roles. He is Raylan Givens, a taciturn U.S. Marshal banished to Hicksville, Kentucky after an assignment in Miami goes sideways. His penchant for wooing southern belles and dusting up rednecks doesn’t go down well with the good ol’ boys and drug runners in town. Taking particular exception to Givens’ city ways are the bazooka-toting Nazi hillbillies led by self-appointed preacher man Boyd Crowder, played by Walton Goggins (yup, that’s his real name), taking an entirely different role to his barnstorming turn in The Shield. The show is as salty and hilarious as you might expect, but its brash approach, quickdraws and cussing are counterbalanced by good humour and old-fashioned front porch storytelling. Olyphant, meanwhile, turns in his best performance since Deadwood, acting against stereotype at every turn to make the put-upon Givens one of the most attractive lead characters of recent times. Highly recommended. Ross Thompson
CONSOLE YOURSELF! The sumer’s gaming releases rounded up It’s certainly been an interesting month for videogame releases, with a slew of more unusual titles hitting the shelves. It’s refreshing to see that some designers are willing to reinvigorate formats in danger of becoming staid or turn out like the painfully disappointing Duke Nukem Forever (2K, Multi), which plays and looks exactly like a title that’s been marooned in development for over a decade. Infinitely more rewarding is Alice: Madness Returns (EA, Multi), which takes Lewis Carroll’s supposed children’s tale and injects it with substances more potent than opium. Wonderland, which may or may not exist inside Alice’s fevered mind, offers your conventional platforming and puzzle-solving elements but developers Spicy Horse have dirtied them up to satiate lovers of the macabre. They will revel in the seriously twisted visuals: cogs, keyholes, petals, hobbyhorses, frothing rabbits and a hatter who is not so much mad as bug nuts insane. Elsewhere, something wicked this way comes with Shadows Of The Damned (EA, Multi), an arcane survival horror which outdoes even Bayonetta for cheesy dialogue, outlandish violence and perverse humour. The plot, such as it is, is ludicrous: the improbably monikered Garcia Hotspur ploughs
ALICE: MADNESS RETURNS through the Underworld in search of his abducted girlfriend. So far so Super Mario, except the central character is a demon hunter whose sidekick is a disembodied skull which talks like Stewie Griffin. SOTD is a strange beast indeed: it’s not often that you see a man with a horse’s head riding a horse with a man’s head which farts dark matter. Hell, it transpires, closely resembles a grue-strewn Bruges. The first levels wilfully challenge the player’s decency but those who can swallow the incessant innuendo and profanity will find a joyful celebration of what makes games great. A more sedate pace is provided by Child Of Eden (Ubisoft, Multi), a wigged-out rhythm game which
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almost plays like being at a rave if your eyeballs were replaced by tiny mirrorballs. Light and colour pulse in time with the music and respond to your actions through motion control tech – one of the better uses of Kinect out there. It deserves merit for bravely doing something new, even if at times you feel as if you’re trapped inside Shaun Ryder’s cranium. Finally, while gamers hang on tenterhooks for a Beyond Good And Evil sequel they can enjoy the original (Ubisoft, Multi), currently downloadable on PSN and XBLA, all over again, all blinged up with hidef spit and polish. This much-loved adventure is still great nearly 10 years on. Duke Nukem could learn a thing or two from its example.Ross Thompson
FLASHBACK The Day The Music Died The start of MTV, August 1, 1981
30 YEARS AGO
At 12.01 am on 1 August, 1981, several thousand TV addicts in northern New Jersey witnessed a montage of clips from the Apollo 11 moon landing and the words ‘Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll’. In the astronaut’s hand was a flag, emblazoned with the letters ‘MTV’. Moments later, Music Television aired its very first video – Buggles’ ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. The world of music had changed forever.
vixen Pat Benatar’s ‘You Better Run’, while the sixth video up on this radical day for TV was Cliff Richard’s ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’. However, the first 24 hours also included Blondie, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and two tracks by The Specials.
the global music scene in the last 30 years. If an artist’s video obtained ‘heavy rotation’ on MTV, success could be almost guaranteed. If a song didn’t have any accompanying images it would be doomed to obscurity.
In America, MTV exploded in popularity and polarised the music industry. For some, MTV cheapened songwriting and devalued the listening experience. A huge emphasis was now being placed on how artists looked and the visual image they created. Certain bands milked the moment – the video for Duran Duran’s single ‘Rio’ album was filmed in Antigua with Simon Le Bon and his homies racing around on a yacht like a camp version of Miami Vice.
By the mid-Eighties, and a now a global network, MTV could pick and choose when and how to support various genres of music. After much criticism of its initial lack of coverage of black artists, the channel decided to push artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston. In 1988, it would launch Yo! MTV Raps, while also showcasing ‘alternative’ artists on 120 Minutes, heavy metal on Headbanger’s Ball and, in the late Nineties, pushing electronic acts such as The Prodigy, Moby and The Chemical Brothers.
The concept of MTV was simple: a dedicated TV channel that would screen a constant rotation of music videos. The rise of bespoke cable channels in the mid-Seventies allowed for the possibility and when, in 1977, the Ohio-based station QUBE aired a music-video programme Sight On Sound, a young TV executive Robert Pittman pounced on the potential and developed a format on which Video Jockeys (VJs) would replace DJs. MTV was born – the choice of the Buggles track was hugely symbolic.
But for all the hand-wringing of the affronted purists, MTV created the platform for the music video to become an art form. The risible ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits did admittedly pioneer computer animation, while Peter Gabriel’s video for ‘Sledgehammer’ is a visionary piece of film-making. For this scribe – as a boggle-eyed 13-year-old – the breathless excitement of the first viewing of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ mini-film was a magical experience. The song and the visual image had become fused.
The first day’s track-listing was somewhat odd. Buggles was immediately followed by soft-rock
This gave MTV a huge amount of power – the channel is arguably the single biggest influence on
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Of course nowadays, there are multiple music TV channels catering for the taste buds of every music aficionado. In the last 10 years, MTV has drifted more into reality TV. In 2008, it was showing as little as three hours of music videos a day and depending on your opinion, the global behemoth had either already created a magical smorgasbord for our music preferences, or been responsible for all the facile, image-obsessed banality that rots the core of music in 2011. John Freeman
CLASSIC ALBUM Funkadelic – Maggot Brain (1971)
Illustration by Shauna McGowan
All things, George Harrison reckoned, must pass. And as far as the last 50 years are concerned, he wasn’t far wrong. While the Fifites gave way to the Sixties with legendary reluctance, the optimistic Sixties yielded to the Seventies much like a revolving door. Sure, the likes of Leary, Ginsberg and Kesey continued to wave the countercultural flag but culturally — psychically — 1970 marked a very potent conclusion to a seriously transformative decade. Naturally enough, then, a limbo between lingering Sixties empowerment and a ‘year zero’ sense of uncertainty began to occupy artists the world over. Musically, Van Der Graaf Generator, Syd Barrett and Soft Machine all tackled the zeitgeist with considerable success, but none managed to do so with the same conviction and style as George Clinton’s Funkadelic when, 30 years ago this month, they unleashed Maggot Brain. While Clinton’s sister-act Parliament would later
become virtually synonymous with Funkadelic, it was the latter’s third album that saw them address themes not usually associated with the emergent ‘get down’ image of funk. Over just seven tracks – five of them less than four minutes long – Maggot Brain was as much about the message as the funk. Just as decisively, though, it exposed Funkadelic’s versatility in sounding just as much like a rock ‘n’ roll and soul record as it did a funk album. Commencing with one of the most celebrated guitar solos in music, Maggot Brain’s legacy could very easily be sustained by Eddie Hazel’s mindmelting work on the title-track alone. Rumour has it, a trippin’ Clinton encouraged Hazel to “imagine your momma just died” before the guitarist delved, possessed, into one of the most evocative, wahwah drenched odysseys ever recorded. Incredibly, Hendrix had barely boarded the mothership and here was some dude arguably surpassing anything ‘the greatest’ had ever done in a solitary, jawdropping take. Still, as immensely cathartic as this opener remains, the infinitely more upbeat ‘Can You Get To That’ follows to reveal – and how – Funkadelic the band. The polar opposite to ‘Maggot Brain’, it is a gospelled foot-stomper characterised by drummer Fuzzy Haskins’ playful, syncopated dance and serves as a preface to the groove-infested ‘Hit It And Quit
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It’ (with keyboardist Bernie Worrell on vocals) and ‘You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks’, a slowburning petition to a world witness to race riots and inexplicable poverty. Whereas ‘Back Of Our Minds’ epitomises disposable giddiness, fuzzy rocker ‘Super Stupid’ suggests The Who covering ‘Crosstown Traffic’ and features yet another ripping solo by an apparently insatiable Hazel. Most fearlessly, though – sound effects tape at hand – apocalyptic closer ‘Wars of Armageddon’ is a mind-expanding sonic collage way before its time. The funk-rock equivalent of Red Krayola’s more hectic endeavours, it is a nigh-on schizophrenic display of incongruous gibberish, Bitches Brew-like jamming and bizarre found-sound silliness. From its landmark opening solo to this bold, almost ingenious manner of closing, Maggot Brain probably shouldn’t work. A fusion of everything from Motown-fuelled soul to cosmic blues atypical of straight-up funk, it encompasses discriminating lyrical insight and virtuoso musicianship. Indeed, as dark as it is frivolous, its eclecticism not only defines its quality but also sets it apart from the genre it’s normally categorised under — so much so, its power reverberates as much today, both thematically and musically, as it did way back in 1971. Brian Coney
Kurt Cobain, hipster revivals, Glasgow and sex...
the story of
HISTORY LESSON
What do you do when the biggest rock star in the world is talking about how you’re the best band in the world? Especially as you don’t really exist as a band anymore? Well, if you’re Eugene Kelly, one half of Glaswegian indie-pop duo The Vaselines, you bide your time, wait til the moment is right, and then prove Kurt Cobain right by doing it all over again. Ahead of their Belfast gig, AU catches up with the man who’s so hot right now, whether he wants to be or not. Words by Steven Rainey A long time ago, in the days of yore, being in an indie-pop band was a very different proposition. Far from the higher echelons of the music industry, almost all of these unfortunates had dreams of touching the stars, yet were unlikely to ever leave their home in the gutter. However, there is strength in numbers, and by the mid-Eighties, it had become apparent that this gaggle of wannabe popstars was more numerous than anyone had ever imagined. There is a tendency now to paint this as a golden era of pop, when everything was just groovy, man, but in reality, things were very far from groovy. The optimism and freedom of punk had codified into a new hierarchy, which was soon to be swept away by the historical revisionism of Live Aid, millionaire rockstars almost singlehandedly destroying the ‘No Future’ credo of punk in one afternoon (all in the name of charidee, of course). But the seeds had been sown, and whilst it seemed that no-one but John Peel was paying attention, it didn’t seem to matter. Relative advances in technology had meant that home recording was slowly becoming a viable proposition, and independent labels such as Geoff Travis’s Rough Trade, Tony Wilson’s Factory, and Alan McGee’s Creation were proof that there was a future other than that of corporate slavery. Sure, it was rough and it was ready, but it was something that had been unthinkable a few short years ago. Slowly but surely, the UK began to experience a veritable deluge of independent music, largely badly produced and amateurishly performed, that was somehow connecting with a sizeable audience all over the county. One of those aspiring indie bands was The Vaselines, a boy-girl duo from Glasgow, trying to make the pop music they made in their heads, but ending up somewhere between outright amateurism and inspired genius. Eventually, this music would take them all around the world, but all that seemed very far away from Scotland in the mid-Eighties. “Back in the Eighties in Glasgow, there was a really big underground scene, fuelled by punk and garage rock, and soundtrack music, and Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood,” explains Eugene Kelly of his earliest musical outings. “We couldn’t play very well, so it had to be punk rock; we couldn’t be sophisticated. We split up by ‘89, but by the mid Eighties, The Pastels were fuelling a lot of things that were going on, putting out records by the BMX Bandits, who are still going strong, and early versions of Teenage Fanclub.” These nascent bands were operating from a nohoper’s perspective, making music for each other,
because no-one else could possibly ever be interested in it. Like the majority of the peers all over the UK, the underground scene was dominated by the ethos of, ‘You might care because I do’, a sensibility that saw the home taping movement gain strength, with self-recorded tapes exchanging hands up and down the country, and the solidification of indie culture, a notion that not being recognised by the world at large was almost a badge of honour. Despite this, the prospects were still frequently bleak.
been another band who disappeared. They put our name out to the world.”
“We [Kelly and Frances McKee] formed back in 1987, and we released two 12”s on a small label in Edinburgh called 53rd and 3rd run by Stephen Pastel of The Pastels. And then we released an album about a year later. Nothing was happening, the whole infrastructure of Scottish independent music was falling apart and crumbling, and we didn’t have anyone to release our records so we called it a day. We thought, ‘That was fun!’ but it wasn’t going to be our future or our career.
“It’s definitely come back round again. There’s people in their 20s who are hearing this music for the first time, and it means something to them. It’s a very easy kind of thing to do, if you can’t play very well. We were just limited to what we could do financially. You had to go to small studios that only had eight-track recording facilities, so the sound of the records are influenced by the actual studios you recorded them in.”
“Then out of the blue we heard this band in America called Nirvana were recording our songs. We felt kinda chuffed about that, but we didn’t think about getting back together!” In keeping with the development of the UK indie scene, the American underground was expanding its influence and impact. Relentless hard work was beginning to pay off, and ‘punk’ was no longer being recognised as a dirty word. Attitudes were changing, and kinship on both sides of the Atlantic was about to prove very valuable to the Scottish duo. “They were just a new band to us,” laughs Kelly, still clearly amazed at the seismic shift that was about to occur. “It was back in ‘88, ‘89, we’d supported them in Edinburgh, and they were just a bunch of guys in a van, having fun. Then about a year later, Nevermind came out, and things went crazy!” Nirvana were suddenly the biggest band on the planet, and Kurt Cobain was describing Kelly and McKee as his “favourite songwriters in the world”. Nirvana covered three of The Vaselines’ songs, and exposed the band to a global audience. The benefits of this were not lost on Kelly. “We just thought no-one had heard our music, and that it hadn’t travelled beyond our coastline. To find that it’s gone that far and people are playing your songs live, it’s a fantastic compliment as a songwriter. If it wasn’t for them, we would have just
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Fast forward 20 years, and The Vaselines are back in active service. The intervening years have seen Kelly and McKee make music under various monikers, whilst the kind of music they are most closely associated has become one of the most imitated styles currently in vogue. But as with many things, the more things stay the same, the more they change…
“I think a lot of people are listening to the production of it, thinking, ‘How can I make our record sound that rubbish!’. We couldn’t go back and just make a record that sounds quite crap because that’s what we are. We had to move forward. We wanted it to sound as good as we can, without making it all shiny and not like the punk rock band we’re trying to be.” As scrappily recorded indie goes through a new golden age, The Vaselines are quite content to continuing aiming as high as they can, and being the best they can. After the response of a 2008 reunion gig, the band have been back together ever since, recording a very well received album for Sub Pop, Sex With An X, last year. “I just think we’re a bit more confident now! Back then we were the runt of the litter, we couldn’t play very well, just Frances and I together with a backing track. Everyone else seemed to have gone through school and had music lessons. We were limited to what we could do, and now we’ve had 20 years of learning to play and progressing as songwriters. We feel that we’re where we should be and we can enjoy it! “Back then, we’d just come off stage and think, ‘God, we were rubbish!’ Now we can give people what we wanted to give them, with a proper band behind it.” The Vaselines play Whelan’s, Dublin on July 12; Cyprus Avenue, Cork on July 13; Roisin Dubh, Galway on July 14; and The Black Box, Belfast July 15. www.thevaselines.co.uk
Willowstone Festival Delamont Country Park, Killyleagh
Skye
Tucked away in the beautiful walled garden of Delamont Park, Willowstone festival certainly seemed to bring out a bit of the hippy in all of those attending. All ages united to look utterly ridiculous, many trying their hand at stilt-walking, juggling and scarecrow making. Some attempted to win gold at the slightly baffling Allotment Olympics, while a confused face painter met a variety of strange requests. Of course the day had a soundtrack as summery as the weather, from the idiosyncratic covers of Inishowen Gospel Choir to the vast array of talents demonstrated by champion beatboxer Shlomo. Not Squares headlined with the aid of some excitable children having their first onstage experience and the day finished with a lot of happy, albeit sunburnt, faces.
Not Squares
Words and photos by Suzie McCracken Jeremy & Aaron
Trisha & Cain
Cait, Erin & Johanne
Catherine & Charlene
Orla & Mary
Shlomo
Decky
Emma & Stephanie
Sheree, Faye, Fiona & Ryan
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Glider Vs AU The Workman’s Club, Dublin
Susan, Katya & Maria
When the lovely folks at the monthly Dublin club night Glider invited AU down to DJ, they probably thought they were going to be treated to a selection of the most cutting edge and credible tunes known to man. They would have been half-right. AU editor Chris Jones wielded his super cool choices like a pro, inducing much appreciative head nodding and booty shaking. Then AU publisher Jonny Tiernan destroyed all his hard work by busting out loads of ridiculous party jams and rave nonsense. Everything went down well though, and people in Dublin showed AU that they know how to get loose and enjoy themselves. Special mentions to the Glider DJs and promoters Cillian and Tanya, who not only played great music but were exemplary hosts. Spoiled.
Ulrika & Sara
Photos by Gabe Murphy Michael & Jess
Margaux & Ita
Diaz & Mokhtari
Eimear, Vikki, Ciara & Aoife
Eimear, Joanna & Jeanne
Aaron & Robert
Cara, Katriona & Claire
Niall, Tony & Bren
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Suzanne & Katriona
THE LAST WORD With: Guy Garvey from Elbow When was the last time you bought a band t-shirt at a gig? I bought a Walkmen t-shirt for my sweetheart Emma at the Methodist Centre in Manchester this year. I’d have bought one for myself but they don’t do my size. When was the last time you offended someone? I’ve never offended anyone in my life, you fat bastard. When was the last time one of your heroes disappointed you? It wouldn’t be very gentlemanly to answer that. But it was probably someone I voted for. What was the last meal you had? Innocent veg pots. Two of them and pitta bread. What was the last piece of good advice you were given? If you hold the doors closed button in any elevator whilst pressing the floor you want to go to, it won’t stop at any of the other floors on the way to your destination. [Mind. Blown. –Ed] When was the last time you cried? I cry quite easily – I’m a big softy. Probably in the last couple of days. When was the last time you did something you regret? I don’t have many regrets. I have little ones like, ‘why did I start mixing my drinks?’.I have little ones on daily basis like everyone does, but in terms
FAMOUS LAST WORDS “On your way up, please take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.” Bob Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) to his sons Stephen & Ziggy “That’s good. Go on, read some more.” The 29th President of the United States Warren G. Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923), to his wife, who was reading him flattering newspaper accounts.
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of big stuff, I broke someone’s heart once and I could have been a lot less brutal about it. If I could change anything, I’d change that. What was the last good record you bought? A second-hand vinyl edition of the Ramsay Lewis Trio called The In Crowd. What was the last thing you Googled? “Guy Garvey is well fit.” When was the last time you were scared? Five minutes before going on stage at Glastonbury. But it was all tangled up in excitement too. What was the last bad job you had? I cleaned the toilets at a private members golf club. Some of the clients were okay, but most of them were self-made, self-obsessed, mealymouthed, pastel sweater-wearing, bitter old fuckwits, who went out of their way to mentally torture the staff. I hope they all died years ago. If the world was about to end, what would your last words be? Is everybody okay? Elbow play the Belsonic festival in Belfast on Wednesday, August 24. Support from Villagers and Foy Vance. www.belsonic.com
THIS ISSUE WAS POWERED BY Forbidden Fruit, Wimbledon, broken toes, skating injuries, fucking off to Cornwall, moving to the ‘burbs, Reset, birthdays, life culling, an amazing new web design, sunshine, blinking lights.
Good vibrations, great locations It speaks volumes. The fact that the world’s greatest acts queue up to play here. This summer we’ve got Foy Vance and Cashier No. 9 playing in a field near Draperstown. Primal Scream and Plan B will be belting out classics at the Cathedral Quarter. And Eminem will be making some noise in Ward Park, Bangor. Pretty impressive huh? Which begs the question... If they’re going to be here. Shouldn’t you be too?
Summerns Staycatio
£75pps* 2 nights l 3 star hote
For gigs, shin-digs and line-ups visit
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Fight Like Apes, Glasgowbury Festival, Sperrin Mountains, Co. Londonderry
discovernorthernireland.com/exploremore
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