ISSUE 1 // OCT 2016
That’s...
Intertainment Magazine is a monthly publication featuring a wide range of content from comment pieces, photography and reviews. We are a free and independent platform for genuine expression, currently featuring music film and TV, with video game and comic book features due to be added in our next few issues. We uphold the time honoured tradition of independent media to bring accurate commentary, interesting page layouts, and hopefully introduce your tastes, whatever they may be, to something new. Within the next few issues we will begin to add interactive elements such as links, and embedded content such as videos and playlists. We aim to be informing, interactive, but most of all, Intertaining. Intertainmentmagazine@hotmail.com
Facebook.com/intertainmentmagazine
@IntertainmentM
Editor in Chief: Jack Holmes Editors: Evelyn Sweeney, Corey Davies Writers: Jack Holmes, Evelyn Sweeney, Zac Gardiner Design and Page Layout: Jack Holmes, Katina Petrou Photography: Evelyn Sweeney, Zac Gardiner
Š All Rights Reserved. All Material in Intertainment Magazine may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the magazines ownership. Intertainment Magazine cannot accept any liability for reader discontent arising from our features. Intertainment Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any article or material supplied for publication or to edit this material prior to publishing. The opinions expressed or recomendations given in the magazine are the views of the individual author and do not necessarily represent the views of Intertainment Magazine. We accept no liability for any misprints or mistakes and no responsibility can be taken for the content on these pages.
Doctor Strange
Easy Season One
Kings of Leon - Walls
Black Mirror Season Three
Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie
Souls - Release
Banks - The Altar
Pixies - Head Carrier
Phantogram - Three
Sum 41 - 13 Voices
Two Door Cinema Club - Gameshow
Joyce Manor - Cody
Bryan Lee O’Malley @ Lakes International Art Festival
Slaves - Take Control
Director : Scott Derrickson Starring : Benedict Cumberbatch,Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mickelson, Tilda Swinton and Rachel McAdams Studio : Marvel Studios/ Walt Disney Studios Release Date: October 25th
Cinematic surprises have not merely been restricted to the typical blockbuster summer this year. A Ghostbusters reboot flopped, Deadpool was finally released on a budget more than four times smaller than Batman v Superman and nearly made as much money at the box office, and someone continues to fund Adam Sandler’s “movies” if you’re willing to stretch the term. To add to that list is Doctor Strange, the 14th film in the MCU, no we’re not including Fox and Sony’s Marvel movies and yes there really are that many of them. Doctor Strange looked set to be the Ant Man, middle ground superhero movie of 2016. Both featuring popular and charismatic leads offered a little breathing space for Marvel fans before the high stakes movies of Civil War and Avengers titles, and both seemed to wear their unique selling points on their sleeve, Ant Man with its miniaturised scenes, Doctor Strange with its Inception style special effects. But where Ant Man felt like a standard superhero movie with its originality tagged on at the end, Strange is built around world bending and mind altering special effects, far more dynamic than its trailers would have you believe. Doctor Strange follows a world renowned neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) who has his hands crushed in a car accident and sets out for a means to regain full control by any means necessary. His journey leads him to The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who introduces him to the world of magic and alternative dimensions, as well as revealing her orders place as defenders of Earth, naturally. It’s a typical Marvel origin story, reminiscent of 2008’s Iron Man, with a villain whose name you’ll have forgotten by the time the teaser clip at the end of the credits has rolled, not that it’s Mads Mickelson’s fault, simply that, as is typical of Marvel, supporting cast are given very little to play with. Most of Doctor Strange’s cast feel overlooked, his love interest played by Rachel McAdams could have easily been replaced
with a random doctor, with her relationship with Strange only built upon in one or two scenes and even then is done so fleetingly to keep Strange’s own story and journey of self-discovery moving. The cast works brilliantly together, and it’s great to see actors fall so far into their roles, Mads Mickelson especially, although it’s a little irritating to imagine how spectacular their performances could have been if they’d been given some real content to sink their teeth into. Strange redeems, and excels, with its action sequences, however, which occur regularly, without becoming repetitive. It feels as if director Scott Derrickson was given a shiny toy with “magic” by Marvel and makes the most of it at every turn. At one end of the spectrum, Strange’s summoned weapons are fun to watch and work with fight scenes that are choreographed surprisingly inventively throughout. But at the other end are huge world bending sequences, from battles in areas where time is reversed, to whole buildings morphed as if made of clockwork gears. A metaphor for us all being part of a larger machine I’m sure, but even without a deeper meaning surrealism in a blockbuster Hollywood movie is a welcome addition. Derrickson does an amazing job in making sure he never goes further than necessary with these scenes as well, you’re never left confused as to exactly what’s happening unless that’s the purpose of the scene, such as a particular sequence in which Strange is shown the “multiverse” for the first time. It involves a blanket of multiplying hands, that’s all I’ll say. Although Strange’s plot is typical of a standard Marvel superhero film, it often manages to work its way around the duller aspects through its special effects and out. Take the films third act for example, what seems to be gearing up towards the typical hole/portal in the sky explosion fest finale, is cleverly turned into one of the most inventive fight scenes of the movie with a particular climactic face off showing Marvel are at least looking to broaden their mind when it comes to how their movies flow, and in this case, are concluded. There’s a growing group of people that are sick of superhero films and after the disappointments of Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman, cinema fans who are tired of repetitive origin stories and colourful characters with no depth. Doctor Strange by no means rights all these wrongs, it falls at the same hurdles as many other Marvel movies, but Strange’s use of cinematography and special effects brings something new to cinema that we haven’t seen since the likes of Inception. If the superhero genre can push the boundaries of mainstream cinema, and Marvel is willing to continue to demonstrate this in their future endeavours, they deserve to win back some of the cinema fans that may have become uninspired by the genre. Doctor Strange is a definite step in the right direction, we’re just hoping to see more of the same in future. When it comes to keeping the superhero genre fresh, it’s certainly Marvel- 1 and DC – 0 for 2016.
Director: Joe Swanberg Starring: Jerome Flynn, Bryce Dallas Howard and Michael Kelly Network: Netflix Release Date: October 1st
“I bet it’s all in her head”, “I bet they’re really in space”, “I bet everyone else is a robot”, half of the fun of Black Mirror is working out just which terrifying sci-fi nightmare, writer Charlie Brooker has created for each instalment. Now published and funded by Netflix you might expect Black Mirror to have broken away from the formulas relied upon in its first two seasons, and in a lot of ways you’d be right. Season three brings new styles, messages and predictions to the table, but the shows reliance on mystery, confusion and being kept in the dark regarding the truth of each utopian and dystopian setting until the last fifteen/twenty minutes of each episode are very much intact. It’s that formula that becomes one of Black Mirrors greatest assets and worst flaws, all depending on just how each episode plays them. Take the show’s fourth episode San Junipero for example. The episode distances itself from the typical shiny screens and super sci-fi settings Black Mirror has so regularly depicted, instead throws us into a 1987 holiday destination. You know there’s a twist coming, you know there’s some technological aspect to what appears to be a typical love story, you’re just spending your time pinpointing exactly where it lies. Watching that episode back you’ll spot clue after clue about the truth but they’re not obvious, in this episode or most of the other six episodes that make up the show’s third season. The only downside to this structure is that there comes a point in every episode with a dark twist or secret to reveal where the mood changes from one of dark mystery and to having information unloaded, fact after fact, in an almost overwhelming manner. It works well in some cases, for example Man Against Fire’s final monologue is intercut with some harrowing images, making for one of the hardest hitting moments of the season. But contrast this with the season’s second episode Playtest, which focuses on VR technology, simply feels like technobabble designed to justify the events shown. The rule of thumb on the matter seems to be that if the explanation of the technology involved in the episode has already been shown in its darkest light during the course of its self-contained story line, there’s little shocking material left to offer. Playtest’s key ideas are explained before the thirty-minute mark of the episode, and therefore the shock comes far before the end of the episode, meaning its third act feels a little lacklustre. It’s not to say that every single episode focuses on revealing the truths of shocking dystopian futures, though, in a move that differs largely from Black Mirror’s previous two seasons, episodes are not entirely soul-crushing affairs (we were surprised as well). The show opens with Nosedive, an episode focusing on the idea of rating other people, think a mashup of Yelp and Facebook, played out in real time, and very publicly. The idea is solid and could very easily have been formulated into a terrifying dystopia where the popular rule and everyone else is forced to beg for approval in a modern coliseum style society. Nosedive instead appears to indicate that the technology is, although active on everyone, not adopted into everyone’s lives as an essential aspect of their day to day activities. The protagonist’s brother for example regularly attempts to convince his sister to ignore the rating system that’s put in place, acting as a kind of plea to viewers when it comes to their use of social media and app-based technology. The episode even ends on an uplifting note as well, a feat no other Black Mirror episode before it had ever even attempted, not overtly anyway. Speaking of upbeat, there should be a certain nod given to the homages throughout Black Mirror, including a 42 track long playlist that runs through the seasons San Junipero episode. Without ruining the episodes shocking twist, each track gives a little clue as to exactly what the climax of the storyline is going to be. Even the outfits in that particular episode are references to other 80’s classics including Breakfast Club and Rocky. Another notable mention is the Bioshock shout out, in Playtest with a well-timed “would you kindly”, the famous phrase from the series’ first game, that had a similar tone to that of this particular “what even is reality?” episode. Black Mirror’s third season is a slightly different take on the same tried and tested system of its finest two seasons. Feeling very much at home on Netflix, it brings new aspects to the “fear the future” vibe, adding some well-needed silver linings at times to finally make a full season watchable in one sitting, without the side effect of crippling depression. With only a handful of missteps, the show will almost definitely be returning for a fourth season, should Charlie Brooker have more material stored away in his paranoid, yet intelligent and forward thinking mind. Having watch Brooker speak of technology for years on various panel shows, Screen Wipes and in interviews, we’re sure there’ll be more dystopian horror for you to sink your teeth into before long. Until then, turn off your phone, cover your webcam and give season three a watch.
Director: Joe Swanberg Starring: Hannibal Buress, Dave Franco and Emily Ratajkowski Network: Netflix Release Date: October 1st
Netflix’s Easy The start of the month saw Luke Cage’s face plastered on just about every surface Netflix could get their hands on. Rightly so as well Marvel have managed to find a niche market with their adult superheroes that have been virtually untouched by other studios. Existing in the eye of that marketing storm, however, means that you likely missed another little gem that Netflix is targeting at, which is yet another relatively new territory for TV. Easy consists of eight half an hour stories, set around Chicago, all focusing on the modern world of sex and both romantic, and platonic relationships. It’s a topic that’s been covered to an extent before, but its place on Netflix unshackles it from being a producer led nightmare, more interested in showing a pair of tits than creating a genuinely thought stimulating piece of TV.
Director Joe Swanberg, known for his ‘micro-budget’ films, and exploration of human interaction through film and TV, feels as though he’s found hi ticket into the mainstream with Easy. Netflix has made multiple moves in the sex and relationship genre, with Aziz Ansari’s ‘Master of None’ being released in 2015. His show managed to focus on key points but was frequently forced to twist them to fit around the lead characters of the series, yet even then often had glowing moments of clarity where it was able to fully explore an aspect of modern human interaction, it’s episode on first dates for example.
Easy is free of the restrictions that ‘Masters of None’ and other shows like it have faced due to its structure of 30 minute, completely self-sustaining episodes. You can watch almost all of Easy’s episodes in any order, minus its third and final episodes which do form to make a larger story, although even then are focused on different characters and therefore have completely different messages, focuses and tones. Each episode tends to take on an area of public debate, such as the first episode discussing the difficulties of communication in a marriage, represented through their struggling sex life and busy day to day responsibilities. The shows topics have often been visited
l,
,
is
m t
-
t
in some way through numerous sitcoms to feature length films, to the help pages of Cosmo. Take the show’s second episode, charmingly titled “The Vegan Cinderella” which follows a girl wanting to change to feel more appealing to her new girlfriend. Easy takes on this story like it’s actual situations rather than a stereotypical re-enactment of the key plot points of a story. The scenes of the two of them getting acquainted the morning after they meet are entirely believable, thanks to well-written dialogue and character building and even some clever camerawork that gives the conversations and performances a grounded feel. The casting of huge stars is going to be the main source of viewers for Easy. Featuring Orlando Bloom, Emily Ratajkowski, Dave Franco and dozens more, the show offers huge actors a chance to really sink their teeth into the psychology of a character where each episode is treated as a short insight into a period of their life, whatever happens after the camera stops revealing is up for debate, you’ve been warned. Michael Cernus and Elizabeth Reaser’s episode ‘The Fucking Study’ for example often says more about the characters through their facial expressions than it ever does with their actual dialogue perfectly exploring the difficulties of communication in a long-term marriage. There are occasionally issues with representation in the show, which is a little surprising considering Swanberg virtually never shy’s away from controversial topics such as threesomes, sexual age gaps, and lesbian sex scenes, the latter of which, in all honesty, is probably one of Netflix’s staple show themes at this point. One particular scene in the show’s fourth episode ‘Controlada’, is currently at the centre of a debate as to whether the show supports rape culture, with a particular sex scene involving a woman eventually giving into an attempted rape. As strong as this content was, however, the show investigates these issues and events realistically, and therefore inspires a conversation amongst its viewers. The idea that the show should be in some way punished for its depiction of an action that it in no way deems appropriate or anything less than monstrous is likely inspired by this month’s comments by Donald Trump “grabbing pussy” which he defended as “locker room talk”, creating a push of the demonization of sexual discussion. Still, with a show like Easy that takes on topics society already has issues with discussing, it’s important that Easy makes sure it exhibits its exact opinions on matters, and then allows viewers to make up their own minds in response. The short episode lengths are both one of the shows strongest aspects, as well as the cause of most of its drawbacks. The fun of being constantly introduced to new characters throughout your series binge gives the show a
constantly fresh feel, one minute you’re with a lesbian couple early in their 20’s still working out the logistics of dating, the next you’re with a struggling lonely cartoonist deciding where to draw the line between his public and private love lives. This can occasionally lead to issues with the way Easy attempts to summarise each of its storylines. While focusing on interesting and largely unexplored areas of modern sexuality and relationships, Easy frequently finds itself taking on a little too much. Episodes that become increasingly complex as their episode continues, are often concluded in a way that feels a little rushed. This would feel like more of a blow if we were expecting these characters to return, however, and with Easy constantly moving forwards, by the time you’ve realised just how odd and unsatisfactory the climaxes of episodes are, you’re being introduced to a new and intriguing set of individuals. Easy, for all of its flaws, is still one of the freshest and most original shows that we’ve seen try to take on the complicated world of relationships. Netflix has once again pushed the boundaries of TV and in Easy’s case, has managed to start a conversation both within its shows situations, with characters having realistic debates on issues that we don’t talk nearly enough about, as well as between its viewers who develop their own viewpoints through the events they see. So far there’s no official confirmation for a season 2, but with the shows incredibly open structure, we wouldn’t be surprised if Swanberg was given another season to explore the human condition.
Director : John Dower Starring : Louis Theroux, Marty Rathbun and Andrew Perez Distributor: BBC Release Date: 7th October
“Come back, stop running away”, Theroux shouts after a mysterious blonde woman he and his crew have found tailing them, taking pictures on her mobile phone and accompanied by a middle-aged man with a camera. The woman ignores them, and begins to walk away “you’re harassing me” she says before disappearing off around a corner. These are the kind of surreal scenarios that My Scientology Movie will be remembered for, often feeling almost too insane not to be staged. But isn’t that exactly the kind of footage we fell in love with Louis Theroux for in the first place? Theroux is a pretty well-established household name at this point. His work on Weird Weekends, followed by a number of BBC specials focusing on much darker issues are now finding an entirely new generation of viewers through their appearance on Netflix. With that it makes sense that My Scientology Movie tries to bridge the gap between his weird and wonderful documentaries of the late 90’s, and his more recent work including his special on the Westboro Baptist Church. But taking on Scientology has never been an easy subject, with Theroux and his crew having to fight tooth and nail for even the most basic of information about a “religion”, which has no interest in letting the public or even its lower level members know what really happens behind the closed doors of Scientology. My Scientology Movie’s real heroes here is director John Dower, who was at first hesitant about getting involved with a project that was unlike any of his previous work and producer Simon Chinn who’d been with the project right from the start. For those not familiar with Scientology, they have an unflinching level of secrecy regarding their operations. No one is permitted to share any knowledge about the “church”, with their headquarters, ‘Gold Base’, surrounded by a barbed wire fence complete with motion sensors and floodlights, with no one permitted to leave, lest they are shunned for the duration of their life. This means that there are no current Scientologists to interview in the film, there is no backlog of interviews for Theroux to use to narrate his points, bar one TV appearance featuring the current head of the church, David Miscavige. My Scientology Movie manages to turn this into one of its greatest strength, however, casting actors as key members of Scientology including David Miscavige and Tom Cruise. The actor, Andrew Perez, eventually
chosen for Miscavige puts on an impressive performance that brings some real life to the experts that the documentary has managed to get hold of. Whether these recreations are played accurately is difficult to know for sure, but there are a number of speech experts that are chilling and Perez makes the most of this throughout the documentary. These scenes combined with interviews with the church’s former members, a number of whom have raised criminal allegations against the church, and a string of eerie confrontations with the churches former members, result in a documentary that at times feels like a real life Blair Witch. The danger to the cast and crew is never overt, instead we’re shown their car being tailed for “hours” by a 4x4 with tinted windows, a stranger entering their hotel room unannounced near the start of the documentaries shooting, and one particular scene regarding whether the public has access to one of the roads near to the Scientology Headquarters. The government say yes, however, the Scientologists have a very different idea, and worryingly, what they say seems to go. It’s this genuinely serious aspect to Scientology that affects Theroux’s debut feature films appeal. Theroux is on top form in the interviews he obtains, however, he’s never given the chance to get to the heart of the real issues abd stories, simply because the church refuse to speak to anyone. While not the teams fault, it forces Theroux to bait every Scientologist they come into contact with throughout the documentary in the hopes of getting them to come clean about their work. It never works, and although often entertaining, is never revealing. If approached as an entertainment film, My Scientology Movie hits all the right notes, suspense and humour are placed into the core of Theroux’s peace. However if you’re approaching the film to gain a better understanding of the organisation and it’s workings from an unbiased standpoint, you should look elsewhere. Theroux’s film is essential watching, just don’t expect to come away with any deep messages or personal affiliations to the characters and events of the movie. My Scientology Movie is black and white, but if the Scientology it focuses on isn’t, with the level of security and secrecy surrounding them, we may never know.
Kings of Leon - Walls Genre: We’re Not Really Sure Anymore, Alt Rock Maybe? Label: RCA Release Date: October 14th
Is there nothing that can’t be improved with an 80′s vibe? Stranger Things dominated our TV screens not so long ago, synth is back with a vengeance in everything from Hip Hop, RnB to Indie music and Electronica. However, finding out that Kings of Leon’s seventh album Walls, makes a move might be surprising. The four-piece started their career brandishing a blues and southern rock sound, before progressively evolving into an arena sound for their massively successful Only by the Night, before moving once again, this time into the alt-rock territory. Which is where we last saw them, their last album Mechanical Bull was a slight return to the band’s routes, they felt like a band trying to get back in touch with their identity. Even its album cover included an old American diner style sign, signalling their attempt to return to their bluesy routes. Although Mechanical Bull was a hit and miss, its singles were a real throwback to their origins, Supersoaker especially, which may not have raised the bar for the band, but certainly moved it closer to its position at the band’s peak. Walls is the perfect chance for Kings of Leon to break out of the realms of mediocrity and become a key voice in original music. But Walls doesn’t break anything, it’s not original and it’s not awful, it sits firmly in a region some would class as worse, it’s dull, and worse still, forgettable. There are glimpses of hope throughout the album, Find Me opens with a catchy fine picked guitar and danceable beat but the moment vocals start, the track nosedives through the floor. That’s just Find Me as well, it’s difficult to pick out the worst songs because they’re never actively insulting to the ears, more like a first support act that the crowd largely ignore and talk through due to a lack of passion. Passion being one of the largest apparent lacking factors in Walls. Take Over, a slow jam of over 6 minutes long should be a chance for Kings of Leon to bust out some real heart-wrenching emotion but the entire affair feels false. Singer Caleb Followhill never sounds believable in his love-struck cries “Don’t say it’s over” is sung as if read from a teleprompter. By the end of Walls, you’ll be left wondering exactly how Kings of Leon fit into the modern music landscape, and not in the sense that they’re thinking so outside of the box it’s difficult to place them, more that they no longer have a clear drive or sound. Whether Kings of Leon finally go back to their routes with their follow up or completely reinvent themselves into something new for their next album isn’t really the issue. They just need to find some drive to create music and sound as if they’re enjoying what they do. Walls sounds like it was a slow hard slog to create, and that’s not the sound anyone fell in love with Kings of Leon for.
Souls - Release Genre: Soul, R&B, and Rocky Blues Label: Columbia Records Release Date: October 14th
Sometimes you hear an album and know it’s destined to sink into a permanent place in history. Maybe just for a decade, perhaps if the artist is lucky then two, but only truly great sounds tend to last an entire century. Sometimes even those great artists are lost, but luckily there are individuals like producer David Gledhill who are set on bringing their voices into the light, or perhaps dark, of the modern music landscape, complete with a freshly produced sheen. His project, suitably titled, SOULS, gives vocal recordings from the 1920′s and 30′s a more modern sound, displaying time lost gems with a dignity and style that makes Release feel completely fresh, even when aspects of it are nearly 100 years old. It’s a perfect mesh of old and new, in a way you’ve almost certainly never heard before. Gledhill personally tracked down the samples used in SOULS debut album Release, cleaning them, editing them and eventually building entire tracks around them. Each lyric is history and so where other artists who make use of sampled voice recordings tend to shy away from the historical significance and real impact of a voice after a chorus or so, Gledhill happily relishes each individual personality, track after track. Song upon song feels like it tells another tale that might never have made its mark when it was first spoken, sung or in some cases growled, with Release finally giving them their voice (pun intended). Perfectly telling the old and new through a mix of soul, rock and roll and atmospheric synth, is no easy feat either. Release moves around rapidly, jumping from genre to genre, all designed to complement the vocals of each feature, and does each and every one justice in its own way. One minute you’ll be tapping away to the rapid If I Got My Ticket, accompanied by a frenzied drum beat and a voice that feels like it was born to float from a gramophone. Straight after that you’re thrown a completely different voice with Down On Me, a deep, solemn song that would have been stunning even without Gledhill’s influence, but when combined with an accompaniment of violin and piano, it becomes hauntingly beautiful. You won’t enjoy every track on Release equally because of this eclectic mix of sounds, and voices but you’ll be able to feel the attention given to each individual voice on the album and that’s something truly unique. Standout tracks will differ with your own taste, but each has a particular appeal. From No More Water with its throaty blues vocals and beats rock drums and riffs, to the soulful vocals on Bad Girl that matches perfectly with a RnB meets Soul style, complete with a silky snare and deep atmospheric piano tones. Every track is wildly different from the next and is tied together through the characters in their vocals that sound like nothing released in decades... Likely because it hasn’t been. There’s more and more sampling taking place in music, not just in Hip Hop and Electronic music, but now in mainstream Pop and Rock. The internet age is letting us collect, restore and listen to songs from generations long gone, but it’s rare we get to hear them in such fresh settings as Release offers us. Gledhill’s SOULS reminds of the potential that such methods of music creation have when done with some artistic flair, imagination and real soul.
Banks released her debut album Goddess back in 2014 and was subsequently praised for her willingness to honestly expose herself and her experiences through an album that largely delivered from start to finish. Banks now returns with The Altar, a highly anticipated album that could either continue Banks’ place as an uncompromising creator of original content or see her fall into the grasps of mainstream pop. We’re happy to confirm the latter is, for a second time, not the case, as Banks continues to shrug off the draw of current trends and focus once again on creating emotionally stimulating content, just as honest as Goddess and perhaps even more so. Jilian Banks spent 10 years prior to her debut album honing her skills without a single track making its way into the public domain, an impressive feat in the digital age. Her origins are also one of her biggest draws now as she releases her second album possessing a songwriting style that sounds entirely internal as if there’s no filter between her mind and the words you’re hearing. It’s certainly not the case, and The Altar, although boasting passionately honest, undiluted soul searching vocals, dances across a soundtrack that rises and falls with a precision that has clearly taken time to perfect. There’s a certain solemn honesty, both in the overall atmosphere of the album, but also lyrically, as Banks occasionally hints at the personal tragedies that have spawned such an emotional creation, before moving on to focus on the emotions tied to said event. In this way, she creates tracks that have universal appeal, rather than the musical autobiography that The Altar could have become. It’s not an album that’s going to grab you by the throat and scream into your ear hole, it’s an album that wistfully entices in listeners until Banks’ perfectly crafted odes to life, love and loneliness wash over you like a second skin. Stand out tracks include the album’s lead single Fuck With Myself, which was originally released way back in July on Zane Lowe’s Beats One radio show. “It could be like, ‘I fuck with myself’, like, ‘I mess with myself more than anybody else.’ It could be, ‘I fuck with myself’, kind of like, ‘I’m feeling myself.’ It means a lot of different things that I think a lot of people can relate to” she responded when asked what the tracks title and coinciding chorus meant. The album follows this same theme of displaying raw emotion, ready for a listener to imprint their own experiences onto, to better understand the content that they’re hearing. It’s a unique approach to songwriting and works almost as a kind of mental exercise as well as a wonderfully created collection of music. If broken down to its purest musical components, The Altar is just at home being classed as a moody R&B album as it is a mainstream indie pop epic. The fact is that Bank’s has released a solid album that’s as honest and heartfelt as it is atmospheric and that’s something that doesn’t need to be placed into a strict genre to be enjoyed.
Banks - The Altar Genre: Pop R&B Label: Harvest Records Release Date: October 11st
Pixies - Head Carrier Genre: Alt Rock Label: Pixies Music Release Date: October 1st By Zac Gardiner October brings with it the return of the iconic ‘Pixies’ releasing their sixth full length album, Head Carrier. Produced by BRIT nominated English record producer Tom Dalgety, known for his work with Royal Blood, Killing joke and Ghost. Head Carrier features The Pixies’ latest line-up featuring the original members; Frank Black on rhythm guitar and vocals, Joey Santiago on lead guitar and keyboards, David Lovering on percussion and newest addition Paz Lenchantin on bass and vocals, replacing Kim Shattuck. Opening track Head Carrier gives the album a strikingly distinct tone, the bass line feels like something from Arcade Fire’s Funeral era, especially in the introduction to the song. It’s followed by Classic Masher,which feels similar to some late Pixies work including a bass line reminiscent of Head on from Trompe Le Monde. Its main draw is it’s melody, that places it as one of the more likeable tracks from the album. Moving from there to their next track, Baals Back, is a strange but typically Pixies transition, going from a somewhat calm to Black Francis screaming his heart out. It feels a little out of place within Head Carrier, and is far weaker than previous shouty tracks from older albums. Might as Well be Gone definitely has an old Pixies feel to it, sounding somewhat like Velouria from Bossa Nova in its melody and style. Even the bass line is Kim Deal-ish. Oona, is certainly one of the albums high points, boasting a sound similar to that of a Come on Pilgrim/Surfa Rosa ergo Bone Machine. It starts off with a harmonic chanting of sorts and then breaks into a fantastic melodic guitar. Talent is reminiscent of a classic punk track, It features a bass line and structure that felt like a Buzzcocks or The Stranglers making it a powerful contrast to some of Head Carrier’s slower content Bel Esprit features Pam stepping up as lead with new backing vocalist, Francis and her working well together. She’s not quite Kim Deal but she’s great on this track nonetheless. All I Think About Now is a reminder of some of The Pixies most iconic sounds e.g. Where is My Mind through its rhythm guitar and the oohing in the background. Pam performs the vocals alone and proves she’s more than capable of holding her own Um Chagga Lagga is bursting with excitement, Frank’s vocals are strong but still feel a little forced in a similar vein to in Baals Back. All the Saints brings Head Carrier’s proceedings to an ending feeling surprisingly like Black Francis’ solo album material boasting some great harmonies. Head Carrier is worth a listen despite the wealth of negative reviews that the album has initially received. There’s no denying Head Carrier’s weaker moments and it’s certainly no Doolittle but after the band have gone through such dramatic changes, both with their lineup, as well as their musical styles, how could we expect them to sound the same. If you want to hear another Pixies album that sounds exactly like Doolittle, why not simply revisit it again rather than hoping for more cloned material?
Phantogram - Three Genre: Triphop Electronica Label: Republic Records Release Date: October 7th Since 2007 Phantogram have been nudging mainstream indie electronica into new territory through their experimental brand of indie trip hop. With the release of their third album, cleverly titled Three, the New York duo’s creativity seems near limitless. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the album itself works. Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel are no strangers to mixing styles, it’s what broke them into the mainstream in the first place and continues to maintain their status as one of the most original, outside of the box thinking duos in the industry right now. Three is a hit and miss album, it’s by no means a perfect, but there are moments when all the different cogs of the Phantogram machine fit perfectly into place and you’re lost to a beat and a melody that are, for want of a better word, magic. The singles are the obvious boundary pushing tracks here, You Don’t Get Me High Anymore feels like exactly what musical sampling should be. It’s vicious drum beats matched by Barthel’s liquid vocals work to create a piece that rises and falls as fast as the heart beat it inspires. Tracks like Calling All shouldn’t work. Its odd formatting and drastic jumps in vocals styles should overcrowd and confuse a track but come its addictive chorus you’ve forgotten all about tempos and influences and you’re just in it for that sweet, sweet bassline as everything else falls into place in accompaniment. There are times when certain choices don’t pay off, Barking Dog cuts in halfway through the album sounding like an unwanted Lloyds TSB advert (have a listen and you’ll know what we mean). One or two of the slower, more indie focused tracks also feel a little lacklustre, perhaps due to an oversaturation of their ilks style in our modern music climate, but also due to them being followed by excellent, ambitious pulse ramping flourishes of brilliance that put their largely safe stylings to shame. As rare as these moments are, they have the jarring effect necessary to move this album from a position of perfection to a lesser, near perfect work in progress. This isn’t a real issue, the pursuit of perfection is something Phantogram seem to consciously strive for, and more often than not hit the mark. If you ignore the occasional missteps and take each track as it’s own creation rather than the album as a whole, Three will give you some of the best musical moments you’ll be able to find this month, and if it continues to infect us as it has so far in the few days we’ve spent enjoying it, it’s one for the end of the year best album lists.
Sum 41 - 13 Voices Genre: Pop Punk meets Metalcore Label: Hopeless Records Release Date: October 7th It’s been 5 years since we’ve heard new Sum 41 music. They’ve been around since 1996 and hold a key place in the original pop punk movements history. But pop punk has been forced to change, and with singer Deryck Wibley out of the game on a number of occasions in the last 5 years since their 5th album, Screaming Bloody Murder, it’s often felt like Sum 41 were a band lost to the 90’s. Wibley has had everything from back injuries, hypothermia, and an admittance to rehab after he “Started a party that kinda went on for a year”. It was largely accepted that Sum 41 were a thing of the past, too far gone to drag themselves back into the crazy world of mainstream pop punk fame. Despite all this, the four Canadians have decided to put the band back together for another bout of pop punk that almost doesn’t feel real. Just hearing “Sum 41 are back with new music” was enough to brighten the day of any individual who had owned a radio in the 90’s, even if no one was expecting anything particularly spectacular from a group that had already been written off years ago. Surprisingly, 13 Voices is less a write-off and more a picking up point for a new generation who might have missed out on their metal meets pop punk fusion back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Little has changed when it comes to how Sum 41 approach their music, pushing out catchy riffs and chanted choruses through this album as they have successfully for the last two decades. It could have easily resulted in a dated album, out of place in a music scene that’s kept moving while the band stopped to catch their breath. Largely this isn’t the case, with 13 Voices working as an entertaining trip down memory lane. The only real issue here is that Sum 41 listeners have aged. It’s unlikely what you found cool back in Sum 41’s prime is still anything but embarrassing. Everything from the gang vocals on There Will Be Blood, the entire track God Save Us All (Death to Pop), yes that’s an actual track title, and even their album cover, have to be taken as a tongue in cheek joke whether they’re meant to be or not. If you can comfortably do that through 13 Voices, it’s a pretty entertaining ride, it’s catchy, if a little cheesy, and the band aren’t sounding like they’ve lost the passion that seemed to burst from them back when they formed. We like to hear music that’s pushing boundaries and introducing us to something new, but every now and then it’s nice to stop and reflect on what came before, and Sum 41 are keeping the past very much alive, if exactly the same as it was.
Two Door Cinema Club - Gameshow Genre: Pop Rock Label: Parlophone Release Date: October 14th
“The two biggest influences for me were Prince and Bowie - both total pioneers who straddled that line between outthere pop and avant-garde craziness”, Two Door Cinema Club’s Alex Trimble explained to Official Charts.com, discussing Gameshow and the single being released at the time Are We Ready? (Wreck). It’s almost surreal reading those words having listened to the full Gameshow album.
Two Door Cinema Club are a mainstream indie rock band, there’re no two ways about it. They’ve appeared on advertisements for Vodafone and were featured in the Fifa 13 soundtrack, the idea that Two Door has in any way ever contrasted mainstream music or the system is difficult to contemplate. Never the less within the system the Irish trio had released two great albums with Tourist History in 2010 and Beacon in 2012, offering up catchy blends of synth, indie and pop. Gameshow was described as a move into the “avant-garde”, but in reality, just sees them strip the joy from their older work and take on an oddly preachy tone that’s not fun, relatable, and even difficult to dance to, something that’s sad to say about a Two Door album. Take the single Trimble was describing when he set out his vision for Gameshow. Are We Ready? (Wreck) appears to be a finger pointing from the band to the mainstream public, lines such like “And all the stores are bored with all your money” and “Oh, what’s it gonna take? There’s always something else” are the anti-corporate literate of just about every band that takes a gap to “get in touch with their individual sound”. It comes across as powerfully unlikeable, once a simple fun soundtrack for the people, the new role of anticorporate, spiritual gurus doesn’t suit a band that’s appeared in multiple Hollister and Debenhams adverts. All would be overlooked if Gameshow was half as catchy as its predecessors, however, that’s largely not the case. Exceptions include the track Gameshow, that captures some of the energetic fun of their first two albums but largely it feels a little soulless. The usual frantic bouncing that was encouraged by their tracks has been replaced with a kind of sway-inducing synth that largely makes little to no impression. Tracks such as Lavender and Surgery sound like Gotye rejected B-sides, with whatever experimental artistic song creation that the trio had aimed for lacking throughout. Gameshow has one or two singles that might be worth a quick listen, but overall misses the mark. Fans of the Beacons and Tourist History will struggle to adopt Gameshow into their fold, coming across as a parental lecture on what good music sounds like from a group that have spent a little too much time trying to envision modern music, and not enough time writing good songs that their thousands of fans could have enjoyed.
Joyce Manor - Cody Genre: Definitely Pop Punk Label: Epitaph Records Release Date: October 7th Back in 2014 Joyce Manor were flung head first into the mainstream world of modern pop punk with their third album ‘Never Hungover Again’. The four-piece hailing from California, have relentlessly worked their way to their place as a modern pioneer of the genre, receiving praise from pretty much every iconic great in the business, from Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, to Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus. Their new album Cody has largely been referred to as a change of pace for the band, but in reality, is best described as a slight change of course. Joyce Manor have always had a signature sound, one that’s gone on to inspire an entire generation, or wave if you like, of pop punk musicians writing songs to be listened to alone in your room. Their view of the genre is less about being confused by the world around them, and more about being confused by the emotions that world brings up. Where the first wave of the movement would have performed songs on a grand scale, spewing out facts and figures to illustrate the extent of issues. Joyce Manor have set themselves apart from that generation of music by addressing issues in a far more personal way, take ‘Do You Really Wanna Not Get Better’, it’s a reflection of singer and lead guitarist Barry Johnson’s experiences, almost like a pop punk case study. It’s honest, heartfelt and 100% real, and that’s exactly what Joyce Manor fans will have been looking for in the bands fourth album. There’s a track or two that makes the decision to slightly break away from emotional reality for a more uplifting feel. Fake I.D. for example opens the album to joyful choruses, “what do you think about Kanye West? I think that he’s great, I think he’s the best”. But even here, nestled within sway inducing guitar riffs, are serious opinions, comments and messages. Fake I.D. finishing on the sombre “cause my friend Brandon died, And I feel sad, I miss him, he was rad”, is just one of many examples of the hard hitting frank speech that occasionally kicks your emotions to attention. Californian writing for the disenfranchised at its finest. A lot of artists in the same vein as Joyce Manor start to have issues with connecting with their audience when they start to hit the 30 mark. Now in their late 20’s, it’s a position the four piece find themselves hitting. Can you really take a middle-aged man talking about hating the home town he’s apparently trapped in seriously? Joyce Manor don’t bother wasting time with gimmicks though, and with Cody write from their own current experiences. Rather than complain about the issues facing youth, they decide instead to tackle those they face as they find themselves leaving it. Track Angel in the Snow, has Johnson asking “How come nothing amazes me?” , and rather than coming off as angsty and desperate, it just sounds like the truth. Joyce Manor continue to stay on the right side of the divide between honest and whiney throughout Cody, and manage to make it seem an easy feat. Whether they’ll one day be lost under a new wave of pop punk that they themselves have inspired is entirely possible, and perhaps we’ll lose sight of Joyce Manor in the mainstream. But as long as they keep writing and evolving on albums like Cody, there honest voice and sound will always have a place with their fans, and in the wider music landscape.
Bryan Lee O’Malley @ Lakes Intenational Art Festival By Evelyn Sweeney Photos by Zac Gardiner
“We would like to introduce Bryan Lee O’Malley (@radiomaru). The author of Snot Girl, Seconds, Lost at Sea and… What was the other one again?” The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returned to the small town of Kendall this month bringing with it the iconic Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim, Seconds and most recently, Snot Girl.
Interviewed by Christopher Butcher (@comic212), ex-roommate and current friend of the popular artist, the friendly atmosphere between the two created a refreshing and relaxed atmosphere for the audience to enjoy. It allowed O’Malley to open up about his work in depth and explaining how he got interested in the work that he’s now so renowned for, starting with a simple interest in Manga and Anime, that progressed to moving to California for 6 months to work on the Hopeless Savages comics with friends he had met online. He described the experience of working on the Hopeless Savages as a “training wheels exercise”, even going as far to say that ‘every page felt like torture as it’s hard to know your own milestones’. However, he continued by stating that “as I got more experience, it got easier to find my own voice.” He used this voice to create his first graphic novel, Lost at Sea. What was only meant to be two issues became the kick starter he needed to launch his career. “I did totally evolve over the course of creating it” he responded when asked how he had changed as an artist over his time with the project. Which brought us to the height of O’Malley’s career, Scott Pilgrim, which he describes as “Blue Monday meets Dragon Ball”. Although the comics received positive reviews, the series truly gained popularity when it was brought to the big screen by acclaimed director, Edgar Wright, creator of British cult classics Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the TV series Spaced. O’Malley took the opportunity to relate his own experiences at the time of creating Scott Pilgrim, to the way he created the series. Having moved away from Toronto in 2005 and never returning, he imagined the world as “frozen in time”. When questioned if this meant he felt his characters were also frozen in time he replied with “I don’t think about them growing up. If I thought about it, I probably could picture where they are. In my heart I still know them and I’m sure I could make a good guess. But if someone asked me where Scott when he’s 35, I couldn’t tell you straight away… I feel it would probably be somewhere depressing though.” As the interview moved onto the film adaption, discussions were held about whether sequels were ever considered. O’Malley stated “I think it was a miracle to even have been made at the time as I feel like it pushed boundaries, it was definitely the geekiest thing I’d ever seen in movie form at the time. And other people still love and relate to the film which is a great feeling.” As O’Malley’s career progressed he created his next graphic novel, Seconds, which he visualised being his biggest project, taking him 8 months to write and a further 6 months to draw. He described drawing from the novel an easier experience than writing as “The older I get the more I feel paralysed by all the good writing out there. I get caught up thinking “Is what I’m doing really worth a damn?” On those days I just sit down and draw… I think it’s easier when you’re younger, you feel like you’re important and that people care about what you have to say.” When questioned how he felt Seconds differed to his previous creations he replied “I guess I wanted Seconds to be more deliberate and literate than my other projects, which was a loftier goal than I was used to. I don’t know how it does meeting those goals but I hope it did well. Either way, I still feel like it’s really stupid at its core.” While Seconds may have contrasted Scott Pilgrim, Snot Girl, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung’s recent collaborative project differs even further from his previous work. He explained he was trying to have more fun with his work by experimenting with new formats and trying to create more “cliffhangery” plots. Just like the rest of O’Malleys work, it’s certainly an interesting reading experience. Playing to O’Malleys strengths featuring striking artwork and unlikeable characters you can’t help but find yourself falling for.
Slaves went above and beyond with their 2015 debut Are You Satisfied?, they gave a voice to a group of young British punks that have been largely starved over the last few years, with real musical gems only occasional rising to the scenes surface. Its title was an accurate description of the bands message, with the album striking at the struggles of the millennial generation in a country whose government has betrayed them at every turn, from doctors, to students to zero-hour contract workers. Their rallying cry of “Cheer up London” was one that resonated far beyond the capital it directly focused upon. That punk soul and message is alive once again on Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent’s follow up, Take Control, their messages are strong and clear, and come from a generation that need punk protest anthems more than ever. However, the flare that set Slaves apart on their rapid rise to champions of the festival circuit, is surprisingly scarce. Tongue in cheek humour is replaced with a monotonous wave of noise, not that Slave fans are going to be overwhelmingly disappointed by that fact, simply that Slaves have always come across as enjoying their craft and that entertainment factor is a little harder to find amongst Take Control’s riotous onslaught. The 16 track follow up occasionally reminds us of those entertaining, almost comic moments such as the 45-second-long Fuck the Hi-Hat, a well needing injection of energetic fun. Sadly, these cases are few and far between on an album that begins to feel repetitive and bland in comparison to the character they displayed just one year ago. There are still moments of pure undiluted energy to be enjoyed though, the first single from the album Spit It Out is a perfect fit for the live shows the band made their name with in the early days of their formation back in 2012, and will undoubtedly serve them well on their UK tour this month. Streer Clear slows down the albums noise with an almost Joy Division bass line and allowing listeners some well needed breathing room while Hynotised features a pulsing riff that’s almost impossible not to tap along to. Still, most of the promising tracks fail to break into the realms of real greatness, often let down by vocals that fade into the noise and fury of the tracks, rather than lead them. Take Control is in no way a bad album, put simply, Slaves fans will likely have just expected something more from a band that have so rapidly risen to their iconic rank. Having only been together for four years the duo remain in a strong position musically. The angry millennial punk is a force to be reckoned with and any band that can release a cover of Skepta’s Shutdown without coming off as a sell-out, grasping for mainstream fame or utterly insane has certainly earned their generations ear. Critics have claimed that this album lets Slaves break free of their pigeonhole description as a “novelty act”, those writers and reviewers seem to be ignoring the character Slaves lose in that process. Although with the following Slaves currently wield, it’s unlikely to slow them down for too long.
Slaves - Take Control Genre: Punk Punk and More Punk Label: Virgin EMI Records Release Date: October 1st
The Wytches have come such a long way since their time headlining their time headlining the tiny rooms of the UK. Through extensive touring including a support slot under the Canadian kings of neo grunge Metz, it seems like The Wytches have been developing since the day their debut was first released, and now return with a refined sound to that proves yes, The Wytches can get darker and gloomier, and it sounds great.
The Wytches - All Your Happy Life Genre: Psychadelic Grunge Label: Heavenly Release Date: October 1st
The eerie winding sounds of debut Annabel Dream Reader can still be clearly felt here and All Your Happy Life feels very much like a natural progression for the threepiece, now turned fourpiece with the addition of guitarist and keyboardist Mark Breed. Where Annabel Dream Reader felt a little disjointed, All Your Happy Life feels like much more of an album than their previous eclectic collection of tracks, that although were united by the bands distinct sound, didn’t always flow from track to track so smoothly. From their opening track simply titled, Intro, which sounds more like a classic horror movie soundtrack sample than the opening to an indie grunge epic with extra dashes of swirling psychedelia. Other stand out tracks include the core single of the album C-Side, that has an almost demonic grunge carousel feel to it, proving that you can incorporate just about anything you want into your sound if you’re skilled enough. Through the album The Wytches proceed to drag listeners through their distorted world of doom, gloom and distorted bass lines, and they sound more original now than they ever have before. The album was inspired by a “lifetimes worth of new experiences”, including Tolstoy’s stories of dysfunctional relationships, observing small town English life and “loads of underground metal”. It’s a real mix of sources, and therefore unsurprising that The Wytches have been so successful in creating an album that stands out amongst the hundreds of bands out there trying to create something just as unique. The albums certainly not easy listening, it relies on your concentration to truly enjoy each well placed synth note and bass chord, but if you’ve got the time and patience to give All Your Happy Life a listen, you’ll be treated to a technical masterpiece that hits all the notes Wytches fans could have hoped for. There’s still an essence of the fourpiece finding themselves in All Your Happy Life but this feels like a part of the album, rather than an accidental detail. This is a band that refuse to play it safe and create something we’re all deep down sick of hearing, The Wytches strive to create something unheard and fresh and that’s something that should be commended whether it works out or not. Luckily for them, it’s gone pretty well. With a spot supporting the world class Jamie T this month, The Wytches have more than proven themselves to have a sound with enough technical strength alone for even the greatest indie stars of our time to take note. I’d say that’s a good enough reason for you to start as well.
Write // Review // Photograph // Design Contact details inside