Tempus Magazine Issue Zero

TEMPUS ISSUE ZERO WINTER EDITION

WELCOME! HELLO AND WELCOME TO EDITION ZERO OF TEMPUS, YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD MAGAZINE, BRINGING YOU THE BEST MUSIC, TV, GAMES AND BOOKS! EDITORS NOTE:

THIS FIRST EDITION HAS BEEN A HELL OF A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE. IT’S NEVER EASY TRYING TO CONTINUE AND PERSERVERE TO FINISH SOMETHING, AND IT’S EVEN HARDER WHEN A WORLD PANDEMIC EFFECTS EVERYONES LIVES SO DRASTICALLY. BUT HERE IT IS! THE FIRST EDITION, WELL EDITION ZERO, OF TEMPUS MAGAZINE, A FEW PEOPLES IDEAS, THAT TURNED INTO A DISCUSSION, THAT TURNED INTO A FULL ON TALENTED TEAM, THAT TURNED OUT THE MAGAZINE YOU’RE READING! WITH THAT IN MIND, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED IN THIS EDTION OF TEMPUS, SO THAT IT CAN BE BROUGHT TO YOU, THE READER. EVERYONE HAS WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE THIS A REALITY AND IT IS SO VERY APPRECIATED. BUT ENOUGH OF THE GUSHY STUFF, ONTO THE CONTENT! ENJOY!

contents features

girl ray looking back on veganuary OKTOBA bow down

reviews

creature of the deep get up and go circles oh wonder THE SLOW RUSH AGAINST THE CURRENT a tribute to ginger baker lately in another time panicland birds of prey 1917 parasite jojo rabbit the witcher bojack horseman the night country

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THE TEAM AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE TEAM! Editor: Myrtle Goldsmith Deputy Editor: Mason Meyers Reviews Editor: Sam Challis Features Editor: Catherine Lindley-Neilson Subeditiors: Sam Challis, Ryan Forecast, Melissa Young Photo Editor: Alex Hodgetts Website Editor: Ray A-j Head Designer: Caitlin Webb Head of Social Media: Mason Meyers

Acknowledgements: This edition would particulary like to thank Mason Meyers for all of his dedication and motivation.

You pushed us through a really difficult time and we cannot thank you enough!

Keep being you, because without you, the magazine would be lacking a vital member and this edition would not exist.

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GIRL RAY

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Photo Credit: Laura McCluskey

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STRAIGHT OFF OF THE RELEASE OF THEIR SECOND ALBUM ‘GIRL’, MYRTLE GOLDSMITH SITS DOWN WITH GIRL RAY ON THE FINAL NIGHT OF THEIR UK TOUR. On a freezing February day, in an almost derelict looking building close to Brighton’s iconic sea front promenade, Girl Ray are inside preparing for their last night on their UK tour. In just a few days this indie pop girl group have travelled across the country, visiting cities such as Manchester and Cardiff, headlining a show at London’s Electric Ballroom and have now wound up on the south coast in Brighton. Stepping inside of this rundown looking building and climbing up a flight of cold concrete steps and pushing through heavy wooden doors, you’re greeted with warmth and beauty, like stepping out of a plane in a tropical country. Neon lights softly illuminate the bar, and the stage is lit with delicate warm lighting. A pair of fake palm trees stand tall and proud on the stage, mixed in with an oasis of guitar pedals and winding cables. The band, formed of POPPY, IRIS and SOPHIE, are sat waiting in a small but plush back stage room, evidently relaxing before their final night.

There’s a kerfuffle about black coffee and

Beroccas and eventually we settle in for a chat.

How has your winter been so far?

P: It’s pretty good as far as winters go!

Ready for it to be spring though. It’s not been as depressing as it normally is though, winter is normally a write off for us.

Your new album, Girl, is a change of sound.

Earl Grey was very indie whereas Girl is very pop. What made you want to change it up.

P: With Earl Grey we were convinced it was a pop album, we thought of course it’s pop, we’d been listening to all this pop, and then it came out and everyone was like Indie lo-fi; Indie sweethearts. We were like no no that’s not what it’s meant to be.

On reflecting that’s what it was, so then we went into the studio with more of an understanding of exactly what we wanted it to sound like second time round and we

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had our influences straight; Ariana Grande and Calvin Harris to name a few.

I: It’s really fun to play, so much louder and there’s more energy on stage.

P: That was part of the reason we wanted it to be the way it is, just so it can be really fun to play live and for people to dance to.

S: The jet is quite straight so tonight they’ve actually been banned. They’re a Hazard.

My boyfriend told me that his band used to use bubble machines and they always blow into people’s faces. Apparently, he told me this and he was like “I can’t believe you didn’t listen to me!”

With Festival season peering its head over the horizon, it feels necessary to ask about How did your Electric Ballroom show go the upcoming festival the girls are playing. yesterday?

What seemed like moments after the Reading and Leeds line up was released, it P: It was really good, really packed out was already big news at the lack of female which was weird and surreal. I kinda artists on the resume. Girl Ray being all had to keep pinching myself, being like female it was interesting to find out their “everybody’s here for our band? Is there perspectives on the line up. someone on after us?” It was crazy and so fun. All our friends and family were there, You’re playing festivals like Latitude and London’s always fun for us because we’re End of the Road, are you excited for that from there. after you’re done touring?

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S: Yeah, we really are, we haven’t done festival season for about two years, so it’s

PHOTO CREDIT: MATHEW PARRI THOMAS

I: We had bubble machines but we didn’t quite put them high enough.

gonna be fun.

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P: because we’ve taken a couple of years off of touring, just accidently, it feels almost like we’re a reunion band, like it’s been 20 years and we’re re-living the glory days.

It’s just really good days and we’re all so up for it, whereas back in 2017 we were really heavily touring and we felt in a bit of a slop because it’s so much, so this time round we’re like “yeah! One more Song!”. It was just writers block basically.

The Reading and Leeds line-up has come out, there’s only around 20 female bands, what are your thoughts on that?

P: When I saw the line-up, I thought this can’t be right, it must be that I don’t know a lot of female bands, that I just don’t recognise the names. Then I googled it and everyone was outraged, this is f*cking awful. It’s something crazy like 5% or something, which honestly is vile. There’s this key change thing to get it 50/50. The Primavera line-up has it.

I: It’s funny though because the Primavera line-up is so good, you don’t sacrifice any quality by having more women.

S: To be fair, the Reading and Leeds line-up is quite good. It just appeals to boys, which is the problem.

P: There’s definitely good acts but they have a responsibility to include more women. In this day they can’t just be looking past the fact that there’s so much female talent.

S: It seems that they tailor to an audience that they think are gonna like it more but they’re probably just wrong and stupid.

I: They have such a huge budget it seems crazy that they couldn’t just get more popstars.

P: I wouldn’t want to be at a festival like that where it’s just a dickfest.

For any band, touring Europe is an exciting and proud achievement, however Brexit will put a huge strain on touring in the EU. For mid-range and smaller bands wanting to tour the EU, there will be large financial losses and this puts a huge strain on the music industries survival for the UK. After this you’re going to tour Europe, how does that feel for you guys? Have you been to many of the places before?

P: It’s nice because around half of them we’ve been to and the other half are new stops for us, it’s always fun to see new cities.

S: With the whole Brexit thing it’s the last time you can do it for cheap, so we’re just gonna really savour all of it. I read an article that said for a two-week tour, if you’re not performing to like 600 plus people a night you loose money. There’ll be taxes on all your merch, visas and lots of extra things that you have to pay for. It seems that any mid-range band is gonna be so badly affected.

P: It’s so counterintuitive, there’s so much music talent in the UK, it’s such an export for the UK, you’ve got Adele, The 1975, all these huge acts, it’s just like shooting yourself in the foot. Maybe something will come up that makes it a bit easier but I don’t know. It’s been a mild worry since we found out but it’s more like “why?”

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To round off the interview it felt necessary to find out how a group of girls had stayed such good friends for so long. If you believe in stereo types that girl groups are full of drama and shade, Girl Ray managed to prove that wrong.

You’ve been together for five years, has it been hard for you guys to stay friends?

P: We’ve got the right balance somehow.

I: We’re just quite cliquey.

P: We know when to give each other space, we’re just angels to each other.

S: It helps that we haven’t been touring non-stop for five years.

P: Even when we do tour for a long period

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of time, we’re still good. It’s important to know when to give people space on tour because there is not alone time. It’s fine to sit in silence for hours at a time, like in the van if you just want to listen to music on your own for a bit. When we go to new cities, we always do things together, but if we do want to have a little walk alone then we do that.

Girl Ray have definitely proved that a band can completely flip their sound and still come out of it on top. They’re fuelled with passion for the music they make and want people to enjoy and dance to the music they hear. Like the Powerpuff Girls or the Hex Girls, this trio of lasses are certainly a power house to be reckoned with.

You can find their album ‘Girl’ on all music streaming platforms now!

Photo Credit: Laura McCluskey

S: It’s not gonna sink in until it actually happens. I still haven’t realised how bad it’s gonna be really.

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looking back on veganuary an ex-carnivore’s perspective words and images by alex hodgetts

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features December 2019. Me: celebrating the end of term, going home for Christmas, indulging.

Mostly in food. Mostly chocolate, Baileys and cheese – not forgetting the roast turkey and salmon apperitifs. It was divine.

When I was a teenager, I decided to go vegetarian. I kept it up for 2 years, until one day I broke the mould by eating a double cheeseburger from McDonalds.

What can I say? I just wanted to – and since that day, I continued to eat meat. In fact I luxuriated in it – my favourite foods: slow cooked, succulent beef shreds in a warm, juicy burrito, roast pork with apple sauce, and of course – the double cheeseburger.

MMMMMMM. Tasty. I’m salivating just thinking about it. Anyway, that’s not really the point.

Something happened on January 1st, 2020. I woke up - 4pm at my friend’s house. Completely and utterly hungover – and HUNGRY. I couldn’t even stand up straight. Ugh. I began the long walk home, popping into Co-op on the way. Blinded by eyes of hunger and lead by an empty stomach, I bought a meal deal, about 2 fizzy drinks, a smoothie, and a pepperoni pizza.

I made my way home, snacking ravenously on my meal deal. I was satisfied with my falafel wrap and can of coke. Got home and whacked the pizza in the oven. Said hi to my brother, waited for my pizza. Pulled it out the oven. Gazed fondly at the yellow melted cheese, dripping and sliding off the slice of pizza. I eyed up the shiny, greasy pepperoni, slippy and delicious. One of my favourite foods to enjoy, especially in the state I was in. Did the hot cheese scorch the roof of my mouth on the first bite? Yes. Was it worth it? Obviously.

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That night, I struggled to get my head down, due to extreme oversleeping. I was feeling awake and alert, but content with the contents of my stomach. I started scrolling through Instagram, noticing countless posts about #Veganuary. Hmm, mildly interesting, but doesn’t concern me.

I thought, ‘who has the willpower to give up their best-loved foods?’ Attempting veganism for a whole month seemed like pretty hefty challenge. I’d always fantasized the idea of being vegan. I saw ‘Being Vegan’ as a type of person. A lifestyle. A persona.

And I liked the idea. But of course, I thought, it could never be me; I lack the willpower, and enjoy bacon sandwiches and halloumi fries too much. I wouldn’t deprive myself of those simple joys.

Being part of the Gen-Z population, I consider myself a politically-minded and up-to-date kinda gyal. I revel in Greta Thunberg’s powerful environmental speeches and watching the Extinction Rebellion marches through our cities.

I’m aware of the emergency our planet is facing. As a carnivore, I’d even preach about things like just HOW much water goes into the creation of a beef burger. (About 2000 litres, by the way) and the sheer amount of land that gets used and spoiled by grazing cattle (agriculture farming takes up about 26 percent of Earth’s terrestrial surface), and the trees that are cut down to do it.

But how did this relate to me? Or better – how could I relate to the statistics that – essentially – changed no aspect of my life?

That night, mindlessly scrolling down an endless feed of social media, I stumbled across a video. A type of video I had seen before – and ignored. The video being a foul, shameful slaughtering of an animal.

A horrifying sight – I won’t get into the

issue #0 graphics, but you’ve seen them before.

Careless, vacuous murder by methods unethical. Seemingly innocent animals’ lives’ being terminated – the video – desperate cows scrabbling for life in their own pool of blood on a slaughterhouse floor, after having their throats slit.

After witnessing several videos of this nature, whilst mirroring the behaviour of the cow, lying in my bed, tossing and turning, sobbing in a pool of my own tears (dramatic, I know, but hear me out) - I reflected on the values I possessed and the values of non-meat eaters. ‘What makes us different? Why do I feel so entitled to continue eating animal products when millions have given them up?’ Questions in my head that were answered. I scrolled back through my Instagram feed. ...#Veganuary. An act of altruism, something I could personally do to give back to the dying planet... Going vegan for the month of January suddenly felt like the right thing to do. I could finally live out my fantasy, even if it was just the one month.

An unexpected feeling of optimism and charitable fulfilment flooded my veins.

Excited by the prospect of new beginnings, I began to look up recipes. Living in Brighton, almost half my friends are vegan, most of which have cooked delicious food for me at some point or another. I knew it wasn’t all cardboard patties and questionable-smelling fake cheese; I had made my decision. One month. Let’s have it!

The way I saw it, I was dedicated. I WAS vegan at this point. I had pledged to this for thirty days. I had laid expectations for myself and there were to be no exceptions; I accepted this as a challenge. Starting easy,

I’d collected a list of ingredients to create easy vegan meals which included: vegetable curry, bean chili, and spicy spaghetti.

While at the supermarket, I noticed how little I had spent on a full shop compared to the month before. I remembered one of the many #Veganuary posts, which compared the prices of buying popular vegan alternatives (cheese, meat, ice cream etc) vs. buying vegetables to cook with. The price of a 1KG pack of chicken fillets from Aldi is £4.89. Replacing a meat option with a protein-rich substitute like mixed beans cost me 75p (1KG), saving about £3!

Sounds good to me.

I ended up with a cupboard looking like I was stocked up for the apocalypse and a fridge resembling a small deli. Countless cans of beans and an abundance of fruit and veg. I started testing new recipes and generally having fun experimenting in the kitchen – which was a part of the house I had not previously put a frivolous measurement of energy into before. What I learned while cooking was that I didn’t need meat to serve as the main component of a dish. I could replace it. Replacement examples – chicken stir fry: mushroom & chickpea stir fry. Pulled pork burrito - bean & guac burrito. It was insanely satisfying and a breath of fresh air making meals from scratch. Pesto pasta & cheese was the standard supper for me. Rice & chicken might have been made at a push.

As a student uneducated to the world of cheffing, I didn’t like meals that required too much effort to prepare. I don’t think I had ever chopped an onion before this month-long endeavour.

Enthused by my new hobby in cuisine, I was getting in the flow. I found myself moulding into the person I wanted to

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features and I can’t imagine going back. My thoughts are clearer, my metabolism is stronger. I can feel a new block of energy circulating inside my body.

be. I had people asking me the obvious questions, the questions that I’m sure many people will ask; ‘Where are you getting your protein, if you’re not eating meat?’

I had found the answers from vigorous late-night online research sessions. The answers thrilled my new health-centric ego: all types of beans, greens and seeds provide the entire protein content ones’ body needs. The best thing about this, I thought, was the cost-effectiveness of this new venture.

All in all: do I miss eating animal products?

Not really. Sometimes my nose sweet-talks to me into indulging in enticing smells from bacon and beef. But really, my mental and physical state have made serious headway

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Easter’s around the corner, and I, for one, am not worrying about giving in to buying cheap chocolate eggs.

The long and short of it is: the more committed you are to accepting your new reality, the easier it is to adjust. There is always an alternative option, and your back is never against the wall! If you’re like me and have experienced both sides of the coin, let me know your thoughts; I’m still new to the plant-based ball game. If you are vegan, how long has it been since you made the transition, and do you get tempted by animal foods? If you’re not vegan, would you consider converting? Why? Veganism has always come accompanied with an abiding stigma, and I’m ready to finally break down the walls. If this topic is a discussion you’re going to be having with your peers – come prepared for comments of adversity.

And so here we are, three months later.

March 2020. Me: writing this article, sipping on my hemp milk Earl Grey tea, contemplating the pretentious yet ethical decision I made to buy hemp milk, coming to a happy settlement with this fact, about to get out of my chair and cook me a vegan feast. Content!

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OKTOBA

WORDS BY IZZY SIGSTON In a world of manufactured celebrities who are granted instant fame from appearing on shows such as Love Island, its often difficult to comprehend how hard-working artists can become successful and get their work showcased. However, Love Island isn’t all fabricated reality stars – the show has in fact given a platform to diligent musicians to have their music featured in the programme. Something folk singersongwriter OKTOBA was fortunate enough to happen to him twice during 2019’s summer of love. OKTOBA speaks to Izzy Sigston about this career fuelling experience, his creative process and a mind-bending performance on a rooftop in Chicago.

It’s been 7 months since two of your tracks, ‘Chance’ and ‘It Must Be Love’ were played on Love Island, how have things been since then?

Yeah, it was kind of crazy when that happened. To have two tracks used on such a popular show was amazing. Since then, I’ve just been working hard in both the studio, where I’m recording new music at the moment, and also playing live shows.

It’s been a really fun 7 months or so.

We’re currently being exposed to the South African sun on ITV2 in the midst of storm Dennis, will we be expecting to hear your new single ‘Breathe’ on Love Island in the

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next couple of weeks?

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Ha, yeah this weather is terrible. Bring on the summer eh!

Honestly, I don’t know. There is a chance.

But for that track to work, we’ll need to see a break up or two. And it looks like, at the moment, everyone seems pretty happy together. We’ll see.

‘It Must Be Love’ and ‘Breathe’ are stunning bespoke covers, what made you choose to cover these tracks in particular?

Whenever I choose to cover a song I always want to be able to completely make it my own. It’s really fun exploring someone else’s work and seeing what slant you can put on it. The most important thing, when it all comes down to it though, is the words and the story behind the song. ‘It Must Be Love’ is such a well known happy love song but the words almost change meaning when you play it in melancholic way. I like that we can do that. I just hope that I did the tracks justice.

You took a trip to New Zealand late last year, would you say escapism is the best way to get your creative juices flowing in order to make music?

Getting away definitely allows headspace.

I love travelling and discovering different parts of the world. However, it’s usually when I’m home from the trips when the songs come. I always find it really important to almost switch off and not to sound to cliche but, enjoy the moments.

It’ll all be still in your head when you get back. There’s no rush. But yeah, travelling definitely assists creativity and it’s really important for me.

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Chris Athorne is a pretty catchy name, why Oktoba?

Ha. Chris Athorne is not catchy, But thank you. I wanted a name that firstly represented me. I was born in October and Autumn is my favourite time of the year, so..

I wanted the music that I make to reflect that season too. That time of year is when I’m most inspired and sad folk music always seems the perfect match for those crisp autumnal days. I love it.

What drew you to the music industry? Was there a particular influence who made you passionate about becoming a musician?

Music has always had a hold on me.

Different songs and artists throughout my entire life have always had so much meaning and influence, more than anything really. It’s a total spell. When

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that one thing, whatever it is, just makes so much sense to you it’s hard to ignore. I started pretty late though, learning to play guitar at 18 and writing my first song 6 months later. Influences at the time were artists like Ben Harper and Jack Johnson.

They were the two that really lit the flame i’d say. Since then, artists like Bon Iver, RY X and Matt Corby have really influenced my writing.

When was the first time you were approached by a fan? How did you feel?

It was with my first band, when I was still living back in Suffolk where I grew up.

They had turned up to a show wearing one of the band T’s we used to sell. They were singing all the words and just loved the

songs. It was a very very overwhelming but bizarre feeling. I was so happy and incredibly proud. It was amazing and I’ll never forget it.

What’s been your favourite venue to play?

Living in Brighton, we are spoilt with some amazing small venues and I am so happy that I get to play in them all pretty regularly. The Brunswick, Hope and Ruin and The Prince Albert to name a few.

However, the crown still goes to a show that I played in Chicago with Sofar Sounds.

It was a show playing to 70 people sat on the floor, on a roof terrace of a penthouse overlooking the whole city, at sunset. I will never ever forget it. A real wow moment and reminder that I am so lucky to be able

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to play a part in that whole experience. It was phenomenal.

Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety? If so, what advice would you give to others who struggle with this.

Never performance anxiety, although I do still get nervous. Sometimes very nervous before a show. Personal anxiety creeps into my life from time to time though. Being a musician can be a really stressful and worrying thing. There’s a lot of rejection and even more unanswered questions. You need a lot of patience. I’ve learnt that the most important thing to focus on, is yourself. Don’t worry about what others think or try to please what you think others want from you. Just work hard, practice hard and when you feel a bit shaky, you know you’ve put that time in to which you can draw on when you need it most. Just trust in yourself.

What do you enjoy most about being a musician? What do you hate the most?

My favourite thing about being a musician is connecting with people. Live shows have to be the best part of this whole experience.

Sharing incredible and unique moments with folk that you’ve never met before. It’s really powerful.

I hate writers block. When songs just don’t arrive. It’s tough. But when they do, it makes it all worth while.

Who are you listening to this month?

Leif Vollebekk. He’s incredible What’s next in store for Oktoba?

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I’m working on quite a lot at the moment.

It’s a really exciting time and I’m really enjoying it all. I’m currently recording a new EP. I’ll have brand new music out this year and I can’t wait to share it. I really feel this is my strongest work so far.

Then I’ve got live shows starting in March with two in Brighton at The Brunswick on the 5th and Latest Music Bar on the 10th.

Then on April 15th I have a headline show at The Slaughtered Lamb in London. More shows will follow with a possible Tour at the end of the year.

I’m really looking forward to what 2020 holds and can’t wait to see what happens.

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bow down

words by catherine lindley-neilson

As we round up the season, very few

bands have had such busy winters as rock powerhouse Gnarlah. Having only formed in early 2019, the three-piece’s stylish live shows have sent them across the UK playing festivals such as Neighbourhood Festival, Washed Out and the Alternative Escape, and supporting bands such as Fangclub, Beach Riot, Cassels and Gaffa

Tape Sandy. With a defined dark anthemic sound nodding to the powerful riffs of Royal Blood mixed with the energy and hooks of Muse, Ren Woods, Travis Powers and Jacob Andrews show no signs of slowing it down in 2020.

Their latest single, ‘Bow Down’, was released on LAB Records on 28th February, and was recorded with industry

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features legend Adrian Bushby. “We had a few ideas in mind of what we wanted to record with Adrian, ‘Bow Down’ was written only a couple of days prior to recording and we instantly knew it had to be our next single. The track itself is raw and beefy with influence from some of our favourite bands such as Slipknot, Soundgarden and Bring Me the Horizon.”

Packed full of some of the heaviest, dirtiest riffs they have released so far, ‘Bow Down’ follows the theme of a group of people conforming to a cult and the ideologies of an individual. Following the success of singles ‘Slave’ and ‘Fix Me’, with ‘Slave’ boasting an impressive 1,000,000 streams on Spotify since its release, Gnarlah are finally geared up to release their debut music video for ‘Bow Down’, expanding on the universe they are creating through their music and paired artwork. “We filmed the video with a group called Wild Stag who have worked with bands like Black Peaks, Toska and Only Shadows. They are the sweetest guys and let us run free with all our ideas.”

Bringing together all three characters created through the artwork of ‘Slave’, ‘Fix Me’ and ‘Bow Down’, Gnarlah explained that “it was very important to us that we linked in the previous characters to help create the world surrounding our songs, which pushes our concept of the fictional cult we are trying to establish.”

Gnarlah have had a lot of highlights over their debut year of being a band, including being spun by Phil Taggart on Radio One and joining the UTA roster, however supporting Fangclub at Camden Assembly and making it into the pages of Kerrang! was a particularly special

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moment for the group. “It was mad being featured in Kerrang! magazine. All three of us used to read it religiously every single week when we were younger, so it was a bit of a bucket list thing for us! The show itself was amazing because have been big fans of Fangclub for a while, and we had no idea that Kerrang! would be down to see us. To us, we had just played a really good set, then a few weeks later we were just hanging out and saw them share the review and we all just looked around at each other – when read the review it was just crazy! We will remember Kerrang! saying we have ‘monster truck riffs’ forever.”

As the trio gain more and more traction within the British rock scene, it is clear from their brooding sounds, explosive live shows and prominent style in everything they do that Gnarlah are going to continue to distinguish themselves as front runners of 2020.

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CREATURE OF THE DEEP WORDS BY MELISSA YOUNG Creature of The Deep is the third release by

alternative rock band Ahsoka. Keeping an all too common genre of rock exciting is not an easy thing to do; however, as a three piece with a vocalist, guitarist, drummer and no bassist, the band are doing just that. The absence of a bass player is not something that is easily noticed with Ahsoka. They are not lacking in any way and use this as a tool for making themselves stand out in what can be seen as an oversaturated Brighton music scene. Using pedals and DIs to emulate a bass sound, Ahsoka offers a unique twist on conventional rock.

The storytelling in Creature of The Deep is one of an insidious tale. The story consists of a sea creature living in the depths of the Brighton sea who can sense the tormenting and harrassing desires of despicable men.

When these men get too close, the creature preys on them and marks them up as her next meal. When the day finally comes that the world is rid of such heinous harassment and her appetite has been whet, the creature will return to the depths. Would these vile predators still exist if there was an unrelenting huntress, a creature of the deep on the loose looking for them? Do not feed her. Fear her.

Opening with a menacing guitar, Creature of The Deep entices you into its clutches and holds you captive on a knife‘s edge.

With an eerie feel from the get go this song is instantly unskippable as you feel the need to know what is going on and what is happening next.

The main body of the song bursts in with an intensity that is purely electric. The chugging of the guitar strings sounding like a siren, as pictured in the artwork, dragging you further and further down into the dark depths. Whether this is the desired effect or a coincidence of great songwriting the body of music works well at creating the image of the creature, an image which will stay with you long after listening to her tale.

Rhiannon’s vocals in the chorus punch you in the face with a ferocity that is becoming synonymous with the explosive trio. The vocal line and lyrics of the chorus are sung with such raw emotion that Rhiannon is at some points growling the words and almost begging the listener to join the fight with the huntress who is the creature of the deep.

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REVIEWS // MUSIC Ahsoka are a formidable force when it comes to songwriting. With such uniqueness comes an instant likability to their music, even though at times it is far from conventional. The lyrics for Creature of The Deep are no exception to this. With a strong story and phrases that are instantly memorable such as “Practise what you preach, you’re good enough to eat” and “appetition laces her poison teeth”, with the latter half being screamed back at them at live shows, the song is catchy without meaning to be.

Creature of The Deep ends all too quickly

leaving the listener feeling uneasy and unsure of what to do after. This is something that Ahsoka does well with their music and especially their live performances. It seems this is an effect that they want to create with their music and all I can say is that it is definitely working.

With each release Ahsoka are going from strength to strength and are becoming a force to be reckoned with.

get up and go words by alex hodgetts Joely’s vocals are sweet like syrup in the opening track with the name eponymous to the EP, ‘Get Up & Go’. The themes running through this series of songs are feelings of reluctancy to let go of what you know, wanting to move away, and generally questioning what you are doing with your life. In short: letting go, growing up, craving a lust for change. Bluesy in style, the music on this new release is easy-going.

She incorporates a mix of genres to create two epic, jazzy sing-along ballads. Her soft vocal tone reflects the innocent wide-eyed nature of the lyrics: ‘No-one has to know, I could pack my things and go’ ‘It’s just this little tiny voice that shouts so loud’. It is easy to relate to the subjects – it feels as though you are hearing them as they are being written, a linear strain of thought guiding you through the EP. The first song leads smoothly onto the next ‘Wish It Was Easy’. Continuing the theme of growing up and finding one’s feet, this song begins

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with a strolling guitar riff that matures throughout the song. The pre-chorus emits a feeling of the instruments coming together, and the catchy chorus explodes with a sense of certainty. You’ll love this EP by Joely if you’re into The Beatles, John Mayer and Paolo Nutini.

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circles

When speaking about Mac Miller’s album ‘Circles’, context is key. Unfortunately, the context of this album is Mac Miller’s untimely passing in early September of 2018 at the age of 26.

Malcolm James McCormick burst onto the rap scene in 2007 and went on to be signed to a small Pittsburgh indie label, to whom he released a list of hugely successful mixtapes with. Between then and the release of his seemingly final Album, Swimming, Mac started his own record label, released 7 albums and signed to Warner Bros records.

On the surface, things were going well for the indie rap king. However, behind closed doors the life of mac miller was much darker than his chirpy happy boy of rap persona was letting on.

By the release of his album ‘Swimming’,

words by mason meyers

Miller was suffering from depression, and very publicly undergoing a breakup with his then-girlfriend of two years, Ariana Grande. Unfortunately, Mac was also fighting what would turn out to be a losing battle with drug addiction, which would later be the reason he passed away.

This brings us to ‘Circles’. On January 8th Miller’s social media accounts made their first post since his death, announcing that there would be a companion record to ‘Swimming’, released the following week.

According to Miller’s family, he had been working on this album to follow up his last release, and with his their permission, ‘Circles’ had been allowed to be finished by a close group of producers and

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REVIEWS // MUSIC musicians.This would be Mac Miller’s first posthumous album.

The eponymous opening track is thematically a direct sequel to the themes started on Swimming. In the announcement post for ‘Circles’ Miller’s family stated that ‘Swimming’ and ‘Circles’ were “two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle – swimming in circles was the concept”. This opening and Title track opens the album very quietly. Mac makes us feel like we’re bobbing down the endless lazy river, one that is going in circles. “I just start right at the end of the line, drawing circles”.

Slow and steady seems to be the pace Miller was going for with this release; after all, he saw it all as a loop, it was all leading back to the funky basslines of ‘Swimming’ eventually anyway, so you might as well enjoy the ride, right? Going along with everything and taking things day by day is a recurring theme in Miller’s lyrics throughout this LP. In the second track, ‘Complicated’, Miller says, “some people say they want to live forever, that’s way too long, I’ll just get through today.” The knowledge of Miller’s death makes this one of the many lines on the album that are particularly eye opening and hard to listen to. Throughout the song Miller talks about not being able to see a future for himself, so he just focuses on trying to stay alive for however long he can “without any complications.” Already two songs in Miller sings about his struggles with living, a theme that heart breaking-ly continues throughout the album. As this track finishes ‘Circles’ gently floats us into what is clearly intended to be the big hit single of the album, ‘Good News’.

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‘Good News’ is a depressing, self-reflecting

cry for help disguised as a slow summer jam. Throughout this song, Miller talks about the expectations put on him as a rapper to always put on a happy persona and pretend like everything in his life is okay or face the possibility of irrelevance; Miller reflects this in the music and instrumentation itself. Happy plucky guitars and throbbing gentle synths and pianos fill the song with a false sense of relaxation that is not matched lyrically. At the start of the song, Miller sings some of the rawest lyrics found on the album, which in retrospect with context are incredibly difficult to listen to. Lyrics like “can’t it just be easy, why does everybody need me to stay” and “so tired of being so tired”, show Miller’s constant struggle with the pressure put on him by himself and the industry, and give us an insight into his mind at the lowest point of his life.

Towards the middle of the track, Miller comes to the realisation that he needs to pretend to be happy in order for his career to continue to be successful. “good news, that’s all they want to hear, they don’t like me when I’m down” and “I heard they don’t talk about me too much no more” are both lyrics in response to peoples negative reaction to his more depressing lyrical content in his last album ‘Swimming’. They can also construed as Miller’s response to the isolation he felt due to his friends not wanting to be around him when he was feeling depressed.

By the end track Miller starts to form the idea that life might be better for him if he wasn’t alive anymore. He starts to think about life after death and see’s death as an escape from all the pressures put on him at the beginning of the song. “There’s

issue #0 Where at times ‘Swimming’ felt like a drive at drowsy night-time drive to nowhere, veering from one side to the other stylistically and with no goal in mind. ‘Circles’ is a window seat ride on a short haul plane journey during the day: driven, conscious, and with a beautiful view to take in along the way.

art by thd.design

a whole lot waiting for me on the other side”, “it don’t gotta be bad anymore” mac sounds happier at this part of the song, as if he’s found peace, he even sounds like he’s pleading for his life to be over as he sings the final lyrics “no more, no more, no more”. This track offers a deeper look into a man going through turmoil and the thought process which possibly lead to his death.

Vision was something Miller clearly had for this album. However, he needed help in working through his insecurities of changing styles from the loudmouth kid he used to be on earlier albums.

In an interview, his producer and friend Jon Brion spoke about how during studio sessions Mac would be self-defeating and too embarrassed to create music.

However, throughout working with Jon he was able to create completely new, yet timeless music such as songs like ‘That’s On Me’ and ‘Everybody’. That’s on me is 2020’s answer to a 1920’s slow dance song, with plucky guitars once again coming

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REVIEWS // MUSIC into the mix and a bouncy piano line that makes the song perfect for any ballroom dancer to add to their rota of dancing tunes. Fun songs like ‘Blue World’ add sprinkles of hope and, most importantly, the personality that Miller became famous for over the years, throughout what is for the most part a melancholic album.

‘Circles’ has an underlying bittersweet taste to it that runs throughout the whole album. Songs like ‘Everybody’, whilst not being Miller’s own original song, show how much he had grown as an artist. He went from a by the numbers 2010s rapper, to a fully-grown mature artist, one that defies genre and breaks the boundaries of other rappers that started at the same time as him. In Everybody he is even capable of covering a folk song from the 70s and completely make it his own. Unfortunately, the knowledge that mac will never release another album makes ‘Circles’ a difficult listen. Mac was finally coming into his prime.

Posthumous albums in recent years (especially posthumous rap albums) have a tendency to feel like a cash grab, with no real intention of honouring the artist’s legacy and vision. However, with ‘Circles’ it is clear that producer Jon Brion had his best intentions at heart when finishing this album. Nothing shows this off more than the final two tracks of the album, ‘Surf’ and ‘Once a Day’. Two beautiful slow tracks in which Miller sings about finally becoming at peace with the world, even providing comfort to another in the final track.

Jon Brion wasn’t just tasked with making a Mac Miller album, he was tasked with making Mac Miller’s final album. An album that needed to be so perfect it left fans feeling satisfied, that made sure his

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memory was respected, an album that critics would enjoy musically. Most of all he was tasked with creating an album that told a story of Miller’s mind set. And accurately represented Miller’s mental health in the months before his death.

He didn’t just do all these things well, he crafted them perfectly with the care and love only a friend truly could. And on the way he created what will most likely be regarded as Mac Miller’s best album, and quite possibly the best posthumous album ever created.

‘Circles’ provides the perfect insight into

the troubled mind of one of the greatest creative musical geniuses of this century.

In the age where male suicide rates are higher than ever, ‘Circles’ provides the perfect opportunity for men to speak freely and openly about how they are feeling.

Hopefully, through its raw and unfiltered nature, this album can help to break down the stigma behind male depression. And hopefully, men can listen to Mac talking mental health so openly and see that it’s okay to not be okay, and find the courage it takes to seek help with their own problems.

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oh wonder

having spent years as a poorly-kept secret of the indie kids, oh wonder saw their hard work pay off at their sold-out concorde 2 show in february. caitlin hooper discusses the unexpected joys of their shortbut-sweet set.

They say that every gig is amazing from the front row. Being right in front of an artist you adore, unfettered by a crowd in your way? Priceless. But when a band are as transcendent and powerful on stage as indie-pop duo Oh Wonder, your position in the crowd doesn’t matter at all.

A key reason for this is the simplicity of their staging. All they have onstage besides the band members is the letters O and W illuminated in neon. They’re lit in a vivid

light blue for the sadder songs, swirling in white with a bright red when the beat hits on ‘Wish I Never Met You’, and shimmering in a flickering gold on ‘Body Gold’. The staging matches the refined and elegant sound of Oh Wonder, and doesn’t ever feel distracting. A band built on heart wrenching harmonies and simple piano chords doesn’t need much of a flashy appearance, after all. Their music really does speak for itself.

Nothing about Oh Wonder’s sound feels fake. Their instrumentation is as loyal as

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REVIEWS // MUSIC possible to that of the record, but more than that, the chemistry that makes their harmonies oh-so-lovely is just as palpable onstage as it is on the record. I’d only heard a handful of their songs before going, but both the songs I’d heard and those I hadn’t managed to bring a tear to my eye - I wasn’t the only one properly feeling it, either. Having listened to their new album, which most of their audience pre-ordered to secure tickets for under twenty quid in total, I can safely say that not only did its songs hold up on a live stage, they were often better.

Take ‘Hallelujah’ as an example, a song pretty much designed for singalongs in the car. It’s simple and anthemic nature carries its wistful piano chords and lively drum patterns right to the back of the room.

There it’s met with a choir of fans singing the chorus right back at our co-fronters and Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West. In between these tracks, the band members tell self-deprecating stories about

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their exes and crack quick, snappy jokes at each other that perfectly shows off their sweet chemistry. Meanwhile they dance about with glints in their eyes, and Vander Gucht hypes up the crowd by getting each half to sing along. The truth is, she doesn’t need to. Her evident passion just raises the volume of the voices already singing to their songs, their tales of heartbreak and hope.

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THE SLOW RUSH It’s been a long five years that have mostly been consumed by Brexit and horrible politics, but as we step into a new decade, the light at the end of the dark and miserable tunnel is finally visible, a new Tame Impala album. So, to all the Kevin Parker enthusiasts out there, take ‘Currents’ off the turntable and strap in, ‘The Slow Rush’ has arrived.

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and musical mastermind Kevin Parker has made his way into the hearts of many over the past decade in the form of Tame Impala. His head nodding guitar hooks and dreamy basslines capture the world of psychedelia in the most enchanting of ways, something even the most finicky of listeners couldn’t turn their noses up at. His eclectic discography has given Parker the freedom to work with musical legends such as Mark Ronson, Travis Scott and Kayne West, consequently earning him a headline slot at one of the most prodigious festivals, Coachella last year.

The birth of ‘Currents’ in 2015 took us down a path of loneliness and self-isolation in a way we could never imagine. Summer anthem, ‘The Less I Know The Better’ left us all hating an adulterer called Trevor who assumedly stole Kevin Parker’s missus, whereas power ballad, ‘Yes I’m Changing’ saw us passionately singing into a hairbrush over a breakup we haven’t actually experienced. So as established, LP number three was perhaps an ode to romanticism, but now at 34 years old, an older and wiser

WORDS BY IZZY SIGSTON Parker dwells on time; the past, present and future, as he creates a 57 minute long masterpiece which still remains to send shivers up spines and get bodies moving to dancefloors across the world.

A five year wait for an album is gut wrenchingly painful when all you want is new music from your favourite artist, however you can’t help but be forgiving to one-man band Kevin Parker. As painful as it’s been, Parker’s tinkering has paid off, ‘The Slow Rush’ is an incredibly complex monument which encapsulates beautifully fulfilling nostalgia. The album opens synth heavy with a dreamy continual bassline, an immediate indication that you’re listening to Tame Impala. ‘One More Year’, a track which dwells on lost time through wishing away the days and the anxiety that comes along with doing so.

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REVIEWS // MUSIC ‘The Slow Rush’ definitely stays true to our Tame Impala expectations, Tomorrow’s Dust expels acoustic woozy vibes which were made to be listened to at 7pm on a summer evening. Whereas, ‘Breathe Deeper’ and ‘Is It True’ do the opposite and send out signals which make you want to throw glitter over yourself and head to the nearest nightclub.

And of course, to maintain the grand narrative of ‘time’, ‘Lost In Yesterday’is a tune with the funkiest bassline of 2020 to date, the infectious groove of this song gets lost in nostalgic thoughts which mimic essences of groundhog day.

create a concept album through his slick journey from beginning to end, as he ends the album with ‘One More Hour’ a haunting robotic keys piece which is interjected with a raw and compelling guitar riff, something which could easily be a Zeppelin track. It illuminates a final realisation of the passing of time, as Parker’s mournful echo’s chant “As long as I can, spend some time alone”, it’s his rawest piece yet, as he managed to combine intense apocalyptic, drums, guitar and bass alongside his angelic purposeful vocals. A concept which sounds bizarre, but perfectionist Kevin Parker got it so right, chaos in the finest form.

The thought process behind this album really is admirable, Parker manages to

AGAINST THE CURRENT WORDS BY SAM CHALLIS

Surrender’ as well as a stripped back version of ‘Brighter’ mashed up with ‘Comeback It’s been a busy 18 months for Against The Kid’ from the bands first EP, proving they still remember their roots.

Current, with the release of their sophomore album ‘Past Lives’ late last year, followed by a plethora of headlining tours and a slot on The band completed their set with live show the main stage at this years Reading and staples ‘Gravity’ and ‘Wasteland’ before Leads festival, the New York trio finish off leaving the stage for the second to last time of this jam-packed year. their year by returning to the UK for the second leg of the UK Past Lives tour.

The band took to the stage to deliver hard hitting rock tracks including ‘Voices’, ‘Running With The Wild Things’ and ‘Blood Like Gasoline’, in which lead singer Chrissy Constanza took no hesitancy in showing off her incredible vocals and raw energy whilst performing. The trio also showed off their slower side, with a performance of their emotional Past Lives closer ‘Sweet

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a tribute to ginger baker

words by will hale Eric Clapton united with a guest list of legendary musicians at the Hammersmith Apollo, London, on the 17th February to pay tribute to the gifted drummer Ginger Baker, who sadly died on the 23rd October last year. His tribute would be a once in a lifetime concert for one night only.

Ginger Baker was the co-founder of the band Cream (others were Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce) who conquered the second half of the 60s with numerous blues rock anthems. His efforts throughout the 60s and 70s secured him the status of “rock’s first superstar drummer” with his aptitude to fuse several genres such as jazz, blues, African rhythms and world music. With

the death of Ginger being such a tragedy amongst his family, friends and fans, Eric felt it necessary to give him the send-off he deserved. But he wouldn’t do it alone.

The ballad of prodigies joining Eric were Steve Winwood (whom Eric and Ginger formed the band Blind Faith with), Roger Waters, Ronnie Wood, Nile Rodgers and Ginger’s son, Kofi Baker.

But it doesn’t end there. An extensive list of experienced session musicians who also took to the stage were Paul Carrack, Kenney Jones, Steve Gadd, Chris Stainton, Willie Weeks, Vocalist’s Katie Kissoon and Sharon White, Henry Spinetti, Sonny

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REVIEWS // MUSIC Emory and Clapton’s Nephew, Will Johns.

After a lengthy Journey to Hammersmith, upon entering the venue, all the fans were greeted by an array of instruments on stage.

But the humbling yet slightly overwhelming element of the stage was that there were four drums kits, which the audience would later discover were used to the fullest. The crowd waited with a great deal of anticipation. Then the lights dimmed and a short clip from the late 60s of Ginger exhibiting his renowned drum skills played on a huge screen at the back of the stage, which gave the audience the emotional hoist that they needed.

Eric Clapton hobbles on stage and, without delay, picks up his iconic black Fender Stratocaster with a snakeskin strap. Roger Waters shortly followed, as well as a handful of the talented session musicians. Clapton says a few words about Ginger, “He was a Scoundrel, but I loved him, and he loved me”, then grabs his pick and grinds one of Cream’s most iconic riffs, Sunshine of Your Love, which instantly turned the Apollo into a hall of bobbing middle-aged rock fans. Two drum kits follow his lead before Katie Kissoon belts the Chorus out with the spectators. Eric Concludes with a signature solo. The same group continues to play Strange Brew with a bigger focus on the keys, played by Chris Stainton.

Following copious amounts of suspense,

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Ronnie Wood finally struts on whilst the attendees chant his name. In his skinny black blazer with sparkly lapels he starts off the distorted White Room after a hefty kick from Spinetti on drums. The spotlight remains on Ronnie whilst he completes the song with some heavily reverbed guitar licks.

The stage turns purple whilst the crowds thinks this cannot get any better. But disco, funk and soul prodigy Nile Rodgers graces London with his presence and helps accentuate the blues guitar that made I Feel Free so accountable. Extended renditions of Badge and Blue Condition also satiated the five thousand capacity venue.

Towards the end of the performance, Clapton’s dear friend and musical soulmate Steve Winwood arrives and receives deserved recognition. This marks the point in the show where Clapton turns away from Cream’s music and focuses on the

issue #0 compositions of Blind Faith with Had to Cry Today, Presence of the Lord and Can’t Find My Way Home. Throughout these revisits Winwood is a noticeable addition to the concoction of experts, thanks to his incomparable voice.

billing. It was a night where the lighting did not matter, nor the showmanship, but the music did and that is exactly what Ginger Baker will be remembered for, his musical prowess.

For the encore, all the instrumentalists unified to play the Robert Johnson classic that Clapton fans know so well, Cross Road Blues. With the entire guest list on stage, it meant there was an incomprehensible four drummers, four guitarists, three on keys and one bassist, turning, what was originally a solo blues riff, into a grand collaboration of echoing ostinatos, undulating symbols and silky keys.

With the line up Clapton put together, everyone was expecting a remarkable evening and it certainly lived up to the

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REVIEWS // MUSIC

lately in another time words by will hale

sounding style was already suited to their environment, but the Island incentivised a deeper delve into the melancholy foundations that they built their earlier creations on. The product? A serene single that shines a positive light on a dull Sunday.

On Gabriola Island, one of the small British Colombian Gulf Islands in Canada, is the entrancing Malaspina Gallery, a landmark fashioned by nature. Belligerent waves have hurtled a lengthy strip of sandstone for thousands of years to bring into being an on-land rip curl capable of hypnotising.

With a bleached, beige gradient, jagged undulations of sandstone curl over the Pacific Ocean creating a haven for locals and the island’s visitors. Not dissimilar from this spectacle, is Loving’s bittersweet new single, Lately in Another Time.

With a desire to write and record a second album, David Parry, Jesse Henderson and Lucas Henderson of Canadian indie band Loving found themselves crafting their own studio on Gabriola Island in the Henderson brother’s late grandmother’s house. Surrounded by soaring evergreen trees and calm seawaters, Loving’s pleasant-

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This nostalgic yet profoundly innovative nuance immediately makes you want to chinwag with your friends about the good old days and offers you a hankering for summer sun. At first, you are greeted with a kind folky strum before a warm and haunting ingredient emerges. A liquid riff with the lead guitar drenched in reverb signifies the track’s apex, whilst whispered words of optimism meander around the instrumentation.

Warbled cassette sounds that emanate from the leads makes the listener feel like they are moving, without going anywhere.

In essence, Lately in Another Time has musically grabbed the baton from Loving’s first album but delivered it with more with substance and they have truly been able to encapsulate Gabriola Island’s ambience into their music.

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panicland

words by mason meyers It’s fair to say that Green Day haven’t been their best form in recent years. With their albums Uno, Dos and Tre’s critically bombing and follow up album Revolution Radio failing to live up to their once-great standards, fans were slowly but surely losing interest in the Californian pop-punk duo.

Cut to September of 2019 and Green Day have just released their title track and first single from their upcoming album Father of All (Motherfuckers). It’s not good. And neither is the album art to go with it or

any of the press surrounding the album for that matter. Throughout interviews singer, frontman and lead songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong talks multiple times about his newfound hatred for long songs; this comes from a man famous for writing 9-minute-long rock opera songs. Follow that up with album art that copies the bands most famous album American idiot, completed with a cartoon unicorn and self-censorship, and this new Green Day album wasn’t exactly looking on brand.

Nevertheless things were not looking good for the upcoming Green Day Project, and

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REVIEWS // MUSIC fans online were talking about completely boycotting the band for good.

However, amongst all of the backlash, Green Day announced possibly their biggest tour to date. The Hella Mega tour.

A tour which will see green day tour the world playing shows with Fall Out Boy and Weezer, possibly the two other biggest names in the emo punk scene (apart from you know who). Fans were just interested in Green Day again, but something seemed fishy.

Enter Panicland, a small band looking to get some attention for their music and have some fun while they were at it. Panicland had noticed that the Green Day fanbase were suspicious of the new album. Posts online were speculating that Father of All Mothers might be a “troll” album. Fans had noticed that this album would be the last Green Day had in their record deal with their label Reprise Records. Fans also noticed that that Father of All is only a minute longer than it needs to be for it to count as a full album release.

This is where Panicland comes in. Around the time of the announcement of the Hella Mega tour, leaks had started appearing online of what looked to be a different, new Green Day album. There had even been a fake tracklisting for this new mysterious Green Day album that had been picking up some traction online. Panicland saw this leak and noticed that one of the songs was called Rome falls. The band then decided to create their own fake album art for the new Green Day album, complete with Greek gods laid across the cover with the members of Green Day’s faces photoshopped on and posted the image on social media.

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Soon the image was everywhere a Green Day fan would find themselves on the internet. Reddit and Twitter were in a frenzy trying to make sense of where the album art had come from. But the band weren’t done trolling yet. Soon after three videos surfaced on an Instagram account, seemingly showing Green Day in the studio working on new music. But fans noticed that the music in the videos didn’t sound like the already released singles for Father of All; these songs sounded like the bands earlier work on American Idiot.

Soon Youtube channels everywhere were talking about this new unannounced Green Day album, with even reputable journalists asking Green Day about the album. But in the end, Panicland released a video describing how they fooled the internet, and later released the fake album under their own name, titled Magnum Opus of the Inglorious Kind.

Check out their video explaining the whole event Titled: We Made a Fake Green Day Album. Fans Said It Was Real, on Youtube.

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BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)

F

ollowing the utter disappointment of

Suicide Squad, the DC extended universe

WORDS BY CATHERINE LINDLEY-NEILSON

made the wise move to focus their next movie on the only saving grace of the film: Harley Quinn. Margot Robbie feels to the character what Jack Nicholson felt like to the Joker in 1989 – the first fully formed realisation of the character.

modern edge. Whilst the style of the film can occasionally overshadow the story, it is hard not to get sucked into the dark candy-land world that director Cathy Yan and producer/star Margot Robbie have created together.

Birds of Prey presents its audience

With a star studded cast, the movie follows Harley Quinn after her (literally) explosive break up with Joker, as she realises that losing his protection means she now has a target on her back from all of the people she has wronged over the years.

with a coked up bubblegum version of Gotham, which feels like a mashup of 80s movies such as Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Tim Burton’s original Batman, whilst still managing to keep its

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REVIEWS // Film The macguffin of the movie is a pickpocket named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) who has swallowed a coded diamond; Harley fights to retrieve the diamond for the brilliantly camp and scary Roman Sionis (AKA The Black Mask), in order to receive the protection she now lacks. Whilst it may feel that would be a Joker-shaped hole in a Harley Quinn movie, being as her whole world revolves around Mr J, this spot feels filled by Ewan McGregor’s portrayal of Sionis. Whilst it leaves you craving more screen time with McGregor, as watching Sionis peel off the faces of his enemies and bragging about his culturally insensitive art collection is highly entertaining, it is a relief that the writers did not feel the need to insert the character further into the movie than needed, allowing the lead five their moments to shine.

to crop up in male-led movies, such as Harley handing Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) a hair-tie mid fight. These moments do not feel out of place or overdone however, and feel more natural than forced.

When the main five finally assemble, it feels so good that it leaves you wishing for more. Some of the best parts of Birds of Prey involve watching the five characters naturally bounce off one another, with witty conversations wouldn’t feel entirely out of place in a Tarantino picture. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s portrayal of The Huntress stands out as the hardened, revenge-driven assassin with social issues; Winstead and Robbie’s interactions in particular feel like something that wants further exploration.

Birds of Prey offers up enough

Birds

of

Prey

is somewhat chaotic, however as the film is being narrated

by Harley herself, it makes sense that it feels just as jumbled as her thoughts.

There are small womanly touches throughout the whole film that feel unlikely

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There are enough cleverly choreographed fight sequences to keep any Jason Statham fans entertained, whilst still managing to keep them unique enough to the movie that they would feel out of place in most blockbusters such as The Avengers franchise. Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn carries the movie through its few plot lulls, with the anti-hero never taking herself too seriously: she feels like a fully formed combination of Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool, and Juliette Lewis’ Mallory Knox (Natural Born Killers). delightful, creative violence to prevent the film becoming too light-hearted, enough DC universe references to keep the comic book crowd happy, and enough laugh out loud moments to entertain those who simply came to watch Margot Robbie shine, and boy does she deliver.

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1917

WoRDS BY ROB COOK In 1917, Sam Mendes offers the most tragic and immersive cinematic war experience since the release of Saving Private Ryan.

The feature length production of 1917, released on January 10, is by far one the most engaging and riveting journey through war torn Europe to ever grace our screens. Mendes’ one-shot approach throws the audience deep into the agonizing nightmare of the trenches, and delivers an exceptional adventure through northern France.

The story follows Schofield and Blake, who are issued with a mission to provide intelligence to their fellow comrades further down the line. They journey deep into enemy territory in the hope the intelligence will stop the British army from advancing into a German trap, potentially leading to a blood bath. Against terrible odds and isolation from the rest of their

forces, the brave soldiers race against the clock to stop the inevitable calamity.

Lance-Corporals Schofield and Blake, are magnificently played by George McKay and Dean Charles-Chapman. The two actors provide the audience with a combination of trauma and naivety. One of the films greatest assets is this vulnerability of youth and deep-rooted humanity that McKay and Charles-Chapman capture so effortlessly.

Offering a continuous POV, Mendes truly captivates the audience with cinematic beauty. Cinematographer Roger Deakins does an excellent job at capturing the mud, the mire and the macabre beauty of life on the western front. The cocktail of Deakins’ breathless cinematography and Mendes’ no-nonsense approach to direction, throws the audience mercilessly into the middle of everything. Every anxiety fuelled

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REVIEWS // Film trial, seems frighteningly real, flowing seamlessly from scene to scene.

The contrast within the film, from loud adrenaline filled firefights to humble and heart-warming conversations, is remarkably impressive. Bullets truly made me fly out of my seat, while physically strenuous moments of apprehension kept me on the edge. Softly spoken whispers behind enemy lines can turn into the deafening sounds of guns, bombs and dog fights happening overhead. For a film which takes a one-shot approach to its direction, the difference in theme and emotion explored is surprisingly well balanced and varied. The fluidity of the film is uninterrupted, yet the journey seems to have a multitude of ups and downs, happy moments and equally melancholic ones.

Elements of the film within these quieter moments draw upon the human cost of war. The refined and wholesome aspects of humanity, tug viciously at the audience’s heartstrings. Both soldiers and civilians showcase the realistic, inevitable fragility, and mortality of the human condition.

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Through compassion and deception, the characters feel real and authentic.

The stillness in these moments bring a tranquillity that is quite simply heartstopping. These moments of peace are treasured in communion by the audience and the soldiers on screen. These are the moments within 1917 that make it the most interesting war film to emerge in years. When the guns stop firing and all goes quiet, we see what war can really do to people and the human psyche.

The catastrophic implications of war are seen on all sides, audiences witness the boyish charm of youth become tainted with the melancholy and destruction that lies in the wake of war. A truly powerful experience and one I wish to recommend.

1917 is not just a war film, it is also a coming of age film. Europe’s youth is the heart and centre of the intimate production. A beautifully thought out effort, an exceptional companion to any history buff and above all a magnificent portrait of humanity shadow boxing with the dark reality of war.

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parasite

words by TOM BODDY It feels both strange and wonderful to say that Parasite, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s seventh feature film, won four Oscars at the most recent Academy Awards, including Best Picture (becoming the first film not in the English language to win the prize) Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. When the film won the Palme d’Or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May, no one would have dreamed it would reach the heights it has.

The hype was through the roof from day one, but this a rare occasion in which the hype was thoroughly deserved.

It’s surprisingly uncommon for a director’s best work to be the one which bags them that Best Picture win; think Martin Scorsese’s win for The Departed in 2006 when he churned out films like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas decades earlier, however Parasite is an exception to that rule. It is the

culmination of the best aspects of Bong’s filmmaking so far and then some. The film is 132 straight minutes of some of the most airtight, thrilling and entertaining filmmaking you will have seen in years and if you haven’t gotten to seeing it yet, you’re only hurting yourself. If you have seen the film though (hell, even if you haven’t) but are yet to explore Bong’s back catalogue, consider this your guide to his work and a formal invitation to join the BongHive.

Whilst themes of class discrepancy and other social issues, mixed with a touch of black comedy, run throughout Bong Joon-ho’s cinema, you can split his filmography into two categories: his sci-fitinged films, and his more grounded work.

His first two features, Barking Dogs Never Bite and Memories of Murder, fall into the latter category.

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REVIEWS // Film

Barking Dogs is probably a film you should

see once you’ve come to appreciate Bong’s work already, as this is the work of a director who is finding their feet. We follow a father-to-be whose stress is pushed over the edge by the incessant yapping of a dog in his apartment building, which leads to drastic measures and ends in fatalities for some unfortunate pups. Bong himself told Slate last year that he’s not even a fan of this one himself, calling it a “very stupid movie”, but there are inklings of his style to come that any fan of his will at least appreciate.

Memories of Murder features the first

collaboration between director Bong and actor Song Kang-ho, in which he stars as one of two detectives on the hunt for one of the first ever serial killers in Korea’s history. Kim Sang-kyung stars as the good cop to Song’s bad cop, and you can’t get more grounded than a real-life, unresolved case like this one. The story spans from 1986-91, but even in 2003 when the film was released the case remained unsolved –

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it was only last year when someone finally confessed to the crimes.

The final of Bong’s more grounded films came in 2009, with Mother. This one follows a woman whose son is convicted of a murder he is surely innocent of, as she tries to find the person who truly committed the crime. Kim Hye-ja is flawless in the titular role as the audience sees the extraordinary lengths she’s willing to go to as she attempts to clear her son’s name. The unnamed matriarch of the films is one of Bong’s best written and portrayed characters, proving what a talent he is at displaying human emotion.

The grounded, drama driven films of his career are all great in their own way, however, Bong’s sci-fi-tinged films are what truly cemented his status on the international stage. 2006’s The Host is his answer to the monster-movie genre, featuring a giant, mutated sea creature that emerges from Seoul’s Han River after an

issue #0 American scientist orders his assistant to dump toxic chemicals into the water. Song Kang-ho stars again as the father of a young girl who gets taken by said sea creature, as the rest of his family arrive amidst the chaos to help get her home safely. This was Bong’s first major success, becoming the highest-grossing South Korean film of all-time upon release (though it has since been overtaken by Parasite).

behind. She comes across environmental terrorists (including Paul Dano and Steven Yeun), a zany nature show presenter (Jake Gyllenhaal), and the icy head of the food manufacturers (Tilda Swinton) along the way. Animal lovers will have an extra stake in the outcome here – though anyone with a heart will be pulled in for the ride.

Snowpiercer was the first film Bong made

with a predominantly English-speaking cast, and it was set to be his big international breakout before it was smothered by (now disgraced) producer Harvey Weinstein and given the most limited of releases in the States, not even being officially released in the UK. Chris Evans leads the line in this dystopian thriller where the world has frozen over, with the last surviving humans ride on a train which navigates the globe on an infinite loop. The train is separated by class, however, with the lowest class riding at the back of the train, eating “protein blocks” and sleeping in congested bunk beds, while those up-front live in luxury.

The plot is fairly straight-forward (get to the front or die trying), but that doesn’t mean that the film isn’t entertaining for its full runtime. Song Kang-ho returns, with Tilda Swinton rounding out one of Bong’s best casts.

Netflix funded Bong’s most recent film before Parasite, a tale of one girl and her super-pig in Ojka. A food manufacturer has developed super-pigs as the next step in animal agriculture unbeknownst to Mija, a South Korean girl living in the mountains who raised one of their super-pigs for them for a decade. When the food manufacturers order Okja back the America to begin their mass consumption plan, Mija chases

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REVIEWS // Film

jojo rabbit words by mason meyers

character Jojo running around the streets of Germany, Nazi saluting every person he meets, set to a German version of the Beatles’ ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, with videos of Hitler spliced with clips of adoring and crying fans to make Hitler seem like a rock star. However, in this world that is exactly what he is. Jojo even has a room covered in posters of him.

Jojo Rabbit is without a doubt director Taika Waititi’s best work to date, and with a track record like his that’s no easy task.

Straight of the back of making Marvel’s huge hit Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi provides us a charming, heart-warming, silly and at times emotional story about a young boy in the Hitler youth that finds a Jewish girl hiding in the walls in his house.

On the surface it’s apparent that Jojo Rabbit is trying it’s best to push the boundaries of comedy, with Taika Waititi’s portrayal of Adolf Hitler being so silly it wouldn’t feel out of place in an episode of Little Britain.

Jojo Rabbit’s comedy shines brightest when making fun of dark subjects. The opening credits for the film follow main

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But look past the imaginary fuhrer-friend and charming kids with accents that go from English to German with a flick of a switch, and Jojo Rabbit feels important.

The movie proves multiple times it’s not afraid to shy away from difficult subjects such as racism, war and loss, and it’s at these points where Jojo Rabbit really shines at its brightest.

Jojo Rabbit has the feeling of discovering a perfect indie film festival movie to the masses, but with a star-studded cast and a $14 million budget. However, with incredible performances from Hollywood superstars like Scarlett Johansson, it’s impossible to leave this flick not feeling a little better about your life.

issue #0

THE WITCHER

WORDS BY ELLIOT WILLCOCKS

H

enry Cavill brings to life Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s monster hunting mutant with enough blood, beasts, and muscles for everyone.

The Witcher series has been brought

to many mediums before, beginning as a collection of 8 books and reaching over 15 million copies sold, before also being developed by CD Projekt into the phenomenally successful video game series. With so many avenues of success already explored it was only a matter of time before we saw Geralt on the small screen.

Netflix’s adaptation follows a range of viewpoints, most recognisable of which is the magically enhanced Henry Cavill

as main character Geralt of Rivia, as he explores the medieval inspired setting to accept coin and kill all host of fantastical beasts. Cavill himself is quite delightedly a self-proclaimed nerd, who gushed about his love of the video games at Comic Con last year. In fact, the Superman actor was so intent on getting to play Geralt that he supposedly told his agent to phone up everyone involved every single day until he was cast.

This dedication to the role was one of the strongest points of the adaptation. While Anya Chalotra captured the volatile nature of the mage, Yennefer, and Joey Batey provided a great deal of laughs and support as the travelling bard Jaskier, it is Cavill’s embodiment of the mutant Witcher that carries the show forward and always leaves you looking out for his next scene.

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REVIEWS // television While the series has been compared to HBO’s Game of Thrones, The Witcher includes its own much smaller portion of political intrigue, as the story develops from more than just Geralt and his pal Jaskier wandering around and getting into trouble. Although this hilarious buddy-cop dynamic showcases the wit and dry humour of both actors, as well as the superb fight choreography and monster CGI/costume design, all good things must come to an end in episode 4 as Geralt becomes linked to the unborn Cirilla, princess of the kingdom of Cintra and played by the 18 year old Freya Allan, after attending a banquet hosted by the Queen Calanthe, played by Jodhi May. It is here where the main drawbacks of the series are most prominent, as the series attempts to tell the whole story from multiple angles and different timelines.

For most of the first season, the viewpoint scenes between Geralt, Yennefer and Queen Calanthe all jump between different points in the timeline, while not explicitly saying so. Moreover, if you’re jumping into the series blind to the rest of the Witcher

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universe you’ll hear terms like ‘The Law of Surprise’ thrown around, and the kingdoms of Cintra or Nilfgaard mentioned with little in the way of explanation or worldbuilding.

Of course, these issues can be solved with a quick google search, and once the timelines are understood the series runs fine, but due to the large amount of content for only 8 episodes, it was inevitable that some elements of the world would remain a mystery.

Creator of the show, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who you’ll recognise from her work on Daredevil, has stated too that due to being a first entry into the world for a lot of people, the timelines are there to show backstories in only one season, while setting them up to intersect, as she confirmed that season 2 will be much more straightforward to follow.

While season 1 has some of its own problems, and can be jarring to find its way around, in the end, it’s carried by its stellar performances and build up to having more creative freedom with season 2.

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bojack horseman words by mason meyers

The last half of the split final season of Bojack Horseman is quite possibly one of the most gripping, yet ever-so-depressing seasons of television ever made. Throughout Bojack’s killer 6 season run, the creators of the show have never been afraid to deal with heavy topics. But now the show finally comes to a close, the creator’s take on the mammoth task of explaining the meaning of life.

Touching on topics such as death, depression, denial, drinking and of course drugs, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that Bojack’s final season is “a bit heavy”.

But at its heart, Bojack Horseman is a comedy (a very dark comedy, but a comedy

nonetheless). Throughout the beginning of part two of this season, we find ourselves getting some of the funniest episodes of the show to date, the build-up to the last two episodes providing an entertaining and satisfying round up the all of the most important character’s lives.

But the last two episodes of the show are really the most important part of the season, also providing possibly the most memorable episodes of the show. Bojack progresses more as a character in the last two episodes of the show than he has in the whole six-season run, finally facing his inner demons, and coming to terms

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REVIEWS // television

just like life, Bojack Horseman’s final episode is a beautiful and heart-breaking farewell to one of the greatest shows ever created, almost as if losing a good friend.

with one way or another having to face the consequences of his actions over the past six seasons. These episodes provide some of the best writing in a sitcom seen in a long time.

The show ends just as the creators want you to believe life does, with no real thrills, no big bang, and no real excitement. However,

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issue #0

the night country

The second installment of The Hazel Wood series by Melissa Albert is a stunning contemporary thriller full of suspense.

Picking up where the first book left off, ‘The Night Country’ continues the tale of the treacherous world of The Hinterland; where fairy tales are real, but not in a way which we commonly know. Filled with residents who exist to play out stories for eternity, as death is different in The Hinterland, life is run like clockwork with stories playing out over and over again.

Once the ice princess Alice-Three-Times and now trying to be a normal girl, Alice Proserpine along with her fellow Hinterland comrades have escaped their stories and taken New York as their home.

After the revelations of The Hazel Wood, Alice is unsure of who she is anymore and wonders whether the ex-stories can find a

words by melissa YOUNG happy ending in a world which is not their own.

Secondary main character Ellery Finch, who helped Alice escape her story, is still residing in The Hinterland. Now a scavenger, he is collecting treasures from the ex-stories. During this he meets a mysterious traveller, Iolanthe, who promises him safe passage back to Earth after helping her to find The Night Country, a supposed magical world from a children’s book. But what has been learnt so far in this world is that nothing is as nice as it seems on the surface.

Opening with Alice’s introspection, the narrative seems lost and confused, making

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REVIEWS // BOOKS this a difficult read to initially get into. A refresh of where the first book left off is definitely something that would be useful; however, it does have its uses stylistically as it mirrors the feelings of the Hinterland ex-stories who have escaped into a world where they do not feel they belong.

This book seems to be set in a strange paradox of time where you can never tell if it is 50 years in the past or present day. The only giveaways of this being a reference to Netflix and a sighting of people wearing Anna and Elsa costumes. It almost seems ridiculous that this complex and dangerous world can exist alongside Frozen, but every so often you come across something so mundane that you are slapped with the realisation that this story takes place in a world not unlike our own.

Although marketed as young adult fiction, ‘The Night Country’ is something that can be enjoyed by people of any age. At

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times the characters can show a youthful ignorance to situations and seem to always do the wrong thing, however the themes of this book are definitely not synonymous with the young adult genre. Romance is not the be all and end all of this novel.

You often find that young adult fiction is drowning in either cheesy or sophisticated romance which is not something you would expect from the average seventeen year old. However, although the two main characters of this book shared a special connection, this is not something that is massively explored.

With twin plot lines coming from Alice’s first person account and Finch’s third, their stories do not come together until the climatic ending, and even then it is not a reunion of two long lost lovers. For that reason ‘The Night Country’ is a novel that can be enjoyed by anyone who is looking for a suspenseful and exciting read.

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