The Edge - Issue 2 (Oct 2017)

ISSUE TWO OCTOBER 2017 FREE

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CLEAN BANDIT INTERVIEW!

Return to the Upside Down this Halloween with The Edge

EDITORIAL

Issue Two

Editor’s Note

I

s Freshers over? Are we still alive? I write this editorial as a slightly erratic exhausted wreck, still reeling from our busiest time of the year. This year’s Freshers has seen our brilliant committee really putting in the hours to recruit new members at a heap of fayres – and for some crazy reason, we decided to make our second issue in the midst of it all. But if our recruitment drive has successfully ensnared you – welcome! We look forward to seeing your words (or even designs) grace the pages of our next issue.

As it’s now October, the month of all things spooky, we’ve got last year’s surprise hit Stranger Things taking pride of place on the cover ahead of its return this Halloween.

On Page 8, we’ve mused on how the Netflix show shines brightest as an ode to the eighties, while Page 29 anticipates some of the chilling scenes we might see in the upcoming second season. The scariness doesn’t stop there – from low budget horror (p. 4) to The Edge’s favourite horror films (p. 19), we’ve got you covered this Halloween season.

But if you’re not a fan of the dark and supernatural, we’ve got an exclusive interview with Clean Bandit on Page 14 – including chat about their new album – while we put The Killers ‘in focus’ in our Records section. Ten years after it began, controversy of The Big Bang Theory’s neverending run is addressed with both ‘defence’ and ‘criticism’ pieces in Culture (p. 23 and 24), and we also have a list of the best sitcom Halloween specials on Page 25. Yes, the Treehouse of Terror is included! Finally, the eternal queen of all things sparkly pop comes into her own in Live, as we review Dua Lipa’s October gig in Bournemouth (p. 31).

It’s been a pleasure to see so many of you keen to get involved with The Edge this year. From our Give It A Go Day to our Welcome Meeting, I can already tell it’s going to be a joy watching a new intake of Edgelings grow into seasoned writers and designers. And if you missed getting involved in the chaos of Freshers – it’s not too late!

Join our Writers’ page on Facebook, or send one of us a message. We’d love to have you on board. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to nap for a good week.

James Barker Editor 01

The Team EDITOR

James Barker

editor@theedgesusu.co.uk

DEPUTY EDITOR

Rehana Nurmahi

deputy-editor@theedgesusu.co.uk

Head of Design Teague Hipkiss

design@theedgesusu.co.uk

NEws EDITOR

Robert Pratley

news@theedgesusu.co.uk

Features EDITOR Thea Hartman

features@theedgesusu.co.uk

recORDS EDITOR Meg Holland

records@theedgesusu.co.uk

film EDITOR

David Mitchell-Baker

film@theedgesusu.co.uk

Culture EDITOR Josh Nicholson

culture@theedgesusu.co.uk

Live EDITOR

Carly-May Kavanagh

live@theedgesusu.co.uk

Head of Relations Xavier Voigt-Hill

relations@theedgesusu.co.uk

Head of publicity

Maddie Armour-Chélu

publicity@theedgesusu.co.uk

Head of events

Octavia Woodward

events@theedgesusu.co.uk

Online Manager Hannah Dadd

manager@theedgesusu.co.uk

VP Creative Industries Evie Reilly

vpdci@susu.org With help from Sophie Jones (General Executive) and Sam Law (Records Executive)

EDITORIAL

Contents 28

with Clean 13 Interview Bandit to Watch: The 22 One Disaster Artist Best Sitcom 25 The Halloween Specials

Editorial

01 Welcome to Issue Two 02 Contents

News

03 Newsbox 04 Notes on News: The Continued Rise of Low Budget Horror Films 05 Nostalgic News

Features

07 Stranger Things: An Ode to the Eighties 09 Monsters in Entertainment: Obsession or Projection?

10 Memorable Mysteries: Most Iconic Crimes in Fiction 11 Hits for Halloween: Music Suggestions for the Spookiest Season 13 Interview: Clean Bandit

Records

14 Single Review: Off Bloom - Golden Dreams Single Review: Maggie Rogers - Split Stones Single Review: Zak Abel - Only When We’re Naked Artist in Focus: The Killers 15 Album Review: The Killers - Wonderful 16 Wonderful 17 Album Review: BROCKHAMPTON SATURATION II

Film

19 The Edge’s Favourite Horror Movies 21 Director in Focus: Taika Waititi 22 One to watch: The Disaster Artist

Culture

23 In Criticism of The Big Bang Theory 24 In Defence of The Big Bang Theory 25 The Best Sitcom Halloween Specials 27 Flashback Review: Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie 28 On Edge: Anticipating Stranger Things Season 2

Live

29 Review: Smuggler’s Festival 2017 30 Comedian in Focus: Omid Djalili 31 Review: Sundara Karma 32 Review: Dua Lipa 33 Listings

Follow Us! /theedgesusu @theedgesusu @theedgesusu

02

NEWS

@danieldaekim Jack, Chin, Jin or the skin I’m in.

It’s official. #Hellboy

News in Brief 1

Thor: Ragnarok is released in cinemas worldwide.

2

FIFA 18, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Just Dance 2018 launch on all major gaming consoles.

J.J. Abrams returns to the Star Wars franchise, replacing Colin Treverrow as the director for Episode IX.

3 4

Jax Jones and RAYE perform ‘The Best Lecture Ever’ at the Students’ Union.

5

Union Films announce an autumn lineup including Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Jigsaw and Mother!.

Excl: @danieldaekim “applauds” @edskrein for stepping down from HELLBOY after the whitewashing outcry

The Keats Of Tweets What initially seemed like a bad situation of white-washing in a film that has absolutely no excuse for it turns into a triumph for a very good actor. Kudos also to Ed Skrein for having the balls to speak out against the initial casting.

Got a celeb to nominate for next issue?

Let us know!

@theedgesusu

THE EDGE’S ENTERTAINMENT PICKS EDITOR: TAYLOR SWIFT, REPUTATION, BIG MACHINE RECORDS 10/11/17 “Some will disapprove what with Taylor Swift going all Robin Daggers on the world, but when her songs are loaded with as many digs as ‘Look What You Made Me Do’, what’s not to love? Also, ‘...Ready for It’ is a serious banger.”

FEATURES: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, DIR. BY KENNETH BRANAGH, 03/11/17 “Agatha Christie meets the big screen again for a modern adaptation of one of her timeless classics. While the plot itself may not be a surprise to everyone, the stellar cast and fresh vision make it one worth watching!”

RECORDS: JESSIE WARE, GLASSHOUSE, ISLAND RECORDS, 20/10/17 “The Mercury prize nominee gives us her follow-up to 2014’s Tough Love, one which promises to bare all and bring us records with a pretty strong identity - single releases ‘Midnight’ and ‘Alone’ already confirm as much.”

FILM: THOR RAGNAROK, DIR. BY TAIKA WAITITI, 24/10/17 “Thor teams up with Hulk to fight Cate Blanchett and it’s directed by Taika Waititi. The greatest movie pitch since Han Solo fighting Nazis whilst searching for a biblical artefact? Probably.”

CULTURE: POKEMON ULTRA SUN AND ULTRA MOON, NINTENDO, 17/11/17 “In traditional Pokémon fashion, Sun and Moon are getting a revamp a year after their release. While we still don’t know all the changes that are being made, Alola is calling out to be explored again.”

LIVE: THE KING BLUES AT THE JOINERS, 06/11/17 “A band with ‘a commitment to politics and resistance’, they’re punk, they’re political, and they’re at one of the nicest local venues in the city - what more could you want?”

Image courtesy of Disney

03

NEWS

NOTES ON NEWS The Continued Rise of Low Budget Horror Films

Katja Stout

A

nother year, another Sharknado film. Sharknado 5: Global Swarming had the best tagline for a film in a long long time: ‘Make America Bait Again.’ Over the last few years, we have seen a resurgence in the popularity of low-budget horror films with films such as Sharknado outstripping some of their high-profile counterparts in terms of popularity. Why is it that these films are proving so beloved? It seems there are three obvious factors in this.

Firstly, it’s clear that we are in a period of immense change in the horror genre. Notable high-profile horror films such as Annabelle, Jessabelle and The Woman in Black 2: Angels of Death are heralding this change with a focus on psychological horror and mental torture.

However, these sink on shoddy storytelling and an overreliance on stale old methods to make us jump; lower budget films such as The Purge: Anarchy; The Guest and The Babadook signal even better developments.

Secondly, in this age of technology, social media reaction is everything, and can even make or break a film. Those films which can generate discussion, or at least content, on social media show a far greater success.

If we look at a comparison between The Dark Tower and It – both high-profile films born from Stephen King novels – there are many reasons why It was far more successful but one of the key reasons was the social media reaction. If you use social media regularly you will likely have seen the rise of the Pennywise meme: “What would Pennywise have to say to get you to go down there with him?” With over 2.4 billion people having access to the internet and the rise of streaming sites such as Netflix and Now TV, lower budget films without big Hollywood premieres are far more accessible.

Combine this with a lot of content on social media

and you don’t need a blockbuster marketing budget.

The flawlessly created and acted horror hit, The Babadook, was made in Australia for just $2 million, however, due to positive word of mouth and accessibility, it managed to gain a foot hold in the mainstream consciousness.

Finally, we have to consider someone’s motives for watching a horror film. Obviously, people want to be scared, they like that little rush of adrenaline, however, another big motivation for watching horror films is for entertainment. It is not overly common for someone to go to watch a film by themselves, it is a social activity and, with horror films, a large part of this is watching the film as a group and being able to laugh both at the film itself, and at those being scared.

By extension of this, it is often films that do not take themselves too seriously which are more successful.

Cult classics like the Sharknado series are not in themselves scary but people watch them to be entertained. It’s by no means high-brow, but has generated enough interest to spawn four sequels, a board game and even get the director onto a panel at San Diego Comic Con. Sharknado, like its peers Birdemic and Shocktopus, is never going to win any prizes for its screenplay, and in fifteen years time we might look back on them with absolute horror that we ever ended up creating such monstrosities as them. But for now, they are still riding the wave of new and novelty and finding themselves punching above their weight.

And after all, who doesn’t want to see the sheer terror that a natural disaster filled with man’s greatest predator can cause?

Image courtesy of The Asylum

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NEWS

NOSTALGIC NEWS 40 YEARS AGO

35 YEARS AGO

Robert Pratley American rock icon Meat Loaf ’s iconic major-label debut was released forty years ago on October 21st 1977.

With a stunning rock sound, which was influenced by composer Jim Steinmann’s appreciation for artists like The Who and Bruce Springsteen, Bat Out of Hell became one of the best-selling albums worldwide, selling over 43 million copies. The album’s stunning blend of soulful storytelling, heavy rock and superb tandem of piano, bass and lead guitar produced a sound which is both synonymous with heavy rock, but also one which reflects upon the changing nature of music in general at the time. As further evidence to BOOH’s popularity, the album has spent an incredible 485 weeks in the UK charts, as well as being adapted into a stage musical which is now touring the West End. Not bad for a boy who in 1969 was broken, disheartened and without a recording contract.

Sophie Jones

Meatloaf released Bat Out Of Hell

1977

Roald Dahl’s The BFG was published

35 years ago, on 14th October 1982, Roald Dahl’s children’s book, The BFG, was published. In the same year, the book won the Federation of Children’s Book Groups Award, and has since sold over 37 million copies in the UK alone. The enduring appeal of The BFG, like all of Dahl’s children’s books, lies in the child hero. Sophie is kind and brave, and wishes to bring justice to her giant friend. Another affectionate detail is the language of the BFG, painstakingly created by Dahl, named ‘gobblefunk’, which names humans as ‘human beans’. It has been adapted to the small screen as an animated series, and to the big screen in last year’s Spielberg directed live-action film, and is beloved by children all over the world.

1982

40 YEARS AGO

David Bowie released Heroes

Corrie David Forty years ago, on 14th October 1977, David Bowie released his twelfth studio album album Heroes. The second instalment of the ‘Berlin Trilogy’, three albums consecutively recorded during his residence in Berlin, Heroes was the continuation of Bowie’s exploration of electronic and world music. Of the three albums (Low [1977], Heroes [1997] and Lodger [1979]), Heroes was the only of the three to be recorded entirely in Berlin. Released back in the day where albums were divided into ‘Side One’ and ‘Side Two’, the difference is still easily identifiable. Heroes truly identifies Bowie as a musician, rather than just another pop artist; Side One is home to the titular track ‘Heroes’ that is still loved and known today, as well as ‘Joe the Lion’. Heroes”widespread popularity and acclaim saw it scoop numerous awards, even being named NME Album of the Year and more recently being included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Heroes really was Bowie at his brilliant, brilliant, best.

Images courtesy of Sony, Jonathan Cape, and RCA Records

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NEWS

15 YEARS AGO

5 YEARS AGO

Josh Nicholson

Laura Woodhouse

Super Mario Sunshine was Released

Super Mario Sunshine was released fifteen years ago on 4th October 2002. Breaking away from the usual Bowser kidnaps Peach cliché, Super Mario Sunshine has one the series’ more “unique” storylines. After being framed by the mysterious Shadow Mario, the plumber is arrested and forced into community service. Seriously. And it only gets weirder, as Mario is equipped with a talking water-spraying backpack named F.L.U.D.D. Even though the plumber does venture into space in his next outing, Nintendo still haven’t matched the weirdness of Sunshine’s story. It’s certainly a black sheep, but Sunshine deserves to be celebrated for daring to break the mould. Ditching many of the established Mario clichés was a bold move by Nintendo, especially since the GameCube was massively under-performing in sales at the time. It was even advertised using ‘I’m Walking on Sunshine’ by Katrina and the Waves, a perfect choice if you ask me. Even though it was released in October, it’s a game that will make you feel like you’ve just stepped in from the beach.

Frankenweenie was Released

Released five years ago on 5th October 2012, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie became an instant Halloween classic. Based loosely on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Frankenweenie is an energetic stop-motion horror movie spoof with lovingly crafted visuals and a heartfelt, oddball story about a boy’s love for his dog. When tragedy strikes, budding scientist Victor Frankenstein uses lightning to resurrect his best pal Sparky. This leads to monstrous mayhem and misadventure as Victor’s fellow students blackmail him into teaching them how to resurrect their own precious pets. Frankenweenie was met with great critical acclaim leading to nominations for best film from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, and the Academy Awards within their animation categories.

Ultimately however, it is the story of a boy who loves his dog, tenderly explored with dark humour and affection, that makes this film so enduring. Add to that Burton’s signature aesthetic, wonderfully unique colour palette and quality animation and you have a recipe for a tail waggingly good time.

2002

2017

2012

5 YEARS AGO

Skyfall was Released

James Lynch 26th October 2012 saw the release of Skyfall, the twenty-third official James Bond film and the third with Daniel Craig as the title character. The story follows Bond, as he uncovers MI6’s past, facing challenges to both the past of the agency and his own personal past. Following much action throughout, the film climaxes with a battle at Bond’s ancestral Scottish home of Skyfall and the changing of power at the top of MI6. Brutal action sequences are tied with classy British Aston Martin DB5s but perhaps the best example of this blend is seen when Bond, immediately after ripping the end off a railway carriage with a digger and having to dive to stay on, feels the need to adjust his cufflinks and his blazer. This is what Skyfall does brilliantly: blending the modern grittiness shown in the first two Daniel Craig films with the classic suave nature reminiscent of the Sean Connery era.

Images courtesy of Nintendo, Disney, and Eon Productions

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FEATURES

An ode to the

eigh ties Sophie Jones

A

lthough Stranger Things first came to Netflix only a year ago last July, the Duffer Brothers have managed to recreate the eighties for another generation to fall in love with by injecting the decade’s pop culture into every vein of the show. The twin brothers Matt and Ross grew up in North Carolina, near the series’ fictional town of Hawkins. The series was originally named Montauk, after the inspiration of the town Amity, from the brothers’ childhood favourite Jaws. A poster for the film can now be seen in Will Byers’ bedroom.

They spent most of their childhoods devouring Stephen King paperbacks in one sitting, and the young characters they have created seem to be taken directly out of one. Both brothers have claimed It as the most formative of their childhoods, and it shows - a gang of geeky boys (plus one girl) riding through the town on bikes, taking on a monster no one else in the town seems to care about.

Even the now iconic title font takes its inspiration from the covers of the King paperbacks that had thrilled them as children. They actually pitched the show with a poster of King’s 1980 novel Firestarter, replacing the title with their own and pasting a bicycle over the top. The story of the book itself also lends

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inspiration to the show, providing a young female protagonist with mysterious powers (portrayed by Drew Barrymore in the 1984 film adaptation) who is being hunted down by the government, and the idea that the use of these powers can cause nosebleeds.

Spielberg and King are written into every fibre of this show just as they were written into the brothers’ childhoods, and they pay playful homage to the cultural giants on whose backs they stand. However, the most obvious inspiration for this series by far is Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster E.T. From the first episode, the connections are clear: a young boy takes in an alien, or in this case a young girl, who has the power of telekinesis, hiding her from his family in order to keep her safe.

Like E.T., Eleven wanders Mike’s house when everyone has left for work, and has only a limited vocabulary.

Will’s attempt to find solace in the garden shed is a direct reference to the scene in E.T when Elliot first meets his alien friend, although the monster Will meets is much less willing to be dressed up in a wig. Instead, Eleven takes on this reference, even if the brothers have made the moment more touching than humorous.

The two creations are also linked in the number of Star Wars references used by their young characters. Both

FEATURES

Mike and Elliot show their strange new friends their Star Wars toys, and Dustin’s LEGO Millennium Falcon is telekinetically lifted by Eleven, harkening back to Luke’s trial set by Yoda in the 1980 Empire Strikes Back.

Lucas also refers to Eleven as ‘Lando’ when he believes she is betraying the boys, and they regularly refer to her ‘Jedi powers’.

Underpinning these major inspirations, a host of minor references line the fabric of the series. The Demogorgon seems to take some of its design from the Alien franchise, including the trail of slime it leaves behind in the Upside Down. The scene in which the boys are walking down the train tracks clearly takes from Stand

By Me, a film based on The Body by Stephen King. A poster for John Carpenter’s The Thing can be seen in the Wheelers’ basement, and the original soundtrack is based on his synth-heavy compositions. Joyce (Winona Ryder) takes her son, Will, to see Poltergeist, (produced

by Spielberg), also echoing the film with her attempts to communicate with her son through the walls.

The choice to cast Winona Ryder as Will’s mother also cannot go without notice. The young figurehead of the late eighties, who found fame in films such as Beetlejuice and Heathers, becomes a mother figure to Eleven

towards the end of the series, as well as being the missing boy’s mother. She truly embodies the series, being the eighties’ figure of youth; it was the eighties that gave birth to the exploration of childhood that is Stranger Things.

In anticipation of the new series, Netflix have released a series of posters in the style of iconic eighties horror films, including Firestarter, The Evil Dead, and Alien. It seems that the homage will continue, but down a darker path. However, the promotional picture released of the boys in Ghostbusters getup shows that the brothers are still more than willing to have fun while paying homage to the wonder of their childhood cultural environment.

The brothers’ love of the eighties is born out of nostalgia for their own childhoods, captured in the gang of children and their teenage siblings, and surrounded by all the pop culture the brothers grew up with. They have captured all the fear that came from King, the awe of Spielberg, and plenty besides, created a monster of the eighties’ pop culture that formed the foundation of their creativity. It is this deeply personal connection to the decade, linked to the utter relatability of growing up, that fills the show with such irresistible nostalgia.

Images courtesy of Netflix

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FEATURES

MONSTERS IN ENTERTAINMENT Obsession or Projection?

Josh Nicholson

W

e’ve all had monsters living under our beds at some point or another, but why are we so fixated on these creatures of the night? From classical literature like Frankenstein to modern television hits like Stranger Things, they’ve infiltrated every area of popular entertainment. Whether they’re man-made monstrosities or supernatural horrors, we can’t escape our love of all things monstrous.

It might seem obvious, but we’re obsessed with monsters because they scare us. We’ve all got a morbid curiosity for what we’re frightened of. Whether it is disease, natural disasters or terrorism, we’re simply unable to bury our heads in the sand for too long.

King Kong and Dracula might not be real, but the most influential monsters are created by distilling our genuine fears. Monsters have the ability to personify our uncertainties and provide a singular entity with which to associate our greatest fears.

As our fears shift, so do our monsters. World War II saw the rise of giant movie monsters and this has been largely attributed to the rising fear of nuclear weapons.

Just like the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla could stomp through and destroy an entire city in seconds. It’s no surprise that this genre found particular success in Japan, the country scarred by nuclear destruction less than a decade prior to Godzilla’s debut. Associations only have to be made

subconsciously to make a massive impact on the viewer.

This isn’t just a modern occurrence - even the fears of the ancient Greeks were reflected in their literature through monsters. The mythological Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull that supposedly lived underneath the island of Crete. It’s now believed that the Cretans devised this legend to explain the earthquakes in the area. While we now know what causes tectonic activity, the Greeks were forced to invent a beast to associate their nowadays irrational fears with.

However, some fears remain a constant. We’ve always had a fear of the unknown and supernatural horrors play directly into this. Aliens can provide the ultimate form of the unknown and so they’ve become more and more popular as monsters in our entertainment. The Xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s Alien is an inhuman parasitic killing machine with biology far from ours.

Even Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King’s It has extra-terrestrial origins, it only appears as a clown so we have the ability to comprehend it.

Whether we’re blasting through them in the latest video game or telling spooky stories around a campfire, it’s important to consider why we find a specific monster so enthralling. It’s difficult to predict what the next generation of monsters will represent, but it seems obvious that they will continue to play an important role in our fiction.

Images courtesy of Universal and Prana FIlm

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FEATURES

Memorable Mysteries: Most Iconic Crimes in Fiction Nelly Mair

In a time in which TV seems over-populated by procedural police shows and every summer seems to bring a new hit thriller-suspense novel, it is clear that crime is a genre that never seems to go out of style. With Murder on the Orient Express soon coming to cinemas, we look back at fiction’s most intriguing crimes.

And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie

In many ways similar to Murder On The Orient Express, Christie’s 1939 novel is considered by many her masterpiece. It is also the best-selling mystery novel of all time. Ten strangers are invited to an island by a mysterious host and one by one are killed. Unlike many of Christie’s novels, And Then There Were None is detective-less, which adds to the isolated and helpless feeling within - it seems inevitable that no one will survive. The long build-up of suspense pays off in the reveal of the murderer, which is one of the author’s most masterful twists.

The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes always overshadows his cases he solves, even though the ingenuity of the cases themselves and the detective’s solving techniques is pivotal to the success of the stories. Inspired by a legend, the novel focuses on the mystery of a supposedly cursed squire and the devilish hounds which frighten him. The creepy nature of the novel, combined with the clever, very hard to guess explanation, keeps the reader hooked.

Lady Audley’s Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Lady Audley’s Secret was a huge success when it was initially published in 1862. It focuses on the eponymous Lady Audley, a bigamous woman prepared to go to any lengths to keep her secret. The novel is a gripping page turner, sensational for its portrayal of a violent and passionate woman hiding beneath the exterior of the ‘angel in the house’ Victorian stereotype.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

This 2012 novel was a huge success when it first came out, and its movie adaptation was award-winning and critically acclaimed. Starting after the disappearance of Amy Dunne, the plot hinges on whether or not her husband, Nick Dunne, is responsible. The twist is completely unexpected and the novel is shocking in the way it plays with the fear of never really knowing who you are married to.

Strangers On A Train - Daphne du Maurier

Du Maurier is a wonderful crime writer due to her immense ability to get within the mind of a murderer and create a persistent sense of foreboding. This is particularly true of Strangers On A Train, a novel (like many) made famous by a Hitchcock adaptation. The plot revolves around two men who meet on a train and, when the first suggests killing the person who makes the other miserable, become entangled in an intoxicating and inescapable situation.

Images courtesy of Collins Crime Club, George Newnes, Penguin Books, Crown Publishing Group, Harper Collins

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FEATURES

HITS FOR

HALLOWEEN

Music Suggestions for the Spookiest Season Camilla Cassidy

For all its countless genres and multitude of interpretations, music is the only medium where you arguably can’t have an outright horror genre. Scary films, television shows and games all rely on the visual to deliver their spooks - so where should music addicts turn their attentions for some scariness in the upcoming season? Maybe you want to move beyond the classics, and have something to squeeze in between repeats of the Monster Mash. Fear not - check out these genres, and get ready to bulk out your Halloween playlist for years to come.

Drown yourself in Southern Gothic Composed to evoke the black bayous and claustrophobic climate of the southern United States, the Southern Gothic genre is an under-appreciated gem perfectly suited to the darker seasons of the year. By blending haunting lyrics with acoustics that wouldn’t be out of place in the background of your average horror movie, it is often all together transformative. It is a genre where songs often tells stories - stories about things lost to the river, or the grotesque deeds one might do for love.

Rhythms sizzle hot, or move slope like treacle-thick, seeping black rivers. Instrumentation crackles at the edges of your consciousness, suggesting that there might be something stirring just outside your door. It’s the perfect thing to listen to alone in the dark, if you want to thoroughly creep yourself out.

Interested? Give Timber Timbre’s ‘Lay Down In The Tall Grass’, and Mirel Wagner’s ‘No Death’ a try.

Holy terror From demons to the devil himself, or a good old fashioned exorcism, horror is often preoccupied with classical biblical imagery. It has a weight to it, a resonance - because even in the form of music, there’s something a little unnerving about inviting judgement and willingly invoking a higher power. Plus, it often accompanies the deliciously devious threat of eternal damnation and boundless torture at the hands of the all powerful. That’s scary enough for you, right?

Interested? Try Johnny Cash’s ‘The Man Comes Around’, & Leonard Cohen’s ‘You Want It Darker’.

Come on in, make yourself uncomfortable Maybe you’re not fancying something outright spooky. Maybe you just want to be a little bit unsettled, or a little bit on edge. Music might not be able to give you jumpscares like a horror film or show, but is excellent at leaving you with that spooky feeling that follows you home and haunts you after the lights are turned out. What’s more, music has the power to do it with both song and lyrics.

For the former, you can try tracks textured with heavy distortion, guaranteed to tickle the hairs on the back of your neck. For the latter, the most insidiously uncomfortable songs are often those that seem pleasant on the surface but unnerve you the more closely you pay attention.

Interested? Try Neutral Milk Hotel’s ‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea’ for some eerie instrumentation, Sufjan Steven’s ‘John Wayne Gacy, Jr.’ for memorable lyrics, and The Magnetic Fields’ ‘A Cat Called Dionysus’ for a little of both.

Images courtesy of Friendly Fire Recordings, Universal, and Domino

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FEATURES

INTERVIEW:

CLEAN BANDIT James Barker

You’d be forgiven for thinking there was something supernatural about Clean Bandit’s sudden rise to fame. Most people’s first experience of the Cambridge trio was 2014’s ‘Rather Be’, which featured the mesmerising vocals of Jess Glynne and earned them the 2015 Dance Recording Grammy. Since then, they’ve racked up three Number 1 singles, and collaborated with everyone from X Factor winners to Swedish pop queens to SEAN PAUL (still in disbelief, even now). They’ll be making more musical magic this Halloween as they play a very special gig in Bournemouth’s O2 Academy; we managed to grab their lead singer Grace Chatto for a chat about the new tour, their upcoming second album, and dream collaborations.

Q: The big local venue for our readers is the O2 Academy in Bournemouth, where you’ll be casting a spell this Halloween. Are you planning any spooky twists to your normal show?

A: Oo, that’s a good idea, we will get planning!

Q: I’ll get a big question out of the way: how’s progress on the new album coming along?

A: Good. We have so many songs that we want to share, but we need to work out how they fit together for this record and also find singers to sing all the vocals: that’s the last step.

Q: Will you be showcasing any material from the new album – or any new music – on this tour of UK venues?

A: Yes! We will be performing our new single for the first time, as well as some other unreleased songs. I feel our new album will be quite different as we are much older than when we recorded [2014’s New Eyes].

Q: Is there an increased focus on big collaborations, or will we see you working alone/with some lesser known rising stars?

A: I’m not sure, we are at that stage now – finding the right voices for the right songs. There will hopefully be a mix of some lesser known and some better known singers. It just depends on what fits each song.

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Q: You’re currently doing dates in the UK and the US in the next few months. Do you get different reactions from different audiences on either side of the pond?

A: Yes definitely! And different again in Asia. Actually even within the UK it differs a lot from place to place: every city has a different vibe, but we haven’t toured here in UK for a long time. I’ve forgotten which place is like what!

Q: Your big name collaborations never fail to create hype – is there anyone you’re looking at working with soon?

A: I really want to do a song with Bryson Tiller. My dream artist would be Bruno Mars!

Q: Your music has always been strongly inspired by a range of genres, most notably classical music.

Do you think your sound is evolving to be more for mainstream audiences, or that pop is diversifying to embrace more unique styles of music like your own?

A: Bit of both. Our next single is very pop, but at the same time I don’t think ‘Rather Be’ was very pop until it became pop-ular.

Clean Bandit are playing at the Bournemouth O2 Academy on Tuesday 31st October.

RECORDS

SINGLES REVIEWS: MAGGIE ROGERS Split Stones

Sarah Whittington

Few people can claim to have left Pharrell Williams speechless, but that is exactly what Maggie Rogers did in an NYU music masterclass session just over a year ago. Now, having released her first EP Now That The Light Is Fading last year, she is back with ‘Split Stones’, a track which doesn’t push the boundaries on her previous work, but still cements her talent as something unique enough to deserve attention, for now.

Following a familiar approach of a simple beat and percussion, overlapped with a loop of Rogers’s breathing, the track showcases her lyrics, detailing a singer in turmoil, and trying to decide how to best

let herself, and her talent go. Indeed, the verses seem a window into Rogers, where after her incredible year, she struggles with where to take herself next, where she could experiment and what she might choose to make. In a build-up of vocals (strangely reminiscent of Coldplay’s ‘Sky Full of Stars’) it’s a sentiment that for Rogers is clearly her driving focus: to experiment with her voice, and her talent until she has reached the heights she is capable of.

‘Split Stones’ is out now via Capitol Records

ZAK ABEL

OFF BLOOM

Maddi Howell

Meg Holland

Only When We’re Naked

Having played a string of numerous festivals over the summer, Zak Abel will have undoubtedly pleased both new and old fans with track, ‘Only When We’re Naked’, one which is not as intimate as it first sounds. Speaking to MistaJam on BBC Radio 1Xtra when premiering the track, he said: “There’s obviously the physical nakedness interpretation but… it’s about more than that.

It’s about also being emotionally naked, emotionally vulnerable and real with people when you meet them, when you talk to them.”

Such a multifaceted track creates one

suited to a multitude of different moods and it’s clear that Abel has excelled here.

The track itself is ridiculously catchy; with an upbeat tempo and Abel’s smooth and soulful vocals, you’ll struggle not to shout the lyrics or dance along ridiculously, regardless of where you are when you hear it. ‘Only When We’re Naked’ bodes well for Abel’s debut album, likely to fully plant him on the music scene as the next big singer-songwriter.

Only When We’re Naked is out now via Atlantic Records

Golden Dreams

The fiery Danish three-piece, who declared in an interview with The Edge last month that: “we decided to become the biggest act in the world, and that’s the journey we’re on now“, seem to be sticking to their resolution if their latest single ‘Golden Dreams’ is anything to go by. A track about being carefree and getting drunk with your friends, it’s

an electronic-pop banger which will satisfy all of your dance needs just by the chorus alone.

With a drop that’s reminiscent of recent tracks from the likes of Mura Masa, and although it often too repetitive, it’s not your typical club track, and certainly bodes well for the rest of their EP. Lover Like Me is out now via Universal Records

Images courtesy of Capitol, Atlantic, and Sport Records

14

RECORDS

ARTIST IN FOCUS The Killers

T

Sam Law

he Killers are the first band I truly fell in love with.

Before discovering ‘Human’, and ‘Spaceman’, and ‘Mr Brightside’, and all those other classic mid-00s electro-indie-pop mega-hits, I’d simply trusted the radio each week. But poring over The Killers’ discography, and blasting each and every track on repeat for weeks on end completely reshaped the way I approached music, as well as the entire alternative rock landscape.

Formed seemingly under the sheer willpower of frontman Brandon Flowers, The Killers made a splash almost immediately. After leaving Las Vegas synthpop trio Blush Response in 2001, Flowers started hunting for like-minded musicians throughout the Vegas rock scene, and within a year the core quartet of Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. was formed.

Those early months were a flurry of spontaneity and creativity that is evident in the music the band wrote: eclectic singles ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’ positively ooze upbeat enthusiasm, whilst the rest of debut album Hot Fuss was pretty much finished come the tail end of 2002. By early 2003, the band had grown so popular that L.A. music scouts began dropping by in Vegas to watch The Killers perform, even if they didn’t have gigs booked; come summer, they had British and American record deals, and a top 10 single in both countries in the slick, enigmatic rerecording of ‘Mr Brightside’. From there, the rest, as they say, is history: with five consecutive UK Number 1 albums in Hot Fuss, Sam’s Town, Day & Age, Battle Born and Wonderful Wonderful, and having headlined such festivals as Glastonbury, Lollapalooza and Coachella, The Killers are undeniably one of the most successful and important rock bands of the last 15 years.

It’s not hard to see how The Killers have become such legends in their field. Their music is perfectly layered, with each guitar chord or rumbling bassline hitting just the right spot,

15

and I’m still discovering subtle flares of sound in the background of songs that I’ve been listening to for nearly a decade. But more than that, The Killers are masters at evoking mood with music - compare the beautifully intimate and melancholy ‘Goodnight, Travel Well’, to the emphatically defiant ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’, and unapologetically frantic ‘Run For Cover’. Each album really makes you feel something, whilst leaving much to be gleaned from the music on each replay.

Of course, it helps that The Killers have a real talent for crafting absolute anthems (‘Spaceman’, ‘When You Were Young’, ‘The Man’, ‘Mr Brightside’ - I could go on).

Having such a backlog of sure-fire festival favourites is an obvious advantage for a band who have spent 12 of their 15 years on tour, but the abundance of anthems means you never have to look far for something to belt out at the top of your voice with your mates.

So after a five-year wait for new music, Wonderful Wonderful marks a triumphant return to the top of the UK charts. Even after just a couple listens, it’s easy to see why it has proven so popular. The key Killers ingredients are there - delightfully layered instrumentation, huge anthems and just that hint of synthpop from Flowers’ Blush Response days - but there’s also enough different to make it stand out, both from The Killers’ own discography and from the Taylor Swifts and Dua Lipas of the world.

RECORDS

ALBUM REVIEW:

THE KILLERS

WONDERFUL WONDERFUL

Octavia Woodward

A

fter 5 long years The Killers are back, but not as we remember them. In a recent interview, frontman Brandon Flowers described the band’s fifth studio album Wonderful Wonderful as ‘the right side of uncomfortable’ confessing that in this album ‘I’m more bare than I’ve ever been’. This description seems apt for a record which infuses the traditional glam rock of their sophomore album Sam’s Town, the life and electro lift of Day and Age, and the soul and introspection that we have come to associate with a Brandon Flowers solo album. However, it also perfectly encapsulates the essence of what makes some of the tracks on this album either a roaring success, that fills the listeners heart with the kind of triumphant determination only felt when experiencing an excellent Killers track, or flat and muted, bordering on dreary.

Upon the release of the album’s single, ‘The Man’, radio stations and fans alike rejoiced. The Killers seemed to have rediscovered the verve and confidence which had been lost in their previous album Battleborn. Boasting a boisterous culmination of bass and synth with lyrics saturated in irony and self-awareness, ‘The Man’ set the tone and fan expectation of Wonderful Wonderful high. In their subsequent release ‘Run for Cover’, this momentum

was continued, with the kind of enthusiasm and passion for life that we have not heard since Day and Age, a trait that continues in their other stand out tracks ‘Tyson vs Douglas’ and ‘The Calling’. In each of these tracks it feels as if The Killers have regained their ability to create songs oozing with purposeful determination, striking a chord with each of us who wish to reinforce the front we put on when trying to remain true to ourselves and stand with our principals in this time of political and moral uncertainty.

Unfortunately, it is in the album’s slower more personal tracks that it loses its way. Except for the opening track ‘Wonderful Wonderful’, which perfectly sets the stage for The Killers return its sound creating an almost cinematic etherial quality, tracks such as ‘Rut’ and ‘Some Kind Of Love’ seem far more at home on Brandon’s debut solo album Flamingo than amongst the potential power of The Killers. Lyrically personal and melodically slow, while the tracks are not void of emotional sentiment, musically they never seem to gain traction or fulfil their potential.

Instead they merely serve as a means to transport the listener to the next standout track and reinforce the tone expressed throughout Wonderful Wonderful.

Overall this isn’t a bad album, there are songs which demonstrate what The Killers do best and its perfect structure takes the listener on an exploration of humanity’s constant conflict between who they are and what they project to the outside world. Unfortunately, if the band are looking to cement their sound in what they determine as the post rock and roll age they may still have a little more searching to do.

Wonderful Wonderful is out now Virgin EMI

Images courtesy of Press Here and Virgin EMI

16

RECORDS

ALBUM REVIEW:

BROCKHAMPTON SATURATION II David Mitchell-Baker

B

it of context for you here; BROCKHAMPTON released their first album SATURATION earlier this year, less than three months later SATURATION II is here, and they’ve promised a SATURATION III before the end of the year. If this isn’t a collective on top form or operating at a different creative level to everyone else, then I don’t know what is. A self-branded boyband, BROCKHAMPTON have taken the hip-hop scene by storm in 2017, churning out huge tune after huge tune and enamouring fans in their thousands. The aforementioned SATURATION is a strong contender for perhaps the best debut album by any group in recent memory and a front-runner for the best album of 2017, so expectations for SATURATION II have been at a fever pitch ever since its announcement.

Unsurprisingly, SATURATION II delivers and then some.

defiant as an openly gay rapper, Vann shares the horrors of his drug addiction, Wood touches on the pressures of his life choices and decisions, and Champion defends his mother and her alcohol problems and states his disgust at how a lot of men treat women.

Easily the most powerful track the group has produced, it stands out as the diamond among an already nearspotless discography. Not only are the lyrics incredibly moving, the wild instrumentals reflect the meaning of the words, creating an eerie and unsettling aura around the song. From one song about addiction and struggles set to an unsettling tune, to another set to a damn near terrifying beat, ‘FIGHT’ is similar to ‘JUNKY’ in many ways. ‘SWEET’ throws it back to the opening tunes, equally as catchy and groovy, this is a boyband doing what a boyband should do and they’re doing it better than anyone else in the industry right now.

On the whole, SATURATION II is a far groovier album and opening track ‘GUMMY’ exemplifies this with an irresistible beat and 90s west coast raplike instrumentals, the group’s dark, quirky lyricism at play here as much as it is on SATURATION. ‘QUEER’ combines this throwback style with a beat much more in line with recent high-energy style hip-hop, it’s an effortless combination, summing up BROCKHAMPTON’s ethos and style perfectly in one song. ‘JELLO’ packs a ridiculously catchy hook that you’ll be singing to yourself for days afterwards, but it is ‘SWAMP’ that takes the cake here; “Fucking commas up from the outside/From the outside, from the outside [...] They been talkin’ down on me what ya say?” from rappers Kevin Abstract and Matt Champion is the group’s most infectious hook to date.

Closing tracks ‘GAMBA’, ‘SUNNY’ and ‘SUMMER’ recall the likes of ‘SWIM’ and ‘MILK’ from SATURATION, smoother and more instrumental heavy cuts to again enforce just how far-reaching the work of BROCKHAMPTON is; they do hype, they do emotion, they do calm, there is seemingly nothing they cannot do.

Just like its predecessor, SATURATION II is a complete triumph and reinforces BROCKHAMPTON as a force to be reckoned with in modern-day hiphop. SATURATION has a contender in the race for best hip-hop project of the year, and its name is SATURATION II.

But whilst ‘SWAMP’ may be the album’s catchiest song, I’d hazard that ‘JUNKY’ is their best.

Here, the group’s four main rappers - Abstract, Champion, Ameer Vann and Merlyn Wood - spit out their struggles; Abstract stands

Images courtesy of Question Everything, Inc., and Empire Distribution and Codi Fant

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FILM

THE EDGE’S

favourite horror movies the witch (2016) dir. by Robert Eggers Sam Law

When it comes to provoking pure horror, there has been no film in the past few years more successful than The Witch. The genius of the film comes in how it disregards many of the same, tired tropes that have tied down too many horror films of the past couple of decades - there are no jump scares, there is no final “battle” against an evil demon, spirit or psychopath, and there is next to no gore. What The Witch uses instead is pure tension, and unease. From the unnatural goings-on in the woods and around the farmhouse, to the dark natural lighting used throughout, to the use of genuine 1630s dialect in the script, the entire film has been constructed to create a hauntingly suffocating sense of dread that lingers long after the credits roll. True, there is nothing especially “scary” about the film; rather, director Robert Eggers has used every tool at his disposal to simply induce the feeling of fear in the back of your mind, without providing a single jump scare or action sequence as an outlet for you to release that fear. It’s not a horror film for everyone - if you enjoy those action sequences & jump scares, or can’t stand historical dialogue or the admittedly slow-moving plot, you won’t enjoy this movie. But if you could capture fear in a bottle - true fear, dread and unease - and apply that to film, The Witch is the result, and I love it.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) dir. by Guillermo del toro

Sophie Jones

Guillermo Del Toro’s Spanish-language dark fantasy, Pan’s Labyrinth, combines the horror of a childhood surrounded by conflict with the childish longing for fairytale endings, creating an ethereal world of fauns and fairies around a young girl caught in the middle of it all, Ofelia, the reincarnated Princess of the Underworld. The film, El laborinto del fauno (The Labyrinth of the Faun) in its original Spanish, finds its beauty in the creation of its creatures, brought to life by a combination of astounding make-up and animatronics, assisted by some stunning CGI. The ambiguously kindly Faun (confirmed by del Toro to not, in fact, be Pan), his stick insect fairy messengers, and the sickly, child-eating Pale Man will haunt only the prettiest of dreams, but will haunt them for a long time nonetheless; repulsive, beautiful, and memorable. The mortal characters are equally as enthralling; Ofelia’s pregnant and increasingly ill mother, ruled by her militarily controlling husband; the housemaid secretly committing treason by assisting the rebels, with the help of the base’s doctor, and not least young Ofelia, who captures completely the limbo of adolescence, the space between believing in fairytales and accepting reality, of horror and fantasy, death and immortality. The film is a wondrous exploration of conflict and the human need to create stories to fix it. It is unsurpassable in its capability to both terrify and comfort. It is humanity at both its worst and its best, and I adore it.

Images courtesy of A24 and Warner Bros.

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FILM The Evil Dead (1981) dir. by Sam Raimi Leyla Hettabi

Written and directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly, The Evil Dead tells the tale of a group of five friends who go to a cabin in the woods and unleash evil spirits which slowly start possessing them. The first reason why this film is at the top of my Halloween binge watching list is for its mindblowing cinematography. Sam Raimi knows how to immerse the viewer into the film’s creepy atmosphere, with the movements and the tracking shots making the tension palpable, giving you the sensation that it is you trapped inside this nightmare. Even for what could be seen as a dated 80s horror film, it is legitimately terrifying; The Evil Dead gives you this overwhelming sense of tension because every time the camera is moving apace through the forest you know something petrifying is about to happen. Slowly, we start to empathise with the characters. There is something about this movie that will get under everybody’s skin, and that is what makes The Evil Dead a classic.

Horror fans will find their dose of creepiness with a fair amount of genuine jump scares and crazily intense moments. For most of the movie there is no dialogue and it is the score from Joseph LoDuca that serves as guide through all the emotions you will feel, working in tandem with the cinematography.

It does everything right; the pacing is perfect, the cinematography, the score and the acting are all outstanding. The Evil Dead is a classic for a reason.

Kill List (2011) dir. by Ben Wheatley Liam Beazley

If you managed to catch Ben Wheatley’s atmosphere-heavy Kill List back in 2011, you may be forgiven for not having slept properly since. Oozing with an insomniac essence of pure paranoia, Kill List is a film which puts you in a dazed state of terror that lingers. Merging social realism with genre elements, it creates a penetrative feeling of home which makes the horror intensely visceral. The tale of two hit men who take on a high paying job that involves the killing of three men which unravels into a terrifying conclusion. It may have a simple plot, but Kill List offers a complex and violent onslaught of a film for which explanation does little justice. An unconventional indie drama at heart but pitchblack horror at its very soul, Wheatley’s foray into fear proves to be one of the most eerie cinematic experiences in recent memory. As a result, Kill List maintains an unparalleled discomfort which it seals with one of the most brutally shocking conclusions in cinema. As British horror goes, it’s The Wicker Man for the 21st century.

Psycho (1960) dir. by Alfred HItchcock Lisa Veiber

Psycho, often referred to as the first slasher or psychological horror movie, may certainly be the pioneer of the horror genre. Though more of a thriller than a horror movie, its villain, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), is certainly one of the most chilling characters of all time. While the coldness of Bates is one of the greatest features of the movie, Hitchcock’s directing skills create a whole new way to address horror in a film. Indeed, you know what is happening although you cannot actually see it. The famous shower scene is a masterpiece of suggestion; the audience looks successively at the knife, as Marion (Janet Leigh) screams while her wounds are never captured by the camera. This feeling of anxiety increases throughout the film until its climax, the camera focuses on the clenching skull of the corpse and Norman enters with rage in his eyes. The fact that the movie is in black and white adds to the tension, played marvellously by the actors and Norman Bates diabolic face in the ending scene. Many will not consider it as a true horror movie, yet it has certainly inspired many horror films directors in the way they set the plot on camera.

Images courtesy of New Line Cinema, Optimum Releasing, and Universal

20

FILM

DIRECTOR IN FOCUS Taika Waititi Eleanor Joyce

P

erhaps best known for his work on the vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, Kiwi director Taika Waititi’s newest project is the Hollywood behemoth Thor: Ragnarok. You’d be forgiven if you haven’t heard of Waititi before - despite making waves in New Zealand, Ragnarok will be his biggest work to date - yet with his playful style and penchant for deadpan humour, he may well become a household name by the end of this year.

Waititi began his varied career with comedy while studying at university, becoming one half of the comedy duo Humourbeasts with fellow Kiwi comic Jemaine Clement. In 1999 they won the Billy T Award, the highest comedy accolade in New Zealand, and Waititi turned his considerable talents to directing. Eagle vs.

Shark, an oddball rom-com, made little impact outside its US limited release in 2007, but 2010’s Boy marked a shift in fortunes for Waititi. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film broke several box office records in New Zealand, and Waititi received praise for his dual roles as director and one of the main characters (a hallmark of his work). What We Do in the Shadows was released in 2013 and has become a cult classic, starring Waititi and his longtime partner Jemaine Clement as part of a group of vampires living in modern-day Wellington.

Apart from Ragnarok, Waititi’s most successful project to date is 2016’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a family friendly surprise box office hit that was included

in the Top 100 Films of All Time on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 97% Fresh. This led to Waititi being commissioned to write the screenplay for Disney’s hugely popular Moana, but ultimately his involvement ended at the first draft - in part due to boredom. None of the films mentioned above appear to have anything in common at first glance, but Waititi’s sly humour and sense of fun unite all of them in what could be dubbed the ‘Taikaverse’. In a recent Guardian interview the man himself describes all his films as “a fine balance between comedy and drama”, which leaves a lot of questions regarding the direction he’ll be taking Ragnarok. The Marvel universe has a dedicated and often opinionated fan-base, so Waititi’s unique take on iconic characters like Thor and the Hulk will be extremely interesting.

Despite being named New Zealander of the Year this year, Waititi remains grounded and appears to have an outsider mentality towards Hollywood drama, professing that he’d be perfectly happy in New Zealand for the rest of his filmmaking career. All of Waititi’s films include actors and crew members of Maori and indigenous heritage, as he is of Maori heritage himself: he is keen to “get Maori stories out there”, resulting in a unique and special integrity that comes through in his writing and directing projects. Whether he’s writing a big-budget movie or an indie flick, it’s certain that Taika Waititi is one to watch in the future, as he bridges the gap between the worlds of Hollywood and independent cinema.

Thor: Ragnarok will be released in UK cinemas on October 24th.

Image courtesy of Getty Images

21

FILM

ONE TO WATCH The Disaster Artist

C

David Mitchell-Baker

hances are you’ve never seen the 2003 Tommy Wiseau vanity project The Room, but the chances are even higher that you know exactly what it is and why it’s still talked about nearly 15 years on from its release.

Famously dubbed “the Citizen Kane of bad movies”, this disaster of a movie is seen by many as the worst film ever made; awful dialogue delivered in awful ways, narrative flaws and out of focus shots, The Room fell flat on its face upon release. Wiseau has always claimed that there was a method to his madness, that The Room was always intended to be laughably bad, but many are in agreement that this was a passion project made by a man with less talent than Michael Bay has respect for women. For obvious reasons then, The Room is now a cult classic on the level of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Whilst Wiseau has revelled in the unforeseen second life of his movie, its true story has since been told by Wiseau’s co-star and friend, Greg Sestero, in his book The Disaster Artist. It is this branch of The Room’s history that brings us to one of 2017’s most highly anticipated releases still to come - The Disaster Artist.

One James Franco has taken it upon himself to bring Sestero’s account to life, Franco serves as director, producer and star for this insider’s story of the worst movie ever made. Alongside him as Sestero is his own brother Dave Franco, with regular Franco collaborator Seth Rogen playing script supervisor Sandy Schklair. But it’s not just another FrancoRogen show, the ensemble also boasts the talents of Alison Brie, Josh Hutcherson, Jacki Weaver, Zac Efron, Hannibal Buress, Melanie Griffith, Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, Judd Apatow, Kate Upton, Dylan Minnette, Zoey Deutch, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jason Mitchell and Randall Park. And that’s not even including the celebrity cameos! Bryan Cranston, Zach Braff, J. J. Abrams, Kristen Bell, Keegan-Michael Key,

Adam Scott, Danny McBride and “the Orson Welles of crap” himself, Tommy Wiseau are all confirmed to make cameo appearances. Not only is The Disaster Artist a story of Hollywood at its most bizarre, it’s a story that seemingly all of Hollywood want in on.

Whilst Franco may not have the best directorial track record to date (this being arguably his biggest project yet), he is more than proven as both a dramatic and comedic actor, with his performances in 127 Hours and This Is The End being two of the most lauded of his career, two films that couldn’t be any different. But the award-winning source material gives this movie great hope. Not only is the story of The Room rather remarkable, but it also packs a mix of humour and drama to allow for what should be a crowd pleaser as well as a possible awards contender, one judging panel described the book saying that “The Disaster Artist is not only a hell of a good read, it will make a great film if ever adapted. It’s equal parts Ed Wood, American Hustle and demented Citizen Kane— with a dash of Monty Python thrown into the mix”.

Not a half bad movie pitch if I may say so myself.

From the first teaser released a couple of months ago which gave us a glimpse of the famous “Oh hai Mark” scene, it’s clear that Franco has the role of Wiseau down to a tee, in all its absurdity and eccentricities. The hilarity of watching the greatest bad movie ever made unfold looks to be both enjoyable and oddly fascinating.

The full trailer released recently only furthers this, Franco and co. are clearly having a blast and their fun should easily translate into what should be one of 2017’s funniest and most riotously entertaining movies.

The Disaster Artist (2017) is set for a UK release of December 1st

Image courtesy of A24

22

CULTURE

IN CRITICISM OF Josh Nicholson The Big Bang Theory is far from the worst thing on television, but this insipidly bland sitcom deserves all the hate that’s thrown its way. Just like Two and a Half Men before it, this Chuck Lorre comedy is plagued with lazy writing, caricature-level characters and shallow storylines. Although it’s painted with a sheen of nerd culture, Big Bang is the most uncreatively mainstream show around. There are some points which are frequently used to defend the sitcom, but none are particularly persuasive and only further my growing disdain for the show.

In the words of the superior sitcom Peep Show: “People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. You can’t trust people”. If we’ve learned anything from The Phantom Menace or Michael Bay’s Transformers, it’s that a product’s popularity or financial success doesn’t indicate its quality. The Big Bang Theory feels like it was created in a laboratory to have the broadest appeal possible. It’s great to have a wide variety of viewers, but this is definitely the reason it feels so bland. In CBS’ desperate attempt to create a marketable successor to Two and a Half Men, Lorre crafted an innocuous and flavourless nothing of a sitcom. Although it’s disguised by a veneer of nerd culture, Big Bang is one big cliché-fest. It’s fine if you like vanilla, but there are so many more exciting flavours to choose from.

It’s popular

I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the show’s laugh track, but I’m not really sure this is a valid criticism. What I can’t forgive is the complete lack of jokes. Fans will often point to the show’s nerdiness as its unique selling point, but it’s purely superficial. Unlike the similarly geeky I.T Crowd, Big Bang makes no effort to construct actual jokes around its constant pop-culture references.

Simply mentioning Star Wars or Back to the Future garners a massive laugh from the audience. It really just boils down to laughing at these characters for enjoying nerdy things. There are admittedly series of running gags that don’t rely on regurgitating references, but these are mostly just painfully lazy one-liners. Sheldon is obviously the show’s breakout character, but this is only because of his inane try-hard catchphrases. Bazinga!

There’s a difference between having intelligent characters and having intelligent dialogue. Just because Sheldon and Leonard have PHDs doesn’t mean that Big Bang is well written, clever or witty. They might have a production scientific advisor to fact check references to their work, but it’s never used to craft a joke. Just like the pop-culture references, the gang’s intelligence is only used as a punchline. It’s fine to absorb and even enjoy bottom-of-the-barrel entertainment, but it’s ridiculous to claim that it’s clever.

They talked about Star Trek XD

It’s clever

I’m certainly not saying that you can’t enjoy The Big Bang Theory. It’s undeniably a massive hit and me moaning isn’t going to change that. If you’re a fan of the Sheldon’s antics, more power to you! With Young Sheldon’s good early reviews, I can only hope that CBS’s most profitable show is on the up.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions

23

CULTURE

IN DEFENCE OF Abi Cutler

Prior to starting university, it never struck me that there could be so much disdain for a harmless sitcom like The Big Bang Theory. Whenever it’s brought up in conversation among my peers, I am always surprised that there is so much hate for a television programme I have always enjoyed so much. Yet, when I ask my friends who do not enjoy it, I am bombarded with vague reasons which often don’t quite stand up. Here are the three arguments I most often met with when the show is brought up – and why they’re wrong.

This (incorrect) statement always bothers me the most. Before going into any other detail, I must point out what I say to everyone who claims this must be true: the writers of the show have confirmed that they did not intentionally write the character with Asperger’s traits. Speaking to TIME magazine, actor Jim Parsons stated, ‘I asked the writers, and they were like, No, he doesn’t have it.While it is clear that Sheldon has many traits which could be compared to those of Asperger’s, the writers didn’t intend to write him as autistic in any way. These traits he displays become a part of who he is as a character. All of the characters have defining qualities that make them different and interesting to watch, so to hear comments such as “a show about an autistic man isn’t funny” is incredibly frustrating for me as it’s not the case!

I also hear this one frequently, people claiming that the show never moves past four nerds struggling to talk to the pretty girl across the corridor. Granted, this was the plot basis for the first couple of seasons, but the show has come a long way in 10 years. The introduction of Bernadette and Amy as main characters brings a fresh element to the programme, as now we have two incredibly intelligent, driven female characters to join Penny. Amy’s character also adds a new dimension to Sheldon as he tries his best to understand romance and relationships. By the end of Series 10 the show really covers a wide range of characters and storylines, with Penny and Leonard married, Howard and Bernadette with a baby, and Sheldon and Amy’s relationship developing further than anyone could have anticipated back when she was introduced in Season 4.

Sheldon clearly has Asperger’s syndrome

There’s no plot development

Television programmes cannot appeal to everyone’s tastes, and this could not be more true with comedies. While the humour of The Big Bang Theory isn’t appreciated by all, to just call it ‘dumb’, as I have heard it described, is incredibly narrow-minded – and also inaccurate. The majority of the comedy in the show is well thought out, with much of it being based around the characters’ work in science (bar Penny). To ensure scientific accuracy, the show has a science specialist working on set. The more generic sitcom jokes balance this out so the show can play to a wide audience, but they don’t dumb the material down in any way. To simply say the humour isn’t clever is just not true: if you personally don’t find it funny, don’t attack others who do.

It’s not clever

At the end of the day, the ultimate defence of The Big Bang Theory is its incredible success. The programme’s eleventh series is soon to air in the UK, with a twelfth already commissioned, as well as a spin off series, Young Sheldon, premiering alongside Series 11. This, and its huge fan base, indicate that it is still going strong. To those who look down upon the show with a sneer, you’re going to have to put up with the fact that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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CULTURE

I’ve got great news for you if you’re a fan of pumpkins, Halloween is here! Sitcoms love seasonal specials and Halloween is no different, so in honour of the spookiest time of year, The Edge have come together to recount some stories around the campfire. It’s certainly not an exhaustive list, but here are some of our favourite times that sitcoms turned horrific.

Parks & Recreation – ‘Halloween Surprise’ James Barker

The Parks and Rec department take some rare downtime to host a Halloween party, but things take a dramatic turn when Jerry suffers a fart heart attack. Goddammit, Jerry. Ron learns the tribulations of parenting the hard way when he takes Diane’s kids trick or treating (a common sitcom Halloween theme apparently; see Friends), while Donna live tweets “Death Canoe 4: Murder at Blood Lake”. Leslie is depressed when Ben considers taking a job in Washington DC, but then *spoiler alert* BEN PROPOSES, BEN PROPOSES, BEN PROPOSES.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – ‘Halloween’(s) Becca Hellard

Brooklyn Nine Nine’s Halloween specials have become a favourite for many fans. All three seasons feature a Halloween challenge in which Jake Peralta attempts to steal Captain Holt’s medal of valour.

If Season 1’s contest wasn’t exciting enough, Season 3 sees Amy Santiago joining in the fun and challenging the two men. So far, Halloween at the 99th Precinct has been great. I can only hope that the tradition will continue to ramp up and avoid becoming repetitive.

The Simpsons – ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Josh Nicholson

Family Guy, South Park and basically every other animated sitcom have done a Halloween special, but nothing compares to The Simpsons’ famous ‘Treehouse of Horror’ episodes. Each instalment places Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa in three non-canonical horror-themed stories. There are too many classics to name them all, but particular favourites include the brilliantly timey-wimey ‘Time and Punishment’, the hilarious Stephen King parody ‘The Shinning’ and the delightfully ridiculous ‘Hell Toupée’. It took The Simpsons 26 years to give us an actual canonical Halloween episode, but nothing can compare to this side-splittingly funny seasonal tradition. Just remember that no TV and no beer make Homer go crazy.

Friends – ‘The One with the Halloween Party’ James Barker

Who would have thought that Friends only had one Halloween special? Nonetheless, it’s a classic. Season 8’s ‘The One with the Halloween Party’ sees Rachel discover and then un-discover her maternal instincts, Phoebe bond with her twin sister Ursula’s boyfriend, and – most memorably – Ross dress up as ‘Spudnik’, a giant potato mixed with a Russian satellite. A classic Friends episode, the party quickly descends into chaos. They even mix some other holidays into the mix, with Chandler ending up in a pink Easter bunny outfit and Phoebe dressed up as Superwoman. No sign of the Holiday Armadillo though, sadly.

Images courtesy of NBC, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Television

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CULTURE

Flashback Review:

Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

Thea Hartman

A

s the world’s most prolific writer of crime fiction and best-selling novelist of all time, Agatha Christie’s name doesn’t need any explanation.

With Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming adaptation of her famous Murder on the Orient Express coming on November 3rd, I can’t miss this opportunity to read my first novel by the legendary author.

However, I was concerned that modern crime fiction might sour my experience with Christie’s work, the shockingly unpredictable Sherlock might make this classic seem quaint.

I was quite wrong. Christie’s writing is a huge part of what inspired the creators of our favourite contemporary crime fiction. With Hercule Poirot as its lead, the novel somehow manages to tell a twisted crime story in a systematic and crystal-clear manner, answering all the possible questions whilst remaining exciting throughout.

While the plot itself is dramatic, not entirely believable, and sometimes a bit too self-explanatory for my contemporary taste, the writing is the exact opposite. Organised by facts and the evidence of each of the characters, the novel manages to remain thrilling despite the fact that Poirot spends half the novel interviewing people one by one.

The 14 passengers are initially stereotyped by their appearance, age, nationality, and social status. However, as the story progresses and apparently contradictory evidence surfaces from the conducted interviews, they defy all the expectations built by the speculation of the Poirot squad and deliver a jaw-dropping ending. Solving this case wasn’t a piece of cake to Poirot, but his almost surreal deduction capacity helped him succeed and the outcome is as satisfying as they come.

Hercule Poirot himself is a bit surprising as well. He is incredibly sharp-witted, but he’s cold and keeps the case at an arm’s length – honestly, only a robot would keep this cool. Poirot is probably the epitome of the crime solver: a master of self-control, logic, people analysis, and, surprisingly, sass.

Obviously not everyone could keep up with his thought flow: Dr. Constantine and Mr. Bouc are the main examples of this. Poirot rebukes them for their constant questions and uninformed attempts at solving the murder.

Murder on the Orient Express is an absolute classic. It has inspired so many other crime novels/films/TV shows that sometimes it just feels like you might have read it somewhere else. But you haven’t. This right here is the real deal.

Images courtesy of Black Dragon Press and Harper Collins

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CULTURE

Anticipating Stranger Things Season 2 Lisa Veiber

S

tranger Things was one of the most interesting shows of 2016. As the third-most watched show on Netflix last year, it received many great reviews and left the audience waiting for more. It was clear after eight episodes that it still had a lot more to offer. Although Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was finally saved Season 1 finale, many questions were left answered. So what can we expect from Season 2?

After the disappearance of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), many were left wondered if the character would come back. Fortunately showrunner Matt Duffer said we will definitely hear more of her in the next season. Although it’s not confirmed when she’ll return, it seems that Episode 1 is a solid guess. It would be great if the season spent some time exploring her past. One possible explanation that’s been circling the internet is that she’s stuck in the Upside Down.

However, while Eleven is perhaps physically trapped there, Will mentally seems to have never left the place.

His visions don’t seem to be over and in the finale he was spitting slugs. All we know for sure is that Season 2 will provide some more horrors for us to feast on.

Everyone wanted Barb (Shannon Purser) to be alive or at least to be mentioned more in Season 1.

However, Purser is disappointing not set to return in the new episodes. After the Season 1 finale, it’s Chief Hopper (David Harbour) that has my attention.

He was seen entering an unidentified black car and hiding food in the woods. Is he giving it to Eleven?

Does he have a darker secret that’s yet to be unveiled?

On a lighter note, everyone should keep their fingers crossed to see Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dryer) and Jonathan Byers’ (Charlie Heaton) relationship continue to blossom. Audiences were dying to see the two characters together after Season 1, so it would great to build on that. I hope we get a new fabulous scene from Winona Ryder too, the actress making a breathtaking appearance as the desperate mother Joyce Byers in the last season.

Creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer have assured us that the next season will be full of suspense. They even chose specific episode titles to avoid theories circulating the internet. Stranger Things will most certainly deliver a fascinating new series, it might be disappointing and not as great as the first series as viewers have created theories throughout this year.

Yet, I believe it could be one of the best show of 2017.

Image courtesy of Netflix

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LIVE

FESTIVAL REVIEW:

Smuggler’s Festival 2017 Jason Davis

I

n a field in Kent there was a festival. Not a nasty, dirty, wet field, but a dry plain of grass adorned with local folklore decoration, canopies and tepee tents. The main stage is built entirely of wood and polished to perfection, with a pizza tent adjacent to it. Smuggler’s Festival is not an ordinary festival where you would expect to see genre defining musicians or numerous fast food fans filling the air with a smell scented like honey fried onions. Smuggler’s Festival is a festival local to the Deal area arranged by Smuggler’s Records, an independent record company which encompasses a wide array of music, from folk and sea shanties to Mongolian throat singing and alternative rock.

If you’re looking for just one thing to enjoy at this festival, you will find it, there’s no doubt about that.

revealing his Punk Rock alter-ego and much more.

If the likes of Alash or even Coco’s Lovers, a folk-rock fusion band, don’t strike you as something you’d want to observe, then you’ll be smitten with luck as there are workshops and events taking place all around the festival. From entry-level beekeeping practices up until morning Yoga and drum circles, as well as local clothing tents and wood-carving classes. Smuggler’s truly has a diverse array of entertainment to keep people busy, namely as a result of its relatively small size and local friendliness. It even has a diverse array of eatery experiences: along with the aforementioned pizza parlour, there’s an old school bus-convertedinto-curry-van, a ‘tea and cake’ café, and a hogroast cross barbecue towards the early evening.

Smuggler’s Festival has a family friendly atmosphere whilst simultaneously accommodating for the young adult. Entertainment and music are available across the four stages named in order: ‘The Main Stage’, ‘Free Range’, ‘Gilly’s Wood’ and ‘The End’. Local stand-ups will make audiences cry with laughter whilst acts and musicians will amuse and probably bemuse too.

A small risk Smuggler’s Festival often runs is that it can become a rather boring experience at times.

Especially if you’re an early riser. Things often don’t start until later in the day, like shops, performances and workshops. The area is relatively small, so although it’s nice to know where everything may be from the first day, that’s really it, there’s no more exploration after that. On occasion, acts will wear thin too throughout the weekend, and you’ll find yourself with very little to do in an awkward two hours where you’re wondering if you should go to the Smuggler’s Inn Bar or to the Absinthe Bar.

This year, festival-goers were delighted with appearances from local favourites such as Will Varley, the headlining act and a popular British Folk singer as well as co-founder of Smuggler’s Records, Mimi O’Halloran, another folk singing, guitar adorning independent act who frequently helps at the festival workshops and potato café, Alash – the wonderfully authentic and mesmerising Tuvan throat singers, and Gentlemen of Few, a popular local band.

In Gilly’s Wood, local stand-up comedians took centre stage with Pastor Ravi Holy (he’s actually a real priest, you know) stealing the spotlight by

Smuggler’s Festival can prove to be a warming and relaxing weekend away. There’s even a sauna to help you take a load off if you’re in need of deep stress relief, accompanied by a massage parlour too. It’s an experience which is worth the time and money overall, but it’s recommended heavily that you’ll pack a packet of playing cards to pass the time during the low hours.

Image courtesy of Smugglers Records

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LIVE

COMEDIAN IN FOCUS Omid Djalili David Mitchell-Baker

W

ith a career spanning over 20 years, including seemingly limitless areas of highly successful work, Omid Djalili is easily one of Britain’s premier comedians, performers and all-round entertainers. And 22 years into this career of his, the Iranian born comedian is as relevant, popular and in-form as he has ever been.

Djalili cut his teeth in the incubator of British comedy, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in the mid-90s before nabbing himself a number of bit part roles in television for the rest of the decade, credits included The Bill and Barking. After several more similar roles in the early 2000s, including Graham Linehan’s Black Books and the TV movie Jason and the Argonauts, Djalili starred in the sitcom Whoopi alongside veteran actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg. The show ran for one season on NBC. Within the next couple of years, the comedian found his career taking off; he appeared on the Comic Relief broadcast and Top Gear in 2005, before going on to break Edinburgh Festival box office records that year with ticket sales exceeding 16,000. Djalili soon found himself becoming something of a household name, his appearances on the likes of Live at the Apollo helped to expose a wider audience to his energetic, observant and eccentric style of comedy, enrapturing audiences with his accents and impressions laced with intelligent comedy. From 2006 to 2007, he toured the UK extensively, releasing a DVD entitled No Agenda in the process, debuted on Have I Got News For You and even received his own TV show - The Omid Djalili Show - which mixed stand up with sketch comedy (his Credit Crunch: The Rock Opera is still as hilarious

as it was upon its debut). During this time he was also included in Channel 4’s “100 Greatest StandUps” and soon after he performed on We Are Most Amused in honour of Prince Charles’ 60th birthday.

Sandwiching his comedy rise, Djalili has appeared in numerous films and stage productions. You may remember him from The Mummy, or possibly as a slave trader in Gladiator, or perhaps from his brief role in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. However there is a stronger chance that you’ll know his stage work, as in 2009 he took over as Fagin in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane production of Oliver!, replacing Rowan Atkinson in the role, he recently finished up his final date in the lead role of Tevye in the Chichester Theatre’s Fiddler on the Roof. In recent years, his acting credits include Dickensian, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man and the Shaun the Sheep Movie, and he will appear in next year’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

As he prepares to transfer his ‘Schmuck for a Nigh’ tour from the States to the UK from November through to early 2018, including six consecutive nights at the Leicester Square Theatre, the world travelled performer is continuing to prove how much of an enduring force he is in modern comedy. With a bombastic, yet measured approach to his stand-up, Omid Djalili is a universally beloved entertainer who can effortlessly have an audience of any age or nationality in the palm of his hand.

Omid Djalili is heading out on UK tour from November 14th.

Image courtesy of Tom Baxter

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LIVE

GIG REVIEW:

Sundara Karma

at The 1865, Southampton

Freddie Stevens

S

undara Karma played to a sold-out crowd at Southampton’s The 1865 as part of their headline for their debut record, Youth is Only Fun in Retrospect, released earlier this year to critical acclaim. There was nothing retrospective about the enjoyment of the younf crowd, who were whipped up in frenzy from start to finish.

There was a bit of a delay getting Sundara Karma onto the stage to rock our chakras off. Wisps of purple smoke flooded the stage and we were treated to some delightful jazz flute. The four-piece hail from Reading and consist of singer/guitarist Oscar ‘Lulu’ Pollock, lead guitarist Ally Baty, bassist Dom Cordell and drummer Haydn Evans. Frontman Oscar Pollock was draped in the same velvet androgyny that once adorned Bowie and Princehe couldn’t be anything else but a rock star. The quartet got the evening underway with a feverish rendition of ‘Young Understanding’ and the crowd just erupted with bodies thrown everywhere. The sun-kissed indie pop of Sundara Karma may not immediately suggest mosh pit (not least one you should lose your shoe in, not that I’d know anything about that...) but the band’s high octane energy just sweeps you off your feet.

The pace didn’t let up for ‘Loveblood’, another exuberant number complete with swirling guitar riff.

Oscar prowled up and down the diminutive 1865 stage and conducted the crowd like a maestro with every flamboyant flick of his wrist. He loved a chinwag in between tracks, stopping to ask if anyone had seen them before, twice? Three times? Each time the crowd

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answered unanimously with yes - they’ve built quite a loyal following it would seem! The Karma quads followed up with ‘Flame’, another quietly intelligent song that manages to wax lyrical about Plato’s allegory of The Cave. Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect is littered with Shakespeare and Wilde but there’s nothing contrived about their sophistication. It’s ethereal and dreamy, much like frontman Oscar Lulu himself as he floats around the stage like a velvety spectre. He leapt into the crowd for ‘Flame’s swirling crescendo, his spine tingling vocals soaring high, blowing kisses to his baying audience.

‘She Said’ saw Sundara Karma at their boisterous, bombastic best. The opulent ode to the dance floor brought The 1865 to rapture. Incidentally The 1865 recently merged with The Talking Heads and became one of their official venues, resplendent with a glittering disco ball. Disco ball aside the stage and lighting were kept quite plain but it mattered little thanks to Sundara’a energy. Their whirlwind set whizzed by all too quickly, with no time for their signature cover of Luther Vandross’ ‘Never too Much’. A shame, but their closing number ‘Explore’ more than made up for it. It smacks of Pulps ‘Common People’ and was more than worthy of The 1865 cavernous expanse.

Pollock ended the night asking if anybody knew of any after parties. What with Freshers in full swing one can only imagine that Southampton was happy to oblige him.

LIVE

GIG REVIEW:

Dua Lipa

at O2 Academy, Bournemouth

Xavier Voigt-Hill

T

o anyone who had encountered her work in the 18 protracted months between amorous entrance ‘New Love’ and the release of her debut album, it wasn’t particularly hard to fathom Dua Lipa as a bonafide pop superstar just simmering gently before something truly massive. Eventually, it was the seventh single properly pushed from the record that proved to be said something – over the summer, the defiant breakup recovery jam ‘New Rules’ turned her from a perennial hope to one of the top ten most-streamed artists on the planet.

Thus, in the grand scheme of what is now almost certain to come, her autumn schedule feels like a bizarrely quaint juncture. Less than a week on from trying on arena life for size with Bruno Mars in North America, The Self-Titled Tour – which will now stretch to venues like Alexandra Palace and Birmingham’s Genting Arena in the spring after some exotic stadium dates in Coldplay’s company – kicked off earlier this month, including a chilly Friday night in an art deco Bournemouth hall nestled amongst a gaggle of fast food outlets.

Taking the stage with a three-piece band in the shadows whilst the pan chimes of ‘Hotter Than Hell’ emerged from what felt like a scarlet-washed sonic tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey, it took a very brief moment – around five words, to be precise – for Lipa to properly find her voice for the evening. Bounding across the stage for an opening compendium that also featured contagious deluxe bonus slice ‘Dreams’ and her party-starting hook from Sean Paul’s ‘No Lie’ introduced her with the sort of energy that even

the most casual of observers will, by now, be very accustomed to. Even during less conspicuous album material, there was still a healthy echo emanating from the audience, naturally building to a giddy euphoria around encore cuts ‘Be The One’ and ‘New Rules.’

Sans Miguel, ‘Lost In Your Light’ offered the first opportunity for Lipa to properly perform without a current of tropical glee dragging her away from the comfort of the mic stand. With songs from Dua Lipa ranging from biblical pleas for forgiveness (‘Genesis’) to songs about exes that have 1,800 people pouring their resentment through the outstretched middle fingers parading around the stage (‘IDGAF’), there is plenty of variety within for her impossibly rich vocal to recite, and when the tempo dropped was when the performance lifted from coruscating pop to a realm of sheer bliss.

Peering beyond the hits through her YouTube archives unveils marvellous covers of Etta James and Amy Winehouse (as well as more contemporary and equally rational takes on Sam Smith and Young Thug), and, although there is nothing in the current setlist with quite the same delectable vintage warmth, the midset toned-down likes of ‘Thinking ’Bout You’ and the crowd-illuminated ‘New Love’ certainly come closest. From storming toplines on eye-wateringly huge dance tracks (‘Scared To Be Lonely’) to intimate bedroom session-style longing confessionals with just a guitar for company, an evening in Dua Lipa’s beguiling presence is one of today’s greatest treats.

Image courtesy of Daniel Kennedy

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EDITORIAL

Listings Theatre

October 27th-28th - All or Nothing @ Mayflower Theatre October 31st-November 1st - The Hartlepool Monkey @ NST Campus November 14th-18th - Things I Know to be True @ NST Campus November 14th-18th - Legally Blonde @ Mayflower Theatre November 29th-December 2nd - Nutcracker @ Mayflower Theatre

Live Music

November 2nd - Too Many T’s @ The Joiners, Southampton November 13th - Nelly @ O2 Guildhall, Southampton November 15th - Nothing But Thieves @ O2 Guildhall, Southampton November 18th - The Cuban Brothers @ The Loft, Southampton November 21st - Wolf Alice @ O2 Guildhall, Southampton November 21st - Billy Bragg @ The Brook, Southampton November 24th - Lucy Rose @ Engine Rooms, Southampton November 24th - Soul II Soul @ City Hall, Southampton November 24th - Peter and the Test Tubes Babies @ Talking Heads, Southampton

Comedy

November 3rd - Rory Bremner @ NST Campus November 3rd - Jason Manford: Work in Progress @ The Point, Eastleigh November 7th - Mark Thomas: A Show That Gambles on the Future @ The Point, Eastleigh November 12th - Jools Holland @ Mayflower Theatre November 24th - Milton Jones is Out There @ O2 Guildhall, Southampton December 2nd - Omid Djalili: Schmuck for a Night @ The Point, Eastleigh

Union Films

October 31st - It @ Union Films November 5th - V for Vendetta @ Union Films (free!)

November 7th - Atomic Blonde @ Union Films November 12th - Flatliners @ Union Films November 15th - mother! @ Union Films November 19th - Thor @ Union Films (free!)

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