POPSICULTURE

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Pictures

2012-02-14T13:01:00.000Z

A look ahead to February 20th, when Benjamin Francis Leftwich's new single, Pictures, is due to go on release.

It's a stunning voice-and-guitar piece, of the sort that always seems to resonate with listeners of all kinds, and its appeal is undeniable.

Reminiscent of Cinematic Orchestra's 'To Build A Home' - albeit with guitar, not piano - Pictures has lyrics that demand to be listened to and that sense of being able to feel every movement of fingertips across guitar strings.

Pictures is due out in single form on February 20th, but it is also to be found on Benjamin Francis Leftwich's album, Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm - click below to open the album page on iTunes.

All the Saints - Intro to Fractions

2012-02-02T12:08:00.000Z

Intro to Fractions, the new album from Atlantan three-piece All the Saints, offers a melding of mellow guitar with heavy rock drums, yielding an invigorating yet relaxing 35 minutes of music separated into 12 bite-sized tracks for easy digestion.

Some four years since the release of Fire on Corridor X, the trio's debut, singer and guitarist Matt Lambert explains the extra thought that went into the compositions that made the Intro to Fractions shortlist.

"There wasn't much room for repeating ourselves - you can bury your instruments, your words, in effects forever, but eventually you'll have to say something," he says.

With Intro to Fractions, the group have made a strong return that is rich in a sense of their musical origins - recorded at numerous studios throughout the Atlanta area, and with the help of stalwarts of the local music scene.

High Points

Sunk Hill is unique among the tracks of Intro to Fractions, stepping out of the frenetic pace - and setting aside the frantic drums - to offer 80 seconds of atmospheric guitar instrumentals. The track has a cinematic feel to it, with careful pacing and, despite its stripped-back persona, good development as the minute-and-a-bit ticks by.

4H Trip is a further departure from the main style of Intro to Fractions - and while there's nothing wrong with the central tracks, it's always good to see (and hear) variety. 4H Trip is another short one at less than 1:20 in duration, but it packs in a split personality of sound. From backwards-sounding vocals and echoing FX at its opening, looping feedback soon drowns out all else, ending in a cacophony of electronic rhythm.

The Verdict

Intro to Fractions describes itself as 'a doomed voyage', and it lives up to that label. I'm not sure everybody will appreciate that, though - like Thomas Tantrum's Mad By Moonlight back in June 2011, the inspiration for Intro to Fractions is introspective, which challenges the listener to either find the same emotions within themselves, or to care about the writer's past experiences without becoming dispassionate. It's a hurdle most modern music - and charting pop in particular - rarely puts in place, and I think it limits the potential audience for this album.

That being said, there are moments of true innovation - and little gems like Danger Flowers that deliver a sucker punch of sound in truly compact form. As always, that means that, if this is your genre, there's likely to be something on Intro to Fractions to put a smile on your face - or, at least, the intended troubled frown. Outside of the sphere of genre fans, however, there's probably not so much of universal appeal.

Final Score: 67%

Jennie Sawdon - Nothing

2012-01-31T13:19:00.000Z

Perennial Popsiculture favourite and ever-lovely singer-songwriter Jennie Sawdon sent this over to us in late December, so it's great that we've finally had chance to bring it to you all.

'Nothing' is from Jennie's album, Fighting the Fairytale, and tells the story of those simple times spent with the person you love, doing nothing at all, together.

Like all of Jennie's songs, it's a well-told glimpse into one of those experiences we all have at some point in our lives, but which often go untold amid a million generic love songs - and you can watch the stunningly shot video below.

The video for 'Nothing' is the work of cinematographer Jeff Wood (find out more about him here) and continues the commitment to artistry of the highest order that is obvious to anyone who's handled the inlay booklet from Fighting the Fairytale, or even one of Jennie's flyers that make the rounds at her live performances.

You can read our review of Fighting the Fairytale here, find out more about Jennie Sawdon here, or simply click the iTunes button below to go straight to the album download page.

Casiokids - Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen

2012-01-26T12:17:00.000Z

If Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen is a bit of a WTF? title for you, then it's worth remembering that Casiokids are from Norway. In fact, you'd better bear that in mind while you're listening to the album, too, as you're probably not going to understand most of the lyrics.

Luckily, Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen is a musical powerhouse, a feast for the ears that transcends such earthbound concerns as whether you can tell what they're singing or not. Decidedly electronic compositions with typically Norwegian vocals, this album is one for you to crank up the treble (and maybe the bass too) and float away on a magic carpet woven of songs that sound like a-ha on drugs.

High Points

It's worth saying that, for once, Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen is an album that is almost impossible to judge based on 30-second preview clips. That doesn't mean the iTunes album preview is totally useless, but don't let it form your entire opinion - each track has so much variety, so many phases with different instrumental combinations and vocal overlays, that any one clip really is just a snapshot.

Title track and album opener Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen is worthy of its prominent status, launching with a slow but optimistic fanfare that spans the entirety of the track, before leading straight into its follow-up, Det haster!, a four-minute cycle of upbeat electronic riffs that changes the pace and mood of the album, bringing in the vocals on what could easily have been the theme tune to a particularly forward-thinking 80s sci-fi movie.

Special mention, too, for Elefantenes Hemmelige Gravplass, moody yet melodic at a shade under five minutes in length. Yes, 'elefantenes' does translate as 'elephants'. The full translation is Elephants' Graveyard Secret, and the atmosphere of the track again deserves the title - you could easily hear this one piped through some kind of techno haunted house.

The Verdict

It's not that Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen sounds like the 80s. It's more that it sounds like 2012 was expected to sound, when 80s movies showed the future. Personally, I think that's a pretty good thing, and judging from the reaction to the TRON: Legacy soundtrack, plenty of other people agree. It certainly makes a change from the bland or deliberately controversial music put out by some of the mainstream artists and their studios/labels.

But Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen deserves more than just a comparison to the mainstream: it is, in its own right, an excellent composition. Variety within each track does not detract from the clear delimitation between different songs. Without exception, every track seems to last for longer than it actually does - and in a good way. Far from dragging, Casiokids' compositions manage to fit an unlikely amount of music into three minutes, or four minutes, or whatever time is available to them.

The concept of 'verses' is thrown somewhat to the wind, but instead we have progressive phases of music, sometimes alternating between instrumental and vocal sections in the electronic equivalent of a fugue. It's a style of music that's actually pretty rare, and it's good to hear it here.

Final Score: 79%

Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

2012-01-24T17:12:00.001Z

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is Nada Surf's first album release for four years, and their sixth overall. With a band line-up unchanged some 15 years into their career, it's the latest instalment in a great musical legend that is still in the making. Matthew Caws takes vocals and guitar; Daniel Lorca is on bass; Ira Elliot adds the drums; and this album also sees appearances from guitarist Doug Gillard and multi-skilled instrumentalist Martin Wenk.

If those names are unfamiliar to you, it's not too late - there's plenty enough youth in this album to keep newcomers to the Nada Surf story interested, at least until you can track down copies of the older albums. As Caws explains below, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is a deliberate attempt to capture the energy of playing a song for the first time, rather than the typical toned-down, pristine performance that usually makes it on to a studio album release.

The overall impact of this approach is pleasing and has few, if any, negative effects. I've picked out my personal highlights below, but you can preview every track on the album using the iTunes widget, and get your own download copy of the contemplative When I Was Young to keep, too.

High Points

The contrast between tracks 2 and 3 is both marked and strangely satisfying - the former, an all-out concerted clash of guitar and drums the like of which you'd expect to see in any live show, the latter a much steadier, acoustic-guitar-led contemplative piece that grows as it progresses.

Waiting For Something, the aforementioned second track on The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy, is typical guitar-band fayre, but is still a good example of its type. Guitars open the three-and-a-half-minute piece, before the drums take over in terms of keeping the pace and energy high. Catchy riffs are almost a cliche in this genre, but Waiting For Something has them aplenty, and unashamedly so. A singalong chorus completes the essential components, and will no doubt have a few sell-out crowds singing along at Nada Surf gigs of the future.

Its immediate follower, When I Was Young, abruptly alters the pace of the record, but that's no bad thing. As I said above, the contrast between the two is strangely satisfying - and this five-minute tune fits a lot in, setting it apart from the 'sweet and simple' style that a shorter acoustic track may have been forced into. It gets to the business end of things after about 90 seconds with growing muted drums and electric instruments, a swirling musical interlude to the track that carries it into its second phase. The vocals are fairly sedate throughout, conveying a sense of world-weary wisdom that is reflected in the lyrics of When I Was Young.

You can preview When I Was Young - and download it for free to keep - using the SoundCloud preview player below. Enjoy!

The Verdict

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is more than just a sassy title and a few guitars. Even a relative newcomer to this style of music should be able to tell that Nada Surf have been doing what they do for some time, leading to a sense of maturity and confidence in their music. Six albums in, these guys are keeping things fresh and actually raising the energy levels in their studio releases, as vocalist Matthew Caws explains:

"We've always played faster and a little harder live, but we'd play so carefully in the studio. So, with this album, we made a conscious decision to preserve what it felt like in the practice room, when you play with that new-song energy; just embrace it and not worry whether we're overdoing it, kind of get all the thinking out of the way."

The result is an album that effectively conveys some of the spirit of a live performance. Clearly you're never gonna get all of that energy on to a CD, when it can easily fill a stage, but The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy comes a close second place.

Final Score: 78%

Dear Reader - Idealistic Animals

2012-01-17T12:40:00.000Z

We get this week off to a start with a slightly overdue look at Idealistic Animals, new from Dear Reader and officially released last week.

It's a fairly complex record, touching on Dear Reader protagonist Cheri MacNeil's loss of religion during recent years, but the cynicism is far from overwhelming. Instead, there's a broad spectrum of emotion here.

Your exact emotional response to Idealistic Animals probably depends on your own state of mind when you start listening - I get the feeling it's the kind of music you can mould and shape to meet your needs. Despite that, this is an album with plenty of personality, and it suggests MacNeil's going to be just fine without religion on her side.

High Points

Monkey (You Can Go Home) is the upcoming single release from Idealistic Animals, and is due to hit the stands on January 23rd. It's among the opening tracks on the album, after the haunting Fox (Take Your Chances). With a much more carefree melody that runs throughout the song, Monkey is the lighter side of this album, but no less accomplished than its neighbours.

It's also one that we can give you a preview of, in the form of a live video and a free mp3 download. So click 'play' on the YouTube player below, for an unlisted live performance of Monkey (You Can Go Home) filmed in Berlin...

...and if you like that, you can download the original, recorded version of Monkey (You Can Go Home) via the SoundCloud widget below:

Monkey (You Can Go Home) is by no means the only highlight on this richly recorded album, but the tracks vary so much that it's impossible to compare them directly against one another. Instead, I'd suggest you preview them using the iTunes widget below, and decide for yourself which you like best - the tinkling piano accompaniment, swelling strains of brass, or the familiar, fast-paced sound of a strumming guitar.

The Verdict

Idealistic Animals is fun and haunting at the same time - there's obviously a light-hearted element to naming each track after a different creature, but the finished product is in no way harmed by that original concept. Instead, the overall connection set out in the track naming gives the individual songs free rein to have more distinctive and different personalities of their own.

For more insight into the Dear Reader creative process, take a look at the behind-the-scenes video below, which also offers a glimpse of how an album such as this comes into being...

So, Dear Reader clearly have a sense of humour, yet their music is as complete and legitimate as anything hitting the charts at the moment. Should that seem odd? Not really - it's just a reminder that not everything in life is black and white. And it is that very richness of diversity that Idealistic Animals celebrates.

Final Score: 81%

Laura Gibson - La Grande

2012-01-09T16:27:00.000Z

If you enjoyed our preview of Laura Gibson's La Grande back in November - when the single of the same name was doing the rounds - then January 9th marks the official release date of the complete album.

Expect haunting vocals and atmospheric echoes, layered over instrumentals of typically American clarity. Gibson's Oregon origins provide the inspiration for this work, including its title - La Grande, pronounced 'luh grand' in the local dialect, is described by Gibson as a place "people usually pass through on their way to somewhere else", but its own unique energy sparked the writing process for this album, which pays homage to the town, found east of Wallowa Valley.

High Points

This is another of those albums with lots of good points, but personal high points for me include track 7 - Crow/Swallow. Gibson's vocals take unapologetic centre stage on this one, with the gentlest of backing tracks to support her (not that she needs it). Crow/Swallow could easily appear on a TV commercial, for fabric softener or health insurance or John Lewis, and would no doubt storm the download charts if it did. Yeah, it's one of those. You can preview it below - track 7, remember.

Closing track Feather Lungs, the tenth composition on La Grande, is another delicate piece that wraps things up with what threatens to be a short, mainly vocal epilogue, but swells into a warm and moving piano piece over which Gibson sings lyrics strong enough to stand alone as poetry.

Strings fill in the gaps during Feather Lungs' instrumental section, lending poignancy and a touch of sadness to the track, and leaving the listener with that haunted feeling I mentioned in this review's opening paragraphs.

The Verdict

La Grande (which I, and other reviewers it seems, keep mistyping as 'La Grange' for some reason...) is a peaceful and relaxing work, filled with emotion - both uplifting and melancholy - and an excellent showcase of Laura Gibson's voice.

You could choose to argue that Gibson's style is becoming too familiar - that too many female soloists are now doing the echoey, sweeter-than-syrup delivery that's appearing on all the ads and making its presence known in the download charts. But that's no criticism - as I may have mentioned before, downloads mean the charts are much more fluid; people are no longer limited to buying whatever's out this week.

Laura Gibson, and La Grande, are ideal examples of this principle. With largely non-time-specific subject matter, this is an album that is likely to sound as good a few years down the line as it does on its day of release. Take a listen for yourself - and if you're a fan of this still-developing genre, add it to your iTunes library for future enjoyment.

Final Score: 84%

The X Factor 2011 - The Results

2011-12-12T11:50:00.000Z

Who wins? You decide.

Well, actually it's all over now, and Little Mix won. Did you vote for them? Did you vote for any of the acts that made the final?

Chances are, probably not - there were an awful lot of entrants after all, and only three true finalists. And one of those wasn't in the competition for half of the live shows.

However, for better or worse, Little Mix are now vying for the Christmas number one spot, and you can preview and order their single, Cannonball, below.

The Groups

There was loads of talk this series about how "everybody thought a group could never win The X Factor" and how "Little Mix give inspiration to all those groups thinking of entering next series".

Really?

Firstly, I've never ruled out the groups - it's just that they're usually useless, like Jedward. Defend them if you want, but remember they probably get more airtime on TV than on the radio.

Same Difference were a bit crazy, but likeable, yet even they were depicted as being weird and over the top. Remember Sarah sobbing at the end of Never Had a Dream Come True? Of course not, because she wasn't turned into some kind of social pariah like Jesy has been this year.

But most of all, remember this - Little Mix entered The X Factor as solo performers. Nu Vibe entered The X Factor as solo performers. The Risk entered The X Factor as solo performers.

The only true 'group' to make the live shows were 2 Shoes, who were kicked off before the public had a chance to have their say. From the week of the first public vote, there was no group left in the competition, other than those put together by the judges.

And that doesn't even scratch the surface of the bandmate-swapping that went on between Nu Vibe and The Risk - not only halfway through the live shows, but remember the change-around at Tulisa's "judges' houses", too?

In fact, Little Mix made it through to Tulisa's house (as Rhythmix, of course) without ever performing together, having been formed - again, by the judges - after the end of boot camp.

The Voting

Anyway, it's not the acts' fault that they were chopped and changed around until they were in boy bands and girl bands, instead of performing on their own, is it? You'd be a fool to walk away from the opportunity either way.

So, to the voting, and who was voted off each week? That depends on your definition of 'voted off'.

Most weeks, the public decided the bottom two acts, and the judges voted to eliminate one after a sing-off, during which time the public's opinion counted for basically nothing.

It's the same format The X Factor has been using for years, so is it fair?

Here's some statistics:

Week 1, no public vote, four acts eliminated by the judges.
Week 2, Nu Vibe receive fewest votes (2.6%) and are eliminated by the judges.
Week 3, Kitty Brucknell receives fewest votes (5.0%), Sami Brookes is eliminated by the judges.
Week 4, Misha Bryan receives fewest votes (5.1%), Sophie Habibis is eliminated by the judges.
Week 5, double elimination:
- The Risk receive fewest votes (7.2%) and are eliminated automatically.
- Kitty Brucknell receives next-fewest (7.6%), Johnny Robinson eliminated by the judges.
Week 6, Frankie Cocozza leaves and Amelia Lily rejoins with almost half the public vote.
- On Sunday, Misha Bryan receives fewest votes (8.0%), Kitty Brucknell eliminated by the judges.
Week 7, Craig Colton receives fewest votes (10.9%) and is eliminated by the judges.
Week 8, Misha Bryan receives fewest votes (14.5%), Janet Devlin is eliminated by the judges.
Week 9, Misha Bryan receives fewest votes (20.2%) and is eliminated with no sing-off.
Week 10, Amelia Lily is eliminated on Saturday with 26.5% of the vote.
- Marcus Collins is runner-up with 42.8% of the vote.
- Little Mix win with 48.3% of the vote (Amelia's carried-over votes account for the other 8% or so).

Just to be clear, during the weeks with a sing-off, where the eliminated act was decided by the judges, they agreed with the public vote twice, and eliminated the act who didn't get the fewest votes on five separate occasions. Obviously they also chose the first four acts to leave, and nobody had much control over Frankie.

That means that you decided five of the acts who left, and nine (not including Frankie) left the show against the run of the public vote, or with no voting at all.

To Cut a Long Story Short (Too Late...)

I'm a fan of The X Factor. I really am - just as the summer now feels odd without Big Brother, the run-up to Christmas would seem strange without The X Factor.

But everything above is, as far as possible, entirely factual, with little or no opinion added. There are lies, there are damned lies, and there are The X Factor statistics, but I've tried to be as impartial as possible in my analysis.

Whether you're a Little Mix supporter or not, though, there's still a good chance that a few of the runners-up will get record contracts in the months to come.

As last year's second-placed Rebecca Ferguson rides high in the album chart with her debut album, an authentic collection of tracks co-written by Fergs herself, it remains to be seen which of this year's crop will still be on the nation's lips in 12 months' time.

Dear Reader - Bear (Young's Done In)

2011-12-09T15:27:00.001Z

The second of today's Free Music Fridays posts is this preview of Dear Reader's upcoming album Idealistic Animals, due out on January 9th 2012.

Bear (Young's Done In) continues the theme of animals, which is apparent in the titles of all the tracks on the disc, and also carries its fair share of vocalist Cheri MacNeil's newfound cynicism.

I have to admit, in my typically lazy approach to having unfounded expectations about music, I was waiting to hear a male voice on this track, but Cheri's relaxed vocals were more than welcome.

Preview below, and click the appropriate arrow to get your free download...

We'll be listening out for the full album and bringing you a proper album review at the turn of the year - personal favourite titles to look out for include Whale (BooHoo).

Until then, you'll have to satisfy yourselves with Bear (Young's Done In)...!

Diana Vickers - Music To Make The Boys Cry

2011-12-09T11:04:00.001Z

Let's get Free Music Fridays off to a start with the latest effort from another former The X Factor starlet, Diana Vickers.

After the rousing success of My Wicked Heart, Music To Make The Boys Cry has a lot to live up to, and it manages to do so admirably. It's not quite so hit-you-between-the-eyes as its predecessor, but that might be because we've all realised Vickers has grown up a bit, and it's time to take her seriously.

You can, apparently, download Music To Make The Boys Cry for free by surrendering your email address in the box below - although to be honest, we've had trouble getting anything to happen after hitting 'submit'. Still, if your account is reasonably spam-proof, it's got to be worth a try.

FYI, this is the exact same signup form that's on Diana's official website, so we can't control whether or not it works, sorry!

However, just in case the form's broken, you can preview the track either by clicking play on the pic of Diana above, or using the SoundCloud player embedded below.

So, what do you think? It's a different beat to My Wicked Heart, for sure, but I can imagine sticking this on in the car, on a playlist for the way to school or work, or even chilling to it on the dancefloor.

Honourable mention for Steve Brookstein, who pointed out on Twitter the certain similarities between Music To Make The Boys Cry and Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere:

Vickers already got accused of nicking the chorus from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Under The Bridge for My Wicked Heart, so a few more parallels like this could be dodgy, but personally I think it's a good thing.

So much music tries so hard to be original, that it comes out sounding distorted - literally, in the case of some of the Black Eyed Peas' overly electronic tracks.

Vickers obviously draws inspiration from times past - it's a defining feature of her fashion ranges and her personal dress sense - so it's particularly authentic to see that her music reflects bygone eras as well. Like Rebecca Ferguson's new album, it seems Diana Vickers is bringing good music back to the charts, and there's nowt wrong with that.

Video Special: Rebecca Ferguson - Heaven

2011-12-07T11:29:00.001Z

Rebecca Ferguson makes me happy. She's got a personality that just radiates goodness, and a voice that changes my world, if only for three to four minutes at a time. She's the silver lining on a cloudy day, and Heaven is her first studio album since coming second to Matt Cardle on The X Factor.

The videos below give an insight into some of the tracks on Heaven - what they're about, when (and why) Rebecca wrote them, and who collaborated on them. They also give a glimpse into why Heaven is vying for the top spot in this week's iTunes Album Chart.

I've been looking forward to this album all year, and it took me by surprise when it seemed to suddenly be released from nowhere, but I'm thrilled for Rebecca that it seems to be doing so well.

From her first performance of A Change is Gonna Come, she effortlessly showed her vocal quality, and I'm delighted that her original music on Heaven lives up to that same soulful style of song. There are instant classics on this album, of a type that hasn't been seen in recent years (with perhaps a couple of notable exceptions like Adele's massive Someone Like You).

This year I've written a lot about what I see as a return to 'real' music - instruments, soaring vocals, tunes - and Heaven wholeheartedly continues that trend.

I can't wait to hear more from Rebecca Ferguson in the future, but for now I'm glad that we've all finally got a full album of her to enjoy.

Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune

2011-12-06T10:39:00.000Z

Dan Mangan's third studio album, Oh Fortune, is a rousing and orchestral delight, without ever becoming indulgent - swells of strings and brass lend energy and emotion where it is needed, but are balanced with simple guitar motifs elsewhere on the disc.

Mangan is Canada's answer to Elbow, at least in terms of anthemic, epic compositions, but is if anything more polished in his delivery. His relative lack of fame in the UK - both compared to his success in Canada, and in general - seems more like a matter of time than a matter of talent.

With Oh Fortune bound to claim a few 'album of the week' accolades, I hope it also claims its fair share of airplay on the nation's radio stations. It is, perhaps, a little mature in tone for the boyband/The X Factor crowd, but there's a plenty sizeable market out there for 'proper' music, and this is that indeed.

High Points

It's hard (as ever) to pick out a couple of high points among a varied but consistently top-drawer collection of tracks.

From the opening strains of moody strings, to more laid-back, Mumford & Sons-style country folk, these are powerful pieces of musical poetry. The waltz-like opener, About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All, sets a steady pace, laced with emotional energy that continues (literally, with no gap between the tracks) into How Darwinian.

A little later on, Starts With Them, Ends With Us stands out if only as something familiar, bearing the strongest resemblance to a Mumford & Sons track as far as I can tell. Not that it matters - it's just curious to draw parallels from certain tracks, while others are so very different, yet still have that common thread of quality throughout.

And to give you chance to decide for yourself, you can stream and download the whole of Post War Blues using the SoundCloud player below - the perfect opportunity to experience Mangan's epic composition in full, which will surely whet your appetite for the rest of the album.

The Verdict

Here's a tip - if you're gonna buy Oh Fortune as a digital download, get the whole album. Partly because If I Am Dead and Daffodil continue straight on from one another with no silence in between, a musical storyline almost seven minutes in length when combined. But also because each track is an epic tale in itself - not just those two, but the entire album.

If 'Oh Fortune' brings to mind Carl Orff's 'O Fortuna', then some of the album is equally enormous in its level of sound, if a little less gothic. Luscious swells of different groups of the orchestra add unique identity to the tracks, which really go beyond simply being 'songs'.

So, grab the lot and then decide which are your favourites - if you're a playlist-compiler, I think there's genuinely something for every mood here, from more melancholy, reflective dirges to upbeat, energetic anthems to see you through the dark winter-evening commute.

I'm actually finding it hard to level criticism at an album that seems to effortlessly channel the musical spirits of Elbow, Mumford & Sons and, at times, Johnny Cash - if there were an issue to raise, it is purely that the mass-market youth might find Oh Fortune a little out of their range. But I don't want to patronise anyone, so I'll leave that up to each of you to decide...

Final Score: 86%

Boy Friend - Egyptian Wrinkle

2011-12-02T14:23:00.001Z

As part of our (slightly irregular) Free Music Fridays strand, here's a sneak preview at the title track from Egyptian Wrinkle, the upcoming (February 6th 2012) album from female duo Boy Friend.

Continuing the fine tradition of female duos such as Shakespears Sister (well, between 1989 and 1993), Boy Friend's preview track delivers haunting vocals that combine the power of layered voices with dramatic effect.

You may have heard Boy Friend's Sarah Brown and Christa Palazzolo together earlier in 2011, when they put out a self-titled EP, or previously in the band Sleep ∞ Over, but I think this is the first time we've featured them on Popsiculture.

As always, we'll keep an ear open for future releases - you can probably expect to see them mentioned again closer to the February release date of Egyptian Wrinkle - but for now you'll have to make do with the track below, which you can download to keep from the HellYes SoundCloud page.

Wootton Bassett Rocks! - Wake Me Up When September Ends

2011-12-02T12:32:00.001Z

Wootton Bassett Rocks!' Wake Me Up When September Ends is everything good you could hope for in tackling what is an increasingly desperate situation for many families across the UK.

Regardless of whether you support the wars British troops have been sent into in recent years (and this is not the place to start that kind of debate!), most people have at least some level of support for the families of those killed and wounded in combat.

Wake Me Up When September Ends is Wootton Bassett Rocks!' newly released single in aid of four charities. You can watch it below, download using the iTunes buttons, and learn more about the charities by clicking 'Read more'.

Supported Charities

Nobody involved in the production of Wake Me Up When September Ends was paid for their involvement - instead, the proceeds are being split evenly between four military charities.

SSAFA Forces Help offers financial help to military veterans and their families when they need it, as well as helping to arrange support and short breaks for military families with special needs - whether due to war wounds, or because of children's additional needs.

Combat Stress specialises in mental health services, with community outreach teams nationwide helping veterans to cope with the trauma of having witnessed wartime scenarios firsthand.

FAB (Family Activity Breaks) helps bereaved military families to move on, with challenging activity holidays staffed by trained bereavement counsellors.

Battle Back is the Royal British Legion's campaign and the name given to a state-of-the-art facility for injured, wounded or ill military personnel, intended to accelerate their social, physical and psychological recovery.

The Song

Wake Me Up When September Ends was originally released in 2005 by Green Day and has always been an anthemic reflection on modern warfare and the people left behind when military personnel are killed in action. Royal Wootton Bassett residents know this better than most, with the town serving as the location for military repatriations - the bringing home of the dead - during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars of the 2000s.

The Wootton Bassett Rocks! version of Wake Me Up When September Ends perfectly highlights the impact this has had on the community, with tuneful but raw vocals from a wide range of different singers - a lone young male at the beginning, joined by others as he marches through the town, and ultimately the juxtaposition of a small choir with the electric guitars you might recognise from the original Green Day single.

It's a heartfelt tribute to fallen heroes from those people who were there to see them return - and the video itself ends on a poignant note, as the lone marching man reaches a table of friends in a pub, and places the flower he has carried throughout the video in front of a single empty chair.

There's plenty to say about the song itself - as one YouTube commenter points out, the march begins beneath looming storm clouds, yet ends in bright sunshine, an impossible-to-stage contribution to the overall effect, while the one-shot staging of the video shoot again highlights the enthusiasm which went into its production.

Ultimately, though, it's impossible to explain the emotions that lead an entire community to come together in a production like this, or the impact the charity donations could have for families dealing with bereavement or serious injury. Please watch the video and, even if you don't buy the track, pay attention to the different ways you can donate - you'll find them on your screen in the last minute or so of the YouTube clip above.

Abi Wade - And Blood And Air EP

2011-11-28T13:18:00.000Z

Abi Wade's new EP And Blood And Air might only be four tracks long, but don't let that fool you - there's plenty of creativity crammed into its 13 minutes. It would be bordering on patronising to call it 'experimental', so instead I'll say that Abi Wade is clearly an original talent with her own ways of creating a musical experience that is both enjoyable to listen to, while also being thought-provoking. Take 'Stability' as an example, and see what you think of the live performance below...

So, what do we think? It falls roughly into that fuzzy-edged genre called 'folk', which has been enjoying a huge resurgence in the past couple of years with acts like Mumford & Sons bringing acoustic music back to the mainstream. Abi Wade might not be mainstream, but I suspect she wouldn't want to be thought of as such. She does, however, offer all of the atmosphere and commitment to the music that folk is all about, and I applaud her for that.

High Points

With something of this length, it's difficult to pick out good and bad points - generally, the whole thing is either good, or bad.

I'm happy to report that And Blood And Air is good. And it's well produced, too, the spatial distribution of sound on Stability in particular helping to put the listener at the heart of the music - and showing the same commitment to quality that's evident in the writing and the performance.

So as you're sitting there surrounded by sound, consider that all you're really hearing is bass to the left, vocals centre, and tambourine to the right. There's a bit more to come later in the track, which helps things to develop, but it's a truly minimalist soundscape that still manages to shut out the real world for three and a half minutes.

Like Stability, the remaining tracks deliver carefully crafted and balanced musical landscapes, with distinct instruments to focus your ear on, if that's something you like to do.

The Verdict

It's a terribly unfair criticism to make, and I usually wouldn't say this of an EP, but And Blood And Air really deserves to be an album. Another seven tracks or so, and it would be really special - the kind of album I keep close to hand, like early Leona Naess or the taken-too-young Alice Martineau.

Abi Wade has clearly put an unusual amount of love and attention into her compositions, so it seems unfortunate that the brevity of her EP means they will most likely be consigned to the middle of some longer playlist alongside lesser works by other artists.

That's the nature of music, particularly in the one-track-download age, but I implore you to get the whole EP and, whenever you can, listen to it in isolation. With luck, there'll be more from this astonishing artist in the near future, to fill out that playlist into something substantial enough to stand alone.

Final Score: 79%

She & Him - A Very She & Him Christmas

2011-11-21T11:51:00.000Z

A Very She & Him Christmas is the perfect way to round off what has been a pretty great year for music in general - January brought us Jessie J's Price Tag and Adele's Someone Like You, and as we head into December we finally get the much-anticipated festive offering from She & Him, AKA Zooey Deschanel and M Ward.

Elf fans, rejoice - you finally have a full-length collection of Christmas classics sung by Zooey Deschanel. Alas, there's no Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, and the version of Baby, It's Cold Outside is not the one that appeared in the movie - but this isn't Elf, it's She & Him, so get over it.

Despite that, if you found yourself overwhelmed by nostalgia at the end of that movie - or you love the old-timer style of previous She & Him albums - you're in for a treat here. You'd just better hope you've got a crackling open fire and a mug of mulled wine to enjoy while you're listening; A Very She & Him Christmas kinda demands it.

High Points

The duo's truly beautiful rendition of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is the first time in a long time that that particular song has brought me to tears. Admittedly they use the American 'hang a shining star upon the highest bough', rather than the more sombre original 'until then we'll have to muddle through somehow'. But the pacing is perfect and the vocals heartfelt, and it's a genuinely moving version of an enduring classic.

Baby, It's Cold Outside reclaimed its place as a festive favourite thanks to Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews at the end of the last millennium, and it's stayed high on many people's lists ever since. It's also a bit of an indulgence for Elf fans, as it appears in the movie during the shower scene. The version on A Very She & Him Christmas is pretty pacy, but it injects some energy amongst the line-up of often-slow seasonal ballads, and sits nicely alongside the accompanying tracks.

The Verdict

There's plenty to be happy about here - for a start, She & Him's usual retrotastic style is firmly in evidence. This whole album harks back to a time when tree decorations were handmade, the whole family got together every year, and Christmas Day was always snowy. It's an innocent ideal that's perhaps a little dated in principle, but in practice is never anything less than comforting. Why shouldn't every Christmas be white? When did we lose that childish innocence? Stick A Very She & Him Christmas on your CD player and claim it back - as every Scrooge eventually learns, it's never too late.

With that in mind, every criticism becomes a cause for praise - the track listing is hardly surprising; it's the same old songs you've been hearing for the past 50 years (or however long you've been alive). Critics could say the tracks haven't been reinvented. But that's the joy of She & Him. These are classic tracks, clean instrumental arrangements and soulful Deschanel vocal deliveries. A Very She & Him Christmas is the tree without the trimmings, the turkey without the dressings - and that's just fine, you'll love it just the way it is.

Final Score: 94%

BBC Children in Need - November 18th 2011

2011-11-18T18:51:00.001Z

It's that time of year again, so get your Pudsey ears on and get ready for Children in Need 2011.

There's a bit of a recession on, you may have noticed - so should we expect a record-breaking year? Probably not on the night itself, but we'll find out over the next few hours. Either way, it's still the biggest variety line-up of the year, an excuse to be a bit silly, and all for a very worthy cause.

First up is a special edition of The One Show, which seems like an odd way to kick things off, but you never know, they might have Sir Terry Wogan as a special guest host...

7pm-7:30pm

Ah, apparently it's not Children in Need time yet, there seems to be a 30-minute countdown clock on the screen... seriously BBC One, make your mind up! With that in mind, I'm gonna make sure I've got my beer and schnapps within arm's reach - a shot for every million pounds raised, until I'm drunk enough to donate more than I can afford.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of Matt Baker and Pudsey the Bear on a rickshaw...

Just about 22 minutes to go until the main event gets underway, and One Direction are already pubing all over my TV screen. Urg. But it's OK, they're only here to announce the official phone number:
03457 33 22 33
12 minutes till the main show, and Matt Baker's already single-handedly raised over £1.2 million. That's not a bad effort, by any means. Well done Matt! And he's straight back into presenting The One Show, too. What a hero.

And this is your five-minute warning... shot glasses at the ready if you're playing along with the drinking game. Just don't get so drunk that you forget to donate...

7:30pm

It's time for the main show! And, finally, Sir Terry Wogan. Good evening to you, sir.

Oo, who's hanging on his arm for the first part of the show...? It's the holy trinity of Tess Daly, Alesha Dixon and Fearne Cotton, in matching metallic frocks. Looking good, girls!

And it's One Direction, again. Good things to say about this: 1, at least they'll be out of the way pretty early in the night, and 2, at least this isn't the official Children in Need single for this year. Although it's probably better than the god-awful cover of Teardrop that 'The Collective' have actually released. Oh dear.

If you actually like One Direction, you can get What Makes You Beautiful on iTunes.

As for Teardrop, well, The Collective are an all-star line-up and it's good to see Children in Need is keeping up with the times. You can buy Teardrop on iTunes, safe in the knowledge that your money is going to a very worthy cause.

It's fast-paced tonight, barely ten minutes into the main show and we're already into a Wizard of Oz mash-up. Michael Crawford showing the One Direction boys how you stay in the game for decades at a time.

Olly Murs tells Ella's story, and reminds us of why we're watching in the first place with an appeal on behalf of a nursery for children with various disabilities or special needs.
7:55pm, and it's time for a quick local update before the hour mark. How are things going in your area?

Obscure goings-on in the north-west: "I've found his head." "That's not his head, that's a cake!" No, I don't know either.

8:00pm

Here we go, into the new hour. And it's John Craven with this year's Countryfile calendar. How much did they raise? £560,000, says John - although it says £504,000 in massive digits behind him. Either way, it's a potful of money for Children in Need!

Oo, the first total of the night - how much have they raised so far? This could be a few shots already, eek...

£4,364,411
The most ever raised by the first total, says Terry - surely they can't keep up that kind of pace all night??

Right, so I'm off to down four shots of schnapps (while I can still say it) and I'll leave you in the capable hands of the BBC newsreaders and their Strictly Come Dancing special.

I've interrupted my schnapps-downing to say that if Sophie Raworth was grinding against me like that, I don't think I'd be able to dance. Dan disagrees - he's more of a Susanna Reid fan, apparently. And a special mention for Angela Rippon, a genuinely classy lady and very gracious despite only being given about half a second to speak. What a lady!

And Susanna wins, so I guess Dan was right after all. He usually is.

The total's in from Greggs and it's over £1 million - cheers Greggs, I'll be having a shot for you at the next total.

Is it time for Doctor Who yet? More importantly, Dan wants to know if there'll be any Pond...??

No Pond, but you can bid for The Doctor's bow-tie? Bow-ties are cool! Although Dan suggests it would have been better if Pond's clothes had disappeared. Then again, they seem to do that every week...

8:30pm

As we enter a new half-hour, it's almost time for a classic Children in Need mass choir effort. I can't remember them doing this in earnest since that year the kids all had to hold squares of coloured card over their heads to make a massive patchwork Pudsey picture... back when they were using the good old Children in Need anthem "We are the children...". Pull this off, guys, and you'll make a long-time Children in Need fan very happy indeed.

Well, it's fair to say that was a pretty impressive effort, well done 2,000 or so random children!

Aw, and Alesha Dixon bows out at 8:42pm. Not a bad effort though, Alesha - well done, m'lovely. Who's up next then? Tess? Fearne? We'll find out after another local update.

A full five minutes later, we finally find out that it's Tess to support Sir Tel through this stint - and there's a bit of slightly odd flirting between the pair of them. Eek.

I like the kids from Outnumbered, so you're not gonna hear a bad word from me on this one. Given that it's been about ten years, they've done an awfully good job of making them all look like they've never aged.

And we haven't mentioned the number for a while, so if you want to donate, here it is:

03457 33 22 33
Another pre-recorded segment - time for something else live soon, I hope? - but it's the fairly epic DIY SOS shown a week ago. We watched the whole thing and it was a genuine achievement, and quite moving too. Well done, guys.

And the total raised via DIY SOS text donations:

£182,158
9:00pm

We're moving past the watershed now, and there's still only been one totaliser. How much has been raised?? Nobody knows, but maybe we'll find out soon.

Time to find out what Radio 2 have been doing, anyway. Any face-painting? Everyone else has been face-painting, it seems. No mention of face-painting, as far as I could tell.

Chris Evans' listeners add a further £1.2 million to the pot, taking the Radio 2 contribution over £2 million. And it's totaliser time! Here goes...

£8,911,090
That's... £2.2 million from Radio 2 and Greggs, and another £2 million or so raised on the night? Steady going, but there's still plenty of time...

Time for a Chicago song and dance routine from Gok Wan, and time for us to do another four shots of schnapps here - that was a close-run thing on hitting £9 million just then...!

Gok: "Getting women naked - easy. Song and dance - terrifying."
Sir Terry: "I never found getting women naked easy, myself."

Time for an appeal from Jo Joyner. "Harry weighed 1lb 6oz when he was born." He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. There's not a lot else to say, is there? Steps, an educational centre near Loughborough, supports children with motor disorders. Donate or pledge tonight, and you can help support them too.

03457 33 22 33
Straight into the EastEnders montage, and it's a swift change of mood. Unless it's just laughable... I'm not really sure. Obligatory everybody-headbanging to Bohemian Rhapsody, and is that Ian Beale in drag? Yep, apparently so.

A regional round-up, and then The Muppets! It's very nearly 9:30pm, and it's an all-star Mah Na Mah Na (find the original Muppets version on The Green Album) - and that's another half-hour over.

9:30pm

Oh Christ, Daniel Craig introduces a film we're warned will be painful to watch. I'm gonna watch it. You should too.

"Two of their ten beds are empty, because they can't afford to run them." Please donate, if you can.

Susan Boyle seems to be skirting around the tune of this one a bit - is that what the second line's supposed to sound like? Maybe... maybe. It's not important, anyway.

If SuBo moved you to tears, you can download Enjoy the Silence from iTunes.

And we're on to Dragons' Den versus The Apprentice. Well, just Sir Lord Alan Sugar. What a massive Sir Lord.

He does have a good product, though - the AmsBear, a wireless integrated Pudsey? I want one. I'd want my ringtone to be the proper Children in Need anthem, though - we are the children, we are the meek. Jackpot.

Oh dear, another £2.5 million - was that thanks to Children in Need Rocks Manchester? This is gonna involve a lot of schnapps, in the not-so-distant future. Still, well done Gary Barlow!

And another emotional appeal from Gary Barlow himself, showing the valuable work done by Children in Need.

Now it's time for The Collective to perform Teardrop, the official Children in Need single for this year. It's a bit street for my tastes, but you never know, the kids might like it.

It might just be me, but was Tulisa even audible for any of that? We could barely hear her speak at the end there...

Just ahead of the hour, it's totaliser time.

£15,274,911
That's a massive seven shots of schnapps here, so things might get a bit hazy after 10pm. Speaking of which, it's time to switch to BBC2.

10:00pm

...and we're on the other side. Lots of screaming... oh Christ, what? One Direction are back again? What did I do to deserve this? The useless scrotes... OK, schnapps time here.

In the meantime, if you're a One Direction fan, you can download Gotta Be You from iTunes.

This could be interesting - an extract from a documentary screened earlier this year. Could be tough to watch, as well. But that's the point.

10:13pm and Fearne Cotton's here, hurrah! I love you, Fearne Cotton. And I love your dress. In fact, all three frocks tonight have looked like that one Donna Air wore a few weeks ago and got slated for... a trend-setter once again, Donna.

And we're into a special Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which is chance for me to have the two more schnapps I need to keep up with that last total... this is a pretty sweet line-up though, Claire Richards, Shaun Williamson and... oh, Arlene Phillips and the drummer from McFly. Come on, Noel's team!

10:30pm

Alesha Dixon takes us into a new half-hour with the age-old tale of kids doing The Wrong Thing because there's nothing better to do. It's so easy to give them something else, something better - and it doesn't cost the world. Are your children safe tonight? What would you give to make sure of that?

Oh, it's the audience changeover, the moment when the tired early shift go home and the half-twatted latecomers show up.

Hello, Ed Sheeran. I'm not sure I like you, but I do love your song. Readers, if you like it too, you can download The A Team on iTunes.

Wait, hang on, this isn't The A Team. What's he singing? Oh, it's Lego House. I don't like this one as much as The A Team, but that's OK, it's not all about me.

10:39pm - Let the record show that BBC2 went off air before BBC One came back, leaving us in a Children in Need wasteland for a full minute!

So, here's JLS with their new single... no, wait, hang on, it's a rip-off of that classic Christmas song. Saints alive! Never mind, you can get it here. Oh, and it seems to be called Do You Feel What I Feel?, but I'm not so sure about that.

Dan reckons Hollyoaks can't sing. I think he might be right. And I wish they'd sung "Oak You", rather than "Forget You". But that's just me. If you're a fan of the original, get it here.

Almost 11pm, and Sir Terry Wogan's doing a little speech. I love you, Sir Terry Wogan.

Oh, it's Daniel Craig again, with Elliot's story. I'm not even sure how to spell his name. That seems strangely tragic in itself. Please donate if you can - 03457 33 22 33. For Elliot Wild.

11:00pm

Westlife take us into the new hour. Surely everyone out there already owns You Raise Me Up, on a compilation if not a Westlife album? (Or, heavens be blessed, the CD single??). If not, you can get it here.

Time for a total, and if my eyes don't deceive me, I do believe it's:

£19,555,068
So we'll be doing four more shots, while Vic and Bob do some street magic. This should be good... and there's that guy Dynamo, too. We're left wondering whether Vic Reeves might secretly be quite good at close-up magic. Nice one, Vic.

Jessie J with a hard-hitting story of young love turned into gang rape, basically. It's hard to dress that up as anything better - and, in fact, it wasn't anything better, it was as horrible as that sounds. Fearne asks, "do you feel angry? Frustrated? Helpless? Well you're not helpless..." Your donations can change this, give young people who have been hurt the help that they need and deserve. Donate now.

It's Olly Murs, with Rizzle Kicks. I didn't like Murs much, but y'know what? I've been watching The Xtra Factor, and he seems like a decent chap. So that's good. If you're a fan, Heart Skips A Beat is on iTunes here.

David Tennant with the story of Nathan, son of Keith (I think), who is living with Asperger's Syndrome. It's a disorder on the autism spectrum - and you know what? To me, it seems quite manageable. So chuck in a few donations, and let's make a difference. It doesn't have to be hopeless.

11:30pm

Hey, it's Steps! Their record-breaking linedance to 5,6,7,8 is still one of my all-time great Children in Need moments (and 5,6,7,8 was the first single I ever bought) so I won't pretend this isn't an awesome medley for me. Enjoy!

Hello, The Saturdays. You're all looking pretty good - and I don't usually think that. Blonde one, you look really stunning, but Frankie's still my favourite, I think.

Oo, a special Russell Howard's Good News? Oh, it's a clip show, but that's OK, I guess. I love this show, even clips I've seen before are still great!

Ah, a special mention for the clips of Sir Jimmy Savile. It feels like New Year's Eve, or the Baftas, when they show the montage of all the people who've died this year. I met Sir Jimmy once, when I was little. He was a true gentleman and I can clearly remember my conversation with him. He would want to support children across the country, for sure, so if you remember him fondly, give tonight in Sir Jimmy's name.

Dan's happy, Karen Gillan's finally turned up. We're agreed that childhood cancer AND being a Man Utd fan is a cruel double blow for any child. Seriously, 03457 33 22 33 to pledge what you can, and support work in Great Britain and over in Northern Ireland.

Nearing the midnight hour, and the cast of Crazy For You are here. Personally, I was hoping for a live performance from Let Loose, but that's OK. It seems a little harsh that the musical casts tend to get brought out so late in the night - but I suppose that's the way of the world.

12:00am

Eek, it's time for a grand total... prepare the schnapps...!

£22,207,844
Two more hours to go, and we're on 22 shots of schnapps here. Yikes.

Luckily we're into post-midnight repeats territory, it's Outnumbered and then Will's story, introduced by Gary Barlow. As hard-hitting as it was earlier in the night, but you don't need me to hold your hand through it - we've been here before, right?

And I'm welling up, not for the first time tonight, as Adele sings Make You Feel My Love. Get it here, if you're one of the few people left who don't already have it downloaded or on CD.

The briefest of appeals from Downton Abbey, and we're into a rerun of Children in Need Strictly Come Dancing. This is well and truly repeats territory, people - if you're still with us, you're truly committed to the cause!

12:24am, and it's finally time for Matt Cardle. I'm not judging - he had enough of that on The X Factor, and there's something truly admirable about the performers who wait up into the early hours to perform live. It's actually a decent song, even if I suspect it was written with half a mind towards using the instrumental version as The X Factor backing music...

Run for Your Life on iTunes.

And we move into a new half-hour with Tulisa, Matt Cardle and Jessie J's various tales of woe. It's a triple-whammy of tragedy, and a stark reminder of the importance of the work done by Children in Need.

12:30am

What the fuck? Is that Justin Lee Collins?? I've never wanted him more... or, wait, is it just a blonde chick from Rock of Ages? She looks pretty amazing, either way. This could be the best medley of the night so far.

And straight from that (was that Shayne Ward, too? I'm not really totally sure... it's been a long night) into a rerun of The Muppets' Mah Na Mah Na. Brilliant.

Sometimes when I see Lady Gaga singing a fairly stripped-back version of Edge of Glory, I have to wonder whether Stefani Germanotta would prefer for that to be her full-time persona. It's a fine song, and she sings it well. Add a million gimmicks into the mix though, and I'm not so sure.

If you like Edge of Glory - and I'm very much with you, if you do - you can get it here.

Another rerun, this time of the EastEnders Queen medley, and again it's linked straight with Jo Joyner's moving appeal. I mean, I know she's from EastEnders, but I find her particularly moving, not because of the character she plays, but because she's a real-life mum, and it's obvious how much she cares about other families. I hope her appeal isn't undermined by being linked with an EastEnders singalong every time.

1:00am

Into the final hour, still with us? Will Young's raced over from his Cambridge gig, what a hero. I suspect, from the lyrics, that he's singing Come On - if so, you can get it here.

And it's total time - Dan, you chose the right moment to go to bed, heaven only knows how many shots are about to be required.

£24,255,334
Two more shots. Only two?? Come on people, we can give more than that! One last big push for Children in Need. Come on.

And it's a rerun of Dragons' Den vs Alan Sugar - and a chance for me to send in a donation, I suspect.

Professor Green - and you know what, the more I hear this song, the more I like Emeli Sande. It's a pretty powerful song, even when it's not in the middle of a Children in Need appeal. Get it here.

Another rerun, this time of Gok Wan. I'm off to donate again...

OK, donated. Another rerun, this time the Children in Need choir singing Avril Lavigne's Keep Holding On. An epic effort, and if you want the original, you can get it here.

Coming up on 1:30am, and it's time for some highlights of Children in Need Rocks Manchester. But also, if you want to donate £5 via your phone bill, text DONATE to 70705. Y'know what? Even if you've donated already, just text it. Do it once. It probably won't break the bank for you, but it could change a life somewhere else.

1:30am

Harley. Your story is not easy to see or hear, by any means. But you're an inspiration to all of us. I raise a glass to you, my friend.

Oh shit. I'm definitely not emotionally equipped for One Day Like This right now, but Elbow, I'm glad to see you once again.

I'm both sad and relieved that they cut that song off halfway through - I would have been in floods of tears by the end, without a doubt. Can't see that happening with JLS, funnily enough...

At this point, I'd like to say, courtesy of Leigh Baird, that this is the best Children in Need ever, full of tears, love and laughter. I'd agree with that sentiment, no questions asked - well, the latter part at least. Is it the best Children in Need ever? I suppose that's measured purely by the amount raised, and that's well on track to break the records.

Wow, it's hard to believe we're approaching the last 15 minutes of the show. Almost all that's left is the inevitable montage of great moments from the night so far, and the final total. More than ever, I hope it's huge. I've seen Children in Need fail to break its previous record only once, and Sir Terry's "It's OK" speech was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen or heard.

We're in the depths of a recession, as everyone knows - but to think that we might be able to give more than ever, even in these straitened times, would be an incredible notion. Please, please, please. Please? We'll find out soon enough.

And yet there's still time for a live performance, Caro Emerald with A Night Like This. She's good, too - these performances are why it's always, always worth staying up till the last moments of Children in Need. Love the song? You can get it here.

Sigh. It's the montage. Parts I'd forgotten. Parts I'm not yet ready to let go of. I can't tell you how much this night means to me each year. I can't give much, but I give what I can afford - and I know many of you do too. Every year, it's an unprecedented outpouring of generosity. Well done, all of you.

And we're coming up on the end of the night, so it must be time for the final total. Place your bets now on what it may have reached...

OK, here we go... the final total is:

£26,332,334
Sir Terry says these are tough times, and to come together to give more than ever - well, that's enough for anybody. Fearne mostly sticks to a simple "goodnight!" but, as the camera shot fades out at 2am, she turns and hugs Sir Terry, and I properly lose it for the first time tonight.

Truthfully, it's not that much more than the previous total, but it's still a record-breaker. And that brief glimpse of Sir Terry and Fearne embracing sums up how much it means to the people who give up their time for free. Some of you will never really care about Children in Need, and that's OK. But some of you feel every year's total, feel it like a new benchmark in your life, a measure of whether the world's headed in the right direction or not.

I love Children in Need. I love the principle of it more than the good work that it does. I love Sir Terry Wogan, I always loved Gaby Roslin, and I've learned to love Fearne Cotton and Tess Daly - and, this year, Alesha Dixon.

I love that it's 2:08am before we join the BBC News channel, because, presumedly, Children in Need overran. And it should overrun, shouldn't it? Heaven forbid the year Children in Need is cut off early in order to switch to the 24-hour news...

So yes, it's the end of the night. If you stuck it out to the end, well done. If you joined us during this live blog, thank you. And if you donated - you have changed the world. You may never know exactly how, but you have had an indelible positive impact on a child's life, and for that you should be very proud.

Goodnight, you excellent, excellent British people.

Lambchop - If Not I'll Just Die

2011-11-18T15:50:00.000Z

Free Music Friday comes to a somewhat melancholy close with If Not I'll Just Die, from the upcoming Lambchop album Mr M.

The album's out on February 20th 2012, but you can hear the opening track below and download it for free, too. It's a rather sad tale - Kurt Wagner, singer-songwriter-guitarist, lost good friend Vic Chesnutt at Christmas in 2009, and turned his back on music for a while to cope with his grief. The result of his alternative artistic endeavours during that time is a series of artworks that accompany the tracks on Mr M.

In If Not I'll Just Die, Wagner has created what SoundCloud lists as 'alt country', but what I would say is a bluesy jazz number. It's atmospheric and filled with character, and Wagner's vocals suit the style perfectly. This is music at its best - music to make you feel, even if you didn't intend to. For me, February can't come fast enough.

You can grab If Not I'll Just Die for yourself at the City Slang SoundCloud page - please do, it's a beautiful composition.

Laura Gibson - La Grande

2011-11-18T15:17:00.000Z

Laura Gibson's La Grande, the title track from her upcoming album (out on January 9th 2012) has earned the rare distinction of maturing from a free download to a fully fledged single release in its own right. La Grande (the single, not the album) is out on December 5th, but you lucky lucky things can already preview it thanks to the SoundCloud player below.

Can't wait till December 5th? Head to the City Slang SoundCloud page and you can grab a free download of La Grande now.

What should you expect? Bizarrely, the intro sounds like a cross between Phil Collins' You Can't Hurry Love and Thomas Tantrum's Tick Tock, which is pretty awesome in itself.

The joy of SoundCloud, too, is that you can see where things are gonna get really interesting - in this case, around the 2:15 mark. That pinched-looking bit of sound wave throws the song into a moment of suspense before normal service is resumed - and helps to set things up for a sustained, echoing ending.

As always, we'll keep an eye out for the album - if it's more of the same, La Grande (the album, not the single) is likely to find approval with more than a handful of fans.

She & Him - Christmas Day

2011-11-18T14:38:00.001Z

A look ahead to December, and the release of She & Him's single Christmas Day. It's due out on December 19th, but it's also on the album A Very She & Him Christmas, which goes on sale in the UK on November 28th.

Christmas Day is a typically She & Him composition - 'old-fashioned' in the best possible of ways, and very much family-friendly. As usual, Zooey Deschanel shines on vocals, and further cements her place as the voice of Christmas present.

It's also a chance to use the rather festive image above, which we've been hanging on to since mid-September (well, we didn't want to start on the Christmas posts too early...). Look out for more about She & Him as the album goes on general release later this month...

Mariachi El Bronx - Only The Lonely

2011-11-18T13:35:00.000Z

You've got to love a bit of mariachi music, haven't you? Mariachi El Bronx may not actually be Mexican - they're a side-project of LA's punk performers The Bronx - but their version of Roy Orbison's Only The Lonely captures the south-of-the-border spirit perfectly while somehow remaining fairly faithful to the original.

If you're willing to hand over your email address, you can grab the track as a free download right now using the sign-up form above - and you can catch Mariachi El Bronx on tour on the following dates:

NOVEMBER
18th Dublin The Workman's Club
19th Belfast The Stiff Kitten
20th Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
21st Newcastle The Cluny
22nd Nottingham Bodega
23rd Manchester Sound Control
24th Leeds Cockpit 2
25th Sheffield Leadmill
26th Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
27th Cardiff The Globe
28th Norwich Waterfront
29th Brighton Concorde 2

DECEMBER
17th London Kings College
18th Wolverhampton Slade Rooms

All The Saints - Half Red, Half Way

2011-11-18T12:30:00.001Z

The new All The Saints album, Intro to Fractions, is due out on January 30th 2012, but you can get a sneak preview - and a free download - right here, with the album opener Half Red, Half Way.

And head to the Souterrain Transmissions SoundCloud page to download Half Red, Half Way for free.

It's a moody and atmospheric composition, and hints at a grunge-filled album to come in the new year. And while this is just one track, it's an unpredictable one right through to the dying moments, which makes for enjoyable (if noisy) listening.

We'll be keeping a watchful eye on this one, so look out for the full album review in January - and more track previews if we can get our hands on them!

Eleanor Friedberger - Last Summer

2011-11-16T15:47:00.001Z

Eleanor Friedberger's Last Summer saw its official release on Monday, so it's high time we gave our thoughts on the vocalist's debut solo album. I'm new to Friedberger's music; my first thought on hitting 'play' is that opener My Mistakes is much faster paced than I expected. And perhaps faster paced than its title suggests, too - this is no mundane introspective, but a more optimistic composition that would not be out of place in an indie movie, perhaps accompanying the montage that leads to the protagonist's moment of revelation and the film's grand finale.

Here, though, it is just the first of ten tracks that demonstrate why Friedberger is well deserving of an album bearing her name. Her vocals have a richness that, at times, nears that most distinctive of voices, Annie Lennox; her delivery is at times measured, at others perfectly hurried. Throughout Last Summer, she acts as an additional instrument, helping to form the musical motifs without simply singing to a tune that's already there.

High Points

Glitter Gold Year is a particularly original composition - at least in terms of its lyrics - and really appeals to me, although that may be because I'm a writer.

It plays with the digits of the year '2010', never really going into detail but still creating an enjoyable, almost poetic sequence of sounds which manage to deliver a bundle of emotion into the ears of the listener. It also gives a great insight into Friedberger's creative process - I can imagine this playfulness, this childlike babbling of sounds going into every song, combinations of words tested before the best are selected and the song truly matures.

Owl's Head Park is one of the few tracks on Last Summer to have an instrumental introduction - albeit a brief one - before Friedberger's voice joins in. It's a great combination of strings and percussion, which grows as more instruments join in over the course of the song.

The Verdict

I'm always a fan of rich vocals, and Friedberger definitely delivers those, so I was on-side with Last Summer almost from the first moment - once I'd got over my wildly inaccurate expectations of what this album was going to be like.

If the track previews above aren't enough, the video below should give you chance to hear (and see) the entirety of Roosevelt Island, helping you to make up your mind.

It's just one example among a playlist that offers plenty of variety, expertly composed instrumentals and softly-softly vocals - and that's a heady combination for any music-lover. Elements of Annie Lennox and Sheryl Crow are there to be found, but there's plenty of originality in each track too.

Good music is good at any time of year, but I always think the release date of an album is important - and in this case, Last Summer lives up to its name, bringing to mind memories of the warmer months that have already passed while wrapping the listener up in a warm hug that goes well with a mug of mulled wine and a spiced scented candle (you can trust me on that one...).

There's often a tendency for singers to stick to the same time of year for album launches, but I'd love to see Friedberger take a seasonal approach to her future releases - an autumnal collection in the depths of winter, an ice-cold work during the longer days of spring, and so on. She clearly has the talent and the quality to manage such a feat, and it would give us all something great to put on, whatever the weather.

Final Score: 86%

Cloud Nothings - No Future/No Past

2011-11-11T14:39:00.000Z

No Future/No Past is the first proper glimpse at Attack on Memory, the Cloud Nothings album due for release on February 6th 2012.

It's an ominous snarl of a song, with more of a backing clash than a backing track, and is just the thing for working through the anger of a bad mood.

Preview No Future/No Past below, then head over to the Wichita Recordings SoundCloud page to get your own copy for free.

Living up to the Free Music Fridays billing in true and proper form, you can currently download No Future/No Past for free via SoundCloud - get over there, and get your free music track today!

Hyde & Beast - You Will Be Lonely

2011-11-11T11:59:00.002Z

Hyde & Beast's You Will Be Lonely is out as a single on Monday - you may have heard it since mid-August, when their album Slow Down was released.

We've got streams of the track and the video below, so take the chance to acquaint yourself with You Will Be Lonely now if you haven't done so before.

You Will Be Lonely is a typically energetic example of Hyde & Beast's musical style, with strong instrumental and vocal motifs that will have your foot tapping and your lips singing along before your first listen-through is over.

Thanks to the miracles of mp3 downloads, you can already get the album version of You Will Be Lonely in the iTunes store - and look out for the single package from Monday, too.

The Sound of Arrows - Voyage

2011-11-07T13:03:00.004Z

If you've heard any of the previous tracks from The Sound of Arrows that we've featured on Popsiculture, you'll probably be well aware that they have a fairly specific sound. Not everybody will like them - I realise that - but those who do, I'd imagine, will probably really really love the combination of typically Swedish vocals and space-age electronic instrumentals.

Some songs on Voyage, the new album, would make great dancefloor fillers - and some even sound like boy-band album tracks, to be totally honest - but others are soaring, sound-rich compositions that create a whole new world centred on your eardrums.

High Points

I don't think it's possible to pick out a single high point from Voyage - Stefan Storm's music and Oskar Gullstrand's mini-movies that accompany The Sound of Arrows' single releases are works of perfection, each as good as the next.

So instead, I'll give this piece of advice - if you're a fan of bass, try something different for once. Blow the dust off of your treble knob and crank it up a little further than your usual comfort zone.

Voyage's entrancing electronic motifs are at their best in the upper frequency range, almost injecting audio into the very pattern of your brain waves. Turn up the treble, crank the volume, slip on some top-quality headphones or hook up to your 'good' speakers, and feel the outside world fade away from the first moments of Track One.

The Verdict

You may have guessed that I'm on the 'love' side of the The Sound of Arrows debate, if one exists. They're like a modern-day Pet Shop Boys, with every ounce of musical quality the 21st century has to offer.

Their compositions go beyond anything the Pet Shop Boys put out though, in terms of sheer fullness of sound. Your senses are swamped with audio information, bundles of music that hit you in a near-digital delivery. It's electronic at its best, proof that synthesisers don't have to sound old-fashioned or cheap.

Critics may claim that The Sound of Arrows are a dance pop act, but I don't think they're as mass-market as they may first seem. Rather, they occupy a niche that manages to spill over into mass appeal simply because, at the end of the day, everybody can appreciate something when it's done this well.

Final Score: 92%

Lasting Impression

Sometimes in this job, you get an album to review that you just can't put into words. If words alone could do the trick, you wouldn't need the music. With Voyage, you need the music.

I just caught myself summing it up in an email in a way that deserves repeating here:

"Every time I'm not listening to The Sound of Arrows, I forget that when I am listening to The Sound of Arrows, my mind goes all blank and serene, apart from the solitary thought 'The Sound of Arrows are fucking incredible'."

Yep, that about says it.

Moon Duo - Horror Tour EP

2011-10-31T12:20:00.002Z

Horror Tour is the new EP from Moon Duo, who you may have seen mentioned on Popsiculture before.

It's a four-track sparkler of a composition, perfectly timed to coincide with Halloween - and it lives up to that billing well, with haunting sustained instrumentals and minor chords aplenty.

However, that doesn't mean this is purely background music for haunted houses - it's also a surprisingly mellow, laid-back EP of chillout tunes. If you've got a dark winter commute and need to pass the time, stick these songs in your ears and you'll soon be home.

High Points

At almost seven minutes in length, opening track Horror Tour takes you on a musical journey, and serves as a great launching point for the EP. Although the genre is very different, it reminds me of Richard Thompson's The Ghost of You Walks - haunting, musically complex and perfectly suited to the spooky theme of the title and release date of this EP.

Sickener, the third of four tracks on Horror Tour, hardly lives up to its name, instead delivering over ten minutes of iterative instrumentals - it's repetitive in the purest definition of the word, but by no means boring. Sickener is, again, spooky without being dull, and a great way to fill ten minutes with background noise that welcomes your attention when you can spare it, but does not overly intrude when you have other things to think about.

The Verdict

When I was younger, October used to be spent trying to write ghostly-sounding music in time for Halloween. My only problem was that I couldn't really play any instruments, and a really third-rate combination of keyboard and violin just didn't cut it. However, I can easily understand the delight to be found in putting together an EP like Horror Tour - a chance to create music a little different from the mainstream, without having to step into a totally different genre.

Moon Duo's creation is satisfyingly short, making it feel like a gem, rather than an indulgence. Despite that, with track lengths reaching over ten minutes, the total play time is enough to make the Horror Tour EP good value. With darker, colder nights drawing in, it's the perfect soundtrack to load on to your iPod and get that apocalyptic feeling that's always there waiting to be found when there's mist in your breath and ice crystals in the air.

Final Score: 90%

The Coathangers - Hurricane/Johnny Flexidisc

2011-10-24T13:22:00.003+01:00

One from our friends over at X-Ray Recordings today, the double A-side Flexidisc single from The Coathangers, featuring Hurricane and Johnny.

This is very much for those of you who like your music to come in a physical format. The transparent disc is hand-numbered and limited edition, so you own something truly unique - a far cry from digital downloads that can be reproduced almost at will.

You can order Hurricane/Johnny from X-Ray Recordings now.

What's it sound like?

Despite containing only two tracks, there's a decent variety of music on this disc. You can stream the songs below.

Hurricane is energetic and fast-paced, with vocals to match. It's not just noise, though - unlike some tracks with this kind of pacing, you can actually tell what words are being sung, and there's plenty of variation in tempo over the course of the track.

Johnny is perhaps a little more thoughtful, with a Flight of the Bumblebee-style intro that launches into the quirkiness of the track quite nicely. That being said, it's still tinged with the mania that makes The Coathangers a disturbing delight to listen to.

The Verdict

Hurricane and Johnny will not be everybody's cup of tea, but they certainly help to blast the cobwebs away on a Monday morning. Add to that the opportunity to own something that is not just limited edition, but hand-numbered, and this flexidisc becomes a pretty engaging prospect.

Personally, I love music in physical forms, whether it's vinyl LPs, audio cassettes, CDs or any other format. It's nice to hold something, knowing the potential it has to create sound. The more obscure the format, the better.

Hurricane/Johnny may be one for the collectors, but within its audience niche I imagine there are more than just a few people who'd enjoy having it in their hands, or on the shelf alongside their other rarities.

Final Score: 80%

Order Hurricane/Johnny from X-Ray Recordings, £3.75 and strictly limited edition.

Neon Indian - Era Extrana

2011-10-12T12:51:00.000+01:00

Neon Indian's new album is actually called Era Extraña, but in case the accented n causes you any web browser issues, we're going to call it Era Extrana. OK? OK, it's a deal.

Now that's out of the way, we can worry about the music. Only, with Era Extrana, there's not much to worry about. It has all the hallmarks of that music designed to send your brain into an alpha-wave rhythm.

If you've never heard of that, it's music you're supposed to listen to on headphones, that directly influences your thought patterns, putting you into a dreamlike state, or a heightened creative state.

Era Extrana has a similarly mellowing-out effect, but without needing the headphones. In fact, I'd say it deserves to be played aloud, to appreciate the nuances of the chilled vocals and electronically charged instrumentals.

High Points

As usual, I find the start of Era Extrana to be one of the highs. Heart: Attack fills the room with sound instantly, creating a Neon-Indian-authored atmosphere that envelops the listener. It's little more than a prologue to everything that follows, but strong enough to stand alone. Those of you who still like to buy albums, rather than individual download tracks, might be happy to hear that the tracks of Era Extrana run into one another nicely, avoiding any awkward silences in what is a throughly absorbing cacophony of sound.

Also early in the album, Hex Girlfriend is a brilliant and very pretty melodic composition that is at once both modern and classic, harking back to the ambient astronomical sounds of the 1970s. Think Hawkwind at their soaring, supersonic best, and you've got it.

The Verdict

There's a lot of sound on this album, but I wouldn't call it noise. Some people might, though, so it's worth previewing a few of the tracks before buying - nobody wants you to have a headache in an hour's time.

Personally, I've always found it really uplifting when music has enough substance to shut out the world. Era Extrana creates a world of its own, either just for you via your headphones, or for a roomful of people via a decent set of speakers.

There's something else here, too, something abstract that I can't quite put my finger on. It's as though pausing the CD, or MP3, or whatever, puts that entire virtual world on hold. Pressing play again isn't just like starting the music back up, it feels like a homecoming - as though that world of sound has been awaiting your return.

It's a feeling not unlike sleeping in your childhood bed during a visit to your folks in the house where you grew up - and there aren't many warmer feelings than that.

Final Score: 84%

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

2011-10-06T09:13:00.003+01:00

We'll steer clear of a lengthy eulogy, but without Steve Jobs, much of this site would be far less interactive than it is.

The iTunes charts to the right would simply not exist without Apple's digital music downloads store.

Our text and image links to albums on iTunes - a common feature of our reviews - would be impossible too, leaving all of our readers facing the journey to their local record shop (like when I was growing up...) to get the latest releases.

As for you lot - your entire record collections fit in your pockets. And half of you have probably never held a vinyl record, anyway.

While many of today's tributes focus on the iPhone and iPad, let's remember, in our little music-centric corner of the internet, that Steve Jobs' legacy will live on in every iPod dock and digital download, from now until - at the very least - the Next Big Thing in the evolution of digital music comes along.

RIP Steve Jobs.

The X Factor 2011 - The Final 16

2011-10-04T10:52:00.003+01:00

The X Factor judges have made their decisions, the contestants have mixed things up a bit by choosing to drop out, revealing past criminal convictions and generally adding to the pantomime that is The X Factor, but finally it seems 16 acts have been chosen to go through to the live shows.

So, did your favourite make it through? And who do you think is in with the best chance of taking the title this year?

The Favourites

The girls stand out as a particularly strong category, as usual. Any time there's debate over whether the right people went through, it means some talent got left behind - and this year, that talent is in the form of Jade Richards.

On the show, Jade received a 'no' while Janet Devlin was told 'yes' at Kelly Rowland's Miami house. But don't blame Janet - there were eight performers to choose from, not just those two. That was just the way it was edited for TV. Jade lost out to all four of the female finalists, not just to Janet.

Stand-out favourites among the girls are Janet and Amelia Lily, who has seemed (to me) to be the all-round package since her first audition. She's pretty, talented and likeable, which is a killer combination.

Among the boys, meanwhile, bum-branding Frankie Cocozza remains a pretty good prospect. There's something odd about his voice that I can't quite put my finger on, but he'll do pretty well as long as he doesn't crumble on the live shows.

The Outsiders

At the other end of the scale, weirdly, the outside shots at taking the title this year are not the mediocre groups, but the over-the-top over-25s.

William Hill have chipmunk-voiced Johnny Robinson as the absolute outsider at a massive 50/1, but the undeniably talented Kitty Brucknell is not far behind at 40/1. Really? Would anyone seriously say the other 14 acts are all more talented than her? Or is it her strange combination of smug desperation and tragic self-interest that's turning people off?

Either way, it doesn't look like Louis has a hope in hell of getting his acts as far as the final - all four of them appear in the bottom six on William Hill's list of odds.

The X Factor Finalists Full List

So, place your bets now - the odds below are with William Hill and are subject to change, but follow the confirmation of the final 16 competitors.

These odds are to win the series and become X Factor champion of 2011.

11/4 Janet Devlin
9/2 Amelia Lily
8/1 James Michael
10/1 Frankie Cocozza
10/1 Marcus Collins
10/1 Sophie Habibis
12/1 Misha Bryan
14/1 Craig Colton
14/1 Nu Vibe
16/1 The Risk
20/1 Sami Brooks
20/1 Rhythmix
33/1 Jonjo Kerr
33/1 2 Shoes
40/1 Kitty Brucknell
50/1 Johnny Robinson

Zola Jesus - Conatus

2011-10-01T12:46:00.003+01:00

Conatus is the new album from Zola Jesus, out at the end of September and already finding new fans for the unique vocalist.

Second single Seekir is due for release on October 3rd on Souterrain Transmissions - you can preview it below, or read on for our full take on Conatus.

High Points

Second track Avalanche opens with some fairly ominous sounding bass, before Zola Jesus' haunting vocals kick into action. In essence, it's the opening track of Conatus, the minute-long Swords acting as more of a prologue. And it serves its purpose well, giving the singer chance to shine against a fairly minimal instrumental backing.

Ixode carries Conatus towards its halfway point with a lingering outro, again haunting the listener with metallic strains and layered chanting. Think of the ending of Lift Me Up, by Moby, but stretched over four minutes, and you're along the right lines. This makes me happy, as I always thought that was the best bit of that song.

The Verdict

Conatus is an intriguing collection of gothic-style chants and electronica compositions. It brings to mind everything from Nicolette's 1996 album Let No-one Live Rent-Free in Your Head, to an album of Bulgarian folk music and chanting eastern European nuns I have somewhere in my CD collection.

None of that is intended as criticism, though - those are some of the more distinctive elements in my record collection, and Zola Jesus is nothing if not distinctive. It's easy to see why the feedback from her live shows is so positive from those who attend - the girl has something a little bit special, for sure.

While Zola's live shows enrapture her audiences, it's a shame you can't quite catch the emotion in a recording. That being said, Conatus remains an energetic and original composition - and is one more album that begs to be played loud enough to echo.

Final Score: 84%

Blitzen Trapper - Love The Way You Walk Away (Video)

2011-09-29T13:34:00.002+01:00

You may already have seen Love The Way You Walk Away mentioned on Popsiculture - we previewed it back in mid-August with a SoundCloud stream, but with the single now on general release, you can take a look at the video below.

Love The Way You Walk Away is from Blitzen Trapper's new album American Goldwing, also released earlier this month and reviewed by us here.

We made Love The Way You Walk Away one of our high points for the album - and gave American Goldwing an impressive 90% - so it's definitely worth hitting the 'play' button if you haven't already.

You're in for a treat with the kind of pure-American music you might expect to hear at the movies - and if you want more, click the iTunes button below to head over to the album's iTunes page - complete with bonus tracks.

Waters - Out in the Light

2011-09-26T12:10:00.001+01:00

Ramp up the energy levels with For The One, the rocktastic opening track to Waters' new album Out in the Light, released last week.

It's not all noise and bass - Out in the Light takes the listener on a journey from the more mass-market single-release candidates at its beginning, to the truly unique, mellow and introspective tracks that follow.

While there is no lack of energy at any point, and nothing feels like filler, this album is an unfolding work, like a photograph that comes into sharper focus the longer you look at it.

Spend a bit of time in the company of Waters and choose your own favourite tracks - you'll be humming them to yourself for days to come, I suspect.

High Points

For once, an album starts with a great track instead of building up to it - For The One is a proper rock-out, albeit a good-natured one. The video below gives a glimpse into the (slightly disturbed) inner workings of frontman Van Pierszalowski's sub-conscious. It's a careful combination of handmade visuals with professional-grade special effects that perfectly captures the "me, but not me" sensation of the dream state.

Listen through as far as track five and you're in for a more downbeat and mellowed-out experience in the form of Ones You Had Before. It's a much quieter, but no less intricate and thought-out affair than many of the other album tracks, and a great addition to the playlist that begins a mid-album chillout before the energy levels rise once again for the perfectly balanced middle ground of the finale.

Album Preview

Preview each track below, or click through to iTunes for more details about Out in the Light, and to buy your favourite tracks.

The Verdict

I think it's fair to characterise Out in the Light as good-natured rock - of the modern variety, not the sort that clings on to the stadium tours of the 1970s. There's a meekness to Waters that makes this album quite an inclusive listening experience - you're not expected to idolise Van Pierszalowski, just to listen to the musical stories he has to tell.

Development is good throughout the sequence of songs, making Out in the Light worthy of a listen from start to finish - from the high-octane opener we've previewed above, to more mellow interludes and introspective moments. If you like to find you're reflecting on aspects of your own personality and character while listening to music, this is a good choice of album for you.

That being said, the album already has a strong and clear character of its own, without becoming samey. This helps Out in the Light to work its way into your head - where you will find your body moving to its beat, and your inner voice singing it for days.

Final Score: 81%

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, out November 11th

2011-09-14T10:04:00.005+01:00

Currently in development by Bethesda Softworks, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim promises to plunge the player into a breathtaking fantasy world populated with armed enemies and fire-breathing dragons.

Granted, these games always promise lavish graphics and elegant gameplay, but Skyrim really looks to be raising the bar and is earning its fans well ahead of its scheduled November 11th release date.

Moments of genius from the design team at Bethesda include the ability to look to the sky and see your character's abilities plotted out as stars in constellations, the heavens literally reordered as your game progresses and you learn new skills.

It's also nice to see two-handedness as a feature, with some spells able to be enhanced by equipping them to both hands of your character and firing both controller triggers together.

As the video above explains, the distant scenery is not just a background image - you can walk to it and, in the case of mountains, climb them.

This makes for seamless gameplay and is given a further boost by close-up details such as drifting snow at high altitudes, not to mention the in-game map - reached simply by zooming out until you can see the entire Skyrim world.

Bethesda's second preview clip shows more of the gameplay of Skyrim, and while it looks pretty impressive, I'm not fully convinced as yet.

A lot of the time it appears as though the character is on a fairly restricted path - a trail down a mountainside in the first clip, passageways through dungeons in the second. I'd like to see a less linear approach, both in terms of movement and story progression.

However, it's good to see some traditional elements in place - the combination of weapon-based combat and spell-casting, treasure chests that line the dungeon routes, and logic puzzles to solve in order to progress.

These are only sneak previews, but I suspect the highly detailed graphics of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim could overshadow the game itself. Come November 11th, we'll all be able to tell for sure.

Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing

2011-09-12T16:18:00.005+01:00

I'm a man of my word, so today I donned my trusty Peter Grimm Drifter hat to get into the cowboy spirit ahead of reviewing American Goldwing, the new album from Blitzen Trapper, due out on September 19th.

Viewers of The X Factor this weekend will have seen Louis Walsh bemoaning the lack of a good country singer in the UK - and the fact that the preceding performance was more like Cher Lloyd singing Dolly Parton than back-to-roots bluegrass might have something to do with that fact.

With American Goldwing, however, you have authentic banjo-and-harmonica music the way only an American group can do it. The Portland five-piece named their album, as far as I can tell, after a model of Honda motorcycle - and this is very much road music that urges the listener to get out there and see the world.

High Points

The third track on American Goldwing, Love The Way You Walk Away - also out on September 19th as a single - is a vocals-sensitive pure country track lasting for an ecstatic but mellow three minutes and 40 seconds. During that time, it delivers an indulgent audio experience that, like so much country music, is both absorbing and enveloping, like a good hug. It helps still further that it's followed up by an energetic mouth-organ intro to the more rock-style Your Crying Eyes (think Status Quo brought bang up to date!).

American Goldwing, the title track, is road music at its best. A timeless composition that evokes images of long, dusty roads that reach all the way to the horizon. If you've got a journey ahead of you any time soon - even if it's just the morning commute through a rainy UK - be sure to have this one on your playlist to carry you along the way.

The Verdict

To be totally honest, I've got snakeskin boots and a CD collection full of The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Richard Thompson. I may be a little biased. But hey, the boots grab people's attention.

With that in mind, I can't help but smile when I listen to American Goldwing. It's not self-indulgent in the slightest, it's modern and relevant while retaining that classic country sound, and it gets your toes tapping at the very least. Those who know how will probably find themselves line-dancing against their will to this one.

However, it's more than 'just' country music, too. These are songs about journeys, not just physical but also emotional, and the album takes you on a journey of your own from the comfort of your sofa or car seat.

As Blitzen Trapper songwriter and lead singer Eric Earley says: "It's about those feelings of being trapped in a small town. That fine line between the rural and the suburban settings that define much of America, that line between love and loss that occurs when you find yourself taking it too easy and sticking around a lonesome town for far too long."

For those of us who have experienced that stuck-in-a-rut feeling ourselves - which, I expect, is most people at one time or another - this is yet another album to ease the pain of self-examination and help us to take our first steps out on to the open road.

Final Score: 90%

The X Factor Dramatic Music

2011-09-05T14:21:00.004+01:00

Last year, we trawled through our CD collections, online forums and classical music archives to check exactly which tracks were used in The X Factor's dramatic background music. We know you care, because we see a steady stream of searches coming in from people hunting down their favourite track.

However, there are a few tunes that are used again and again on the show - so although this year's auditions are only just underway, we've put together a playlist of the usual suspects below.

Preview the tracks on iTunes if you're not sure which is which - did we cover all of them?

If we've missed your favourite piece of dramatic music from The X Factor, leave a comment below to tell us where you heard it on the show, and we'll do our best to reply with any we may have missed.

The Drums - Portamento

2011-09-05T13:34:00.005+01:00

The Drums' Portamento adds to a growing amount of guitar-focused, ambient music making it to general release this year. It's been a genuinely great year of music - both the mainstream pop and the alternative and independent releases. With Portamento, The Drums have created a collection that brings that fact into soft-focus, a sentimental bundle of notes and vocals that brings to mind nights spent in a low-ceilinged bar where the lager's sold in cans, rather than pint glasses.

This is music for people who like to see it performed live - where the interaction with the band is as important as the thought that's gone into the lyrics or the originality of the composition. Luckily, the recorded versions retain enough of that interior echo to carry some of that seeing-it-live feeling over into digital form. It's not quite the same, admittedly, but it's a damn good effort.

High Points

Hard To Love is a fine combination of late-90s budding-band instrumentals dominated by drums and guitar, with elements of 80s electronica adding the hint of another age to proceedings. It's actually hard to tell, here, what's synthesised and what's an electric instrument, which helps to blend the elements together well into an engaging and deceptively light-hearted whole.

There will likely be some people who listen to I Need A Doctor who skip to the next track before really giving it a chance. Don't - the quick-strummed guitar opening is a little low-key, but the track builds strongly. The chorus is filled with character all of its own, while the later verses are similarly unique. If you've gone to the trouble of buying the whole album, give decent attention to this track - it could easily pass under the radar, otherwise.

The Verdict

It's unfortunate that many of the things that are so good about Portamento are the same things that its critics won't really get - not because they don't know what they're talking about, but because music is an individual thing and, as I mentioned above, this album is decidedly sentimental.

So, the as-live style of the songs, which I think helps to retain a sense of how they are supposed to sound, might equally garner criticism from those who prefer a song to be sequenced, rather than played - and who like their vocals to be autotuned.

It's not a new debate - The Eagles were criticised for singing too well during their live performances, at a time when many performers thought live shows should have less-good vocals than recordings.

These days it's the other way around - recorded music is often supernaturally in-tune - but The Drums' offering is delightfully natural in its performance and sound and I, for one, commend it on that point.

Other than that, there is little to criticise one way or the other. The overall performance is both strong and mature, the influences traceable back through the decades. The final product, modern without straying too far into the avant garde, yet unlikely to suffer too much from dating in the years to come.

Final Score: 74%

Ganglians - Still Living

2011-08-30T13:57:00.005+01:00

The PR cycle that began in early May reached its zenith this bank holiday weekend with the release (finally!) of Still Living, the new album from Ganglians.

This hour-long collection of a dozen tracks average a shade under 4:40 in length each, making it good value for money on duration alone. But the purposely strained, mellow-yet-dramatic ensemble of music has more to offer than simply filling the time it takes to listen.

Evocative and distinctive, yet laced with influences that can be traced back through the decades, Still Living is described by Ganglians' Ryan Grubbs as "outsider music, but with a pop sensibility that brings everyone in". It is this collision of the niche and the mainstream that makes the collection particularly compelling.

High Points

Still Living really picks up its pace around tracks 7 and 8, Things to Know and Good Times. Together, they dispel some of the melancholy of the earlier songs, accelerating the tempo just enough to keep the listener interested.

It's important to recognise, though, that this is distinctly downbeat music - don't expect Flight of the Bumblebee as a bonus track here. There are drum beats, and bass, but we are a long way from the land of techno.

As always, whether you like Still Living or not will depend very much on whether it's your cup of tea - if it is, though, there's a very good chance that you'll be please with what you here, as I found little to draw fault from throughout my hour's listening.

Preview opening track Drop The Act below:

The Verdict

Still Living adds to a Ganglians back-catalogue with its own clear merit. Fans of the group's earlier releases Ganglians and Monster Head Room should not be disappointed, while those who are new to the Ganglians sound could find things a little more challenging.

As described above, this is not the kind of music likely to sit alongside Katy Perry and Rihanna in the typical CD collection - and you might want to make sure you put it on the right iPod playlists to avoid a suddenly melancholy moment in the middle of your next bus journey.

But variety is the spice of life, and Ganglians are most definitely Still Living and comfortable in their artistic identity. Give them a try if you haven't already - you might just find a niche you didn't know you were lacking in your music collection.

Final Score: 80%

Dave Depper - The Ram Project

2011-08-22T14:01:00.003+01:00

Dave Depper's latest production, The Ram Project, is the kind of concept many musicians would love to get their heads around. In fact, it's likely that quite a few have done so already, but their efforts never saw the light of day.

The album is Depper's own re-record of Paul McCartney's 1971 album Ram, credited to the ex-Beatle and his partner Linda McCartney. It marked part of the bridging period between McCartney's time in The Beatles and the formation of Wings.

Ram was originally released in both stereo and, unusually for a 1970s album, in a mono version as well. Depper's version pays its own homage to that school of thinking, as The Ram Project - while not lacking in production quality - has decidedly lo-fi elements and is likely to please fans of treble more than lovers of bass.

High Points

It's hard to choose one track from The Ram Project that really stands out over the others, such is the consistent quality of the recording. Instead, I'll simply provide you with the chance to gain an insight into what you can expect from the album, with a preview of Monkberry Moon Delight, an esoteric and fairly frivolous lyrics-heavy piece stretched over five and a half minutes of play time.

Granted, the album is 'proper' recordings, not a bootleg of a live show, but the spirit of the piece is the same - and the video above gives an ideal insight into the sense of inclusion that Dave Depper tries to create between himself and his listener.

The Verdict

As mentioned above, this is an album that really comes into its own when you crank up the treble. Blasting out of poor-quality laptop speakers, its lo-fidelity shines through just as well as it does in Altec Lansing surround sound - trust me, I've tried it both ways.

The tracks may not technically be Beatles songs, but they have all the hallmarks of McCartney's unique songwriting techniques, wonderful layering of different sounds, and Depper makes a grand effort of delivering the vocals in a way not dissimilar from Sir Paul's original performance.

It all adds up to a modern-day album which makes no pretences about its classic influence, and which combines the best of both worlds into a single production Depper can be proud of. McCartney fans, try not to be too precious about it - give The Ram Project a fair chance and you're likely to be impressed.

Final Score: 68%

Hyde & Beast - Slow Down

2011-08-15T11:30:00.007+01:00

Hyde & Beast's album Slow Down is out today, and it's well worth a listen if you haven't heard it yet.

This is a hands-on project for The Futureheads' Dave Hyde and Neil Bassett, ex-drummer with the Golden Virgins. Aside from the fact that these are eleven tracks of very personalised music, Slow Down is also out on the pair's own label, Tail Feather Records. The duo take production and writing credits on all but one of the songs - the exception is track 7, (And the) Pictures In The Sky.

It's also a very cohesive selection of songs, with its own strong identity, rather than the random array of styles that sometimes accompanies this kind of side-project when undertaken on a whim.

High Points

While I say Slow Down displays firm cohesion, that is not to say that it becomes samey at any point. Indeed, there are individual examples of specific musical genres or styles that stand out even among the strong characters of the other tracks.

Wolfman Blues is one - I'll talk about potential criticism of this track below, but for me it's always good to hear something a little experimental. From the first off-key, strained guitar strum, you know that's what this is going to be, and it's more about rhythm than tune. It does, however, manage to be at once easy-listening and attention-grabbing, while still progressing musically over its relatively short 110-second lifespan.

Louis' Lullaby rounds off the track listing perfectly, putting Slow Down to sleep with a warm hug. Just as Wolfman Blues lives up to its bluesey moniker, so Louis' Lullaby is a peaceful combination of guitar and bass that soothes and leaves the listener with a sense of relaxation to take with them from their half-hour journey through Slow Down.

The Verdict

Critics will find brief passages of this album self-indulgent at the expense of the greater good, with the entire duration of Wolfman Blues one example of this, a long and distorted instrumental sequence reminiscent of Tom Waits' more experimental album tracks. Further criticism could reasonably be levelled at the low energy levels of many tracks; this is a laid-back, almost lazy collection of music, but deliberately so - as indicated by its title. Take a moment to listen to the pace of the instrumental backing in particular, and the slow-motion delivery of the vocals takes on its own intended significance.

As for the positives, there are plenty. Hyde & Beast have a mature sound, with its own idiosyncracies to share with the listener. That helps to give Slow Down an identity all of its own, rather than it occupying the middle ground between the groups for which its collaborators are better known. As Popsiculture's Dan Penman pointed out in his preview of the album, you are as likely to find references to 60s American rock as to the vocal harmonies of The Futureheads, for an easy-listening and warm end result - think summer nights around the campfire with one bearded guitarist determined to share his skills with everyone present. Only not as cringeworthy.

Final Score: 75%

Blitzen Trapper - Love The Way You Walk Away

2011-08-12T17:09:00.003+01:00

Popsiculture's Free Music Fridays continues with this peek ahead at Blitzen Trapper's upcoming album American Goldwing.

Love The Way You Walk Away is available now as a free download - just click the icon at the right of the SoundCloud player below.

Alternatively, of course, you can just stream the track until the album is released, and then buy the whole thing in one go. It's your call.

Ganglians - Drop The Act, out August 22nd

2011-08-12T14:14:00.002+01:00

Get your Friday afternoon off to a start with the first of our Free Music Fridays tracks, Drop The Act, due out on August 22nd by Ganglians, but available to listen to here and now.

You can stream the track using the player above, or head over to the Souterrain Transmissions SoundCloud page for more information.

Cher Lloyd - Swagger Jagger

2011-08-08T10:45:00.010+01:00

Whether you blame it on hype or raw talent, the nation awoke this morning to its first week of having Cher Lloyd's Swagger Jagger at number one in the official singles chart. It's a curious event, as she never seemed to get to the top spot on iTunes over the course of last week, suggesting physical CD sales might yet play a part in deciding how the finished chart evolves.

Either way, it's a result that's likely to fuel the fire in fans' hearts, while annoying Cher's haters to fever pitch. I was (and still am) a Katie Waissel fan, rather than a 'brat', but many of the Warriors on Twitter seem to support both - and there's nothing really wrong with that, is there?

It would be fairly pointless to review a song that's been everywhere for the past few weeks in the usual way, so the below takes a bit of a departure from our normal format.

What does 'swagger jagger' mean?

The question on everybody's lips when Swagger Jagger was first announced related to its title. As POPSICULTURE's Dan points out, 'swagger' and 'Jagger' (as in Mick) have been rhymed with one another before - by both Ke$ha and the Black Eyed Peas - but if you trust UrbanDictionary, in Cher's case it's a slightly different reference.

According to the online reference source (which is slightly less reliable than Wikipedia...), the original term is 'swagger jacker' and refers to someone who steals - or 'jacks' - another's style, wardrobe, attitude etc - collectively, their 'swagger'. Hence the line "get some of your own".

Love or hate the song, it's actually a decent tie-in with Cher's streetwise image. It's just a shame nobody seems to know what the hell she's actually supposed to be singing about.

'Be true to who you are'

The 2010 series of The X Factor was defined by its strong characters - Cher divided opinion. From the outside, it seemed like the media was excessively supportive of her. Talking to her fans during the series, they saw the opposite, telling me she was unfairly criticised in some parts of the media.

Like I said above, I was a Katie Waissel fan - although the term 'Waissel Warrior' only appeared partway through the series. I liked the contrast though, Cher with her clearly defined 'street' attitude and rap-focused performances, while Katie was always more of a chameleon, changing appearance and performance style from week to week.

The point is, I don't think either really got it wrong. Cher has obviously found a marketable style that's relevant to young people today. By contrast, Katie made it through (mostly) in one piece, without becoming pigeon-holed as a performer. If she'd been forced into singing Jungle Book tunes and the theme from Bewitched every single week, who knows how realistic the Red Velvet Lovers would now seem as a future chart prospect?

The Verdict

I'm no great Cher Lloyd fan - as you may have noticed above - but I always strangely like to see an act from The X Factor make it to number one without having won the show. I love Leona Lewis and I think, if she's the only winner to sustain a career for the long term, the past decade or so of competition has been worth it.

But it's the runners-up who are most compelling once the series ends. Not just Cher and Katie, but Olly Murs, Laura White, Ruth Lorenzo and Diana Vickers, not to mention Same Difference and Rhydian Roberts. And Lucie Jones, who has spent her time most recently modelling and appearing in theatre, rather than pursuing a pop career.

What should we expect from Cher in the future? I'm not sure... I could see her moving into a presenting gig on one of the more streetwise music television channels. I'm not sure her music itself can sustain enough variety for a long-term pop career, but a few well-timed collaborations with other artists could prove me wrong on that one. Like Cheryl Cole, Cher would benefit hugely from continuing support from someone like Will.i.am. Let's watch this space, and see what happens.

The Sound of Arrows - The Making of 'Magic'

2011-08-07T11:10:00.004+01:00

If, like us, you saw and loved the video for The Sound of Arrows' latest release Magic, now you can learn a little about how it was made.

But don't worry that this will ruin the magic of the video itself - the mystical landscapes and creatures that appear towards the end of the song remain open to interpretation.

Instead, you can learn the original concept behind the video, and the way it was structured, as well as some more about its child stars.

Click play below to head into the imaginative world of The Sound of Arrows.

Meanwhile, you can now grab Tom Staar's remix of Magic for free over at SoundCloud - it's got a bit more of a dance beat to it, but the wide-eyed wonder of the original track is somehow preserved. An excellent effort all round.

Joss Stone - LP1

2011-07-30T10:33:00.005+01:00

LP1 is Joss Stone's fifth album and brings together her distinctive 'soul singer' voice with some twangtastic American-style guitar. I'd say it's more blues than soul, but then I've never been great with my genres.

You should know that I quite like Joss Stone. It seems like everybody either likes or despises her, and I'm definitely not in the latter category. Sure, her Americana speaking voice is a bit weird and she's a bit of a Mariah-Careyesque warbler, but she's actually not too self-indulgent about it.

Joss's vocal performance is typically a powerhouse, and even at what might easily be full throttle, you get the feeling she's holding something back in case the song needs to go to the next level. LP1 is no exception - it's a long time since I've seen a Joss Stone single hit the shelves, but any one track from this album could stand its own as an independent release.

High Points

I don't often say this, but the first track on LP1, Newborn, is actually one of the best. It opens with some of that hard-strummed guitar I mentioned above, but soon incorporates a bit of piano that's distinctly Joss Stone. The vocals, too, are familiar territory, easing long-term fans into this collection seamlessly. By the end of Newborn, though, the power level's been raised a notch or two and we're into the higher energy levels that typify LP1, compared with earlier work from Joss.

Don't Start Lying To Me Now is another high point, not so much for the song itself, but for the moment during the intro when I thought it was going to be a cover version of The Cure's Love Cats. If you're someone who can make mash-ups, make a mash-up of this. Wagner Carrilho, I'm talking to you.

The Verdict

LP1 is very much a Joss Stone album. Her vocals take centre stage and the backing music is - well, in places it could have been lifted straight from her earlier albums, in other places it's not really anything special. It's not going to change your mind about her, if you're not a fan. But it also shouldn't disappoint existing fans. It's business as usual - and for plenty of people that should be enough.

Personally, I like Joss Stone, as I've already said. But there's always been something missing, something that's stopped me from buying any of her albums. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but I think it's to do with her likeability. I'm a huge fan of music you can put on for guests, and I'd no more play a Joss Stone album at a party than I would serve Marmite as the entree.

Final Score: 65%

Torchwood - Miracle Day

2011-07-29T12:08:00.007+01:00

Torchwood is back for a ten-part series, Torchwood - Miracle Day, produced in collaboration with US broadcasters and with the big budget you might expect as a result of that fact.

John Barrowman returns as Captain Jack Harkness, while Eve Myles is Gwen Taylor, the pair having spent the time since the end of the previous series getting over the deaths of their colleagues and now reunited, ironically, by an apparent global inability to die.

American co-stars add to the line-up, including Independence Day's Bill Pullman in what, three episodes in, seems to be significantly more than a walk-on cameo. However, we're yet to discover the role that his character, Oswald Danes, might play in the shake-out of the Miracle Day story arc.

The Story

Captain Jack sums the story up pretty well in the clip below - this is far from a Doctor Who-style space-and-aliens story. It is, if anything, similar in structure to the David Tennant/Catherine Tate episode Partners in Crime, which featured the Adipose, a creature produced from human fat thanks to a 'diet pill'. But it's less space-themed and much darker, with the human race effectively becoming a planet of zombies, unable to die whatever their injuries - yet still capable of feeling pain.

One of the best quirks of the story is that, just as everyone else on the planet is rendered immortal, the ever-living Captain Jack becomes mortal once again. It's a chance for the character to reassess his carefree style of living - and to think about short-term issues like friendship and love, the kinds of emotions most immortals have to put to one side (again a theme touched upon in Doctor Who and other 'immortal' stories like Highlander).

Critics have objected to the overly American style of the show - and in places, it does feel somewhat like the ill-fated Doctor Who TV movie which starred Paul McGann as the Time Lord - but there are plenty of scripted jokes highlighting the cultural rifts between the US and the UK (and Wales in particular) which help to keep things moving and provide light-hearted relief from the horrors of the main story arc.

The Production

Putting to one side the jokes about Americans thinking Wales is in England, this is still a traditional Torchwood production - and as horrific as things get, there is still plenty of humour to be found. That makes it all the more surprising when a tender moment - such as Jack's affection for Gwen, who is now not only married but also a mum - comes along.

Captain Jack is undeniably Torchwood's version of The Doctor - undying but faced with losing companion after companion. I've always thought of Doctor Who as a metaphor for the way human friendships develop and die in real life - often for no real reason. In Torchwood, particularly at the moment, there's an overt effort to make that a core element in the storyline, and it will be interesting to see how it progresses - will we see Captain Jack stride off into the sunset alone at the end of this series? It seems likely, in my opinion.

The iTunes links on this page are to the series download - if you're a fan, the extras that are bundled into that purchase, such as character profiles, are bound to be a welcome addition. If you're a newcomer, they could help to get you up to speed with what you've missed in previous series. New episodes will be queued and downloaded as soon as they are available - or you can use the links within iTunes to get them one by one, if you prefer.

Hyde & Beast - Never Come Back

2011-07-23T17:53:00.004+01:00

Hyde & Beast is a side project of David Hyde, one quarter of post-punk geniuses The Futureheads, with Neil Basset formerly of fellow Sunderland group Golden Virgins. Both drummers by trade, they have combined to make music they describe as a "sprawling, gentle psychedelic mess". It's hard to argue with any part of that description, so let me just add that the result is charming, warm and stupidly easy to listen to.

Never Come Back is Hyde & Beast's debut single to be taken from their forthcoming album, appropriately titled Slow Down, and should be enough to make you fall a little bit in love with the diminutive Hyde (or the hirsute Beast, depending on preference).

There are elements of Futurehead-esque vocal harmonies, but the main touchstones here are from classic 60s American rock groups, think The Band, or the Allman Brothers and you won't be too far off.

Rebecca Black - My Moment

2011-07-18T23:30:00.004+01:00

Oh yes, it's here - the wait is over! Rebecca Black's new video (and song) My Moment has just hit the world and, at the time of writing, has had 300 views on YouTube. I'm guessing it'll be more like 300,000 by the time you read this.

As you might expect, it's a squeaky-clean and upbeat affair - and starkly defiant to all the naysayers from the Friday days. Rebecca Black's going to have to work hard to really progress from that song, but My Moment makes a good effort of it.

Check it out below - it sounds like a talent show winner's song, which in itself makes it something of a fresh start. And the best part is, it's good for any day of the week - not just Friday.

More from Rebecca Black on .

Jennie Sawdon at The Sanctuary, Manchester, July 17th 2011

2011-07-18T13:59:00.004+01:00

The Sanctuary's live music night has firmly claimed its place on the calendar of cultural events taking place in Didsbury week by week, which is testament to the commitment of its organiser Sara Dowling and some very talented musicians who provide the entertainment itself.

At Popsiculture, we've become firm supporters of the wonderful Jennifer Sawdon, a wedding singer turned recording artist who recently took the brave step of going it alone and self-producing her debut album.

So we couldn't say no to a return to The Sanctuary yesterday evening as Jennie once more took to the stage to perform her own songs and a couple of well-known favourites.

The Performance

Jennie's set was, as ever, an engaging experience - each song introduced with a monologue explaining the inspiration behind the lyrics and helping those less familiar with her music to understand the emotion behind each composition.

Back in March, the first time we saw Jennie live at The Sanctuary, the audience were littered throughout the bar. This time, it's no coincidence that they gravitated towards the stage over the course of her performance, drawn in by her note-perfect delivery and angel-sweet voice.

From our place towards the back, the acoustics were great and the performance near-perfect - not only from Jennie, but also her band, album co-contributors Johnny Heyes on guitar, Bryan Hargreaves on drums and Neil Fairclough on bass. At times it was easy to forget this was a live performance in a venue not really designed for live music - the vocals and instrumentals alike were of recording quality and the audience seemed to really appreciate that fact.

The crowd's appreciation, in fact, was such that an encore was demanded, a call that Jennie was happy to oblige. For those of us who count ourselves as fans, it was one more chance to hear her sing before calling it a night.

Jennie Sawdon trivia: In March and last night, the first song played by The Sanctuary after Jennie's set was I'll Be There, which you can hear her sing on her website.

Fighting the Fairytale

Just a quick footnote about Fighting the Fairytale, Jennie's debut album which is available on iTunes.

I've been waiting for the chance to see Jennie live again so I could grab a copy on CD - and I didn't waste last night's opportunity. For the record, this really is a 'proper' album, with original artwork and a professionally printed inlay with full lyrics to all the tracks. And it sounds great, so don't be afraid to go for the download version if that's your thing.

Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing, out September 12th

2011-07-17T14:47:00.004+01:00

The PR machine's already in full swing for Blitzen Trapper's upcoming album release American Goldwing, due out on September 12th.

You can check out the title track below - and if you're willing to give up your email address, you can even download it for free. This is a third-party widget so you can probably expect to get email updates on the album's progress. We'll never see your email address here, so we couldn't misuse it even if we wanted to.

Check back for more about this slice of Americana over the months to come - for expectant fans it could turn out to be a long and impatient summer.

Wye Oak - Holy Holy free download

2011-07-15T11:27:00.003+01:00

It's Friday, so time to welcome the weekend with a bit of Wye Oak. We like to give you stuff on a Friday, but this week it's not just a stream - you can download Holy Holy for free from City Slang's SoundCloud page.

Those of you who read my review of Wye Oak's album Civilian, released in early March, will know that I reported a disc of surprises and stark variety - so every preview counts, if you're considering buying the album!

See what you think of Holy Holy and hey, even if it's not for you, it's still a free track at the end of the day (and the end of the week...).

The Sound of Arrows - Magic, out July 25th

2011-07-14T14:42:00.005+01:00

The Sound of Arrows continue their quest to make mini-movies, rather than simple music videos, with the wondrous four-minute story of Magic.

In a world whose adult inhabitants have vanished, we see events through childlike eyes as Lucas and Ana do the things normal kids might do - trash some stuff, raid the shops, and write a message in a bottle ("Mama and Papa, wherever you are, we are safe.").

Watch the video for the fairly astounding last two minutes of Magic - and try to make some sense of it for yourself. I found it strangely moving and very uplifting.

That's not all - because we're so generous, you can also check out the Chad Valley remix of Magic below. It's quite different from the original, but if nothing else it's a chance to work out some of the lyrics that aren't so easy to hear on the single version.

Head over to the The Sound of Arrows SoundCloud page to download the remix for free.

The single release of Magic is due out on July 25th.

Japanese Voyeurs - Yolk

2011-07-13T11:47:00.007+01:00

This is certainly not a week for the faint-hearted, as Japanese Voyeurs follow up the recent single release of Cry Baby with their new album, Yolk.

Prepare to make the neighbours complain as you crank up the volume and blast out some original but very traditional hard rock - a dozen songs of big riffs, crashing drums and snarling vocals.

It's little wonder that Yolk is claiming its territory in some corners of the online music community - Japanese Voyeurs are hard to ignore, to say the very least. Look out for more single releases in the months to come, as this is one of those albums where any one track could hold its own without the support of its tracklist neighbours.

High Points

Special mention first for Cry Baby, the recently released single and a fine example of what to expect from Yolk. One of my pet hates in have-a-go rock music is that feeling that everyone is just playing their instrument as fast and as loud as they can. No such criticisms can be levelled against Cry Baby, which balances loud instrumental moments with more restrained sequences to provide real structure to the song - and which lends real emotion to parts of the track, even where there are no vocals.

Get Hole and Feed both demonstrate why a female lead vocalist has always worked so well for this kind of music - the contrast of heavy rock with the occasional stripped-back, voice-centric moment of quietness that just doesn't work when your frontman is, well, a man. Revel in Romily Alice's mature and measured performance; this is no girl playing at boys' games, and woe betide anyone who tries to pigeonhole her by gender.

The Verdict

It goes without saying that this is not an album for fans of easy listening; it is unashamedly rock music, and you'll need to be prepared for that. But it's not 'just noise' by any means, either. We're talking about real songs in the truest tradition of rock, each built around riffs and a balance of instruments and vocals that has almost become a forgotten art in the mainstream charts.

Personally I think Japanese Voyeurs' music begs for a stadium tour. Or ideally, an indoor arena tour. The acoustics would be frankly incredible, every sustained note reverberating around the space. Their upcoming tour, supporting Guns'n'Roses guitarist Slash, might not take in venues of quite that scale, but it comes pretty close. Let's hope Yolk propels them into the arenas they deserve - it certainly proves that they have the requisite sound to hold their own in a space of that size.

Final Score: 82%

Ganglians - Free Track 'Sleep' and Tour Details

2011-07-12T15:21:00.003+01:00

Ganglians fans will be counting the days until September 17th and the start of the group's European autumn tour.

Kicking off in the Netherlands, the tour lands in the UK on September 18th for two nights, returning on the 26th for a further four.

In honour of the upcoming tour - and ahead of the August 29th release of Ganglians' album Still Living - the track Sleep has been made available to stream and download for free online.

You can preview it below, or head over to Soundcloud for the free download.

UK Tour Dates:
Sep 18th: Split Festival, Sunderland
Sep 19th: Night and Day, Manchester
Sep 26th: Harley, Sheffield
Sep 27th: Nice 'N Sleazy, Glasgow
Sep 29th: Corsica Studios, London
Sep 30th: Prince Albert, Brighton

Moon Duo - Fallout

2011-07-12T11:43:00.002+01:00

Moon Duo's new single Fallout might not be at the top of the charts, one week on from its July 4th release date, but that doesn't mean so much these days. Downloads have changed everything, with songs like Aloe Blacc's I Need A Dollar and Adele's Someone Like You sticking around in the Top 40 for weeks, and weeks, and weeks.

It's the age of the slow burner, so it would be great to see Fallout make its way up the rankings over the weeks to come - Moon Duo's album Mazes already has its place in the Popsiculture CD collection so we'll be keeping an eye on this one.

You can do your bit to get Fallout to its well deserved place in the UK singles chart by heading over to iTunes for a sneaky download - at over five and a half minutes long, it's definitely value for money.

What to expect

Fallout, like much of Mazes, is an unapologetic, adrenaline-fuelled journey through sound where the atmospheric, echoing vocals act almost as an extra instrument, rather than staking their claim to centre stage.

Imagine the great forerunners of atmospheric rock - and I'm talking (again) about people like Hawkwind here - brought up to date and given a kick up the arse, and you're on the right lines towards Moon Duo's catchy and deceptively upbeat performance style.

This heritage carries over into the video for the track, which is decidedly (but deliberately) lo-fi - you can check it out below.

The Verdict

I like to judge songs based on whether they'd work on the soundtrack to The Girl Next Door. It's a truly epic soundtrack, with everything from Queen and David Bowie to Echo and the Bunnymen and The Who. And it's part of what sets that film apart from all the other teen movies released year on year.

Fallout would nestle perfectly in amongst the Filter and Methods of Mayhem tracks - but it would be harsh to consign it to a 'could-have been' status as I may be seeming to do.

Rather, I mean to say that it has the pedigree to achieve great things. A pivotal moment in a movie, a live show to remember forever, or just the soundtrack to a great night in with friends. Give it a chance, stick it on your Hi-Fi, or iPod, or whatever else you use to play music, and let your ears make a new friend in Moon Duo.

Final Score: 86%

The Joy of SFX

2011-07-11T13:54:00.004+01:00

I love sound effects. From the rumbling bass of an airborne Terminator appearing over the horizon, to the shrill wheels-on-tarmac squeal of a Transformer as it adopts vehicle form, the SFX have made some recent action movies into more than they would otherwise have been.

But there's an important element in this love affair that deserves closer attention, and the Logitech Z-5500 speakers pictured top-left of this post are a clue to what it is. I'm talking about surround sound.

All the SFX in the world couldn't help a movie out if it weren't for the ability to place them in a realistic direction from the viewer - or listener, in the case of the audio. And while so many people overlook the quality of the soundtrack to a movie, for me it's an integral part of the experience.

A life in 5.1

OK, I know these days you can get 7.1, 9.1 and even more complex speaker sets, but for me it's always really been 5.1. I'm a surround sound purist.

At the age of about 13 I got my first surround sound Hi-Fi, and immediately hooked up my television. And my VHS player. My sister bought me Judge Dredd on video, and it became the first in a long line of action movies that I enjoyed not because of the storyline or visual effects, but because of the immersive audio.

Now we have a high-definition television receiver and PlayStation 3, both connected to a high-definition projector (Sony) and digital surround sound audio decoder (an old Creative Extigy external sound card, actually) by digital coax or optical fibre, and a 5.1 surround sound speaker set (Altec Lansing).

Blu-ray movies live up to their potential (helped, admittedly, by the 108" widescreen projector image) and, during PS3 games, we can tell where enemies are by the direction of their fire. Like I said, surround sound adds a new element to the multimedia experience, whatever media format you're consuming.

A lack of direction

Weirdly, though, it's not just about which speaker the sound comes out of - with surround sound, producing an effect at different volumes from different speakers can place it between any two, three or more. SFX can be produced anywhere in the room, if your speakers are positioned correctly (and ours pretty much are).

This helps to live up to another of my great audio loves - directionless music. The sort you hear drifting through your open window on a hot summer's night. Or echoing through the backstreets from some distant house party.

Just putting music on in a different room gives it a distinctive sound - the feeling that the audio is existing in a different space from myself. To sit in my bedroom and hear music making its way down the hallway, or through the walls, from the lounge.

Am I alone in this love affair? Or does anyone else out there feel as strongly about audio as most people seem to do about visual effects in blockbuster movies? Or about excellent use of surround sound in a song or on an album? Tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way...

Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia

2011-07-01T12:53:00.008+01:00

Patrick Wolf has succeeded in a rare feat, producing on his new album Lupercalia two songs that I'll listen to for the rest of my life.

Since its single release earlier in the year, The City has been an essential component in my weekend preparations, at once an upbeat anthem and an emotional appeal.

Now I have Armistice to carry me through my contemplative times - a genuinely astonishing, subtle yet soaring anthem for anyone who ever felt alone.

Armistice

Regular readers will already know what I think of The City, so this time around I'm giving Armistice - the true high point of Lupercalia - the attention it deserves.

From its sustained, instrumental-yet-wailing introduction, to the first few faster piano notes, Armistice plunges the listener into another world - one we've all felt at some time or other.

This is a track for anyone who's ever been apart from a loved one, or afraid while alone in the dark. Its lyrics are far from complex, but their simplicity carries an innocence that underlines the honesty of the emotions portrayed here.

Imagery is stark - knife-wielding children out in the city, fighting foxes out there somewhere in the dark. But there's comfort, too - "if you'll be weak, then I'll be strong" - suggesting that, even while apart, we can share this world with one another and still 'be there' when we are needed.

The only unfortunate thing about Armistice is that it aligns most closely with the night, yet begs, aches to be turned up loud and envelop the listener. Sorry, neighbours.

Like I said above, this song will be one I return to over and over - during my highs and my lows - for the rest of my days. I'm certain of it. This has been an astonishing, anthemic year for music, and it's only half over.

Please - I implore you - buy this one track, even if not the entire album.

You can see a live performance of Armistice over at the Guardian website.

The Verdict

A few weeks ago, POPSICULTURE co-conspirator Dan suggested that, since I love The City so very much, it was likely I wouldn't enjoy Lupercalia so much - the bar had been set too high.

The truly, truly astounding thing about Lupercalia is that I love almost every track. These are some of the best songs I have heard in a long time - even the 'low points' are on a par with the best most artists have to offer.

Patrick Wolf, your place as a top-40 recording artist is not only deserved, it seems still too little. Here's to riotous success for the future.

Final Score: 96%

Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island

2011-06-19T14:32:00.003+01:00

I've been hanging on to Chad VanGaalen's new release Diaper Island all week and only just got around to writing this review. If you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend you track down a copy or download a track or two from iTunes.

Diaper Island is definitely one for the grown-ups, with a lo-fi sound reminiscent of the late 60s and early 70s that, for once, seems thoroughly intended. This is no copycat production hanging off the coattails of the glory days; many of the tracks are innovative while containing the kinds of lingering musical strains you might hear on a Hawkwind LP.

High Points

The lilting Sara is a wonderfully subdued soliloquy whose repetitive motif of "Sara, wake me up when you're home" does not become a bore over the course of little more than three minutes.

(The standard 12-track version of Diaper Island comes in at almost 40 minutes in total, or 3 minutes 20 seconds per song - these are very carefully judged compositions, like distilled Hawkwind, without any self-indulgence or unnecessarily sustained intros/outros.)

Special mention has to also go to the controversially named Shave My Pussy. Its lyrics are as no-holds-barred as its title, discussing the present-day fascination with outward appearance in terms of a practice both widespread and largely undiscussed.

Away from the music itself, VanGaalen's self-made animated video to Peace on the Rise is well worth a look - so here it is:

The Verdict

While some of the lyrics - particularly in Shave My Pussy - leave little to the imagination, the same is not true of Diaper Island itself. The music here is thought-provoking and imaginative in itself, with just enough of that atmospheric 70s vibe to feel reassuringly familiar without being too derivative.

Chad VanGaalen has brilliantly bridged the eras, producing a collection that is wholly relevant to present-day music - if not in the popular sense, then in the 'any given Saturday night' sense of what's actually being played live in the bars and clubs of the nation.

On top of that, if your record collection still consists largely of vinyl (and there's nothing wrong with that!), this is probably one of the few newly produced CDs that would go well alongside it. I've focused too much on the sentimentality of Diaper Island, I realise that, but it's a rare thing to find a new album from a still-developing artist that could so easily be a slice of music from one of the great decades of the 20th century. If you're not sure what I mean by that, take a listen for yourself.

Final Score: 73%

Thomas Tantrum live at Night and Day, Manchester, June 11th 2011

2011-06-13T10:48:00.004+01:00

Thomas Tantrum, fronted by the eponymous Megan Thomas, released their second album Mad By Moonlight this weekend and the select few discerning enough to be at Night and Day in Manchester on Saturday night were among the first with the chance to get their hands on it.

We reviewed the album at the start of the month and headed down to the venue to see if the Southampton group's live performance could live up to the 85 per cent Mad By Moonlight scored in our assessment.

The Playbill

While Thomas Tantrum were clearly the headline act, the evening was actually well underway when we got there. Answers on a Postcard seemed to do a good job of keeping an as-yet-not-drunk audience enthused with an energetic set - we caught their last few tracks and I'd have been happy to hear more.

Next up, the Reveres. These guys were good too, with a guitar-heavy set that kept the pace up. Night and Day was far from packed for some reason, which made the comings and goings of the crowd easier to see. That being said, I'm fairly confident that the movements during the Reveres' set were mostly just people going for a smoke, rather than leaving.

Thirdly came The Logicals. For me and POPSICULTURE collaborator Dan, I think we're agreed that this was the only real mismatch of the night. The set opened with a gothic rock number that ended on a sustained guitar note which looped directly into the opening of track two. The first song wasn't really in keeping with any of the other support acts, or with the rest of The Logicals' set, and I think it's fair to say the crowd were thrown slightly off-balance. That being said, The Logicals weren't bad, they just seemed out of place - I'd like to see them perform in the correct line-up and see if they get a better audience response.

The Main Event

Having reviewed Thomas Tantrum's new album, Mad By Moonlight, only last week, I have to admit that I haven't had chance yet to track down their other work and get to know the earlier songs. That meant that as Megan Thomas and her cohort took to the stage, we were in the unusual position of knowing the tracks the committed fans hadn't heard yet, while not knowing the ones from the first album that everyone else there knew and loved.

Either way, the set list was well managed, with a selection of songs I did and didn't recognise. For the Mad By Moonlight tracks, I can honestly say I was even more impressed by the live performance than by the recorded versions on the album.

Megan Thomas somehow injects as much ease into her live act as into her laid-back vocals on the CD. It must actually take quite a lot of effort, because there's no way you could claim that her vocals are weak, they're simply cast into the audible ether in a way that is really, really engaging to watch and hear.

The Verdict

Aside from the slightly miscast presence of The Logicals in a line-up that wasn't really ideal for their sound, the night as a whole was really enjoyable and the music was of a high standard.

Thomas Tantrum in particular were every bit as good live as they are on the incredible new album. If anything, I would have preferred fewer support acts and an extra Thomas Tantrum set - just as everything was coming together nicely and the crowd really getting into the music, it was time to finish already.

However, the old adage says you should always leave them wanting more, and it's no criticism to say that I would have loved to stay all night if the crowd had been large enough to demand encores.

For the future, hopefully Thomas Tantrum will get the recognition they deserve so their next tour can take in larger venues and larger crowds - if their future releases continue in the vein of Mad By Moonlight, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

127 Hours, True Grit, The Fighter, The Adjustment Bureau: June DVD & Blu-ray Round Up

2011-06-06T13:29:00.003+01:00

June 6th

127 Hours was the movie Danny Boyle made after his surprise success with Slumdog Millionaire meant that he had the freedom to do as he pleased. An unusual choice perhaps, Boyle didn't take the studio's dollar and make the overblown epic of his dreams (it's hard to truly believe Boyle has such dreams), instead he decided to film the unfilmable true-story of Aron Ralston, a rather arrogant and unlikeable rock climber, forced to reassess his whole attitude to life when a climbing accident leaves him pinned under a boulder for the titular 127 hours.

127 Hours is an uncomfortable watch, it is meant to be. The crucial scene, which most will probably know of, but which I won't give away for those who don't, is near-unbearable, and will have even hardened horror fans squirming in their seats. But helmed by a filmmaker at the top at the very top of his game, and featuring a tour-de-force performance from James Franco as Ralston, this the film is far more than a single gruesome set piece, addressing themes of hubris, hope and redemption.

Gnomeo & Juliet on the other hand is little more than the sum of its parts. The greatest love story ever told, re-told by garden gnomes, with the help of some old Elton John tunes. At least as absurd as it sounds, Gnomeo & Juliet was surely dreamt up just based on the strength of the pun-tastic title, and might have made an amusing short-film, but at this length it seems to be spread awfully thin. Of course, it's one for the kids (hence the re-imagined, death-free ending), and probably has enough to keep them entertained for it's duration.

Notable mentions go to new Blu-ray issues for Taxi Driver, worth the price for De Niro's unforgettable performance alone, and also to the kitsch/cult classic The Fifth Element.

June 13th

True Grit sees the Coen Brothers stick to the serious trope for a second film in a row, perhaps for the first time in their career. It was a move which appeared to have paid dividends when the film garnered them a career high 10 Academy Award nominations in January, but remarkably that honour turned sour when they were overlooked for all ten. But on a night when Tim Burton's disappointing Alice In Wonderland landed two gongs, maybe that isn't a reflection on True Grit's quality.

In fact the Coens' (not a) remake of the classic John Wayne western has been one of the cinematic highlights of 2011. Jeff Bridges is characteristically brilliant as the gruff and grumpy US Marshall who gets the job done, Matt Damon continues to impress in his latest role as the preening Texas Ranger Laboeuf, while newcomer Hailee Steinfield is a mesmerising screen presence as the 14 year old farm-girl Mattie Ross, who enlists the help of both to bring her father's killer to justice. If you missed this one in the cinemas check it out now.

Meanwhile Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's Paul is one that I did (voluntarily) miss at the cinemas. A more mainstream effort from the duo, whose output already seemed to be delivering diminishing returns after the excellent Shaun Of The Dead, and the less excellent Hot Fuzz. The critics seemed to concur that Paul is a weaker effort than its predecessors, but not without laughs. Whatever the truth, it's surely worth a punt now on a cheap DVD purchase.

More classics being made available on Blu-ray too, including Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now in a 3 disc Special Edition containing the theatrical cut, the redux and the extraordinary documentary Hearts of Darkness, and an interesting Superman Anthology box set including the first four movies in high-definition for the first time, plus the 2006 Brandon Routh Return.

June 20th

Director David O. Russsell's The Fighter charts the early boxing career of "Irish" Micky Ward, and the relationship between him and his troubled, drug-addicted brother and trainer, Dicky. Mark Wahlberg (a regular Russell collaborator from I Heart Huckerbees and Three Kings) impresses as Micky, our working class hero, who starts the movie as a struggling and reluctant amateur fighter, being used by Dicky (Christian Bale) and the rest of the family for the purse money he can bring in.

Of course the underdog works his way through the ranks and turns professional, scoring unlikely victories along the way and eventually a world title shot, but not before he jettisons the family hangers-on and wins the girl. But you can hardly knock The Fighter for being clichéd, for one thing it is an awful lot more than Rocky-lite, and after all it is a true story.

Updated to the 60s mods and rockers era, this new adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock received mixed reviews on release. To be fair, between the much loved novel, the highly regarded Richard Attenborough film, it had a great deal to live up to. The change of setting works well enough though, the story of teenage gangster Pinkie who sees his life spiralling out of control after murdering a rival works well against this tumultuous background.

Also released this week, Anthony Hopkins is back in fright mode for supernatural thriller The Rite, while Brit Alex Pettyfer is the hunk with superhuman powers in I Am Number Four, a sci-fi/teen romance which owes debts to the Twilight movies, and Hayden Christensen flick Jumper.

June 27th

The Adjustment Bureau is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, who has provided great source material for cinema in the past, spawning Total Recall, Minority Report and most notably perhaps Blade Runner. Like all of those films The Adjustment Bureau is concerned with themes of identity, destiny, and mysterious forces operating behind the scenes. Matt Damon plays David Norris a US politician who rejects the future that the powers have planned for him, to pursue the woman of his dreams, only to find himself up against the agents of the eponymous Adjustment Bureau.

Most of the final third of the film seems to consist of various scenes of David chasing after his woman Elise, or being chased by the omnipotent Adjustment agents, but can he outrun the fate that the Bureau have decided for him? Well, it's Hollywood, so you probably know the answer.

Elsewhere Rango offers up the story of a pet chameleon who gets separated from his owners in the Mojave desert and winds up in a wild west frontier town called Dirt, where he quickly blusters his way into the Sheriff's job. Suddenly out of his depth, Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp), has to save the town from a posse of robber-moles and a scheming Mayor. Some pretty stunning computer-animated visuals and an impressive voice cast make this a superior, and highly enjoyable family film.

And finally this week, one of cinema's biggest franchises gets the big Blu-ray box set treatment, get your grubby mits on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy the extended editions for the first time on Blu-ray.

Thomas Tantrum - Mad By Moonlight, out June 12th

2011-06-01T07:32:00.000+01:00

Thomas Tantrum's second album is a delightful devil-may-care collection from the Southampton indie-popsters.

Megan Thomas throws away character-filled vocals like they were pennies into a wishing well, at once a collision of carefully judged drawl and instinctual departure from anything you could write down as sheet music.

It's a mature and self-assured performance that provides a lyrical pivot point around which the backing vocals and instrumanetal support can spin and soar.

High Points

Perhaps it's because we've heard it before, back in March, but the single Sleep holds its ground as track four on Mad By Moonlight. It's still as classy as it was earlier in the year, and it's where the album really kicks into gear after two opening tracks that verge on excellence and the less distinctive, but no less enjoyable, third track Cold Gold.

I often find albums seem to peak at the beginning of their second third, and Mad By Moonlight is no exception. Track five, Hot Hot Summer, carries on where Sleep leaves off, making more of a high plateau than a high point - no rollercoaster ride of quality here, the enjoyment level hits an early high and sustains through to the end. Impressive stuff.

The Verdict

As I mentioned above, Mad By Moonlight for me really gets started at track four, as the Lulu-esque "we-e-ell" gives Sleep a punchy opening that sticks in the listener's mind. Luckily, however, Mad By Moonlight is good enough to listen to on a loop, so just skip the first three tracks and listen to them when your CD player returns to them for the second time. Or, if you're a downloader, just stick Sleep up top on your Thomas Tantrum playlist.

Besides that, there are strains of many of my favourite female artists in here, including (but not limited to) more than a little of the Diana Vickers in certain lines Megan Thomas casts into the musical mixing pot. The overall effect is anything but derivative, however; Thomas Tantrum as a group have a distinctive yet welcoming sound, which draws the listener into a comforting, sonic hug.

Final Score: 85%

O'Death - Outside, out June 6th

2011-05-30T11:06:00.002+01:00

Outside is the third album from O'Death and, for fans and followers, brings to an end what must have been a difficult wait. Since mid-2009, the group have been working their way back towards recording after drummer David Rogers-Berry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

His shoulder replacement surgery seems to have had no lasting negative effect on his drumming, thankfully, while the experience for all of the O'Death cohort may go some way to explaining the renewed introspection and philosophical approach to their music since returning to the recording studio.

As Rogers-Berry says, "I think we were interested in making something more personal, and trying to write songs that are melodically engaging and not just the crazed ravings of mad men."

High Points

The moody third track, Alamar, is a glorious mash-up of modern Mumford & Sons-style banjo-country music and an early, disturbingly haunting Tom Waits treatment. It might not be to everyone's taste, but if you're up for a bit of instrumental adventure and unpredictability, it's a great example of how to mess with the listener's head while leaving them thanking you for the experience.

Ourselves, track five on the album, shows all the signs of being short, sweet and simple as the vocals begin to draw to a close at less than three minutes. However - and unusually for Outside - there follows almost a full minute of instrumental crescendo. It's an attention-grabbing moment on a disc that tends to keep the instruments to an ever-present but supporting role alongside the voice performances.

The Verdict

The Tom Waits-Mumford & Sons style of O'Death's third album is remarkably pleasing, as Outside seems to combine the disturbing discord of Waits with Mumford & Sons' accessibility, emotion and round-the-campfire familiarity. I'm a fan of artist comparisons, although I don't always think they're fair - in this instance, I can't help but wonder whether O'Death might be where Mumford & Sons are now, if they hadn't been forced to take a full year out from their music careers.

Putting that to one side, Outside is acoustically pleasing without becoming either boring or invasive. It's a fine line between the two, and O'Death tread it well here. There's little courtesy given to the usual expectations of music, too - you should be prepared to hear songs that, rather than 'ending' or fading out, simply break down, each instrument played until the lyrics end and then simply cast aside.

All in all it's commitment to the heart of the music, without feeling the need to give it the traditional coat of high-gloss. It's what the modern wave of country-style music, inspired by banjo and broken hearts, is all about, so if you're a fan of the emerging genre you're likely to find Outside to your tastes.

Final Score: 79%

O'Death - Bugs, out May 30th

2011-05-17T17:23:00.006+01:00

Outside, the third album from New York quintet O'Death, isn't out till June 6th - but we've got a sneak preview of it below, in the form of Bugs. This is being released as a single on May 30th, so you've got a chance to get your hands on a little piece of the album for yourself, if you really can't wait.

What should we know about O'Death? Well, their vocalist is Greg Jamie, who also plays guitar. Gabe Darling takes banjo and ukelele, which goes some way to explaining the slight country style of some of their songs. The group is rounded out by drummer David Rogers-Berry, bassist Jesse Newman and violinist Robert Pycior.

They've had two LPs released already, but Outside - on City Slang records - is the true return from a one-year hiatus which ended with the group's appearance at Newport Folk Festival.

If you don't think Mumford & Sons are just a fad, and you're willing to accept that not everyone who sounds a bit similar is copying them, O'Death should prove pleasing to your ear. See what you think of Bugs, and keep a watchful eye out for our review of the album in the next couple of weeks.

Friendly Fires - Pala

2011-05-15T10:19:00.003+01:00

Ever since Live Those Days Tonight was released as a web sampler for Pala back at the end of March, I've been looking forward to Friendly Fires' sophomore release with baited breath. So I was delighted to see it drop through my letterbox yesterday morning, and genuinely excited to slip the disc into my stereo shortly afterwards.

Everything about this album seems designed to make it the soundtrack to the summer 2011, just as the band's self-titled debut was for many early adopters in 2008. From the colourful cover art (parrots are very 2011), to the increasingly funky and dancable direction of the music within, Pala is going to be hard to knock off my iPod until the sun goes away again in autumn.

High Points

Too many high points to mention almost, Pala is full of individually brilliant tracks, but if there is a criticism it's that none really stand out from the crowd, and that as a piece, the album can seem a little one paced.

The good news though is that the rest of the album more than lives up to the promise of Live Those Days Tonight. The bass-heavy funk of tracks like Running Away and True Love made those personal favourites, recalling vintage A Certain Ratio or maybe another of their Factory label-mates (Section 25 perhaps, from whom Friendly Fires got their name).

Second single Hawaiian Air is another winner, but I might perhaps have chosen Show Me The Lights with it's broken, post-dubstep sounds as staking a more obvious claim to the musical zeitgeist.

The Verdict

Pala may not turn out to be a blockbusting overnight hit (pre-release it is currently sitting at 15 in Amazon's album chart), but much like Friendly Fires before it, seems destined to be a slow burning success based on critical acclaim, word of mouth and a likely string of successful singles. And for once here is an album that will deserve every sale, every bit of praise it receives. Pala is one of the finest albums released so far in 2011, and one that I recommend to anyone who likes music, dancing, summer, or fun.

Final Score: 91%

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

2011-05-14T17:03:00.046+01:00

It's a big day - no, not the FA Cup final, sillyhead - it's EUROVISION FINAL DAY!! So if your heart's in Dusseldorf today, and not down Wembley Way, this is the place to be. We'll be helping you to make sense of the madness from the first fanfare to the last hurrah, as well as seeing whether Jedward can return Ireland to winning form, or whether France will prove that the hot favourites can actually go on to take the crown.

Click the iTunes button below to take a look at the track listing on the official soundtrack album, but don't be fooled when it says the UK entry - Blue's 'I Can' - is album-only. It's not, and you can get it here.

The German Double?

Germany's 2010 winner Lena is back for a second bite at the berry in 2011, giving her and her homeland the rare chance at a double Eurovision win. Is this the year a new superpower really takes hold of the competition, as Ireland did not so very long ago? Lena's winning entry from last year, Satellite, is below if you don't remember it - it was the 22nd song performed, so if you were playing a drinking game it's likely to be a little fuzzy.

Battle of the Brit Boys

OK, Ireland isn't really part of Britain, but it's fair to say Blue and Jedward are both representing the home nations in this year's competition. Jedward have taken their fair share of the pre-final headlines, but Blue have the pedigree and it's always a bit of a fairytale when a boy band comes out of retirement all grown up - just look at Take That for proof.

So we have Blue's I Can up against Jedward's Lipstick (two words that make me feel a little uneasy when I put them together...) after the Irish duo stormed through their semi-final. The UK, of course, pumps enough money into hosting Eurovision to get a free pass into the final, although that may explain in part the backlash seen in the voting in recent years.

The Live Final

We'll be live-blogging and tweeting our way through the live final, so come join us as the fanfare sounds - either here or on Twitter (@popsiculture) - and we'll try to fill in the gaps.

OK, the fanfare's trumpeted, the stadium looks fab and the heartbeat theme's been done to death already. Who's your favourite presenter? That one on the right who's dressed like a slice of carrot cake looks pretty good to me. One on the left's doing a better job of Satellite than Lena last year (see the clip above...).

Is the big band performing in a mini-TARDIS? That'll please the Doctor Who fans in the auditorium, and no mistake.

Jedward sixth - that matches the listing on the Eurovision website, so it should be Finland up first.

01. Finland

Paradise Oskar - Da Da Dam

This sounds pretty. Proper old-fashioned Eurovision 'music can save the world' stuff. I remember the days when this would be guaranteed top ten. Let's keep an eye out and see if it can do good things in the 21st century competition.

02. Bosnia & Herzegovina

Dino Merlin - Love In Rewind

I'm liking the slightly odd backing band more than the actual song - Dino looks like Sean Connery at a certain age though. Not sure Love In Rewind will do terribly well, but bloc voting might help it along its way...

03. Denmark

A Friend In London - New Tomorrow

Popsiculture's own Dansquad wants to know if this is Jedward... we've given it careful consideration and decided they've just nicked Jedward's hair. Song's not bad, although I thought 'A Friend In London' was the name of the song until just now - it's not, it's the name of the group. Oops...

04. Lithuania

Evelina Sasenko - C'est Ma Vie

Graham Norton says this was inspired by Jade Ewen's effort, so it should be God-awful. The staging's basically identical, isn't it? Evelina cuts a striking figure though and her frock's pretty. And she's not doing a bad job of the singing, either. I'll go all-in and predict a top-eight finish for this. Watch this space.

05. Hungary

Kati Wolf - What About My Dreams?

This blue dress might be my favourite of the night - love a blonde in metallic blue. Song's fine, but Kati's getting carried away on the chorus. Love the light-up jewellery on the backing singers, keeping the Tron revival going in 2011!

06. Ireland

Jedward - Lipstick

It's car-crash telly but they'll love it in the auditorium. I'm literally touch-typing and not blinking - oddly compelling. High-fives and high-kicks keep the performance uniquely Jedward, and it's way better than anything they ever did on The X Factor. I'm surprised... and worried.

07. Sweden

Eric Saade - Popular

Are they mime artists, or is there real glass there? Always love a dancer performing in an actual box on Eurovision - although silhouettes are better than clear glass. Think Norton might have been right with his pre-song warning - if you don't like flashing lights, this is probably a night to switch on the radio and switch off the telly.

08. Estonia

Getter Jaani - Rockefeller Street

I believe any song with Rockefeller in its title will be good. I truly do. Let's find out...

Well, it was fun and upbeat... I guess it wasn't totally perfect. Liked the lead-in to the last chorus though, think it did good things for the rest of the song.

09. Greece

Loucas Yiorkas feat. Stereo Mike - Watch My Dance

Rap returns to Eurovision - Daz Sampson, your legacy lives on. With a kind of Jonathan Ansell type figure providing the more operatic elements... not a bad combination, weirdly. Don't think it'll do very well in the voting, though.

10. Russia

Alexej Vorobjov - Get You

I'm just disappointed it's not "Oo, get you, your momma too... and your daddy!". Vocals are reminiscent of 2001's brilliant Mumiy Troll, but Get You is a long, long way from being Lady Alpine Blue. And that's a tragic shame.

11. France

Amaury Vassili - Sognu

Well, it was a stop-and-watch performance. Wasn't quite the kind of ballad I like the best, but Amaury did a decent job of it. Can see why it's the favourite... but the voting could come as a surprise on that one.

12. Italy

Raphael Gualazzi - Madness Of Love

Italy round off the first hour of performances with a Michael Buble meets Chicago effort, alternating the languages, jazz sextet on the stage, big finish, what more could you ask for? I reckon that'd get my vote, of the songs so far.

13. Switzerland

Anna Rossinelli - In Love For A While

Loved the introduction... and the ukulele's doing good things despite slightly off-perfect vocals from Anna. To be fair to her, she's not doing too badly with all the na na na nas in the chorus...!

And that must mean it's time for...

14. United Kingdom

Blue - I Can

Come on, boys...

Graham Norton's jizzing all over Blue - not literally, thankfully - but Lee Ryan murdered the high notes and actually looked unconvinced after the first 20 seconds. Norton says "they'll have really enjoyed that", so that's lovely, at least Blue had a good night out.

15. Moldova

Zdob si Zdub - So Lucky

First of the night that I expect to see people searching for in the next few days - the Moldovans have a unicyclist on the stage and massive cones on their heads. Jedward may have been outdone on the lunacy factor, yet the song's kinda catchy. Given recent years, I reckon this is set for a top-four finish.

16. Germany

Lena - Taken By A Stranger

Lena's looking pretty... well, just pretty, really. But can she successfully defend her Eurovision crown?

<Objective mode off...> Lena's looking FOXY and giving a full-on sultry performance, holding together an understated song that might otherwise be in danger of becoming boring. Would have been better with the lingering last note, rather than the pyrotechnic ending, but I'm actually liking the minimalist style of Taken By A Stranger. <Objective mode on... kinda>

17. Romania

Hotel FM - Change

Pianist looks like a young Conway Twitty with curtains, while the singer - a Brit - has combined a tartan waistcoat with stripy trousers and a John Barrowman performance. That last part is probably the most positive thing to say about this one, although it's far from being the worst song so far.

18. Austria

Nadine Beiler - The Secret Is Love

A slow builder; Nadine looks the part and hits the big notes well. Looks a bit like Melissa Porter, which is definitely a good thing. She looks like she really believes in her song, so that's lovely. I predict... top six, for that one.

19. Azerbaijan

Ell & Nikki - Running Scared

High hopes for this one - the preview pic from the rehearsals alone is enough for me. So we've got a bit of electronic synth, some good-looking singers and... wait, some fairly decent harmony for the first time tonight? Azerbaijan, it could be the singing, it could be the schnapps, but I'm predicting you at least a seventh-place finish with this. Maybe pushing through to the top five.

20. Slovenia

Maja Keuc - No One

This is undoubtedly the best frock of the night. Harks back to Cheryl Tweedy's X Factor dustbin lids dress. OK, Cheryl Cole, if you insist. Song's not so bad - got some Bond brass in there, which is pretty sweet. Gets a bit samey though, so I'll predict 11th-12th for this one.

21. Iceland

Sjonni's Friends - Coming Home

Quite a moving back-story, this, as Sjonni's honest-to-God friends perform the song he wrote before dying suddenly in January. Please be good... wait, it IS quite good. Is that a trombone? And is that Ricky Gervais??

Seriously... not a bad song, and performed well. Love the too-loo-rah-ey slow-then-fast Come On Eileen style bit towards the end. In fact, I think I like that one full stop.

22. Spain

Lucia Perez - Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao - They Can't Take The Fun Away From Me

Do not adjust your set - there's nothing wrong with your contrast. Her dress, and her face, really are both that pink. Massive change of pace from the last song, but there's a lot of oh-ho-ho and not so much proper lyrical content.

Incidentally, lots of Twitter peeps are watching the tennis?? What the hell are you all thinking?? They must have two tellies...

23. Ukraine

Mika Newton - Angel

Mika's a bit of a cross between Taylor Swift and Lauren Laverne, isn't she? The dress is the second-best of the night and the sand art makes the third stop-and-watch moment of tonight, so all the elements are in place. The song's not the best, but it's not entirely God-awful either.

24. Serbia

Nina - Caroban

Back to the 60s with this one... if you're watching with the subtitles or singalong lyrics on, you'll spot that it doesn't make much sense though. Apart from that it's not so bad... been some good backing music tonight, bet the recorded versions of some of these songs sound far better than the nervy on-the-night performances.

25. Georgia

Eldrine - One More Day

It's the last of the night, so will it round things off in style? Let's find out...

Something a little bit Stacey Solomon about the singer, and a bit chocolate-limes in the outfits. It's a powerhouse performance, although hard to tell that she was singing in English... I guess that's the price you pay for a 'rock' song, though.

And relax... it's over. Well, the songs are. It's time for the half-time show, and we're gonna take a break here too. For schnapps. Back to guide you through any shocks and major changes during the results... could be a Jedward-led affair, based on the exit polls!

The Results

Will Jedward take an early lead? Will Moldova get the renegade vote? Will Blue score ANYTHING? Let's find out, together...

Azerbaijan into an early lead after the Russian vote... will they slip back to seventh as I predicted??

WOW - 12 points from Bulgaria?? WTF?? Come on, United Kingdom?!?

Seven countries in, and Azerbaijan back on top... it's still close up there though, no runaway winners as yet. How long till the favourites start to pull away from the pack?

After ten countries:
Ukraine - 49
Sweden - 48
Greece - 48

...and four points from Slovakia for Switzerland means no countries will be scoring nil points this year. Well done all round.

And it's a huge surge for Jedward with 12 points from the UK and then 12 more driving them well up the table!

More shake-ups as ten points from Austria to Germany sends defending champ Lena shooting up the table.

Ireland further up the table as Sweden give 12 points to Jedward. Could they? Could they possibly...?

After 20 countries' votes:
Sweden - 87
Azerbaijan - 85
Ireland - 79

OK, 24 countries in and the UK's early scoring has tailed off significantly. Looks like Ireland and Jedward are the only hope now for the UK and its nearest neighbour. But even they're over 30 points off the lead...

UK still scoring but somehow slipping further down the table... gonna be in the second column before long. Sigh.

After 30 countries' votes:
Azerbaijan - 143
Ukraine - 130
Sweden - 124

Azerbaijan a full 12 points and then some into the lead... just 13 countries still to vote, but it could all still change.

Late surge from Italy as Malta's 10 points takes them to 118, but a full 45 points behind Azerbaijan after 32 countries' votes.

And six points from Bosnia - 36th to vote - take Italy to 148 points and SECOND place! How did that happen?? (After their poor start, I mean - I actually loved the song).

Spain 38th to vote and it's looking like a win for Azerbaijan, although it still hangs in the balance technically... they've had a lead of 30-40 points for a few rounds of voting now. Italy somehow clinging to second for a while.

After 40 countries' votes:
Azerbaijan - 206
Sweden - 178
Italy - 171

It's all a formality now - Azerbaijan score low in the last two rounds, but finish on a mighty 221 and an unassailable lead from 41 countries in. Ireland 8th with 119 and UK 11th on a round 100.

Amazingly, 12 points from Latvia get Italy into second place at the last moment! Nice to think my vote wasn't totally wasted... and a lovely fanfare to herald the winners on to the stage.

Nikki's the girl, then. I actually wasn't sure. Ell's the guy, and their song is Running Scared - number 19 in the line-up, so perhaps the alcohol kicked in but the fatigue hadn't taken hold yet? Time for another performance of it, I expect...

Glitter and ticker tape - what else would you expect? There's rarely a celebration as heartfelt as the Eurovision final performance, and this one puts the half-time show to shame. Ell and Nikki give an emotional performance and are well deserving of their win - looking forward to seeing them in 2012.

And that's all from us... check out the iTunes album link to preview the recorded versions of the songs, and we'll update with YouTube clips once the official videos are available... thank you for the support, it's been a pleasure as always.

Barbara Panther - Barbara Panther

2011-05-13T18:40:00.000+01:00

If you saw our post on Friday about Barbara Panther's single Moonlight People, you might think you have an idea of what her music sounds like. I thought I did, too. Lilting vocals, catchy chorus, electronic-ish backing music. That sounds like the blueprint for an album to me.

Like me, then, you'll probably be surprised when you actually hear the debut album, Barbara Panther. Not least because it opens with rumbling bass and somebody beatboxing the Pac-Man music. I'm gonna say that again, because I don't often get the chance: beatboxing the Pac-Man music.

Seriously, even if you hated the single last week, you should check out the iTunes previews of the album tracks. It's pretty conceptual stuff, brave for a debut album, and actually pretty well done.

High Points

Did I mention the beatboxing of the Pac-Man theme? I did? Well, it's bound to be the high point for plenty of people, and it's right at the start of opening track Rise Up, so that's good.

Track four, Voodoo, is where the catchiness reaches its peak. The song is imbued - yes, imbued - with an infectious energy and a mantra urging the listener to "move over to the other side". It's not actually going to persuade anyone to take up voodoo as a hobby, but I can imagine throwing down a few witch-doctor-stylee shapes on the dance floor to this one.

The Verdict

This album is not for everyone. It's not generic, mass-market music that will please teenagers and grandparents alike. I'd say anyone up to the age of 30 is in with a pretty decent chance of enjoying it - beyond that you'll probably think "it's not really music". And that's fine, because like I've already said, some of the songs on Barbara Panther are frankly quite strange.

If you're a fan of modern music, stuff that sounds a bit different to the norm or just catchy, samples-based, electronically themed tracks, check this out. It's genuinely enjoyable to listen to and I wouldn't mind hearing more from Barbara Panther in the future, which is about as high a compliment as I ever dish out.

Marked down slightly for its niche audience, but higher than it might be because, well, I like it.

Final Score: 70%

Ganglians - Jungle

2011-05-09T12:56:00.000+01:00

The upcoming Ganglians album Still Living might not be out until August 29th, but its PR machine is well underway. The first glimpses of what to expect are already coming out - in this case in the form of the track Jungle, previewed and available to download now from SoundCloud.

So, what do you think? In the first 20 seconds it seems to skip through the briefest moment of Whippin' Piccadilly and hints of That Thing You Do! (that's not my exclamation mark, it's part of the title). The following three minutes wouldn't sound out of place on a Tarantino soundtrack, if you ask me. Millions will disagree, I realise.

Anyway, the album's still a long way off, so there's plenty of time to make up your mind on this one - just be sure to grab the free download of Jungle before it expires!

Barbara Panther - Moonlight People

2011-05-06T12:25:00.002+01:00

Kickstart your weekend with this sneak preview at Moonlight People from Barbara Panther. It's out on Monday and is track two on Panther's debut album - also called Barbara Panther - which is out on May 16th.

It's a good-looking video and a catchy song, if a little... well, weird. It's nice to see something like this get a single release, as it's not really mass-market. I was listening to the B-sides of Bic Runga's Sway this week and I have to say, Moonlight People would not sound a million miles out of place among them.

None of that is really criticism, however - there are far worse songs released every week of the year. Moonlight People will be a welcome peek into the upcoming album for some and isn't likely to have anyone desperate to switch off the radio, when it gets its airplay.

Love Inks - E.S.P.

2011-04-28T14:12:00.004+01:00

It may only be a couple of days since our preview of Love Inks' upcoming debut album E.S.P., but the review copy's just dropped into our mailbox and I'm pretty excited about this one, so I thought why wait?

Those of you who visit Popsiculture regularly will no doubt have seen or heard Blackeye by now. It was my first encounter with Love Inks, and the first minute or so of listening to it I was unconvinced. By the end of the song, little more than another minute later, I was ready to hit the loop button.

Each Love Inks song is along those same lines - a slightly odd opening followed by enough repetition to hammer the hook into your brain. Before you know it you're humming along - then singing along - then freestyling your own vocal remix of the lyrics to your favourite track.

High Points

There's plenty to smile about on E.S.P. - choosing just one or two tracks seems difficult in itself. The fifth track, Skeleton Key, is particularly haunting, with instrumentals that would sit well on a movie soundtrack and lilting vocals from lead singer Sherry LeBlanc. Hers, I suspect, is a voice that could carve Love Inks a niche in an otherwise crowded modern-day music industry.

Penultimate track In My Dreams is a rare example of where the music is actually catchier than LeBlanc's vocals. A great guitar motif holds together the end of the song and sets up the final track, Too Late, perfectly. Really though, the whole of E.S.P. is one big high point and ten songs later, I'm still hungry for more from Love Inks.

The Verdict

E.S.P. is a great compromise between the catchiness of Blackeye - the track most people will have heard first - and enough variety to make a full album of music. That means ten tracks of varying weirdness, too - even if you don't like a couple, there's bound to be something here that fits into your way of thinking.

For me, this is the perfect summertime album - it almost feels like all this sunshine we've been having is thanks to Love Inks. Laid back and lazy (in the best possible way), distinctive yet not self-indulgent, E.S.P. is fun and feels strangely inclusive - like a live performance that feels as though you're the only one there.

I'm delighted that I like this album. After hearing Blackeye - which has been one of our most searched-for reviews in recent weeks - I had high hopes for more from Love Inks. It's wonderful to hear a collection of music that lives up to those expectations.

Final Score: 78%

The Sound of Arrows - Nova

2011-04-28T13:46:00.003+01:00

Don't be fooled by the slightly 90s-looking start to this video. Nova is, as its name suggests, most definitely new. It's also the latest effort to come from Swedish duo The Sound of Arrows, who manage to combine electronic dance with an almost boy band sound. Nova's proper dance-floor fodder, which is a shame as it means the FX-filled video probably won't get seen as widely as it deserves.

Speaking of dance-floor fillers, there's also a remix of Nova available, courtesy of Esben & The Witch. Check it out below and see which version you prefer.

Bachelorette - Bachelorette

2011-04-23T13:49:00.002+01:00

Bachelorette is just a couple of weeks away - the release date for this one is May 16th. We've been lucky enough to have this one on our to-do list for a while now, and I've given it more than the obligatory listen-through, which is always a good sign.

I'm always a fan of a cohesive album, rather than just a thrown-together collection of different songs. I'm not actually sure whether it's true cohesion, or just Annabel Alpers' distinctive style that holds Bachelorette together, but there's a common thread that's definitely satisfying.

That level of consistency has the unusual effect of making Bachelorette sound quite a lot like the soundtrack to an independent movie. It's atmospheric and electronic, and would make the ideal backing to a montage. Stick it on your iPod and walk down the street, and you're halfway there.

High Points

Blanket has been doing the rounds in the pre-release promotion of Bachelorette. I'm not the biggest fan of the start of the track, but it has a great closing refrain and blends wonderfully into Polarity Party, which follows it on the album. It worries me that download sales - and the ability to buy any track on its own - could spell the end of blending from one track to the next, even on artists' own albums.

The Last Boat's Leaving is by no means light-hearted, but has its share of fun, with lyrics like "wah wah wah wah" representing a baby's cries. It's an interesting contrast of serious and a softer side to Alpers, which works well in the song.

The Verdict

To enjoy Bachelorette, you're gonna need to like a few things. Electronic effects are one. Repetition is another - we're talking about dance music, sample-driven repetition, not a lack of imagination. Perhaps 'iteration' would be a better word to use. A love of mellowed-out, introspective trance-like tracks would serve you well, too.

Basically, I'd say you'll need to be willing to judge this album on its own merits. Don't ask it to be popular music, and it won't disappoint you. As for Alpers, her ethereal voice is the perfect match for the acoustic landscapes that are created in each track, transporting the listener to another world of musical imagination that I, for one, am happy to visit from time to time.

Final Score: 68%

Love Inks - E.S.P., out May 2nd

2011-04-23T10:24:00.002+01:00

"You've got blackeye on your eye... you've got blackeye on your eye..." has to be one of the catchiest refrains of the spring so far. I've been singing it since we first previewed Love Inks' Blackeye back in January.

Now a few months have passed and it's time for the album, E.S.P., to hit Hell, Yes! records. Ahead of the May 2nd release date, Love Inks - vocalist Sherry LeBlanc, guitarist Adam Linnell and bassist Kevin Dehan - have released a video for Blackeye. If you didn't catch our preview at the start of the year, watch it below - but be warned, it'll stick in your head for ages.

Love Inks face a real test with the release of E.S.P. - Blackeye has been really well received, but the challenge will be to continue the catchiness without being accused of repetition - both within each song and across the full playlist. We'll be keeping an eye out for the response over the May Day weekend, and will keep you guys updated on how the album does.

Elisabeth Sladen, 1946-2011

2011-04-21T17:27:00.005+01:00

We don't really 'do' obituaries, but I'm a Doctor Who fan (as you may have noticed) and this week's excitement about the new series was cut sadly short by the death of Elisabeth Sladen, the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith.

I wasn't even born when she was first in Doctor Who, back in 1973. In fact, the first time I can remember seeing her in the show would be her appearance with David Tennant, which really was not so long ago. But it's a tragic loss to two separate generations of fans - those who loved her in the 70s, and those who only came to know her through the recent appearances and her spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures.

So this weekend's series opener will be tinged with sadness - and presumedly some kind of on-screen tribute to Lis Sladen - and because I have a slightly loose grip on reality, I keep thinking "poor K-9".

Reading around the web in the past few days, I've been touched - as I think Lis would be - by the tributes to her from colleagues and from people who never even met her. Tom Baker probably knew her better than most as Sarah Jane, and his comments - delivered in esoteric Baker style - give the briefest of glimpses into her inner modesty.

"She was adored by Barry Letts, the producer who cast her in the role. She always said she was Barry's girl. It was for that reason she decided to leave the show. But it was not necessary at all. The fans adored her."

- Tom Baker

And it's true - the past four years or so have proved that more, probably, than any time in Lis's earlier life. While she has been fighting the cancer that ultimately killed her, a nation of new people have fallen in love with her.

The Newsround website has one of the best tribute pages - it's simply filled with comment after comment from Lis's young fans aged, mostly, from about 7 to 14. Here are a couple of examples:

"I feel very sad and my mum started to cry as she watched Elisabeth when she was little in Doctor Who. We will both miss her."
David, 9, Essex

"When my friend told me, I didn't believe him. I refused to believe one of the greatest actresses had died. She will never be forgotten."
Noama, 11, Gloucestershire

"I can't believe she's gone, it just hasn't sunk in. I couldn't stop crying when I found out. The world has lost an amazing woman. In the words of The Doctor, 'Goodbye my Sarah Jane'."
Emily, 14, Plymouth

- Newsround

Elisabeth Sladen leaves behind husband Brian Miller, daughter Sadie, a generation of heartbroken fans, a 1,000-year-old man whose pseudonym Mr Smith will forever pay tribute to her, and one tin dog. Sad, K-9? "Affirmative."

CBBC's tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, entitled My Sarah Jane, is due to screen at 6:45pm on Saturday, April 23rd, and will be available on BBC iPlayer soon after.

George Michael - You and I

2011-04-18T13:06:00.003+01:00

George Michael's gone slightly under the radar with this week's release of You and I, a cover of the Stevie Wonder song that he's recorded in honour of the upcoming marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Now, if you're still smarting from the agony of listening to his cover of True Faith for Comic Relief, don't worry. This time around it's more like a Disney theme than a glitchy, autotuned electronica overhaul of a much-loved tune. If you can bear to stare at Wills and Kate for nearly five minutes, have a listen below.

Even if that's too much to take, you can download the track for free at George Michael's website. All he asks in return is that you donate to The Prince William & Miss Catherine Middleton Charitable Gift Fund, the couple's alternative to a traditional wedding list that asks wellwishers to help out a worthy cause rather than buying them a toaster.

So, love it or hate it, this latest effort from George is again helping out needy charities - and I'm not going to criticise him for that. Make up your own minds on this one!

Trogons - Contina

2011-04-14T07:56:00.006+01:00

Trogons' upcoming single Contina, out on April 25th, will have the audacious serial code XRAY001 as the first release on newly formed label X-Ray Recordings. On top of that, it's coming out in physical format as a limited-edition hand-numbered flexidisc. Combine that with its retrotastic catchiness and you've got a recipe that's hard to resist.

You'll have to choose, though, between the material delight of the two-track flexidisc version and the added artistic merit of the iTunes download bundle, which includes a third song. I've always been materialistic about these things, but the times, they are a-changing.

Pre-order now at Rough Trade

What's the Deal?

Well, you can check out Contina for yourself below. It's a wonderfully dischordant clash of late-60s, early-70s sounds that wouldn't be out of place in a record collection based entirely around that era. As a first effort, Trogons have managed to put together an impressively mature track, yet kept all of the energy of youth. I don't often pick up on YouTube comments, but 'kingoftheducks' sums it up well as "Nice and kaleidopsychedelic". That's a word I could learn to use more often.

As I said, there's an extra track in the iTunes bundle, which means you're going to have to decide which of the following you want to hear:

1. Contina
2. Protest Song No. 678
3. Where's My Sword (iTunes bundle only)

Who are Trogons?

Trogons are a new group, but they're by no means amateurs, forming in London phoenix-like from the ashes of other collaborations. With Gemma Fleet - yes, a girl - on vocals, they're already a step towards iconicness. I'm thinking of Lauren Laverne here, but any female lead singer will do - there's just something slightly awesome about a girl backed by boys.

Her boys are: Andrew Robert Doig on guitar, Phillip Edward Johnson on organ (again, not something you see every day on the track credits...) and Dean Hinks on drums.

The Verdict

If your musical tastes extend beyond the realm of Matt Monro, I reckon you'll be able to appreciate Contina. It's authentic enough to please those who lived through the turn of the 70s, while self-consciously retro enough to satisfy a modern audience too. I get the feeling, for once, that it's more about paying tribute to the great bands of that period than trying to imitate them, which makes Trogons sound in-touch, rather than out-of-time. Look out for more from these guys, and X-Ray Recordings, further down the line.

Pre-order now at Rough Trade

Rumer - Goodbye Girl: Singles Round-Up

2011-04-10T13:23:00.006+01:00

Rumer - Goodbye Girl
Bobble: Easily the best new song on this week's round-up, but that's not saying much. Rumer's a fine singer but Goodbye Girl sounds a little dated to me. Should still do well with all the promo work behind her.
» Rumer - Goodbye Girl on iTunes

SBTRKT ft. Sampha - Look At Stars
Dan: South London producer SBTRKT has been creating a bit of a stir in blog-land with his early releases, as well as some exciting remixes. This trippy post-dubstep number is another goon'un, featuring Sampha on scat-vocals. Interesting.
» SBTRKT ft. Sampha - Look At Stars on iTunes

Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne - Hit The Lights
Dan: Jay Sean wins the prize for Laughably Immature Rap Lyric of the Week, with this little teenage wet dream from Hit The Lights, "It’s so hot there’s girls just taking all their clothes off / So take a picture of this moment with your iPhone / Cause I don’t wanna forget tonight-night-night-night". Utter trash.
» Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne - Hit The Lights on iTunes

Jon Fratelli - Santo Domingo
Bobble: Fratelli's unfaltering commitment to delivering every pair of lines in exactly the same way makes this three-minute effort get boring and then frustrating, which is a shame as the song itself actually has promise. I suspect a live version could be much better than the recording.
» Jon Fratelli - Santo Domingo on iTunes

Mann ft. 50 Cent - Buzzin'
Bobble: Buzzin' is actually not that bad - I'm not the world's biggest 50 Cent fan, but I could probably bear to hear this on the radio or on a night out. I'd rather see it on the TV though, thanks to the visual effect of the two performers taunting their scantily clad dancing lady from opposite ends of what's either a whitewashed garage, or a wind tunnel in heaven.
» Mann ft. 50 Cent - Buzzin' on iTunes

Songs for Japan

2011-04-06T20:40:00.004+01:00

Songs for Japan is actually a fairly important release, by any standards. Ever since Band Aid, the music world has been closely associated with charitable causes - and particularly with a swift response to major disasters.

The events of recent weeks in northern Japan are a shocking reminder of how nature can change the face of a country in a matter of hours - and, in some cases, a matter of seconds. If you can't afford to just hand over cash to the relief effort, Songs for Japan is a perfect compromise. You get the instant benefit of a digitally downloaded album of great music, while also helping people who really, really need a helping hand right now.

High Points

My personal high point has to be When Love Takes Over by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland. It's one of the best uplifting dance tracks of the past few months - and to be honest, Born This Way sounds kinda unoriginal in comparison. It's also nice to have plenty of really positive music on this album, even though it's helping raise funds for a tragic event.

Second place probably goes to Katy Perry and Firework. I can see the reasons why people might not like the track - I wasn't hugely enthused when I first heard it - but it's grown on me more as I've become more familiar with the lyrics, and I actually really love KP's spirit of "you're all amazing".

Track Listing

With this kind of thing it actually is pretty important to know what you're getting. So, the songs on Songs for Japan are:

1. John Lennon - Imagine
2. U2 - Walk On
3. Bob Dylan - Shelter from the Storm
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around the World
5. Lady GaGa - Born This Way
6. Beyonce - Irreplaceable
7. Bruno Mars - Talking to the Moon
8. Katy Perry - Firework
9. Rihanna - Only Girl (In the World)
10. Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You
11. Madonna - Miles Away
12. David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over
13. Eminem feat. Rihanna - Love the Way You Lie
14. Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
15. Josh Groban - Awake

The Verdict

I'm not criticising the idea behind this album - let's make that perfectly clear. Any of you who read my review of George Michael's reinterpretation of True Faith should be pretty aware of my leniency where charity recordings are concerned. I actually really like the fact that this album was put together quickly with existing tracks - it's a great way of raising money for a genuinely deserving cause.

There are some great songs on here, too - but there are also a couple of songs that are only on here because they're recent. It's a bit strange to have the two together. An entirely recent, or entirely great album would have been better. That aside, it's a good cause and definitely not a bad album for the money - if you wanted any of these songs anyway, you may as well get them here and gain a bit of karma out of it.

Final Score: 78%

Mazes - Most Days: Singles Round-Up

2011-04-03T22:37:00.001+01:00

Mazes - Most Days
Dan: Tantalisingly short of 2 minutes in length, Most Days is an absolutely joyful blast of punk-pop perfection from start to finish. A tribute to the carefree halcyon days of youth, complete with a brilliant animated video of skateboarding, tramp-pissing, drug-taking, and throwing up in the gutter, the only shame is that it isn't longer.
» Mazes on iTunes

Daedalus ft. Milosh - Tailor-Made
Dan: One of my favourite Ninja Tune artists, Daedalus seems to come up with the goods on every single track. It's as if the man has a direct line to the musical gods, so consistently, and seemingly effortlessly does he create his electronic compositions. Tailor-Made isn't even one of his best, but if you like this be sure to check out some of his previous work.
» Daedalus on Amazon

The Raveonettes - Recharge & Revolt
Dan: At a running time of nearly six minutes, and characterised by the constant barrage of fuzzy surf guitars, Recharge & Revolt doesn't look likely to garner a lot of radio airplay. That would be a shame though, the uplifting vocals and quite extraordinary lyrics (look them up) elevate this track to greatness.
» The Raveonettes on iTunes

Cashier No. 9 - Goldstar
Dan: Cashier No. 9 are a Belfast band who owe a lot of their musical inspiration to the Manchester/Madchester scene of the late 80s and 90s, but more than that, they also fuse in elements of folk, electronica and krautrock. Goldstar sounds like a jangly-guitared mashup of all these styles, and if that's not enough it comes complete with a psychedelic harmonica solo to round things off.
» Cashier No.9 on iTunes

Jodie Connor ft. Tinchy Stryder - Bring It
Dan: This track has been doing the rounds for a little while now, as indeed has Jodie herself, who appeared on the second series of Pop Idol what must seem a lifetime ago now in 2003. Eight years on winner Michelle McManus' 15 minutes of fame are long since over, but Jodie's star is certainly on the rise. Bring It is another good addition to the current wave of British urban music, placing Connor somewhere between Jessie J and Tulisa Contostavlos.
» Jodie Connor ft. Tinchy Strider - Bring It on iTunes

Trey Songz ft. Nicki Minaj - Bottoms Up
Dan: For two and a half minutes Bottoms Up is okay; about as inoffensive as a song celebrating drunkenness and being drunk could be (sample lyric: "We drunk so let me be your alcohol hero"). It's when Nicki Minaj turns up that things go wrong though, Minaj's section has a truly disturbing, nightmarish quality about it that really isn't any fun at all. Or maybe I've just drunk too much.
» Trey Songz ft Nicki Minaj - Bottoms Up on iTunes

Megamind, Harry Potter, The Tourist etc: April DVD & Blu-ray Round Up

2011-04-03T18:37:00.004+01:00

April 4th

Megamind was a fun and frothy bit of comedy, that was a bit of a pleasant surprise when it came out in the cinemas. It benefits greatly from an impressive cast of voice actors headed by Will Ferrell, who is ably supported by Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Brad Pitt, who I always forget is a great comedy actor until I see (or in this case hear) him.

The central conceit of the film is that the eponymous Megamind (Ferrell) is a supervillain who has defeated his superhero Metro Man. After the initial glory of one of his fiendish plans finally working out for him, he finds that life isn't as much fun without a nemesis, so decides to create a new one. But then there's the other thing, despite seeing himself that way since childhood, Megamind isn't actually all that villainous at heart. So when his new 'Hero' Tighten (Titan, geddit?) turns into a threat to Metro City, he has to switch roles and play the hero for a change.

It's a clever plot, and crucially it is filled with enough laughs to keep you interested. Don't expect too much, but Megamind is certainly an amusing diversion for its 96 minutes runtime.

If you enjoyed BBC sci-fi series Outcasts this DVD and Blu-ray release is going to be your last and only chance to help it secure a second series. For all it's faults, which saw it lose viewers and drop from a prime-time weekday slot to one late on Sunday nights, I ended up feeling quite a connection with the pioneers of Carpathia. I would dearly like to see a second series, or even a one-off special, that could round off the stories of President Tate, Cass and Fleur, and Stella Isen and her delicate relationship with daughter Lilly.

Professor Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe was a much more successful space venture for the Beeb though, as the mopatop rock-star-turned-scientist guided an enthralled public through interstellar landscapes, while trying to explain pieces of theoretical physics. It might not have worked in this age of dumbed down television, but Cox's lack of intellectual ego, and unceasing enthusiasm for his subject makes it almost impossible not to enjoy Wonders.

April 11th

This is the big one for April, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One is out on the 11th, just over two months before the concluding part due on July 15th. Harry, Ron and Hermione are nearing the end of their adventures, Voldemort is well and truly back in the picture, and the magical and muggle worlds are both set to fall before him, unless the young trio, against all the odds, can find a way stop him. Undoubtedly the darkest, and scariest of the films to date The Deathly Hallows Part One does well not only to set up the big finale for Part Two, but it also stands up surprisingly well for what is essentially half of a book.

Some commentators have criticised the film for lacking action for large chunks, but expanding the final of J. K. Rowling's books to two films, and allowing the story this space to build was certainly the right thing to do. It gives the character's time to grow (and the young actors time to show off how much they have improved over the years), and just to press home to viewers that heavy sense of foreboding that runs through the whole movie.

Monsters as a point of contrast is a film that feels like it should have a far more sinister mood about it than it actually does. With a name like Monsters, and a story set in a post alien-invasion planet Earth you might be forgiven for expecting a bit of survival horror, or at least a rip roaring Independence Day style action-adventure flick. But no, Monsters is instead an indie road movie, largely devoid of action, and a noticeable lack of monsters.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest sees Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist reprising their roles as Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist for the concluding part of the Millenium Trilogy. The Swedish movies, based on Stieg Larsson's bestselling novels, were such a success in the cinema that they have received the uncertain compliment of English language remake in Hollywood.

April 18th

In third instalment of the The Chronicles of Narnia movies, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Lucy and Edmund, the younger Pevensie children return to the magical land with their cousin Eustace in tow. There they meet up with old friend Prince (now King) Caspian for some swashbuckling adventure on the high seas. Caspian has set out, with some other familiar faces (Reepicheep is back now voiced by Simon Pegg) to find as promised the seven Lost Lords of Narnia. Along the way the group will meet slavers, wizards, merfolk and dragons, as well as the omnipresent Aslan.

We've said an awful lot about Tron: Legacy already on Popsiculture, the long awaited return to The Grid was something we looked forward to here with a geeky, 80s-inspired glee before release. Then seeing it in awesome IMAX 3D which showed off the incredible visual effects, and the brilliant , the experience was spellbinding. Ask me what the story was though, and I don't think I'd be able to tell you now. Luckily if you want to know more, you can check out Bob's review here.

Little Fockers slipped in to cinemas without much fanfare just before Christmas, to mixed, but mostly negative reviews and subsequently disappointed at the box office. Nevertheless completists will want to buy the Fockers Triple Box Set and who could blame them. The law of diminishing returns certainly applies to this trilogy, but there are at least a few laughs to be had throughout.

April 25th

To paraphrase Ricky Gervais, I haven't even seen The Tourist, who has? But it must be good because Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp are beautiful people, running around the beautiful cities of Paris and Venice, being beautiful.

The plot, if it matters, revolves around gangsters and secret agents, stolen money and illicit love affairs, and most importantly mistaken identities. Jolie plays Elise, the former lover of a man named Alexander Pearce who is being chased by some rather nasty people. Her task is to throw the pursuers off Pearce's trail by creating a decoy, in the form of an American tourist called Frank (Depp) who bears a resemblance to Pearce. The rest is intrigue, double crossing and a surprise twist at the end.

Burlesque is a good old-fashioned rags to riches story, featuring Cher as the owner of the eponymous Burlesque club on Sunset Strip, and the big screen debut of Christina Aguilera as the small town girl with the big voice looking to find fame and fortune in the City of Angels. Not as trashy as Showgirls, but every bit as camp, if you're in the mood for a simple, untaxing feel-good film with big showstopping tunes to boot, well, you can stop looking.

Jennie Sawdon at The Sanctuary, Manchester, March 27th 2011

2011-03-28T09:28:00.005+01:00

It's not often in life that two things you really love come together, so when I heard that Jennie Sawdon (she of the remarkable self-made album Fighting the Fairytale) would be playing Popsiculture's regular haunt, Didsbury's The Sanctuary, I decided there and then that I'd make it to see her no matter what.

What neither I nor Popsiculture co-conspirator Dan expected was a night that began with great live music and ended with great live music, but somewhere in the middle turned us into roadies and Sawdon family hangers-on. The impromptu after-party in neighbouring O'Neill's was the perfect way to round off what was really a great night for all involved.

The Performance

The Sanctuary's Sunday night jazz has switched to being once every two weeks after a few months of weekly performances, so make sure it's on if you're heading down there one week. I've caught a couple of the nights and always been impressed by the standard of singers and musicians Sara Dowling finds to perform there. It's not an open mic night or anything - you get one group for the whole night, in two hour-long sessions that now start from about 7pm.

Jennie Sawdon is a local talent who, after training in opera and working as a wedding singer, released her first album Fighting the Fairytale a few months ago. If you've read our review you'll know that it's self-written and on her own label, Little Me Records. It's also been on my Most Played list since I first heard it in February.

So I'll admit I wasn't sure how Jennie's songs would translate from voice-and-piano to jazz-style quartet, but the night worked well. Drums, bass and guitar were all carefully judged to fit around the original tone of the album tracks, while Dan was pretty pleased to hear a few covers thrown in towards the end - and to be fair, the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy those too.

The star of the show, of course, was Jennie herself - flawless vocals combined with the kind of heartfelt thanks for each round of applause that suggests she doesn't quite realise how good she is. No note was missed, but more impressively, the tracks from Fighting the Fairytale were really done with flair - complete with the atmospheric outro to The Doctor that I mentioned back in February in our review.

It was also good - and important, I think - that Jennie gave the same personal touch to her live performance that went into writing the album. Every track has its own story to tell, and I got the feeling the introductions she gave to a few of her songs were more of a glimpse into their backgrounds than the whole story. My own mention, ahead of the elegant audio ballet that is Echoes, was unexpected and moving.

What Happened Next

I'm not sure what Dan and I were expecting from our Sunday night, but we definitely weren't expecting what happened from 9pm onwards. The part where we went and said hi to Jennie went according to the script - we said hi, we got a hug, Jennie thanked us for our support etc - and then we met the other Sawdons. Jennie's parents and aunt, who were more welcoming than my own family at weddings of the past few years. We varyingly became: spokespeople for the internet in fairly highbrow discussions about online journalism; Sawdon roadies (a life ambition fulfilled, I feel) as we helped lug her gear out to the van - an amp in one hand, high-heels in the other; surrogate sons as we propped up the bar in O'Neill's with the grown-ups; and after-party liggers as we kinda gate-crashed the O'Neill's thing in the first place.

What that second phase of the evening did give us was an idea of why Jennie's music - and particularly her writing - is so heartfelt and moving. Her family are great. Her friends - some of whom were providing the live music at O'Neill's - know how to have a good time. Drink and dancing and dirges; it's the way fun used to be, and it was great to see people still know how to have it.

So Jennie, thank you. For a great performance. For caring enough to look out for us. For the hugs - I do like hugs. If the days to come are echoes of last night, a bright future lies ahead.

Fighting the Fairytale by Jennifer Sawdon is out now on iTunes.