Icicle - Rinse 19 (2012)

After receiving widespread acclaim for his debut album, Under The Ice, and his regular slot on Rinse FM, Icicle has gone a long way to prolonging his upward arc with this latest addition to the Rinse FM mix series. The Dutchman’s Rinse 19 is a striking journey through the vast, thriving arena of underground electronic music. Serving up 59 minutes of mayhem peaking with house, dubstep and finally drum and bass, Icicle weaves between genres at a seamless pace, a glowing testament to his unerring poise behind the turntables. 

It is as if Icicle has used all of his cunning to secure the listener’s attention. Indeed, every shift between tracks bubbles up immaculately, every rolling bassline triggers a different reaction in the brain. Those accustomed to the blaring, wobbly dubstep asphyxiating the scene right now need not apply. This is dubstep stripped down to its purest elements, for sure. 

Following the razor sharp house introduction, the dubstep section – by far the highlight of the album – eases us through a seamless, calculated conquest showcasing Icicle’s peerless talents.   His own ability appears to be reflected in his genes, too, especially when you consider his cousin Proxima’s potential. Both of Proxima’s featured pieces on the compilation – “Grunge” and “Brainstem” – saunter along to a brash groove, boasting wildly imaginative percussion. Icicle, though, is not to be outdone. His very own “Together In The Dust” is magnificent in all its floor thudding glory. Icicle completes his victory parade with a brief yet effective stab of drum and bass, culminating in his menacing thriller “Full Moon.”

Credit must go to the Shogun Audio DJ for this meticulously crafted piece of work. Granted, the inclusion of leading lights such as Distance, Rockwell and Sabre makes for a gripping listen. If nothing else, Rinse 19 is an articulate take on the rapidly advancing dance music stratosphere, a bold look at the present, and indeed, the future of electronic music.  

4/5

RIYL: Youngsta, LX One, Distance

By Alistair Hendrie

Frozen (Adam Green, 2010)

To the delight of many, US mainstream horror appears to be edging away from the grisly, quick gratification style of Saw/Hostel-esque torture porn flicks. Pictures such as Buried and the Paranormal Activity franchise have shown that minimalistic, tense chillers are also still profitable. This is where fourth-time director Adam Green’s Frozen comes in. The plot is simple. A group of thrill-seeking youngsters embark on a skiing trip, and take the ill-advised move of bribing a worker to let them onto the mountains via the chairlift after the complex has shut for the week. Inevitably enough, a mix-up between co-workers ensures things then start to turn ugly (and freezing) for Parker (Emma Bell), Dan (Kevin Zegers) and Joe (Shawn Ashmore), as they are left stranded alone against the force of a punishing snowstorm.

This unglorified premise may put some movie-goers off, but as opposed to pulsating, fast-paced action for 90 minutes, Frozen poses many of those “how-in-the-blue-hell-will-they-escape-this-one?” moments. The trio is greeted with a stomach-churning frostbite dilemma, werewolves, and their chairlift also begins to teeter dangerously when Dan and Joe try to escape at different times.

You might feel like the characters asked for trouble. In horror, sometimes you have to feel warmly towards those involved to be affected. Bell, Zegers and Ashmore spout out relatively wooden dialogue and should not be expecting any Oscars for their performances. However, Green is clever and leaves the three involved to discuss relatively innocent, tenuous, everyday subjects including their favourite Aerosmith albums, and why Dan does not call his girlfriend any pet names. This way, the audience identifies with the trio more.

The guilt and infighting which the characters suffer from later in the movie is a useful tactic seen many times in the less violent styles of horror. Events of course rewind back to whose brilliant idea it was to go up to the mountains one last time before the weekend was over, and Joe begins to interrogate Parker about her ostensibly damaging relationship with Dan.

Some of the most affecting moments of the film are the childhood pals reminiscing over memories from their youth, particularly one humourous recounting of a fat, unpopular child the group knew at school. These memoirs are decorated with Andy Garfield’s engrossing, melancholic score. Garfield knows his trade in horror, and escalates the faster action sequences with juddering, shrill strings.

As well as the music, the general setting is perfect for an encapsulating horror. Whilst battling against the elements, the group have nowhere to hide. They are left to fight desperately against nature, which does not have the power to reason in its uncompromising mood. The shots of the chairlift hanging unnoticed, unmoving against the oblivious paper-white backdrop and blinding sun are shocking images.

Verdict: Despite relatively static run-outs from the cast and your typical horror clichés, Frozen is an affecting thriller. Keeping the viewer gripped for an hour and a half with such a basic plot is skilful on Green’s part. His characters go to harrowing lengths to hopefully escape the reclusive setting and their exploits will draw heavy gasps. This is a victory for clean, inoffensive, low budget horror and is dangerously chilling in more ways than one.

4/5

By Alistair Hendrie

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

In the months before the eagerly awaited Toy Story 3, a Facebook group was created under the title of “Move out of the way children, I’ve been waiting 11 years to see Toy Story 3”. It’s a glimmering example of how certain movies can split their appeal between generations. Not only have audiences changed since John Lasseter’s 1995 classic Toy Story, but the way we watch movies has changed. Since TS, we have seen the decline of VHS, the introduction of DVD shattering ground in how we think of movies, and Blu-Ray providing us with a glimpse of the future.

Following 1999’s Toy Story 2, Pixar’s latest work picks up with Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and co going through a transitional phase themselves. Their once doting owner Andy Davis, voiced for the third time by John Morris, now 25, is about to leave for college and has a crushing dilemma to solve. Which of his toys will he take to college for sentimental reasons? How many will he leave in the attic? Woody is kept, which causes dissention in the ranks, whilst Mr Potato Head (Don Rickles), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and friends are mistakenly donated to Sunnyside Daycare.

In director Lee Unkrich’s threequel, it’s now a race against time as Woody must save his friends. Of course, Sunnyside is not a hospitable place for the gang. They soon run into Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty) who appears welcoming on the outside, but wants to do anything but hug the protagonists. The purple bear and his posse of seasoned veterans in Sunnyside dislike Andy’s toys’ attitude towards the centre. Lots-O’ and his ensemble plan to make their life a living hell.

One of the funniest characters in the bear’s entourage is a replica of Barbie’s (Jodie Benson) boyfriend, Ken (Michael Keaton). He is handsome, fashionable, and a wise cracker. Ken is portrayed as the Gok Wan of TS3, and dances for Barbie in numerous extravagant outfits, leaving audiences in stitches with his camp comedy. The CGI on Ken is very clever. Like the real Barbie and Ken dolls, their arms do not bend, they only move back and forth, giving them an authentic, rigid, plastic appearance.

TS3 is of course a very socially aware text by using Ken and Barbie. Another technique showing this is a side-splitting sequence in which triceratops Trixie (Kristen Schaal) is embarrassed to be seen flirting with a Velociraptor on an Internet chat website. Screenplay scribe Michael Arndt never uncovers who she is talking to, but ironically enough, we later see her with loveable, dopey dinosaur Rex (Wallace Shawn).

Rex is the type of character that makes a series successful. The garden green Tyrannousaurus rex had his legacy rubber-stamped with an ingenious cameo in Pixar's Monsters Inc., and is comically self-deprecating, melodramatic, and particularly enjoyable in the chaos when the toys hide from the boisterous children in Sunnyside. Another familiar stand-out performer is Mr Potato Head, whose highlight comes as he loses his potato body and ends up with this face and limbs protruding unsafely from a pitta bread wrap.

Viewers in their thirties and preteens alike will have their hearts toyed with as Unkrich poses endless questions of “how will they get away from this one?” We have grown to know and love the characters over the last decade and a half, and wince at the thought of them being in danger. The US and Canada’s highest grossing film of 2010 thrives in breathless action and adventure from start to finish, with a few rowdy belly laughs nestled in between.

Losing the TS franchise is like the movie fan losing their favourite toy, and the film’s emotive ending leaves feelings of both happiness and sadness lodged in the stomach. 42-year-old Unkrich admitted that he had not thought about anything else but TS3 in four years. It is clear many fans will have similar confessions, and that the franchise’s influential legacy will live on through generations.

Verdict: Opening with a blistering action sequence to throw us in at the deep end, there’s romance between Ken and Barbie, a rib achingly funny Spanish Buzz and the stock boo-boy in Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear. There is a saddening sense of finality here, and it’s like losing one of the family. But this is a rip-roaring success for the unflinchingly consistent bar-raisers in Pixar.

5/5

By Alistair Hendrie

Rinoa-An Age Among Them

With the UK metal scene in a fragile state, many bands have been obliterated to dust by financial constrains and work commitments. The ashes of recently disbanded bands such as Cydebris, Chariots and Symmetry have now formed an avenue for Rinoa to step into the limelight. An Age Among Them is a demonstration of crushing and uplifting passages stitched together with occasional lush, comforting movements. Rinoa do require a degree of patience to enjoy. The melodies are often exhaustingly drawn out, and the bands sledgehammer guitar assault packs a hefty uppercut. Huge elements of the heavier parts are down to vocalist Perry Bryan. Bryan provides the treacherous thunderstorm to his bands blissful sunrises, and yells his way through the album like a man possessed. While Rinoa rely primarily on repetitive, slow paced rhythms to captivate the listener, their songs are prone to throwing open new doors at the drop of a hat. If you mull over the naked emotion of bands such as Envy and Mono, marry this with the titanic battery of Cult of Luna and Pelican, you’ve got yourself a massive animal. Rinoa’s emotional rollercoaster tugs at the heartstrings numerous times and looks sure to win hearts of legions of fans any time soon.

7/10

RIYL: Envy, Cult Of Luna, Devil Sold His Soul, Jakob

By Alistair Hendrie

The Fall Of Troy interview 20/09/07

You've just flown in after playing with Tera Melos in the States, how is the jetlag? You've had to settle into a new country as well.

Andrew Forsman (drums): I feel pretty good, I mean, the flight in really took it out of me - six hours sitting in one position - but I feel good now.

Tomas Erak (guitars/vocals): I feel better after yesterday now I kind of bailed it out, now I feel better.

Is your mindset a bit different going into a tour like this, as opposed to going into a U.S tour?

Andrew: Yeah. Definitely. We play different songs that people have or haven't heard yet. You've got to keep in mind that we haven't played here in about two years so we want to do good shows for people. Secondsmile were really great support when we last played here as well.

You've got a new album out, Manipulator. How was the recording and writing process and did it take long to write?

Andrew: Actually the first three or four songs to about six months. The last record we wrote in like a month or two.

Tomas: We wanted to make a really raw record. There was a lot of overdubbing and we wanted to record it as fast as possible. I think we actually got all the tracks done in like three weeks.

Do you think it sounds similar to the last album?

Tomas: I like it better.

Andrew: I think it sounds completely different than our last album.

Tomas: I like the sound a lot, I think it sounds more like our band than Doppelgänger did.

You sad the production was a lot rawer in production, how much did producer Matt Bayles influence your sound?

Andrew: He had ideas but he wasn't really overbearing or anything like that. We just did what we wanted to do, we didn't do any pre-production with him, so he was hearing the songs for the first time when we recorded them.

Tomas: Which was kind of cool I think because I think it shaped the songs in an interesting way, but if we do a record with him again, I'd like to do pre-production.

There's been a lot written about this, but what's the story with the split with The Number Twelve Looks Like You, what's happening with that?

Andrew: I would love to do a split with them, but I don't think their record label wanted them to do it, we're just going to wait and see what happens.

Are you looking forward to touring with Coheed & Cambria?

Tomas: No comment. I'm looking forward to the tour, but I'm not a fan of that band.

Andrew: I don't hate them.

Tomas: I'm interested to see Clutch, that will be pretty cool.

Which bands had you never really heard of when you'd toured with them but then thought: "Wow, this band's really amazing."

Both: RX Bandits.

Andrew: The last U.S tour we did with them they were incredible.

Are they the best band you've toured with then?

Both: No.

Andrew: I'd say Deftones.

Tomas: I like Tera Melos a lot.

Andrew: They're still kind of at a stage where they're not very well known yet.

Do you listen to any other instrumental bands at all?

Tomas: I like Russian Circles a lot.

Andrew: Hella. I think if it's good music it's good music.

Tomas: I like Godspeed.

65 Days Of Static are another band making waves over here. Are you fans?

Andrew: That band is awesome!

Tomas: Yeah, they're good, they were going to tour with The Cure but they pushed it back.

Can you shed a little light on your song titles?

Tomas: Some of them are jokes, some of them are just spur of the moment things. Most of the song titles have nothing to do with the song, a few of them are jokes from relatives.

What's the funniest thing you've heard said about your band?

Tomas: Oh, what was it? If you want to hear a band that does this music but good, listen to a Glassjaw record.

Andrew: We don't sound anything like Glassjaw.

Tomas: I love Glassjaw, though, don't get me wrong.Worship & Tribute is amazing.

Andrew: That's one of my favourite records.

Tomas: Well, we don't sound like Glassjaw at all, our sounds are completely different.

Do you read reviews of your own work a lot?

Tomas: You can't help but see reviews sometimes.

Andrew: I like reviews where they trash us because either they're wrong or it's a misconception.

Tomas: Or they just really don't like us and that's fine.

Andrew: It's just I love reading when people hate me!

By Alistair Hendrie