Music With A Different Sound

Music and Movies of 2010

2011-01-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Albums of the year 2010

5) Lydia-Assailants (Self-Released)

Assailants is another typically wistful Lydia release, made more emotive by the announcement that the Arizona group would split around the time of release. The vigorously melancholic atmosphere is meshed together with calm vocals, droning guitars, and echoing electronics. It creates a haunting, yet at times uplifting brand of ambient rock. “A Place Near The City” shows the band’s serene, romantic side which they exploit in previous records, whereas the contemplative “We Clean Up So Well” firmly cements Assailants in this list.

Listen: I've Never Seen A Witch

4) Peter Broderick-How They Are (Bella Union)

It’s fair to say that Peter Broderick’s fourth full-length How They Are is about as tranquil as it gets. Such is the calm ambience running through the sometimes folk, sometimes classical album, you can faintly hear the gentle hum of the recording throughout the album. A virtuoso pianist, Broderick is in the same league as the likes of Max Richter and Clint Mansell, and his self-reflexive, colloquial lyrics are sung in a fitting, calm manner.

Listen: Pulling The Rain

3) Eluvium-Similes (Temporary Residence Limited)

By using both vocals and percussion in Eluvium’s fifth album, Matthew Robert Cooper could have drowned in dangerous waters. Emotionally stirring as always, Cooper adds his reserved, brash vocals to the uplifting “The Motion Makes Me Last” and “Leaves Eclipse The Light”. Each track is gently layered and wonderfully constructed. The trademark glistening, overlapping piano sections are ever-present, as is the unique “bottom of the ocean” feeling which Cooper’s music arouses.

Listen: Making Up Minds

2) Netsky-Netsky (Hospital)

The likes of Lenzman, BCee and Random Movement have ignited dance-floors with their brand of melodious, sultry drum and bass, and Belguim’s Boris Daenen has also pursued this movement to a tee. Daenen, writing under the alias Netsky, soothes the soul with romantic tunes such as “Moving With You” and “Let’s Leave Tommorow”. The guest vocalists such as Jenna G and Darrison add waves of emotion to the tracks, and there is also dubstep and uncompromising rollers featured on the album. With remixes dripping from his fingers, plus tunes flying off the shelves on Metalheadz, Spearhead and Hospital, expect Netsky to hit the skies this year.

Listen: Let's Leave Tommorow

1) Olafur Arnalds-...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness (Erased Tapes)

The fifth release from Olafur Arnalds plays like the soundtrack to the most romantic film you’ve never seen. An avid admirer of all things cinema, it is clearly a huge influence for the 24-year-old, and his weighty string blankets over a piano framework paint enduring pictures fit for the big screen. Everything on Darkness is executed with a soft sensitivity, be it a tear-jerking rise of strings or shimmering sparks and glitches heard from afar. If you enthuse over the likes of Mono, Clint Mansell and Max Richter, this orchestral delight is essential listening.

Listen: Tunglio

Movies of the year 2010

5) Inception (Directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

In the pipeline since 2001, Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi blockbuster pens the story of a group of dream-thieves attempting inception – the art of placing a dream into another person’s sub-conscience. The film delves into ideas over questioning reality and what you see with your own eyes, leaving you on tenterhooks as to what will happen to the dream-thieves next. As reality and dreams collide at many visually stunning points during the film, Nolan creates a unique cinematic experience to boggle the senses.

Trailer

4) Exit Through The Gift Shop (Directed by Bansky. Apparently. Starring Banksy and Thierry Guetta. Supposedly)

Bristol-based maverick Banksy has elevated himself into the public eye with his unique brand of street art in the last few years, and Exit details the movement of his passion subject in life. The documentary chronicles artist Thierry Guetta’s development in the secretive world of street art, as well as his preparations for his own art exhibition. Due to the cloud of enigma which hangs over the seemingly faceless Banksy, critics have questioned the authenticity of the film despite praising its entertainment value and execution. It is a gripping and unique look at street art with numerous authoritative interviews, but how can we be so sure of the story? How do we know this is Banksy talking underneath the hood? How do we know this information about mysterious, guarded artists is true? Who knows?

Trailer

3) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Directed by Niels Arden Oplev. Starring Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace)

Following on from the late, great Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy, Niels Arden Oplev has brought us the first film in the series, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. This racy, hard-hitting thriller details an investigative journalist researching the puzzling case of a missing woman. Protagonist Mikael Blomqvist, played by Michael Nyqvist, later forms an unlikely partnership with the mistreated, abused psychopath Lisbeth Salander. The feisty Salander is studious and immersed in her work, and Noomi Rapace is a rousing success in her character’s role of headstrong-bitch-that-won’t-quit. Bleak and disturbing, contrasting in the serene setting of the Swedish outback, Tattoo tackles elements of rape, violence, addiction and child abuse. This is not a film for the weak at heart, but underneath the shock value lies a brash, fast-paced thriller which keeps the brain ticking.

Trailer

2) Frozen (Directed by Adam Green. Starring Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers and Kane Hodder).

Adam Green’s fourth directing job is a minimal chiller which sees a group of naive thrill-seekers trapped in a ski-lift, left alone to battle the brutal, plummeting temperatures in the snow-coated New England mountains. Filling 94 minutes with three teens sitting in a ski-lift is an arduous task, but Green keeps the tension cranked up for the whole film. The group come into competition with their consciences, frostbite, werewolves, and of course the looming drop of hundreds of feet to the unforgiving tonnes of snow beneath them. Whilst barely original or groundbreaking, Frozen keeps the atmosphere tight as a rope and plunges its trio into a world of torment as the audience says “how will they escape this one?” over and over.

Trailer

1) Toy Story 3 (Directed by Lee Unkrich. Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and John Cusack).

As the series which made Pixar comes to an end, this heart-string-wrenching animation begins with the now legendary Andy contemplating throwing out his toys before leaving for college. There is a soul-melting sense of finality in this and many other parts of the film, including an unforgettable sequence in which Woody and the other toys looked confined to their certain death. But as the gang attempt to navigate their way out of a daycare centre populated by evil toys, it’s not all saddening and watery-eyed. The scene where Buzz Lightyear is accidentally programmed to speak Spanish is hilarious, and the appearances of Barbie doll Ken as a camp, fashion conscious ladies man are sure to tickle audiences. Toy Story 3 is an emotional rollercoaster. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll pray for the computer-animated toys you’ve grown to love. Toy Story, it’s been fun. Thank you!

Trailer

By Alistair Hendrie

Frozen (Adam Green, 2010)

2010-12-14T05:45:00.003-08:00

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 Ally Hendrie

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

2010-07-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

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

Ef @ London Half Moon 20/4/10

2010-04-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

The Half Moon is an infinitely appropriate venue for Ef's tranquil, contemplative music. The band play in a dimly lit, small bar below illuminated fairy lights and a glistening disco ball. The Swedish five piece soar through their set playing each erruption of emotion note perfect, with horn and string sections improvised for extra authenticity. Despite a sparse audience and way too much bare dancefloor on view, Ef still bound around the stage in a joyful manner in their uplifting set. Their new material from Mourning Golden Morning is drenched in a child-like happiness, and the performance of Hello Scotland from Give Me Beauty, Or Give Me Death! is an unexpected treat. Ef persaude their slightly lacking audience to advance forward towards the end of the set to penetrate more atmosphere, yet the set stills seem so personal and intimate. At the end of the set, the 50 or admirers spread widely across the small space are appreciative, and so they should after Ef were "up for 25 hours" after getting a ferry to the venue at the last minute. I guess mesmerising, heartwarming music is one thing volcanic ash cannot sabotage.

By Ally Hendrie

Rinoa-An Age Among Them

2010-03-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

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 Ally Hendrie

Mono @ London Scala 15/3/10

2010-03-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Within moments of the four members of Mono taking the stage, the distant crackling static that introduces Ashes In The Snow fills the London Scala. Hairs stand on end and every set of pupils is fixed on these shy, tour hungry, Japanese post-rock titans. The hauntingly mellow nature of Mono's music makes for a soothing, almost trance like live spectacle. Legs are left lethargic after standing for such slow moving music, but this just adds to the dreamlike imagery Mono produces. Some audience members pump fists and gyrate widly, whilst others stare into space, preferring to let the sometimes brutal, sometimes beautiful sounds sweep over them like a blanket. The heavier parts of Mono's set sound like they could shatter bricks through sheer volume. This is a stark contrast from tranqiul guitar meanderings, most heart achingly active in Yearning and Ashes In The Snow.

Mystery and intrigue surrounds live music such as this and the muted stage presence here mirrors this. Mono do not need to literally jump through hoops on stage due to the overwhelming power of their arsenal. Lead guitarist Takaakira Goto cuts an enigmatic picture and plays head bowed with his perfectly sculpted, black locks obscuring his face. Goto is the most energetic of the band and thrusts around perched in his stool, kicking this over at points. Every heart in the Scala is penetrated deeply by Mono's music and their respect of the band's quieter movements is admirable as an epic, deathly hush is brushed over the venue during these parts. Another touching part of Mono's live demeanour is there almost embarassing modesty. After these earth-shattering, painfully emotive compositions, Mono simply bow and offer sheepish waves to their admirers in the crowd. It is almost like a religious experience, there is no fancy stage antics here, no scene attire, this is live music which is dripping with purity and angelic melancholy. Unlike the smoke machine and lights which begin to rise, Mono's live performance defeats the elements and threads itseld within your life forever. You don't just watch Mono, you feel Mono.

By Ally Hendrie

Tiefighter-I Could Tell The World... (Review)

2008-04-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Tiefighter is a California five-piece hardcore mob who have recently split with record label Foward Looking after their debut release I Could Tell The World... Tiefighter's sound could be described as fast, ferocious hardcore. The clean production on the guitars and drums make for a more accesible experience, as opposed to grittier niches explored by similar bands such as Dead Swans and Killing The Dream.

I Could Tell The World... introduces itself at a staggering velocity. Opening tracks "CTRL ALT DEL", "You're The New Metalcore" and "The Face Of A Liar" mould together well and create a fierce onslaught of agression with lyrics circling around resentment and rebellion against others. Vocalist Rob roars his way through the commencing segment of the album with a scream resembling Keith Buckley of Everytime I Die.

"The Resignation" and "So It's Come To This" roll along like a juggernauts but are sadly forgettable and lack real direction. This is a slight reflection of how the album gets old quickly. The fun, fast and ferocious nature of the music is all well and good but the album fails to produce a lot that will hit the nerves like bands such as Daggermouth.

Acoustic effort "Fall Away" is a great touch to add a little more depth to the album, but that is just what it needs more of to proppel it from being a pretty good album to an excellent one. I Could Tell The World... provides frantic wake up calls with its breakneck speed drumming but these moments are infrequent and the album becomes predictable after the first few songs. Tiefighter is a fun listen with plently of sing-alongs to scream away to on a sun-bathed night, but the lack of substance lets them down.

Rating: 3/5

RIYL: This Is Hell, Daggermouth, Set Your Goals

Release Date: 18/03/08

Record Label: None

By Ally Hendrie

Lydia-Illuminate (Review)

2008-03-27T03:33:00.000-07:00

To be quite frank, I have not anticipated a release as much as Illuminate since Between The Buried And Me's Alaska, and sadly I was in the small, unvoiced minority who disliked that album. Albums such as Illuminate with such ridiculous hype and enigma circling them sometimes sadly fail due to the immense pressure to succeed which comes with the territory.

Illuminate does live up to its immense hype in some respects, but feels a little too similar to previous release This December, It's One More And I'm Free. However, the insrumental parts have advanced just a little more and the mood is suprisingly enough even darker.

Illuminate is a collection of tales about resentment and failed romance, but the perfect execution of a sombre and hauntingly mellow sound means the music avoids being cliche.

Lydia's distant sounding keys and delayed guitars add to the melancholic style and choruses in "I Woke Up Near The Sea"; "Hospital" and "Fate" are nothing short of heartbreaking. Illuminate does not exactly break any conventions but can make lips quiver and hairs stand on end due to its sheer beauty and emotion.

Mindy White's vocals were one of the highlights of the stunning This December... and despite her tranquil, soft blanket of a voice taking a back seat to fellow vocalist Lieghton Antleman, her beautiful vocals are still a major selling point in this calm, melancholic effort. Hers and Antleman's vocals perfom beautiful harmonies throughout the album and link to Lydia's haunting sound exquisitely.

Illuminate is painted in grey moods from start to finish and the simple, personal lyrics are very effective. At times, when listening to Lydia, it is quite easy to lose yourself in the rich layers of music and imagine yourself at the bottom of the clear, blue ocean in a parallel universe. This is a gorgeous record which produces imagery which other bands would fail at doing and is as engaging and personal as the art of music can be.

4/5

RIYL: Mae, Bright Eyes, Jeniferever

Released: 18/03/08

Record Label: Link Star Records

By Ally Hendrie

The Fall Of Troy interview 20/09/07

2008-02-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

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