Charli XCX has shared a new video for her latest single ‘Beg For You’, a collaboration with Rina Sawayama. Check out the Nick Harwood-directed clip below.
‘Beg for You’, which arrived two weeks ago, is set to appear on Charli XCX’s upcoming album Crash. Last year, the singer previewed the album with ‘Good Ones’ and ‘New Shapes’, which features Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens. Crash, the follow-up to 2020’s how i’m feeling now, arrives March 18.
Nat Ćmiel is no longer interested in covering up imperfections. There was a time when the Singapore-born, London-based artist, who has inhabited the yeule moniker since 2014, would hesitate to release a song if something as much as a vocal crack stuck out in the mix. Following the success of 2019’s Serotonin II – an excellent full-length debut that introduced yeule’s enigmatic persona as well as their brand of digitized art pop, captured most brilliantly on the single ‘Pixel Affection’ – the project has come to serve as a means for Ćmiel to document and relate back to their own experiences in a multi-disciplinary fashion. To that end, despite having greater access to professional equipment, their process now often involves leaving in mistakes and accepting that some of their best material might still come to life in the space of their bedroom as opposed to a studio. Originally inspired by a Final Fantasy XII character caught ceaselessly between death and rebirth, yeule – as both a concept and a musical outlet – continues to occupy a liminal and temporal space but has undergone a clear evolution.
On their second album, Glitch Princess, co-produced with PC Music’s Danny L Harle, yeule adjusts their stylistic framework while remaining committed to the goal of yielding purity out of chaos. In an interview with the FADER, Ćmiel said they “wanted to depart from this natural earthy Gothic Renaissance-esque world that I built with Serotonin II” by entering a more “neo-technical, cyber-Gothic” realm; though conceptually and narratively focused, the record itself is less heavy-handed and more direct about its approach (“I like short sentences that say everything I felt at one go,” they declare on the opening track, which is largely reflected in the lyrical content of the album.) The way this shift manifests musically is palpable, too: While the atmosphere of Serotonin II was airy enough to land yeule on the cover of Spotify’s ‘Ethereal’ playlist, Glitch Princess distorts some of that dreaminess by injecting it with a language of violence, eroticism, obsession, and disassociation – elements that have been present in yeule’s music in the past, but never so uncompromisingly brought to the fore. The result is powerful: as challenging as it is infectious and as introspective as it is majestic.
Those qualities are entangled from the very beginning. “What makes you uncomfortable?” yeule asks on ‘Flowers are Dead’, and your answer may in fact lie in what has preceded it. Opening the album is ‘My Name Is Nat Ćmiel’, a confessional of sorts in which the cyborg-like character lists a number of things they find pleasure in at a particular moment in time. We can assume at least some of them still apply – “I like the way some music makes me feel/ I like making up my own worlds” – but the temporal distance between recording and listening, yeule’s glitched-up voice, and the specific intimacy of some of the statements have an uncanny effect. Throughout the album, yeule blurs the line between what is unsettling and exhilarating as a means of interrogating what it means to feel – to transcend the limits of both the digital and embodied self and achieve a boundless sense of freedom.
Their creative toolbox is appropriately varied. The second song, ‘Electric’, properly kicks off the album with a rapturous hook that’s drowned in distortion. The emo pop of ‘Don’t Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty’ is at once one of the album’s most conventional and hopeful moments, with yeule singing of tenderness as the antidote to the gaping void: “You still/ Hold me even though/ I’m made of fire burning through.” At times, its aesthetic sounds less akin to Arts Angel-era Grimes than the horror game-inspired sounds of an artist like Yiiki, conjuring eeriness through off-kilter piano melodies and queasy electro-pop on a track like ‘Eyes’. But then there are overwhelmingly euphoric songs like ‘Bites on My Neck’ that power through their disorienting, blown-out structure to demonstrate the true scale of yeule’s ambitions, or ‘Too Dead Inside’, which evokes the existential questions that can creep into your mind when you’re trying to dance them away.
Ćmiel treats Glitch Princess as a kind of storage unit where realities both external and internal – including dreams and dangerous fixations – can coexist. It is raw yet carefully crafted, to the point where some of the errors that are integrated into it may actually be not accidental, but manufactured. That is the nature of the love that courses through the album: it hurts, it fades, and to make the experience less painful, you might as well cause the destruction yourself, especially when granted the option of staying alone with the ‘Friendly Machine’ that “Pretends to wipe my memory clean/ Pretends to make it all go away/ Pretends to make me feel quite ok.” The song that ends things off, ‘Mandy’, is ambiguous but jarringly confrontational, suggesting a sort of system failure – and hence, perhaps, a liberation.
But you can’t really put it in context unless you take into account the actual closing track, a four-hour-forty-four-minute ambient piece titled ‘The Things They Did for Me Out of Love’. (The promo copy I received did not include this track, but for the purposes of this review, and since it comes with all digital versions of the album, I listened to it once in full). Like an alternate reality, it’s easy to get sucked into it and lose track of time – fragments materialize and float in and out, synthetic vocals blend in with a human voice lost in sleep. Around the halfway point, the whole thing stops and starts life anew. “I had to walk into the fire to know how to feel,” Ćmiel sings over and over again on ‘Bites on My Neck’. This final act, then, can be read as an attempt to rise from the ashes after finally taking the plunge. More than that: it feels like it.
Maren Morris has released her new song ‘Background Music’, which is set to appear on her forthcoming album Humble Quest. The track was co-written by Laura Veitz and Jimmy Robbins. Check out its accompanying video below.
“I wrote ‘Background Music’ about the beauty of the temporary, which is inevitably all things,” Morris remarked in a statement. “The romanticism of eternity sounds nice, but I like to think I savor things better when I know I’m not entitled to it in perpetuity. It’s a love song that addresses mortality but it’s also promising someone that even when we aren’t cool anymore, I want to grow old with them and laugh about the times we thought we were.”
Humble Quest, the follow-up 2019’s Girl, is set for release on March 25 via Columbia Nashville. Maren Morris previously shared the single ‘Circles Around This Town’.
Big Thief have shared a new video for ‘Red Moon’, the track that kicks off the second disc of their just-released double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. The clip, filmed by Adrianne Lenker’s brother Noah and edited by Slopehouse, captures the live take of the song, which was recorded during the last of four sessions for the LP at Scott McMicken’s studio in Tucson, Arizona. Watch it below.
Big Thief previewed the 20-track Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You with seven singles: ‘Simulation Swarm’, ‘Time Escaping’, ‘Little Things’, ‘Change’, ‘Certainty’, ‘No Reason’, and ‘Spud Infinity’.
Future is back with a new song called ‘Worst Day’, a track about Valentine’s Day. It arrives with a Daps-directed video, which you can check out below.
Future recently featured on Gunna’s latest album DS4Ever, appearing on the songs ‘Too Easy’ and ‘Pushin P’. According to Kanye West, he is also serving as executive producer on the upcoming project Donda 2.
What can be said about The Giant Claw (1957) that hasn’t been said before? Well, quite a lot, actually. For a film that boasts a bird “as big as a battleship”, it’s something of a shame that the minimal critical attention it’s received has been backhanded at best and derisive at worst.
But let’s get things straight before we begin. The Giant Claw isn’t one of the best of its decade. I don’t plan on arguing that it’s an overlooked gem; rather, it’s simply fine! It’s a decent monster-on-the-loose picture that’s somewhat undeservingly borne the brunt of scorn. Indeed, Alan Jones, reviewing the film for the RadioTimes, called it “one of the most inept monster movies ever made”, and said that it featured “atrocious special effects.”
Little attention gets beyond its giant bird marionette, and discussion is often stifled by myriad inaccuracies that go uncorrected. In part, this arguably comes down to generalisations placed upon 1950s science fiction. In describing all these films as “cheap B-movie fluff”, the incentive isn’t there to report with robust scrutiny.
So, dear reader, what I offer here is an appraisal of The Giant Claw that seeks to offer a bit of nuance. As Criswell states at the beginning of Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), “we are giving you all the evidence, based only on the secret testimony of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal.” All of this and more in celebration of The Giant Claw.
THE GIANT BIRD IN THE ROOM
For the uninitiated, The Giant Claw is a 1957 science fiction monster film about a giant bird, possibly from some “godforsaken” anti-matter galaxy in outer space. Having wrecked planes, trains, and automobiles, a plan is enacted to destroy the bird’s anti-matter shield so that conventional weaponry can kill it.
Most of the attention The Giant Claw receives focuses on its special effects. This isn’t surprising, per se, for the giant bird marionette is certainly a sight to behold. In an interview with Tom Weaver, Jeff Morrow, the film’s lead, recalled the following: “we poor, benighted actors had our own idea of what the giant bird would look like – our concept was that this was something that resembled a streamlined hawk, possibly half a mile long, flying at such speeds that we could barely see it.”
The actual bird has an elongated neck, flared nostrils, wild eyes, spiky hair, and gangly legs.
All sorts of inaccuracies have run rampant about the bird’s origin and cost. Most common is the claim that the film’s producer, Sam Katzman, had it made in Mexico for $50. However, no source exists to completely verify that claim. In fact, Jeff Morrow himself joked that it cost “$19.28”. Interestingly, in the same interview, Morrow gives a ballpark price estimate for a “really good bird” at $10,000 to $15,000.
Morrow’s co-star, Mara Corday, also spoke with Tom Weaver about the special effects. She said that Sam Katzman had raved about “the wonderful special effects people in Mexico that he had hired” and that he’d allegedly spent most of the budget on the special effects. Was this just enterprising producer Sam Katzman exaggerating? Quite possibly. After all, fellow Columbia producer Charles Schneer – who had produced Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956) with Katzman – remembered him as being “skinflint” in an interview in Starlog #150.
In May 1957, Sam Katzman was interviewed in Variety, where it was reported that his films at the time cost between $250,000 to $500,000. While these films were made through Columbia’s B-unit, they certainly had more money to play with than other genre contemporaries.
And this is where the exploitation masters at American International Pictures (AIP) help to shed light on the dubious $50 claim. During their early years, back when they were known as the American Releasing Corporation, AIP had made The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955) with maverick producer Roger Corman. While the film’s poster depicted such a wild creature (it’s a truly fabulous piece of art), the first version of the film featured no such beast. The idea, of course, was that an alien mind creature had possessed the bodies of animals to be its eyes and ears, thus becoming the beast with a million eyes. This did not satisfy the film’s exhibitors, who had invested in the project on the basis of its lurid advertising.
Enter Paul Blaisdell, AIP’s chief monster maker in the 1950s. Roger Corman had turned to Forrest J. Ackerman (future editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine) to connect him with effects artists. Having turned down the suggestion of stop-motion maestro Ray Harryhausen due to cost, Corman was put in touch with Blaisdell. This would be Blaisdell’s first film job, having previously worked as an artist for science fiction magazine covers. Blaisdell took up the project, and was paid just $400 by Corman to produce an 18” puppet, nicknamed “little Hercules”.
The Beast with a Million Eyes cost just $30,000 according to Roger Corman, a far cry from the money Katzman was playing with at Columbia. Given that the marionette in The Giant Claw is far more sophisticated than that which appears in The Beast with a Million Eyes, it would be fair to assume it cost at least more than $400.
Of course, this is all conjecture based on incomplete evidence and contemporary productions, but it should illustrate that information is out there which allows us to report on these films with more detail than is usually afforded.
One last thing to examine is the ubiquitous claim about outsourcing the effects to a Mexican company. Although both Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday mentioned this nebulous Mexican effort in their interviews with Tom Weaver, the special effects are actually credited to three men: Ralph Hammeras, George Teague, and Lawrence Butler (who goes uncredited in the opening titles). As pointed out by genre historian Bill Warren, these technicians had all worked on more expensive A-pictures. Indeed, Butler is credited for special effects on Casablanca (1942), while Teague worked on the visual effects for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). Granted, “special effects” credits at the time often referred to pyrotechnics and other on-set effects (as opposed to stop-motion, for example) but their involvement is still worth considering. So, who’s right and who’s wrong? Did Katzman indeed outsource to a Mexican company? Evidence suggests it’s possible, but perhaps not for just $50. Nevertheless, by at least presenting “all the evidence” (as Criswell would say), we can understand films like The Giant Claw unbound from sensational or belittling rumours.
THE FILM AS A WHOLE
The Giant Claw is certainly no masterpiece, but it wasn’t intended to be. As Sam Katzman said in his interview with Variety, “a picture that makes money is a good picture – whether it is artistically good or bad. I’m in the five and dime business and not in the Tiffany business.” Indeed, the film itself is fairly standard in structure and form for a genre picture of its decade. There is the initial creature sighting, followed by disbelief, a second and more destructive appearance of the monster, realisation of its existence by the disbelievers, and a struggle for a means to destroy it.
The film leans into expository narration often, and stock footage from prior Katzman efforts like Earth vs. The Flying Saucers pads the proceedings. The archaic social dynamics of its day are also on full display. This certainly isn’t up there with the decade’s standout genre pictures like I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958), let alone better Katzman efforts like The Werewolf (1956).
But it is entertaining.
Mara Corday, star of other genre classics like Tarantula (1955) and The Black Scorpion (1957), is always a joy to watch. Unsurprisingly, she lights up any scene she’s in with a sly smile and smooth delivery. Jeff Morrow is a similarly pleasant sight for genre fans, having also appeared in This Island Earth (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). While both Corday and Morrow’s other science fiction appearances handed them better material, they’re still very comforting to see in The Giant Claw. And while that comfort may be elusive for viewers unfamiliar with ‘50s sci-fi, Corday and Morrow have more on-screen chemistry than many of their contemporaries – even with the ugly veneer of ‘50s sexism and misogyny that’s peppered over the script.
And as for the bird? This author likes it. While the bird marionette is certainly goofy, it has a great deal of character in its wild eyes and constant shrieking. Indeed, its range of movement is rather impressive. Even though the bird almost certainly cost more than the flimsy claim of $50, this was still a low-budget picture made by a producer eager to save money. That the bird looks as animated as it does – eyes moving, nostrils flaring, etc. – is at least worth remembering. Moreover, we get to see lots of it, much to the chagrin of Jeff Morrow, who recalled shrinking into his theatre seat when the bird appeared on screen and the audience erupted into laughter. You can’t say you don’t get your money’s worth of the monster, even if it isn’t what you – or Jeff Morrow – were expecting.
As it stands, not every critic has been so harsh on the enormous bird. While the likes of Leonard Maltin have described it as “laughable”, the UK’s Monthly Film Bulletin commented that the special effects were “better than usual” when the film was reviewed in January 1957.
A FILM AS BIG AS A BATTLESHIP
While The Giant Claw certainly isn’t a shining example of ‘50s science fiction, it isn’t nearly as bad as some would have you believe – least of all because of its giant bird. However, exaggerated rumours and myths continue to circle. This does a disservice not just to The Giant Claw, but its contemporaries, too. Wild stories that sensationalise low budgets turn these films into little more than jokes, with scant consideration of all that went into them – let alone what they mean in their cultural landscape.
I’d argue that the various stories from the filmmakers and actors involved turn these films into fascinating artefacts, not all easily painted with the same brush. I don’t expect you, dear reader, to suddenly consider The Giant Claw as a masterpiece or even an overlooked gem. The film is still fraught with issues from the bafflingly complex origin of its monster to its ubiquitous stock footage. However, if we can consider The Giant Claw and its contemporaries on an individual basis, taking their often-fascinating production histories into account, we’ll have richer experiences when we watch them. We can also report more accurately on how films like The Giant Claw were made, referring to actual testimony (and some informed conjecture) rather than half-truths and rumours.
So, give another look to The Giant Claw, confident in the knowledge that there’s more to this bird than meets the eye.
A huge thank you to Daniel Hartles for providing this article’s accompanying artwork. You can see more of their work via their Twitter page.
Earlier this week, Moderat – the electronic project of Sascha Ring, Gernot Bronsert, and Sebastian Szary – announced they will be returning with their first album in 6 years. More D4ta, the follow-up to 2016’s III, is set for release on May 13 via Monkeytown Records. Today, Moderat have previewed the LP with a new song called ‘Fast Land’. Check it out via the accompanying video below.
BABii has shared a new single called ‘EMBER’. The track, a collaboration with London producer Pholo, arrives ahead of BABii’s North American tour opening for Iglooghost, which kicks off today in Cambridge, MA. Take a listen below.
BABii released her sophomore full-length, MiRROR, last year, following up 2019’s HiiDE. It made our 50 Best Albums of 2021 list.
Jack White has shared the title track to his forthcoming album Fear of the Dawn, one of two records he’s set to release this year. The song follows previous offering ‘Taking Me Back’ and comes with a video directed by White. Check it out below.
Announced back in November, Fear of the Dawn – the former White Stripes frontman’s first solo LP since 2018’s Boarding House Reach – is slated to arrive on April 8 via White’s own label, Third Man Records. Its follow-up, Entering Heaven Alive, which includes the previously shared ‘Love Is Selfish’, comes out on July 22.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on February 11, 2022:
Big Thief have released their new double album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, via 4AD. The band previewed the 20-track LP with seven singles, including ‘Simulation Swarm’, ‘Time Escaping’, ‘Little Things’, ‘Change’, ‘Certainty’, ‘No Reason’, and ‘Spud Infinity’. Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia recorded it in four different locations, working with Sam Evian in Upstate New York, Shawn Everett in Topanga Canyon, Dom Monks in the Rocky Mountains, and Scott McMicken in Tucson, Arizona. “One of the things that bonds us together as a band is pure magic,” Lenker said in a statement. “I think we all have the same guide and none of us have ever spoken what it is because we couldn’t name it, but somehow, we are all going for the same thing, and when we hit it… we all know it’s it, but none of us to this day, or maybe ever, will be able to articulate in words what the ‘it’ is. Something about it is magic to me.”
Spoon have returned with their tenth studio album, Lucifer on the Sofa, which is out now via Matador. The follow-up to 2017’s Hot Thoughts was co-produced by Spoon and Mark Rankin (Adele, Queens of the Stone Age) and includes contributions from Dave Fridmann and Justin Raisen. In press materials, frontman Britt Daniel described the new LP as “the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton.” Lucifer on the Sofa was preceded by the singles ‘The Hardest Cut’ and ‘Wild’, and ‘My Babe’.
Empath’s sophomore full-length, Visitor, has arrived via Fat Possum. Following the Philadelphia quartet’s 2019 debut Active Listening: Night on Earth, the album includes the previously released tracks ‘Born 100 Times’, ‘Diamond Eyelids’, ‘Passing Stranger’, and ‘Elvis Comeback Special’ and was recorded with producer Jake Portrait (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), making it the first time they’ve worked together in a formal studio. Reflecting on the album’s cover art, photographed by Andrew Emond, singer Catherine Elicson said: “The spaces look lived in and altered by humans but no humans are present. The songs are similar in the sense that they talk about the ‘space’ between people. They’re not about specific people per se, but they illustrate the feelings people leave between each other, these subjective experiences. You can think of Visitor as a soundtrack to the memories and feelings that remain in places people have left behind.” Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Empath.
Shamir has put out his latest LP, Heterosexuality, via AntiFragile Music. The follow-up to Shamir’s 2020 self-titled record features the previously unveiled singles ‘Gay Agenda’, ‘Cisgender’, and ‘Reproductive’, and was produced by Hollow Comet (aka Strange Ranger’s Isaac Eiger). “His sound was something that honestly I was dreaming up in my head,” Shamir said in a statement. “But couldn’t find someone who could do it, nor could I do it myself. When I finally heard his work, I just thought… what the fuck, I finally found it.” Commenting on the album’s themes, he added: “I think this album is me finally acknowledging my trauma. Everyone knows I’ve been through so much shit and I kind of just rammed through, without really acknowledging the actual trauma that I do feel on almost a daily basis.”
claire rousay and more eaze have today issued their new album, Never Stop Texting Me, via Orange Milk. It follows two projects the artists collaborated on last year – their joint album an afternoon whine and rousay’s sometimes i feel like i have no friends – and includes contributions from Bloodzboi and How to Dress Well. According to the album’s press bio, “Mari and Claire share an equal amount of duties on the record, rendering it a pure representation of their collaborative work. The appeal of this record is the assertive pop blending w Robert Ashley like moments which simultaneously satiates the desire to hear structure and the abstract.” The duo shared a pair of tracks, ‘same’ and ‘hands’, ahead of the release.
Pearl Jam leader Eddie Vedder has a new solo album out today called Earthling. Released via Seattle Surf/Republic, it marks his first solo effort in 11 years, following 2011’s Ukulele Songs. The album features guest appearances from Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr, and Elton John, as well as contributions from Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, co-producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Pino Palladino on bass, and Glen Hansard on guitars and backing vocals. The singles ‘Long Way’, ‘The Haves’, and ‘Brother the Cloud’ preceded the record.
Don’t Talk to Me is the debut album by Dropper, the Brooklyn-based outfit led by multi-instrumentalist Andrea Scanniello alongside longtime collaborators Jono Bernstein, Yukary Morishima, and Larry Scanniello. Out today via the band’s own Dirt Dog label, the album was produced by Andrija Tokic at Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio and mastered by engineer Heba Kadry. According to a press release, Dropper make music for: “People who have worked in the service industry too long and become curmudgeons at the ripe old age of 26. People who are lonely yet want to be left alone. People who drink because they are sad but also sad because they drink. Bisexuals with crumbs in their bed. Optimistic pessimists. Those with seasonal allergies. But overwhelmingly for people who, in lieu of being crushed by the eternal weight of existence, choose to scream internally with a smile upon their face.”
Ride’s Andy Bell has released a new solo album, Flicker, via Sonic Cathedral. The 18-track LP marks the guitarist and songwriter’s first solo release since 2020’s The View From Halfway Down Talking. Talking about the new record in a statement, Bell explained: “When I think about Flicker, I see it as closure. Most literally, on a half-finished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale. Some of these songs date back to the ’90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.”
alt-J are back with their fourth album, The Dream, which is out now via Canvasback/Infectious Music. The 12-track effort follows 2017’s Relaxer and was previewed with the singles ‘Hard Drive Gold’, ‘U&ME’, ‘Get Better’, and ‘The Actor’. “If there was ever going to be a world event that made us finally write a song about real life, it would be the pandemic,” lead vocalist and guitarist Joe Newman said in an interview with NME. “But crucially, I feel like we’re relaxing into accepting the fact that we can actually write songs about the real world, and we’re now allowing ourselves to go there. If people are still listening to our music in 30 years time, I’d love for them to think, ‘Alt-J did something really special on their fourth album. They really brought themselves into it.’”
Sea Power, Everything Was Forever; Raveena, Asha’s Awakening; Lady Pills, What I Want; Trentemøller, Memoria; Mary J. Blige, Good Morning Gorgeous; Adam Miller, Gateway; Cult of Luna, The Long Road North; Joywave, Cleanse; Frank Turner; FTHC; Foxes, The Kick; The Cactus Blossoms, One Day.
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