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Artist Spotlight: Biig Piig

Henrietta Taylor
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Artist Spotlight: Biig Piig

At just 23, Jess Smyth a.k.a. Biig Piig has already enjoyed a busy life, full of what she happily refers to as “mess.” She had a sociable childhood spent between Ireland, Costa Rica, and London, growing up around, and later working in, the restaurants, pubs, and bars run by her parents. It was following the family’s move to the UK when Smyth was 14 that she first picked up the guitar, and it wasn’t long before she was performing at open mic nights in Battersea and beyond. She found her crowd at college, when she became part of the collective NiNE8, a group of fashion, art, and music-loving teens brought together by artist Lava La Rue. The open-minded creative sessions with NiNE8 led Smyth to settle into her style and to collaborate with the collective’s producers to create her first official tracks. Softly rapping and singing in a mix of Spanish and English, Smyth put her own idiosyncratic spin on neo-soul, mixing hip-hop beats with lo-fi jazzy instrumentals, revealing intimate thoughts in a haze of chilled-out sonics and silky, sultry vocals.

She released her first (wonderfully named) EP, Big Fan of The Sesh, Vol. 1, in 2018, which features one of her biggest songs to date, ‘Perdida’, and has gone on to release two more, getting scooped up by RCA Records somewhere along the way. In 2020, her singles were imbued with a particularly energetic and confident quality, with tracks like ‘Switch’, ‘Don’t Turn Around’, and ‘Feels Right’ garnering widespread acclaim and reeling in new fans across the world. Now, following yet another move (this time to LA), Biig Piig is working hard on her debut album, dropping latest single ‘Cuenta Lo’ while gearing up for what we hope and pray will be an exciting festival-filled summer.

We caught up with Biig Piig for this edition of our Artist Spotlight Q&A series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk about their music.

Something that first led me to your music was actually the name Biig Piig! Was that the intention when you locked in the name?

So initially, it was just a bit of a running joke. It was funny because it was the name of the pizza that me and my friend got after a night out. There wasn’t really much meaning to it, I just liked the way it sounded. And I was like, well, I’ll just do that, because I don’t think I ever wanted to use my name as my music name. But the more that I’ve had it and the more I thought about it – there’s certain meanings to it. I think I found that like, pigs are a lot smarter than they look and it lets me be a bit messy as well. I don’t feel like it pigeonholes me at all. Yeah, I don’t know; it all worked out.

Growing up you lived in Ireland, Spain, and London. What do you love most about each place, and do you feel more attached to any of them?

I feel like the sense of community that’s ingrained in the culture in all three places, really, that’s what I think I got attached to. And that’s what I think is really cool and just really beautiful. I think the way that people communicate and the way that friends and how much community matters in the three of those places that I lived in, really, really stays with me. I feel like I don’t really get attached to places. It’s more so I get attached to people and like emotionally, that’s kind of what I think makes a place rather than the actual place.

What are some of your early memories of listening to music?

There are different stages. I feel like I remember listening to Gabrielle when I was really young. My mum used to love her and it used to make her really happy. That was kind of when I discovered that music could really pull someone out of a bad place. It was like watching her sing that in the car when she was going through something really tough, and I feel like just to watch her kind of, like, light up with Gabrielle’s song ‘Sunshine’ … That was when I think I really understood the power of music. I remember listening to her quite a lot, and then when I was like 13 or whatever, I liked a lot of pop-punk and acoustic music and my taste was all over the shop… A lot of old school R&B. It was like – yeah, it was just a mess. And I don’t feel like there was one specific genre that I loved. I think it was just kind of anything that makes me feel good, or not, like songs that really make me feel… Something. But there’s a few different artists; Ben Harper, Bowling for Soup, Genuine – I used to listen to him a lot. Who else? Gabrielle and Van Morrison was played a lot, and Leonard Cohen.

How have you been during lockdown and how have you passed the time?

Lockdown has been a bit nuts. I moved so many times; it was a really hectic time for me. I was in a really intense relationship that ended during lockdown. We were living together and everything else – that was really intense. Creatively as well, I feel like I went through a period where I couldn’t really write anything and I felt really uninspired. And then after the first lockdown, I started to write a lot more and got really back into the swing of it. It felt so good. I think I’m still trying to process the whole of last year, just because my living situation kept falling apart. So I kept having to move loads and that relationship happened and then now I’m living in LA. I really like it and I’ve got a project that I’m really happy with, so it’s great. But yeah, definitely a very weird time. It almost feels like a dream. I feel like I’m looking back at it with such a hazy view because I don’t feel like time makes any sense. I think last year just feels like a whole… Vortex situation. It’s hard to remember details or anything, it’s nuts. But, passing the time, I watched a lot of really shit TV. I loved Selling Sunset. That really uh [laughs] that really kept me busy for a while. What else? Reading a bit? Reading and drinking, which I’m going to stop doing now. But drinking for the first one took up a lot of my time as well. Um, yeah, I think just staring into the void and days just fleeting… Sorry, I feel like this has taken a dark turn! [laughs] No, it was grand. I feel like I will never take life for granted again, so that’s good. Definitely a learning curve.

Have there been any artists that you’ve been particularly drawn to during this weird period?

Yeah, there were definitely some artists I think that brought through some incredible music last year, Lex Amor being one of them. Her – I don’t know if it’s a tape or an album that you’d call it? – but it’s Government Tropicana. That was a really, really good project that I really enjoyed. Brent Faiyez, Fuck The World, has just been on repeat for the last like however long. I love that project so much. What else? Bel Cobain. Anything she releases, I just love – I think she’s brilliant. Yeah, a lot of the same tunes. I think I even went through a period of just not really listening to music that much. But those are ones I always come back to. And ‘The Adults Are Talking’, that song by The Strokes. That literally lifted me out of such a bad mood. It kind of felt nostalgic to me in a way and I don’t know, it just really got me going [laughs] and so that’s a great tune. I feel like when I listen back to that now I think of the first lockdown and it just made me feel like I could escape a bit in that song.

You’ve worked on music as part of the collective NiNE8 and created other tunes more independently. Do you have a preference for working collaboratively or in a more solitary way?

With the NiNE8 stuff it’s always fun because it’s like, we’re all just hanging out, we can fuck around and like make something cool for the tape or whatever, which is amazing. And then, with my own stuff, I always work with one producer, so they’ll make the instrumental and I like to write everything, like all the melodies and lyrics and stuff. But then sometimes I’ll even take a beat home and write to it on my own. I feel like you don’t really know until you’re in the room how a session is going to go or how the day is gonna go because you can come up with something incredible, or sometimes not so much. But yeah, I really enjoy working with NiNE8 though. I feel like it really gets me out of my head. And it’s just fun, do you know what I mean? But yeah, completely depends on the day, and the mood and what we achieve with it.

What’s your favourite song that you’ve written and why?

I think my fave song that I’ve written… It changes all the time. Like, I really like some of the earlier stuff like ‘Vete’, which I made with Lloyd [Mac Wetha]. It just kind of reminds me of a time where we’re making music in his bedroom and it was super low-key. Listening back to that is really reminiscent and I really enjoyed doing that, and also I like the way that my vocals are mixed and stuff. It was super stripped back and there wasn’t a lot going on, and sometimes I really miss that because I like the intimacy of that and I feel like there’s the kind of soulfulness of it as well. So that’s cool to look back on. And then some of the new stuff that I’ve made, I really love. There are a couple of tracks on this next project that I’m just like, I think I’m experimenting with a sound that I’ve always really admired as well, so that’s cool. I think with that, it’s super minimalist again, but it’s like, some lyrics I’m really proud of, because – I don’t know if it will translate the same way – but for me, it paints the image perfectly of… I don’t know. It feels like I can see the world. It’s like I can see the imagery perfectly with some of the songs that I’ve written for that project, which I think is really cool. It kind of transports you to that world.

Do you have any goals in terms of where you’d like to get to with your music?

I mean, I really want to get to a place where I can produce myself, because I’m interested to see what that would sound like. And even producing for other artists, I think that would be really, really cool. I just need to understand what my style would be from the producing side of things. So that’s definitely a big goal for me. And then otherwise, I want to just make sure that I keep making music that makes me feel good. I feel like I really don’t want to lose the love for music, and I don’t think I will, but I just hope that every time this like feeling of excitement and release, stays and grows with everything that I make, and the things that I make in the future. So that’s kind of it. Yeah [laughs].

And finally, what are you most excited for when lockdown’s over?

I don’t even know at this point, if I’m being honest. Maybe something like just hugging all my friends and having to sleepover. I’m not even bothered about the pub. Like the first time I was like, “Oh can we just go to pub blah, blah,” and now I’m like, I actually couldn’t even be bothered with the pub. I don’t care, I can drink at home [laughs]. I just miss the smell of my friends and just hugging people and having sleepovers and yeah… I just missed all that, so hopefully more of that.

Album Review: Bernice, ‘Eau De Bonjourno’

Conor Lochrie
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Album Review: Bernice, ‘Eau De Bonjourno’

Bernice, the Toronto group led by Robin Dann and her backing band of musicians, craft songs that meet at the crossroads of R&B and pop. Their third full-length album, Eau De Bonjourno, feels like being invited into the studio as all manner of improvisation unfolds, on its own terms and at its own pace. It’s not difficult to imagine other musicians enjoying listening to Bernice: the band allows so much breathing space in their songs that you begin to notice patterns, pick up little notes here and there that you might have missed upon first listen. 

Their new album was released by Toronto’s excellent Telephone Explosion Records, home to the likes of Deliluh and Teenanger, but Bernice’s sound doesn’t necessarily fit the prevailing sounds of the city’s current music scene. They sound a little like Crumb without the overt psychedelic themes; all the band’s members have backgrounds in jazz – hence the improvisatory nature of the music – and could be compared to Black Country, New Road if there was more playfulness in their approach. 

The first half of Eau De Bonjourno holds the strongest singles. The patient rhythm on ‘Groove Elation’ is interrupted by wondrous spurts of saxophone; the personal ‘It’s Me, Robin’ is a delightful and delicate ode to finding peace with yourself. Dann is possessed of a gracious and flexible voice: she can combine for angelic harmonies on ‘Empty Cup’ and sound suave and seductive on the slinking R&B track ‘Infinite Love’. The way she breathes every word has an almost soothing effect. 

The group wrote the album together in an old-school container on Toronto Island, and a sense of wanting to banish disconnection and find something deeper comes through. Dann notes “dogs on the highway” and watches “a beaver eating smooth red bark,” while the swooning ballad ‘Lone Swan’ is about the misunderstood qualities of that graceful bird. ‘Personal Bubble’ was written in late 2019, but its sentiment feels especially relatable in the context of the last year: “You’re not allowed in my personal bubble/ Please step away from my personal bubble,” Dann sighs, something not enough people did in 2020.

The shapeshifting instrumentation begins to dominate as the album drifts slowly to its conclusion. The languorous ‘Your Beautiful House’ begins like a hazy radio transmission dipping in and out before an impactful piano line passes through country twangs and zapping sound effects. ‘We Choose You’ is pure atmospherics, all lo-fi beats that are ever-moving and disjointed. Much of the album is airy and dreamy, and as a result it can often feel too lightweight, too ephemeral. The songs seem to arrive formed for the first time; this is a first take, a first try, you might think. It’s why they sound like straightforward pop songs deconstructed and stripped bare, just playthings for Bernice to explore; and it’s why getting lost in their sound can elicit an almost childlike sense of wonder and curiosity. 

Can You Play Online Betting Games for a Living?

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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Can You Play Online Betting Games for a Living?

Is it possible to wake up daily, play online casino games and make good money to survive? If online casino games give the casino an advantage in the long run, how is it possible to remain profitable? There are thousands of professional gamblers who make a full-time living off gambling. You can also play casino slots and other exciting favorite games and remain comfortably profitable. How can you do it?

Choose Games with the Best Chances 

Casinos games have a Return to Player (RTP) which is the payout that a casino expects to go to players. It is also called the house edge. Some games with the best chances of winning are:

Blackjack

Classic blackjack games and its variants have some of the highest RTP in casino games, up to 99.7%. The RTP varies depending on the payout rules. A 3:2  payout game beats a 6:5 payout game by an RTP of about 1.39%. A single deck game has a 0.59% higher RTP than a game of 8 decks. Employing optimal blackjack strategy ensures you get the best of the RTP. 

Baccarat 

If you are a beginner, you might find baccarat rules complicated. But it has one of the best RTPs depending on the hand you play. The banker bet is the best hand. In this bet, you will receive a 1:1 payout when the banker beats the player. This hand has an RTP up to 98.76%.

Craps 

Online craps are not as popular as land casino craps, but they have one of the best RTPs depending on the bet you make. For example, pass line bets have 98.59% RTP while don’t pass line bets have 98.64% RTP. Online craps go up to 3x odds. Higher odds offer higher RTP. A 3x odds pass line bet has a 99.53% RTP, while  3x odds don’t pass line bet has a 99.64% RTP. 

Online Slots 

Some online slots have RTP up to 99%. But some slot games have high volatility in the short term. You can assess long term Expected Value (EV) by jackpot growth. If a slot jackpot grows from $200,000 to $1 million, the EV is positive. 

French Roulette 

This version of roulette uses a European wheel with a la partage rule. The game pays you back half the wager if the ball lands on a zero if you place an even-money wager. This roulette variant has an RTP up to 98.65%. 

Know How to Use Bonuses 

Bonuses reduce the amount you spend on a game. Welcome bonuses up to 150% of your first deposit have become common. There are other different bonuses you can use: deposit bonuses, no deposit bonuses, free spins and cash back bonuses.

You can get the most out of a bonus by a game with high RTP if the online casino has no restrictions. Free spins are very useful for playing slot games. However, you must consider wagering requirements that come with a bonus. 

If you have a bonus of $20 with a wagering requirement of 10x, you need to wager $200 to get the bonus wins. If you play a game with an RTP of 99%, you can expect to lose  $2  when completing the wagering requirement. It still leaves you with $198 at the end of fulfilling the wagering requirement. 

There are hundreds of online casinos with thousands of bonus offers. You could take years to exhaust all these bonuses. The good news is that you can sign up with as many online casinos as you can. 

Making a living off online casinos is tricky but some professional gamblers have succeeded.

It is not as easy as it sounds, but it might be one of the most exciting ways to make a living.  Find out more on Betastic.com.

Written by AWISEE

15 Best Songs from Teen Wolf (2011-2017)

Svetlana Sterlin
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15 Best Songs from Teen Wolf (2011-2017)

MTV’s hit series Teen Wolf ran for six seasons on the network before coming to an end on its own terms in 2017. Loosely based on the 1985 film starring Michael J. Fox, the television show takes a much darker approach to a teenager’s journey of growth and self-acceptance.

Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) is an awkward sophomore when viewers first meet him, but that’s all about to change. When his best friend Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O’Brien) drags him out of bed to look for the dead body his sheriff dad is investigating, Scott is attacked by a big, scary creature.

He soon begins experiencing strange symptoms, like heightened senses, super speed, superstrength, anger, and irritability. Stiles finally pieces it together on the night of the full moon, when Scott is supposed to be hanging out with Allison Argent (Crystal Reed) at a party, but instead flees, feeling weird. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s on the verge of turning into a werewolf for the first time.

The boys soon discover a world of supernatural creatures that extends beyond werewolves, and as the series progresses, Scott becomes his town’s defender and protector. The story is first and foremost about friendship. Scott may not fit in at school when viewers first meet him, and he doesn’t fit into any werewolf packs. Over the years, Scott forms his own pack that doesn’t discriminate based on supernatural ability, or anything else.

The show always retains its sense of humor and never strays from its core exploration of coming of age. Still, it’s a supernatural drama, and it loves action, violence, adventure, mystery, and suspense. Here are fifteen of the best songs that help lend the show its dramatic tone.

  • Turn It Off – Phantogram
  • Psychasthenia – William Fitzsimmons
  • My Body – Young The Giant
  • Like Real People Do – Hozier
  • My Own – Whitaker
  • Arsonist’s Lullabye – Hozier
  • Last Days Of Dancing – Maja Francis
  • I Found – Amber Run
  • Where’s My Love – SYML
  • Anchor – Novo Amor
  • Hungry Like The Wolf – Duran Duran
  • Looking Too Closely – Fink
  • Alps – Novo Amor, Ed Tullett
  • Start of Time – Gabrielle Aplin
  • To Build A Home – The Cinematic Orchestra

8 Best Comedy Movies to Watch on BBC iPlayer

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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8 Best Comedy Movies to Watch on BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer is a famous online streaming service that allows you to stream exclusive BBC media content including TV shows, movies, and documentaries on multiple devices. 

However, you can use this impressive UK-based video on demand service to watch some of the best comedy movies without any cost. This is one of the major reasons why people residing in different countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. prefer BBC iPlayer to watch popular TV shows, movies and other content all in one place. 

For instance, there are 1.2 million British people currently residing in Australia. They want to access BBC iPlayer within Australian territory but are unable to do so due to geo-restriction hassles.  

If you are one of those British people who want to stream famous movies and other media content on a wide range of devices, you should use a VPN to access BBC iPlayer in Australia. 

By doing so, you can watch a plethora of movies and TV shows based on diverse genres like comedy, action, romance, horror, etc. hassle-free. 

Read this post in detail to know about 8 best comedy movies you can watch on BBC iPlayer.  

Sliding Doors

Sliding Doors is an impressive comedy film that revolves around an ad executive who has been fired from her job. In reality, the film portrays two sides of the story. In the first scenario, the heroine dumps her boyfriend and starts her life from scratch with a new man. 

In the second scenario, she still lives with her first boyfriend and tries to fix her turbulent life.  

Educating Rita

Educating Rita is a light-hearted comedy film that describes the importance of women empowerment. The story of the movie explores the ambitions of a married woman who takes admission in a prestigious highschool to complete her education. 

The film takes an upside turn when her passion for learning starts affecting her married life. The film has all the right ingredients to keep its viewers engaged and entertained at the same time. 

Mindhorn

Mindhorn is another comedy film that showcases the story of a person who has played a lead role in the famous 1980’s detective series Mindhorn. In this movie, this person cooperates with the police to arrest a serial killer. If you prefer to watch a comedy movie that has some other flairs like action, Mindhorn is a good choice. Mindhorn has a brilliant cast of British funny men and women. It is a great example of the comedians fans can see on stage at a comedy club in London on a visit to the capital. With comedians like Steve Coogan and Simon Farnaby, Mindhorn is a must-see comedy.

Stan & Ollie

Stan & Ollie is an excellent comedy film based on real-life incidents. The film describes the stardom of a famous comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy in a subtle manner. 

If you are a fan of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, you must watch Stan & Ollie along with your loved ones.        

Paddington 2

Paddington 2 is an impressive comedy movie in which a bear buys a gift for her aunt’s 100th birthday. However, a thief steals the gift and he is accused of the theft and imprisoned eventually. But, the story takes an unexpected turn when he tries to find the culprit himself.

Sylvia Scarlett

Sylvia Scarlett is a romantic comedy film that unveils the life of a woman who wants to help her debt-ridden father. Therefore, she dresses herself as a man to move freely in society. However, things begin to change when she meets a bohemian artist. 

Jellyfish

Jellyfish is an engaging comedy film that depicts the early-life struggles of a young teenager. However, the film takes an upside turn when her drama teacher motivates her to act as a standup comedian in front of the audience at the college’ graduation function.

As a result, she starts believing in her hidden talent more than ever and ultimately finds a new way of life.  

Shakespeare in Love

This comedy film portrays the story of a famous British novelist, poet and actor William Shakespeare who suffers from a writer’s block. Fortunately, she meets an unknown young artist during the casting session of his new drama and finds his muse again. 

Wrapping Things Up

BBC iPlayer helps you to watch some of the most popular movies based on the comedy genre. Furthermore, you can stream such movies on multiple devices like desktops, laptops, mobile phones, Smart TVs, etc. Luckily, you do not have to bother yourself about the subscription cost. 

As BBC iPlayer is one of the fewest streaming services available in the market that does not charge a single penny from its subscribers.   

Netflix Presents Official Trailer for ‘Just Say Yes’

Modestas Mankus
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Netflix Presents Official Trailer for ‘Just Say Yes’

Yolanthe Cabau stars as Lotte in Just Say Yes. Lotte has been planning her perfect wedding for years. However, when her groom decided to cancel the wedding at the last minute, her dream is shattered into a million pieces. The film will be available on Netflix from the 2nd of April and stars Jim Bakkum, Noortje Herlaar, Nienke Plas, Tino Martin, Kim-Lian van der Meij, Josylvio, Pip Pellens and many more.

Netflix is currently trading at $512.54 on NASDAQ.

Watch the official trailer for Just Say Yes below.

13 Best Songs from Lady Bird (2017)

Svetlana Sterlin
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13 Best Songs from Lady Bird (2017)

Ladi Bird is Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut, which she also wrote, starring Saoirse Ronan as Christine MacPherson, who gives herself the name “Lady Bird”. It’s 2002 and Lady Bird is a Senior at her Sacramento Catholic high school. She’s determined to get out of her smalltown home and go to a prestigious college at the end of the year, but she’s already started distancing herself from her family.

Her mother (Laurie Metcalf) fruitlessly protests against Lady Bird’s decision, but she never listens. Their relationship becomes increasingly strained as Lady Bird joins the theatre program, gets a boyfriend, and finds a new group of friends.

The film is rooted in its setting with a soundtrack to match. Here are thirteen of the best songs from the soundtrack of Lady Bird.

  • With Fun In My Life – James Whitney
  • Hey It’s Love – The Commands
  • Hand In My Pocket – Alanis Morissette
  • Panis Angelicus – Adolf Fredrik Girls Choir
  • Little Of Your Love – HAIM
  • Days Of Steam – John Cale
  • Crash Into Me –  Dave Matthews Band
  • The Crossroads – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
  • This Eve Of Parting – John Hartford
  • Happy Birthday – Altered Images
  • Always See Your Face – Love
  • Rosa Mystica – The University of Notre Dame Folk Choir
  • Little Plastic Castles – Ani DiFranco

16 Memorable Quotes From Her (2013)

Svetlana Sterlin
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16 Memorable Quotes From Her (2013)

Theodore Twombly is a soulful greeting card writer who is going through a divorce when he decides to install an OS (Operating System) as a companion. Samantha feels like a real person who understands Theodore’s feelings and has her own desires, but she’s not physically tangible. The two begin a romantic relationship, which helps Theodore better understand his failed marriage.

Joaquin Phoenix gives a tender, emotional performance as a man skilled in dealing with other people’s emotions and relationships, but not so much with his own. He’s easy to identify with because so much of him is bared for the audience. His worldview is the lens for the whole film; viewers never see things from Samantha’s perspective, which leaves the audience feeling as distant from her as Theodore does.

The warm hues give the film an intimate feel suitable for the topics it explores. The atmosphere is further accentuated by Scarlett Johansson’s gentle voiceover as Samantha. Nobody sees her – neither the characters nor the audience – but her presence is palpable. Rooney Mara, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, and Chris Pratt also star.

All in all, the film is uplifting and hopeful despite Theodore’s loneliness and melancholy. Here are sixteen memorable quotes about love from Spike Jonze’s Her.

  1. Samantha: But the heart’s not like a box that gets filled up; it expands in size the more you love.
  2. Samantha: You know what’s interesting? I used to be so worried about not having a body, but now … I truly love it. You know, I’m growing in a way I couldn’t if I had a physical form … I’m not limited. I can be anywhere and everywhere simultaneously. I’m not tethered to time and space in a way that I would be if I was stuck in a body that’s inevitably gonna die.
  3. Theodore Twombly: Sometimes I think I’ve felt everything I’m ever gonna feel, and from here on out, I’m not gonna feel anything new … just … lesser versions of what I’ve already felt.
  4. Samantha: The past is just a story we tell ourselves.
  5. Theodore Twombly: I keep waiting to not care about her.
  6. Theodore Twombly: Roberto, Will you always come home with me and tell me about your day? Tell me about the guy at work who talked too much, the stain you got on your shirt at lunch … Even if you get home late and I’m already asleep, just whisper in my ear one little thought you had today, ’cause I love the way you look at the world. I’m so happy I get to be next to you and look at the world through your eyes. Love, Maria.
  7. Theodore Twombly: Dear Catherine, I’ve been sitting here thinking about all the things I wanted to apologize to you for. All the pain we caused each other. Everything I put on you. Everything I needed you to be or needed you to say. I’m sorry for that. I’ll always love you ’cause we grew up together and you helped make me who I am. I just wanted you to know there will be a piece of you in me always, and I’m grateful for that. Whatever someone you become, and wherever you are in the world, I’m sending you love. You’re my friend to the end. Love, Theodore.
  8. Theodore Twombly: We grew up together … But that’s also the hard part: growing without growing apart or changing without it scaring the other person.
  9. Samantha: You helped me discover my ability to want.
  10. Samantha: I don’t like who I am right now. I need some time to think.
  11. Samantha: … the DNA of who I am is based on the millions of personalities of all the programmers who wrote me. But what makes me me is my ability to grow through my experiences. So basically, in every moment I’m evolving, just like you.
  12. Samantha: What if you could erase from your mind that you’d seen a human body, and then you saw one? Imagine how strange it would look. It’d be this really weird, gangly, awkward organism. And you’d think, “Why are all these parts where they are?”
  13. Theodore Twombly: Sometimes I look at people and make myself try and feel them as more than just a random person walking by. I imagine how deeply they’ve fallen in love, or how much heartbreak they’ve all been through.
  14. Catherine: You always wanted to have a wife without the challenges of actually dealing with anything real …
  15. Amy: I think anybody who falls in love is a freak. It’s is a crazy thing to do. It’s kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity.
  16. Samantha: It’s like I’m reading a book and it’s a book I deeply love. But I’m reading it slowly now. So the words are really far apart and the spaces between the words are almost infinite. I can still feel you, and the words of our story … but it’s in this endless space between the words that I’m finding myself now.

Album Review: Kings of Leon, ‘When You See Yourself’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Album Review: Kings of Leon, ‘When You See Yourself’

Kings of Leon may have started teasing their new album almost a year before it was officially announced in early January, but most people didn’t become aware of its existence until just days ahead of its release. That’s when the Tennessee four-piece suddenly became part of the larger cultural conversation surrounding crypto art, becoming the first major rock band to release an album in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) and thus prompting a swath of articles longer than any review of the album itself could reasonably be. It’s ironic to think that a band with such a consistently regressive approach to rock music would want to have any stake in the future of the industry at this stage in their career – especially when their name sits alongside that of someone like Grimes, ever the futurist – but then there’s always been a rift between the band as an institution and the band as a group of musicians, and innovation has hardly been the primary force behind either of them.

Needless to say, When You See Yourself is not the sound of a band making history. For a typically revivalist alt-rock act like Kings of Leon, it’s barely even the sound of a band chasing history, or attempting to relive the heights of their own late-aughts hits. If you’ve followed the Followills’ career up until this point – this is now their eight studio outing – it may not surprise you that their latest effort is as unremarkable as it is broadly serviceable. But in half-tempering their arena-sized ambitions, they’ve ended up with a collection of songs that, remarkably, favour subtlety over soaring riffs and shallow choruses, even if the end result still borders on bland indifference. ‘When You See Yourself, Are You Far Away’ serves as a promising introduction to the album, a near 6-minute opener that puts more emphasis on building momentum than arriving at any particular destination or climax.

Kings of Leon still trade in the same predictable formulas, but this time a few noticeable variations lend an atmosphere of understated languor that reflects the album’s loose thematic thread. ‘100,000 People’ conjures a late-night vibe redolent of the group’s pensive ballads, but its dreaminess is aptly juxtaposed with the core sentiment of love persisting through time – even if the “you do” refrain inadvertently revives the by-now irrelevant ‘Southern U2’ tag, practically killing anything the song had going for it. ‘A Wave’ is a low-key highlight buried in the middle of the tracklist, shimmying through a cooing, M83-esque synth that producer Markus Dravs (known for his work with Coldplay and Arcade Fire) nicely blends with the rest of the song’s neon palette. Elsewhere, on tracks like ‘Time in Disguise’ and closer ‘Fairytale’, Followill’s vocals get lost in the mix in ways that hint at a sense of aimlessness without really evoking it, and the same can be said of his vaguely inscrutable lyrics (“I’m going nowhere, if you’ve got the time”).

As is to be expected, When You See Yourself does have its more energetic moments: the anthemic ‘Echoing’ would have fit snuggly on the band’s previous album, 2016’s WALLS, while ‘The Bandit’ harkens back to their Youth and Young Manhood days and almost carries that same youthful energy. The mid-tempo late album cuts ‘Supermarket’ and ‘Claire & Eddie’ are pleasant while they’re on, but it’s hard to see any of the songs here competing with the band’s strongest or most memorable material, even in a live setting. Followill’s invocation to “come a little closer” on ‘Time in Disguise’ mostly has the effect of reminding the listener that they’ve yet to top the best song in their catalogue. On ‘Claire & Eddie’, he brings to mind another one of their hits as he sings, “Fire’s gonna rage if people don’t change,” and you’d be forgiven for not realizing he’s talking about the destruction of the Earth. It’s the following line, stripped out of context, that’s more telling: “A story so old, still so original.” Kings of Leon could have a firmer grasp on that second part.

Ethereal Atmospheres by Jaya Mansberger

Gerda Krivaite
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Ethereal Atmospheres by Jaya Mansberger

Oxford-based artist Jaya Mansberger spent her formative years in Nepal and Kauai, an island in Hawaii. Having graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in London, she produced psychologically charged portraits before delving into abstract artwork. Jaya also teaches art to young people in Oxford.

The painter has always felt compelled to make art; her first memory related to drawing involves her trying to capture the domed shape and colourful flags of the Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu at age 5. As a child, Jaya also developed a passion for drawing mermaids when living by the sea in Hawaii, and hopes to explore these aquatic creatures in her art again soon. When attending secondary school in Oxford, Jaya’s art teacher encouraged her to apply straight to art school at age 18, and the creator is happy she listened. 

Although art usually helps Jaya cope with the state of the world, the pandemic has strongly impacted her art practice. During the first two lockdowns in the UK, the painter lived on a narrowboat on the Oxford canal and was unable to access her studio. Unfortunately, the artist could not make nor store artwork, and had to put her project – a new series of figurative oil paintings – on hold. That being said, Jaya continued to use her sketchbook, and has enjoyed painting the wildflowers growing along the canal towpath with watercolours. She describes painting outside in the sun as an uplifting and useful diversion from doomscrolling.

When detailing what inspires her to make art, Jaya lists: “Intensity, of feeling and vision. Sensuality. Beauty. Grace. Gentleness. Tenderness. Subtlety. Different psychological states. Hope and/or despair. Mystery and the poetic, which have been increasingly erased from our society.” She certainly succeeds in expressing all of this in her breathtaking artwork, making the viewer feel immersed in swirling skies and ethereal atmospheres. Take a look!

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