Eric Van Nynatten, a US-based photographer and artist, has once again presented a superb series named New York Observations. The series was taken on an iPhone 8 Plus and edited fully on the VSCO app, which makes it that more impressive.
Celeste is back and this time with another phenomenal song named Coco Blood. Unsurprisingly, we are presented with the incomparably magical vocals of Celeste that deserve the highest praise and are present throughout Celeste’s wider discography. Coco Blood is a truly ear-pleasing song.
An intense journey with a wave of melancholy is arguably the best way to describe the latest project by the beloved Marcus Grimm, who just recently released Night Rush. The characteristics of previous projects of Grimm are present in Night Rush, and we can clearly hear that Grimm has developed an authentic style that will put his name in the premier league of neo-classical artists in the near future. We are thrilled to see what is next for Grimm.
Jake Troth, a US-based artist, released a charming piece named Open Door. In this piece, Troth delivers beautiful vocals and well-flowing lyrics to our ears, that will have you hooked from the first note. This one is for the playlists.
Exploring themes of greed and its terrible consequences, Gamera vs. Barugon is an entertaining, if sometimes slow, Gamera outing. Perhaps the best of the original Showa run of Gamera films, Gamera vs. Barugon mixes interesting human drama with a menacing lizard monstrosity, and marks Gamera’s first colour appearance.
The scheming Onodera (Kōji Fujiyama), oblivious Keisuke (Kojiro Hongo), and chipper Kawajiri (Yuzo Hayakawa) are sent by a World War II veteran to an island in the South Pacific to retrieve a large opal hidden during the war. After venturing into the ‘valley of rainbows’ (called so and feared by the island residents) Onodera lets Kawajiri die and leaves Keisuke for dead. Onodera then takes the opal and returns to Japan. Keisuke wakes to find he’s been taken care of by Karen (Kyoko Enami), an island resident. En route to Japan, Onodera accidentally exposes the opal to infrared rays, exacerbating the growth of the organism within: Barugon. Karen and Keisuke return to Japan, armed with knowledge that could help stop the now-giant lizard.
The film’s depiction of greed is a little two-dimensional. Koji Fujiyama’s Onodera is very straightforward in his self-serving ways. However, what works is that the film leans into that presentation, and creates a genuinely unlikeable antagonist in the process. When Onodera accidentally blurts out that he killed Kawajira and Keisuke, he murders the veteran and their wife. The short brawl before Onodera kills the pair is devoid of humour, especially when he hits the veteran’s wife in a stark moment. Scenes like this may not round out the character, but they succeed in eliciting an emotional response to such wickedness.
What’s unique here is that one of the main protagonists is part of the depiction of greed. Unlike Toho’s Mothra (1961) or Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), wherein the main characters stand clearly opposed to the greed around them, Gamera vs. Barugon presents us with a lead (Keisuke) who shares culpability for the arrival of the monster, Barugon.
What Gamera vs. Barugon has therefore, is an interesting look at guilt and shame. These emotions define Keisuke’s actions for the rest of the film. In turn, they make him a more interesting character, one who feels the weight of the destruction Barugon brings. Indeed, the whole film carries emotional material with a respectable maturity. A quiet moment in which Keisuke looks over a photo of the deceased Kawajiri’s wife and child is markedly upsetting. This character perspective makes Keisuke unique, his guilt stirring him to action, and to realise his redemption.
An air of cynicism and bleakness pervades much of the film, best illustrated in a scene in a shelter in Osaka as Barugon ravages the city above. Tranquil koto music on the radio juxtaposes the terrified faces of mothers grasping their children. A man’s casual gripe about “another atomic bomb” is stark. This is on top of a range of characters whose motives are grimly self-serving.
Gamera looks great in this film. With a permanent scowl, Gamera genuinely looks as if he hates Barugon, adding delicious excitement to the beasts’ encounters. Barugon’s design is simple in construction. He is, for all intents and purposes, a large lizard. But it’s the ingenious choices made with Barugon’s powers that truly make him a worthy foe for the titanic terrapin. From his back, Barugon can launch a rainbow death ray, obliterating all it touches. From his mouth, Barugon’s tongue extends to spray a jet of ice, freezing all before it. These powers and their use in the film come almost entirely without warning, raising the stakes in a surprising fashion.
The film maintains a slow pace throughout, and it’s a big detractor. The human drama and the monster sequences are engaging, but they become stifled after Barugon appears because the film indulges in military meetings about stopping the beast. While this means we’re eventually treated to some great sequences, such as Barugon destroying several missiles using his rainbow death ray, these preceding scenes are a bit tedious.
Whilst elements such as its pace can detract, Gamera vs. Barugon presents an entertaining story with interesting themes. Some of its characters may be thinly constructed in their motives and morality, but that also allows the film to really embellish just how cruel and villainous they are. The remainder of Gamera’s Showa outings would develop to entertain children first and foremost, and the grim tone of Barugon wouldn’t be seen again until the series’ reboot in the 1990s. That said, Gamera vs. Barugon deserves another look, the tonal black sheep of the Showa Gamera era.
Hailing from Ontario, Canada, Cat Clyde is a singer-songwriter who takes the traditional sounds of blues and soul and puts a contemporary indie rock spin on them. On top of that, she also utilizes her truly powerful and evocative voice and potent lyricism to take this fresh musical blend to another level. Her hit 2016 single ‘Mama Said’ off her debut album Ivory Castanets reached over 7 million streams on Spotify alone, while in 2018 she embarked on a sold-out tour opening up for Shakey Graves. Her sophomore record, Hunters Trance, which was expected to drop last year, was released earlier this summer, and it sees Cat developing and expanding her sound while still retaining what made her approach special in the first place.
In this interview, Cat Clyde talks about her inspirations, the difficulties she faced while recording Hunters Trance, and more.
I was always singing, and drawn towards music. It’s just always something that has attracted me and I’ve always followed that.
My life inspires my songwriting, my experiences, people, places, landscapes, and weather. I’m open to inspiration wherever and however it comes.
I feel very connected to nature. I feel that I am very sensitive to my surroundings when I am in nature, and it fills me up like nothing else can. I feel very aware and awake when I am in nature and it’s very important for my well being to surround myself with the earth and connect to the earth so I can fill up my cup before going out and facing the world.
There was not a concept behind Hunters Trance, I just kind of collect my songs as I go and when I feel I have what I need I lay everything out and put all the pieces in place.
The process of making this record was really incredible and difficult. I started in February of 2018 where I rented a small cabin in the woods and built a little studio inside. I brought in a really awesome surf soul band from Toronto called Carlo, and we spent about a week recording there and it was really magical. After this I decided that I hadn’t quite got all the songs exactly where I wanted them, so I went to Bear Creek Studios and recorded there for about two weeks where I recorded with studio musicians, which I had never done before. After that, I still felt that I hadn’t gotten everything, so I went to my dear friend Jeremie’s country house, set up some gear and finished the album with him and my partner. Most of my last year was spent feeling extremely anxious and unsettled because I just wanted to complete the record, but everything had to feel just right. Making this record was very different compared to Ivory Castanets because it was done in one location, with all the same people, so there was a lot of consistency, and I felt that everyone involved had a similar vision so everything went very smoothly and easy. Though it was really difficult at times, I felt that I learned so much and looking back I wouldn’t change anything about the experience.
I’ve just started playing with a full band, so all the songs have a new life and energy to them which makes them all really exciting and fun to play. At this very moment, I would probably say “Bird Bone” though.
Tour just started in Eastern Quebec but so far so good! I have never been to that part of Canada before and was very astounded at how beautiful the area is and how welcoming and lovely the people I met were. We stayed up all night, had a bonfire and watched the sun come up over the ocean in Perce, which was a really wonderful experience.
I’ve got plans on plans on plans. I’ve been working heavily on some side projects as well as continuing to collect and write more songs for my next record. I’ve also been getting more into photography and videos and would like to keep working at those skills and utilize them to create more interesting and unique content.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on July 26th, 2019:
Chance the Rapper, The Big Day: Chance the Rapper has dropped his long-awaited debut album, The Big Day, a follow-up to his independently-released mixtape Coloring Book in 2016. It was announced last week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with the Chicago rapper explaining: “I haven’t sold my projects before. A lot of my projects were free. This is my debut album, so there’s a pre-order and I told Jimmy to pre-order my album. And he was like, ‘If you say the release date on my show.”
Violent Femmes, Hotel Last Resort: Following the band’s not-so-well-received comeback in 2016 with We Can Do Anything, which was their first studio album in 16 years, legendary acoustic-punk outfit Violent Femmes return once again with a new record titled Hotel Last Resort. The album includes the previously released title track featuring Television guitarist Tom Verlaine, covers of Greek band Pyx Lax’s ‘I’m Not Gonna Cry’ and Irving Berlin’s ‘God Bless America’, as well as a guest appearance from pro skateboarder Stefan Janoski. Bassist Brian Ritchie described the album as “probably the best one we’ve made since Hallowed Ground, which is a long time. It’s just a very focused album, the songs all hold together. It’s a classic album, in the sense that people should actually sit down and listen to the whole thing.”
Swain, Negative Space: Alternative rock band Swain follow up their acclaimed 2016 album The Long Dark Blue with Negative Space, out now via End Hits Records. The band (f.k.a. This Routine Is Hell) previously released the singles ‘Negative Space’ and ‘But Then What’. They explain via their Facebook page: “Recording this album has been a large step into a strange new direction for us. To be honest it’s pretty weird having recorded such a different album and then having to wait 6 months while hoping people are interested enough to keep following us in this journey.”
Lisel, Angels On the Slope: Lisel is the solo project of experimental producer and artist Eliza Bagg, known as half of the band Pavo Pavo. During the past few years, she’s collaborated with the likes of Helado Negro and Julianna Barwick, as well as working on her skills as a classical singer by performing in avant-garde operas. “My main instrument is my voice, not a keyboard or a guitar, so I wanted it to be the genesis of every song,” she explains. “I was trying to use the resources I had within me, within my body, to make something that feels true about the way we live our lives now, in 2019. That’s why I wanted to focus on my voice – I wanted each song to be literally made out of me.”
Other albums out today: Of Monsters and Men, Fever Dream; Kaiser Chiefs, Duck; BJ The Chicago Kid, 1123; Spoon, Everything Hits at Once; Luray, Dig; Sugar Ray, Little Yachty.
Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is an enduring masterwork. Among the more unlikely of success stories, the iconic concept album has transcended generations and has never dipped in popularity since its 1978 debut. It can often even be spotted among the standard stock on the vinyl shelves at ASDA (which is bizarre enough in and of itself). Reading this, you can probably hear melodies from “The Eve of the War” or “Forever Autumn” playing in your head. Despite its incredible and enduring success, it’s easy to imagine a timeline in which the album was but a curious footnote in music (and sci-fi) history. A then-80-year-old alien invasion novel adapted as an abstract musical via a fusion of progressive-rock and classical orchestration? Despite everything, Wayne’s album was a monumental success, and even managed to make something of a pop star out of Richard Burton. But if you want a glimpse into a world where the album failed to take off and remains a curious obscurity, I’d suggest you have a listen to Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of Spartacus.
Hang on – his musical version of… what? I don’t blame you if you haven’t heard of Wayne’s Spartacus. The popular myth of the gladiator-turned-rebel has been definitively overshadowed by Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 epic, bulldozing subsequent interpretations and adaptations. However, I’m not convinced that Kubrick’s version is the reason for the obscurity of Wayne’s. In 1992, he re-assembled some of the creative team behind The War of the Worlds and – like a merciful Roman general – released his musical interpretation of Spartacus. The album features the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins (narrating as the ruthless Marcus Crassus), a young Catherine Zeta Jones (co-narrating as Palene, and nabbing a debut single in the form of “For All Time”), Fish (lead singer of Marillion, playing Crixus), the mighty Ladysmith Black Mambazo (as the musical voices of Spartacus’ army), and Alan King (of Walk on Fire) as Spartacus, the Hawk, himself. Like The War of the Worlds, the album is presented as a musical story in two parts: the first disc is “Animal & Man”, telling the story of Spartacus’ revolt and slave rebellion against the brutality of Rome; the second is “The Parting of the Ways”, chronicling Spartacus’ hubris and the downfall of the uprising, and its eventual defeat at the hands of Crassus.
Beyond the contents of the album itself and those involved in its creation, information on Jeff Wayne’s Spartacus is scarce. Amazon provides a release date of September 21st, 1992, but this is entirely unverifiable. In addition, archival reviews from its release are hard to come by: with a quick Google search, the only reviews available come from users on websites like Amazon, Rate Your Music, and Prog Archives. The album appears to have entered obscurity upon release, with absolutely no immediate or lasting impact on popular culture whatsoever; it also appears to have only received its initial 1992 pressings and seems to have remained out of print since, with online sellers currently attempting to shift copies at upwards of £90. I myself had a bit of a hard time finding my copy years ago: after years of trying to find it in record stores and charity shops (as is always so much more satisfying than a simple online click), I relented and bought a copy from eBay. I can’t remember exactly what I paid, but it was nowhere near £90. The album isn’t even available to stream or purchase digitally anywhere. The Hawk’s wings have been well and truly clipped.
Let’s get one thing straight: Spartacus is not a patch on The War of the Worlds. Sadly, it doesn’t even approach the greatness of its timeless predecessor. But that’s not to say it is without merit of its own. Most of the cast are excellent, providing equally engaging spoken-word and sung performances. Anthony Hopkins in particular brings the quiet, seething anger and hatred of Crassus to menacing life very effectively and, like Richard Burton in The War of the Worlds before him, brings genuine gravitas to proceedings. Hopkins’ performance contrasts Burton’s stoic, reserved narrator, coming across more as a hate-fuelled train of thought rather than an objective recollection. Hopkins is particularly excellent during “Animal & Man (Part One)”, during which Crassus describes the genuine fear he feels upon witnessing Spartacus in the arena for the first time and seeing “the Thracian’s defiance of Roman authority”, as the crowd stamp their feet and cheer in approval.
The two-part “Animal & Man” is a highlight of the first disc and introduces two chants which recur throughout the album: the first, the Roman crowd’s bloodthirsty cries of “Jugular, jugular!” as they goad gladiators into slaying one another. Comparable to the terrible “Ulla!” cries of the Martian war machines from The War of the Worlds, these cries serve as a haunting reminder to Spartacus of his struggle to escape his gladiatorial past, as he attempts to reconcile the savagery of his rebellion with the cost of freedom. The second repeated cry is “Salutant Spartacus!”, the anthem of Spartacus’ defiance which provides grounding and consistency throughout the musical journey and ensures the action and story remain focused. Unlike the Martian tripods’ wail, however, the cry of “Salutant!” inspires at least a modicum of hope and courage. Spartacus’ bloody triumph against the Roman empire reaches a triumphant but violent crescendo with the epic final track of the first disc, “The Eagle & The Hawk”. As Spartacus (the Hawk) scores victory upon victory against Rome (the Eagle) and its forces, Alan King’s verbose, victorious vocals (singing, “Now look how high the Eagle flies / He once was king of all the skies / Oh, but see how easy he dies / Caught on the sword of liberty”) perfectly portray the pompous, arrogant hubris of the doomed gladiator.
The second disc, “The Parting of the Ways”, is altogether weaker as it inevitably leads toward an unhappy, brutal ending. Unlike The War of the Worlds, there is no sudden, surprise defeat of the enemy. The rebellious heroes are picked off one by one, and Crassus is ultimately victorious as Palene searches for Spartacus’ corpse along the Appian Way. There is a glint of hope, however, as she spots a hawk flying high over the bloody path. “The Parting of the Ways” is not without merit, though. Hopkins once again gorges on the proverbial scenery, as a maddened Crassus is finally allowed to lead an army against Spartacus. “Going Home” superbly demonstrates the incredible range of the untouchable Ladysmith Black Mambazo, providing the chorus of vocals representing Spartacus’ followers as they sound their plea to return home as a free people. A reprise of “The Eagle & The Hawk” picks up the conclusion a little, but ultimately the album’s second half fails to top the highs of the first. Those hoping for a musical twist on Kubrick’s famous “I am Spartacus!” scene will be disappointed.
While none of the tracks on Jeff Wayne’s Spartacus reach the heights of classics like “Thunder Child”, “The Spirit of Man”, and “Brave New World”, it’s a sincere shame that the album’s failure seems to have discouraged Wayne from exploring musical ventures beyond his Martian invasion. Indeed, all his subsequent projects have been new interpretations and re-releases of The War of the Worlds, with no new original compositions to be seen. While certainly no classic, Spartacus deserves to be heard again. A slick vinyl re-release, complete with digital and streaming debuts, would serve this curious, epic little album well. And perhaps, more importantly, it would encourage Wayne flex his musical muscles once again, and give us just one more Musical Version of… ?
Salutant Spartacus!
Irina Kruglova, a Russian-based artist, released a magnificent series that explores emotion through shape and colour named Emotionalia.
Writing about the series Kruglova stated: “Emotions surround us. We have them, and this means we’re alive. Emotions are different. Love, hate, anger, grief, nostalgia, stress, surprise or orgasm. I have loads of them in my life and while doing this art project I tried to describe what every emotion feels like. Headache and stomach pains are different. So are the emotions. There is no formula for love as well as for every other emotion. To me, these are just microparticles and molecules running somewhere around our stomach and you hardly can describe this with words. But you can try to do it with the power of art.”
You can find more work by Irina Kruglova here.
Jeremiah Shaw, an artist and designer from the U.S, released a sublime minimalistic series named Simple Compositions. In this small personal series, Shaw explores basic shapes, vibrant colours, and eye-pleasing textures that equal a fine balance between each object.
Writing about the personal project Shaw stated: “This series explores the combination of primitive shapes, textures and foliage to depict scenes of balance and weightlessness. I tried to focus on interesting minimal compositions and simple satisfying color palettes over complex and detailed scenes. All scenes were modeled in C4D, rendered using Octane, and composited in Photoshop.”
You can find more work by Jeremiah Shaw here.
In this weekly segment, we review the most notable albums out each Friday and pick our album of the week. Here are this week’s releases:
The Flaming Lips, King’s Mouth
After the existential dread of 2013’s The Terror and the run-of-the-mill psych-pop of 2017’s Oczy Mlody, King’s Mouth is a welcome return to form for The Flaming Lips. Originally issued for Record Store Day this April as a limited run of 4,000 gold-colored vinyls, King’s Mouth sees the band embarking on the kind of eccentric, over-the-top, goofy psychedelic ride they became known for. Narrated by The Clash’s Mick Jones of all people, this concept album, a sort of accompaniment to frontman Wayne Coyne’s art exhibit and children’s storybook of the same name, tells the story of a king with a giant head who devours the whole universe. It’s not the most meaningful and profound narrative the band have conjured up, but it’s an endlessly enjoyable and engaging larger-than-life journey that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome at 41 minutes. From short, playful cuts like ‘Feedaloodum Beetle Dot’ to the tongue-in-cheek ‘Giant Baby’ or the memorable near-6-minute highlight ‘The Sparrow’ and the genuinely heartfelt closer ‘How Can A Head?’, this one’s definitely gonna go down as a late-career classic for the Lips.
Rating: 8/10
Highlights: ‘The Sparrow’, ‘How Many Times’, ‘Mouth of the King’, ‘How Can a Head’
Nas, The Lost Tapes 2
Fans have been waiting seventeen long years for the release of The Lost Tapes 2, a sequel to the 2002 fan-favorite The Lost Tapes which compiled songs that did not make it into Nas’ albums. The follow-up to last year’s underwhelming, Kanye West-produced Nasir will most probably not disappoint those hardcore fans: it’s a whole hour of mostly consistent though not outstanding material. There is nothing on The Lost Tapes 2 that is outright terrible or even bad (except perhaps the awkward ‘Adult Film’ ft. Swizz Beats), but it’s safe to say it might test the patience of more casual fans, as Nas competently raps about familiar topics over serviceable beats (see ‘Lost Freestyle’ and opener ‘Bad Energy’). There are exceptions, like the surprisingly jazzy ‘Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)’, a stand-out in the tracklisting if only for its unusual flow, or the more nostalgic ‘Queens Wolf’. For the most part, though, The Lost Tapes 2 is just okay.
Rating: 6/10
Highlights: ‘Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)’ ft. Al Jarreau, Keyon Harrold, ‘Who Are You’ ft. David Ranier, ‘War Against Love’, ‘Queens Wolf’
Album of the Week: Ada Lea, what we say in private
It’s rare that a debut album is as fierce yet vulnerable as Ada Lea’s impressive what we say in private. Musically, the record sits somewhere between the righteous punk rock energy of Sleater-Kinney and the raw acoustic intimacy of Big Thief while still remaining an incredibly cohesive listen. But what takes this effort to another level is the fact that Ada Lea manages to inject even the most seemingly straightforward and infectious moments with wildly experimental left turns, like on the stunning ‘wild heart’ or the explosive ‘for real now (not pretend)’. The result of a 180-day period of intense introspection following a break-up, the album also lyrically explores deeply personal themes, like on the perfectly hushed ‘the party’ or the diary-like ‘180 days’, where she sings: “I want the days to go by/ Half the year to be precise/ I wanna spend all my time/ Keepin’ track of cycles of moon and sky/ Smash your head on the pavement/ Just to feel near to something new”. And then there’s the stand-out single ‘what makes me sad’, with its soul-crushing refrain and powerful instrumental, or the beautifully poetic ‘yanking the pearls off around my neck…’. For the sake of being somewhat optimistic, when all is said and done, there is hope for catharsis after all the pain and heartbreak.
Ranking: 9/10
Highlights: ‘wild heart’, the party’, ‘for real now (not pretend)’, ‘what makes me sad’, ‘yanking the pearls off around my neck…’, ‘easy’
IDER, Emotional Education
Emotional Education‘s defining moment comes late on the album, on the penultimate track ‘Saddest Generation’: “One in four, one in four/ We must be the saddest generation/ Is there any hope for us all?/ One in four, one in four/ Where is the emotional education we’re all looking for?”. Like many other so-called smart-pop acts of our time, the duo IDER do their best on their debut album to capture the specific kind of generational melancholy that defines millennials, evoking the likes of Lorde and labelmates Chvrches. There’s not much that sonically separates them from such electropop outfits, except for the notable chemistry between Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville, but they definitely achieve what they’re going for conceptually. What’s more, the hooks on tracks like ‘Wu Baby’ and ‘Invincible’ are nothing if not memorable, while the duo’s soft side also shines on the album’s more laid-back moments, namely the hopeful ‘You’ve Got Your Whole Life Ahead of You Baby’ or the piano-led ‘Body Love’ that’s reminiscent of Ghost Stories-era Coldplay (I take that as a good thing, for the record) and might as well be the album’s most affecting moment. Though the album occasionally veers off into generic territory (‘Swim’), there is definitely potential here.
Rating: 7/10
Highlights: ‘Wu Baby’, ‘Invincible’, Body Love’, ‘Saddest Generation’
Jose David Morales, a Spanish illustrator and artist, a while back released an old personal project named My Struggle (Mi Lucha). In this series of illustrations, Morales utilises his signature shapes and powerful colours that stand out from the page.
Writing about the series Morales stated: “My Struggle – “mi lucha” in Spanish – is a very personal project I made some years ago. It had not seen the light until now. It speaks about my personal vision of life in that moment, and life seen as a struggle of the individual in understanding”
You can find more work by Jose David Morales here.
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