Gair Rhydd

Sunshine

Dir: Danny Boyle, Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Bryne, Chris Evans

The Sun is dying, and only eight intrepid astronauts can blast it back into life, where a previous mission failed. Sunshine has been billed as a splice between the Alien films and 2001: A Space Odyssey – but retains only the worst features of each.

It certainly lacks the commitment to scientific accuracy of 2001. Despite director Danny Boyle’s claim that the team went to the trouble of trying to get every calculation correct, they seem to have forgotten that the Earth actually moves. Yet perhaps griping about having to drive our Script Bus over the plotholes misses the point: it’s not about the hard science; it’s about the human stories. But they’re disappointing too.

Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures Warp

A common theme between tonight’s headliner and support act lies in their frontmen. Both bands are truly led from the front by instrumentless wordsmiths.

Though they’re backed up by bandmates that are clearly more than able, these musicians do not come close to stealing the show. However, there are great differences between the boys Eddie and Paul. Art Brut’s Argos has the crowd eating out of his hand.

The Fall

It’s 10.20pm at the Point and for 15 minutes a video screen mounted behind the stage has been showing repeated slow motion videos of James Brown, moulded into Pavarotti, blended into Sadaam Hussain – or that’s what it looks like to me.

Over the top plays obnoxiously edited audio of shouting, screaming and a general cacophony of noises that wouldn’t be out of place in Abu Ghraib. Next to me stands a middle-aged truck driver nursing a half pint of bitter, he leans over and says, “I’m never quite sure whether or not to let him get away with it”, and every Fall fan knows exactly what he means. Putting up with dock hand come intellectual come seminal rock front man Mark E Smiths own brand of anti-aesthetic bullshit is a constant challenge, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.

In Review: M.A.C.H

Modified Air Combat Heroes Is an acronym that has blatantly been reverse engineered by twatty marketing types. People who get to wear their own clothes to work and use phrases like ‘edgy’ and ‘bling’ far too much.

However it is also the first aviation themed racer to appear on the PSP, developed by the same company that brought us the brilliant F.E.A.R (A.K.A. First Encounter Assault Recon), a stupidly titled game that proved unbelievably enjoyable – here’s hoping.

Life of Si

Film Si fills you in on whats going on in his film infested mind

So apart from experimenting with rubbing baby oil on my chest to see if I can make myself look like one of the guys from 300, my easter break has involved little more than hidding under my blankets with my laptop immersed in a nerdy world of film gossip and trivia.

Ok, so one of the first things I learnt was why my baby oil attempts failled. Supposedly for the aforementioned homo-erotic, greek epic punch up the entire cast was made to not only spend six months bulking up before shooting even commenced but were forced to spend fifteen minutes working out before every take in order for their muscles to be looking taught and rippling each time they’re on screen.

Oldies But Goodies/Baddies

Super Mario Brothers

When I was five I loved this game, and I still love it now. It was best played on its original UK release format the NES. Having no save function meant that after 15 arduous hours of Koopa stomping, the ridiculously un-ergonomic pad became harder to hold on to than a monogamous girlfriend at an ‘I-look-a-lot-like-that-guy-your-girlfriend-fancies’ party. Perseverance as always was the key, and after numerous sick days I found myself treated to the delightful end sequence. Mario has crossed both fire and ice, dealt with monsters the likes of which most plumbers will never encounter. He could have stayed at home charging extortionate prices for fixing stop cocks. But he went out on a limb for love. And how does frigid Princess Peach repay him? A simple, platonic kiss. At-the tender age of five I learnt a valuable lesson about the class system. Mario, no matter how hard he tries will always be a plumber and Kate Middleton will never reply to my letters.

Re-living the dream

Affable Idiot John Davies gets back to grips with old-school gaming

The green creature that forward rolled and somersaulted into his opponents was my choice of character in Street Fighter 2, which I played on the super Famicom that my step-brother had bought mail order from China. It was the only game that I would play by myself. To me gaming was all about standing up in a café feeding ten pence pieces into a big machine. It was all about the company of the other kids crowding around a small screen to see if you could find the right portal or kill the end boss while drinking blue slush puppies through a straw.

So when I agreed to try and re-create these moments of beauty in my own home on my PC, by using something called an emulator, I didn’t expect it to be the most frustrating thing I have attempted since trying to catheterize a 74-year-old lady for the fifth time in a morning.

In Review: COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS

I’ve looked forward to this game for ages and now I’m disappointed. If this game had been released four years ago it would be hailed as one of the best RTS in history, it would have received plaudits from the most resonant of it’s critics and I would’ve been absolutely chevved.

Unfortunately it has been released in the wake of titles like Supreme Commander and Company of Heroes, titles in which victory cannot be assured by simply building enough tanks to overwhelm opposition, where flanking units makes a difference and where effective full frontal assaults on enemy positions are as rare as sparrows teeth.

TMNT

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were two young comic book artists who conceived the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1984 as the result of a joke.

A pastiche of violent ninja comics that were in vogue at the time (see Frank Miller’s Ronin), mutant superheroes and the anthropomorphised misanthropy of Cerebus the Aardvark, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exploded into a phenomenon. The precursor to similarly huge multimedia brands such as Pokémon or Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, the Ninja Turtles were an interesting concept that ran out of steam.

Blades of Glory

The Will Ferrell formula is one that can be broken down into three distinct ingredients. The first of these is that his characters must always be highly successful braggarts with delusions of grandeur.

The second dictates that he will prove an unlikely hit with the ladies, (always) flocking to him in at least one scene.

Drawings

This exhibition offers an exclusive overview of da Vinci’s career and the variety of his subjects and techniques.

The drawings include scientific sketches of gun barrels and mortars, plants and studies for paintings and statues. As for the latter, there is a surprising drawing based on Michelangelo’s David.

Angus Mcbean

McBean was one of the most prominent portrait photographers of the

20th century, with a career that was both imaginative andever-evolving.

Diversions

Exposure sees Diversions return to the stage with a new triple bill for 2007. Each of the dances is remarkably different from the others and it’s this variety that draws audiences back to see the dance company time and again.

Up Close and Personal was a sumptuous affair to start off the evening, complete with rich velvet and lace costumes and an emphasis on the elegance of movement. The piece is set to one of Mozart’s piano quartets and the dancers fully immersed themselves in classic, traditional steps. However, Up Close and Personal seemed to lack some of the vitality that usually characterises Diversions’ work and left me feeling there was something missing.

Russell Howard

Russell Howard, recent star of Mock of the Week, is infectious. With a super-elasticised, improvisational mind and massive enthusiasm, his show was superb.

His act is largely positive and is based around real-life experiences. He blithely takes the mick out of human stupidity, discussing everything from falling in love five times every train journey to the guy in the front row that walked into a tree.

Manga - A different kind of graphic novel

After the recent success of films based on graphic novels at the box office, Books examines its favourite style...

Over the past few years, there has been an influx of films storming the box office that are based on graphic novels. In a time when books sales are dropping in favour of other mediums, this can only be a good thing.

Success in the cinema, such as Batman Returns, Sin City and 300 have achieved, means that graphic novels are quickly becoming one of the best selling genres, especially amongst teenagers across the globe. Yet manga, one of the longest and best selling types of graphic novel, often slips under the radar in the UK, within our age group and above (this is not the case in younger children, in which the drawing/reading/watching of manga or anime has quickly become an obsession).

The World of Books - Australasia

Continuing our look at books from around the world, this week Books goes down under to explore the best of Australasia

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

How does Scotland sound?

Scotland is a country that has a surprisingly diverse array of musical talent for a country of its size. It generally lacks the powerhouses of Wales, such as your common-garden Manics and Stereophonics, instead birthing bands with smaller but equally passionate fanbases.

On the indie-shaped side of things you have bands such as the dulcet Camera Obscura, post-rock legends Mogwai, the heavier angst drive of Biffy Clyro and Idlewild and twee darlings Belle and Sebastian (themselves one of the few big bands to play my hometown of Dunoon, along with Blur and Ocean Colour Scene).

Mixtape 2

The alternative evening to the volume next door begins with The Spencer McGarry Season, a three man band from Cardiff, who boast a delightfully upbeat, eclectic sound, with jangly guitars and effortless vocals. Both charming and infectious, they’ll make you tap your feet, smile and bob your head like a dickhead. Maybe it’s the braces.

Gethin Pearson & The Scenery blend together a beautiful mix of complimenting strings, lyrics and guitar and is, to be honest, fucking fantastic. Ignore the occasional blast of emo shit from next door, and these three put on one of the best performances of the night, especially during single Shatterproof.

Mixtape 1

Why are you so shit?’ Another Gindrinker concert, another moron not quite getting it.  To be fair, it’s not hard to see why, screeched vocals about Bullseye and guitar rape in abundance does not a happy emo crowd make.

I literally do not care though, because Gindrinker are easily going to be the highlight tonight, and you should be pleased you got the chance to see them. Ashokan are next to take the stage, and are apparently Welsh Language. I couldn’t really tell, as whatever words there were to their songs was hidden behind needless retching and vomiting noises.

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite worst nightmare

Talkin’ bout the big monkey man

Picture this: Cheeky little northern lad forms band, writes songs about clubs, bouncers and all that rubbish, gets massive and becomes the nations flavour of the week. What’s the next move?

The notoriously fickle music industry waits with baited breath. Well in the case of t’ Monkeys you follow it up with a collection of grime rock – no frills songs about music industry sleezeballs clad in t-shirts and ties (Brainstorm) and a middle aged woman’s dreary sex life (Adolescent Fluorescent).

Groove Armada - Soundboy Rock

It’s all about the groovy baby

Groove Armada’s latest offering combines elements of house, electro, reggae and rock. At its best it’s innovative and infectious, whereas at its worst it’s repetitive and mindless.

Fifteen tracks feels like too much dance and electronica in the same place, and the album would be much more focused if the selection was smaller.

The Electric Soft Parade - No Need To Be Downhearted

It’s electrifying...and soft

It’s now four years since The Electric Soft Parade’s second – and most recent – album. Given such a long time to work on a follow-up, one might expect the end result to be much better than No Need To Be Downhearted.

This tame offering simply makes us wonder what the band was doing in theintervening period. Admittedly some of the tracks are perfectly pleasant, however too few of them possess the spark of early singles like There’s A Silence, the likes of which gained this Brighton band great notoriety at the start of the century. Indeed with the exception of Misunderstanding and the lively Cold World, there is nothing on this album that you would recognise if you heard it again. Even these tracks are not really up to The Electric Soft Parade’s previous high standards, and this really serves to emphasise the lack of progress made.

The Voices - The Sound of Young America

The Sound of Young Cardiff

Way, way back in the nineties bands made music that didn’t just fill a demographic, but sounded different and difficult, music you had to work at.

Times have changed, but it’s nice to know some bands, such as The Voices are still carrying this tradition on.With the drone of guitars, piano and even organ never really letting up throughout the album with subtle melodies washed over the top the Voices certainly take some getting used too.

Mark Ronson - Version

Does what it says on the tin

As a rule, albeit one of over generalised and grandiosely assuming proportions, there are two occurrences in the field of music that are rarely enjoyable; cover versions and compilations.

The combination of the two smacks of arrogance with a hint of lunacy. Add to this already repugnant mix a marching band’s worth of noodling brass instruments and you have is something akin to a reconstituted broth made from the unsuspecting body parts of ‘the talented’.

Josh Pyke - Memories and Dust

Fishy

Josh Pyke is yet another bearded singer/songwriter joining the proverbial queue for the title of ‘best sensitive male with a guitar’.

With the queue already stretching out of the door, snaking in and out of those barriers made out of seatbelts and into the car park, one can only hope that his queue jumping skills are up to scratch.

Andrew Bird - Armchair Aprocrypha

John

Andrew Bird is one of those artists who feel like they should be far more well known than they are, his previous album The Mysterious Production of Eggs being a wonderful array of plucked violin, perfectly picked vocal melodies and a plethora of found percussion.

Armchair Apocrypha is largely more of the same but this doesn’t detract from the fact that it is a lovely collection of songs written by a singer songwriter of astounding interest and originality.

The Maccabees - Colour it In

Racist

Colour It In is a charming debut loaded with delightfully jerky heart-stopping love songs that make this young lady want to give up her much cherished singledom and get one of those boyfriend things.

With tracks such as X-Ray and First Love The Maccabees prove more than capable of creating indie-pop that makes you want to dance with glee and weep uncontrollably. At the same time. The haunting yet sensuous vocals of Orlando Weeks combined with beautifully engaging lyrics are what set this band apart from the masses of silly hair-inspired indie bands that are looding the scene.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81

Left-eye Lopez’s tragic demise

I have to admit, I’ve not listened to BRMC since 2002, in the days of their debut album B.R.M.C. But despite the five-year gap, I love Baby 81, their fourth album, even more than their first.

This album features their recently released single Weapon Of Choice, which is basically, bloody good. It’s an anthem with raw guitars, rasping but melodic vocals, and an adrenalin fuelled pace. The album retains the heaviness of their former selves, but it’s evident that their sound has been spiked with a wider variety of instruments. Need Some Air, is punchy and catchy, while Killing The Light takes the mood down to bluesy rock, with a dynamic chorus.

Seefeel - Quique (redux)

Eeeeeeeeeeel

Climactic Phase #3 gave me déjà vu again and again. It’s a dreamlike track, which somehow makes all normally perfectly tactile things seem hazy and imagined. While initially seeming daunting and eerie, it gradually becomes soothing and seeps into the background like a comforting smell.

If smoking yourself into a far away, self-constructed, worry-free world sounds like an ideal way to spend an evening, then this is definitely the soundtrack to do so to. The songs are long and repetitive, but they’re almost like a musical interpretation of the imagination. The soft, subtle vocals of Polyfusion are reminiscent of daydreams, trips and scenes in films when the character slips into some other dimension.

Orange Goblin - Healing Through Fire

Purple Mushroomfish

For ten years now Orange Goblin have asserted themselves at the very top of the underground heavy rock scene, seemingly moments away from battling their way into the rock and roll mainstream and showing the world that no one does heavy music like the British.

But no. Despite tours with some of the rock greats (Queens of the Stone Age, Danzig, Monster Magnet), Goblin have never crossed that threshold into international stardom. And I’ve always wondered why. But now it’s 2007 and Goblin have launched their latest bid.

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

Snotty Nose

Cassadaga is another beautifully constructed album from Bright Eyes. Every song is wonderfully consistent and flaunts Oberst’s maturity. He has found a balance for the musical arrangements that suit his fragile voice perfectly. Most importantly the lyrics are as poetic and thoughtfully observed as ever.

Oberst continues to tackle a diverse range of subjects, including religion, politics, love, and even invisible postmodern authors, but does so with a skilful subtlety. Cassadaga will undoubtedly allure a whole new audience for Bright Eyes, whilst keeping the older fans more than happy. Oh, and its worth buying just for the free sticker and a ‘spectral decoder’ to keep you occupied for a while.

Explosions In The Sky

It’s a matter of mere moments before the arrival of Explosions in the Sky to the stage and the atmosphere in the Astoria is incredible. As with many of their post-rock peers, here is a band that demand nothing short of sheer adoration from their fans.

A wave of excitable, child like energy is running through the crowd stirring up memories of teenage anticipation, reminding us all of how good it felt to experience live music for the first time. The Texan four piece don’t disappoint, quite the opposite in fact. This is music written to be played live by a band who obviously love to do so.

Love Is All

Watching Love is All tonight is rather like eating an ice cream too fast.

Sweet, makes your head hurt, but by the end leaves you begging for more.

LCD Soundsystem

To call LCD Soundsystem a ‘band’ would be somewhat like calling Robbie Williams ‘a bit of a drama queen.’ LCD Soundsystem are a fully-fledged multi-limbed funk contraption.

However, I must admit that I was somewhat skeptical about whether the sheer genius of both of the albums could be translated into a live performance, and to a certain extent, I guess I was right.

Camden Crawl

Thank God for Global warming; It’s mid –April and London’s Burning.

We’ve fetched our wristbands from the back of Sainsbury’s and there’sfive hours to burn before the first band comes on. Camden, the indie

Light Years To Nothing - Soft Hearted Scientists

Jangly, mesmerising future folk guitar that undulates from the Cardiff-based pseudo-scientists specialising in lyrical one-liners. Complemented with soft touches of synthesiser that really does transport you into other galactic realms. Not necessarily the most memorable of twee-pop nuggets but certainly an intriguing listen with its optimistic layered vocals cooing.

Klaxons - Gravity’s Rainbow

Bursting out of the traps like a sprightly ‘Nu Rave’ greyhound is Gravity’s Rainbow. While the band might have since started a cult, popularised glow-sticks and revived indie-dance music, this re-released track is perhaps their finest moment, with thumping drums and a bass line to die for.

CSS - Let’s make love and listen to Death From Above

Scrummy electropop brilliance: this Brazilian sextet are doing the wise thing in re-releasing a great tunethat fell under the radar back in August. And, oddly enough, it does exactly what it says on the label, makes you want to go out, make love and listen to Death From Above.

Noisettes - Scratch Your Name

Scratch Your Name is a thrilling wall of sound which is laced with the soulful, sexual yet gentle tones of front woman Shingai Shoniwa. A satisfying chunk of pop-rock.

Mr Hudson Vs Sway - Ask the DJ re-mix

This collaboration works. Sway’s tight-fitting rapping about charity, football and his rise to success all work with the intermittent Mr Hudson lyrics. The two musical styles merge well together, as the remix is underpinned by the backing of the original song, which is invigorated by Sway’s lyrics.

Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder

Upbeat and commercial, so unlikely to be popular with students. But thedistinctive sound of Levine’s voice makes a welcome comeback; he is, after all, the best thing since sliced bread.

Kaiser Chiefs - Everything is Average Nowadays

This must have been the Kaiser Chiefs attempt at irony, because, even for them, it’s really bland and ‘average.’ However, I am going to like this single to annoy all the trendy scenesters with leggings and haircuts from faux-Japanese hairdressers who regard them as ‘uncool.’ Because I hate them more.

Arcade Fire - Intervention

As a fan of Arcade Fire, I really want to plug this single. But Intervention is not very good, sounding more like a hymn than their angry selves. There are better tracks on the album Neon Bible, so buy that instead. Or see them live.

Behind the music..

What do you do?

I’m the joint founder and editor of Kruger Magazine andwww.krugermagazine.com. We also promote events under the banner ‘Kruger Presents…’ and have just launched an online record label.

What’s On

Welsh National Opera @ Wales Millennium Centre, May and June

WNO’s Summer Season features world-class performances of Carmen, Damnation of Faust and The Seven Deadly Sins, amongst others. It promises to be a brilliantly diverse programme of shows, featuring collaborations with Diversions Dance Company and singers from across South Wales, as well as a trilogy of operas based on wildlife and conservation. Tickets start at just £5, so there’s no excuse to miss out. Box office: 08700 40 2000.

Vagina Monologues

The Vagina Monologues: well, let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised. Thinking The Vagina Monologues was going to be full of feminists lecturing about women’s rights, I was initially apprehensive. As it turned out, I was entertained by the real-life experiences of several women and yes, you’ve guessed it, their vaginas.

Jerry Hall, Ruth Madoc and Nikki Sanderson carefully crafted the humorous and intense experiences of women as they discover how to orgasm, live through the experience of childbirth and express the more tragic and serious events the women have encountered.

The Scotsman

Film Ewen gives us a sneaky insight into his life north of Hadrian’s Wall

There hasn’t been much of a life north of Hadrian’s Wall as the above statement so erroneously states, having been stuck in the fair Welsh capital for the entirety of my Easter holidays (save a lovely trip to the Big Smoke, that Tate Modern is bloody massive).

After a surprise visit from the folks I was relegated to the kitchen floor to sleep at night and make friends from time to time with Mousey, the resident house mouse, as he scurried across the kitchen floor (note: Mousey is a working title until I come up with something more appropriate for him/her).

In Review: Urban dictionary

In between spay-painting small horses with swastikas and sniffing glue the youth of today still like to chew the fat from time to time. Unfortunately the cretins have adopted a bizarre type of new-speak which can leave “me-mans” (myself and some of my close friends) “well vexed” (Perplexed, Peeved). That’s where the Urban dictionary comes in. With this peer monitored compendium of British and American slang you can find out what the little twazocks actually said to you before you walked off full of impotent rage and self loathing. Yay. To elaborate. After hearing a rap-tune recently I heard the word “skeet” a term with which I was unfamiliar. Consulting the Urban dictionary I discovered that skeet is a verb that describes, “Bustin’ a nut in a skizzles grill” or, the act of ejaculating onto a woman’s face. Other notable explanations submitted included the rather quaint: “To drop a banana item in Mario Kart 64, thereby causing a trailing opponent to slip on it and skid out” and the colorful “Something I would love to do on the Olsen twins. “The real fun lies in contrasting the Neanderthal with the surely mock-serious entries. Of course some helpful souls point out the real meaning of the word (something to do with clay pigeon shooting) but it is all done very tongue in cheek. A running dialogue on the site led one poster to claim it was a word which White people only heard about from the comedian Dave Chapelle. This in turn led one of his fellows to inform us that it is a completely fictional word invented by black people because they needed something to do in between collecting welfare cheques. As if via osmosis the stupidity seeps into you brain and you can impress the Gs in your hood with your newfound knowledge and/or prejudices lest ye be merced by your in the know peers.