The NME’s annual showcase of fresh talent rolled into Leeds last Wednesday, and the O2 Academy was predictably packed to the rafters with mostly 15 year old indie kids – which meant deafening screams were a common occurrence yes, but their enthusiasm can’t be faulted and there was no queue for the bar all night (!).
2012’s tour has a very different vibe to last year’s, which featured the likes of Crystal Castles and Magnetic Man, but is no less diverse. The line up is a mixture of electronic and guitar based music, promising to get the crowd moving one way or another. It was almost a gig of two halves, with Azealia Banks and Tribes only recently emerging onto the scene while the last two bands on the bill, Two Door Cinema Club and Metronomy, are not exactly fresh talent having both been around for a few years now. This was no bad thing, however, as it resulted in confident, fine-tuned performances and more vocal participation from the large crowd.

First up was New York rapper Azealia Banks. Despite only being on stage for 20 minutes, the 21 year-old definitely made an impact armed with her incredible lyricism and a ton of attitude, proving worthy of her place at the top of NME’s most recent Cool List. Youtube sensation 212, now with over four million hits, was the obvious ending to her set, and it’s swift transformation into The Prodigy’s Firestarter sent the audience into an impressive frenzy for so early an act. An American rapper gave the gig itself a new dimension and her presence on the bill should not be underestimated. As her inclusion on this influential tour indicates, she’s going to be huge this year.

Camden based Tribes look like the epitome of an indie grunge band, with that perfectly unkempt look about them. Their stage presence seemed slightly lacking after the fast pace and personality that Banks had sported, but musically they were spectacular, playing all the best tracks from debut album Baby, released only a month previously. Frontman Johnny Lloyd’s emotive vocals contain much of the appeal of Tribes’ sound and broke in all the right places. The four piece went out to rapturous applause after the stunning Pixie-esque We Were Children, but highlight of the set was undeniably the anthemic Walking in the Street.

Metronomy’s popularity has been gradually increasing over the past decade and it’s good to see their hard work come to fruition as they finally entered the limelight with a Mercury award nomination last year for album The English Riveria. The band played hits both old and more recent, including Radio Ladio and You Could Easily Have Me, which illustrated their musical development. Metronomy have definitely come a long way in terms of their live performance; exuding experience with a perfectly tight set. Their unique electronica effortlessly breathed energy onto the crowd before ascending into a frantic mixture of lights and keyboard riffs. In fact, their low-fi pop felt more captivating live than on the record, and of course no Metronomy gig would be complete without the glowing orbs attached to each members’ chest and eccentric lead singer Johnny Mount’s agitated dancing.

Headliners Two Door Cinema Club appeared somewhat shy at first; sweetly thanking the crowd for their support in their Northern Irish drawl, but opener Cigarettes in the Theatre soon dispelled any nerves there may have been and pushed the room into near hysteria. Their 2010 debut album Tourist History was hugely successful and, judging by the ecstatic reaction of the crowd, we can attribute the majority of tickets sold to their irresistibly catchy yet simple brand of pop rock. And this is the beauty of Two Door Cinema Club: their synthy, high-energy songs which could feel hollow are filled with an electricity that reels you in and makes you move. They played some exciting new material from their second album which is set to be released early next year; new tracks Handshake and Sleep Alone still contain the same vibrant melodies and yet feel slightly more mature. These slotted in perfectly and the band lost no momentum throughout their hour long set. Two Door Cinema Club finished the night on a massive high with I Can Talk, impressive considering it was probably well past most of the audience’s bedtime…

Words > Katie Shevlin

For more info, visit: DONT FLOP

Photos > Francois Botha

Click on photo for larger view.

The recent release of album taster-track But What About the Future saw Stephen Fry claim them as his “new favourite indie band”. It also got them many radio plays eventually leading to US radio guru, Nic Harcourt, becoming a huge fan. Not only this but their catchy indie gems caught the attention of Wilco drummer Ken Coomer who ended up producing and playing on their debut record.

Now who can argue that that’s a pretty successful year and all without any self-promotion? Toy Horses will be re-exploding into the music scene with the re-release of their album, and they are about to remind everyone why they were instantly loved before.

With catchy lyrics, happy melodies and innocent vocals, the band produce memorable songs which leave you with that feel good feeling. But when they play emotional and serious songs like And It Was You and Love At An Arms Length, they also perform it with such sincerity it can’t be faulted. Although sounding unique in many ways, it also sounds as though Toy Horses draw influenced from the likes of Scouting for Girls. This is portrayed specifically in the highly enjoyable first track Play What You Want which has a very similar chorus to those which distinguish Scouting for Girls’ music. It also has a great Madness ska-inspired section seventeen seconds in, classic. But even so, their sing-a-long lyrics win you over with classic melodic pop choruses like “Play what you want I won’t play at all/I’ll make it easier whatever you want me to do” and “No-one’s ever gonna leave you on your own/I will still be here when you get home”.

The most memorable track on the album has to be Sordid Little World, which tells an intriguing story of a girl which is always the best kind of song. Sordid Little World is the darkest track on the record which really starts to show off their lyrical abilities.

Toy Horses’ strong 90s indie sound captivates instantly and it’s guaranteed these will be tunes you’ll be singing along to within the first few listens. A great album that’s fun with all the right emotions.

Toy Horses deluxe edition is out February 27.

Words > Kat Bayly

Tekken: Blood Vengeance

With fighting games back on top in the world of video games with Street fighter, Mortal Kombat Marvel Vs Capcom, Soulcalibur and King of fighters all receiving new entries in recent years, it is inevitable that the related spin offs follow (the less said about the live action Tekken and King of fighters film the better). Traditionally animated films (such as Final Fantasy Advent Children and Resident Evil Degeneration) fair better than live action attempts, and with that in mind Namco has put together Tekken: Blood Vengeance, a CGI film based on the never ending scuffles between The Mishimas and company.

Written by Dai Sato, whose impressive resume includes (deep breath) Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop, Eden of the East, Casshern and Samurai Champloo, Tekken blood vengeance focuses on the battle between Kazuya and his son Jin to find the host of a mysterious M gene, believed to be a key to immortality, each employing one of the Williams Sisters (Nina and Anna) to track him down.

A large portion of the plot also focuses on pint size Chinese schoolgirl Ling Xiayou and her pet panda (named imaginatively enough Panda) are tracking the M gene host at the same time as Alisa (an android teen girl), giving the film it’s comedic aspects; one scene in particular features Ling and Alisa escaping across the water on Panda back while using rocket boosters.

The animated CG is stunning, if sometimes a little wooden in terms of facial details, but it excels at enhancing the fight scenes, which all in all are really faithful to the source material. The writing is generally good, but some fans will be disappointed by the relative lack of characters on offer, coupled with the fact that Lee Cholain and Ganryu are now apparently high school teachers.

Tekken Blood Vengeance is good fun for Tekken fans, however this film has already been bundled with the Tekken Tag Tournament HD collection for PS3 (and indeed the forthcoming Tekken 3d Prime for Nintendo 3DS)  so most Tekken fans will probably already own it. The market for a separate DVD release is maybe somewhat limited, but if you haven’t seen it you can’t go far wrong with this. (3.5 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Fruits Basket Collection
Director: Akitaro Daichi
Released 13 February 2012 on DVD by MVM

Based on the massively successful manga by Natsuki Takaya, Fruits basket tells the story of a family (The Somahs) whose 13 members are cursed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and are doomed to change into their respective animal form when hugged by someone of the opposite gender. But what’s that you cry? There are only 12 animals to 13 Somahs? Yes that’s true, Kyo is a cat, an animal who would have been included in the zodiac had the rat not tricked him into missing the induction feast that determined the zodiac.

Our heroine is a girl named Tohru Honda, a kind-hearted girl who lives in a tent after the death of her mother, who is taken in by the Somahs and uncovers their curse, which she takes upon herself to find a way to break. In the meantime she must promise to keep family’s secret safe, or face harsh consequences.

The art style is beautiful in its relative simplicity and the character designs are classic shoujo (a style used for girl’s anime, featuring impossibly pretty boys with tall slender bodies). This set contains the whole Fruits Basket series, however, this isn’t the first release for this series and that is maybe where this box set comes unstuck, as most fans probably already own the series. However if you haven’t seen it now is the ideal time to act. Fruits basket is heart warming cute funny and at times a little sad; it’s a must watch for anime fans not just shoujo fans. (4 out of 5)

Words > Jason Potter

Naruto Shippuden Box Set 8
Director: Hayato Date / Studio: Studio Pierrot
Released 27 February 2012 on DVD by Manga Entertainment

For more about Naruto visit our July and November round-ups.

The eight box set of Naruto Shippuden begins the sixth series of the young ninja’s adventures, after Naruto and his comrades finish their battle with two of Akatsuki’s assassins. But the tell-tale drop in animation quality and badly contrived “new” characters usher in another filler arc, made to allow the canon plot of Naruto’s manga to gain ground on the anime.

This series follows Naruto’s quest to find the Machiavellian Orochimaru, after the Hidden Leaf village hears news of his location. Meanwhile, Orochimaru hatches a plan to control the three-tailed beast, one of the nine legendary monsters. He recruits the ninja Guren, a character devised for the filler arc, to help him to this end. Sadly, the poor, generic designs of Guren and other characters made for the filler episodes, and the dip in the story’s quality makes this part of the long-running series forgettable and lacklustre viewing. Aside from Naruto devotees, my advice would be to resume watching the series when it reaches the conclusion of this arc. (2 out of 5)

Words > Adam Gaudry

As the marketing literature accompanying the film states, Red Light Revolution owes a debt to British comedy The Full Monty. Whether or not this comparison has merely been jumped upon as a marketing tool, there is an element of truth to this comparison. The film begins, like the much loved Brit-strip-flick (a criminally underappreciated genre), with a blue collar everyman losing his job. Shunzi, played by the oddly loveable Jun Zhao in his debut role, is a taxi driver unable to keep his mouth shut. When he is fired for speaking his mind he wanders home only to find his wife sleeping with another man. With the house in his wife’s name Shunzi is quickly booted out and, with no money or home, must return to his parents. Shunzi’s story quickly picks up however when a random encounter with an old friend leads to him being funded to sell sex toys so that he can make a living and get his life back on track.

Unfortunately, unlike The Full Monty, Red Light Revolution quickly becomes mired by its overly contrived plot. Questions such as: ‘Why would someone fund such an unplanned business venture?’ are quickly overlooked and often plastered over in favour of quick narrative progression. Equally the jokes themselves often feel contrived and verge on the juvenile. Squeaky bed springs are probably funny to a twelve year old, but in a film geared towards adults such a joke, especially when reused multiple times, feels like a relic from the days of Benny Hill. The film is filled with these campy moments. Glances between old couples suggesting that they have sex (yes, I know, it’s very funny) or the two lead characters mucking around with sex toys – innocently unable to fathom such curious implements – reveal a film unable to deal with sex in an adult, mature way.

If the comparison to British cinema seems remarkably suitable for this Chinese film it’s perhaps more down to its similarity to the Carry On films rather than The Full Monty. For a start there is no dramatic characterisation here. The use of stock comic characters such as the virile old man or the gangly adolescent virgin allows the film little room for drama or engagement. Despite this, such characters are at the heart of Red Light Revolution’s small success. It’s the villainous  head of the Neighbourhood Watch or the Charles Hawtrey look-a-like old man who make this film memorable. But it’s a shame that even these characters get little prolonged screen time – leaving much of the action to Shunzi and Lili (played by the beautiful Vivid Wang) who’s relationship is also sadly underdeveloped.

Using the term ‘underdeveloped’ to describe elements of Red Light Revolution is perhaps symptomatic of the film as a whole. Whether in terms of narrative, characterisation, humour, or attitude to its subject matter, Red Light Revolution feels like it seriously lacks maturity. Beyond the odd wink or nudge, sex has very little presence in the film. The fact that there is a desire for sex toys in society remains unexplored; the possibility of sexual tension between the two leads is forgotten (the film preferring a plutonic relationship); and the very act of having sex is devolved into squeaky bed springs. The film is rigorously childish when it comes to the subject of sex.

Aside from this there are a few funny moments in the film, and the plot, for all its contrived, ramshackle structure, does hold together for the duration. Far from revolutionary, this film is more like a return to the old days where sex inspired giggles and blushing rather than insight or liberation.

Words > Joe Smith

In Time To Voices was recorded at The Motor Museum in Liverpool, and once again, the duo stuck with producer Mike Crossey, (Arctic Monkeys/Foals/Tribes) who helped accentuate the bands punk rock roots. Front woman Laura-Mary said of the album:

“We decided we wanted to make a really ambitious record, not something which reflects our live show but something which is only limited by our imaginations and not by how many instruments we use onstage. We figured the best way to push ourselves forward was to write the best possible songs and melodies we could – once you have that as your foundation, you have the freedom to go anywhere with the sounds you use. We feel like a totally different band now. We feel like we’re shooting for the stars.”

In April and May, Blood Red Shoes get back on the road with no a full worldwide tour and UK dates confirmed, detailed below:

April
27th Concorde 2 Brighton
28th Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth
29th 02 Academy 2 Oxford

May
1st Trinity Bristol
2nd Waterfront Norwich
3rd Heaven London
4th HMV Library Birmingham
5th Academy 2 Manchester
7th Zanzibar Liverpool
8th Cluny Newcastle
9th Tunnels Aberdeen
10th King Tuts Glasgow
12th The Cockpit Leeds
13th Rescue Rooms Nottingham

Pre-sale tickets go on sale from CrowdSurge.com on Wednesday 25th January at 9am

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday 27th January.

BLOOD RED SHOES

Given To The Wild has been described as the lovechild of psychedelia and pop with a bit of soul added to the mix. The Maccabees will trek across the UK on a full length tour, after a few select dates in January to promote the new album.

The full March tour looks something a little like this:

5th Edinburgh HMV Picture House
7th Middlesbrough Town Hall
8th Nottingham Rock City
9th Brighton Dome
10th Leeds O2 Academy
12th Liverpool O2 Academy
13th Bristol O2 Academy
14th Norwich UEA
16th Southampton Guildhall
17th Cardiff University
18th Wolverhampton Civic Hall
19th Cambridge Corn Exchange

For more info, and tickets, visit: THE MACCABEES

And check out the short film for Given To The Wild right here:

Tom, painfully portrayed by the ever beguiling, Peter Pan-esque Ethan Hawke, is an American novelist who returns to Paris to patch things up with his ex-wife in order to have a proper relationship with his 6 year old, Chloe. Tom is robbed of his cases and wallet early doors, and when his attempt to reconcile things with his ex-partner doesn’t exactly go according to plan, he is forced to hole up in a dingy café at the end of the metro line and take a job as a night guard for the suitably sleazalicious café owner, Sezer.

Down on his luck, yet still flitting in and out of the Parisian literary scene from time to time, Tom is drawn to an enigmatic and beautiful translator, Margit (Scott-Thomas) whom he meets at a party. The pair quickly establish a relationship and the action is intense back at Margit’s red velvet clad apartment in the Fifth Arrondissement, Scott-Thomas exuding just the right amount of natural allure to embody her character. Meanwhile back at the café, youthful Polish waitress and poetry- lover Ania (exquisitely played by newcomer Joanna Kulig), is bitten by a crush for the handsome writer, almost certainly 10 years her senior. Tom is entranced by Ania’s warmth, naivety and love of the arts, and a bond forms. Between his muse, his lover, and his rotten situation, Tom has his hands full and one by one he inevitably starts to drop the plates. What we do not anticipate, however, is that in doing so, the veil is dropped on his truth.

This is a brave film, indicative of a daring director able to inspire the confidences of his cast; Pawlikowski is unafraid to tackle depression and schizophrenia in such an oblique yet bracingly real way. To say that you will not leave the theatre satisfied, content that the bad guy has been brought to justice or that the romantic leads live happily ever after, is to capture the essence of the movie. Questions are posed and answers are not forthcoming. Not everything makes sense. There are Hitchcockian moments which are deeply unsettling. Images mislead, confuse, disturb. Do we sympathise with Tom or is he starting to creep us out?

The film is as beautiful as it is unsettling and the use of imagery is effective. In contrast to the bleak streetscapes of the usually lively Paris is the colour palette of Tom’s first and only book; the greens of the trees, the red of the ladybirds, the rich brown of the soil. The score is also magnificently evocative. Trains speed through the shot from time to time, and then there are scenes of nature at its simplest; perhaps hinting of the complexities of modern day life.

As Hawke has very recently said of his own life in an interview, “Nothing went the way I thought it would,” and this is the closest description of how this film plays out. It is a hypnotic study of a man unravelling – its warts-and-all and seriously fucked up, it acknowledges that in real life happy endings are not always available (Pawlikowski himself was widowed in 2006) and that, you know what, you could actually end up like that crazy old dude you always see talking to himself. Hopefully not though, obvs.

Words > Linda Cooke

An adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway Play, Jack Goes Boating is a kooky if not a little worn rom-com in which a most peculiar Jack (Hoffman) is set up on a blind date with the equally peculiar and emotionally scarred Connie (Ryan). This meet-cute is formulated by their two friends, Clyde (Ortiz) and his wife Lucy (Rubin-Vega), whose relationship is gradually falling apart, resulting in a poignant juxtaposition.

Running in sync with this romantic parable is the success story of Jack and Connie, whose individual growth is documented through an abundance of rocky-esque motivation sequences in which Jack learns to cook and swim whilst Connie overcomes her chronic lack of self-confidence and her fear of men and their penises.

Figuring out the remainder of the plot is hardly an arduous task, even for someone more favourable of Michael Bay than Nancy Meyers, which leaves Jack Goes Boating perilously close to becoming a throw away affair. Thankfully the performances, most notably those of Hoffman and Ryan who provide assured quality and substance to their roles, anchor a plot lightweight in originality.

The relationship between the foursome is engaging and genuinely believable which of course makes sense given Hoffman, Ortiz and Rubin-Vega are all reprising the roles they performed together on stage. Taking this in to account, the highest praise must surely go to Ryan who seamlessly fits in to the pack as if she had been there all along, whilst providing a delightfully nuanced performance.

Once overcoming the initial shock of seeing Hoffman with dreadlocks (A sight nobody wants to see) he once again impresses you with another superb performance to add to his long list, however by taking on the role of the film’s director, Hoffman’s success will be measured on his performance in the director’s chair; so how does he fare?

To put it simply; it’s an average showing from Hoffman. Rest assured, Hoffman equips himself well by producing a solid debut that is short of flaws but equally short of flare, imagination and personality. Choosing to do things simply, Hoffman sets up the camera and leaves his performers to do all the work, which, whilst appropriate given the films roots as a stage play, comes across a touch bland as a spectacle.

Whilst Hoffman’s work with the camera is somewhat underwhelming, the role of a director is all encompassing and the aforementioned performances are what you would to expect from a director gifted in producing a believable and captivating performance. Hoffman also exemplifies his skill with the jukebox by compiling an eclectic and uplifting soundtrack designed to capture those ‘good vibes’ as Jack would say.

Jack Goes Boating is a safe and solid performance from Hoffman behind the camera – safe being the opportune word. There are glimmers of talent in Hoffman’s direction and it is clear he will thrive in producing assured performances from his actors as evidenced in this quirky feature. Like Jack, Hoffman has been sensible and not thrown himself in at the deep end but you can’t help but feel excited about what he might produce once the armbands come off.

Words > Sam Lawrence

Competition

Thanks to our friends at Trinity we have 3 copies of Jack Goes Boating to give away on DVD. To stand a chance of winning simply answer the following question: what was the film adapted from?

a) A Book
b) A Stage Show
c) An Expressive Dance

Answers to dean@rhythmcircus.co.uk

To their credit THQ took this message from the fans to heart and gave UFC 3 Undisputed a two year development cycle, taking on board a lot of fan complaints hoping that this time round they might replicate the success of the original.

The first big improvement you’ll notice is the control system making for a much more enjoyable experience, especially on the ground, with movement now assigned to a simple up or down rather than the half circle and even three quarter circle movements required in the original (although that control method is still available should you prefer it). This alone makes a world of difference, allowing for greater success transitioning through the guard and setting up submissions.

On that note a new submission system has also been implemented with a display now on screen showing the progress as you play a mini game to apply pressure or escape the hold, as opposed to the originals which gave you little information, if any, on if your submission attempt was successful.

An amazing roster has been amassed for UFC 3, thanks mainly to the real life acquiring of UFC rivals Japanese promotion Pride fighting championship, allowing THQ to incorporate the fighters and, more importantly, the rules from Pride as another game mode. This sees you deliver head kicks on grounded opponents and even stomp on their faces; nasty stuff indeed

The gameplay modes have been given an overhaul as well, some for the better others less so. Career mode is now a much faster paced affair, meaning less time training or micro managing your fighter stats and more time fighting. Starting out in a lower league, you must work your way up to get noticed by the UFC and can even compete in the Pride grand prix event.

Ultimate fights mode has not been so lucky. Instead of recreating the fight’s finish, you now have to complete set time based tasks in order to fill up a percentage gauge – for example land six knee strikes from the Muay tai clinch in twenty seconds was one of the requirements in the first fight (Rampage Jackson Vs Wanderlei Silva). These are often hard to complete when the AI opponent is busy pummeling your skull in, although if you persevere you do unlock some nice video clips of the fights in question.

One of the major selling points of the UFC games has always been its presentation and the accuracy of recreating what you see on TV, and this instalment is no different. The addition of Pride brings all its signature dressings with it, including a ring to fight in (as opposed to the UFC Octagon cage), the grand wrestling style ring entrances and it’s own unique commentary team of Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros. The UFC side of things has also been given the same treatment of complete ring entrances and introduction from the veteran voice of the Octagon, Bruce Buffer, and of course Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan absolutely shinning on commentary.

UFC caters for fans new and old with the massive tutorial section (all voiced by Mike Goldberg) allowing new players to pick up the basic controls as well as learn the rules of UFC and Pride, while also allowing experienced players to try out the new complex system of feints and weaving added in this instalment.

THQ and Yukes have done a good job of providing a proper sequel to the promising original and the two-year development cycle has obviously worked wonders, UFC can be recommended for fans and non-fans alike.

Words > Jason Potter