Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires Review

Ok, I’ll be honest; I’ve been putting this off for ages. So much so, this review is probably going to end up nearly a quarter the size of what you come to expect/endure.

Kele - The Hunter Review

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that House and Dance music isn’t my speciality. I really like Daft Punk, I think Example’s ok and I have fond memories of being constantly inhibited when Love is Gone by David Guetta used to be the backing track to a Friday night out.

But that’s where my knowledge ends. Oh sure, I usually roll my eyes when musicians who have spent years crafting their work with guitars, suddenly turn their attentions to the dancefloor with normally disastrous results.

I do however, due to his past (and now current) association with Bloc Party, own and like Kele Okereke’s debut album The Boxer. It was a semi-decent if well trodden solo effort which upped the dance influences from Bloc Party’s last album Intimacy but still kept the same themes that made Bloc Party enduring and likable.

With Bloc Party announcing it’s hiatus concluded; The Hunter is Kele latest (and possibly last) solo release. An EP of material recorded after his solo debut, it’s an interesting collection of ideas that, in my honest opinion, is superior and far, far, more interesting than what was presented on The Boxer.

The key difference between the two is, where The Boxer was heavily influenced by House music; The Hunter's more of a foray into dubstep, big beats, synthpop and at times, more than a passing resemblance to previous Bloc Party tracks.

Opening number What Did I Do is a wonderful transitional piece between the two releases, with lovely vocals from Lucy Taylor, an addictive, thick bassline and, much like Tenderoni, sounds familiar with particular samples but different enough to not invoke plagiarism claims (ala Coldplay).

Follow up track Release Me has a Caribbean, party anthem drum beat, a squeaky synth and anthemic vocals which makes it sound like Flux on speed. There’s more nods to Bloc Party throughout the record; Cable’s Goodbye is like a dubstep interpretation of Blue Light whilst Devotion is dark, encompassing, dramatic and has more than a few nods to Signs (the original, not the single remix with the mouth vaginas in the video).

Despite this; it’s by far the record’s strongest track. It’s vastly different from everything else which has a playful party vibe and instead laments with its heart on its shoulder. It might break the flow of the album but it’s a welcome change and something different from Kele’s solo repertoire.

The record also has a cover of Q Lazarus' Goodbye Horses which is henceforth, the anthem of the 21st century trenchcoat flasher. It’s cleaner and more fun than the original, but still encompasses the ambiguity and strangeness that made the original such an underrated classic.

On the whole; The Hunter is a short and sweet follow-up release to Kele’s decent solo debut. It shows more progression, variety and is far more accessible but it's only fault, like The Boxer; it feels like it’s standing on well trodden ground with Kele’s previous releases with Bloc Party. It's not a bad thing as the themes within songs are always interesting and have far more depth than anything else I've heard in the genre (again, limited knowledge) but at times, they feel like a reinterpretation of older songs which, rather than simple rehashes, simply remind me of songs that have been perfected years ago.

But muddled whining aside; in a time of congested releases for music, The Hunter stands out amongst it’s contemporaries and for fans of his previous work (solo or Bloc), or those who want a decent EP of accessible dubstep and synthpop influenced tracks; it's a great little collection of songs who want some substance with their style.

8/10

H

Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials

Back in 2009, when Lungs was first released, I remember listening with little interest. This might sound strange to listen to something that you're not interested in, but hear me out. See, back in 2008, Florence Welch was a little known artist who I only really knew for a cover of Galaxy of the Lost and that she was previously in Lightspeed Champion (who originally created said song). So, on a random play, I gave her and backing band a listen out of curiosity.

What followed was one of my favourite debut albums. Sure, at a push; it's unashamed pop music, but with the big vocals, quiet moments of despair and louder moments of joy, it was a strange mix of folk meets rock meets 19th century play. I loved it and apparently, so did many others, as the album sold well, had a unusual number of hit singles and cemented the band as big enough for the mainstream, but alternative enough for the hardened music purists.

Ceremonials is Florence and the Machine's follow-up to that likeable entry. It's also their second album which means we put our scrutiny glasses on and have to prepare to categorise this as the "make or break album"...despite the fact Lungs already has several popular singles and as mentioned before, is a fantastic debut.

Fans will be happy to know that Ceremonials is, in short; bigger, grander and more bombastic than it's predecessor. This should have been a given considering it's routes, but it's worth noting.

It opens huge in the form of Only If for a Night, which has, what sounds like electronic drums, harmonious backing vocals in the form of a choir and strings. Ok, from description, minus the beat, it doesn't sound a whole lot different from everything on Lungs, but structure wise, it's a different beast altogether.

It keeps up grandeur with singles Shake It Out; which feature some of Florence's best vocals (and for a band where the lead singer in one the best in the world, it's something special). By far, my personal stand out track What the Water Gave Me has a slow build up, momentum gets critical and, after a quick blemish of fury, the last minute and a half is simply stunning. One of 2011's best songs by far.

It's this momentum that makes the record such an interesting listen. It loses it's flow however with Breaking Down, which sounds a tad too fillerfied and unfortunately, incomplete. Seven Devils, which opens with more than a few similarities to Between Two Lungs' opening pipe, is the most serious song on the record but goes on for a too long and doesn't really go anywhere.

Thankfully, both songs have follow-up's which steer the album back on track. For Breaking Down; it's Lover to Lover. By far the most radio-friendly song on the album with a simple but perfect chorus and a huge, encompassing ending and simple piano chord progression which works well.

For Seven Devils, you get Heartlines, which returns the band to it's rockier routes and has a few similarities to Kiss With a Fist meets Dog Days Are Over; minus it's longer, has a steady, addictive drumbeat and more harmonious vocals for the chorus. It's worth noting that after this, you get Spectrum which, is as close as Ceremonials gets to showcasing an RnB song. Again, the song has a wonderful beat and the harp returns for a more prominent role, which all comes together wonderfully.

The album ends on Leave My Body which, despite being slow in the same vein as Breaking Down, is simple, epic and the perfect closing track for the album. It leads again with the harp, has handclaps and an acoustic guitar bridge before the final chorus which is superb.

It's strange as this month's congested release schedule has spawned a few decent albums, but many albums falter under the weight of their own hype. Despite my expectations, Ceremonials is a wonderful follow-up to a wonderful debut.

Yes; it does sound a tad too familiar and it goes on a tad too long (it clocks in at under an hour and that's if you got the standard version), but, it's still holds an aura of intrigue and uniqueness which is a breath of fresh air in this industry.

It's an album that you'll play from start to finish many times, simply because, there so many wonderful moments to take in it's dark, ghostly beauty. It treads precariously close to greatness, but falters before taking the final steps needed.

But maybe that's what the future holds?

8/10

H

Xenomania '11: Alien Resurrection

You'd think that with, you know, your main heroes dying in one movie without setting up another would kill your franchise. You'd be right, most of the time. But this is Sci-fi! All we need is a half-baked, plot hole filled explanation and bang! We can make that sequel that can re-coup the losses the studio made on the last film...I mean, give the fans the sequel they deserve.

And thus is the only reasons I can think that justify Alien Resurrection's existence.

Even if Alien 3 killed the work of Ridley Scott and James Cameron in their prime, it at least had a somewhat concrete conclusion to the story of Ripley. But this being the late nineties; it's a transitional period between unnecessary sequels to long standing franchises and just before reboots became a safe bet for studios, hence why, Alien Resurrection serves the purpose as both.

It's a sequel because it does carry on from Alien 3, this time set two hundred years after with Ripley cloned from a sample of blood left somewhere in the prison. Although we'll be covering Ripley in her aforementioned section, in short; she's changed a lot.

But anyway, when we sat down and watched this (after being drained by Alien 3), Resurrection, despite being ultimately pointless, plot hole laden and at times, frighteningly stupid, the film returns to the routes Cameron created in Aliens.

The first half an hour, like every other film in the franchise, is used to primarily used to re-establish Ripley's character, her new setting and the secondary protagonists. It also, unlike every other film in franchise; shows the classic Xenomorph's early because, screw it, they can't surprise us anymore so they might as well give the audience some phallic shaped eye-candy.

But the moment the Xenomorph's inevitably escape and cause carnage, the film becomes a dumb action movie. It lacks the subtlety and sense of isolation in the first two (I put this down to lighting because Resurrection is always in bright, huge corridors compared to the dark, tiny ones with the first two).

Also, because it's the late nineties, everyone minus Winona Ryder is an action hero, evoking their inner Van-Damme throughout. To it's credit, I can at least remember who was in this film compared to 3 where describing any of the other characters beyond "prisoner and bald" is an uphill struggle.

By the end, it kinda fails as you don't really enough care if anyone survives (minus Ripley and Call) but it's has a half-decent, if questionably open ending. See, this is where you can regard Resurrection as a reboot (substantial changes to an established character/s, new updated setting and the possibility of further stories), but, as nothing came of this, the franchise now ends on a strange cliffhanger with no real closure, which can be frustrating.

But what's really frustrating is the lack of scares. Even Alien 3, in all it's terribleness and boredom, did have a few, minor jumps. Even Aliens, the film Resurrection tries to emulate and what replaced Scott's ongoing horror, is still more terrifying than most horror movies.

Resurrection however, never escapes it's foundations as a pure action film. It has a few visually striking and disturbing moments, but its more intrigue than scary. You can argue that, after two decades, it'd be impossible to make the film's antagonists scary, but, this is a franchise with the most disturbing species in cinematic history, so I put this down to direction.

It's a fun b-movie but nothing more. It remains in the shadows of the first two films but can stand proud against 3 and ultimately, maybe that was the whole point...if you ignore the opening paragraph...and the idea that it's a reboot.

...Yay!

Ripley's Believe It or Not: If Resurrection does one thing, above all else, it gives Ripley new direction and motive, which depending on how you like the idea of further sequels, will depend on your enjoyment of the new Ripley.

After sacrificing herself for the greater good, the space government (as the original company was bought out by Walmart...moving on) clones Ripley to extract a clone of the Queen inside of her during Alien 3. Because of plot convenience, Ripley has genetic memories (think Assassin's Creed) but also, because of the cloning process, her genes have been spliced with the Xenomorph. So now she has acidic blood, heightened reflexes (backwards three point shot anyone?), increased strength, can sense nearby aliens and also has a motherly bond with the hybrid offspring

This isn't however the biggest change to her character. Because of said cloning process, most of her memories remain, but ones like Newt's name are gone. She also spends of the film in this part veteran survivor, part stoned off her tits with strange mannerisms. She constantly tells the other protagonists they are doomed to die, but remains confident of her own survival (then again, after three films, you'd have to be a tad confident at your chances).

She spends the most amount of time with Call. Call originally wants to kill her but this changes when the Xenomorph's escape. They spend the remainder of the time bonding before Call is apparently shot dead and returns ten minutes later, relatively unharmed, revealing herself as an android.

It's here where the film either has a stroke of genius or it's a plain coincidence. See, surprisingly, you could view this as the natural development of Ripley's character arc concerning androids. With Ash going haywire in the first film, she learns to trust Bishop in Aliens, even if it's right at the end and in Alien 3, albeit briefly, she searches for him and then grants his wish to die when it becomes apparent he can serve no further use.

In Resurrection; Call serves as Newt, if she lived long enough to grow up. Before her reveal, she seems headstrong but vulnerable and plays the daughter role to Ripley. With the reveal, it shows how far Ripley has come from the Aliens concerning androids, where Call's true identity doesn't really change anything with them and if anything, Call's abilities become incredibly useful to the group when it's out in the open, rather than hidden.

But despite these fleeting moments; Ripley is a whole new character. The scene with her discovering her botched clones (which is so good, it's been parodied twice on South Park) is disturbing, but in the context of her character, doesn't really make sense. It's never referenced again afterwards and just seems to be to show the depravity of the government; which is only touched upon in the first act and after the Xenomorph's attack, are only channelled through Dr. Wren.

Although it's nice to see Ripley return visually, she's basically a husk of her former self. I'm not a fan of this incarnation of the character and, if there were sequels to Resurrection, I have no idea where'd they'd go from here with her.

Game Over Man!: If the lack of Xenomorph action in Alien 3 annoyed you, then Resurrection more than makes up for it.

We might as well get the most startling developments out the way. Because of the cloning process (was The Jackal in the development for this process?), the Queen inherited traits from Ripley, in this case, a womb. So rather than the penis-like Ovipositor, the Queen posses a womb and vagina, basically doing away with the whole egg-facehugger-chestburster process in the original movies.

The offspring is a horrifying creation that inherits far more human traits than it's regular incarnations. It has pale skin, visible eyes, a human-like mouth, a human-like nose, is emotional and, for reasons not really explained, thinks Ripley is it's Mother.

Also, in an effort to give the hybrid something of a Giger-esq quality, the original had a mix of human genitalia which was edited out post production.

The original Xenomorph's are relatively unchanged minus it's established they are good swimmers and can climb ladders. The behavioural pattern in having hosted carted off and killing in self-defence returns but other behaviours are also revealed.

In the beginning, the government doctors are trying to get the Xenomorph's to understand basic instructions, with the use of pressurised liquid nitrogen. After attacking the glass and being sprayed, they Xenomorph's stop after being threatened. They also, when they escape, reveal they know how to use the button and use it to kill an investigating soldier.

In one final note; the Xenomorph's also plan their escape by killing one of their own and using it's blood to burn through the enclosure. It's a shocking if logical way which establishes the beasts as creative thinkers, rather than mindless killing machines.

Overall: Alien Resurrection is the final entry before the Xenomorph's went off to battle the Predator franchise. Go in with low expectations (or watch Alien 3 before it) and it has a fun b-movie feel to it. It has a lot of great action scenes, some neat ideas and some visually horrifying moments, but it lacks the tension and scares which the original two so fantastic.

On it's own; it's ok, but has been done far better by Cameron and despite all the neat ideas, there's a lot of nonsensical rubbish too and ultimately, is a pointless addition.

Which brings us to an end of Xenomania! '11. We hope you've enjoyed these retrospectives and hope you've had a fun Halloween. Until next time...which will be sometime this week with a review for Florence and the Machine's new album.

...Huzzah!