Album Review: Live for the Moment // The Sherlocks

Originally published on The Indiependent.

I must admit I did not go into Sheffield band, The Sherlocks, debut album Live For The Moment, with a particularly open-mind. Throughout their relative rise in popularity over the last two years I have happened across their singles in sponsored Facebook posts that appear to have been met with hype and derision in equal measure. It is certainly true that the young band have managed to build quite an impressive indie following through social media campaigns, no doubt inspired by the grassroots, youthful energy of fellow Sheffield band, Arctic Monkeys. That band has probably inspired most guitar rock bands over the last decade in some way but their legacy here mostly spans from their early albums. Another band that The Sherlocks can all too easily be compared to are Manchester’s Courteeners. Indeed, my initial stance on the band was essentially; they’re not going to make my ears bleed but they sound exactly like any number of other bands that I could listen to instead.

Alt-J ‘3WW’ Review

Originally published in The Hullfire.

Alt-J return with something new – and definitely ‘something good’ –ahead of the release of their third album. Their second record, This Is All Yours, followed a similar style to their award-winning and undoubtedly unique debut, An Awesome Wave. If this new track is anything to go by, Relaxer promises to push the boundaries yet again and be something quite special.

Album Review: Ellipsis // Biffy Clyro

Originally published on The Indiependent.

Biffy Clyro have reached the distinguished milestone of their seventh album and with it is the beginning of a new cycle in the band’s life. Biffy Clyro by their own admission are a band who embrace the three album cycle, in which there is a simple stylistic or thematic similarity grouping the trilogy together. The band has suggested that Ellipsis is the beginning of a ‘re-birth’, a back to basics embrace of chaos.

Frontman Simon Neil has called it ‘fight rock, pint-in-the-face rock’. This claim is certainly true of some songs and the album has a feeling of different pieces being thrown together, albeit in a good way. However the glimmer of pop on many of the tracks and the undeniable production values present suggest otherwise. At times it is unclear what direction Biffy are really trying to take with this album.

50 Books (6): The Circle // Dave Eggers

Originally published on The Indiependent

Title: The Circle

Author: Dave Eggers

Outline: Mae Holland gets a lucky break and begins working at powerful tech company, the Circle. It is essentially Apple, Google and Facebook in one giant multinational organisation; in this world they have all been subsumed by the Circle. It is initially presented as the dream job and she settles into life on the elaborate and technologically advanced campus. However, as she becomes more involved, devoting more aspects of her life to her job and making a name for herself, a more sinister side to the Circle begins to arise. Its ethos is increasingly centred on the idea that privacy is a dangerous thing and Mae herself becomes one of their main disciples.

TV Review: The Man in the High Castle // Episodes 1-2

Originally posted on The Indiependent.

The Man in The High Castle is Amazon studios latest title airing exclusively on their video streaming service Amazon Prime. Set in an alternate 1960’s America it presents a world where the Axis forces won World War Two and follows the main protagonists Juliana, Frank and Joe’s involvement in a mysterious plot to change everything. Much like the similar service Netflix, Amazon have released a number of TV series for paying subscribers but on the whole these titles have not garnered nearly the same amount of attention as series such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and Marvel’s Daredevil. This might be the one to change all that.

Thoughts: Sherlock New Year’s Day Special 01/01/16

Sherlock is first and foremost a detective drama. This is obviously simplifying both the original stories and the beloved TV drama; ignoring the fact that the focus is much more on the character of Sherlock Holmes himself. However his defining character trait is that of having the almost supernatural ability to solve crimes of all shapes and sizes. At the heart of each episode what I want to see is a case taken on and ultimately solved. As far as I can tell we got two of these in this episode however,

TV Review: Life In Squares Episode 1

Originally posted on The Indiependent.

BBC Two’s new period drama exploring the lives of the bohemian Bloomsbury group, renowned for both their artistic talents and their relationships, follows a trend in recent BBC prime time dramas (e.g. Peaky Blinders, Wolf Hall) of taking risks and setting edgier tones. The subject matter then couldn’t be more apt for this sort of show. A Jane Austen adaptation this is not.

It could almost be seen as a glorified soap opera set in the 1920’s, if it weren’t for the driven, beautiful characters present; only made more enticing by the fact that they did actually live and breathe these very lives.

Setting a Pretty Good Example (Live Review)

Originally published in the December 2014 issue of The Hullfire.

Nearing the end of his mammoth 28 date tour, Example played the smallest venue of the tour to a packed out, lively and sweaty Asylum crowd. Used to playing more established venues like O2 Academies, he was quick to comment on the small size of the gig’s setting, but stressed that this made no difference to the atmosphere. It was perhaps a hark back to his earlier days in music, except in this case everyone knew the words and were more than ready to dance and mosh to Example’s consistently impressive stage presence.