Prometheus Makes £500,000 From Advance Tickets

      The BFI IMAX is already set to break advance ticket booking records after making over £500,000 for Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’.

    ‘Prometheus’ is directed by 74-year-old Ridley Scott, is about a team of explorers who discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth. It premiered in London in Leicester Square last night and stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Logan Marshall-Green and Guy Pearce.

     More than 32,000 people attended the first public screenings at midnight last night at the IMAX. The pre-sale figures are set to beat mega hits like ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, Part 2’ and ‘Avatar’.

Ridley Scott

    The film’s budget was reported to be around £130 million and is not directly related to ‘Alien’, although it started out as a prequel.  It does, however share “strands of DNA” to ‘Alien’, according to Ridley Scott. ‘Prometheus’ was shot all over England, Spain, Iceland and Scotland last year using 3D cameras.

   However, the very first reviews of the movies have just been released since the premier last night. Critics such as The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw have expressed negative opinions about the most talked about Sci-Fi film of the summer. He described the film as "more grandiose, more elaborate - but less interesting" than the 1979 hit ‘Alien’ and he continued, "in place of scariness there is wonderment; in place of tension there is hugely ambitious design; in place of unforgettable shocks there are reminders of the original's unforgettable shocks."

   But Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy praised the flick as a “visual feast of a 3D sci-fi movie that has trouble combining its high-minded notions about the origins of the species and its Alien-based obligation to deliver oozy gross-out moments." He also said that it is "a film that caters too much to imagined audience expectations when a little more adventurous thought might have taken it to some excitingly unsuspected destinations."

    The visual effects and artistic elements of ‘Prometheus’ were praised by many and only time will tell if the public think the film’s worthy of the hype!

Tune In: Origins FM

     If you love your drum & bass, Origins FM delivers the very best rave anthems right from the world’s premier original underground 24/7 station HQ in London.   

    Unlike more mainstream stations, Origins focuses entirely on the music, and DJs never interrupt the tracks. But when they do speak to listeners, it’s personal, informal and all about the music. Playing material from some of the biggest house jungle and drum & bass artists, DJs like DJ Ska, DJ Akner and DJ Infinity.

   MCs also take charge of the shows like MC CD and MC Ryder Mike, and along with the DJs, deliver all your D&B needs. Shows vary from straight-up jungle, to liquid D&B to heavier and alternate D&B and amazing club nights, and the biggest events and parties are promoted constantly, so you’ll never miss out.

    With events including the likes of Jumping Jack Frost and Artificial Intelligence, Origins brings the biggest and best music and nights out!

More Acts Announced for Berlin Festival 2012

    Tones more acts have just been announced for Berlin Festival 2012, including Nicolas Jaar, Miike Snow, Crocodiles, Brandt Brauer Frick, Light Asylum and When Saints Go Machine!

   These fantastic acts join the already epic bill, which boasts the likes of Grimes, Sigur Rós, Franz Ferdinand, Orbital, Little Dragon, Friendly Fires, The Killers, Metronomy, SBTRKT and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. The explosive line-up are really the who's who of indie and electronic music will take to the stage at Berlin’s historic Tempelhof Airport on September the 7th and 8th 2012.

    New York-based musician Nicolas Jaar will take to the stage at Berlin Festival with one of his acclaimed live performances challenging the genre boundaries of electronic music. He is one of the most talked about artists of this generation, and will join Stockholm three-piece Miike Snow as this year’s event.

   Whether you’re into indie or electronic music, it really is a line-up to remember with something for everyone. In fact, this year’s very first act to perform will be the The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, followed by Crocodiles with their massive guitar sounds and punk influences, followed by the amazing melodies of When Saints Go Machine.

Here are all the acts already confirmed:

All confirmed acts so far...

Friday, 7th September

Berlin Festival @ Tempelhof Airport

Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble * Clock Opera * Daughter * Friends * Frittenbude * Grimes * The Killers * Miike Snow * Michael Kiwanuka * Nicolas Jaar * Little Dragon * Major Lazer * Kate Nash * Of Monsters And Men * Orbital * Sigur Rós * Tocotronic * We Have Band and more

Club Xberg @ Arena Berlin

Brandt Brauer Frick * Crookers * Dada Life * Dumme Jungs * Etnik * Metronomy * When Saints Go Machine and more

Saturday, 8th September

Berlin Festival @ Tempelhof Airport

Bonaparte * Jamie N Commons * Cro * Crocodiles * Django Django * First Aid Kit * Franz Ferdinand * Friendly Fires * iamamiwhoami * I Heart Sharks * Junip * Paul Kalkbrenner * Kraftklub * Morning Parade * SBTRKT (live) * Sizarr * WhoMadeWho and more

Club Xberg @ Arena Berlin

Junior Boys * Light Asylum * The Magician * Modeselektor live * Slagsmalsklubben * Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and more

     This year’s festival will also play host to the world’s biggest Silent Arena Aftershow Party. With 10,000+ headphones, ticket holders will be able continue partying after the final main stage performance from midnight till 4am. The Art Village will also make a welcome return, boasting over 60 national and international artists. There will also be urban art, murals, performances, sculptures and more will all be on show plus an art bazaar, bars, booths, and the great market area.

   And with more acts still to come this year is shaping up to be the biggest Berlin Festival yet! So grab your ticket now!

Here are the ticket details:

Berlin Festival day ticket: EUR 49 + booking fees

(valid for 7th or 8th September including Berlin Festival and Silent Aftershow party @ Tempelhof Airport)

Doors/stage time (Fri + Sat): 12.30pm Silent Aftershow party: midnight–4am

Berlin Festival 2-day ticket: EUR 74 + booking fees

valid for 7th + 8th September including Berlin Festival and Silent Aftershow party @ Tempelhof Airport

Doors/stage time (Fri + Sat): 12.30pm Silent Aftershow Party: midnight-4am

Berlin Festival + Club Xberg Kombiticket: EUR 89 + booking fees

valid for 7th + 8th September including Berlin Festival @ Flughafen Tempelhof and Club Xberg @ Arena Berlin as well as shuttle service to Club Xberg. Doors/stage time Berlin Festival (Fri + Sat): 12.30pm Doors/stage time Club Xberg (Fri + Sat): 11pm

visit: www.berlinfestival.de or www.facebook.com/Berlinfestival for all the latest into and details.

Kasabian Reveal Live Film

     Indie-heavyweights Kasabian have unveiled their ‘Live at the o2’ film, which was screened for one night only last night.

     The Leicester band, have enjoyed great success with hits like ‘Fire’, ‘Shoot the Runner’ and ‘Club Foot’ and have now produced this live film. The film’s footage was shot at the band’s 20,000 capacity, 19-track show at the o2 Arena in London on the 15^th of December last year.

    But if you weren’t there don’t fret, because the film will be released on DVD on the 25^th of June 2012. The DVD package will include the live the live film and a 13-track live album as well. It’ll also available on Blu-Ray with a documentary about the band’s tour in full.

   The fivesome, who released the movie with Altlive Media and Eagle Rock Entertainment, certainly aren’t taking a break from writing music and touring though. Reports state they’ve already started thinking about their next album, even though their latest record ‘Velociraptor!’ only came out last year! According to frontman Tom Meighan, Kasabian’s lead songwriter Serge Pizzorno is working hard on new material, but it’s unlikely that the band will release anything until 2013.

    Kasabian have already lined up their next album. According to frontman, Tom Meighan. The singer said that the band’s lead songwriter Serge Pizzorno had been hard at work on new material, but that the band probably wouldn’t record anything until 2013.

    Speaking about ‘Kasabian Live!: Live at the o2’, Serge Pizzorno said, "You decide at the start of the tour when you're going shoot it and it's always a strange one because you don't have any idea how the gig's going to turn out. We were fucking really lucky, because it happened to be arguably the best show of the whole tour which was really nice.” He continued; “The energy was phenomenal. Especially in London as well, which is usually a bit of a tougher crowd. It was an incredible, incredible night."

Tracklisting for the ‘Kasabian Live!: Live At The o2’ DVD is:

'Days Are Forgotten'

'Shoot The Runner '

'Velociraptor!'

'Underdog'

'Where Did All The Love Go?'

'ID'

'I Hear Voices'

'Thick As Thieves'

'Take Aim'

'Clubfoot'

'Re-Wired'

'Empire'

'La Fée Verte'

'Fast Fuse' / 'Pulp Fiction'

'Goodbye Kiss'

'LSF'

'Switchblade Smiles'

'Vlad The Impaler'

'Fire'

CD:

'Days Are Forgotten'

'Shoot The Runner'

'Velociraptor!'

'Underdog'

'Take Aim'

'Clubfoot'

'Re-Wired'

'La Fée Verte'

'Goodbye Kiss'

'LSF'

'Switchblade Smiles'

'Vlad The Impaler'

'Fire'

   

   Kasabian were recently added to the bill for the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Hackney on the 23^rd and 24^th of June if you’re already lucky enough to have free ticket! They will also headline Reading (25^th August) and Leeds (26^th August) festivals and play a set at T in the Park, Kinross.

     For Kasabian tickets visit: www.nme.com/tickets, http://www.seetickets.com/Search?q=Kasabian&aff= or http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Kasabian-tickets/artist/949556

 Watch the official trailer for ‘Kasabian Live!: Live at the o2’ here: 

Les Miserables Trailer Unveiled

 The first trailer for the up and coming Les Miserables film has been released today.

    Tom Harper’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic 1862 novel Les Miserables will hit cinemas on the 14^th of December 2012, and will start Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham-Carter, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried and Sacha Baron Cohen.

   With such a star-studded cast and direction from Tom Hooper, the film is a sure-fire success in the making, and will bring the story to those who may not be able to afford trips to the West End. The plot itself is set in early 19^th century France and follows various characters’ personal struggles for redemption and revolution, against the backdrop of the French Revolution.

Anne Hathaway & Hugh Jackman

    Jean Valjean, the lead character, is a former prisoner who manages to become the mayor of a small town after breaking the terms of his parole. He agrees to take care of a young girl called Cosette whilst he tries to avoid being recaptured by a police inspector. It is a story of class and political issues, passion, heartbreak and determination.

   Anne Hathaway, who will play factory worker Fantine, belts out well-known Les Miserables track ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, and really shows the emotional intensity of the plot. Tom Hooper described her singing and acting abilities as ‘just jaw-dropping’. The character is forced to cut her hair off to sell and become a prostitute to survive. Hathaway herself opted to have her own hair cut for the role, rather than use a wig. She also reportedly went on a 500-calories-a-day diet for 20 days to lose a stone for the movie.

    Tom Hooper has already directed the incredibly successful ‘The King’s Speech’ and won an Oscar for his work. Hooper also explained that all the music was sung by the actors for authenticity. He told USA Today that it was the only way he wanted to do it. “If you are miming to a playback, even if the synchronisation is done very well, there is a part of you that knows something is off, something is false. When it's live, you believe it so much more.” He continued, “The actors have complete freedom rather than following a recording done three months before.”

    The Les Miserables film is already popular with critics and fans alike, and is sure to be just as spectacular, heart-renching and powerful as the West End show.

You can watch the trailer right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oni72Fl7xaw

Radiohead to Host Jubilee Party in Washington

Oxford-rockers Radiohead will play hosts at a celebration of the in Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Washington.  

   Formed in 1985, Radiohead have recorded a total of eight studio albums, performed to countless stadium crowds all over the world and now they’re celebrating the Jubilee in style in the US.

Radiohead

      Because America is not home to a royal family, the Queen’s anniversary of her 1952 coronation, Radiohead are bringing the celebrations over the Atlantic and playing a show for US fans. Although the band is currently touring around the States, NME magazine reported that they don’t want to miss out on the celebrations back home.

   It is unknown whether Radiohead will play a show at the party, but Steve Lamacq of BBC6 says the band's head of security Colin has 'packed numerous Union Jack and Jubilee tableware' for ' a Jubilee party in Washington DC at the weekend'.    

   Despite being the US, this report gives UK fans hope that the quintet has not forgotten about us Brits. The band will return to the UK for a tour in October, for Caribou has just been named support for.

   And Radiohead aren’t the only ones to celebrate Elizabeth II’s 60^th year on the throne. Take That’s frontman Gary Barlow will host the official Queen’s Jubilee Concert featuring Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Madness, Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J. The concert will take place on the 4^th of June in front of Buckingham Palace, for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the rest of the royal family.

 

  Radiohead will appear at the Bilbao BBK Live festival http://www.bilbaobbklive.com/2012/ in Spain and the Fuji Rock festival http://www.smash-uk.com/frf12/about.html

Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards 2012

Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year Awards took place last night, with the most glamorous, successful, beautiful and rich women in the world sauntering down the red carpet.

     The ceremony annually celebrates the beauty and independence of women and awards famous female faces from all types of industries, including her 25-years in music, T.V. and fashion. This year’s awards were presented by Irish funny-man Graham Norton.

    Kylie Minogue was awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award for her lively personality and musical journey since her career took off in 1979. The 44-year-old happily picked up the Glamour Award just a day after her 44^th birthday in a floor-length, metallic and sparkling frock.

   In her acceptance speech, Minogue thanked the female members of her family and expressed her amazement at the long-time support from her fans.

    The ceremony, in West London, also played host to the likes of Jessie J, Eva Longoria, Amanda Holden, Fearne Cotton and Glee star Lea Michelle.

Kylie Minogue 

    Other winners include Jessie J for Solo Artist of the Year, Jessica Alba for Entrepreneur of the Year for launching a range of eco-friendly baby care products this year, and Inspiration of the year was awarded to Eva Longoria.

  

Here is the full list of winners:

Solo Artist Of The Year    - Jessie J

Theatre Actress Of The Year  - Amanda Holden

Presenter Of The Year -  Holly Willoughby

Sportswoman Of The Year  - Hayley Turner

Comedy Actress Of The Year  - Sofia Vergara

UK TV Actress Of The Year  - Jessica Brown Findlay

Writer Of The Year  - Caitlin Moran

Radio Personality Of The Year  - Fearne Cotton

Accessories Designer Of The Year  - Charlotte Dellal

Entrepreneur Of The Year  - Jessica Alba

Band Of The Year  - Florence + The Machine

TV Personality Of The Year  - Kelly Rowland

US TV Actress Of The Year  - Lea Michele

Pandora Breakthrough Of The Year  - Lily Collins

Film Actress Of The Year  - Viola Davis

Inspiration Of The Year  - Eva Longoria

Man Of The Year  - Tom Hiddleston

Fashion Designer Of The Year  - Donatella Versace

Editor's Special Award  - Michelle Dockery

Outstanding Contribution  - Kylie Minogue

Icon Award  - Dionne Warwick

Ed Balls Supports Gay Marriage

   Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has publicised his support of gay marriage, after revealing it was his homosexual late uncle who inspired him to do so.

    Ed Balls believes same-sex couples should be legally allowed to wed in churches, just like heterosexual couples. In an online video, Mr Balls said “Twenty years ago my uncle came out in his fifties.” He also stated that his uncle was unable to marry his long-term partner because of his untimely and unfortunate death. 

   The politician also stated that his family supported his uncle with his sexuality, and hoped that he got married before his passing. “It’s what he would have wanted...” he said.

Ed Balls

   However, Ed Balls failed to name his uncle and a spokesman for the Labour Party explained it was to protect his relative’s privacy. But Balls will campaign for same-sex marriage because “People who want to get married should be able to.”

        This news comes after Barak Obama and Hip-Hop superstar Jay-Z revealed their support for homosexual marriage last week. Both are married themselves and don’t believe sexuality should be an issue.

    It’s astonishing in this day and age, with war all over the world, economic declines everywhere and fret for the planet’s future, that there is any need to campaign for people to get married regardless of sexuality.   

    Ed Balls wants homosexual couples to have the option of getting married in a church, and be accepted by the religious communities for who they are rather than their sexual orientation. Although he is straight, the influence of his uncle moved him to believe everyone should have the same rights.  

   Out4Marriage interviewed Ed Balls to help maintain public pressure on the campaign, whose wife is even in support of the movement. The Government has pressed on with the issue, but backlash has come from a number of Conservative MPs.

     Ed Balls is one of a number of politicians who have come out in favour of gay marriage recently, with Home Secretary Theresa May recording a video for Out4Marriage last week. While Prime Minister David Cameron says he is in favour of gay marriage, he announced last week that he will give MPs a free vote on the subject to avoid a revolt among Conservative traditionalists on what is considered to be a ‘conscience’ issue.

The video has prompted the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to attack Cameron’s view, saying supporting same-sex marriage was not a matter of conscience.

   It’s currently unknown if or when the campaign will come to an end, but as they say, any publicity is good publicity. And with various MPs, the Prime Minister, President and many public figures and celebrities to show their support, it doesn’t look like the movement will end soon.

84 Olympic Mascots Revealed

     The giant mascots were unveiled yesterday across London to greet tourists for the Games this July. 

    London 2012 has already cost the capital a little over £12 million in public taxes, and over £32 million overall. Although, the original budget was a little over £9 million.

    But the mascot sculptures, of Wenlock (the Olympic mascot) and Mandeville (the Paralympic mascot) have been scattered around the city in walking and travel hotspots.  

     Each fibre class creature will weigh one tonne and reach 2.3 metres perched on concrete plinths. They have been created and decorated by over 20 artists and sculptors and are situated in colour-coded walking routes including Mayfair, Hyde Park and the South Bank.

    Over four million trail maps will be handed out by volunteers to tourist for the sculptures and £490,000 has been spent on the project so far. The mascots were originally imagined by acclaimed children’s author Michael Morourgo. They are based around the idea that the two characters are the lost drops of steel from the construction workers’ efforts to build the Olympic Stadium.

     Wenlock is named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock, which first hosted the 'Wenlock Olympian Games' in the 1850s. Mandeville, however, is named after the location where the Paralympic movement was founded after World War II.

    Speaking before the mascots were revealed, London 2012 chairman Lord Coe told the BBC Today programme: “We want it to be fun, we want it to try and engage and reconnect young people to sport and that should be fun, teach them to play sport and anchor it in our extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic history.”

Mayor: Boris Johnson

    Mandeville and Wenlock sculptures will be auctioned after the Games with all proceeds going to charity chosen by the Mayor of London. Boris Johnson said “Wenlock and Mandeville are eminently suitable guides for Londoners and tourists wanting to discover the city.”

   When the mascots were first unveiled to the public back in 2007, they were disliked by the majority of the public. But now their comments are a lot more positive. Luke Boucher, 27, from Marble Arch described the mascot trail as a “daring project” and Luke Boucher, 27, also from Marble Arch said "They look like robots from a Japanese manga cartoon, but I think people will enjoy that. Personally I think they are really cool, and tourists come to London expecting to see something different and exciting.”

Maximo Park Announce November UK Tour

     Northern Indie-rockers Maximo Park announced their first UK shows in three years today

     The quintet’s up and coming album ‘The National Health’, which was produced with Gil Norton, who’s already worked with Pixies and Foo Fighters, is set for release on the 11^th of June.

    The 8-date tour will start in Liverpool on the 1^st of November at the o2 Academy, until the 10^th of November at Portsmouth’s Pyramid’s Centre. Maximo Park will also share their new material with fans with a shorter tour next month. The shows will be in Manchester, London and Birmingham a few days before the album is released.

    Their new album ‘The National Health’ was created with “quite a lot of soul searching” according to the band, who played an exclusive preview acoustic set for NME magazine recently.

     The full tour dates are as follows:

Birmingham Glee Club (June 6)

Manchester Sound Control (June 7)

London Heaven (June 8)

O2 Academy Liverpool (November 1)

O2 ABC Glasgow (November 2)

O2 Academy Newcastle (November 3)

Sheffield Plug (November 5)

Manchester HMV Ritz (November 6)

O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (November 7)

Birmingham HMV Institute (November 9)

Portsmouth Pyramids Centre (November 10)

   Frontman and lead vocalist Paul Smith was also interviewed by gigwise.com recently, and talked about the ‘dangerous’ cuts to arts and music funding from the government. He explained that David Cameron and his Party treat creative people as a minority and do not appreciate them.

      "You end up feeling marginalised.” he said. “Obviously, a lot of arts stuff is not seen as important as getting the country back on track economically but if we live in a country without brave pop music and films then we'll be in a society that is poorer and squeezed in the most fundamental way. Without art I think society is poorer and impoverished."

    Instead of touring together over the last three years, Maximo Park opted for the odd intimate show here and there, working on solo projects and taking their time writing, producing and recording new material.

    The three intimate shows are already sold out, but tickets for their June and November gigs go on sale this Friday (1^st June) at 9am from www.seetickets.com, www.ticketmaster.com and www.nme.com/tickets

The Dictator Takes Over Cannes

     Cannes Film Festival is home to the latest and greatest films and actors in a prestigious annual showcase. But at this year’s 65^th festival, a ‘Dictator’ is dominating attention.

    Sacha Baren Cohen, the co-writer and star of ‘The Dictator’ which has already turned over $93,903,000 at the US Box Office after its released on the 16^th of May. Despite Cohen’s signature controversial, borderline racist ideas, the film has received great reviews and a lot of positive public feedback.

'The Dictator'

   Never one to fall short of going all out for publicity, Sacha Baren Cohen is well aware of how to promote and market. He was banned from the 84^th Academy Awards because organisers were well aware he was planning a huge publicity stunt and wanted to know the details for security reasons.

    Baron Cohen eventually appeared at the awards' red carpet with a pair of uniformed female bodyguards (resembling Gadhafi’s Amazonian Guards) and wielding an urn purportedly containing the ashes of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. The ashes were later reported to be pancake mix.

   He also released a video in the wake of the 2012 French Presidential Election, congratulating François Hollande on his victory. Baron Cohen also appeared in character with the pair of uniformed female bodyguards on the 7^th of May on The Daily Show in America.

   The endless publicity pranks are nothing compared to the stir ‘The Dictator’s’ caused at Cannes. Sacha has been as out-there as ever by taking a trip up the red carpet on a camel, proving that laughter really is infectious.

    The actor and writer extraordinaire appeared at a news conference and rode for a mile down the road with some trouble, and went shopping at the boutique stores lining the street. He was mobbed by journalists and photographers, but brought to a stop by local Police, causing him to ride right on back to the prestigious Carlton Hotel.

   He also hot-footed it to a luxury with models posing as his guards and girlfriends. He applied suntan cream over the women as he kept in character, as Admiral General Aladeen for most of the afternoon.

   As imaginative as this stunt is, it’s not unseen at Cannes. DreamWorks Animation has used the festival to promote their latest releases by giving sneak-peeks of scenes, costumes and storylines. Sacha Baren Cohen also cavorted around promoting his 2006 flick ‘Borat’ in a lime green man-kini not too long ago.

Sacha Baren Cohen

    With his wild imagination and hysterical characters and storylines, Baren Cohen is unstoppable, and only time will tell what he next marketing move will be.

Regina Spektor- ‘What We Saw From The Cheap Seats’ (28/05/2012- Sire Records)

   New York born Regina Spektor, has just released her sixth studio album What We Saw from the Cheap Seats, which is released today.

     At just 32, the singer-songwriter has made a name for herself as an individual, Folk singer, with an organic sound and unique talent. What We Saw from the Cheap Seats was recorded in LA last summer and despite never achieving mainstream success, Regina has maintained and developed her quirky, natural sound.

   The gentle, simplistic piano that starts the record shows Regina Spektor’s remarkable talent and experimental style, along with the interruption of harsh drumming. ‘Oh Marcello’ brings Regina’s Russian heritage to life, as well as her great vocal range.

   The ‘Fidelity’ singer’s second single from this record was ‘Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)’ which is a revamped version from her 2002 album Songs. With its chirpy melody and repetitive lyrics, the track is as likeable as a free holiday, and proves that sometimes, the best songs are the most cheerful. Reworking an only song has given Regina Spektor the chance to show her fans how much she’s grown as an artist in a decade and uphold her talent.

     What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is Regina’s fourth major label record, but she has preserved her distinctive flair through the years, as well as her charming and diverse signwriting skills. ‘Firewood’ is soothing and stunning, and illustrates her undeniable vocals.

    If you’re looking for the perfect album to unwind to, you might have just found it, and ‘How’ is a fantastic example of this. With modest lyrics like ‘How can I forget your love’, this song jumps into the hearts of anyone who’s gone through a difficult time in a relationship, which let’s face it, applies to everyone!

       The first single released from the record was ‘All the Rowboats’, which was released for online streaming on the 27^th of February and for digital download the day after. This track is dramatic, intense and emotional, but still full of groove, and the arrangement is amazing.

    Regina Spektor studied classical piano in New York before her career kicked-off, which is why’s she’s so confident and bold behind the keys. But her influences from countless genres of music come into place with her daring variations of music. Think of a better, less mainstream Florence and the Machine, throw in raw emotions and adventurous songwriting and you’ve got Regina Spektor.

    The number of emotions Regina explores in her music is remarkable, and her ability to hit the nail on the head when it comes to thoughts and feelings is fantastic to listen to. She pin-points her relationship-happy mood in ‘The Party’ with lyrics like ‘You look like New Year.’

     If you’re looking for an upbeat Indie album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats just isn’t it. But it is a relaxing, elegant and beautifully composed collection of tracks, reflecting an artist’s progress and huge musical abilities.

4/5


Visit http://reginaspektor.com/ right now!

Maximo Park- ‘The National Health’ (11/06/2012- Warp Records)

      ‘The National Health’ is alternative-rock band Maximo Park’s fourth studio album is set for release on the 11^th of June this year. The band get their name from the Máximo Gómez Park in their hometown of Pitlochry in Scotland.

     Frontman Paul Smith said today that the new album will be another opportunity for listeners to take a look at themselves. “We're in a global recession and everyone is being bombarded with bouncy, happy music.” he said. The nation is out of control and the record is about taking back control, and being a force for change in your own life.”

     Maximo Park are more than comfortably in their own collective skin, and have kept their unique sound for ‘The National Health’. Within this sound however, the band have lots of leeway and variety. ‘When I Was Wild’ is gentle, atmospheric, and lightly comments on the state of the world.

     Title track ‘The National Health’ is hasty, playful and as upbeat as early Kaiser Chiefs. Each instrument blends into the next seamlessly and the production is brilliant. Maximo Park clearly have lots of influences from the Rock, Punk and Indie worlds, and ‘Hip and Lips’ echoes classic features from The Cure.

     This album is definitely not a cocky or concept album but there is an element of angst and bitterness. The vocal harmonies, experimental sound effects and instrumental talents of the band are superb. The spectrum of styles and emotions ‘The National Health’ explores is unbelievable, and however strong their political message might be, Maximo Park’s strongest track on this album ‘The Undercurrents’ tells the story of a difficult relationship.

    ‘Write This Down’ is a great dance-driven song, with its Pet Shop Boys flair, and polished production. Maximo Park obviously still have songs still in them. Paul Smith’s habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve makes their music relatable and approachable, especially in ‘Reluctant Love’.

   Lively and effortless, ‘Until the World Would Open’ has what every band or artist wants; a unique vibe and with lyrics like, ‘Don’t punish me for who I can’t be’, it’s personal and real. Paul Smith stretches his vocal range to its depths for ‘Banlieue’ and throws soul and individuality into his singing.

   The emotional-level of ‘This is What Becomes of the Brokenhearted’ matches the likes of Keane or Travis, and the harmonies blended with the piano melody are beautiful. Maximo Park’s songwriting is diverse but does not strain their genres or styles, and why should they when what they create is this good? It is amazing how full of life and skill the band are after four albums.

   ‘Wolf among Men’ and ‘Take Me Home’ are anthemic and as festival-ready as a new pair of willies. The inspirational lyrics of ‘Unfamiliar Places’; “Don’t be scared of the life you’re making; making decisions on your own” shows that Maximo Park aren’t just a political band.   

Frontman: Paul Smith

    ‘The National Health’ finishes with ‘Waves of Fear’ which, ironically is upbeat and shows the confidence the band have in themselves. The album has everything you want from a Rock record; heart, hope, advice and truth.

Visit Maximo Park’s newly revamped website at: http://maximopark.com/

You can buy or download ‘The National Health’ from the 11^th of June from all good retailers