Stuck On Repeat

Penguin Prison - Worse It Gets (RAC Remix)



Brand X - Intergalactic Focker (Beastie Boys Noize)



The Golden Filter - Hide Me (Clock Opera Remix)



We Have Band - West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys Cover)



Crookers - Remedy (featuring Miike Snow)



Passion Pit - Little Secrets (The Filth Remix) by The Filth

It Wasn't Your State Of Mind (Shaggy/Jason Mraz/Jay Z Mash) by Collidoscope

Shock To The System

If you're a Dubliner and on Facebook, chances are you've encountered the photography of Peter Fingleton.

Peter is still honing his craft at the National College of Art & Design but has already become one of the most sought after snappers in Dublin.

His photography forms the basis for much of his artistic output and he works freelance for various publications, but Peter's most widely known work is probably his distinctive and instantly recognisable nightclub photography.

Fed up of the constraints of having this work showcased on Facebook (and presumably the incessant tagging notifications) he has decided to launch a website, Sharp Shock, where he can present his work as he wants to.

The website gets its launch this coming Tuesday, 30th of March, in Dublin's Crawdaddy and guess what? You're invited. The event is being supported by Absolut Vodka, which means free cocktails for the early birds, and Eimear and I will be spinning some tunes to soundtrack the evening.

If you're not sold yet, check out these snaps that Peter recently took at Come As Soon As You Hear's 'Chat As Soon As You Roulette':

Inebriated Ladies

Among the big names on the billing for Electric Picnic is James Murphy's LCD Soundsytem, whose 'Sound of Silver' album won universal acclaim back in 2007.

Murphy is set to release the follow-up later this year and a track from the album, 'Drunk Girls', has just surfaced:



'Drunk Girls' is hardly a radical departure from the material on the last album, but its combination of clever lyrics, gurgling energy and spiky production make for an intoxicating aural encounter.

Muddy, Bloody & Sprinkled With Glitter

On Wednesday, the line-up for Electric Picnic was announced and, as usual, was met with equal amounts of derision and excitement.

For the record, I'm planting myself firmly on the 'excited' side of the fence. I'm especially looking forward to seeing the likes of Jónsi, LCD Soundsystem, Fever Ray, Massive Attack, as well as checking out some of the names on the list I'm less familiar with.

The full line-up is as follows:

Roxy Music, Leftfield, Massive Attack, Gil Scott-Heron, Fever Ray, The Frames, Public Image Ltd (PiL), The National, Hot Chip, Jonsi, Caribou, Villagers, Imelda May, Mumford & Sons, Seasick Steve, Modest Mouse, Crystal Castles, Beach House, Redneck Manifesto, The Horrors, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Bad Lieutenant, Here We Go Magic, Memory Tapes, Field Music, The Big Pink, 808 State, The Low Anthem, Monotonix, Liquid Liquid, Steve Mason, Cymande, The Alarm, Messiah J & The Expert, Adrian Crowley, The New Pornographers, Edan, Breakestra & Chali 2 Na, Mr Scruff, Dublin Gospel Choir, Afro Celt Soundsystem, Booka Shade, Bloody Beetroots, Death Crew77, Steve Earle, The Waterboys.

The Electric Picnic line-up is inevitably going to be compared to the Oxegen line-up, these being the two largest draws in the Irish festival season. The consensus seems to be that Oxegen has attracted the more star-studded line-up this year but, according to some, this equates to a rowdier, more 'mainstream' crowd.

Personally, I don't see the point in this sort of snobbery. If you don't like the crowd, don't camp. I've spent some of the best weekends of my life at Oxegen (and indeed at 'Witnness') so you can bet your smelly wellies that I'll be back this year.

The full Oxegen line-up so far is:

Arcade Fire, Fatboy Slim, Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, The Prodigy, Florence & The Machine, Paolo Nutini, Faithless, Stereophonics, David Guetta, Vampire Weekend, John Mayer, Calvin Harris, Newton Faulkner, Gossip, Temper Trap, Empire Of The Sun, Goldfrapp, La Roux, Wolfmother, Rise Against, The Coral,Broken Social Scene, Ellie Goulding, Two Door Cinema Club, Armand Van Helden, Steve Angelo, Simian Mobile Disco, Erol Alkan, Steve Aoki, A Trak, Aeroplane.

Provided I have the requisite funds, expect to see me at both Punchestown and Stradbally for the festivities. Who knows? I might even venture further afield...

Tickets for both Oxegen and Electric Picnic can be bought here.

[Imagea: Lomo D, Turgidson and Lavinia Amaldi]

This Western Feeling...

Despite initial skepticism, I was completely won over by Foals' 'Spanish Sahara' after a few listens.

Seemingly, that track was put into the public domain for 'promotional purposes' and the first single from their forthcoming sophomore album 'Total Life Forever' will, in fact, be 'This Orient'.



The track seems like a logical bridge between the material on debut album 'Antidotes' and 'Spanish Sahara' and suggests that we can expect a varied collection of tracks from the new album. Check out the video for the track here.

Incidentally, Heineken Music are bringing the band over to The Academy, Dublin in May for one of their wonderful free Green Spheres events. The first time I saw the band live was in that same venue and it was, in all honesty, one of my favourite gigs I've ever been to.

You can register for tickets here and I strongly suggest that you do.

The Caged Bird Sings

The more I hear from New York wunderkind Penguin Prison, the more I'm convinced he's poised to deliver one of the finest pop albums of this year.

After the initial teasers of 'A Funny Thing' and 'Animal Animal', he's today released a second double whammy on Neon Gold's record label.

'The Worse It Gets' is a tidy little disco-tinged number, laden with catchy hooks, while synthpop slow-burner 'Something I'm Not' is, to my ears, the best thing we've heard from him to date.

Oh, and both tracks have been made available as free downloads. Nice.

Penguin Prison - The Worse It Gets (Free Download)



Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not (Free Download)



Starsmith is apparently set to unleash a big remix of 'Something I'm Not' but, for now, I'm kinda taken with the club-friendly Friends Electric Remix:

Worth The Hassle?

Despite having one of the finest pop songs of the past year in his arsenal, mop-haired Swede Erik Hassle has, as yet, failed to permeate the public consciousness on these shores.

His debut album, 'Pieces', has just been released here but, sadly, seems fated to go criminally unnoticed. On the plus side, the UK (and, ahem, Irish) release features two brand new tracks.

One of these is the slightly cheesy but entirely listenable 'Standing Where You Left Me'.



You can get a free download of the Dada Life Remix of 'Hurtful' here, alhough I still kinda prefer the Penguin Prison remix.

Erik Hassle - Hurtful (Penguin Prison Remix) (Free Download)

Underground Theatre

Based on what I've posted here over the past few months, you could be forgiven for thinking that Come As Soon As You Hear are concerned with little more than infiltrating the Dublin night life.

But, in fact, since long before we started swapping clothes and hosting chat roulette parties, Come As Soon As You Hear have been making plays. There have been plays at Electric Picnic, plays in the Project Arts Centre, plays in nightclubs and now there are going to be plays in The Basement.

The Basement is an underground performance and rehearsal space that has been our base of operations for the past year or so and the organisers of a series of 'Scriptscribe' workshops felt it was about time we included it in our plays.

Six writers (including yours truly) have drawn inspiration from The Basement and come up with an original 20 minute script. Some of these will eventually be performed in The Basement but, for now, we're hoping you'll come along and check out the scripts-in-progress.

This evening and tomorrow evening there will be rehearsed readings of the 20 min scripts in The Basement (Clarendon House, Clarendon Street, Dublin 2).

Come. Listen. Discuss. Wine. Whine.

[Tueday 23d @ 8pm]
Readings of work by:
John Singleton
Tim Smyth
Meadhbh Haiceid

[Wednesday 24th @8pm]
Readings of work by:
Jennifer Carroll
Louise Melinn
Joey Kavanagh

Entry: €3 (suggested)

P.S. I suspect my own script is slightly more 'in progress' than the others, so if you encounter me over the next 48 hours, expect to find me either frantically typing or trying to compose a song for deceased beauty pageant contestants....

Best Of The Fest(s)

As a result of some petty infighting amongst the organisers, this year, Dublin will play host to not one, but two gay theatre festivals.

My personal allegiance will be to the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, rather than the Absolut Gay Theatre Festival, for the simple reason that a couple of my friends have shows in the former.

'Fragile', an original play by Aaron Rogers, will run from 3rd - 8th of May at The Cobalt Café. Directed by Aaron and the lovely Roisin Watson, 'Fragile' tells the story of Nick, a young Dubliner struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.

I was fortunate enough to catch Roisin and Aaron's previous collaboration 'Wait! They Don't Love You Like I Love You...' in Novemeber and, if that's anything to go by, 'Fragile' looks set to be one of the highlights of the festival. Or indeed both festivals.

Tickets go on sale later today from www.gaytheatre.ie.

Fated To Pretend

As concerned as I am about the possibility of Sigur Rós never making another record, at least their (former?) frontman Jónsi is more than making up for their absence for the time being.

The bits and pieces I've heard from his forthcoming album 'Go' have been consistently brilliant and now he's gone and done this fantastic cover of MGMT's 'Time To Pretend':



The song was recorded for BBC Radio 1's 'Live Lounge', which tends to throw up some real gems every now and again.

Pucker Up

Danish indie-pop outfit Kiss Kiss Kiss recently unleashed their new album 'Release The Birds' in their homeland.

Sounding like the sonic lovechild of Franz Ferdinand and Friendly Fires, the band's infectious ditties are deserving of a wide audience, so hopefully we'll see an international release later this year.

At the moment, I can't get enough of this particular track, 'Miss Meredith':



I kinda love the self-referential 'kiss, kiss, kiss' lyric.

Stuck On Repeat

Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (Chiddy Bang Remix) (free download)



MAU - Toboggan



Rihanna - Rude Boy (DVW Remix)



Jónsi - Tornado



Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know (Lightsover LA Remix)



Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (TLGB Remix)



Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - These New Knights (JOCKS Remix)

Once You Go Attack, You Ain't Never Goin' Back

Having, recently revealed that she will be releasing three EPs over the next twelve months, Robyn has wasted no time in getting her new material in the public domain.

I've had her reggae flavoured Diplo collaboration 'Dance Hall Queen' on heavy rotation these past few weeks and now she's premiered a second track, 'Fembot'.

This track sounds like a logical progression from the more electro-tinged tracks on her eponymous 2005 album and features some characteristically wacky lyrics.

Chat As Soon As You Roulette

Yes, it's the time of the month, where I plug the latest Come As Soon As You Hear party.

Chat As Soon As You Roulette is a clothes-swapping extravaganza that's gonna be broadcast live on Chat Roulette. It kicks off at 11pm this Saturday, the 20th of March.

The survival manual is as follows:

1. Come.
2. Do a sexy dance for the benefit of those watching you on their computer screens.
3. When the klaxon sounds, 'next' your clothes by swapping 'em with someone nearby.
4. Repeat steps 2 - 3 until you...
5. Come.
6. Exeunt.

Dress code: Clothes you might never see again.

Choons: Of the bangin' variety. Served up by electro fiend Shane Kelly and pop purveyor Conor Behan.

€5 before 12 with special guestlist - http://short.ie/chat

See you there?

Spoonful of Sugar

In the aftermath of Paddy's Day celebrations, it's a pretty safe bet that many of us will be needing a recovery period.

If you fancy indulging in a bit of comfort eating, then I suggest you check out the launch of the 'Sugar Coated' exhibition this evening at 6pm in The Back Loft on Augustine Street. The exhibition is being organised by my friend Dylan and his classmates from Dun Laoghaire IADT and will kick off with a ‘sweet and drinks’ reception before the unveiling of selected work inspired by the theme 'Suger Coated'.

The event will be judged and curated by a group of artists and professionals, including Michelle Browne and Paul Lynam, who will decided the winner of €400 and the inaugural 'Sugar Coated Award for Visual Arts'.

Live Review: Ellie Goulding @ The Academy, Dublin

Not Many Experts recently identified the two stock introductions for reviewing the music of Ellie Goulding:

1. “I am very very clever and first wrote about Ellie Goulding in the year 150BC, here.”
2. “Due to recently being named the BBC Sound of 2010 and winning a Brit Award, there was always going to be a lot of hype surrounding Ellie Goulding. The question is, though, has she lived up to the hype?!?!?!?!?!”. Cue disappointing review in which they will probably conclude that, no, she has not.

Honestly, few things annoy me more than bloggers repeatedly reminding you that they discovered an artist first but I don't think I could do justice to my experience at Ellie's debut Irish headliner without acknowledging the fact that I've been looking forward to seeing her for quite a long time.

And yes, I'll admit to being disappointed by her album, Lights, but as kDamo rightly points out, we've been listening to some of the album's better tracks for months and, if it had emerged fully-formed before the hype machine went into overdrive, we'd probably all be hailing it as a masterpiece.

So, after positioning myself up the front of The Academy well before Kildare band Planet Parade take to the stage and deliver a decidedly impressive set, I wait for Ms. Goulding to appear.

Armed with a guitar and cutting a slinky figure in a fitted black outfit, the singer takes to the stage with her bandmates and, with minimum fanfare, launches into 'Lights', an iTunes only bonus track I didn't realise existed until recently.

Ellie's vocal prowess is instantly apparent as she delivers a rousing, pitch-perfect rendition of the song, immediately following with sprightly numbers 'Everytime You Go' and 'Your Biggest Mistake'.

Although she's visibly overwhelmed by the emphatic reception she is greeted with and doesn't engage in much chit chat between songs, the singer barely puts a foot wrong musically as she works her way through the setlist.

A few songs in, she sets aside her guitar for 'This Love' and 'The Writer' but, just as it seems the set is beginning to sag under the weight of these slightly MOR numbers, she takes to the drums for 'Salt Skin' and elevates the set to a whole new stratosphere.

If there was any doubt over Ellie's superstar potential, it's obliterated at this moment as Ellie serves up the highlight of the night. Thrashing violently on a drum and cymbal while delivering a vocal performance that reveals the light and shade of her distinctive singing voice, Ellie displays a flair and striking originality that some of the album's weaker material doesn't showcase quite as well.

It's plain sailing from here and Ellie sustains the momentum by swiftly launching into breakthrough single 'Under The Sheets'. She then exits the stage only to return moments later for an encore comprising a pared-down version of 'Wish I Stayed', a gorgeous cover of 'Roscoe' by Midlake and current smash 'Starry Eyed', which induces mild hysteria from some of the more 'enthusiastic' audience members.

Already, some have ranted about the gig while others have raved, but I'd be inclined to position myself somewhere in between. Ellie's talent is undeniable but, in terms of her live performances, a little inexperience definitely shows.

She needs to figure out how to engage with the audience a little more, so that people leave feeling more of a connection to her music. Presumably this sort of thing come with practice and I reckon, with a few more killer songs, Ellie Goulding has the potential to graduate to the big league.

Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (Live at The Academy, Dublin)



[Photos: Damien McGlynn, Video: Finian Murphy]

Chew Lips - Unicorn

When I first heard electropop outfit Chew Lips' rather brilliant track 'Solo' a few months back, I got the distinct impression that it was a fluke. I'm not sure what it was exactly but, as much as I loved the song, something about it struck me as being a 'happy accident' that the band would struggle to follow up.

As if to mock my initial skepticism, the band have left both 'Solo' and subsequent single 'Salt Air' completely off their debut album, Unicorn. It's a testament to the calibre of the record (and perhaps my poor observational skills) that, only after listening to it a handful times, I realised these tracks were missing.

By teaming all-the-rage elements like spluttering synths and weighty basslines with rock guitars, piano and drums, the London trio have crafted a wonderfully textured album that sounds of its time but also vaguely vintage.

The band's intricate arrangements, range of tempos and knack for pegging down killer hooks serve them well throughout Unicorn's ten tracks but there's no question that Chew Lips' trump card is frontwoman 'Tigs'.

Whether snarling and wailing on the anthemic 'Seven' and 'Slick', or tenderly crooning on 'Piano Song' and 'Too Much Talking', she is commanding throughout and her charisma and energy percolates through the record.

Pick of the bunch for me is recent single 'Play Together' but Unicorn is an album loaded with potential favourites and I'd strongly encourage investigating for yourself.

If you like what you hear, be sure to catch the band when the play Dublin's Crawdaddy on Friday, April 9th. Tickets, priced at just €12, can be booked here.

Chew Lips - Play Together

Bitches With Wolves Competition

Last week, I posted about Dublin act Bitches With Wolves' three-night stint at The Academy on April 3rd, 10th and 17th.

Since then, I've managed to get my hands on two tickets to give away for the April 3rd date. To be in with a chance at winning, all you have to do is e-mail thebubbleboyblog@gmail.com and let me know what you would have as your accompanying animals if you were part of a band of bitches.

Personally, my preference would be parakeets.

Under The Influence

As you may or may not know, I contribute to a weekly Dublin-centric arts and culture bulletin called 'Le Cool' (read it here and subscribe to it here).

This week, one of the events I've written about is an exhibition called 'Under The Influence', which is being held as part of the GCN Forever campaign, aimed at rescuing Ireland's Gay Community News from its current financial difficulties.

For the exhibition, Dublin artist Will St Leger rounded up 20 artists, photographers and illustrators and asked them to produce a piece inspired by those that have influenced them.

The fruits of their labour can be seen on display in Dublin's The Front Lounge for the next week. An eclectic pick'n'mix of different media, the exhibition includes pieces inspired by a varied palette of influences including Madonna, Amanda Lepore, The Children of Lir and Andy Warhol.

All the pieces on display are up for sale, with proceeds going towards the GCN Forever campaign. I'd definitely recommend checking it out at some stage this week (ideally during the day, when it's a bit quieter). Here's a video from the exhibition's opening night, which should serve as a taster of what to expect:



[Image: Peter Fingleton]

Freak In The Morning, Freak In The Evening...

I've never been a particularly huge fan of English R'n'B singer Estelle but there's something about her latest track 'Freak', from forthcoming album 'All Of Me', that I find irresistible.

Maybe it's the chaotic Missy Elliot-esque quality of the song's make-up? Or could it be the sample of 90's sensations Soul II Soul's 'Back To Life'? Whatever the case, something about the track just draws me in and the futuristic video that accompanies the track isn't too shabby either:



Listening to the track, it's not hard to hear the potential for dancefloor-decimating remixes and already these have started trickling through.

I'm particularly taken with the Danny G Pop Art Remixxx:



Mega.

Strike The Match

With Kate Nash having gone completely off the boil and Lily Allen repeatedly threatening to quit the music industry, the future's looking bleak for Cockney female singer-songwriters.

Fret not though because there's a beacon of hope on the horizon in the form of SPARK. The latest recommendation to be served up by Illegal Tender, the eighteen-year-old singer is a very exciting prospect indeed.

As Carl at Illegal Tender points out, by virtue of being a white female pop artist from London, SPARK will inevitably suffer comparisons to Ms Nash and especially Ms Allen but, in reality, her music bears more of a similarity to that of more leftfield pop artists like The Good Natured or Theoretical Girl.

There are only a few tracks up on her Myspace at present but these serve as a wonderful introduction to an artist with more than one string to her bow. I particularly like 'Revolving' but am perfectly content to settle for a free download of 'Shut Out The Moon'.

SPARK - Shut Out The Moon

[via Illegal Tender]

Run, Rabit, Run

I really like this stop-motion film 'Out Of A Forest' by Tobias Gundorff Boesen about a tragedy that befalls an impressionable young bunny.



The film was shot in the forests surrounding Viborg in Denmark and the music featured is The National's 'Slow Song'.

[via Devin Castro]

Pit Of Diamonds

Usually I try to confine my remix festish to 'Stuck On Repeat' posts but, every now and again, a remix comes along that justifies a post all of its own.

Enter Passion Pit with their earth-shuddering 'Flex'd Rework' of Marina and the Diamonds' 'I Am Not A Robot'. The track sees Marina's original vocal manhandled by the Passion Pit boys and submerged in a sea of swirling synths and squelchy beats:



Brilliant.

Incidentally, it looks like Eimear and I will be making the journey down to Cork this weekend to see Passion Pit play at the latest Heineken Green Spheres gig. That's a distance further to travel than when we went to Carlow to see Marina play at a previous Green Spheres gig but I reckon it'll be worth it.

Let It Bleedin' Be

I stumbled across this video, courtesy of The Hundred In The Hands' blog. Granted it's a little 'out there', but I can't help but find it a little mesmerising.



You've probably already guessed that it's a mash-up of The Beatles' 'Let It Be' and The Rolling Stones 'Let It Bleed'. It was assembled by artist Yoshi Sodeoka, whose other work is well worth checking out.

Alison Wonderland

I've always been on the fence when it comes to Goldfrapp. Some of their material I liked, other stuff not so much and I always got the impression that frontwoman Alison was something of a she-devil.

That said, the band's latest single 'Rocket' has nestled itself in my brain these past few weeks and I have to reluctantly concede that it's one of the finest pop singles I've encountered this year.



The band's album 'Head First' is due in a couple of weeks' time and, based on these 30 second previews, it seems there's plenty more slinky electronica to infest my ears and I may not be quite done with eating my words.

You win on this occasion, Alison. Rest assured, next time, you'll not be so lucky.

That's Why Her Hair Is So Big...

...it's full of secrets.

Disney meets Mean Girls. This is inspired.



[Via Patrick from Make and Deux]

The Life O' Brien

'Becoming A Jackal' is the first video from Conor O' Brien's Villagers since he signed with Domino Records.

Conor and his band are headed to Austin, Texas later in the month for the SXSW Festival. If the rest of the new material is as strong as this, I suspect he'll cause something of a stir.

Stuck On Repeat

Fenech Soler - Lies (Wolf Child Remix)



Wolf Gang - Back To Back



Coeur De Pirate - Comme Des Enfants (Le Matos Andy Carmichael Remix)



Cassette Kids - Lying Around (Diamond Cut Remix)



KiT - Animals



Computer Club featuring Frankmusik - Losing Streak



Kid Sister - Daydreaming (Jakwob Remix)

Keeping An Eye On... Bitches With Wolves

Back in late 2008, Lyndsay and I moseyed along to the first ever night run by the now-defunct T.A.C. ensemble and had a blast of a time.

One of the acts playing on that particular night was Bitches With Wolves, fronted by Dubliner James O' Neill (one of those behind the hugely popular 'WAR' club-night in Spy). I'd never encountered the band before but found them camp, fun, slightly ridiculous and unlike anything I'd encountered in Dublin before then.

Since then, Bitches With Wolves have enjoyed huge success, supporting international acts like Groove Armada, Calvin Harris and Fatboy Slim during their Irish dates, as well as nabbing a slot at Oxegen.

This week they debuted a song called 'Broken Hearts' on Myspace. A combination of slick production, sleek vocals and killer hooks enable the track to pack a more potent punch than the earlier material and, to my ears, this sounded like the first real sign that Bitches With Wolves might graduate to headline slots.

Low and behold, James and co have now bagged for a three-date stint at Dublin's Academy 2 on Saturday April 3rd, April 10th and April 17th.

Tickets are €11.80 and I reckon I'm gonna venture along one of the nights to see if there's other new material up to the standard of 'Broken Hearts'. Lord knows, it'd be nice to have a decent Irish popstar. We haven't had one in aeons....

Bratz

Tired of things that are 'good'? So are Come As Soon As You Hear.

Well, come on down to Bernard Shaw tonight (Thursday) from 8pm for an evening dedicated to everything that's BAD, including:

Bad Actors

Dastardly deviant Frank Wasser

Good guy gone bad John Devlin and Come As Soon As You Hear brats on decks

Colouring-outside-the-lines competitions

Junk food

And all for free.

Oh, and everyone's planning to throw a collective strop at the end of the night and storm off to see Liana Trioblóid O' Cleirigh DJing at Soundchick @ Spy.

Lilikoi Boy

Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi's forthcoming solo album is something of an exciting prospect, as the tracks that have trickled through so far have all been fantastic.

In conjunction with the release, Jónsi has teamed up with director Dean Deblois to produce a film called 'Go Quiet', which will feature Jónsi performing all the album's tracks.

Speaking about the film, Deblois says: "The concept behind 'Go Quiet' was simple: it’s New Year’s Day in Reykjavík, and Jónsi awakens to a trashed house in the wake of his party. He avoids cleaning up and instead procrastinates by playing songs that reflect the night before, the bittersweetness of new year, and the melancholy of a year gone by."

This trailer has certainly served to whet my appetite:

Strictly Regal

Oh my, the Crookers album is shaping up to be quite something.

Hot on the heels of their Miike Snow collaboration 'Remedy' comes 'Royal T', which sees the Italian duo providing a bleeptastic backdrop for the snarls of the ever-excellent Roisin Murphy. A live version of this track has been floating around since last year but it's nice to finally hear the studio version:



Ludicrously good. Crookers' album is officially released next week.

Pony Pony Run Run

English indie outfit Foals today premiered the first single from their sophomore album, 'Total Life Forever'.

The band's 2008 debut 'Antidotes' is a firm favourite of mine and their gig at The Academy that year was one of the best I've been to.

The band never really struck me as the types to play it safe but I'm still taken aback by how radical a departure new track 'Spanish Sahara' is from previous material.



The track is unlikely to be playlisted by many commercial radio stations but I think I like it. I'll reserve final judgement until I hear it in the context of the album, which is due in May.

Foals will be giving the new tracks an airing at a Heineken Green Spheres free event in The Academy, Dublin on May 14th. Keep an eye on their site to see how to apply for tickets.

Un Bel Film

Working as box office staff for the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival unfortunately prevented me from going to see most of the movies being screened.

However, I was lucky enough to nab a ticket for the gala screening of the festival's closing film, 'Io Sono l’Amore' ('I Am Love'), so I wandered along to The Savoy last night to check it out.

Eleven years in the making, the movie stars Tilda Swinton as the Russian wife of a wealthy Italian businessman whose life takes a series of unexpected turns after her son befriends a lowly chef.

Swinton and the film's director Luca Guadagnino were present at the screening and said that they had set out to make a film that would reclaim words used to describe modern movies in a disparaging way, like "sensational", "operatic" and "melodramatic". They sure succeeded.

Elegantly shot, perfectly paced and laden with fine performances, I honestly can't remember the last time I was so absorbed by a movie. As the closing credits began to roll, I was left reeling from the film's dramatic final scenes and sat in stunned silence for a few moments before remembering to clap.

The film gets a proper release here next month and I strongly suggest you check it out.



[Image: Peter Fingleton]

Printemps/Été

I really like this video by French designer Vanessa Bruno to promote her Spring/Summer collection. The video features model Lou Dillon dancing to Y△CHT in her apartment, crying as Gonzales (who recently re-worked Marina & The Diamonds' 'Hollywood') accompanies her on piano and, finally, taking to the open road after cheering up considerably.

vanessabruno-Le Bel Eté-SS2010 from presse vanessabruno on Vimeo.