Erasure - The Neon 4/5 This is the 18th, yes, 18th album for electropop duo Erasure. A lot of people are touting this as the big comeback album, which is rather odd seeing as their last album ‘World Be Gone’ was only three years ago and garnered rather good reviews, I suppose people just love the drama of a comeback. In all fairness Vince and Andy have stated that on this album they’ve gone back to some of their old synths to give the album a retro-Erasure feel and that’s true to a degree. It definitely has the feel of an early Erasure record but it doesn’t have the same level of pop songs that came so easily to them through the eighties and nineties.  Not to say that the songwriting is below par but there’s not anything on the album that touches ‘A Little Respect’ or ‘Sometimes’ but not many songs can come that close to such pop perfection so we should be a bit gentler in our approach. Highlights are still very good indeed, lead single ‘Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling) is a ...

We caught up with Zak and Oskar who are opening Edinburgh’s nee Scotland only Queer sober cafe. Who is running it and how did you get the space? Our names are Zak and Oskar, a DJ and a drag artist based in Edinburgh, who became friends through the club scene. We saw a post on facebook advertising a small cafe and retail space that was looking for new management from September onwards. Zak has a mind for business, having run the AHA Jokes Shop on Victoria Street for years, and I (Oskar) have a mind and network for creative and artistic flair, so we decided to unite our powers and go for it! -Why open a queer cafe? In a world that somehow manages to be both more tolerant than decades ago, AND is falling prey once again to bigoted rhetoric,   it’s important to showcase and highlight the sheer diversity of life, art, and experience in this world. A lot of the queer focus of our space will come from selling works of art by local, up-and-coming queer artists, as well as monthly exhi...

we had a chat with Lynnie Carson about her new album Everything In Between which is out now  What are the themes of the new album? Thematically this is quite dark for me. I have previously shied away from revealing anything too personal in my work, but John Grant said that when writing if it felt like something he shouldn't be talking about then it absolutely should go into a song. So I wrote these songs in the wake of a break-up, getting married and then my brand new, lovely wife suffering a cancer diagnosis. The songs were cathartic and I wrote them without thinking anyone would hear them so there is a freedom in that. There's also songs that cover addiction too, I'm not judging anybody in them, these are just what came out of me feeling that so many people from my past never reached their potential because of drink or drugs. It seems like such a waste and I felt I had to write about it.   How did lockdown affect the recording? We started recording 3 summers ago so lockdo...

The Killers, “Imploding the Mirage” (Island Records) When you are The Killers and your usual guitarist has gone, no problem. When you’re The Killers you can turn to Lindsey Buckingham. The former Fleetwood Mac guitarist steps in for a tune on the new 10-song “Imploding the Mirage,” another sign of the band’s clout. The album's guests also include k.d. lang and Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs. The absence of guitarist and co-founder Dave Keuning is felt, with keyboards and drums stepping into the void. Without Keuning’s jangle and riff shards, The Killers have a more poppy sound. If 2017′s “Wonderful Wonderful” was a meditation on the anxiety of masculinity, the new album often explores the lives of women, with two sharp portraits of tough survivors in “Blowback” and “Caution” — women whom Brandon Flowers sings each come from “white trash.” Many other songs are about loyally backing a partner. "I’ll be there when water’s rising/I’ll be your lifeguard," Flowers sings on...

What do you do when all your dreams have come true? This is the question that haunts A Hero's Death, the 2nd album from Dublin post-punks Fontaines D.C.  On Dogrel, their debut, released a mere 15 months ago, they presented themselves as a band out of time; young men besotted by romantic poetry, and sickened by the inauthenticity of modernity that has swept their home town. Praised for its grounded and authenticity and anthemic songwriting, Dogrel was showered with accolades. Second time out though, having achieved success, the "Big" that frontman Grian Chatten once sang about, the quintet seem less sure of what they want, the classic sophomore conundrum. Taught and tense with a paranoid edge, the album is the guitar-band equivalent of a late-night bus ride, the record presenting a rootless expanse. You can picture members staring out a rain-soaked window at the endless stretch before them. Fittingly, A Hero's Death was at least partly inspired by escapist art made by...

  Carla J Easton - Weirdo 5/5 I’m not going to hide it, we adore Carla J Easton. She’s such a tiny superstar, I’m almost willing Smash Hits back to life just to see her joshing about on the front cover where she belongs. ‘Weirdo’ is her third solo album after ‘Homemade Lemonade’ and 2018’s spectacular ‘Impossible Stuff’ this record finds her turning to keyboards and electronica and it's a wise move. Miss Easton has a unique voice at times it can be a youthful squeak and then it can be soaring above the clouds, sometimes both within the line of a song. ‘Weirdo’ is a bit of a journey, at times playful (‘Get Lost’) or energetic (‘Over You’) sometimes brooding (‘Coming Up Daisies’) but always inventive, the new sound is a perfect match for Carla’s writing. It compliments her slight oddness, not that we’d ever call our Carla a weirdo but she just has that nice left of centredness that sets her apart from her contemporaries. Wisely the album opens with the frankly magnificent ‘Get Lost’ ...

  ERASURE  (Andy Bell and Vince Clarke) have shared the fabulous new video for their latest single, ‘ Nerves of Steel ’. Featuring over  20 LGBTQIA+ stars , including several best known for their appearance on  RuPaul’s Drag Race , the video shines a suitably neon light on the single’s pop gleam. Andy Bell has said,  “This is my favourite track from the album, I am truly honoured that all our LGBTQIA+ friends were so creative during lockdown and helped us with this joyful video. Thanks for creating such a lovely piece of art!” Talking about the track, one of the video’s stars  Manila Luzon  said,  “Nerves of Steel evokes the butterfly feelings I remember when first falling in love and nothing else in the world mattered — pure excitement and electricity!”  while  Detox  explains,  “Erasure has been an integral part of my queer soundtrack from early on and it was a tremendous honor to be included in their new work!” 

Hate For Sale by Pretenders 5 Stars Chrissie Hynde, is back with the Pretender’s 11th studio album,  Hate for Sale  – a tasty, ten-track nugget that rocks, rolls and everything else in between. In just over forty years, Hynde has fronted the aforementioned rock and roll outfit with various members, and now she’s returned with a smashing new record – featuring the current touring line-up. Martin Chambers, the band’s original powerhouse drummer reclaims his throne behind his kit, alongside bass guitarist Nick Wilkinson to create the rhythm section. James Walbourne, takes on lead guitar duties as well as the album’s co-composer with Hynde. Prior to the release of  Hate for Sale , Hynde’s last Pretenders album  Alone  (2016) found her working side by side with fellow Akron native Dan Auerbach. While  Alone  successfully allowed Hynde to explore new musical avenues,  Hate for Sale   brings her and the band, seamlessly, right back to the ...

Total Freedom by Kathleen Edwards   4 Stars Singer-songwriter  Kathleen Edwards  has such a steep career trajectory that she fell into that unenviable category of artists where producers, industry types and others were telling her how she should sound, and what she should be doing next. It all became too heavy a burden to bear so she dropped out, choosing to run her successful small coffee shop, bar, and café aptly named Quitters in her hometown of Stittsville, ON Canada. So, like her business, this album title,  Total Freedom , is also aptly named – she’s put aside all the so-called expectations and delivered an album the way she wanted to after her period of self-reflection.  The themes are essentially about resilience and newfound optimism. This is her fifth studio album and first since her 2012 Voyageur. Edwards had huge success with that record and is a five-time Juno Award nominee and winner of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for Voyageur track ...

Miriam Margolyes - Almost Australian now on the iPlayer For Miriam Margolyes, becoming an Australian citizen six years ago at the age of 71, was “a day of supreme happiness and real joy”. But it also made her realise how little she knew about the place she could now call home – despite having come and gone from Australia for nearly 40 years. As Miriam sees it, she “lives in a silly little bubble of people who talk like me, and sound like me”. So the celebrated actor and Hollywood sta r is leaving the home she shares with her life partner, Heather, in the Southern Highlands of NSW – and embarking on a 10,000km, 2-month journey around the country to discover what it means to be an Australian today. This 3-part observational documentary series follows Miriam as she tests her assumptions against the people she meets and ventures far out of her comfort zone to dissect myth from reality – armed only with some wit, a little wisdom, a lot of chutzpah, and a lifetime of natural inquisitiveness....

How to Build A Girl 4 Stars Johanna Morrigan (Beanie Feldstein) is so uncool she manages to swing back around to being kind of cool. She doesn't often see herself reflected in the things she loves. She is kind awkward and silly, a little bit overweight, smart as hell, obsessed with her dog and all around friendless when we meet her. She regularly has imaginary conversations with her idols like Sylvia Plath and Sigmund Freud (you can play spot the star) . However, there is a glimmer of coolness in her like an ember that just needs to be fanned in order to set a flame.   In lesser films, there would be a need to give Johanna a romantic pursuit that would transform her, Coky Giedroyc's How To Build A Girl resists this. Right from the first act, Johanna declares "I do not think my adventure starts with a boy." This is one of the satisfying qualities that mark this coming of age story based on journalist Caitlin Moran's memoir.   Johanna's loving brother Krissi (La...

Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey Tom Doherty Associates/Tor, 2020. 176 pages.   ISBN 9781250213587.   In a dystopian near future, the United States is in a state of perpetual war with three insurrectionist states in full rebellion, and the whole country divided into administrative regions, each with assigned functions.  Medical supplies, food, and consumer goods are in short supply because the government confiscates most to supply military forces. Settlements in the southwestern desert region where the book is set are run by sheriffs and strong men, with women relegated to  roles along strictly enforced traditional gender stereotypes.  One of the few jobs that allows women to travel without male supervision is that of  Librarian. Librarians are a small, select group of morally upright women who deliver state-approved books and pamphlets to the farmsteads, settlements, and towns hidden around the desert.As the story opens, Esther has stowed away with a ...

Moment of Grace 5 Stars Online till 9th Aug Moment of Grace is a play about a old pandemic , it was due to run during July at Tristan Bates theatre ,that of course ,due to the modern pandemic couldn't happen, so the writer Bren Gosling and director Nicky Allpress got together to produce something more than just a film of a stage play. Setting 1987 this is the reaction to Princess Diana's visit to an AIDS ward in London and to her holding the hand of a patient there. This play is a three hander , Jude played by Lucy Walker-Evans a young nurse who is thinking of changing of career, Donnie (Andrew Paul) a fireman from Essex who is old school but is embracing thatcherism and all that means for the Basildon Man in the 80s and Andrew (Luke Dayhill) a positive patient on the ward, a young man who is still in the closet and scared that Princess Diana's visit may out him to family and friends. This easily could be just another AIDS melodrama and just tug at the heartstrings an...