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HIGH ON FIRE

THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

I sometimes wonder what famed writers Robert Bloch and HP Lovecraft would have thought of metal bands like High on Fire appropriating their imagery for songs about fear, horror and death? For the uninitiated, De Vermis Mysteriis or Mysteries of the Worm, is a fictional grimoire created by Bloch and incorporated by Lovecraft into the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos. I imagine after getting over the sheer visceral shock of the music itself, they would have probably been quite honoured. Who knows, they might have hated it?!?

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DEATH & A CURE – LIVE IN SINGAPORE

Death and a Cure is the solo project of Australian singer/guitarist Ben Blondel. Since launching his debut EP in July 2010 Ben has won numerous awards including WAM (West Australian Music Industry Association) song of the year for his category, and more recently has featured his latest single ‘The Spin You’ve Got Me In’ on the West Australian Music Industry sampler.

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SUMMER TWINS

SPECTOR-ESQUE

With the current hipster trend of reviving the sound of the Phil Spector-produced girl-groups of the 60s, it’s hard not to get slightly cynical when you come across new bands that seem to conveniently jump on this rather popular bandwagon. As it is, the music tends to get rather cutesy and this gets compounded with the case of Summer Twins – consisting of sisters Chelsea and Justine Brown – currently riding the nostalgic 60s wave – with their eponymous debut album.

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SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

Elementary, My Dear Watson

Second time around, this Guy Ritchie hyper-adrenlized version of Sherlock Holmes worked out much better. With arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty on the other side of the chess board, the battle of wits between the two adversaries underpins this sequel well. Once again, the relationship between Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Dr Watson (Jude Law) is closely examined.

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PoPINIONS

AHEAD OF OUR TIME

In the coming weeks, 80s alternative rock icons Morrissey, The Stone Roses and The Jesus and Mary Chain will all play in Singapore! What is noteworthy is that it’s not just the older fans who are getting excited by these events but also the young indie rock music lovers as well.

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THE BASTARDS OF FATE

ART FOR ART’S SAKE

Think of the invasion of the avant garde into rock n’ roll and it’s difficult not to think of atonal, droning white noise that the likes of the Velvet Underground experimented with in the mid-60s. But surely avant garde is a concept and not a sound so when indie rock bands like The Bastards of Fate appropriate this term to put a tag on their idiosyncratic music then it bears closer investigation.

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MUSIC MATTERS 2012

24 – 25 MAY 2012, RITZ-CARLTON

Supported by Singapore Tourism Board and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Music Matters is the pioneer music industry event in the Asia Pacific region and is a gathering of key players in the global music industry, it is the annual meeting place of the entire value chain of the music business, from artists and mangers to record labels, promoters and music publishers.

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GEEK OUT! COSMOPOLIS

Back to the Future!

Bring together the talents of top writer Don DeLillo, acclaimed director David Cronenberg and urm Twilight actor Robert Pattinson and the result is Cosmopolis. The narrative follows a billionaire (Pattinson) as he takes a stretch limousine ride across Manhattan and the film chronicles his misadventures all in the course of a single day. Selected for competition at this years’ Cannes Film Festival – and based on its trailers so far – Cosmopolis looks like a highly sexed, socially charged study into our modern times, billing itself as “finally, the first film about our new millennium”. Also starring Paul Giamatti, Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton and Kevin Durand.

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LISTENING BOOTH – MARCO BENEVENTO

“This Is How It Goes”

This new track is a Record Store Day 2012 exclusive 7-inch by Marco Benevento, available at independent record stores across the USA this Saturday, April 21. The song from the pianist is the first to ever feature vocals. Taking the honors is Kalmia Traver from the exploding indie-dance band Rubblebucket.

It’s quite repetitive but in a good way. And you will be hitting ‘repeat’ an inordinate amount of times. Check it out!

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TIMBRE ROCK AND ROOTS 2012

Timbre Rock & Roots 2012 – Day 2: Andre Harihandoyo & Sonic People, Checkpoint Jam feat. Goodfellas & Dasha Logan, Hugo, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Earth, Wind & Fire

Day 2 of the Timbre Rock & Roots festival started off with blue skies and pleasantly cool temperatures, as it had rained earlier in the day. The line-up for the day included bands from Indonesia, Singapore, UK and the USA, plus a singer from Malaysia.

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WORLD BLANKET

This is Pop!

Popular music (as opposed to classical music) has been around for eons. Well, in its modern incarnation since the 1950s in any case with the arrival of rock n’ roll. And I am pretty much satisfied with that concept. Sure, we can talk about some superficial difference between pop, rock, country, folk, soul and so on but what’s the point?

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CHARLIE LIM

OLD SOUL

Now, the introduction to “There Is No Love” swept me literally off my feet, my heart melted and chills ran down the length of my spine. No mean feat. I’m talking about the second track on Charlie Lim‘s amazing debut eponymous EP that was released sometime last year. Better late than never eh?

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JAMES MORRISON

To be totally candid, I had never pegged British singer-songwriter James Morrison as a ‘blue-eyed soul boy’. I received his last two albums in the mail for review but glancing at the covers, I had assumed that he was another one of those folk-pop troubadours in the mold of Damien Rice or Jason Mraz.

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PoPTV – LIYANA FIZI X MONSTER CAT

“Jatuh”

(Press release)

MONSTER CAT is pleased to announce the release of “Liyana Fizi x MONSTER CAT – Jatuh”. It is a ‘live’ collaboration with Malaysian singer/songwriter Liyana Fizi. Together, they perform on the hit single “Jatuh”, from her debut album “Between the Lines”.

Liyana Fizi is well-known as ‘Malaysia’s indie sweetheart’ and most recently performed at this year’s Mosaic Music Festival at the Esplanade. “Jatuh” is a bittersweet recollection of that magical but frustrating moment when two people realise they are in love, but are unable to act on it.

The video’s director, who goes by the name ‘Tha Artist’, commented on the video’s art direction: “I chose a very quaint and classic barber shop for the shoot. I wanted to bring out the gentle nuances; to emphasise the romantic but fragile nature of how the song sways back and forth under the lightly played guitar parts. The black and white treatment also highlights this, and gives the performance space a touch of timelessness.”

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LISTENING BOOTH – MICHAEL THE BLIND

“Another Circle of Fifths” (Off upcoming new album, Are’s and Els)

Okay, I clicked on this link because of the following –

Michael The Blind is Michael Levasseur, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist living in Portland, Oregon. Think Leonard Cohen, but not so low. Elliott Smith, but not so high. Suzanne Vega, but not so female. John Fahey when acoustic, Paul Westerberg when electric. A lyrical style that is both e.e. cummings and Mother Goose.

Now that’s winning copy! And what about that song title – which only music geeks will get? Priceless. The song itself, nasal high register voice, rockabilly rhythms, sawing violins and twang up to the wazoo. WIN WIN WIN WIN!

 

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MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

I must admit that I am not much of a Tom Cruise fan or his movies. I remember watching (and hating) the first two Mission Impossible (MI) films –  convoluted and ridiculous works. But I was intrigued by the fact that the man at the helm of MI4 was animation master Brad (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) Bird making his live action movie debut. And Bird did not disappoint with a thrilling and fun ride that presented Cruise in a very likable manner as well.

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PoPTV – MARILYN MANSON

“No Reflection” (off upcoming album, Born Villain)

Marilyn Manson is back with a new single and a new album. Born Villain will drop on 1st May and in the meantime you can check out the first single – “No Reflection” via this somewhat non-descript by-the-numbers music video. The song itself is grooving glam (Bowie/T Rex) via Metallica – if that makes sense. But with enough hooks to make you wan to press ‘repeat’. *Growl*

Official Site

DOWNLOAD NOW FROM ITUNES 

 

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PoPTV – KEANE

“Silenced by the Night” (off upcoming new album, Strangeland)

I did not like the last Keane album. Glad to see that the band themselves admitting that they somewhat dropped the ball in that instance. Based on the first two albums, it’s clear that the band is capable of much much better. Will Keane re-capture former glories with the new album, Strangeland? First single sounds promising even if the synth string sound is quite jarring and out-of-place. The less said about the corny video the better. We hope to interview the band soon. Stay tuned.