Reviews – Page 2 – David Peach

Terminator 2 Re-release in 3D

When I was eight years old Terminator 2: Judgement Day was released at the cinema. I remember it vividly. Not because of my going to see it, but because of the evening my parents dropped me off at my Nan’s house whilst they went to watch it.

Now, Twenty Six years later, I finally had the opportunity to see it on the big screen myself.

I was initially skeptical

When the announcement was made about the retro fitting of 3D for its re-release I was disappointed. I’ve never been much of a fan of 3D cinema and simply wanted to see this film as it was originally. I grew up watching this all the time; memorised all the lines; and even played out the scenes with friends in junior school. I was obsessed to say the least. This is one of my favourite films, if not my actual favourite film, and was worried it would somehow tarnish my love of it.

However, if this was to be my first chance to see Terminator 2 on the big screen I was gonna take it.

I was not disappointed

As soon as the film began I was immediately blown away. The Terminator’s skull coming out of the fire at the end of the opening credits was so spectacular-looking and was completely terrifying. The moment had finally came – I was about to see Terminator 2 on the big screen.

All throughout the film I found myself noticing more of the background details, probably through a conscious effort to absorb the full 3D effect. Even in the T-1000’s arrival, I would be noticing all of the wrecked cars and debris in the underpass. I got even more wrapped up in this world than I had previously done.

Everything I loved about this film was magnified up on the screen.

The Special Effects still hold up today

Twenty six years after this film released, then ahead of it’s time, the special effects still hold up strongly. The highway chase between the police van and helicopter still looked great – greatly due to the fact it was all filmed for real. No C.G. shots back then, kids. Even the nightmare hydrogen bomb scene, even more horrifying at a huge size, still had all the power of its first outing. In fact I couldn’t help get more of an emotional connection to this in the light of recent threats and actions in the news by certain heads of state douche bags.

Thank you, Jim

A big thanks to James Cameron and all of the people who went into making this re-release a reality. Let’s hope there’s enough interest to warrant the possibly-next-planned remaster, Aliens.

Melodrama by Lorde

Melodrama by Lorde is an album I have been waiting for with baited breath, being one of my favourite artists over the past ten years.

I was a little worried by the sound of the album’s first single ‘Green Light’. I liked the song well enough, however, it didn’t seem to me to have that idiosyncratic sound of Lorde’s. When compared, for example, with Tennis Court from her first album.

That was my initial thought. However, now I have come to listen to the entirety of Melodrama, every song on it is growing on me.

I loved how on this new album she seems to be bringing in a wider array of sounds and styles into her music. It feels somewhat lighter this time around, with the songs feeling much more unified across the album – feeling like a complete arrangement start to finish.

Even on first listening, some songs jumped straight up at me. ‘Writer in the Dark’ is as bare and as beautiful as they come. Her voice climbs higher than I had previously been used to hearing from her and it is glorious. She seemed to me to be channeling the essence of Kate Bush at times in this song.

I think with the huge popularity of ‘Pure Heroine’, her first album, it was always going to be a tough one to follow. There was a worry for me that she would end up pigeonholing herself into the niche that she created. She could have either given us more of the same – playing it safe and giving her fans what they loved, or tried out new things and expanded the boundaries of her sound even further. Her choosing the latter made me very happy and very relieved.

Melodrama has the hallmarks of an instant classic for me. She has taken her signature sound and style, and moved up a level; pushing her sound and our perception of what she is capable of.

You can buy Lorde’s new album on Amazon today.

Truth is a beautiful thing by London Grammar

London Grammar’s latest album, ‘Truth is a beautiful thing’ is an absolutely stunning journey of emotion and sweeping scores. I enjoyed their debut too, but this album has just completely got its hooks in me.

Hannah Reid’s voice is simply stunning as she powers through the songs, at times with an air of Florence Welch to her. That, along with the atmospheric music behind her, cause me to almost lose track of time when I’m listening. Sometimes it seems like so much time has passed when in fact only two or three songs have.

The song that hooked me definitely has to be ‘Hell to the liars’. Words can’t describe it’s beauty and the affect it continues to have on me as I keep replaying it. I’ll link a video below as well as a link to buy the album.

London Grammar have quickly become one of my favourite bands in recent days and have been added to my current list of obsessions.

Buy ‘Truth is a beautiful thing’.

3 E.P. by Scarlett Taylor

One of my favourite meloncholic artists, Scarlett Taylor, is back with her latest E.P. ‘3’.

All of her previous releases have been great. So my biggest fear with writing about this one was that I would end up repeating myself.

You see, if Scarlett had released similar songs to her previous album, ‘Churches’, although I’d have been perfectly content, I’d have nothing new to say. Luckily for me, she has tried new things with this E.P. which not only expands the variety in her music, but also gives me new ways of discussing it.

In ‘3’ she has gone down a darker path – even occasionally dipping into some more electronic styles. These new ideas of hers don’t create a completely new sound for her, instead they allow her to take her signature style and enrich it even further.

Anybody familiar with her music will know it’s not the most light-hearted of sounds, and with her experimentation on this E.P. she has given herself fresh ways of exploring the darkness.

Her experimentation has allowed her to bring fresh dimensions to her music, further imprinting herself into the very soundwaves she creates.

Between hope and danger by Hante

Hante’s music is always a dark, dreamy escape that I am addicted to getting lost into. As soon as I learned of her new release, ‘Between Hope and Danger’, I immediately had to listen to it.

Hante’s music is always a dark, dreamy escape that I am addicted to getting lost into. As soon as I learned of her new release, ‘Between Hope and Danger’, I immediately had to listen to it. From the get go it contained everything I love about her music – mystery-entrenched soundscapes of unapologetic synth. That and her haunting, echo chamber style vocals.

The opening, “Le Point de Non-Retour”, was a dark choice with a Gothic choir accompaniment and a buzzsaw-style style. Characteristic of a relatively new style of music I’ve discovered called “Witch House”.

“Lies // Light” sounds like she’s experimenting with a typical Synthwave / Outrun style, but still in keeping with her own aesthetic. At times this song has sounds that remind me of old-skool Sega MegaDrive games. This is only going to be a good thing.

To my ears, she is at her darkest during the song “Eternite”. A sweeping, eerie synth is met by a devil’s organ and married by her wistful voice.

In the titular song, “Between hope and danger”, I might be mad, but I can hear references to both John Carpenter – who is par for the course in modern electronic music – and Angelo Badalamenti. For those who aren’t familiar with Angelo, he is the man responsible for many of David Lynch’s film scores. “Between hope and Danger” had echoes for me back to his main theme for Mulholland Drive.

All in all this album is a terrific addition to an already impressive body of work.

P.S. If you’d like to get to know the lady behind this great music, you can read my interview with Hante.

Welcome Back To Milk by Du Blonde

Welcome back to milk by Du Blonde is fierce, bold and packs a huge punch in its 36 minutes. Du Blonde, real name Beth Jeans Houghton takes us to many different places in this album. I’m excited to introduce you to it.

From the very opening crunching guitar riff of ‘Black Flag’, this album will wake you from any slumber. There’s no half-assed listening to her music with one earbud in. This album demands your full attention and I think you’ll be giving it.

‘Chips to go’ keeps the energy high with her occasional screaming and the super catchy guitar riff. As does the frantic assault on the senses from the later song ‘Mr Hyde’.

As well as her high-energy post-punk style music, Du Blonde also slows things down beautifully in one of my favourite songs, ‘Four in the morning’. With just her voice and piano, she sings with a softness, sitting in contrast to the album’s more aggressive songs. It also leads perfectly into what is perhaps the most experimental song on the album, “Mind is on my mind”

‘Mind is on my mind’ is a song of distinct parts, all unique yet working in the most perfect harmony together. It also makes an excellent example of Beth’s musical sensibilities. The best way I can describe this one is by quoting Beth herself:

I was interested at the time in writing songs with no repeating sections, but rather a succession of acts. A couple of months later, Sam and I took a trip out to the desert and came back to LA to make some music. I played him the track and he got in the booth and ad-libbed his lyrics over the instrumentation. He was done in like one or two takes. When I was back in London I’d become obsessed with these Middle Eastern and Greek guitar scales and I added the lead guitar in the outro as a contrast to Sam’s vocals.

‘Isn’t it wild’ is the perfect closing song for this album, after having being dropped into the blistering ‘Black Flag’ opening. Gorgeous strings, piano and voice being given a vintage echo. Listening to this gave me thoughts of floating gently back out of the album from whence I dropped.

Welcome back to milk has absolutely zero skippable songs, with each one holding an air of experimentation to it. Every one of these songs has been lovingly hand-crafted and come together to make an album that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

LUX e.p. by BAD ELECTRIC

The LUX E.P. by Bad Electric is a super catchy, infectious synth E.P. with vocal influences sounding like Edwyn Collins; David Bowie and Lou Reed.

I set sail a quarter after midnight
Then the ocean dragged me down
I believe I’m beginning to see the light
A_QUARTER_AFTER_MIDNIGHT by BAD ELECTRIC

The LUX E.P. by Bad Electric was my first taste of their music with the opening song, “TON_UP”, grabbing my interest immediately. It has a super catchy and deep synth bass line that I just couldn’t help but love. The vocals too are fantastic. The guy’s voice is very reminiscent of Edwyn Collins mixed with a little bit of Lou Reed and David Bowie.

The next two songs, “MON_NO_AWARE” and “COLLISON” continue the synth sauciness. The former being an instrumental, and the latter having a vocal sound closer to Bowie than the opening.

I love how with some of his songs’ endings, he adds in a surprise little twist too. The fresh synth sound at the end of the hypnotic “MONO_NO_AWARE”; The acoustic guitar that finishes “TON_UP”.

The biggest curve ball however is the E.P.’s closing song, “A_QUARTER_AFTER_MIDNIGHT”. This one is a pretty powerful acoustic song after an otherwise mostly synth collection.

This is definitely an artist I’ll be keeping on my radar. If he can make an E.P. as full and great as this, then a full-length album would be off the charts.

You really should buy the LUX e.p. now from Bandcamp.

Lucid by Scarlett Taylor

Lucid by Scarlett Taylor is a very strong footing from which her career seems to be growing well from. Her unique, almost-derelict sounding aesthetic is something to be enjoyed, with Scarlett never afraid to lay her voice bare against these haunting soundscapes. “Monster Movie” from this debut album is a perfect example of this.

Although she is relatively new, in terms of her music’s exposure to the world, she has already managed to carve a unique niche for herself. It is clear that not only did she find her footing with this album, but she dug both heels in and continues to push forwards into new and interesting musical avenues.

I got mommy issues
Daddy issues
Money Issues
Holes in my shoes
Mommy Issues by Scarlett Taylor

If you are new to Scarlett’s music then this will be a great introduction to what she’s all about. If, like me, you are listening to this album after “Churches“, then you’re already a fan and are in for a treat.

Stand out songs

If you go by SoundCloud listens alone, then “Purple Bones” is clearly the most popular song from this album. I do like that song, however my personal favourite from “Lucid” is the fifth song, “Mommy Issues”. It’s one of the album’s heaviest with its distorted guitar filling this song’s larger-sounding atmosphere. It’s one of the heaviest I remember hearing from Scarlett, which is always welcome.

“Monster Movie” is another favourite, and is closer to the style I think of with Scarlett’s music. Her voice filling the stage while only a very small arrangement accompanies her. This song’s arrangement comes in the form of a melody played on a slightly over-driven electric guitar.

As with “Churches”, this album is music to get lost in and experience. It shouldn’t be put on with the kids yelling or as a communal office affair. This music is a personal statement and deserves to be experienced as such.

You should buy Lucid here.

Virginia Soundtrack by Lyndon Holland

In Virginia the soundtrack is a first-class citizen. It’s not simply just a well-written collection of pieces made for each scene, but additionally is a living, breathing creature itself. It weaves its way through you when listening, conjuring images either from the rural Virginia of the game’s setting, or any other place you care to find your mind wandering through.

Even playing the demo, the title screen alone has such a beautiful score that I was instantly hooked.

Virginia – A brief description of the game

Just to give you some context, the game has absolutely no talking in it whatsoever. You progress the story by investigating the current area, essentially playing through an interactive film. All conversations between characters are handled by well designed scenes; expertly-timed reactions and shows of emotions; and the score which seamlessly takes you by the hand.

The story is about an investigation into a boy’s disappearance, which soon leads to a bigger conspiracy overall. The two protagonists find themselves in a town very similar to Twin Peaks. In fact the aesthetic that the developers went for was Twin Peaks / X-Files / Outer Limits. And they nailed it with both setting and characters. The soundtrack for me however, is the real main character in Virginia.

Also worth mentioning is that this was recorded live by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. It was recorded in the same location as both the ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ film soundtracks were. ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’, in case you didn’t know, where both made by David Lynch, as was Twin Peaks.

Soundtrack as a character

Like any great character, the soundtrack to Virginia is consistent whilst remaining varied enough to stay interesting throughout. Even though the soundtrack blends seamlessly together, much of it is still distinctive enough to be able to pinpoint the scene of the game I remember it from.

A number of key pieces stand out for me as being particularly memorable. The first piece I remember loving, I actually heard from the demo I played before. This is called “In Dreams” and, as the title suggests, accompanies a dream sequence had by our heroine. It ends in a unique, abrupt way that brings back the feelings of its creepy scene instantly.

“Little Thugs” is different in that it’s probably the most frantic sounding, which fits its scene very well. It’s also one of the few pieces to be diegetic, meaning it is music whose source is actually shown in the film (in this case from a portable stereo owned by some thugs).

One other stand out piece, also seen within the game, is called “Sojourner’s Truth”. I truly don’t know how to emphasise the power of this song within the scene, and indeed in its own right. This piece of music is absolutely dripping with that ‘Twin Peaks Vibe’. If you hadn’t seen Twin Peaks for a few years you could be forgiven for thinking that this is from it. But please don’t think that it’s a poor-person’s Twin Peaks. This song, and indeed the whole soundtrack, comes from a place of huge admiration and respect for those influences, and stands high as the best homage to the previously-mentioned shows I have ever seen or heard.

Debriefing

In short, the soundtrack to Virginia is one of the best I’ve ever heard – and I mean out of all soundtracks; not just games. I have included my favourite scene from the game below, with “Sojourner’s Truth”, but I highly recommend actually playing the game through yourself to experience the whole package first-hand. It’s a short game, clocking in at about and hour and a half for me, but it is one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Who You Selling For by The Pretty Reckless

“Who You Selling For” by The Pretty Reckless sounds to me to be their most ambitious album to date. Their third full album release sees them stepping up their game, incorporating fresh sounding elements while still holding on to that signature “Reckless” sound. Each Pretty Reckless album has been longer than the last, with this one maintaining that tradition, clocking in at just over 50 minutes.

Who You Selling For

This album didn’t quite open like I expected it too. In place of a thumping rock jaunt, there was a calm, soothing piano piece accompanied by Taylor Momsen’s softly-sang words. This soon gave way for the fading in of a, dare i say it, Tool-esque riff. This opening song on the whole felt like they were experimenting with their sound; pushing their boundaries stylistically. On this song alone, I felt the next 11 songs were going to be a new experience; different from what I was used to hearing from them.

The following 2 songs, “Oh My God” and “Take Me Down” take me back to that recognisable ‘Reckless sound’. The latter of the two was the album’s first single, and a great choice it was too. The drums are accompanied by an almost tribal-like bongo sound with a cool guitar rhythm lick. “Take Me Down” got me back on the familiar ground with their signature sound that I’ve come to love.

Momsen’s voice is just as great as it always was too – if anything she sounds stronger vocally. Listening to the song “Already Dead” reminded me why Taylor’s vocals put her up in the top end of her league.

Upping their game

The rest of “Who You Selling For” continues to peak my interest throughout. They could have released another “Light Me Up” and I’d have been happy, but this release shows that they aren’t afraid to try new things and aren’t using their great sound in a cookie-cutter fashion. From the blues-infused “Prisoner”; to the heavy belters “Wild City” and my favourite off the album “Living In The Storm”; to the 3 minutes of breathing space that comes with the titular song. This album has much variety and forces me to pay closer attention to each song – pulling me further into the music.

As surprising as the opening to this album was, the closing was more so. Again, based on previous albums, I was expecting a certain style in the closing song – instead they gave me the super-funky finishing song “Mad Love”, whose opening could have easily have lead into an awesome cover of The Beegees’ “Stayin’ Alive”.

“Who You Selling For” demonstrates The Pretty Reckless at their strongest. A band not content with remaining in known safety, they are stepping up their game whilst still holding on to that signature ‘Reckless aesthetic’.

No Hard Feelings by Hante

Listening to No Hard Feelings by Hante makes me feel a lot more cultured than I am.

Hante is a hugely talented Electronic / Synthwave / Darkwave artist hailing from Paris, France. Her music is darkly melancholic that completely envelopes you when you listen.

I always imagine myself sat in some smokey underground Parisian nightclub when I hear it.

The E.P. has five songs and each one is golden. The first one I heard was actually the second song, “À Contrecoeur”, which Google tells me is French for “Unwillingly”. Everything about this song oozes cool. The opening twangy lick on what I think is an electric guitar; The main awesome synth attack melody that comes in at about the thirty one second mark; Hante’s haunting vocals mixed with the awesome wall of sound that she has created. The song, and indeed the entire E.P., is an amazingly powerful, dark electronic experience.

Nothing’s gonna happen
I’m sinking in a fantasy
If we love each other
Why can’t we be dreaming together?
Living in a French Movie by Hante

“Une Nuit Avec Mon Ennemi”, the third song, has yet more catchy, dark heavy synth melodies arranged with her ghostly delivery. This is how dark synth should be – dark but not depressing.

In “Quiet Violence” Hante seems to push herself further with her vocals. She sounds bigger; more commanding in the delivery and the song is one of the E.P.’s biggest-sounding as a result.

On the whole this music is some of the most interesting I’ve heard in a long while. While I love all the music I write about, “No Hard Feelings” by Hante is in a small collection of exceptional recordings that are completely fresh to my ears.

Anybody looking to broaden their own musical tastes and need a tip on where to look – look no further than Hante.

Please head over to Hante’s Bandcamp page and buy her music.

HANA E.P. by HANA

Hana Pestle, stage name HANA, is from the same musical camp as artists like Grimes, in that she writes, records, produces and performs all her own music. This makes her music undeniably her own, with its own distinct sound.

Her E.P., eponymously-titled, stands as a testament to her abilities as a complete recording artist and a bloody good one.

The songs on this E.P. are ethereal in sound and feeling, but her powerful, commanding voice gives the songs some real weight. There are lots of cool audio sample effects and loops throughout the twenty two minutes of the HANA e.p. too. I don’t think she’d had much production experience under her belt when making this E.P. but her experimentation and persistence really paid off to give us one of the best E.P.s of the year.

Like my father and my mother
I will love you for forever
Hold my hand and dive now sister
Breathe with me underwater
Underwater by HANA

HANA is someone that truly has that “special something” that you can’t quite put your finger on. I mean, yes she knows the ins and outs of her craft; and yes, she has a tremendous vocal and songwriting talent, but there’s also something that is greater than the sum of the parts.

As an aside, if you ever get a chance to see her perform live you should. I saw her earlier this year both supporting Grimes as well as performing in her band with her. From that performance alone, it’s obvious that she isn’t just a performer of this great music – she is it’s creator and its master. She weaves the music to her will for a truly captivating show that you just have to experience.

For me, HANA is on the same footing as artists like Lorde, Lana Del Rey and Tove Lo. It’s no surprise that many of her contemporaries too are big fans. Take one listen and you will be too.

You can buy HANA e.p. from iTunes.