Chimpomatic

Letters From Iwo Jima

(dir.Clint Eastwood)

Does anyone else have what I have with Clint Eastwood's films? I never rush to see them and then I watch with moderate expectations but invariably come out loving them. I really should learn by now. 'Letters From Iwo Jima' is up there with his very best, and is a great, great film. I thought the Best Picture category was fairly weak this year but it is a travisty that this didn't win. I guess they owed Scorsese one.

Seeing the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective is a clever idea and Eastwood explores this deftly. When the 'isn't war pointless' buttons are pushed it is done so in a refreshingly level headed and clear eyed view. The storytelling is always objective and the situations and characters rounded and three-dimensional.

The film is littered with great performances; Ken Watanabe's sympathetic General Kuribayashi, who retains his dignity despite the heavily stacked odds and the hopeless situation. To counterpoint the his perspective, we also follow the story of Saigo (played by Kazunari Ninomiya), a reluctant conscript who is no ones idea of the a war hero, least of all his own.

I used to think of Eastwood as an actor who directed pretty good films but make no mistake, he is a great director that can sit easily alongside the very best.

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13th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

The High Llamas

Can Cladders

Every review or article concerning the The High Llamas seems to mentioned Brian Wilson. It must be compulsory I guess, and although it is an easy parallel to draw, it is also a good one at that.

Anyway, they have a new album 'Can Cladders' that is not a radical departure from anything they have done before. So although they still sound a bit like YOU KNOW WHO, they do it better than anyone else and this is their best for a long time.

So if slightly mannered chamber-pop, with lush strings, vocal harmonizes galore, banjos, slightly anodyne lyrics is your thing; then this will possibly be your favourite album ever.

If not you'll hate it with a passion. So either * or ***** depending on where you stand.

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13th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Richard Swift

Dressed Up For The Letdown

Universal

Straight outta rural Minnesota comes Richard Swift with this, his third album.

His music however comes from somewhere between Tin Pan Alley and 70's Laurel Canyon, he takes these reference points and makes them sound like his own. However Swift is not a one trick pony or a revivalist and mixes things up to good effect. 'Most Of What I Know' and bar room sing-along 'Kisses For The Misses' are both great. However, the Paul McCartney sounding piano ballads feel a little stagnant and tired.

Pretty good but not all that memorable.

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13th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

To Go Home E.P.

New E.P from M. Ward containing his excellent cover of Daniel Johnston 'To Go Home' from last years Post-War album. Of the three new songs, two Ward originals; 'Cosmopolitan Pap', although fine has the slight feel of a filler, whilst 'Human Punching Bag' is the kind of poignant balled he can do with his eyes closed. Most interesting of all is a cover of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's (a.k.a Smokey from The Big Lebowski) 'Headed For A Fall'. Good stuff.

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19th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Starter for Ten

(dir: Tom Vaughan)

Great little 80s set film around the Bristol University team for University Challenge. Sprinkled with quirky perfromance including a scene stealing Mark Gatiss as Bamber Gascoigne.

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31st Jan 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Good, The Bad & The Queen

The Good, The Bad & The Queen

You have to admire Damon Albarn's continuing ventures into pasture new. Rather than resting on his laurels after his hugely successful Gorillaz project, he has assembled an impressive line-up of Paul Simonon (The Clash), Simon Tong (The Verve) and Afro-beat drummer Tony Allen for his new unnamed band. The single 'Herculean' was a tantilising taster of great things to come.

Although having the feeling of being a slow burner, the record fails somewhat in living up to it's impeccable credentials. That is not to say it is bad, but it drifts by in a haze rather than grabbing hold of you. Talks of this being Albarn's masterpiece are way off the mark, it has more similarities with Thom Yorke's Eraser album in being a good but not great side project.

Massive Attack did the urban / paranoid / dub thing much more convincingly ten years ago.

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29th Jan 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait

(dir. Douglas Gordon and Philippe Pareno)

Video artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Pareno's cinematic portrait of Zidane proves even more poignant post-World Cup final and his dismissal for head butting Materazzi. Numerous cameras are fixed on the great man for the full 90 minutes of a Spanish league match in 2005. This results in a hypnotic portrayal as a brooding, demigod like figure, whilst lesser mortals scurry about around him - Beckham, Raul, Ronaldo et al.

This melancholic and existential atmosphere is enhanced with the stunning sound design (muffled television commentary, quotes from Zidane himself concerning childhood and memory, kids playing in the street in Marseilles) and the understated yet excellent soundtrack from Mogwai. At half time we are shown news and events that have occurred around the World on that day, adding to the poignancy.

Zidane's dour, almost bank expression proves to be a fascinating canvas - a sense of foreboding inner emotion builds throughout.

I won't give away the ending but the game builds to dramatic effect. Fascinating.

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16th Jan 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Sufjan Stevens

Songs for Christmas

Rough Trade

Even though a fan, I let out a slight groan at the prospect of a five CD Christmas boxset. Rather suprisingly this is a fascinating window into Mr. Steven's progression over the last five years. Presented chroniclogically, it showcases his growing strength as a songwriter and progression in his sound. There are some great songs here to boot: 'Come On! Let's Bogey to the Elf Dance!', 'That was the Worst Christmas Ever!', 'Get behind Me Santa!' and 'Christmas in July' are all up there with his strongest work.

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16th Jan 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

I See A Darkness

Domino

Will Oldham's first album under his Bonnie 'Prince' Billy moniker has proved to be his defining work. The seminal 'I See a Darkness', later covered by Johnny Cash, is here in all it's glory - but is equalled by the beautiful 'A Minor Place' and 'Nomadic Revery' amongst others. In fact there is not a dud on the entire album. A sombre masterpiece.

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16th Jan 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Gruff Rhys

Candylion

Surprisingly warm and coherent second solo outing from SFA's front man Gruff Rhys.
Something to chase away those January Blues.

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9th Jan 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Best of 2006

marmot

I'm struggling to think of ten.... but here's a few.

MUSIC
Tapes 'n' Tapes - The Loon
M.Ward - Post-War
Cat Power - The Greatest
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Loose Fur - Born Again In The U.S.A.
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther


FILMS
Brick
Hidden
The Departed
Borat
Casino Royale
Capote


TV
Haven't got a TV.

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19th Dec 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cat Power

The Roundhouse, London

I arrived with mixed feelings about tonight; I had been a moderate fan of Cat Power before being rather taken by her latest album, The Greatest. I had heard the rumors that live, she blows very hot and cold; sometimes enlightened, sometimes frustratingly shambolic.

Then to confuse matters further, the 11-piece band take the stage and launch into a Charlie Parker-style jam. Although compelling, it is completely unexpected and proves to be something of a curve ball from what follows. Much chin stroking ensues.

Cat Power aka Chan Marshall then sheepishly ambles on stage - clutching a mug of tea, looking not unlike a cleaning lady who has taken a wrong turn. Then things begin to make sense, both the music and the preconceptions that I had had, as the band launch into Living Proof. Immediately striking, her voice proves to have other-worldly qualities and absolutely stunning and yes, Marshall herself is restless and quirky but endearingly so. However the strong and tight ensemble of musicians prove to be a muscular, well drilled, accomplished and much needed foil for her.

Later, the band leave the stage and she sings alone, accompanying herself on piano, then guitar. There is a plaintive I Don't Blame You and she turns The Animal's-owned House of the Rising Sun into a mournful strum. In this intimate setting she truly excels herself. The band then return for a rousing finale, including a reinterpretation of Satisfaction as a soulful blues stomp, to great effect. Thrilling stuff.

So, she is great after all.

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3rd Nov 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Charlotte Gainsbourg

5:55

From the uber-cool monotone cover photograph, to the A-list guest list (Jarvis Cocker, Air, the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich) and Ms. Gainsbourg's obvious pedigree; this record promises much yet only partially delivers.

As you would expect from such a stellar line up, much of the song writing and music is excellent. It is a crying shame that the weak link throughout is Gainsbourg herself – who seems a little lost and listless. Her half breathless whisper is thin and strains to hold the songs together, despite the obvious strength of some of them – 'Everything I Cannot See' in particular.

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29th Sep 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

Post-War

Post-War is a warm, lovely record. Determinedly low key and melancholic from the outset, it is however never less than immediate and grabs your attention throughout. M. Ward's song writing is as strong as ever; the opening Poison Cup is a quietly stunning masterpiece and Requiem is another early highlight.

As an album it feels altogether more polished and coherent than its predecessor Transistor Radio. The sound is slightly bigger and warmer without Ward loosing his slightly loose and ramshackle quality. The excellent first single Chinese Translation is majestic, with it's shuffling guitars and drums. Later, Chimp favourite Jim James guests on the excellent Magic Trick - a rousing bar room sing-a-long. Great.

Bush Hall gig review.
Click here for pictures.

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18th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

Bush Hall, London

Wandering onto stage looking like Paul Giamatii's lost brother, M. Ward instantly dispelled my preconception that he would be a mannered or uneasy performer. He opened alone on the guitar with 'Paul's Song', that was as plaintive as it was capturvating. The small and intermate Bush Hall was a perfect setting.

Like all great music M. Ward instantly reminds you of many things, that somehow you cannot quite put your finger on. His guitar playing has something of John Fahey about it and his voice has echoes of Tom Waits and Billie Holiday. I could well be wrong though. But he most definitely is his own man.

After this stunning opening he was joined by his full band and demonstrated that he has many other strings to his bow. Where the opening was gentle and almost sedate the band ripped through a rousing 'Four Hours in Washington' and a storming version of the great 'Big Boat'. Although he played most of his excellent previous album 'Transistor Radio' and previewed songs from the forthcoming 'Post-War', Ward left the stage after an hour and a bit, which felt all too brief to me. And there was no 'Hi-Fi'.

Still great though.

Click here for pictures.

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Animal Collective / Battles

Astoria, London

Mogwai covering Four Tet or Matt Sweeney backed by DJ Shadow - I can't quite think how to sum up Battles. For certain, they were utterly compelling and instantly distinctive. In fact I have never been so mesmerised by a support band. They had the ability to take their muscular riffs and take them to unexpected places whilst never becoming indulgent or anything less than immediate.

Then came Animal Collective, who confused and frustrated like no other: I guess that may have been the idea. On record they manage to sound both abstract and dizzying - yet always carried by the unerring ability to find melody and structure in even the most far reaching places. The lightness of touch that graces both Feels and Sung Tongs was somewhat lost live. Songs merged into an indistinguishable mire of noise and monotony - and only occasionally to any effect. Although the crowd seemed to bestow endless goodwill towards them there was a general air of perplexity. Only on the great 'Did You See the Words' did things finally fall into place.

But despite these frustrations, you can't help but admire Animal Collective. They are utterly unique, fearless and challenging. It just hard to know what to make of it all - they are undoubtedly a brilliant proposition on record and in lead singer David Portner they have a twisted Tim Buckley-like voice that can take a simple refrain and take it to extraordinary places.

Enjoyable? Hardly; Frustrating? Always.

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14th Jul 2006 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Black Crowes

Madison Square Garden, NYC

Despite the deeply traumatic MMJ no show, we decided to be brave and give it a go. Within about ten minutes we were questioning the wisdom of this decision. Walking in half way through the support act; someone callling himself Trey Anastasio. JESUS CHRIST. Freeform Fratboy jazz rock fusion at its finest. Ahem. Somehow we actually survived this to actually see The Black Crowes.

My expectations were moderate but I was actually taken with them. Sure they feel like they are doing a Faces / Stones impression, but it is a pretty good one all the same. They have good-ish tunes and front man Chris Robinson has genuinie charisma and a fine Jagger-esque shuffle.

Oh, And we got to see Kate Hudson. Grrrrrrrrr.

trey anastasio
the black crowes ***
kate hudson *****
the occasion ****

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9th Jan 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet