*CAUTION: The following review contains spoilers of Thor: The Dark World. If you have yet to see the film and wish to do so, either proceed with caution or avoid reading.*
Comic book fans have always argued about the merits of Marvel and DC Comics, but in recent years, Marvel's film structure has given it an advantage in that world.
Beyond Batman, DC seem to struggle. Green Lantern was an absolute disaster, while Superman hasn't set the world alight with his two recent reboots and now needs Batman to enliven the upcoming sequel to Man of Steel.
While there is time to improve, Marvel has stolen a march. Commercially, the intertwined structure of individual Avengers movies leading into the central group films has created an entire world that people will be entranced to see.
2013 seems set to see a Marvel-Disney production again top the highest grossing films list, with Iron Man 3 in the lead.
The group are well into Phase Two, on how they attempt to follow up 2012's superhero bunfight Avengers Assemble.
Now comes the test - do they have more to their locker than Iron Man and superhero combo films?
The original Thor was a reasonable film, which saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) fight it out in the one New Mexico town yet to be visited by Roswell conspiracy theorists and Breaking Bad fans.
The sequel could work as a reasonable enough continuation to this without the story arc of the Avengers in the middle.
It certainly continues with the central Thor-v-Loki dynamic. Not that this is a bad thing - both are highly accomplished actors that play to their character's respective strengths, and Loki certainly remains a delightfully loose cannon.
Some critics weren't impressed additional Loki scenes were inserted, but there's worse things that could derail this film.
One of the problems is its happiness to hop between genres. At various
points it could be a superhero-based rom-com between Thor and Jane
Foster, at others standard superhero, while also
throwing in sci-fi, fantasy, Norse literature, comedy, tragedy and a
hell of a lot of other genres, and it is an odd one to try and make them
stick.
One of the problems this film has is the intense amount of jargon, which can be confusion even for those following the thread through the various media. The start sees us introduced to the Dark Elves, the Aether and the battle at the last cosmic alignment of the Nine Realms.
To cut a long story short, the Dark Elves, led by Malakith (Christopher Eccleston), tried to use the Aether to bring the universe back to darkness, but was quashed in battle by the Asgardians and a troupe of them duly fled into suspended animation until the reactivation of the indestructible Aether.
As is seemingly custom with films like this, there are further spouts of information throughout the production. Though tiring, they do provide a funny moment when Stan Lee plays crochity grandpa at the scientist proud of his monologue. Plus they do ultimately explain the purpose I guess.
After the intro, we're introduced back to Loki, who is in trouble for his antics during the Avengers and is duly sent to the dungeons, while Thor goes darting off elsewhere to go win a battle he arrived late for.
Yet Thor is restless for his date for a reunion with Jane, who is trying the dating game with Richard (Chris O'Dowd) in London.
But there's a few interruptions to this date, when her colleagues point her to a strange scenario elsewhere in an industrial area of the city where the laws of physics appear to have gone on hiatus.
This leads to the main plot of the film, where we find the realms overlapping and Jane inadvertently crosses over to the specific area of the realm where the Aether has been stored for around 5,000 years.
The Aether's activation possesses her, which is evident when a concerned Thor - who hasn't called Jane in the 2 years since the original, hence a double slap in the face - arrives to see the Aether expel a black and red cloud from Jane outward to some Metropolitan Police officers.
Thor brings Jane back to Asgard so they can figure out what the hell is going on, but it has the unfortunate side-effect of (eventually) attracting the Dark Elves to Asgard, and with one of their number escaping the dungeons, the end result is not a pretty sight.
This leads to the covert and treasonous escape to the original dark world, an initial showdown there, a further escape back to London and then a further showdown in London.
The showdown sees the usual CGI thing of buildings going boom. Although London is spared the fate it got in GI Joe Retribution where the megaweapon flattened it, there is still pieces of destruction.
Greenwich Maritime Observatory gets the main spotlight of destruction - some leylines things meant the borough is the epicentre of the realms colliding.
But there's other scenes around the city, some of which standard, such as cars landing on the roof of St. Pauls' Cathedral, while some is amusing - Thor and Malekief sliding down the side of the Gherkin is quite something.
Of the most interesting - and hilarious - sequences seeing Thor land on the platform at Charing Cross tube station, and having to get the Northern Line back to the battle, with a woman even apologising for bumping into Thor on the train.
It would have been a typically British superhero movie if the universe had ended due to delays on the Tube.
Saying that, its not exactly a revolutionary superhero movie but that was par for the course. Its not setting out to change the way we think of films - its simply to entertain and to build the Marvel Film universe. For that, it does, and provides us another invitation to see these ever entertaining characters.
It's a good enough addition to the cannon for Marvel's increasing repertoire and its a decent continuation of the story so far. But it just so happens not to be the greatest installment so far - its merely serving its function to mildly entertain, and it does just enough for that.
Still, all this will be forgotten if Avengers: Age Of Ultron turns out to be a stonker...
3.5/5
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Thursday, 10 October 2013
South Park: World War Zimmerman Review
How do you comment on a controversial and far-reaching issue?
Comedians often get it in the neck when they take on sensitive issues and are perceived of not taking them seriously, although humour can nevertheless be the right way to take on the issue as it can help raise awareness.
Tackling these issues can also make a reputation. Over the years, South Park has cultivated a reputation as a go-to programme for raising points about serious issues by way of humour.
World War Zimmerman is an interesting case in point. Referencing the astounding acquittal by Florida of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin and crossing it with hit-and-miss blockbuster World War Z is, at face value, either misguided or asking for trouble. This comes before comments that South Park was late to the Zimmerman discussion that followed his acquittal in early July.
Yet South Park possesses one weapon that can make such an unholy fusion workable - Eric Theodore Cartman.
Cartman is a strange and wild nexus in which to view the world. He is also possibly one of television's only characters to whom the idea of people angry at the Zimmerman verdict can legitimately replace the zombies to his Brad Pitt in World War Z is not only plausible but justifiable for his anger.
Cartman in this is basically a similar mindset to 24 hour news channels. The channels seemed so certain the verdict would incite riots and in this he is creating these spaces using the film reference as a starting point, to impressive effect.
It's particularly amusing when Cartman is on full-blown WWZ referencing, starting with a cutesy-wutesy family all talking in Cartman's voice and right down to a straight lift of the opening scene where angry people try and riot against him, before forming the full on mountain similar to the zombie mountain scenes in the film.
The little things on his way through his nutty journey are amusing, whether its Butters beatboxing, Cartman going "this is a Tesla? Fuck... alright hit your prissy pedal!" or his inexplicable ability to cause multiple plane crashes.
The central rivalry between him and Token is the main driving force and is grounded, essentially in something in-keeping with Cartman's alarmingly racist character. But it is impressive after his first plane crash where he tells the pilot what he's doing and the pilot thinks "what?" moments before he ends up dying.
Its all highly dodgy but nevertheless amusing.
Nevertheless, this is not the most convincing that South Park has tackled political issues, albeit still better than the sadly underwhelming take on the NSA a few weeks back.
The offensive nature of the whole shebang is scarcely believable and an insight it maybe into some people's psyche, it just doesn't feel as convincing a moment of satire. It more or less feels like a typical adventure into Cartman's ever reaching psyche.
Its also a strange point it raises when Zimmerman is enlisted to try and kill Token for the US government before accidentally shooting Cartman in black face, which leads to Zimmerman being sentenced to the electric chair.
Then, to rub in the sense of envelope pushing a little more, Cartman fully enacts the Zimmerman thing by saying Token encroached on his space and that justified shooting him. Luckily, Token is not murdered - it would cost a good character so I'm glad they didn't
The heart of the Zimmerman matter is that the Neighbourhood Watch man admitted chasing and shooting a black teenager armed with nothing more dangerous than a bag of Skittles. At face value, this should be a jail sentence, and the ethical conundrums largely tries to avoid the simple fact that he killed him, which in most places would go for murder regardless of any self-defence or SBH laws.
The conclusion that "if he had shot a white boy he would've fried" is one left-leaning media has taken, although the conclusion a black guy shooting a white would've fried has done the more vocal rounds.
But the re-enactment of the same case using Cartman and Token is an oddly fitting conclusion, as is Mr. Mackay just saying both had blame. At the end of it, in this way, Cartman shot Token and the idea Token can have any wrongs is ridiculous.
Yet people have nevertheless opted to continue the argument, with various references to the real case.
Some people will hate this episode because of the timing. After all, it is less than three months since Zimmerman's trial reached its verdict, although I have seen commenters saying it has come out "too late".
The politics of such an episode will also cause a split, as not everybody will share the viewpoint - this is a natural element of political programming.
As a piece of entertainment, its typical of the season so far - some stuff lands very well, some is just bizarre - albeit not as much as the cable company's nipple obsession last week - and some doesn't work.
Its an amusing and solid 22 minutes but the laughs come mainly from the little things and the "Wow... they're doing this/that?!?" factor rather than any insightful truth that nobody had figured out before.
3.5/5
Comedians often get it in the neck when they take on sensitive issues and are perceived of not taking them seriously, although humour can nevertheless be the right way to take on the issue as it can help raise awareness.
Tackling these issues can also make a reputation. Over the years, South Park has cultivated a reputation as a go-to programme for raising points about serious issues by way of humour.
World War Zimmerman is an interesting case in point. Referencing the astounding acquittal by Florida of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin and crossing it with hit-and-miss blockbuster World War Z is, at face value, either misguided or asking for trouble. This comes before comments that South Park was late to the Zimmerman discussion that followed his acquittal in early July.
Yet South Park possesses one weapon that can make such an unholy fusion workable - Eric Theodore Cartman.
Cartman is a strange and wild nexus in which to view the world. He is also possibly one of television's only characters to whom the idea of people angry at the Zimmerman verdict can legitimately replace the zombies to his Brad Pitt in World War Z is not only plausible but justifiable for his anger.
Cartman in this is basically a similar mindset to 24 hour news channels. The channels seemed so certain the verdict would incite riots and in this he is creating these spaces using the film reference as a starting point, to impressive effect.
It's particularly amusing when Cartman is on full-blown WWZ referencing, starting with a cutesy-wutesy family all talking in Cartman's voice and right down to a straight lift of the opening scene where angry people try and riot against him, before forming the full on mountain similar to the zombie mountain scenes in the film.
The little things on his way through his nutty journey are amusing, whether its Butters beatboxing, Cartman going "this is a Tesla? Fuck... alright hit your prissy pedal!" or his inexplicable ability to cause multiple plane crashes.
The central rivalry between him and Token is the main driving force and is grounded, essentially in something in-keeping with Cartman's alarmingly racist character. But it is impressive after his first plane crash where he tells the pilot what he's doing and the pilot thinks "what?" moments before he ends up dying.
Its all highly dodgy but nevertheless amusing.
Nevertheless, this is not the most convincing that South Park has tackled political issues, albeit still better than the sadly underwhelming take on the NSA a few weeks back.
The offensive nature of the whole shebang is scarcely believable and an insight it maybe into some people's psyche, it just doesn't feel as convincing a moment of satire. It more or less feels like a typical adventure into Cartman's ever reaching psyche.
Its also a strange point it raises when Zimmerman is enlisted to try and kill Token for the US government before accidentally shooting Cartman in black face, which leads to Zimmerman being sentenced to the electric chair.
Then, to rub in the sense of envelope pushing a little more, Cartman fully enacts the Zimmerman thing by saying Token encroached on his space and that justified shooting him. Luckily, Token is not murdered - it would cost a good character so I'm glad they didn't
The heart of the Zimmerman matter is that the Neighbourhood Watch man admitted chasing and shooting a black teenager armed with nothing more dangerous than a bag of Skittles. At face value, this should be a jail sentence, and the ethical conundrums largely tries to avoid the simple fact that he killed him, which in most places would go for murder regardless of any self-defence or SBH laws.
The conclusion that "if he had shot a white boy he would've fried" is one left-leaning media has taken, although the conclusion a black guy shooting a white would've fried has done the more vocal rounds.
But the re-enactment of the same case using Cartman and Token is an oddly fitting conclusion, as is Mr. Mackay just saying both had blame. At the end of it, in this way, Cartman shot Token and the idea Token can have any wrongs is ridiculous.
Yet people have nevertheless opted to continue the argument, with various references to the real case.
Some people will hate this episode because of the timing. After all, it is less than three months since Zimmerman's trial reached its verdict, although I have seen commenters saying it has come out "too late".
The politics of such an episode will also cause a split, as not everybody will share the viewpoint - this is a natural element of political programming.
As a piece of entertainment, its typical of the season so far - some stuff lands very well, some is just bizarre - albeit not as much as the cable company's nipple obsession last week - and some doesn't work.
Its an amusing and solid 22 minutes but the laughs come mainly from the little things and the "Wow... they're doing this/that?!?" factor rather than any insightful truth that nobody had figured out before.
3.5/5
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
How Hard Can Spoiler Evasion Be?
The spoiler is one of those most irritating and annoying things.
It's always the same scene - you're halfway through something you're loving and then someone who has either already seen it or just Googled what happens imparts to you a huge development you had not forseen.
One of the more recent visualisations came in The Big Bang Theory when Sheldon told Leonard various spoilers from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which he was reading for the first time at the time. This duly leads to Leonard moving out to live with Penny, who imparts another similarly big spoiler.
Some people argued "why Harry Potter?" but using a more recent spoiler would have undoubtedly pissed some people off. Not that it worked as a number of people apparently wrote to the US network CBS complaining they were spoiled the end of the book/film. This was accentuated by a spoiler of The Walking Dead, which was also added at the end of a then-recent episode.
Film buffs seem to accept spoilers as a part of life but how hard is it to avoid them?
It's a strange psychological bent at the best of times. The desire to know for some - i.e. me - means that when you are aware there's something big on the horizon of media you are enjoying, you want to jump to the end.
This is something that can be felt at the moment. The highly anticipated finale of US television drama Breaking Bad was aired last Sunday, with a climactic finale. For those on time.
Personally, I had first heard of Breaking Bad when the first season was reviewed in music magazine Q in late 2009/early 2010, but found the premise amusing and confusing. A few weeks ago, I bought season one on a limb and loved it. I'm now at the start of season four and one thing that does impress is that, each time it appears to exhaust a certain plot point, it creates newer, bolder horizons.
But with the access to sites discussing and disseminating what happened, it is easier than ever to stumble across spoilers and ruin the big finale for yourself.
In a way, its also easy to find out what happens in the immediate future. Part of this is down to hearsay - people have said the current season four is the season's biggest season.
This is, in one respect, an evolution of the spoilering process. In the old days, if you wanted to spoil things, you would either ask someone who had seen it what had gone done or stumbled across a stranger. The scene in the Simpsons where Homer loudly shouts "I can't believe Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's dad" in front of a queue waiting to see The Empire Strikes Back for the first time is probably similar to what happened to a fair amount of people in cinemas up and down the land until the invention of the internet.
Nowadays, with one click, you can find a website with synopsis, analysis and comment on every last detail of every episode. This has already yielded spoilers for seasons of Breaking Bad as I progressed through the various seasons of the show, although so far this clicking finger hasn't strayed onto the big finale. Yet.
Not for want of trying. The eagerness to discover information extends to a temptation to go foraging for information, which would be a stupid move because it would undermine viewing time and the point in wanting to view episodes.
There's always a desire amongst people to gain knowledge of information and wanting to know as much as you can about any given subject.
This however has to be controlled because sometimes, it can be a good idea to keep things in suspense for some things. In the case of films and TV programmes, that would be a good thing because it helps the feeling you are legitimately watching something new rather than re-treading a road everyone else has long explored.
It's always the same scene - you're halfway through something you're loving and then someone who has either already seen it or just Googled what happens imparts to you a huge development you had not forseen.
One of the more recent visualisations came in The Big Bang Theory when Sheldon told Leonard various spoilers from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which he was reading for the first time at the time. This duly leads to Leonard moving out to live with Penny, who imparts another similarly big spoiler.
Some people argued "why Harry Potter?" but using a more recent spoiler would have undoubtedly pissed some people off. Not that it worked as a number of people apparently wrote to the US network CBS complaining they were spoiled the end of the book/film. This was accentuated by a spoiler of The Walking Dead, which was also added at the end of a then-recent episode.
Film buffs seem to accept spoilers as a part of life but how hard is it to avoid them?
It's a strange psychological bent at the best of times. The desire to know for some - i.e. me - means that when you are aware there's something big on the horizon of media you are enjoying, you want to jump to the end.
This is something that can be felt at the moment. The highly anticipated finale of US television drama Breaking Bad was aired last Sunday, with a climactic finale. For those on time.
Personally, I had first heard of Breaking Bad when the first season was reviewed in music magazine Q in late 2009/early 2010, but found the premise amusing and confusing. A few weeks ago, I bought season one on a limb and loved it. I'm now at the start of season four and one thing that does impress is that, each time it appears to exhaust a certain plot point, it creates newer, bolder horizons.
But with the access to sites discussing and disseminating what happened, it is easier than ever to stumble across spoilers and ruin the big finale for yourself.
In a way, its also easy to find out what happens in the immediate future. Part of this is down to hearsay - people have said the current season four is the season's biggest season.
This is, in one respect, an evolution of the spoilering process. In the old days, if you wanted to spoil things, you would either ask someone who had seen it what had gone done or stumbled across a stranger. The scene in the Simpsons where Homer loudly shouts "I can't believe Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's dad" in front of a queue waiting to see The Empire Strikes Back for the first time is probably similar to what happened to a fair amount of people in cinemas up and down the land until the invention of the internet.
Nowadays, with one click, you can find a website with synopsis, analysis and comment on every last detail of every episode. This has already yielded spoilers for seasons of Breaking Bad as I progressed through the various seasons of the show, although so far this clicking finger hasn't strayed onto the big finale. Yet.
Not for want of trying. The eagerness to discover information extends to a temptation to go foraging for information, which would be a stupid move because it would undermine viewing time and the point in wanting to view episodes.
There's always a desire amongst people to gain knowledge of information and wanting to know as much as you can about any given subject.
This however has to be controlled because sometimes, it can be a good idea to keep things in suspense for some things. In the case of films and TV programmes, that would be a good thing because it helps the feeling you are legitimately watching something new rather than re-treading a road everyone else has long explored.
Friday, 4 October 2013
So Much For Cautious Optimism...
So... yes... cautious optimism for Newcastle United. Whoever thought that would happen?
Three weeks ago, a victory for Newcastle at Aston Villa that saw the club deliver an impressive performance to see off the Birmingham side. One of the club's most solid defensive performances was allied to an impressively concise attacking display.
Granted, it was helped by a terrible Villa display that rarely had the fizz of their other displays - most notably their recent victory over Manchester City - but it looked as if Newcastle had turned a corner.
What happened next has followed a depressingly familiar pattern.
Yet another home defeat by Hull City was followed up with by a desperately poor showing in the first half at Everton. Sadly, an improved second half display was not able to yield a comeback victory, but people who were at the game said it wouldn't have been a deserved result in any case.
It all appears to have led to yet more doom and gloom for black and white stripe wearers. The usual conspiracy theories JFK - Joe Fucking Kinnear - is about to return are back, as are other rumours. Chief among them was the surprise rumour Alan Pardew had attempted to resign after the Everton game, although these were denied.
It seemed unlikely Pardew - one of football's proudest men - would walk away. But after the testing mess of 2012-13, this season had to go a lot better.
Perhaps it could have been a good idea to strengthen a weak defence. After conceding a club-record number of goals in a Premier League season, an extra full back was a requirement. This was exacerbated by the departures of Danny Simpson and James Perch, while Ryan Taylor's season long injury thins the numbers further.
Instead, the only legitimate options are many people's pick for the two weakest links. Mathieu Debuchy and Davide Santon are the two full backs but both attack way more than they defend, which often leaves the flanks excessively exposed to counter attacks.
Debuchy in particular has copped criticism, with his poor positioning exposed for two of Hull's three goals in the recent defeat and his defending generally seen as the weakest link. Fans have largely been on a downer following after he conceded a few penalties after signing
But at least he showed some signs of improvement at Goodison Park, with analysis showing him as one of the few Newcastle players to play anything approaching well in the game.
The defender copping the most flack was Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, who in the space of a year has gone from being captain of the French champions in the UEFA Champions League to being part of a defence barely capable of avoiding the Championship.
Amazingly, it took Mike Williamson to stabilise the defence for the second half. Williamson was a big punching bag for fans last season after a catalogue of belief-defying blunders, but a commanding aerial performance from the Portsmouth defender hinted he might not be finished yet.
It raises questions after the club's defence has continued where it left off. Although it has managed two Premier League clean sheets - more than this stage last season, and more than table toppers Arsenal - the potential for catastrophic failure remains high.
Fans just don't know what, if anything, is the best combination. Each combination of the four centre backs (Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor, as well as Williamson and Yanga-Mbiwa) seems to have one good game followed by at least four bad ones.
Although the team improved, it wasn't enough for what would've been an unlikely comeback.
As a result, a lot of improvement has to be done. But the fixture list is hardly ideal for such a moment, with games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs all coming up. And this is before a Capital One Cup tie against Manchester City and the possibility of Chris Hughton's remodelled Norwich City nicking a victory at St. James'.
But its the Tyne-Wear Derby on October 27th that promises to decide much of the team's direction for the campaign. Derbies have previously dictated momentum for the Toon, with the 1-0 victory in August 2011 at the Stadium of Light arguably the foundation for the unbeaten run at the start of the 2011-12 season.
Conversely, the humiliation against the Black Cats in April has seen the team in an almost-universal downhill direction since. Only 3 wins in 11 Premier League matches since that dark day is a terrible return, although Sunderland's record of just 1 win in the post-Derby time period makes for equally grim record.
At this rate, this game could well decide which team is in for a painful struggle. Although form and logic seems to suggest the Toon should win against a Sunderland team devoid of inspiration and luck, we cannot count chickens.
Its a brutal and testing time for Magpies fans. Victory at Cardiff on Saturday - a harder ask than it looks, as Manchester City found out - is essential ahead of this run or else it could be a long and tough autumn for Magpies fans.
Three weeks ago, a victory for Newcastle at Aston Villa that saw the club deliver an impressive performance to see off the Birmingham side. One of the club's most solid defensive performances was allied to an impressively concise attacking display.
Granted, it was helped by a terrible Villa display that rarely had the fizz of their other displays - most notably their recent victory over Manchester City - but it looked as if Newcastle had turned a corner.
What happened next has followed a depressingly familiar pattern.
Yet another home defeat by Hull City was followed up with by a desperately poor showing in the first half at Everton. Sadly, an improved second half display was not able to yield a comeback victory, but people who were at the game said it wouldn't have been a deserved result in any case.
It all appears to have led to yet more doom and gloom for black and white stripe wearers. The usual conspiracy theories JFK - Joe Fucking Kinnear - is about to return are back, as are other rumours. Chief among them was the surprise rumour Alan Pardew had attempted to resign after the Everton game, although these were denied.
It seemed unlikely Pardew - one of football's proudest men - would walk away. But after the testing mess of 2012-13, this season had to go a lot better.
Perhaps it could have been a good idea to strengthen a weak defence. After conceding a club-record number of goals in a Premier League season, an extra full back was a requirement. This was exacerbated by the departures of Danny Simpson and James Perch, while Ryan Taylor's season long injury thins the numbers further.
Instead, the only legitimate options are many people's pick for the two weakest links. Mathieu Debuchy and Davide Santon are the two full backs but both attack way more than they defend, which often leaves the flanks excessively exposed to counter attacks.
Debuchy in particular has copped criticism, with his poor positioning exposed for two of Hull's three goals in the recent defeat and his defending generally seen as the weakest link. Fans have largely been on a downer following after he conceded a few penalties after signing
But at least he showed some signs of improvement at Goodison Park, with analysis showing him as one of the few Newcastle players to play anything approaching well in the game.
The defender copping the most flack was Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, who in the space of a year has gone from being captain of the French champions in the UEFA Champions League to being part of a defence barely capable of avoiding the Championship.
Amazingly, it took Mike Williamson to stabilise the defence for the second half. Williamson was a big punching bag for fans last season after a catalogue of belief-defying blunders, but a commanding aerial performance from the Portsmouth defender hinted he might not be finished yet.
It raises questions after the club's defence has continued where it left off. Although it has managed two Premier League clean sheets - more than this stage last season, and more than table toppers Arsenal - the potential for catastrophic failure remains high.
Fans just don't know what, if anything, is the best combination. Each combination of the four centre backs (Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor, as well as Williamson and Yanga-Mbiwa) seems to have one good game followed by at least four bad ones.
Although the team improved, it wasn't enough for what would've been an unlikely comeback.
As a result, a lot of improvement has to be done. But the fixture list is hardly ideal for such a moment, with games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs all coming up. And this is before a Capital One Cup tie against Manchester City and the possibility of Chris Hughton's remodelled Norwich City nicking a victory at St. James'.
But its the Tyne-Wear Derby on October 27th that promises to decide much of the team's direction for the campaign. Derbies have previously dictated momentum for the Toon, with the 1-0 victory in August 2011 at the Stadium of Light arguably the foundation for the unbeaten run at the start of the 2011-12 season.
Conversely, the humiliation against the Black Cats in April has seen the team in an almost-universal downhill direction since. Only 3 wins in 11 Premier League matches since that dark day is a terrible return, although Sunderland's record of just 1 win in the post-Derby time period makes for equally grim record.
At this rate, this game could well decide which team is in for a painful struggle. Although form and logic seems to suggest the Toon should win against a Sunderland team devoid of inspiration and luck, we cannot count chickens.
Its a brutal and testing time for Magpies fans. Victory at Cardiff on Saturday - a harder ask than it looks, as Manchester City found out - is essential ahead of this run or else it could be a long and tough autumn for Magpies fans.
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Cautious Optimism At Last?
Last time Newcastle prepared to welcome Hull City for a Premier League clash, the preparations were under an entire sky of storm clouds.
August ended with the resignation of Kevin Keegan after Dennis Wise's free reign over transfer dealings saw him replace James Milner with Uruguayan midfielder Nacho Gonzalez and Spanish striker Xisco.
The international break allowed feelings of resentment towards Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to stew and build up into a huge crescendo for the first game after the resignation. Protests against Ashley were made before, during and after the game.
Chief among them was a giant "COCKNEY MAFIA OUT" banner directed at the board, which some fans think led to player distraction in the run up to Hull City's second goal.
A dark mood for Toon fans was made worse when a bare bones squad handed Hull their first Premier League away win and midfielder Danny Guthrie ended chances of a comeback by being sent off for a pointless kick on Tiger Craig Fagan.
Hull eventually finished 2008-09 all of a single point above Newcastle, which sent the Toon and their unwanted owner down.
The trajectories of Hull and Newcastle since then have taken differing paths, with Newcastle running away with the 2009-10 Championship while Hull were slinking out of the top flight.
Last season saw Hull just slide under the sliding door Indiana Jones-style into the Premier League, while Newcastle were just about able to evade falling in the other direction.
But despite a surprisingly quiet summer at St James' Park, optimism is higher this time. While Ashley is still around - and still largely loathed - September 2013 feels like a happier place than September 2008.
Chief among this is the fact that the squad appears more solidly assembled this time around.
Alan Pardew came in for heavy criticism for some of his squad and tactical decisions in the 2012-13 campaign. Perhaps guided by injuries and availability, he seems to have stumbled across a new formation to use for this new season.
It is just as well as things didn't have such an optimistic touch at half-time in the clubs 3rd game of the season against Fulham. Although the team had actually began troubling the goalkeeper in the game against the Cottagers, there was little to indicate the team could actually score.
This followed up two dreadful afternoons for the Black and Whites, with all of one shot on target in an opening day mauling by Manchester City followed up by a dour goalless draw with West Ham one week later.
Luckily, tactical modifications allowed the team to play with a hint of attacking freedom against the Cottagers. On another day, the Toon could have put five past Fulham and could well have done had the posts, crossbars, goalkeeper, posts and terrible finishing.
The modifications saw a change in system, with subs Yohan Cabaye, Loic Remy and Yoann Gouffran supporting Hatem Ben Arfa. Before then, Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi cut frustrated figures in a system that struggled to provide service.
It had been worse against West Ham in the Toon's first opening encounter, which saw the team manage zero shots on target - although Gouffran somehow managed to miss an open goal - but it took a change to shake the team out of similar problems against them.
The modification eventually yielded reward. But as well as reward it also hinted at a possible future change to the system, with players given markedly different roles to the ones they didn't seem comfortable in last year.
All of this was shown last weekend at Villa Park, where the team put in a more solid performance to neuter a Villa team that showed remarkably little of what handed them plaudits following their opening three.
The team's performance did well, with the centre backs doing well to stop Christian Benteke from being as effective as he has been, and the full backs coping alright with the twin wide threats of Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann.
The midfield also looked more solid, which is not a good argument for Cheick Tiote and Jonas Gutierrez's first choice places from last season. Vurnon Anita and Moussa Sissoko did very well to break up Villa's midfield - although they were helped by an off-colour Villa trio - and a foundation for Yohan Cabaye to support the forward three.
It wasn't a perfect performance at Villa. There is still work to be done on Papiss Cisse, who has not scored since April 7th - last minute goal against Fulham at SJP - and has not really looked like scoring in the meantime.
The final third ball was also a little suspect at times, with Newcastle's most productive moves coming from runs by Hatem Ben Arfa. It helped Villa full back Antonio Luna was remarkably unable to cope with the Newcastle number 10, but Ben Arfa was a very potent threat.
Final third balls from other players, however, were not as soildly productive. Cabaye in particular got a couple wrong, although his lack of match fitness in the wake of petty and needless strike action may not have helped.
Nevertheless, the game provided reasons to be cheerful. Chief among them is the fact Pardew has rediscovered tactics that the team do well with, and was also able to calculate when to make the right subs. The arrival of Gouffran will be highlighted as he replaced the tiring Remy to score the winning goal, but well calculated as well were the arrivals of Tiote and Sammy Ameobi.
The former's combative presence was able to help continue the stifling tactic on Newcastle's midfield, while Ameobi's arrival was able to help the team keep the ball in the Villa half when it was needed.
With the team finally seeming promise, today's game with the Tigers could be further springboard.
Steve Bruce's record at St. James' Park is not the best, with just one win as a visiting manager - with Birmingham City in 2003 - and his last appearance in their away dugout saw his Sunderland team handed a 5-1 trouncing in the Tyne-Wear Derby.
Nevertheless, his Tigers team will not be easy opponents. They were close to following Cardiff City to an upset against Manchester City and their promotion to the Premier League in 2012-13 was built on firm defensive foundations.
However, if the trend of improving performances after opening day humiliation in Manchester continues, then it bodes well for this afternoon's outing. It also reinforces the fact that things are steadily improving for the Magpies.
August ended with the resignation of Kevin Keegan after Dennis Wise's free reign over transfer dealings saw him replace James Milner with Uruguayan midfielder Nacho Gonzalez and Spanish striker Xisco.
The international break allowed feelings of resentment towards Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to stew and build up into a huge crescendo for the first game after the resignation. Protests against Ashley were made before, during and after the game.
Chief among them was a giant "COCKNEY MAFIA OUT" banner directed at the board, which some fans think led to player distraction in the run up to Hull City's second goal.
A dark mood for Toon fans was made worse when a bare bones squad handed Hull their first Premier League away win and midfielder Danny Guthrie ended chances of a comeback by being sent off for a pointless kick on Tiger Craig Fagan.
Hull eventually finished 2008-09 all of a single point above Newcastle, which sent the Toon and their unwanted owner down.
The trajectories of Hull and Newcastle since then have taken differing paths, with Newcastle running away with the 2009-10 Championship while Hull were slinking out of the top flight.
Last season saw Hull just slide under the sliding door Indiana Jones-style into the Premier League, while Newcastle were just about able to evade falling in the other direction.
But despite a surprisingly quiet summer at St James' Park, optimism is higher this time. While Ashley is still around - and still largely loathed - September 2013 feels like a happier place than September 2008.
Chief among this is the fact that the squad appears more solidly assembled this time around.
Alan Pardew came in for heavy criticism for some of his squad and tactical decisions in the 2012-13 campaign. Perhaps guided by injuries and availability, he seems to have stumbled across a new formation to use for this new season.
It is just as well as things didn't have such an optimistic touch at half-time in the clubs 3rd game of the season against Fulham. Although the team had actually began troubling the goalkeeper in the game against the Cottagers, there was little to indicate the team could actually score.
This followed up two dreadful afternoons for the Black and Whites, with all of one shot on target in an opening day mauling by Manchester City followed up by a dour goalless draw with West Ham one week later.
Luckily, tactical modifications allowed the team to play with a hint of attacking freedom against the Cottagers. On another day, the Toon could have put five past Fulham and could well have done had the posts, crossbars, goalkeeper, posts and terrible finishing.
The modifications saw a change in system, with subs Yohan Cabaye, Loic Remy and Yoann Gouffran supporting Hatem Ben Arfa. Before then, Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi cut frustrated figures in a system that struggled to provide service.
It had been worse against West Ham in the Toon's first opening encounter, which saw the team manage zero shots on target - although Gouffran somehow managed to miss an open goal - but it took a change to shake the team out of similar problems against them.
The modification eventually yielded reward. But as well as reward it also hinted at a possible future change to the system, with players given markedly different roles to the ones they didn't seem comfortable in last year.
All of this was shown last weekend at Villa Park, where the team put in a more solid performance to neuter a Villa team that showed remarkably little of what handed them plaudits following their opening three.
The team's performance did well, with the centre backs doing well to stop Christian Benteke from being as effective as he has been, and the full backs coping alright with the twin wide threats of Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann.
The midfield also looked more solid, which is not a good argument for Cheick Tiote and Jonas Gutierrez's first choice places from last season. Vurnon Anita and Moussa Sissoko did very well to break up Villa's midfield - although they were helped by an off-colour Villa trio - and a foundation for Yohan Cabaye to support the forward three.
It wasn't a perfect performance at Villa. There is still work to be done on Papiss Cisse, who has not scored since April 7th - last minute goal against Fulham at SJP - and has not really looked like scoring in the meantime.
The final third ball was also a little suspect at times, with Newcastle's most productive moves coming from runs by Hatem Ben Arfa. It helped Villa full back Antonio Luna was remarkably unable to cope with the Newcastle number 10, but Ben Arfa was a very potent threat.
Final third balls from other players, however, were not as soildly productive. Cabaye in particular got a couple wrong, although his lack of match fitness in the wake of petty and needless strike action may not have helped.
Nevertheless, the game provided reasons to be cheerful. Chief among them is the fact Pardew has rediscovered tactics that the team do well with, and was also able to calculate when to make the right subs. The arrival of Gouffran will be highlighted as he replaced the tiring Remy to score the winning goal, but well calculated as well were the arrivals of Tiote and Sammy Ameobi.
The former's combative presence was able to help continue the stifling tactic on Newcastle's midfield, while Ameobi's arrival was able to help the team keep the ball in the Villa half when it was needed.
With the team finally seeming promise, today's game with the Tigers could be further springboard.
Steve Bruce's record at St. James' Park is not the best, with just one win as a visiting manager - with Birmingham City in 2003 - and his last appearance in their away dugout saw his Sunderland team handed a 5-1 trouncing in the Tyne-Wear Derby.
Nevertheless, his Tigers team will not be easy opponents. They were close to following Cardiff City to an upset against Manchester City and their promotion to the Premier League in 2012-13 was built on firm defensive foundations.
However, if the trend of improving performances after opening day humiliation in Manchester continues, then it bodes well for this afternoon's outing. It also reinforces the fact that things are steadily improving for the Magpies.
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Luxury Footballer
The pressure on anyone in football when they make a huge money deal is clear to see at the best of times.
It's hard not to notice Gareth Bale has been the subject of one of the biggest. Last week - on transfer deadline day, no less - he finally made the jump from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid.
A whopping jump it was too, with the Welsh winger costing the Spaniards an £85.3M transfer fee and about £300,000 in wages for his six year contract.
His former club were certainly unwilling to budge for anything less. Head coach Andre Villas-Boas frequently said the club's star man was not for sale and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was certainly determined to hold on in the wake of speculation that seemed to be relentless.
The saga only really began any momentum when Bale missed Spurs' first three games with various injuries. They did secure victories in their first two but were surprisingly unconvincing in their North London Derby defeat by Arsenal.
Arsenal then provided another kick in the teeth for their north London neighbours, as it turns out Bale meant Real attacking midfielder Mesut Özil was able to move to the Emirates Stadium. This was surprising given that the Germain international has been one of the club's key players in recent seasons, but Özil made a huge £42.5M move anyway.
Interestingly, support has favoured the departed player. Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the high profile Madrid players to voice his opposition to the sale of Özil, while other European football figures including Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, German national team manager Joachim Low and Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp all voicing their surprise at the deals.
The surprising ease in which Özil was shoved out of the Real Madrid exit door is something. Real players certainly do not think Özil should have gone. But its also arguable Real Madrid didn't need Bale anyway.
As well as Özil, the club had Ronaldo, Angel di Maria, Isco, Kaka and Luka Modric as options. While Kaka left on deadline day to re-turn to AC Milan after an unhappy spell at the club, it is arguable the other options would have been enough for the Spanish giants.
Its arguable Real would have been better looking out for a striker, with Frenchman Karim Benzema and youngster Álvaro Morata their only real choices.
Now they have Bale they need to work out what to do with him. It is highly unlikely Ronaldo will fancy shifting from his preferred wide left position to accommodate Bale, so he'll need to go somewhere else.
Ancelotti's assistant coach has said Bale is not a guaranteed starter. Its likely, however, that the big cash means there could be some push to get him to play, as there famously was when Andriy Shevchenko joined Chelsea for £30M.
The speculation seems to hint Angel di Maria is the one to make way but him and Isco have made good starts so dropping either would be a strange one to justify.
Bale is seen as a possible commercial deal, with the Welsh winger already a cover star on the new FIFA 14 computer game and having had his face plastered all over New York's Times Square as part of NBC's Premier League broadcasting campaign.
With Real reportedly around 600million Euros in debt, this sort of commercial pulling power would come in very handy.
A lot of people seem to think the Bale deal was a statement of intent, with the club having been beaten to Brazil hotshot Neymar by Barcelona.
It is certainly a deal that stands out considering a summer that has seen many Spanish league stars leave for England, Italy and France.
Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla - three of the next biggest teams in Spain - have sold stars, while Malaga and Real Sociedad have seen their best players picked off by Real Madrid among others.
Spanish football's financial situation is precarious, with most of the league having to sell to by. In all, a record £450M+ in player sales was registered by Spanish clubs in summer 2013, with only Barcelona not seeing at least one big name leave the club.
Departures of Özil and Higuain have certainly not been welcomed, and Madridistas are a little underwhelmed their replacement is a winger who has only won one Carling Cup and has also only played one Champions League campaign.
Admittedly it was a great campaign for him, but it was still only one.
So, if Bale certainly wasn't feeling under pressure, this welcome to Spain is hardly a help. Something to look forward too when he returns from Wales duties and/or injury.
But now he's made it, will he be a success?
Jury's out but there's no reason why he can't make a go of it at least. If he applies himself well enough, maybe he could be the missing link Real wanted for that fabled 10th Champions League title that has eluded them since Zinedine Zidane's famous volley in Glasgow in 2002.
There's still a long way to go though. Six years to justify the extravagance begins now, and all that remains to say is good luck Gareth. He's gonna need it.
It's hard not to notice Gareth Bale has been the subject of one of the biggest. Last week - on transfer deadline day, no less - he finally made the jump from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid.
A whopping jump it was too, with the Welsh winger costing the Spaniards an £85.3M transfer fee and about £300,000 in wages for his six year contract.
His former club were certainly unwilling to budge for anything less. Head coach Andre Villas-Boas frequently said the club's star man was not for sale and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was certainly determined to hold on in the wake of speculation that seemed to be relentless.
The saga only really began any momentum when Bale missed Spurs' first three games with various injuries. They did secure victories in their first two but were surprisingly unconvincing in their North London Derby defeat by Arsenal.
Arsenal then provided another kick in the teeth for their north London neighbours, as it turns out Bale meant Real attacking midfielder Mesut Özil was able to move to the Emirates Stadium. This was surprising given that the Germain international has been one of the club's key players in recent seasons, but Özil made a huge £42.5M move anyway.
Interestingly, support has favoured the departed player. Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the high profile Madrid players to voice his opposition to the sale of Özil, while other European football figures including Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, German national team manager Joachim Low and Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp all voicing their surprise at the deals.
The surprising ease in which Özil was shoved out of the Real Madrid exit door is something. Real players certainly do not think Özil should have gone. But its also arguable Real Madrid didn't need Bale anyway.
As well as Özil, the club had Ronaldo, Angel di Maria, Isco, Kaka and Luka Modric as options. While Kaka left on deadline day to re-turn to AC Milan after an unhappy spell at the club, it is arguable the other options would have been enough for the Spanish giants.
Its arguable Real would have been better looking out for a striker, with Frenchman Karim Benzema and youngster Álvaro Morata their only real choices.
Now they have Bale they need to work out what to do with him. It is highly unlikely Ronaldo will fancy shifting from his preferred wide left position to accommodate Bale, so he'll need to go somewhere else.
Ancelotti's assistant coach has said Bale is not a guaranteed starter. Its likely, however, that the big cash means there could be some push to get him to play, as there famously was when Andriy Shevchenko joined Chelsea for £30M.
The speculation seems to hint Angel di Maria is the one to make way but him and Isco have made good starts so dropping either would be a strange one to justify.
Bale is seen as a possible commercial deal, with the Welsh winger already a cover star on the new FIFA 14 computer game and having had his face plastered all over New York's Times Square as part of NBC's Premier League broadcasting campaign.
With Real reportedly around 600million Euros in debt, this sort of commercial pulling power would come in very handy.
A lot of people seem to think the Bale deal was a statement of intent, with the club having been beaten to Brazil hotshot Neymar by Barcelona.
It is certainly a deal that stands out considering a summer that has seen many Spanish league stars leave for England, Italy and France.
Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla - three of the next biggest teams in Spain - have sold stars, while Malaga and Real Sociedad have seen their best players picked off by Real Madrid among others.
Spanish football's financial situation is precarious, with most of the league having to sell to by. In all, a record £450M+ in player sales was registered by Spanish clubs in summer 2013, with only Barcelona not seeing at least one big name leave the club.
Departures of Özil and Higuain have certainly not been welcomed, and Madridistas are a little underwhelmed their replacement is a winger who has only won one Carling Cup and has also only played one Champions League campaign.
Admittedly it was a great campaign for him, but it was still only one.
So, if Bale certainly wasn't feeling under pressure, this welcome to Spain is hardly a help. Something to look forward too when he returns from Wales duties and/or injury.
But now he's made it, will he be a success?
Jury's out but there's no reason why he can't make a go of it at least. If he applies himself well enough, maybe he could be the missing link Real wanted for that fabled 10th Champions League title that has eluded them since Zinedine Zidane's famous volley in Glasgow in 2002.
There's still a long way to go though. Six years to justify the extravagance begins now, and all that remains to say is good luck Gareth. He's gonna need it.
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Arctic Monkeys - AM: Album Review
Credit where it's due for Arctic Monkeys - they're certainly willing to go beyond simply just rehashing I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor 12 times album-in-album-out.
Some people seem to think AM should've stuck with the sound and lyrical style they presented on their first two albums. But they deserve some credit for the bold abandon they embraced the sleazy desert riffery and country-rock love songs that make up their last two records.
Even then, Humbug and Suck It And See still had some moods and scopes reminiscent of albums one and two. By contrast, the teasers for this one indicate the band is moving further into darker, different sonic territory.
The fifth Arctic Monkeys album may have its laziest title - Alex Turner says they ripped it from the Velvet Underground's VU compilation, rather than Beady Eye's recent BE album - but certainly has been previewed with some gems.
The adventures of their new California-based world have been teased by Turner as "a Dr. Dre beat given an Ike Turner bowl cut and sent galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster". Whatever that means.
Question is - are they adventures we want to be taken on?
1. Do I Wanna Know?
Chances are you'll have heard this beast already, not least given it opened AM's recent Glastonbury setlist. It's a slower beast but full of buzzing 12-string guitars, slinky bass and wonderfully crafted lyrical riffs on "how we both know the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day". It's a stomping opener.
2. R U Mine?
Given this one came out in February 2012 you'll almost certainly have heard this one too. There is little to say about this song that hasn't been said, other than that it appears to be a little crunchier than the original single and remains a fine tune. Certainly, it's a guaranteed knockout punch for the album and it ensures its got 2/2 killer hooks.
3. One for the Road
Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme emerges for the first time on the album with a few "whoop whoops". After two big-rockers, this tune introduces more of the hip-hop inspired subtleties, as well as a return to Turner's burgeoning mental thesaurus and some of the shimmery guitar work more present in the latter half of Suck It And See. It is reminiscent of those latter SIAS tunes and is a pleasant listen which improve with further ones, but feels oddly weak in the wake of the huge opening hitters.
4. Arabella
This is probably one of the tunes Turner had in mind with his earlier description. It starts with a teasingly misleading hip-hop subtlety of a girl in "a Barbarella silver swimsuit" before it really finds the high gears with a swinging glam-rock riff that blinks its way in and out of the tune. The outro is particularly good, with the guitar's momentum increasing and sweeping the song over the line.
5. I Want It All
As AM progresses you find a few ticks - a certain chord here, a drum beat there, a falsetto atop it - repeat themselves. They're out in force here, on a tune sounding somewhere between Slade and Scissor Sisters with a foot in each camp. It's a nice fuzzy riff but its a weird sound for AM that takes adjusting too, and one that's harder to like. The delightful B-side Stop The World I Wanna Get Off With You would be better for the album.
6. No. 1 Party Anthem
Time for a sweeping direction change. After 5 tunes trying to marry heavy rock and hip-hop, this song is a wistful ballad. Led by piano, lower chords and subtle percussion, its talk of a dancefloor fling gone awry is rather relatable, with a sound to match the post-euphoric heartbreak it talks about. Its a nice and pleasant ditty and is actually pretty good.
7. Mad Sounds
Played at Glastonbury - for the audience only - was this fairly chill number. Its a sparse and subtle tune and quite a nice vibe too it. Its a pleasant tune alright, and certainly shows off Turner's skills as a vocalist - and probably Matt Helders and Nick O'Malley on the falsetto - but that one-two is certainly a momentum killer.
8. Fireside
After two chill songs the bass guitar riff is certainly something to perk up momentum. It's a slick smooth wiffle underpinning chimy acoustic guitar and keyboard that builds into a big chorus. There's something oddly epic about it, but its also a pretty good tune and certainly more of the dancy feel than the previous pairing.
9. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?
It's custom for an Arctic Monkeys album to include at least one long song title that makes you scratch your head in confusion. Just like on their debut album, the longest song title is also the shortest of the whole record. The song is a fairly brisk strut built on a beat supplemented by fiddly guitars and falsetto backing that could be from a Destiny's Child album. Its AM the song. Its also a decent poppy tune about late night antics - again, like the debut in its own way. The video is quite something.
10. Snap Out Of It
A bit of a faster tempo than the vast majority of the record, if not quite the breakneck pace of the old songs. This one shares a few notes and moods with I Want It All, albeit with some added piano, but seems to click a lot easier than the first one did. Its not hard to imagine this one gelling quite well live.
11. Knee Socks
Advance buzz has this one lined up as "the main one with Josh Homme", which Turner described as a "return of a back scratch" after he did a tune with Queens of the Stone Age on Like Clockwork. The song is a more defined version of the album's hip-hop-rock strut until the 2:30 mark, when the falsetto takes on a mind of its own and additional vocal tracks from Homme buzz over, before reverting for the last dash. Its pretty good, albeit not the knockout touted.
12. I Wanna Be Yours
This one is different lyrically as its adapted from a John Cooper Clarke poem. The lyrics to the poem are strange one - attempting to create romance out of things like cars, electric meters, coffee pots and vacuum cleaners, with some success and some... less so. There's musical echoes of 505 from Favourite Worst Nightmare and its certainly a great arrangement that compliments the lyrics well.
There's been a fair old bit of hyperbole surrounding AM, with many fans proclaiming it as the best effort the band have created so far.
Its a pleasant listen and there's a number of songs that stand tall as truly great tunes. But its hard not to feel something's missing.
The weirdest feeling about AM is how slow it feels. Its certainly an intriguing idea to see the same band swapping their headlong punk squawks for a more subtle hip-hop-tinged rock album but it takes a fair bit to make the leap. On some tunes the leap is a success whereas on others, not so much.
Some tunes also lack the sticking power that even album songs on previous disks. Repeat listenings certainly help improve the quality of the songs - except for I Want It All - and a lot of them sound like they could be some good tunes live, but something doesn't click as easily as other albums do.
3.5/5
Some people seem to think AM should've stuck with the sound and lyrical style they presented on their first two albums. But they deserve some credit for the bold abandon they embraced the sleazy desert riffery and country-rock love songs that make up their last two records.
Even then, Humbug and Suck It And See still had some moods and scopes reminiscent of albums one and two. By contrast, the teasers for this one indicate the band is moving further into darker, different sonic territory.
The fifth Arctic Monkeys album may have its laziest title - Alex Turner says they ripped it from the Velvet Underground's VU compilation, rather than Beady Eye's recent BE album - but certainly has been previewed with some gems.
The adventures of their new California-based world have been teased by Turner as "a Dr. Dre beat given an Ike Turner bowl cut and sent galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster". Whatever that means.
Question is - are they adventures we want to be taken on?
1. Do I Wanna Know?
Chances are you'll have heard this beast already, not least given it opened AM's recent Glastonbury setlist. It's a slower beast but full of buzzing 12-string guitars, slinky bass and wonderfully crafted lyrical riffs on "how we both know the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day". It's a stomping opener.
2. R U Mine?
Given this one came out in February 2012 you'll almost certainly have heard this one too. There is little to say about this song that hasn't been said, other than that it appears to be a little crunchier than the original single and remains a fine tune. Certainly, it's a guaranteed knockout punch for the album and it ensures its got 2/2 killer hooks.
3. One for the Road
Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme emerges for the first time on the album with a few "whoop whoops". After two big-rockers, this tune introduces more of the hip-hop inspired subtleties, as well as a return to Turner's burgeoning mental thesaurus and some of the shimmery guitar work more present in the latter half of Suck It And See. It is reminiscent of those latter SIAS tunes and is a pleasant listen which improve with further ones, but feels oddly weak in the wake of the huge opening hitters.
4. Arabella
This is probably one of the tunes Turner had in mind with his earlier description. It starts with a teasingly misleading hip-hop subtlety of a girl in "a Barbarella silver swimsuit" before it really finds the high gears with a swinging glam-rock riff that blinks its way in and out of the tune. The outro is particularly good, with the guitar's momentum increasing and sweeping the song over the line.
5. I Want It All
As AM progresses you find a few ticks - a certain chord here, a drum beat there, a falsetto atop it - repeat themselves. They're out in force here, on a tune sounding somewhere between Slade and Scissor Sisters with a foot in each camp. It's a nice fuzzy riff but its a weird sound for AM that takes adjusting too, and one that's harder to like. The delightful B-side Stop The World I Wanna Get Off With You would be better for the album.
6. No. 1 Party Anthem
Time for a sweeping direction change. After 5 tunes trying to marry heavy rock and hip-hop, this song is a wistful ballad. Led by piano, lower chords and subtle percussion, its talk of a dancefloor fling gone awry is rather relatable, with a sound to match the post-euphoric heartbreak it talks about. Its a nice and pleasant ditty and is actually pretty good.
7. Mad Sounds
Played at Glastonbury - for the audience only - was this fairly chill number. Its a sparse and subtle tune and quite a nice vibe too it. Its a pleasant tune alright, and certainly shows off Turner's skills as a vocalist - and probably Matt Helders and Nick O'Malley on the falsetto - but that one-two is certainly a momentum killer.
8. Fireside
After two chill songs the bass guitar riff is certainly something to perk up momentum. It's a slick smooth wiffle underpinning chimy acoustic guitar and keyboard that builds into a big chorus. There's something oddly epic about it, but its also a pretty good tune and certainly more of the dancy feel than the previous pairing.
9. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?
It's custom for an Arctic Monkeys album to include at least one long song title that makes you scratch your head in confusion. Just like on their debut album, the longest song title is also the shortest of the whole record. The song is a fairly brisk strut built on a beat supplemented by fiddly guitars and falsetto backing that could be from a Destiny's Child album. Its AM the song. Its also a decent poppy tune about late night antics - again, like the debut in its own way. The video is quite something.
10. Snap Out Of It
A bit of a faster tempo than the vast majority of the record, if not quite the breakneck pace of the old songs. This one shares a few notes and moods with I Want It All, albeit with some added piano, but seems to click a lot easier than the first one did. Its not hard to imagine this one gelling quite well live.
11. Knee Socks
Advance buzz has this one lined up as "the main one with Josh Homme", which Turner described as a "return of a back scratch" after he did a tune with Queens of the Stone Age on Like Clockwork. The song is a more defined version of the album's hip-hop-rock strut until the 2:30 mark, when the falsetto takes on a mind of its own and additional vocal tracks from Homme buzz over, before reverting for the last dash. Its pretty good, albeit not the knockout touted.
12. I Wanna Be Yours
This one is different lyrically as its adapted from a John Cooper Clarke poem. The lyrics to the poem are strange one - attempting to create romance out of things like cars, electric meters, coffee pots and vacuum cleaners, with some success and some... less so. There's musical echoes of 505 from Favourite Worst Nightmare and its certainly a great arrangement that compliments the lyrics well.
There's been a fair old bit of hyperbole surrounding AM, with many fans proclaiming it as the best effort the band have created so far.
Its a pleasant listen and there's a number of songs that stand tall as truly great tunes. But its hard not to feel something's missing.
The weirdest feeling about AM is how slow it feels. Its certainly an intriguing idea to see the same band swapping their headlong punk squawks for a more subtle hip-hop-tinged rock album but it takes a fair bit to make the leap. On some tunes the leap is a success whereas on others, not so much.
Some tunes also lack the sticking power that even album songs on previous disks. Repeat listenings certainly help improve the quality of the songs - except for I Want It All - and a lot of them sound like they could be some good tunes live, but something doesn't click as easily as other albums do.
3.5/5
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)