Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)

This review can also be found at The Yorker, here.

As I've said in the past, the Kingdom Hearts games are a slave to their narrative. Regardless of your opinions on whether the plot of the series is any good or not (It's not very good); there are now 7 games all part of the same story - of which Dream Drop Distance is the latest in terms of both release and chronologically. To properly appreciate a new game in the series, it almost requires a working knowledge of the previous entries. And that's a bad thing.

©Square Enix

KH3D tries to mitigate this with in-game reference material and flashbacks to the game's past events - but to the newcomer, the convoluted path that leads plucky anime teens Sora and Riku to an all-important quest that involves 'diving into the dreams of sleeping worlds' is confusing, and ultimately feels irrelevant. It's almost as if Square Enix want you to ignore the overarching plot altogether, which may really be for the best.

See, it's not the narrative that has made the Kingdom Hearts series so enjoyable, it's all about spectacle and satisfaction. The spectacle of exploring bright and detailed worlds, and the satisfaction of weighty and involved combat.

In regards to the spectacle, Square Enix definitely took the time to use the 3DS' graphical abilities as effectively as possible. The 3D is strategically used to be more noticeable in cutscenes than gameplay, so while battles do benefit from the depth-of-field, they won't strain your eyes.

The series staple of exploring multiple Disney franchises is of course present, and although they all have shared design aspects to get everything looking cohesive, they're also incredibly distinct through set-pieces and colour use. The clean, geometric and faintly pulsing landscape of the Tron Legacy world caught my interest in ways entirely other to the soft golds, rich purples and towering buildings of the Hunchback of Notre Damme world.

In regards to gameplay satisfaction, every sequel to Kingdom Hearts series has improved on the base mechanics of the original in some way. To those who have played Re:coded on the DS or Birth by Sleep on the PSP, you'll already be at home with the basic setup, but KH3D adds three new (notably huge) features: Parkour, Pokémon, and Narcolepsy.

The opening stage quickly introduces parkour - or 'Flowmotion' as the game insists on calling it. This allows you to slide along rails, swing around poles and spring yourself off walls, all of which gives you incredible freedom of movement and new context-sensitive attacks. The wall-springs work out to be rather imbalanced in the long run, as you quickly find you can use it to scale walls of any height, and you can accidentally trigger it if you try to dodge roll too close to a wall.

Instead of classic Disney characters assisting you as party members, you can summon friendly versions of the enemy 'Dream Eater' monsters you battle throughout the game. The Dream Eater system is very robust. Every monster has its own abilities and AI patterns; they unlock special abilities for you via simple 'skill trees'; and there are even Nintendogs-style minigames for the cuteness factor. The part of me that never grew out of loving Pokémon adores this addition, but it's a shame that because of this system, I can never fight alongside the main characters of each world.

To keep with the theme of 'sleep and dreams' beyond just the plot and the game title, sleep even affects the player characters. The protagonists Sora and Riku are playable in tandem - both exploring the sleeping worlds, but in separate realisations. However, they (for vaguely explained reasons) cannot be awake at the same time. As you play as one character, you'll see a 'Drop Meter' that acts as a timer until they spontaneously fall unconscious, and he counterpart takes over. This can happen literally any time outside of menus and cutscenes. Bosses suddenly become a lot more harrowing when it's against a time limit.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance makes some undeniable design faux-pas. The ability to scale any surface trivialises platforming. Raising Dream Eaters eventually becomes more time consuming than the main combat. The idea of using theming as a limit on you feels just... wrong. And yet, that it keeps the gameplay of the series solidly intact, and still dares to try new ideas and push things even further. And I've gotta give it props for that.

Don't be a stranger - gaming with new housemates

This article can also be found at the Yorker, here.

Dealing with new housemates is difficult. They probably won't clean, they're going to keep you up all hours with music you hate, and lord help you if you let them borrow anything of yours. But unless you can bank on getting your daily dose of human interaction elsewhere, you'll probably want to get to know your housemates better.

And what better means than with video games? (Well, there are lots of better means, but I digress.)
It's very easy to default to FIFA, Call of Duty or similar when thinking about multiplayer household gaming, but those options are a rather limiting - not everyone has a taste for football or first person shooters, so here are a few suggestions to add strings to your friend-making bow.

Mario Kart - Multiple Nintendo Systems

An obvious suggestion, but a good one. Available on any and every Nintendo console post-SNES, you'll struggle to not find it in one form or another. The quality between games is variable (Mario Kart DS is the best one), but in the context of just playing with friends, it matters little. As a bonus, it's incredibly easy to turn it into a drinking game! Personally I like this rule set (should work with all incarnations, works best with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and onwards):

• Start a multiplayer race, with 4 tracks picked at random.
• While racing, any time you are hit with a Red Shell or better, take a drink.
• At the end of the race, the person who came first (out of the players, computer racers don't count) does not take a drink, 2nd and 3rd place drink once, and 4th place drinks twice.
• Repeat for all races in the set. At the final standings, 2nd and 3rd place drink twice, 4th place finishes their drink.
• Drink responsibly. If you end up throwing up I have lost all respect for you.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 – PS3 & 360 (Or just fighting games in general)

Fighting games work out to be perfect group entertainment (since it's interesting to watch as well as play), but player skill can be a problem. Two good players competing is dramatic, and two beginner players competing is a great laugh, but if a skilled player is pitted against someone new, the inevitable curbstomping is satisfying to no one (unless the skilled player is a sore winner). MvC3 is a good bet for its easily recognised cast, bright, frantic aesthetics, and a 'simple mode' control scheme for those who aren't confident in their fireball-throwing ability. If it's a game with a large cast, select characters by theme (and take suggestions from those watching to be inclusive!) Some suggestions:

• Pick a character who went alone to the high school prom.
• Pick a character who has less than £50 in their savings.
• Pick a character who has a low tolerance for alcohol.

Kirby's Adventure Wii

Yep. The cutest video game mascot to ever exist is entirely made for Co-Op play, and Kirby's Adventure Wii is the most recent and splendidly made addition to the series. While not a difficult game, it's built around being played by 4 people of any skill level - so anyone can have a blast. And if you're so inclined - enough means to be an evil dick to the other players (not recommended for friend-making). Plus, Kirby is both super cute and super violent in equal measures, so everyone has something to love!

Borderlands & Borderlands 2 – PS3, 360 & PC

If you absolutely must play a game where you ventilate everyone you encounter, Borderlands is enough of an accessible and unusual choice where you can rope in those who would be less likely to play a shooter. Taking on concepts of stats and skills from RPGs, you can work your way across the wasteland with a good weapon, even if your aiming isn't up to snuff. The sequel (released September 21st, just in time for the start of the University year) even has a 'Best Friends Forever' mode that offers skills and special abilities to aid those who are new or terrible at the genre. Personally, that's a godsend.

Free-To-Play Online Games

Okay, hear me out. In situations down the line where you don't have the space at your place to host a gathering, your schedules don't often sync with your friends, or you just don't feel like getting dressed; online gaming is a great way to unwind and still connect with your friends. You need not play a game so demanding of your time and money like World of Warcraft (not that it needs saying); there are plenty of easy to download and play free titles to play in a weekend or a week of free time. The gaming service Steam has a range of free-to-play games (my personal favourite being Spiral Knights), but there's always some cheerful, freshly translated Korean title to try out; and if you can co-ordinate a few friends to join you on your safari, you're bound to have some memorable experiences. MMO Grinder does in-depth reviews on free-to-play games if you need detailed info.

Tales of the Abyss (3DS)

This review can also be found at The Yorker.

Namco Bandai are notoriously bad at releasing their titles in Europe. Localisations can be a lengthy and expensive process, but often many EU releases of all but the biggest titles are just the US release reworked to run on PAL systems. Yet inexplicably, when it comes to titles that could remotely be considered 'niche' - Japanese RPGs especially - a European release seems rarely on the cards.

The best example of this for Namco Bandai would be the original release of Tales of the Abyss on the PS2, back in 2006. It got a release in the US, and widely positive reviews, but Europe never saw it. 6 years later, they've decided to re-release it on the 3DS under their own publishing, and this release was apparently worthy of seeing our shores. But even though that the official release date was back in November 2011, very few copies were printed. it's only in the last 3 months that enough copies are printed that it's reasonable to obtain a copy.

So, a little context on the series itself. The Tales Of games have been around since the SNES, all of them solidly made Action RPGs, set in vaguely-but-not-significantly related worlds.

Tales of the Abyss is specifically set in the land of Aulderant, where magic and monsters reign supreme, two major kingdoms are in conflict, there is the threat of an all out war on the horizon and-- okay, none of the setting is particularly engaging; all that needs to be known is that Fantasy Politics are a major theme.

You play as Luke fon Fabre, son of the Duke of Lanvaldear. You are also a selfish, spoiled, and arrogant manchild. Due to your political importance you have not left the castle for the last 8 years; so a co-incidental accident that teleports you far from your estate is your first true breath of fresh air.

Likewise, the character role is refreshing. With the majority of Japanese RPG releases being rather derivative in terms of setting and character design; a protagonist so carefully designed to make the player loathe him is an interesting change from the norm. Fortunately, while he's a big focus for the main plot, you're not required to play as him in battle.

Battles strongly remind me of old arcade beat-em-ups, there's an emphasis on setting up combos with your team mates, dodging the bigger telegraphed attacks, and knowing the limited abilities of your character inside out. And since Tales of the Abyss is an RPG, if that all sounds like too much work for you, you can get enough levels to steamroller anything in your path.

Aesthetically, Tales of the Abyss is quite pretty. The models are clean and colourful, the voice acting is well performed (but with English-only voice acting, if that matters to you at all), and the music is composed by JRPG music veteran Motoi Sakuraba. Where the problems lie is in whether you have played any of the recent Tales Of titles before. While they all tell their own stories, they are all mechanically extremely similar, and aesthetically identical, right down to the music.

Whether this is a problem for you as a player largely depends on how you like to consume your media. If you're looking for a unique experience, Tales of the Abyss definitely does not provide that. If you own another Tales Of game, you own this one. However, it's still a lengthy and robust RPG for your 3DS, and if you can get a hold of a copy, it'll breathe at least 60 hours more life into your handheld.

Gym Class Heroes - The Papercut Chronicles II

This review can also be found at The Yorker.

I caught Gym Class Heroes with their second album, As Cruel as School Children, and it worked out well for my 15 year old self. It took a stance just on the fringe of what ANGSTY TEENS would listen to, kept a cool mix of rap and rock (because who didn't have that foolish dichotomy in high school?), and did a neat job of being relevant - though I can only chuckle at the references to My Space in 'New Friend Request'.

©Waner Brothers, Fueled by Ramen

Though since then, while Gym Class Heroes haven't exactly gotten worse, the image they portray has changed. The Papercut Chronicles II is in direct reference to their first album in 2005; but I don't quite feel like that callback is apt, this is the lead vocalist Travis fitting into his mainstream role.

Things start out strong - skipping over the intro track, 'Martyrial Girl$' has a guitar and drumline aggressiveness and tension that reminds me of the sound direction for No More Heroes; punchy with a bit of grit, but not about to drive off those who wouldn't be a fan of something too thrash-y.

The problem starts for me with the track, immediately following, 'Life Goes On'. All sense of aggressiveness is lost, and it all goes in the direction of a love ballad - but with none of the funkiness, they managed to give that concept in the past. Even worse is that the style is pretty much repeated with a later track in 'Ass Back Home, which feels incredibly weak.

Speaking of which, how did you feel about Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger'? Did it make you cringe and despair like me? If so then you'll absolutely love 'Stereo Hearts', which features Adam Levine's once reasonable, but now grating crooning. The common theme between these three songs is the unnecessary guest artist. They all feel compromising, and the strength of these songs are considerably weakened as a result.

Indeed, 'Solo Discotheque' and 'Holy Horses**t, Batman!' are much closer to what I like about Gym Class Heroes, with 'Holy' being an amusing little ditty about scepticism over religion. Not exactly profound, but the funky bridge it has makes up for that.

'Lazarus, Ze Gitan' is the most hip-hop influenced, but the subject matter leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's another one of those songs where the male singer is all jaded about relationships, because no one's ever good enough for them (but they're so lonely, damn it!). That, coupled with the previous track's Nil-Nil-Draw being a pouty break-up song ("But you're too dumb to understand; I could have any girl," says the chorus) makes Travis sound like a big jerk. And who knows, he may well be.

It's cliché to say that a new album has none of the flavour that you once loved in a previous work, but I don't know what else to say here. While I will come back to 'Martyrial Girl$', my love for Gym Class Heroes has remained firmly in 2006.

Chiddy Bang - Breakfast

This review can also be found at The Yorker (whoops, I overlooked mirroring this one...)

It's been a while since I listened to an album with honestly interesting sampling. One of the things I love about hip-hop (and music inspired by such) is beat-making in original ways. A lot of instrumental hip-hop goes heavy on the piano and brass samples, which are excellent, though not as common as it used to be.

©Regal

Thankfully, Chiddy Bang's Breakfast, the duo's first full album after a mixtape in 2010, has funky and creative beats from the start. The intro is a cute little soundscape with piano backing that reminds me strongly of Nicolay's work. But that's contrasted hard with 'Breakfast', the punchiest discussion of a mealtime you'll ever hear with booming 808s and a solid demonstration of Chiddy's rap skills - clear and rhythmic without resorting to painful half-rhymes or hashtag rapping.

Beat-wise, 'Handclaps & Guitars' is what is says on the tin, with this weird Owl City-ish chorus, and 'Mind Your Manners' has an odd but catch voice sample from Icona Pop's 'Manners' (which may prove grating for some) and a sweet-as switch in the beat at 1:43.

'Ray Charles' was one of the Singles for this album; definitely a solid choice. It might be a bit of an unfortunate choice for Chiddy to compare himself to the famous jazz pianist based around just his shades-wearing habits and weed consumption - but the track as a whole sticks to its amusing and silly theme.

'Does She Love Me?' has its groove set firmly in a romantic sentiment from its opening bar, and it's by far my favourite track on the album. The the quiet synth chords and the ooohing chorus is an aural dream come true, juxtaposed by lyrics about romantic frustrations, just in case you were tempted to think Chiddy Bang has gone soft.

Things slow down a little after this point. The beat to 'Run it Back' struggles to compete with 'Does She Love Me?', although the chiptune aspects to it interesting (if outclassed by a later track I'll get to). Out 2 Space doesn't do it for me, alas. It's just lacks a catchy element, though the space-y feel is spot on.

There's a seemingly out-of-place Interlude for track 10, but its melody gels with the following track, 'Talking to Myself', which has a solid bassline groove coupled with violin plucks and a light piano, of all things. However, that pales in comparison to the penultimate track, 'Baby Roulette'.

It competes for the accolade of 'best track' with 'Does She Love Me?', losing out just slightly. It's slow, goofy beat is heavily chiptune based, and would find a happy home in an episode of Adventure Time, strangely paired with a rap about avoiding university pregnancy. The chorus cracks me up ("I hope you know that I'm for real / My love is super-sized, ain't no Happy Meal"), and the whole thing just puts a smile on my face. It's a shame then, that it's followed by one of the most boring tracks on the album, '4th Quarter'. It's loud and repetitive, and could have been removed entirely to give Breakfast a way stronger ending.

Chiddy Bang definitely impress with their fun sampling and use of chiptune, and Chiddy's rapping is well-crafted with a neat habit of staying in theme with the track's title. The general content doesn't go much further beyond discussing marijuana and sleeping with pretty ladies; but I can forgive that - not all hip-hop has to be politically inspired, and either way Breakfast is very refreshing. Consume it today.

Metric - Synthetica

 This review can be found at The Yorker, here.

I initially found out about Metric though the film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, where they composed one of the many guest songs (the film is, in part, about Canadian indie bands, after all), 'Black Sheep'. I adored this track - it was energetic, but only on the cusp of being aggressive; with seductive vocals by lead Emily Haines, and a chorus that makes you want to air guitar - if you're a cool person like me.

Their 2010 album, Fantasies, was of a very similar sound to 'Black Sheep', and I became a solid a fan of their work. So coming to Synthetica, my expectations were very high, but I was expecting something rather specific. Not to demand that my favourite artists should deliver the same experience with every album, but in a Summer holiday state of mind, an album like Fantasies would be just what the doctor ordered.

Thing is, Synthetica is a rather different pill to swallow.

The message is clear from the opening track, 'Artificial Nocturne'; the album is a lot more low-key. The vocals and drums are still pride of place, but the quiet, slightly distorted synths and the droning guitars are sedately menacing; it's a pleasant surprise.

The following track, 'Youth Without Youth' is closer to the sound I'm familiar with, but it falls short with the lyric repetition that shows up fairly often in Metric's songs being performed in an irritating monotone. From there, things go back to the chill vibes, with 'Speed The Collapse'. The rippling guitars in the background are decidely Muse-ish, with a chorus that actually makes me think of Blackmore's Night, which makes for an interesting overall tone.

'Dreams so Real' sticks out as my favourite of the album - It grabs me from its opening riff, more square wave than guitar string, the chanting repetition of "Shut up and carry on; the scream becomes a yawn" is relaxing in some unnerving way. It's only 2:40, though. I'd love an extended version that builds up a little more.

'Lost Kitten' is fun and kitschy in a twee, coquettish way (right down to an introduction of xylophones and finger snapping), but it feels it would be better suited to an advert for iPhones or UniQlo than my music collection. 'The Void' hits you with a really annoying synth distort, and doesn't really manage to redeem itself afterwards. It's also rather cutesy, but nowhere near as endearing as 'Lost Kitten'.
As the title track, 'Synthetica' is solid- a more traditional Metric sound. The vocals are more languid than say, 'Help I'm Alive', but it fits perfectly with the rest of the album's tone, and that kind of consistency is a positive in my book.

'The Wanderlust' is very much an oddity, built upon distant, watery piano - and out of nowhere, male vocals from Lou Reed on the chorus, evoking a folk rock-style sound. It took me a few listens to get into it, but its uniqueness won me over.

It's worth mentioning that there are 5 additonal bonus tracks (available on Spotify and via iTunes preorder, at least) that are synth-heavy 80's-ish versions of melodies from the album. It's an odd addition, but I honestly like it a lot. It reminds me of the 'Exogenesis' tracks on Muse's The Resistance - in fact, the album as a whole reminds me of that divisive endeavour; especially since Synthetica is a big drift from Metric's normal sound.

It would be all too easy to take Synthetica at first glance and go "It's different; I don't like it", and maybe the more relaxed and less punchy composition honestly isn't for you - but there's no denying that this album is solidly made and will fit snugly in the collections of those who open to a little Shoegaze in their lives.

So hipsters, basically.

Four Great Video Game Composers

This article can also be found (with additional entries by other writers) at The Yorker, here.

It can sometimes feel that soundtrack composers don't get a lot of credit. Unlike with the general music industry, there's comparatively little focus paid to those who write the soundtracks for film & TV; and maybe even less for games. But if you take the time to look (or get totally immersed in video game nerdery like we do); there are plenty of composers for video games, old and new, who create tunes with aplomb; getting the tone and emotion of a title in a sweet spot that just couldn't be obtained without their work.

Masafumi Takada

Tending to work alongside the unorthodox auteur developer Suda51, Takada has lent his talent to many of the early games produced by Grasshopper Studios, such as Killer 7, No More Heroes, and Flower Sun and Rain. His style is often very atmospheric and heavy, but with such quirky titles that he's worked on, there'll occasionally be tracks that are suddenly upbeat and energetic. These days he works outside of Grasshopper Studios, mostly doing low-key Japanese only titles. His most recent work surprisingly features in Kid Icarus: Uprising!

Masashi Hamauzu

Generally when thinking of the music in the Final Fantasy series, long-time veteran Nobuo Uematsu comes to mind. But the more recent titles in the series have a different lead musician - Hamauzu. Cutting his teeth on other Square Enix titles (Notably SaGa Frontier II), he then collaborated with Uematsu on Final Fantasy X, showing a more lighthearted and instrumentally varied style from his collegue. After Uematsu left Square Enix to follow his own projects, Hamauzu took over as lead composer and put together the beautiful soundtracks of Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2. He now has his own music studio, Monomusik.

Shoji Meguro

Differing from the two previous composers I adore, Meguro has a single, veru distinct style - but it's so solid and catchy, I can't help but love it. He's worked closely with the RPG giant Atlus ever since 1996 with Revelations: Persona - and has consistently worked on games within the Shin Megami Tensei series (and a few outliers) since then. His style is very rock-heavy, but he also has a strong love for using brass and piano in his songs, resulting in songs that are closer to hip-hop beats. A special mention should be given to his work in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, where his normal approach is reworked into a menacing, militaristic soundtrack that fits the game's tone perfectly.

Virt (Jake Kaufman)

The independent game design movement hasn't just been a great opportunity for coders and artists - but also musicians. Virt A.K.A. Jake Kaufman started out doing fan remixes of existing video game tunes on OC Remix; but he soon found a professional home with developers WayForward - and he's been getting his high-quality work out there in a subtle way ever since the Game Boy Colour. Special mentions go to the music of Shantae, which was just as technically detailed as its graphics; BloodRayne: Betrayal for being stylistically different from his other work; and Mighty Switch Force for being bombastically funky. There's often a lot of compilation work between indie game musicians, which are also worth a gander.

Have You Heard - StooShe and Bluey Robinson

This is a partial version of a feature found at The Yorker, here.

StooShe are very much an amalgamation of pop culture from a very specific subculture. Their name derived from the slang term 'stush' meaning 'an air of superiority'; and in reference to the artist of the same name, the trio of singers have a style born from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and song topics that are firmly lodged in London's urban youth culture. A combination like that is going to be painfully polarising; but those who are receptive to StooShe's bright and loud attitudes will have great things to look forward to.

StooShe have not as of time of writing produced an album, but their début release (Swings & Roundabouts, to be released this month) is already in the pipeline for release this year, and a handful of singles releases have given us a taste of the StooShe flavour. Betty Woz Gone was unabashedly rude (but not unintelligent); Love Me/F*ck Me got some solid airtime with its Safe For Work radio edit and guest verse by Travis; and Black Heart, a 60s Soul vibe that's to see radio air time real soon.
If that's not enough to satisfy your curiosity of what these women are capable of; a 17 minute demo tape is available on their website; which, definitely meets its aim of demonstrating StooShe are capable of taking the UK urban music scene.

Bluey Robinson is even more of a quiet start-up (not having a Wikipedia page feels rather damning) but it's not as if he doesn't deserve one. Debuting in 2011 with 'Showgirl', the beat is appropriately summery and familiar, making me miss the days when Lemar was still around. Although it wouldn't be unfair to criticise this single for following the tried and tested formulas for producing a solid Pop/RnB jam, this guy may just be getting started.

Skoonheid (Beauty)

This article can also be found at The Yorker, here.


I'm all for more queer-themed films. Not just because I'm one of those filthy heathen LGBTQ types, but because there's scope for more stories to be told than common blockbuster archetypes; or failing that, a fresh twist on them.

I assumed Beauty, a South African film by director Oliver Hermanus, would prove to be another Weekend, a low-key hit that tells a story from a queer perspective. I was introduced to the film with the synopsis that the protagonist (François, played by Deon Lotz) was a middle-aged man from a bigoted background, forced to struggle with his own latent homosexuality.

  This led me to take for granted that I was in for an experience where lessons would be learned, hearts may end up being warmed, and regardless of the outcome, it would give the viewer something to think about. Yes, this assumption is a little stale and saccharine; but I feel we're still socially at a stage where a minority-positive message is important and helpful.

Too bad that Beauty ended up as far from that as possible. François has unbridled lust in Christian (Charlie Keegan), the son of a close friend - close enough for them to be in a uncle/nephew relationship; and it's actually a little unclear that this isn't the case. For some reason this swiftly escalates into stalking, and eventually - and I apologize for spoiling the film's climax - rape.

This ungraceful plunge off the moral deep-end isn't done with much character development; at least nothing to make François a character worth following or Christian more complex than a plot device.
Sure, we get multiple scenes of lingering and dialogue-free shots of François going about his business - Hermanus takes the Axiom 'show, don't tell' a little too close to heart, and these moments are meant to give you the chance to read François' expression and ponder about what's on his mind; but they're a total waste - most feel like a tool to pad out the film's 105 minutes, and are dull enough to make the film feel more like 2+ hours.

If, at the end of it all, there was a resolution, or some kind of visible sign that François realises he's a terrible human being, then prepare to throw down your hat in disgust and frustration. After the sexual abuse, Christian vanishes from the narrative, his plot device fulfilled.

The sole redeeming factor of this appalling mess was the script - the characters are bilingual in both English and Afrikaans, and code-switch freely. It's something that I've not seen done in a film before - even ones that have dialogue in multiple languages - and it helps make the conversations feel more legitimate and real.

In fact, realism may have been what Hermanus was going for - there's no doubt that in real life there are mentally disturbed hypocritical bigots, and something like 90% of sexual assaults do go unreported (regardless of gender); but this is not the way to deliver such awful and distressing topics.
If this is ever released on DVD, I hope there's a bonus scene of François being hit by a truck. Then I would hate Beauty marginally less.

Labrinth - Electronic Earth

This review can also be found at The Yorker, here.
 
In terms of image, at least, I like Labrinth. he's adorkable. His most salient single, 'Earthquake' is something that everyone's going to remember, and Electronic Earth rides that out in a few ways; in songs with similar beats, in its choice in guest rappers, and just by having 'Earthquake' show up repeatedly.

Staring track 'Climb on Board' surprised me by being above and beyond my expectations garnered from 'Earthquake'. It demonstrates that Labrinth has some decent vocal ideas; a sweet balance between traditional voice harmonies and piano riffs with light touches of electronic pitch warbling and a club synth that's not too obnoxious. It's a strong starter, but it's followed with 'Last Time' which unfortunately doesn't balance itself at all. The synth and voice distort come on way too strong, and although it doesn't necessarily place the track firmly in the 'bad' category, it feels generic.

'Express Yourself' is wonderfully charming - I have a soft spot for songs that utilise unexpected samples. At first blush it seems like too much of a straightforward lift of the original track, but let it get to the chorus, and it blossoms into a punchy and cheery variation, retaining the brass. Venture even further and it switches into a new rhythm - pleasantly summery in nature. I only wish it were longer.
Skip over 'Beneath Your Beautiful' - it's that painfully generic ballad song where the artist gets to demonstrate their vocal range a little better, and the chorus ends with "...tonight.". It drops a drumline after the first verse, but it couldn't save me from dry-heaving.

'Sundown' sticks in my mind for its low, slightly sludgy bass, but then the lyrics are eye-rolling. She's a nymphomaniac! I get to have sex with her every day constantly! Feel jealous! Then again, if I can enjoy Tyler the Creator's 'She' for its beat despite its unsettling subject matter, then I can definitely give this one a pass, and you definitely can too.

Following the general club vibe of the rest of the album, I wasn't expecting 'T.O.P.'s lead in to sound like a track from a Dragon Quest game. It doesn't maintain it through the song, but it's a nice touch.
'Earthquake' runs three versions on this album. The first version is the Radio Edit, and you've most likely heard it already. Tinie Tempah impresses me in how he manages to have none of his lines rhyme. The second version, set towards the end has additional guest verses from Kano, Wretch 32 and Busta Rhymes. It's nice to see Kano show up again and Busta's bars are wonderfully aggressive and way more deserving of the whole "just smash something" hook.

The last version of 'Earthquake', a remix by Noisia and the final track on the album and and arguably the most accurate to the track title. The remix is more garage than dubstep, which some might find a little disappointing, but it definitely stands on its own. If only it had the Busta Rhymes verses to go with it.

I'm not the authority on what makes a good début album, but I think Labrinth has made some smart decisions here. While yes, Electronic Earth is extending the mileage out of a song that could easily be argued as overplayed, it manages to offer songs you'll return to after you're done throwing bombs on it.

Riding on Ribbons - Journey Review

With the current state of Video games retail, games enthusiasts have never been moree money concious - services like Steam have regular sales that set a precedent on what 'the worth of a game' is, and yet when new console games release for an average of £40, it constantly feels that any game that isn't on sale is out of a sensible price range.

Journey, being a 2 hour-ish game for £9, as such doesn't feel like a great value for money. After all, why spend that money on such few hours of entertainment?

Because, dear reader, those two hours are so compelling and content-filled, you'll definitely be leaving satisfied. Developed by thatgamecompany, the team behind the PSN-only game Flower, Journey is their next attempt at meshing game design and aesthetic artistry together.

The premise is wordlessly straightforward - you are on a pilgrimage to a distant mountain, with nothing but a scarlet cloak and the ability to shout at your disposal. The desert you're in the middle of is scattered with ruins and mysterious artefacts, most notably sapient red ribbons that grant you the ability to jump and float.

The 'rules' of the game work out to be incredibly intuitive - at least for those who have played a platformer game before. Considering how Journey refuses to spell out its rules for you, it's never difficult to work out what to do or where to go. The level design is incredibly subtle with it gently guiding you to where you should be heading, with rewards hidden just out of the way of your main objectives.

With the peak of mountain almost always in view, it's easy to keep things pacey even with the relaxed feel and no time limit. Your adventure is split into segments, bookended by visions of where you'll be heading to; and explanations of what these ruins once were.

Although Journey is entirely playable solo, at each stage of your adventure, you are randomly paired with another player. They have all the same abilities you do (including not having any way to communicate aside from a wordless shout), and can help solve puzzles, but their presence isn't as important as the developers advertised it as some years ago. They're never a hindrance (Which is definitely for the best), but an inclusion of bonus puzzles that required teamwork would make that aspect of the experience far more powerful.

Journey's aesthetics (when compared to its neat but very basic mechanics) are where the game shines. It's involving, bright, and the tone and colour pallet subtly changes from scene to scene, leaving you excited to see what the next area holds. The music stays carefully low-key, biding its time for huge swells at the right moments. It's definitely impacting, but not what I'd call catchy or memorable. I played through with two of my friends watching, and they were both glued to the screen as much as I was.

Journey is better off compared to DVDs rather than other video games. Not because it lacks interactivity, but in buying a new DVD, 2 hours of new-release quality entertainment for £9 is a definite purchase.

Games Retail: A Love Story

When I was 8, working in a games shop was my dream job. You could play all the newest games for free, and you could tell other people what the good games were! Finally people would listen to me when I said Crash Bandicoot totally sucked, and Spyro was way better.

Over twelve years later, and my childhood dream of video game retail has been met with two years working as a Christmas Sales Assistant at GAME. It obviously wasn't going to match up to my younger aspirations; and a knowledge of just how greedy retail industries can be jaded my outlook; but it wasn't a bad experience by any means. But either way, it's good I got to have the experience when I did - the games retail industry has changed.

To be fair, brick-and-mortar stores have been suffering for a while when it comes to digital entertainment. Competing with the behemoth that is e-commerce; and then digital download services, consumers were able to consume media faster and cheaper than ever before. Roll on services like Steam and suddenly no one is interested in going to their nearest shopping district to buy PC games any more. HMV had long been sweating bullets over their future, and in the last two years or so GAME has been feeling the pressure far more overtly.

It was something I noticed first-hand as I worked there. I've never been one for forcing a sales pitch down someone's throat, but it's disheartening to offer legitimate purchase suggestions and be told time and time again "Never mind, it's cheaper online." The higher-ups sent e-mails almost every other day demanding for harder pushes for items that netted us the most profit: preowned games, loyalty cards, preorders and gift cards. It was shrewdly penny-pinching; every lost gift card was free profit for the company, 100% of a preowned game's price went straight to GAME with nothing to the publishers, and the number of people who put a deposit on a preorder and then entirely forget to retrieve it on release is stunning.

But it wasn't enough - back in February the Game Group saw fit to downsize to staunch a bleeding wound, closing 39 European stores. Unfortunately, that didn't slow things down. Last month EA resolved to deny GAME and sister chain Gamestation from stocking EA titles, most notably Mass Effect 3. The explanation for this is rather unclear - maybe it's because their sales of new EA titles had been dropping in light of cheaper online options, or maybe due to the financial issues, GAME was no longer capable of paying whatever selling costs EA imposed. Either way, it was the kiss of death - after that bomb; other publishers started to pull out. GAME could no longer sell Street Fighter x Tekken, Kid Icarus Uprising, Mario Party 9...

Despite fire sales to shift as much stock as possible to recoup losses, it was over. GAME went into administration, the company was removed from the stock market, and the number of functioning GAME and Gamestation branches was roughly cut in half. The store I used to work at was one of those that didn't make it; and it saddens me. Not because I was a huge supporter of the company - I readily recognised that its practices were outdated and barely in the consumer's best interest - but because the presence of games retail was a huge part of my childhood, and UK nerd culture; not to mention that the staff I worked with were wonderful people, and seeing people you care about have to seek new jobs is heartbreaking.

Things are looking up for the survival of the remaining shops though - on April 1st Opcapita, an investment group, agreed to buy out the Game Group, saving it from administration. I argue that it's a little too late, considering an offer was made before the company had to cause a loss of over 2000 jobs, but if the purchase can save the remaining 300 stores and their staff then that's at least something of a positive outcome.

If nothing else, I hope that these tribulations for the company will result in the games retail industry seeing a change - with fewer worries about surviving until the new financial year and more direct competition (or embracing?) of media through digital distribution.

Perusing Pinterest, and what it can do for you

This article can also be found at The Yorker, here.

I don't use Tumblr. I'm very old-school when it comes to blogging, and Tumblr's image-heavy focus doesn't gel well with me and my walls of prose. Hell, it took me long enough to get into Twitter; it felt like blogging for the lazy... until I learned that journalists use it all the time, and I was being a Luddite.

On the other hand, I use RSS Feeds daily. For the uninitiated, RSS is a system that collates and lists updates of a website, so you can browse a list of headlines and summaries. It's a really useful system if you follow a lot of sites and blogs at once (that can't just be me, right?); and Google Reader is one of the best RSS Aggregators out there. Interestingly enough, it has a social networking feature - you can follow other people who use Google Reader, and see the items and RSS feeds they recommend. Get enough friends with similar interests together, and everyone ends up well-informed.

Why do I bring these two services up? Because one of the newest social networking sites, Pinterest, functions essentially as a fusion of the two. To describe it simply; if there is a webpage you find interesting, Pinterest will let you select a key image from it, and attach it to a 'Board', categorised by interest (Design, Food and Drink, Women's Apparel, etc.). It's has the visual aesthetics of Tumblr, but when used properly there's also a practical archive of information-sharing, à la Google Reader.

For example, say you have a quirky interest in obscure facts about animals. All it takes is a visit to the Pets or the Science & Nature categories, Repin a few images, follow a member or two who consistently provide interesting content, and upload your own Internet discoveries. Each category's page updates with new Pins and Repins; and it's satisfying to be told that original content you've linked has been Liked and Repinned by others.

In terms of usability there are a few problems (small but irritating things like the search function not having a category filter), but Pinterest does have a rather glaring issue in regards to its Terms of Service. To take a couple of quotes from the Legal & Copyright section of the site:

"By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell..."
"You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for all Member Content that you make available through the Site, [and] ...you are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site..."

Essentially these rules let Pinterest do things like sell information about your interests and website-visiting habits to advertisement services and the like. This is nothing new, Facebook and similar social networking sites have done this for years. What this phrasing also allows is for users to be the ones held responsible, if Pinterest should ever get into a lawsuit over it hosting or selling any content we upload that isn't our own (which is likely to be all of it!).

The owner of Pinterest has acknowledged concerns about this wording, and it may well change in future. As it stands now, it's very much unlikely to have lawyers breathing down your neck if you Pin a jacket from H&M, but it's always a good idea to know what your rights are.
If you're interested in using Pinterest, here are a few handy hints to get the most out of the experience:

Original Content is King!
Repinning the findings of other members to flesh out your Boards is an easy way to get started, but no one likes a leech. By pinning items you find yourself, the site grows. You'll also help fill in some of the blanks that the existing community doesn't always provide. The Food and Drink section has next to no cocktail pins, and that is just unacceptable.

Always check the Sources!
At the top right of every pinned image, there's a link to where the image was taken from. This is so a picture of delicious brownies actually links to the recipe site it came from. If the link is to say, a Google image search, or a defunct/broken link, that's no good. If you just want to upload pretty pictures, Tumblr still exists.

Be Mindful of Your Image
Being a website still in beta, and one that relies heavily on user interaction, there aren't a lot of privacy options. The things you Pin and Repin are open for everyone to see. This shouldn't normally be an issue, and you would think that being careful about your online persona goes without saying, but that notion falls apart with a little scrutiny.

And for what it's worth, you can see my Boards here.

Update 25/03/12 (Nathan Blades): Pinterest has just changed its terms of service - it no longer states that it can sell items posted, along with additional measures to make it easier to report problematic content, such as items promoting self-harm. The changes will come into effect on the 6th April. You can read the new terms and conditions here.

Nero, Manchester Academy 1, 16/03

This review can be found at The Yorker, here.

As someone who's always gets on edge when surrounded by strangers in a small space, going to a dubstep concert with a moshpit seemed like a ridiculous step up from the awful clubs I've been too, but approaching the Manchester Academy with Alex Jackson as my guide and fellow explorer, we delved into the murky depths of the Nero concert.

The first odd thing of note was the age of those present. The concert was available to 14 year olds and up, and the turnout reflected that. I felt... old. But at the very least it meant I could get a good view of the stage at all times. The stage itself has a large monolith made of CRT televisions, fake speakers (there were enough huge, working speakers on the set already) and an arcade cabinet. It was like a testament to 80s culture that barely anyone present would have even experienced first-hand. With the clamouring audience factored in, it smacked of more than a little DJ worship.

Once Nero came on after an opening DJ set, I began to realise that, although the environment here was 10 times more claustrophobic, sweaty and violent than any club I'd been to, I was still enjoying myself. Because, for the first time, the music was actually something I wanted to dance to. Nero decided to open with 'New Life' and 'Doomsday', and that set the tone for the entire performance.

The set consisted of mostly their 2011 album Welcome Reality, which, if you've not heard it, I would describe as a nice lead-in to Dubstep if you're wary of the genre, but already listen to the likes of Justice or Danger. For the tracks with full lyrics ('My Eyes', 'Me and You', 'Promises'), their vocalist Alana Watson was called to the stage, taking the spotlight, while Daniel Stephens and Joseph Ray generally hid behind their equipment.

While there were some remixes worked in there (a dark and heavy version of 'Crush on You' being the most impressive), they were very subtle, you'd have to be very familiar with the album to pick up the variations. As someone who likes a bit of turntableism, I was hoping for some scratching and beat-juggling, and was a bit disappointed when that didn't happen, though that may be an unrealistic hope.

Film Review: Les Adoptés (The Adopted)

©Studio Canal

My media consumption is largely starved of quality Human Drama - partially because I'm a fan of psychological/horror, partially because a lot of my media consumption is in video games, and they tend not to handle emotional narrative too well. To that end, I do relish it when a well-made emotional rollercoaster comes along, and to that end Les Adoptés (The Adopted) knows how to push my buttons.

Maybe the reason for my appreciation is the 'Foreign Film' angle. I'm not pretentious enough to label non-English films as better by default, but it works in The Adopted's favour thanks to the cultural differences. While a romantic film about beautiful people living bohemian lives in Paris is nothing new, it feels just that little more understated compared to how Hollywood might handle it.

The plot follows sisters Marine (Marie Denarnaud) and Lisa (Mélanie Laurent), equally raising Lisa's child, Léo. Marine is actually adopted, but it's never proved a problem for the pair, having been best friends since childhood. Then, when Marine meets Alex (Denis Menochet), a ruggedly handsome (and I do mean handsome) food critic, Marie has to juggle the love of her life, and the fear of shattering the status-quo with her sister.

So far, so stereotypical, right? But there's a catch - at the end of the first act, Marine is suddenly out of the picture, and the narrative focuses on Lisa and Alex instead. The shift in tone is hardly whiplash, but it's clear that The Adopted isn't going to finish how it started out.

Still, the writing is definitely great at keeping pace. Dialogue is witty, especially that from Lisa's mother, Millie (Clémentine Célarié); possibly owed to a well-localised subtitles translation. I found myself enjoying the character ups-and-downs for the 100 minutes without thinking of how much longer the film was. That said, while the film's events were kept snappy from scene-to-scene, the actual sense of time progression was really vague. Knowing how much time passes over the course of the second act would do a lot more for empathising with the cast.

What really bowled me over was me not loathing Léo. Young children in cinema are, as a rule, entirely insufferable; both on screen and in the seats. And yet, i found myself largely tolerating this kid; even finding him somewhat... cute. How appalling; I must be going soft.

The Adopted is definitely a cheesy drama, but most likely more so by French standards than British. If you're looking for something relaxing but still engaging, this should be your film to watch this week.

This review can be found at The Yorker, here.

Author in Profile: Jasper Fforde

You can find this feature at The Yorker, here.

With a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy works, there's a heavy emphasis on world-building in lieu of character development. Call it an artefact of Tolkien's impact on the genres, but in many cases it results in a feeling of extreme padding, getting in the way of story. It's not a problem for everyone, but for me it can be a real deal breaker.

There are authors who get the balance right, however. Many are familiar with Douglas Adams and his devoting of whole chapters to fantastical encyclopaedia entries; but in his passing we now have Jasper Fforde and his wonderfully meta takes on getting us involved in his worlds.

Jasper Fforde (51) has a knack for taking a ridiculous idea, turning it into a straight-laced aspect of his fictional worlds, and just rolling with it. Did you know that talking bears have an underground porridge and honeycomb criminal ring? The Fourth Bear will tell you all you need to know. Did it cross your mind that British society in the distant and/or parallel future consider dancing a sordid and saucy act (not to mention a society where everyone is ranked by their ability to perceive colours)? It's common knowledge in Shades of Grey.

His main series, the Thursday Next novels stand out as both his strongest writing and the biggest display of his love of literature, if not just his love of the Meta. The series, starting the The Eyre Affair are centred around the idea of writing and storytelling having otherworldly production and mechanics beyond the authors that wrote them. The process of reading is powered by Operating systems, characters have to physically act out a book as it's read, and best of all, there's a police force - Jurisfiction - to keep the Book World in safe running order. Move over Steampunk, this is a Book-punk setting through and through.

And of course, I can't avoid mentioning the glorious torrent of puns. This may be something of a personal bias, but I adore the use of puns for names, and in that regard Fforde definitely doesn't disappoint. Where else would I find a villain called Jack Schitt; or a side character called Floyd Pinken; or a pun set up that takes half a novel and is so awful the characters themselves complain about it?
 
As with any popular Science Fiction Work, it would be disingenuous to not mention the fans. My earlier comparison to Douglas Adams is apt, as there's the die-hard subsection of the readership; to the point where a fan-made convention, the Fforde Ffiesta (har har) that happens every June. Held in Swindon (the setting for the Thursday Next novels), they're as off-beat and pun-filled as you'd expect.

Unfortunately I haven't read Fforde's other independent series The Last Dragonslayer (due to them being Young Adult novels, though I shouldn't let that stop me), but I would be very surprised if they lacked the fast-paced wit, quirky settings, and unabashed dorkiness that makes his other works shine.

Ugly on the inside: Girl Model review

This review can be found at The Yorker, here.

I would say it's relatively common knowledge that the fashion advertising industry is toxic. In addition to all the body-shaming and the increasingly unrealistic and creepy 'standards' of beauty, you don't even need to go into gender studies theory to notice the exploitation and manipulation of everyone involved.

With that in mind, Girl Model, a documentary film about how model scouting works and the quality of life for the models, is very clear about the tone it's going to supply.

©wiki commons

Focusing on Nadya, a young Russian girl aiming to be a model, and Ashley, a scout tasked with finding models for the Japanese market, the film follows Nadya's story chronologically, switching to Ashley every now and again as something of a Greek Chorus - Ashley was a model herself when she was 18, and her experience has affected her; maybe even broken her.

The idea that the modelling industry is problematic is always present, but not always overt. In the very first scene the camera pans around a room full of Siberian girls for an initial try-out, almost all of them look scared and self-concious, standing around awkwardly in bikinis and bathing suits, only smiling (awkwardly) when they notice they're being filmed. Girls are turned down for being 2 centimetres too wide in the hips, and althoughGirl Model makes no direct reference to anorexia and eating disorders, looking at what models 'qualify' speaks for itself.

This is, of course, compounded by the constant discussion of youth and innocence as beauty. It's not a new concept - you could find countless examples in advertising that echo that axiom - but when you're told that alongside images of young girls (we're talking kids as young as 13 here), it's shudder-inducing. Ashley says multiple times that it's what the market in Japan demands, but you hope that's a sales pitch, and not the whole truth.

I personally find documentary films an odd breed - especially since I personally go to the cinema for a more pacey, tense experience; but Girl Model has its own tension. Watching naive teens get exploited should be harrowing for most, even when they (tastefully) decide not to fully discuss just how morally ambiguous fashion advertising can get. The scenes with Ashley steal the show as you slowly find out just how damaged she's become.

BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend review

This review can be found at The Yorker, here.

A lot of gaming genres are heavily targeted at those already invested in the hobby. First Person Shooters and Real Time Strategy games come with a lot of rules - both in terms of game mechanics and controls - that prevent anyone and everyone being able to play from the word go with little prior experience. Trying to take part without that baseline of understanding is... arduous; and if you're up against someone more experienced, a far cry from fun.

The same is true for the Fighting game genre, although with some slight differences. Fighting games definitely are more accessible - back in the day, I played Tekken 3 despite not understanding its finer points. Where Fighting games become daunting is with its userbase. Long-term Fighting fans are just as dedicated to their hobby as the FPS and RTS elites are; but considerably less tolerant to new blood.

This means that if the Fighting game genre is to gain new fans (a necessity for staying relevant), the onus is increasingly put on new games to attract and ease new players into caving in skulls. To that end, Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend (hereto referred as BBEX)tries its hardest, and doesn't do too bad of a job.

As a frame of reference, BBEX is the 4th and last Blazblue title, each game adding new characters and refining the system to be more engaging and balanced. To go into the finder details would be dull; but bear in mind that long-time fans find the initial title, Blazblue Calamity Trigger, comparatively unplayable.

All good Fighting games pay heavy attention to having a diverse cast of characters - though unlikeStreet Fighter and Tekken, which base their cast diversity around global nationality; Blazblue has a cast taken from a host of anime archetypes. The cast includes magical puppetmasters, a homunculus with oversized magnetic fists, a butler werewolf, and an amorphous heap of goo hiding assorted weaponry.

Single player is robust; most of it designed to show you the ropes. Tutorials starting from the very basics, a mode to teach you basic combos for every character, and a Story Mode that lets you try out all of the cast. The story itself plays out like a visual novel interspersed with fights (fully-voiced, no less) - but the plot is a confusing mess, and painfully cliché.

I found it easy to find characters that I enjoyed playing as, and the game encourages me to improve with subsequent fights; but I profess that I am rather awful at Fighting games in general. Like all games of skill, your proficiency is all down to how hard you practice; and that's not fun for everyone. The game does offer a 'Stylish' mode, which makes fighting in a flashy way much easier for those who don't want to take the time to learn the mechanics, but I advise anyone who's interested in the Fighting game genre to ignore that function.

Multiplayer functions are what you'd expect - there are both Online and local mulitplayer modes, and playing with your friends is infintely more rewarding, as you can enjoy and improve your game together, and at your own pace.

Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend is available for PS3, 360, & PSVita (360 version reviewed).

Yorker Arts Pick-Of-The-Week Podcast (04/03/12)

Written by Anne Mellar, Catherine Munn, Nathan Blades, and Lucie Vincer.

Voiced by Nathan Blades.

Video by Lucie Vincer and Nathan Blades.

Empirical - Elements of Truth

This review can be found at The Yorker, here.

©Empirical; Image Credit: Empirical

Jazz can be a hard genre to get into if you've not grown up with listening to it. Smooth Jazz and Big Band are already somewhat niche interests, but when you get to the experimental side of things, if you're not braced for it, its easy to find yourself turned off. That said, that doesn't mean that experimental jazz is without merit for those who have an understanding of the genre that begin and end at Miles Davis.

Empirical are a British jazz band with two previous albums, the eponymousEmpirical and Out 'n' In. They're big fans of improvisation to their music, andElements of Truth is an album that embraces the idea of hiding the groove in amongst discord. The first track, 'Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say' builds up suspense and a dramatic atmosphere through whisting. My personal experience with artists who jam on the vibraphone is centered around Roy Ayers. They're used here by Lewis Wright in a different, more chaotic way.

The tracks are continuous, so the band bleeds easily into 'Yin & Yang', which demonstrates a common factor among many jazz records - song length. These 9 minutes are not a patch on the 15 or 20-minute behemoths that exist; but they're a lot calmer and performed with more groove than the first track. It still has this brooding air to it; but it's not oppressive - quite the contrary - it reminds me strongly of Detective film Noir, as it may for anyone who's played L.A. Noire.

Skipping ahead a little, 'Cosmos (for Carl Sagan)' stands out as my favourite track, and not just because of the neat dedication. It's smooth and spacey, almost soundscape-like in between main verses.

'An Ambiguous State of Mind' also stands out as being the darkest track of the album. It has a real sense of tension to it, standing out in tone from the rest of the album, but not necessarily by being the loudest or busiest. It inspires an odd feeling; not everyone wants a moody vibe from their music, but it's a nice change from the Soulful Strut side of jazz.

Elements of Truth is definitely not for everyone. If you like your jams experimentation-free, or don't fancy yourself as someone who'd like to sit in a smoky bar with a single malt whisky, then you'll have a hard time loving what Empirical can offer you. But if you're willing to take a plunge, this may very well be your new music to study to, or soundtrack to any after-dark strolls.