Written, directed and co-produced by Paul Thomas Andersson, The Master tells the story of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a veteran of the Second World War struggling to adjust to a post-war society, that meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the leader of philosophical movement, The Cause, who sees something in him and accepts him into the movement. Eventually Freddie begins to take a liking to The Cause and begins to spread its teachings with Dodd, while travelling along the East Coast.
SHOULD YOU SEE IT?
The Master appears to be a puzzling film, but one that suits Joaquin Phoenix. Clearly shining in his portrayal of Quell, so it would appear in the trailer, he projects his emotions with superior skill, and seems a relatable, empathetic character. Pheonix plays madness well. His mannerisms and ferocious eyes make him believable, and mean he’s a joy to watch.
VERDICT?
It’s unclear in the trailer what the movie is really about, and what can be expected from it. We feel that the movie may be one that leaves audiences perplexed at its end, but, ultimately, moved.
Moving on with the full, rich storyline established in previous titles with Desmond, Altair and Ezio, Assassin’s Creed 3 is the most ambitious and tantalizing installment to date.
Set in Colonial America during and after the American Revolution, the game will put players in control of a half-English, half-Mohawk man called Ratonhnhake:ton, also conveniently known as Connor, who is pulled into a desperate fight against tyranny when his home is attacked by European colonists.
During the game’s thirty-year span Connor will meet a long list of historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, General Lafayette, King George III and George Washington, and travel to beautifully rendered recreations of 18th century cities like Boston and New York.
And, in a larger way than the previous games, the action in Assassins Creed 3 isn’t confined to the city walls either. Players will be able to explore a vast, untamed frontier, full of animals that, for the first time, can be hunted.
Of course, what with it being the 18th century, Assassin’s Creed 3 will also feature an updated selection of weapons, with the addition of bayonets, bows, tomahawks and rope darts.
Built upon the Anvil Next game engine Assassin’s Creed 3 will deliver an experience that’s bound to more than surpass that of the other games.
On the whole the game looks awesome and here at Sound And Motion we’re wetting ourselves with excitement. It’s just a shame they haven’t dumped the boring modern-day elements.
With almost exactly the same chord progression at the beginning as When You Were Young by The Killers, You Me At Six’s Reckless, the second single off Sinners Never Sleep, is one of the band’s best efforts yet, on par with If I Were In Your Shoes and Finders Keepers.
A teenage anthem Reckless reminds the world just why the Surrey band was originally scheduled as support for Blink 182 at the 02 Arena. With catchy and relatable pop-punk vocals and jumpable melody it’s got a killer chorus, and a simplicity that doesn’t let it down.
Since JLS emerged on the X-Factor in 2008 they have proudly sported the title of worst band in the world. With gaggles of tone-deaf, squealing school girls following their every move they, along with Justin Bieber, have become the poster boys for an era that is just a little bit more musical than a traffic cone or a cheese and ham sandwich.
With numerous underserved awards and nominations credited to them, and three multi and platinum albums, they are harming the music industry with every tasteless, paint-by-numbers track they piss into the world with autotune and that-isn’t-dancing-dance-beats.
At first listen Hottest Girl In The World, the first single from their upcoming third album, Evolution, seems like it was intended as a joke, but it wasn’t.
With ball clenching vocals, ridiculously high harmonies, and lyrics that were either written in crayon or faeces, the track, according to some foolish critics, takes the band out of pop territory.
Amy Winehouse’s drug buddy Tyler James has been quite mediocre since he finished The Voice as a runner-up.
With his second album, A Place To Go, just released through Island Records the narcotics loving singer cites influence from the likes of Lauryn Hill and Otis Redding. Sadly he doesn’t shape up to them.
Single Tear is a weird one. Throughout the track Tyler James opts for his typical falsetto, a choice that we feel ruins this song. Had James decided to sing this song properly it might have been passable.
American rapper Tyga recently dropped his new single For The Fame featuring fight-loving “artist” Chris Brown. Unfortunately it didn’t bounce back up and smack them both in their stupid faces.
Anyone that associates with Chris Brown, regardless of who they are, doesn’t deserve to make music. Here at Sound And Motion we despise Chris Brown so much that should he die in the not-too-distant future, and let’s be honest with the people he pisses off he probably will, we would happily wait for body to fully decay, dig it up, piss on his skeleton, and then merrily beat ourselves to death with his shinbone.
At least that would be preferable to listening to his music.
Scottish, multi-platinum singer/songwriter Amy MacDonald made her breakthrough when she responded to an advert in the NME a few years ago. Picked up by production company owner Pete Wilkinson she spent eight or nine months recording demos in his home studio, before signing with UK-based record label, Vertigo, and releasing her debut album, This Is The Life.
The album sold three million copies, reached number one in the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark, and went multi-platinum. Five years on Amy’s third album, Life In A Beautiful Light, has continued her success.
4th Of July, the album’s third single, doesn’t stand out as much as some of her previous work like Mr Rock And Roll, but her distinctive vocals and real presence more than makes up for that. It’s an exciting track, albeit one that’s a bit simple and forgettable, but rather than being her best work it’s more proof that folk music can actually be listenable.
Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) and her father (Sean Bean) are forever on the run from dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand, always one step ahead, until now. She is plagued by nightmares and, eventually, the disappearance of her father, when, on the eve of her 18th birthday, she discovers that she isn’t who she thinks she is. This striking revelation leads Heather into a dark and demonic world that threatens to ensnare her, and trap her forever, a world that has been waiting for her; the alternate world of Silent Hill.
SHOULD YOU SEE IT?
The Silent Hill games have, since the first came to Playstation in 1999, consistently terrified the people playing them. With macabre and malicious creatures from the deepest and most demented reaches of nightmare, an atmosphere that never allows you to relax and complex, twist-filled storylines they are argued to be the greatest survival horror games in existence, rivaling even Resident Evil.
Based on the events of Silent Hill 3 and directed by Michael J Bassett this sequel looks to be just as heart pounding as the first, and it’s in 3D. Normally that would be cause for an eye roll, but 3D and Silent Hill are two things that, put together, are sure to make for an absolutely terrifying combination.
VERDICT?
We can’t wait for this movie, and just know it’ll be heart stopping.
This review will be conducted as though any previous Stone Sour or Slipknot albums do not exist, regardless of Corey Taylor’s status as a metal/nu-metal legend. This will be written with an open mind and no expectations, so that those who have never heard the aforementioned artists will get a clear understanding of what to expect.
The opening track on House of Gold & Bones Part 1, Gone Sovereign, opens with a very strong and distorted riff on the lead guitar, with the vocals coming in to accompany. The vocals are very tough sounding as he growls a considerable amount. It is a brilliant opener for an album, as it features an epic guitar solo, and has a very thrash-metal drum beat, with a double kick to take your breath away. While it has all the ingredients of a metal song, it is far from it. Maybe alternative-rock-metal-fusion is a better way to describe it, as the lead singer does have a great singing voice, no matter how masculine and testosterone fuelled it is.
With the outro of Gone Sovereign fusing into the intro of the second track Absolute Zero, you almost confuse it with the beginning of the next song. It is another brilliant track, and would almost work if they didn’t make them two separate songs, however Absolute Zero is much more a rock anthem than a metal track. The lyrics in the bridge say ‘I can bleed if I want to bleed, I can fail if I feel the need’, (every ‘metal’ album has to mention something about blood, right?) leading into a very dark and throaty chant, before a quite pop-py chorus, almost Foo Fighters-esque. More fast guitar riffs and beefy drums accompany the emotional and heartfelt vocals.
An acoustic ballad appears as the fourth track named The Travellers. It is slow, and not only features a steel stringed acoustic guitar, but also what appears to be a string quartet. It is only a 2 and a bit minute track, and is quite angelic. Well as angelic as possible for a band that calls themself metal. The lead vocalist fights his voice with all his might so he doesn’t get that gruff growl that comes so naturally, but he pulls it off perfectly. The magnificent harmonies add to the emotion of the track. It really is a beautiful song.
My Name Is Allen is another heavy track, and is a high seller on iTunes. There is nothing overly attention grabbing about it, besides a few lines that are spoken by a demon-voiced creature/man. It has a typical palm muted guitar riff that is pretty obligatory on a metal album. It is possible that this is more of an angry song, whether the lead singer is speaking of personal experiences under the alias of Allen, or just wanted to throw it in to add to their reputation as a metal band.
It is hard to choose the best tracks on this album. As a reviewer, you only want to choose a couple of songs, but each song is so different and brilliant in its own right, and each one deserves its own little write up.
Taciturn almost goes for 5 and a half minutes, and is a song that will bring a tear to your eye as you bang your head softly with a solid fist straight up in the air. The acoustic steel string is playing a very simple progression of triplets by the side of the vocalist’s melody. It is just the two of them for the first 2 minutes, when the piano comes in adding some more depth. It sounds similar to a track named New Day by Australian prog metal band Karnivool. At the three minute mark, the percussion and distortion begins, and the lead vocals show that darkness with the slight growl in the back of his throat. The guitar solo is even more spine tingling, as the song just keeps building up. It is a hard call, but this is the best song on the album. Concluding with the same run of triplets that the song starts with, then going into an outro/intro for the next song, you just don’t want it to end.
The preceding song is not as good unfortunately, but it is not expected to be. You almost don’t want anything to be better than Taciturn as it is just a perfect track. Influence of a Drowsy God, The Traveller Part 2and Last Of The Real round out the album with some big riffs, strong bass and beefy drums, but can’t come close to what was achieved earlier in the album. It really is a great album for anyone, even if you aren’t a fan of metal, alternate metal, nu-metal, thrash or any other subgenre that this band may fall under.
The best summary would be to say that it is an extremely emotional record that features hints of rebellion through the heaviness, along with pure and raw acoustic and orchestral pieces showing not only the range of diversity this band has to offer, but telling the highs and lows of the story with is House of Gold & Bones Part 1.
Reggae Don’t Pay is the latest single released by south coast reggae/soul outfit The dub’n’tuff all stars. It may not bring in the bacon but apparently the old school ska and reggae vibes are still on the menu.
There has been a notable resurgence in the UK reggae scene as of late with bands like The Skints and Fat Freddy’s Drop becoming international names. Skanking groups of musicians led by brass players, backed by a solid rhythm section and the classic off-beat guitar that gives Ska music its name have been creeping out of the woodwork from Edinburgh down to Brighton. Maybe it’s the warmth of the festival season, which dub’n’tuff have been taking full advantage of, playing a number of the more intimate fests’ supporting UK legends The Dub Pistols and The Resonators before releasing this bouncing, soulful number.
The drums are solid and the bass holds the track together perfectly. Skanking guitars keep your head bobbing and the brass section, comprised by two more-than-competent saxophonists is the icing on the cake, keeping it soulful and smoothly complimenting the jagged syncopated rhythms designed to keep your hips moving. Front man Dada Da Dada (we’re assuming this isn’t his Christian name) adds a real sense of character to the track with his gruff vocals laced with conviction. By the last chorus it’s really quite hard not to be shouting the title lyrics along with him.
There’s a good attempt at recreating the live energy of a full ska band on this record (not an easy task) with call and response vocal parts between Dada and the ‘crowd’, a blazing sax solo before breaking down to just drums and claps for that classic knees-up effect. It’s a real party atmosphere tune, reminiscent of Madness and 2-tone legends Bad Manners.
We truly hope reggae does pay, at least enough to keep these guys belting out tunes like this. One of the freshest ska/reggae tracks we’ve heard in a while, while still holding true to the long and multi-faceted history of one of Britain’s favourite musical genres.
A few line up changes have been made since this single was released and forthcoming material is in the pipeline! Including an album of covers from a 70s – 80s music and film icon.
OUT NOVEMBER 2ND
Sound And Motion Magazine 