The Land of Fog and Snow

 

 

 



I was looking for Oliver Queen...

...and found these two incredible animated music videos for Kathryn Calder instead!

Arrow

Slip Away

Though to bring this back to Oliver Queen I have bought my first Green Arrow graphic novel! It is a copy of City Walls and hopefully, if I like it, I will be mentioning it as part of a Bat Freak on another DC chappy who loves to wear green ;-)

Friday Feature - BOY

This week's Friday Feature is BOY, an all female indie pop duo from Hamburg, Germany. They have a stripped down, nearly completely acoustic sound which focuses the emphasis on their melodious pop vocals and complex, storytelling lyrics. Their songs vary from upbeat playful love songs like 'Little Numbers' to strong, gutsy, bluesy songs such as 'Boris'. They are something like the melodies of Feist meets the lyricism of Regina Spektor.

Where will I have heard them before?

BOY have been together since 2007 and though they sing entirely in English haven't been really active outside of Germany before 2011. They have toured in the UK and will be touring the USA in 2013. Their album Mutual Friends won the 2012 European Border Breakers Award (EBBA) and single 'Little Numbers' has featured in a Lufthansa advertisement.

Featured Song: Little Numbers (I sing this with the passion of someone who actually has a partner)

Where can I hear more?

You can get a free sample of BOY's music via Noisetrade. Their album Mutual Friends is already available as a hard copy and to download in Europe and will be available to download in the USA in February 2013.

What is their website?

http://www.listentoboy.com/

Next week: Something a little different - the British smartphone and tablet game The Curse

Rail at ITFS

Just a quickie to let you know that Rail, the short animation I wrote for Jack Tilley, will be appearing at the 2013 ITFS (Trixi Stuttgart Animation Festival). Check out the festival here and if you go please let us know what you thought of the film!

Friday Feature - Cults

This week's Friday Feature is Cults, an indie pop duo from New York, USA. Cults consist of guitarist Brian Oblivion and singer Madeline Follin. They have a wonderfully playful sound thanks to Follin's young voice and Oblivion's twangy guitars which they layer with sampled spoken sound clips - perfectly chosen for each song be it an interview about the sin of 'the outside world' or just voices whispering. What makes Cults so enjoyable for me is the juxtaposition of Follin's innocent voice and the dark lyrics she sings - it is music for teenage girls on the cusp of doing something they know is wrong and they know they will regret in the morning but they also know will leave them incomplete if they don't do. It is the sound of innocence about to be lost...and we all know how darkly tempting that is.

Where will I have heard them before?

Before being in Cults Oblivion was in Pascalle and Follin had performed with Youth Gone Mad on their album Touching Cloth. Cults has performed at various festivals and in 2011 collaborated with Superhuman Happiness on a version of "Um Canto De Afoxé para o Bloco Do Ilê" for Red Hot+Rio 2, a HIV and AIDs awareness charity album. They also made this (terrifying) appearance on pre-school show Yo Gabba Gabba.

The video for their song "Go Outside" stars  Emma Roberts and Dave Franco.

Featured Song: Most Wanted

Where can I hear more?

No official free songs, just the one self titled album, Cults.

What is their website?

http://cultscultscults.com

Next week: BOY

Zubox: Fashion

I've been groggy with a bad cold all week so it was a lovely surprise to see my latest zubox script is online for you to watch (and then share with all your friends)!

Friday Feature - Widowspeak

The first Friday Feature of 2013 is Widowspeak, an indie rock band from New York, USA. I love them for two reason a) their dreamy sound and b) Molly Hamilton's battle with stage fright. For the longest time Molly couldn't bear anyone listening to her perform (going so far as to record her song ideas for her band mates to listen to whilst she hid in another room) but without her soft croon Widowspeak wouldn't be anything. All of Widowspeak's songs gently pulse along, relying only on the odd guitar curl for embellishment, leaving space for Molly to deliver their scant but deep lyrics and let their meaning take hold:

 

 Last night I thought of you

Years ago, when bodies grew

An empty home

A vacant Hell

I knew you in the harsh realm

I thought about how it was

I thought about you because

I always think about you

Where will I have heard them before?

Single "Harsh Realm" was featured in an episode of the television series American Horror Story.

Featured Song: Harsh Realm

Where can I hear more?

No official free songs at the moment however they have two fab EPs to sample along with first album Windowspeak and second album Almanac coming out early 2013.

What is their website?

http://widowspeak.bandcamp.com/

Next week: Cults

***

I don't know about you guys but knowing that Molly had to battle with stage fright to be part of Widowspeak makes me love her, the band and their music even more. One of of my biggest heroes is Rammstein's Till Lindemann for the exact same reason! Yes - believe it or not fierce Till Lindemann gets performance jitters too! It makes me think that if he can carry off such a convincing, bold, charismatic performance in front of mega stadiums full of screaming crowds whilst scared to really look any of them in the eye that I can try and battle my confidence issues too. Do any of you guys have heroes like this? I'd love to hear about them!