Reviewer Reviews... Palma Violets-180... A Music Review

You have to feel sorry for Palma(pronounced Parma) Violets. The Lambeth based band have been hyped up by the media (specifically the NME) to such an extent that this album is their attempt to show us that they are worth the hype, not that they are a fresh and exciting prospect, like what most bands experience when releasing their debuts.

So it was always going to be a challenge for Palma Violets, but they rose right up to it.

The album kicks off with the outstanding 'Best Of Friends'. The song brings exciting guitar music back with its quick and catchy riff, and the song thoroughly deserves all the praise it has received since its release in October 2012. What makes the track great is not that it does anything new, this kind of thing has been around for donkeys years, its because it comes at a time when music is about triangles and is generally quite unexciting. Palma Violets make music about having fun, not maths problems.

Best Of Friends is followed by 'Step Up For The Cool Cats', which is a jaunty keyboard driven section down the Palma's 11 track road. The song brings the bands unsung hero, keyboardist Peter Mayhew to prominence, as he drives the track along.  After that we are treated to 'All The Garden Birds', which was apparently written in Kew Gardens, adding the typical slower English indie ballad to the record-good thats over.

We are then treated to 'Rattlesnake Highway', a rip roaring track which stays in the same vein as the first two, again with the organ undertone, and is one of the albums best, as is 'Johnny Bagga Donuts'.

The record proceeds along the same vein, with other highlights including 'I Found Love', but the album ends on a poor note thanks to the 'Brand New Song' which just feels like an unfunny joke that goes on far to long.

It's quite an unfortunate way to end an otherwise good album, which I would rate at 8 and a half out of 10. If guitar music really is going to come back, I'm sure these boys will at least help the charge.

Reviewer Reviews... Before Sunrise/Before Sunset... A Film Review

Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset

   Richard Linklater remains to be one of the most thought provoking and fascinating directors out there. His masterpiece Waking Life, and his other brilliant films, particularly Slacker, are all reminiscent of his mind blowingly well scripted Before... series. Though the topics raised in both films are horrendously dated only 9 and 18 years on, they still have some relevance nowadays, mainly due to the brilliant performances and dialogue.
   The proposition is that through a sheer coincidence, the French student Celine (Julie Delpy), and the American student Jesse (Ethan Hawke), both meet on a train in Vienna. Both speak English and both are of the same intelligence. Jesse is headed for Vienna to go back home, while Celine is headed back to Paris. They strike a connection. Suddenly, at Vienna, in an act of impulse, Jesse convinces Celine to get off at Paris, and spend the day talking. She wildly agrees, and for the next hour and a half we are treated to some of the best dialogue in modern cinema, just pure conversation on existentialism, sex, eternity and life. There's really little I can say on it because it already talks itself.
   The performances are brilliant; Ethan Hawke stays on the right side of douche bag and Julie Delpy is charming and bouncy as Celine. And while the painful nineties disaffected youth quarter life crisis stereotypes can be annoying, they are very toned down, much more than the awful other quarter life crisis fable Reality Bites.
   Fast-forward 9 years and Celine has a chance encounter with Jesse in Shakespeare and Company in Paris. Again, they do the same thing; walk around Paris and talk, this one being much more about relationships. Both have shed the pretense and become much more honest with each other: Jesse has a kid but is stuck in an unfulfilling  relationship, and Celine cannot latch onto a man, having used up all her romance on that perfect night. It is interesting to see how Jesse, the hardened cynic in the previous film has traded personalities with Celine in the last film. Now Celine, bitter at not having had a proper relationship because of Jesse, is now the hardened cynic. The film ends on an infuriatingly blunt, rushed ambiguous note but considering there is the final film coming out this year, make of it what you will.
   These are some of the greatest romance films of all time, as well as some of the best writing in film, period. Please watch them.

Before Sunrise 10/10
Before Sunset 9/10

Reviewer Reviews...Les Miserables-A Film Review

  Les Miserables, or Les Mis is arguably one of the best musicals ever made. The music, the flow, the story, most of which is inspired by victor Hugo's wonderful book, is brilliant and truly unforettable. So who has the balls to ruin it in screen adaptation style? That guy who did The King's Speech, Wolverine and Catwoman. Be very afraid.
   All jokes aside, Les Mis is a lot better suited in these hands than it was in Liam Neeson's hands. But odd casting choices aside, this is still a really rather good film. The plot goes that Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread for his sister's child, which gets him put in jail. After he breaks parole, he comes out after 19 years and is constantly escaping from no-nonsense policeman Javert, all of this involving a dying prostitute Fantine and her child, who Valjean promises to look after, all set during the French riots in the mid-eighteen hundreds.
   As supposedly simple this story is, it is an impossible role for Hugh Jackman as Valjean, who has to play Valjean as classy, a robber, an old man, and kind spirit, and an overprotective father. He does this amazingly well, capturing all these roles with suprising sadness and nuance. also stunning is Anne Hathaway as Fantine, whose truly upsettingly powerful rendition of I Dreamed A Dream will win her an Oscar. Eddie Redmayne is ok as Maurius as is Amanda Seyfried, but the true focus should be Samantha Barks, who is wonderful as Epinone and Sacha Baren Cohen and Helena Bonham Cater spicing up every scene they are in.
   Now we get down to the big problem: Russel Crowe. While he is not quite as horrendous as some people are suggesting, he isn't great, and his awful throaty singing makes for some hilarious moments where I nearly laughed out loud. It is just a shame they didn't cast Jude Law, who I think would have been perfect in that role.
   The direction of this is stunning too, a bit Moulin Rouge esque, with people constantly throwing things in your face and laughing at you. It can be a little distracting, especailly with some of the prettier songs having things thrown in your face constantly, as well as some really baffling framing, so much so that I had to visibly turn my head to see what was going on.
   While it is flawed, and doesn't really make sense in its own universe (why does Maurius go for Cosette when Epinone is so much prettier? Why is that awful red and black song in this? Rarely am I asking a film for more exposition.) it is still the most effective adaptation to date, and when compared to the musical, it adapts pretty perfectly. Be prepared for torrents of YouTube videos of I Dreamed A Dream though.

9/10

Reviewer Reviews...Breton-Surrounded at the BFI

I was fortunate enough to be given tickets to go and see Breton's 'Surrounded' at the BFI for Christmas. Although I was extremely excited about the chance to see my favourite band, I was wary that the results of the visual/audio combination could be horrendously pretentious. However I should not have worried. The band began with The Commission, which combined Star Trek like images of satellites and space. The video definitely has a melancholy feel to it, which will carry on throughout the night. As an unknown man's satellite hurtles towards the earth, he watches images of childhood, and a voice says 'You'll never see anything this beautiful again in your life'.

The band were bolstered on the night by a string quartet, who played some of the music to the shorter films on their own. Highlights of the night included Pacemaker, which combined glamorous dancing with warehouses and water. And December, based on the film Red Road, which was sinister, in both music and film. I would describe the feeling I got when watching it as 'on edge', which was true for most of the screening.

Another highlight was Edward The Confessor, which was both political and interesting. The lyrics 'Take everything, your filthy hands can carry', may be seen as a link to the 2010 London Riots, and the film almost makes me think of 'Ill Manors', although the art collective beat Ben Drew to it, as Edward The Confessor appeared on YouTube in October 2011.

Lastly we were treated to Home Invasion, a new song and an interesting video. The video itself featured a depressed girl who attempted to hang herself and a boy, who didn't seem to know his place, who was planning an armed burglary of that girl's house. However, we sense both got happiness due to the way the boy rips off his balaclava on sight of her, and how both look into each others eyes at the short film's very end. It was as though two lost souls had found one another. That's my intereptation anyway.

Overall, I loved the show, and I will definately see Breton live again soon. It wasn't just the music, or the film, it was also a great experience. If you didn't go, some of the short films can be found on YouTube. Links Below

The Commission
December
Edward The Confessor

Reviewer Reviews...New Band Recommendations No.4

Only Real
Only Real is from West London-a proud of it too. The 21 year old keeps makes sure his Facebook followers know too with posts like, 'It's always sunny in West London bitches'. But I put up with it, simply because of 'Cadillac Girl'. This song is all about the bass and is 'As funky as possible, isn't it.' It's guitar music for people who don't like guitar music, and that, I my opinion, is something we don't see enough of. Watch Cadillac Girl here.


Mac DeMarco
Ok, we're sort of cheating here. Mac DeMarco has actually been around for quite a long time. Hell, the Vancouver based artist has been around since 2008, and released two albums in 2012. But I just don't think Mac gets the credit he deserves. He releases great music videos for almost all of his tracks(watch them 'Ode To Viceroy here), and the actually music is great too. He actually only developed his odd way of singing(more evident on the album 'Rock and Roll Night Club', which you can get for just £4.99 on iTunes), when he had tonsilitis and tried singing. As a result he sounds like a cross between Jonathan Richman and Steven Malkmus, which he describes as "jizz jazz". Oh yeah, and he still uses a guitar he bought for 30 Canadian Dollars when he was 16. That's the world of Mac DeMarco.

Reviewer Cooks...Seared Venison with Rosti and Shredded Plum Cabbage

Storytime. When I was about 7, we were in holiday in Italy, driving along the long, repetitious roads where we found a slightly grubby, though rustic and good natured trattoria. In a restaurant as empty and deserted as this one was, there were no children's menus, those of which are strongly disregarded in where I'm from. So, I bravely and slightly tactlessly order a huge plate of wild boar and venison. My parents, while no strangers to my crazy cooking ways, still insisted on half portions, an idea the miserable waiter took less than kindly, and he served me the huge plate of wild boar and venison ragu.
It looked weird, not like the spag-bol we used to have at home. This had huge chunks of real venison. I gingerly took a bite. It was good. Really good. My dad asked the chef why it was so good. He proudly announced he had been simmering it since 6 in the morning. And half an hour later, I had cleared the whole plate. My parents, who could barely finish their plates, were stunned, and not a little outraged that I had beaten them to the post on finishing portions. That started my venison love affair.
Venison is hard to get, and very expensive in the UK, unlike Italy where it is plentiful. Often I find anyone but the Italians butcher the strong flavour of venison, but good old Emeril has given us a flawed, but decent recipe. We try it out one day and find the venison still raw, the mash to be oddly reminiscent of garlic bread, and the spinach to be boring. So I have kept a few of his ideas, but this is a rehash. When paired with a more delicate rosti patty and a sweet and sour cabbage side, it oomphs the flavour but is still healthy and delicious.

Seared Venison Steaks with Rosti and Shredded Plum Cabbage

Ingredients:
4 venison steaks
1 tsp crushed garlic
3 diced shallots
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup cider vinegar
Splash of gin
Small glass of red wine
1/2 cup beef stock
Olive oil

1 kilo potatoes, parboiled until just tender and grated
Olive oil

1 head green dark cabbage, shredded
1/2 glass white wine
1 plum, finely diced
Knob of butter
1 tbsp cream
4 tbsp chicken stock
Balsamic glaze

1. Heat some olive oil in a pan. Sear each steak for 2 minutes on each side. Put on a plate and cover.

2. Crush the garlic and shallots into the pan. Cook until wilted. Add in the gin to deglaze the pan, then add the rest of the ingredients.

3. Reduce this syrup by half.

4. Once reduced, put the steaks back in and cook to your liking. Season well and serve.

Rosti

1. Form the grated potato into a patty like a burger. Season and pat with paper towels to dry.

2. Heat some oil in the pan to cover the bottom. Sear on one side until browned and crisp. Flip over and cook for 6 minutes at a low heat. Make sure it doesn't stick to the pan

Sweet and Sour Cabbage

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. When it starts to bubble, add the cabbage, the wine, the stock and the cream. Cover and cook on a low heat until wilted. If it ever looks burning, add a tablespoon of stock.

2. Take off the heat, sprinkle on the plum and drizzle on a little balsamic if you wish.

Reviewer Cooks...Pork Medallions in Sticky Soy Glaze with Bacon Courgettes/Zucchini

 

Pork has always been somewhat of my Achilles heel, from the unpalatabley fatty roast pork with crackling, the overwhelming toughness of pork chops or any of those tough cuts of pig are not my cup of tea. However, when done well, like in the delicious char siu pork, or even the stringy heavenly pulled pork, which is undoubtedly amazing when roasted for over 6 hours and drizzled with as much barbecue sauce as possible. And while the tenderloin is a cut I am not familiar with, of what I've tasted, it is like a mixture of fillet steak and spare ribs, a perfect budget alternative to these more expensive cuts.
On a random Tuesday night when for whatever reason, we had pork medallions. And after a short time browsing the web for some decent recipes, and with no recipes that were halfway decent, apart from honey balsamic pork, which my brother protested against, hating the flavour of cooked balsamic vinegar, an opinion which I can hardly blame him for.
So, just before giving up, I noticed a little recipe for soy sauce medallions which seemed easy enough, on the back of the packet. And as the timings were completely off, and produced bitterly burned pork, I adapted it and used an improvised zucchini/courgette recipe from all those leftovers slowly taking over our fridge.
Pork has not entirely won me over let but this recipe is a good start, and with a flavour and texture similar to steak, I can see this as a delicious budget alternative.

Pork Medallions in Sticky Soy Glaze

Ingredients
12 pork medallions or 1 pound pork fillet, sliced into rounds
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp mirin
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp treacle/molasses
Olive Oil

1. Heat a pan with a little oil. Use a spatula to create a thin layer of oil. Season this layer with salt and pepper. (This will form a nice crust on the medallions) Crush a clove of garlic into this oil if you want an garlicky medallion.

2. Sear the pork for 2 minutes on each side until crisp and golden. Mix together the other ingredients and sizzle them in the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until pink. If there is not enough liquid, have a cup of water on hand to deglaze the pan every so often.

3. Snip on some spring onion/scallion and serve

Bacon Courgette/Zucchini

Ingredients
1 Courgette/Zucchini, sliced into rounds
2 strips bacon
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Splash of sake/white whine

1. Heat the oil and the butter until the butter melts. Add in the onion and saute until wilted and translucent. Add in the bacon and fry for 2 minutes, when the bacon crisps up.

2. Drop in the courgette, add the sake and some water, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the lid and evaporate the excess water, then serve immediately with a knob of butter.