New Music Friday 30/06

Yes I was awful and didn't post last week, but half the industry was at Glastonbury and nothing worthwhile was released so *shrug*. Onward and upwards to this week...



Rudimental feat. James Arthur - Sun Comes Up

Considering James Arthur's early solo material was all Rudimental-style rough soul meets hip-hop cool, it's ironic that he's now featuring on their comeback single. It is, however, one of THE songs of the summer. The tropical marimba, the clipped beats, the way the song builds from acoustic guitar and then breaks down to build up all over again in the middle eight. This is a brilliantly constructed pop song with an intoxicating sound that marries sunny warmth with cool darkness.



Mura Masa feat. Christine And The Queens - Second 2 None

Take the choppy, crystalline production of Mura Masa and the effortless vocals of pop darling Christine And The Queens and you get Second 2 None, which sounds like the sort of thing Imogen Heap would release these days. Hushed vocal harmonies float delicately over fluttering synths before colliding in the chorus - for all the song's metallic experimentation it remains a beautifully soft little love song.



Clean Bandit & Marina and the Diamonds - Disconnect

This track was actually put together a couple of years back, but has been given a surprise release following Clean Bandit's Glastonbury performance. More importantly, it's the first we've heard of Marina since she declared she'd be taking a break after her 'Froot' album. That makes the lyrics to this all the more poignant: "I've been feeling anxious, ain't been feeling right...Need to look after myself, need to take a break." Is new music from Marina on the way? We'll have to wait and see...but this'll do nicely in the meantime.



Liam Gallagher - Chinatown

Against my better judgement I accidentally listened to this song and...it's not as bad as I thought. It certainly shows a softer side to the Mancunian, with its fingerpicked acoustic guitar backing and gently sung melodies. Perhaps that's the influence of producer Greg Kurstin, best known for his work with Adele. Still, that vocal is as grating as ever.



Redlight, Liv Dawson, Kojo Funds - I'll Be Waiting

Redlight: a Bristol-based DJ producer. Liv Dawson: an up and coming singer who's worked with Disclosure. Kojo Funds: London rapper. I'll Be Waiting: an utterly pedestrian R&B track that's devoid of personality despite its three collaborators.



Dusky Grey - Call Me Over

Are Dusky Grey aware they've ripped of Sigrid's Fake Friends with this new track? Well the verse at least; the chorus suddenly lurches into a light reggae tropical feel that's equally unoriginal. Still, it sounds very 2017 and is an enjoyable bop so perhaps this will give the duo their first real mainstream hit, despite having a name that sounds like a Dulux paint.



Astrid S - Such A Boy

Such A Boy is the next single to be taken from the Norwegian's EP 'Party's Over'. Sonically this is frothier and more playful than the icy cool of the title track, but that belies its honest lyrics that depict uncertainty in a relationship: "You say you want a break so we break up, you tell me stay so we make up." The repeated chorus hook "don't be such a boy" might be seen as a little sexist, but the song is as frank and relatable as it is infectious.



Anna of the North - Someone

The second Norwegian release of the week (well, Norwegian/Kiwi if we're being pedantic), this glistens with 80s synths and polished drums reminiscent of Betty Davis Eyes meets Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere but with added Scandi shivers and a yearning, widescreen chorus of "I'm only human baby". And then the key changes, the whole song turns up a notch and the ice shatters into glorious, melancholic euphoria.



St. Vincent - New York

On this new release, Annie Clark switches guitars and weirdness for brutal honesty, wistful strings and reflection. "I have lost a hero, I have lost a friend," she sings longingly, "but for you, darling, I'd do it all again." It's a searing, beautiful break-up anthem tinged not with regret but a loving sigh of acceptance.



Dan Caplen feat. RAY BLK - Flat Champagne

We all have delusions of grandeur, visions of a bubbly future of fame and fortune that ultimately fall flat. That's the focus of Flat Champagne, which feels a little cynical. The production, though, is anything but flat, all funk grooves, joyful piano and gospel vocal harmonies, while the addition of RAY BLK should help to bring Caplen the recognition he so richly deserves.

Allie X - CollXtion II

Is Allie X the evil twin of Carly Rae Jepsen? The two Canadian artists both deliver fun, bubbly, frothy pop, but with Allie X there's a much darker undertone.

After all, her second album 'CollXtion II' begins with a lover who'll "leave a nasty cut" and ends with True Love Is Violent. It's as if the bright pop of Jepsen has been twisted and distorted into something deliciously sinister yet romantic.

Take That's So Us. At face value it's a fun little pop track riffing on a saccharine relationship - "that's so you, that's so me, that's so us". And she shows her playful side too, the way she rhymes "time" and "nine" in the pre-chorus especially. Yet this relationship is based on darkness, from the amusing "wearing black at the beach, looking pale, feeling chic" to the emo "you make me not want to die".

Or take Casanova, a song about a dangerous lover. "You're a heavenly creature with a real dark agenda," she sings over pulsing dance production, the chorus repeating "Casanova fucked me over left me dying for your love" with vibrant autotuned vocals and deep bass. It's more explicit still on Old Habits Die Hard as "...the sugar turned bitter...and the summer turned to winter." The production here is more jerky and fragmented than in its previously released version, but it remains a stomping, confident pop song with an almost menacing melody.

Elsewhere, the extremes have been pushed but with varied results. Vintage sees Allie X at her most fizzy, though it ultimately falls flat, while on Need You featuring Valley Girl she delivers an aching synthpop ballad with conversational lyrics and heartbreaking sincerity.

Still, there's more experimentation here than on her previous album. While it's not totally consistent, there's still room for the reggae rhythms of Lifted, the weird synths of Simon Says, and piano ballad True Love Is Violent. Yet even at her most musically generic - Paper Love, with its wordless chorus and whistling hook - Allie X still delivers a storming contemporary track full of clever paper metaphors and origami flutters. 'CollXtion II' is a little hit and miss, but it's a pop album whose chiaroscuro brims with personality.

4/5

Gizzle's Choice:
* Paper Love
* Casanova
* That's So Us

Listen: 'CollXtion II' is out now.

Lorde - Melodrama

"The thing with house parties," I was once told, "is that you have to leave at the right time." It's true: leave too early and you miss the fun, leave too late and you either sober up or end up a mess.

So where does that leave us with Lorde's 'Melodrama'? The New Zealand star's second album revolves around the loose narrative of a house party, but it's one you'll want to leave sooner rather than later. 

Lead single Green Light wasn't quite the comeback we expected from Lorde, what with its clashing sections, "incorrect" songwriting (according to Max Martin at least), and a chorus that lacks the nagging hook it desperately needs. Sober bristles with sexual tension - "my hips have missed your hips," she sings over muted beats - and while it doesn't quite reach a climax, it does epitomise Lorde's offbeat pop. Homemade Dynamite, written with Tove Lo, is all jerky beats and slow motion dancing that goes hand-in-hand with the Swede's own work. Together these tracks make for a tantalising opening.

With The Louvre, Lorde dips her toe into...well...melodrama, as she compares her relationship to art. It's overblown, but the lyric "they'll hang us in the Louvre, down the back but who cares - still the Louvre" is kind of amazing. Liability is the album's key ballad and marks a different sound for Lorde - a piano ballad that's an ode to the weirdo at the party. It's clearly a personal track for her, perhaps reflecting on her fame with lines like "I am a toy that people enjoy 'til all of the tricks don't work anymore and then they are bored of me". It's also your cue to leave.

No really. Leave at this point and you can say you've had a very nice time thank you very much but I'm going to head home now before everyone starts crying and throwing up on themselves.

From here on out we're in full on melodramatic territory. Hard Feelings details a breakup with lyrics that read like a stream of consciousness and writing that lacks a proper melody; its second part is Loveless where Lorde claims we're the "L.O.V.E.L.E.S.S generation" like some precocious Messiah - we can only presume she's drunk and preaching while balancing on a kitchen stool by this point, a tequila shot quivering in her gesticulating hand.

Writer In The Dark is perhaps the hardest song to swallow, seemingly proving that Lorde has been hanging out with Taylor Swift too long. "Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark," she spitefully snarls, but without the humour that Swift brought to Blank Space. She later reprises Liability with sombre electronic production and autotune, presumedly sobbing to herself curled up in the corner. You should avoid her on your way out.

All this is to say that Lorde seems to have focused far more on the concept of the album rather than the actual writing. Offbeat pop can still have a hook - Max Martin was right after all.

Leave early, though, and you'll miss the album's best song, Perfect Places, which is Lorde finally offering the pop banger we all want so badly. It's got the clipped beats we expect, a giddy rush of a pre-chorus ("let's get lost tonight"), and a chorus that soars. Its message is a poignant one: that the euphoria of drugs and partying is all a façade, which somewhat undermines the melodrama of the album's narrative. Or perhaps Lorde knew that all along, the album's title a knowing nod to that fact.

Still, in the context of the album Perfect Places sounds like a last hurrah to celebrate the end of the night - most likely the moment you're going home, exhausted.

3/5

Gizzle's Choice:

* Sober

* Homemade Dynamite

* Perfect Places

Listen: 'Melodrama' is out now.

Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical @ London Coliseum

The corpse of the long-flogged We Will Rock You has not long passed in the West End, but now there's a new contender for cheesy rock musical to take its place in the shape of Jim Steinman's Bat Out Of Hell with its London premiere at the Coliseum theatre.

The similarities are palpable. It's a jukebox musical, this time based on the songs from Meatloaf's 1977 album. It features a dystopian setting, on-stage motorbikes, and a cast of characters dressed in bohemian leather outfits. Above all, it's loud and raucous but with very little to say.

The story is a clichéd amalgam of Romeo and Juliet and Twilight: two star-crossed lovers in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. She (Raven) is the daughter of the "tyrannical" Falco who rules the city and protects his daughter like a caged bird; he (Strat, yes like the guitar) is a mutant who never ages, rules a gang of underground outcasts and spends most of the show pretentiously spouting mad poetry in an attempt to get into her pants. Shockingly, it works.

Most of the backstory, however, is laid out in a faux newspaper handed out prior to the show. It's never a good sign when a show's plot has to be explained outside of the show itself - appropriately, most of the audience simply folded it and used it to fan themselves in the heat.

The flimsy plot is told through disjointed scenes, often taking huge tangents for the purpose of another song and not to serve the plot itself. The relationship between the overbearing Falco and his wife Sloane is a more interesting coupling than Raven and Strat, but their sexual chemistry is used simply for cheap laughs in a a production that swings wildly between melodrama and camp. The peripheral characters are instantly forgettable, while the ensemble are used to simply fill space with musical theatre choreography.

Like Falco and Sloane reliving their youth, the show is designed to appeal to nostalgia. Sadly, though, the songs simply aren't good enough. The show begins with a bang and doesn't let up: it's an endless string of power ballads and over-emoting with hardly a memorable melody between them. If anything, the whole plot seems geared towards the final number - that big duet everyone knows. I'm sure the audience of eager fans singing along would disagree with me, however.

There is some impressive staging here at least. Jon Bausor's set design makes grand use of perspective and allows for some exciting set-pieces - particularly the exploding motorbike - and Patrick Woodroffe's extensive lighting adds plenty of drama to the melodrama. The use of live video intrigues, but is mostly used to highlight the perpetually-watched Raven which comes off as voyeuristically creepy.

There's impressive singing too amongst all the wailing, but it's the female cast who stand out which emphasises the show's welcome agenda of female empowerment. As Zahara, Danielle Steers is brilliant but underused, her character a disappointing sassy black stereotype, while Christina Bennington brings some much needed delicacy as the rebellious Raven. Sharon Sexton steals the show as the laconic Sloane: a ball of sexual tension who's never far from a Martini glass, her drawling spoken voice belying a belting vocal. She's clearly having a lot of fun in this tongue-in-cheek role, something the rest of the cast should aspire to.

Audience members of a certain age will surely enjoy Bat Out Of Hell, but it's far from a classic. For all its over-the-top bombast it cannot be recommended - I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.

2/5

Watch: Bat Out Of Hell runs at the London Coliseum theatre until 22nd August.

New Music Friday 16/06

We've reached that time of year when every track released is vying for the crown of song of the summer. This week is absolutely no exception...


Calvin Harris feat. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, Big Sean - Feels

It's a couple of weeks until the release of 'Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1' but we already have a fair idea of what the album will sound like, considering all the tracks released so far sound the same despite the long list of collaborators. This is Calvin Harris trying to pull a Blurred Lines, with Pharrell onboard and laidback funk production, but I can't shake the feeling he's trying way too hard to be cool.



DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller - Wild Thoughts

Listening to this makes me feel really old. I remember when Santana's Maria Maria was first released and now it's been sampled on this DJ Khaled track. And by sampled, I mean butchered. Rihanna gives a half-arsed vocal, Bryson Tiller does a shoddy Drake impression as he tries to woo her, and Khaled himself looks hilariously out of place on the video.



Jax Jones feat. Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don - Instruction

Demi Lovato should know better than to feature on this dire Latin dance track from English DJ Jax Jones. Her vocal is wasted here, the sort of track that school kids will be dancing to at their summer prom. Stick to Cheat Codes for a decent Demi feature.



The Killers - The Man

Where do The Killers end and Brandon Flowers begins? The band's frontman has been busy doing solo work for a while and The Man seems to stem directly from it. It's certainly a little overwhelming: all funk bass, overdubbed layered vocals, and synth-rock swagger as Flowers claims "I'm the man" repeatedly. If that sounds cheesy...well...it is, but it's spangly and fun in the best way.



Martin Solveig feat. ALMA - All Stars

ALMA is soon becoming an inescapable name. After her brilliant breakthrough Dye My Hair, she featured on a Sub Focus track a couple of weeks ago. Now she's featuring on another dance track, this time from France's Martin Solveig. Her verses are the best part of this track though, bold and glorious with an almost Daft Punk-esque bassline. The chorus drop feels stunted by comparison. 



Coldplay - All I Think About Is You

Remember last year when Chris Martin claimed that 'A Head Full Of Dreams' would be their last album? And yet here they are releasing new music. "Oh but it's from an EP," I hear you say. That still doesn't excuse it from being so boring.



Shania Twain - Life's About To Get Good

Shania Twain is kind of a female Michael Bublé. Both artists have their 'home' style of music (in her case country) but occasionally break out with a pop crossover hit. This is no That Don't Impress Me Much, but it's a quaint little song of positivity from her forthcoming album 'Now' that feels out of touch with our turbulent times. I just hope the title rings true.



Zak Abel - All I Ever Do (Is Say Goodbye)

Yes this sounds the same as Abel's last track Unstable, but that wasn't quite the chart smash it deserved to be. So, in the run up to the debut album 'Only When We're Naked', why not try again with identical production and some different lyrics? He's a good looking guy with a decent voice but apart from being good at ping pong I'm not sure what exactly differentiates him from the Nick Jonas and Charlie Puths of this world.



Fickle Friends - Glue

Honestly I stumbled across this track accidentally among this week's releases, but Brighton-based Fickle Friends have released a fun synth pop track that's an addictive listen. Sucking on a prit stick isn't advised, but its chorus lyric "Our lips are like glue, I think I love you" is cute and its jangling guitars shimmer in a summery heat haze.



Icona Pop - GIRLS GIRLS

Paired with Charli XCX, Icona Pop were a huge pop proposition a few years back. I Love It was a smash for its catchy synth production and feisty lyrics. Now they seem to have focused on the former and diminished the latter, in the process losing a lot of their personality. A shame.

Phoenix - Ti Amo

Phoenix's sixth album feels like a love letter to Europe. Something of a concept album, this is a French band singing in multiple European languages while dreaming of a romanticised life in Italy. That explains the title then.

The band have described a dream of Roman summers, of "hyper-light, hyper-clarity" and gelato, which all comes out in the pure emotions at the heart of each song. In fact, it's gelato that's heavily referenced (the track Fior Di Latte, a popular Italian flavour, uses it as a metaphor for sex), but there are plenty of other food and drink references amongst other nods to Italian culture. The album is a bright celebration of Italy, and like gelato it's a light, sweet confection that's smooth, cool, and refreshing in the summer.

That summer is the heat of a Europe in political turmoil. The balm is 'Ti Amo': a sonic haven to remind us of the joys of Europe, of beautiful food, lazy walks along the beach with lovers, gently licking a cone of gelato as the Mediterranean sea laps at our feet.

This imagery is concocted with a pan-European sound, fusing 70's Italo-disco with French laissez-faire cool. Synth-rock guitars, driving beats and video game bloops and sparkles dominate through the filter of vibrant polished pop, falsetto vocals occasionally speckled with auto-tune singing breezy melodies. The intricate sounds of opener J-Boy set the scene, while the silliness of Tuttifrutti (which recalls 'Bankrupt!'s Trying To Be Cool), the erupting chorus of Role Model, and the delicately evocative Via Veneto are all highlights. The aforementioned Fior Di Latte makes for a dusky, sensual slow jam and the shuffling Goodbye Soleil is the essence of cool.

The album is perhaps a little too laidback for its own good, tailing off towards the end. Recorded in Paris to the backdrop of terrorism and a refugee crisis, the political lyrics sometimes jar with the gossamer production. And the title track is lyrically a little uncomfortable: "open up your legs...don't tell me no," coos singer Thomas Mars as he bemoans unrequited love.

Still, 'Ti Amo' takes a dash of Metronomy's 'The English Riviera', a sprinkle of fellow Frenchmen Daft Punk and Air, and a whole dose of sunshine. The flavour is delicious.

4/5

Listen: 'Ti Amo' is out now.

Katy Perry - Witness

For all her girl next door appeal, Katy Perry has always been something of a cartoonish hyper popstar. She's had a string of hits before and after California Gurls, but for a lot of us the quintessential image of her remains blue hair, cake breasts, singing to a jelly baby.

Now, in true clichéd form, Perry wishes to be taken more seriously. With Slave To The Rhythm, the lead single from 'Witness' written in the wake of Trump's presidential victory, she coined the phrase "purposeful pop". "So comfortable we're living in a bubble...we cannot see the trouble," she sings, the fizzy-pop production laced with a more grave political message.

Yet that message cannot be sustained across 'Witness'. Musically it certainly has a darker tone than her past material, but it's an album that's lacking in hit singles. It's too hit and miss in its attempts to entertain - and isn't that the true purpose of pop?

Nineties house music has provided the biggest musical influence. This comes through in the deliciously bubbling disco of Déjà Vu, the driving four-to-the-floor beats of Swish Swish, and the syncopated bass of Roulette. There's a sense of tense anxiety in the electro production too that often matches the self-reflection of the lyrics: the crazed drums and saxophone of Power, the emptiness of Mind Maze, or the dark sensuality of Tsunami. Add to that tinges of trap and hip-hop, as well as features from Nicki Minaj, Migos and Skip Marley, and 'Witness' becomes Perry's most sonically experimental album to date, though the general lack of hooks means it also borders on forgettable.

You could argue there's black cultural appropriation here as she courts a 'cooler' audience, something she's been accused of in the past. If anything, though, the inclusion of the homophobic rap group Migos on Bon Appétit has brought her more politics than she bargained for.

Her own proper attempts at bringing purpose to her music often fall flat. For all its sexual liberation, Bon Appétit is little more than an oral sex metaphor ("got me spread like a buffet"), though that's just the appetiser to Tsunami ("don't be scared to dive in deep and start a tsunami"). Swish Swish is meant to be a dismissal of her haters, but in the context of her career it just comes off as a petty kiss-off to Taylor Swift. Elsewhere, Hey Hey Hey is a power anthem for women full of clichéd similes ("you think that I am fragile like a Fabergé"), Roulette explores the dangers of a sexual encounter, and Bigger Than Me sees her reflecting on her position in the world. These tracks, like most of the album, sound too similar to one another in an overly long tracklist full of filler.

Really the idea of "purposeful pop" seems to be Perry reflecting on her own sense of purpose. It's in her ballads that she becomes most pensive and she delivers them well - something she rarely gets credit for. Miss You More is a yearning, wistful track that sees her longing for a past lover, repeating "I miss you more than I loved you" in the chorus while a guitar later wails for good measure. On Save As Draft she considers a breakup in the digital age, while Into Me You See is a clever play on intimacy. Clearly there's a lot of personal catharsis at play in these tracks - more so than revolutionary politics, it seems this was the real purpose of 'Witness'.

3/5

Gizzle's Choice:
* Déjà Vu
* Power
* Tsunami

Listen: 'Witness' is out now.

New Music Friday 09/06

Most of this week's new releases revolve around albums: Katy Perry, London Grammar, Phoenix to name three. The single releases don't quite match the quality, but there are still some gems to be found...



Lorde - Sober

I don't want to say too much about this because 'Melodrama' is out next Friday, but this is Lorde wholeheartedly back on form. Green Light was a disappointing lead single that took too long to click. But this...it's all coiled sexual tension and muted beats - "but my hips have missed your hips...will you sway with me, come astray with me". With Sober and last week's Perfect Places, we're in for one hell of a second album.



David Guetta feat. Justin Bieber - 2U

After the phenomenal success of his 2015 hits, Bieber seems content to simply phone in some features these days. And Guetta's been phoning in mediocre EDM for years now. After the limp verses the chorus drop wobbles in nicely enough, even if the sample chopping seems dated now. This is the basic white girl track of the week.



Sigala feat. Ella Eyre - Came Here For Love

This came close for basic track of the week, but Sigala wins points for dragging Ella Eyre out when we all presumed she'd probably been dropped after her terrible debut album. Surprise: she's back offering some decent vocals over the sort of trumpet-led summer beat you'd hear blaring out of your local Vodka Revs.



RAY BLK - Doing Me

In case you'd forgotten, RAY BLK was the winner of this year's BBC Sound Of competition. Politically, Doing Me is a young black woman asserting herself, its message undisputed: wear what you like, be who you want and don't listen to the haters. That should be broadcast far and wide. Musically though, this feels like laidback 90s to the point of being laborious. It's not exactly a hit.



Pharrell Williams - Yellow Light

Despicable Me gets a threequel that'll probably be half-arsed. Fittingly, Pharrell Williams writes half-arsed theme song that's a sequel to Happy.



Scissor Sisters - Swerlk

Speaking of sequels, Swerlk is basically a sequel to Scissor Sisters' gay anthem Let's Have A Kiki. It's a little repetitive, but it has everything Scissor Sisters do well: spoken word, heavy beats, funk guitars. I can't wait to see the video.



Ibeyi - Away Away

This is so incredibly sensual. The way that tribal beat shuffles along, juxtaposed with the twins' voices blending and merging in and out of harmony, yearning, innocent, knowing. The rawness of the whole thing. Sumptuous.



Susanne Sundfør - Undercover

Sigrid, Dagny, Astrid S. All Norwegian artists delivering fierce pop. Susanne Sundfør, instead, offers a simple ballad. "I wish I had a lover," she sings wistfully over piano and slide guitar, cutting right to the heart.



Julie Bergan feat. Tunji Ige - If You Love Me

Julie Bergan, meanwhile, continues down the synth-pop route. It follows singles Arigato and Blackout and is more of the same: decent pop with tropical synths, dancehall beats and a guest rap from Tunji Ige. Bergan will need more originality if she's to become a pop superstar.



Miley Cyrus - Inspired

Miley sang this at the One Love Manchester gig that Ariana Grande put together and now it's released as a new single. If Malibu was inspired by her beau Liam Hemsworth, then Inspired was...inspired by her dad and her childhood: "Thinking about the days coming home with dirty feet from playing with my dad all day in the creek," she sings, "he somehow has a way of knowing what to say." She's gone back to her country roots musically, too, with slide guitars and lyrics of longing. This is unlikely to be a pop smash, but it's a sweet song all the same.

All That @ Lion and Unicorn Theatre

It’s fitting that the first half of this kitchen sink drama revolves around…well…the kitchen sink. We all argue with our housemates about the washing up, that’s a universal truth. But what if those same dish-avoiding housemates are in an open relationship? And what if that makes you question your feelings for your own partner?

All That is a new play from writer Shaun Kitchener, whose work includes writing for British soap opera Hollyoaks. There’s a similar feel here, with serious themes bubbling away beneath a light-hearted yet thoroughly engaging production. Home-owners Taylor (Kitchener) and Riley (James Robert-Moore) are, financial worries aside, in a strong and stable relationship. Cracks emerge, though, when they rent their spare room to a couple in an open relationship – Jamie (Tom Bovington) and Parker (Christopher Cohen). Initially judgemental, Taylor and Riley are forced to face up to some (literal) home truths. It’s quite the clichéd set-up and the narrative is wholly predictable, but it’s an approachable and frank look at gay relationships, breaking down the taboo of open relationships (even though straight couples are never considered here).

What Kitchener does so well is paint the situation in shades of grey. Taylor and Riley are by no means the perfectly settled couple – perhaps they’re naively following heteronormative convention? Likewise Jamie and Parker aren’t necessarily home-wrecking villains, but are perhaps just living an honest life. And when *spoiler alert* Taylor succumbs to the advances of Jamie, it’s arguable whether he was manipulated or if this would’ve happened eventually.

As a result, these characters feel like real people with real problems that we can empathise and identify with, not just voyeuristically judge from a distance. Dialogue is natural and the on-stage chemistry is, for the most part, credible between the flustered Taylor, the suave and mysterious Jamie, and the calmly reliable Riley. There’s plenty of comedy too, predominantly from Cohen’s eccentric “colourful” Parker and Roberta Morris as Taylor’s gossipping best mate who gets all the best lines, delivered with exceptional comic timing. It’s through her inquisitive eye that we really see the others, something that begins with the crude but amusing opening scene. As with her, for many All That will be quite the eye-opener.

And yet Kitchener wisely refrains from lecturing and allows us to make up our own minds. The end may come suddenly, but it leaves no conclusion. For some, open relationships work; for others the very idea is abhorrent. All that matters is each to his own.

4/5

Watch: All That runs at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre London until 10^th June.

Photos: Matthew Foster

Wonder Woman - Patty Jenkins

Wonder Woman is a turning point in cinema, despite the lack of publicity compared to her male equivalents. This movie is that rare thing: a super hero film fronted by a woman and directed by a woman. Not just that but a damn fine one too. In fact, it's a bloody good action film full stop. And in this day and age, that's gold dust.

For the uninitiated, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is Diana princess of the Amazons. Protected on a hidden island, her people vow to fight Ares the God of War when he arises to destroy humanity, should that time ever come. When else could that be but the terror of the Great War? And so the film creates an alternative narrative where it was Diana, along with a US spy (Chris Pine) who turned the tied of the war.

That clash of fantasy and reality worlds, ancient and modern time zones, has potential for thrilling action and humour, and the film has plenty of both, especially with Wonder Woman herself. Gal Gadot plays the role brilliantly: a naive ingenue who's both aggressive and inquisitive. She personifies not only fierce strength, but compassion - it's that heart rather than her physical skill or beauty (stunning though she is) that makes her so wonderful.

The film begins fantastically enough, in the beautiful crystalline waters of the island Themyscira and its matriarchy of female warriors lead by the fearsome General Antiope (Robin Wright, House of Cards). After some exposition we shift to patriarchal, muddy, war-torn Europe for a story that is, for the most part, rooted in reality and it's all the better for it. There's little fanciful rubbish to wade through, just a well-paced story that's far more grounded than the usual whimsical boy fantasies we've become used to. The villains too, experimenting in chemical weapons, are sadistic and terrifying for real world consequences and not super powers. That said, the climactic twists towards the end are a sudden jolt into cartoonish fantasy, shattering the illusion of reality.

What makes this such an entertaining film, though, is the clarity of its action. So many films are full of close-up fussy camerawork and too much CGI, and while Wonder Woman does suffer from the latter, it has distance shots that orientate the viewer and stylish use of powerful slow motion. For once we can lucidly follow every leap, kick, whip crack and sword thrust, which only aids us to get on side. Diana emerges from destruction, parrying gunfire with her wrists, launching into the air to thwart her enemies, all while that screaming musical theme blares out over the speakers. Few action films - female or male led - are quite so empowering.

Of course there are obvious politics here with its female lead, but really it's a film of equality, a clash of heroes and villains both male and female. If anything, that gender stalemate leads to a hugely enjoyable popcorn film that rises above politics to entertain us all.

4/5

New Music Friday 02/06

There's a fair bit to get through in this week's NMF - too many for this post of ten - including some strong album releases deserving of separate posts. Not all of this week's singles are worth your time though: Duke Dumont has released the same single yet again, Snakehips do a great Drake impression, Major Lazer's latest "banger" is not up to scratch, and Foo Fighters should probably just give up. And if you think I'm even touching that Liam Gallagher single....bite me.


Rae Morris - Reborn

It may seem trite to return with a song called Reborn but that's exactly what Rae Morris has done. Regardless, the song itself is a triumph as she marches back to our ears with thumping bass drums and militaristic snares driving beneath hypnotic synth bleeps, woozy symphonic horns and strings, and a dreamy vocal. It's got shades of Scandi cool, there's Björk-like power to the voice, and it rises towards multiple climaxes. Rae Morris is majestically reborn.



Lorde - Perfect Places

Green Light wasn't quite the glorious comeback we expected from Lorde, perhaps partly due to the "incorrect songwriting" as Max Martin apparently put it. Perfect Places, though. This marks the ideal bridge between Lorde old and new. The cold opening beat snaps like that in Team, while the melodies and lyrics seem to spill out over one another, building towards a rush of breathless euphoria and an expansive chorus. In a New York Times interview Lorde claimed that forthcoming album 'Melodrama' revolves around the idea of a house party: “With a party, there’s that moment where a great song comes on and you’re ecstatic, and then there’s that moment later on where you’re alone in the bathroom, looking in the mirror, you don’t think you look good, and you start feeling horrible.” Perfect Places encapsulates that perfectly.



Julia Michaels - Uh Huh

I had no idea who this was or why she was at the top of the playlist this week, until I googled her and realised she's responsible for that insipid Issues song that's been doing the rounds on the radio. Uh Huh is much more flavoursome, though it starts deceptively with its murmuring verses and acoustic guitar. The chorus stomps in eventually though with a snarky sort of hook. It won't be to everyone's taste, but at least it sounds like nothing else in the charts right now.



Arcade Fire - Everything Now

This sounds like Arcade Fire 101 to me. That's not a bad thing though, especially as this was produced by Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter. It's got some funky 70s vibes, a fun little playful flute thing, a sing-along chorus and everything else you could need to have a jolly old time at a music festival near you this summer. It'll probably sound even better with a few ciders down your throat.



Betsy - Little White Lies

Remember Clare Maguire? Beautiful vocal but no idea what songs to put it with? Please welcome her reincarnation: Betsy. There's certainly a familiar tone to the vocal, but there's a similarity with the production too: a desperate need for epic grandeur and a flimsy song buckling under the weight of 'drama'.



Fifth Harmony feat. Gucci Mane - Down

Everything about this is basic. And I mean that in the proper sense. The production, the melody, the singing - it all feels simplistic, threadbare, minimal-effort, half-hearted. When will these girls just hurry up and get dropped? Or at the least release a Sledgehammer worthy banger.



Olly Murs feat. Louisa Johnson - Unpredictable

Old X Factor runner-up employs younger X Factor winner to boost credibility on a Kygo-lite pop song devoid of anything interesting. How predictable.



5 After Midnight - Up In Here

Speaking of X Factor, remember that terrible band from last year that definitely didn't deserve to make it as far as they did? Well now they have a single written by MNEK that samples DMX and sounds like...well...MNEK. I wonder how much Simon Cowell paid him for that.



Peking Duk feat. AlunaGeorge - Fake Magic

Well that's a funny name, it must be worth a listen. Ok I'm into this beat. It's building. I can hear some funky bass. This drop best be worth it......YAAASSS!



Beth Ditto - We Could Run

Best known as the feisty singer from Gossip, Ditto's solo career began with the sumptuous disco track I Wrote the Book from her self-titled EP in 2011. Since then she's quite literally written a number of books and married her girlfriend. We Could Run is actually the third song she's released this year taken from her forthcoming album (after Fire and Oo La La), all of which return to her rock roots. This features stadium production to match her powerful vocals and an anthemic chorus - part The Killers, part Bruce Springsteen. The music industry could certainly do with some more female rock stars and Ditto is a class act. Welcome back.

Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa

And so, at long last, after a string of hit singles, Dua Lipa has finally released her debut album. Or is it really an album at all? What does that even mean in this day and age?

The deluxe edition of ‘Dua Lipa’ includes 17 songs, 8 of which are already released singles (the standard edition is 12 songs, 5 of which are singles). This ‘album’, then, is essentially a collection of known tracks with some filler. Is that what albums are to artists these days? We appear to be moving towards two extremes: a Beyoncé release of artistic integrity like ‘Lemonade’ with, arguably, no real chart-friendly singles, or a load of singles with no connection beyond the artist singing them.

Yet the singles on offer here are brilliant, for the most part mixing bright, bold pop production with rock solid hooks, tropical beats and a deep, powerful vocal, all tied together in three minute packages. Hotter Than Hell is the pure fire track that launched Dua to chart stardom; follow-up Blow Your Mind (Mwah) was a vibrant, sassy kiss-off; and most recently she’s teamed up with Miguel for the R&B-pop banger Lost In Your Light. Be The One, though, is perhaps the main highlight – a more subtle take on her sound with yearning melodies over a warm bed of synths and syncopated beats. Acoustic ballad Thinking ‘Bout You rounds out the singles on the standard edition, whilst the stomping Room for 2, the mellifluous New Love and the catchy Last Dance are included on the deluxe edition. Heck, why not throw in her features with Martin Garrix, Major Lazer and Sean Paul as well?

So what’s actually new here? Opening an album with a track called Genesis is fairly hackneyed, but it fits easily into Dua’s oeuvre with its slick harmonies and guitar noodling out of Dev Hynes’ book of production. Garden makes for a downbeat counterpart, as she repeats “are we leaving this garden of Eden?” in the chorus. Later in the album there’s New Rules: an enjoyable listen, but its tropical feel and sassy lyrics are, by this point, almost groaningly typical. It’s indicative of an album that’s already overly familiar to both fans of her singles and anyone who’s seen her live – even the new tracks sound old.

This is by no means a collection of bad songs, its aim clearly to cement Dua’s place in the pop canon. And as a whole, it does neatly sum up the pop sound of the last year. But you'd expect that from an album released at the end of a campaign, not the beginning. And that’s the problem here: ‘Dua Lipa’ is a frustrating summary of the past, not an exciting stamp of future intent. How long will this album be toured and marketed as ‘new’ music? How long until we hear what’s actually next for Dua? And will that just be another single?

3/5

Gizzle’s Choice:

* Genesis

* Be The One

* Blow Your Mind (Mwah)

Listen: 'Dua Lipa' is available now.