Shit-Faced Showtime @ Leicester Square Theatre

Magnificent Bastard Productions have become well-known for their Shit-Faced Shakespeare shows. The basic premise: put on a reduced version of a play in which one of the cast members is absolutely shit-faced. And if they're not quite wasted enough? Ply them with even more alcohol, point, laugh, and repeat.

It's the sort of riotous entertainment that's perfect for fringe theatre festivals, an hour of silliness as a counter to po-faced interpretations of the Bard's works. They've since extended the idea to other shows and musicals, now presenting "Oliver With A Twist".

During the course of an hour, the cast irreverently put an alcohol-infused spin on Dickens' classic, with a few songs from both the musical and others thrown in for good measure. The seven actors rotate through the roles each night, taking it in turns to be the drunk victim: on this particular night, Issy Wroe Wright stumbled, slurred and lunged across the stage as the titular orphan boy.

The move away from Shakespeare does allow for a little more flexibility. There are dances and songs to remember as well as dialogue, sure to confuse sober and drunk actors alike. Yet where there's usually an amusing juxtaposition of drunk actor garbling through poetic blank verse, here the production quickly descends into chaotic pantomime. The actual plot of Oliver Twist is quickly forgotten, the actors clinging on to the main story beats for dear life, barely scraping through the run-time.

The results are anarchic fun, if utterly cheap. There is essentially one joke here - let's laugh at the drunk actor - as opposed to offering a witty and well-written script performed with expert comic timing. Of course, this isn't trying to be anything more than drunken, shallow amusement and on that note it certainly succeeds. And if you're shit-faced yourself, all the better.

3/5

Watch: Shit-Faced Showtime runs at the Leicester Square Theatre until 12th April.

Photos: Rah Petherbridge

New Music Friday 22/03/19

Marina - Orange Trees

Taking inspiration from her Greek heritage, Orange Trees is definitely on the love side of forthcoming album 'LOVE + FEAR'. The breezy melody and satisfyingly squelchy bassline make for strong summer vibes, contrastingly nicely with her previous darker tracks. It's too relaxed to be an out and out banger, but it's her catchiest track sans Diamonds and should lead the album into the charts.

Add to playlist.



Will Young - All The Songs

Will Young has always delivered relatable lyrics, here in sad banger form that somewhat reimagines Robyn's Dancing On My Own. "Everything's good and I haven't felt this in so long," he sings at the start, before he hears of an ex causing him to "burn up" - "I know you're dancing with somebody else to our song". Soon the beat kicks in, the synths soar, and we're all dancing with tears in our eyes. New album 'Lexicon' is out in June.

Add to playlist.



Tim Chadwick - I Need To Know

Speaking of sad bangers, here's another from Ireland's Tim Chadwick. This is pop in the vein of Troye Sivan and Lauv, all fizzing synths, hooks and yearning lyrics. It's a song about anxiety in a relationship and having faith in a partner: "I can't tell what you're thinking, you know I never do," he sings in the bridge. I Need To Know follows last year's singles Tell Me That and Weakness - keep your eyes peeled for an album soon.

Worth a listen.



Jayda G - Stanley's Get Down (No Parking on the DF)

Canadian-raised DJ and producer Jayda G mixes Chicago house with Berlin cool (where she now resides). This track is taken from her just released debut album 'Significant Changes', an intoxicating fusion of funk, disco and house. The opening sample demands "I see you with your phone, looking at Instagram, this is a dance floor baby, this is where you're supposed to get down." You don't have to tell me twice.

Worth a listen.



Two Door Cinema Club - Talk

Talk is the Irish band's first release since 2016's album 'Gameshow' and it sees them moving into pure pop territory. Upbeat and funky, with vibrant synths and an earworm of a chorus, it's irresistible. The quirky video is the icing on the cake - Hot Chip by way of OK Go.

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Lizzo feat. Missy Elliott - Tempo

Lizzo's new album 'Cuz I Love You' is due out next month and so far she's on a roll with the singles. As Juice rises up the charts, she's joined forces with Missy Elliott in this anthem for plus-sized women - "I'm a thick bitch, I need tempo" she spits over a trap beat. With its meme-worthy lyrics and irrepressible beat expect to hear this a lot.

Worth a listen.

Othello @ The Union Theatre

A heady incense perfumes the air and the drama in this production of Othello at the Union Theatre that ends their 'Enemies Of The People' season. Directed by Phil Willmott, the plot is transported to the British Raj for an inventive take on Shakespeare's play.

This year marks the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in which British and Indian officers fired upon a large group of unarmed civilians. Many died in what is considered one of the worst atrocities in British colonialism, as well as the rise in Indian nationalism. How must it have felt, as an Indian soldier, to fire upon their fellow countrymen?

Willmott attempts to infuse his Othello with that same sense of conflict. Here, the titular Moor (Matthew Wade) is an Indian General under the rule of an English Duke; his friend Cassio (Jerome Dowling) is an English army chaplain; and Iago (Rikki Lawton) is a lower-class soldier assigned to Othello but jealous of his position and favouring of Cassio.

These elements, while certainly intriguing, never quite fuse with the drama. There are a handful of tweaks to the script, but mostly the concept is set dressing - albeit well done - that provides the sights, sounds and smells of India. There are loose thematic connections between the play and the British Raj, but Othello is more conflicted about Desdemona than his position, while Iago's motives remain ambiguous. There are contradictions too: Othello is implied to not be a Christian, but (as per the source material) he demands Desdemona pray to God for forgiveness. Perhaps he mocks her, but this doesn't appear to be the case.

Yet, although Willmott is arguably a slave to his design, the play itself still bristles with tension. It is as compelling as ever, with great central performances. Wade's Othello begins calm, clear and dignified, but torment turns him animalistic. As Iago, Lawton is a cheeky chap full of banter, manipulating others with drink and drugs. He is crude yet terrorising, a fool with an unpredictable dark side that's violent and misogynistic. Elsewhere, Dowling is a gallant Cassio and Carlotta De Gregori is a meek feminine foil as Desdemona. All speak the verse with welcome clarity.

The staging too has clarity, for the most part - a few too many moments are directed to the back of the stage. There's also a lack of emotional power to the ending that feels a little too frenzied. Yet this Othello remains a solid, lucid production with a sprinkling of extra flavour that doesn't quite mix.

3/5

Watch: Othello runs at the Union Theatre until 6th April.

Photos: Scott Rylander

Mine @ The Arts Depot

Watching people play Minecraft makes me feel particularly old. I’m someone who grew up on both Lego and video games, so the idea of a game that somewhat brings the two together shouldn’t be alien to me. Yet somehow it’s just never appealed.

Yet if ever there was evidence of the creative power of Minecraft it’s Mine, a new theatre production from Vancouver-based company Theatre Replacement at the Arts Depot. Created, directed and performed by company Artistic Director Maiko Yamamoto (alongside a whole group of other player/performers), it’s a play about the relationship between mothers and sons that is performed live within Minecraft itself. The results are fascinating.

For the uninitiated, Minecraft is a 2011 sandbox video game originally developed by Swedish developer Markus Persson. As blocky characters, players can build, destroy and explore worlds created with low-fi textured building blocks, both alone or online in huge multiplayer environments. Since its release, it has become the second highest grossing video game of all time behind only Tetris, with many weird and whacky creations shared across the Internet. The possibilities are near endless.

Mine was inspired by Yamamoto’s own relationship with her 11-year-old son. The two began playing Minecraft together two years ago and the dynamics of their in-game relationship were the impetus behind the play. The narrative recreates famous stories of mothers and sons, from Bambi to Beowulf, The Terminator and more. Through these stories, Yamamoto touches on a variety of themes: a mother’s fear of losing her child, a child’s coming of age, mortality, and online safety. The choice of stories is often surprisingly dark, but there’s humour in the delivery from Yamamoto and the young cast, especially as fun personal touches bleed into each story to emphasise the sense of creativity.

Mostly, though, Mine blurs the boundaries between theatre and gaming. Esports are gradually becoming more globally recognised, so why can’t gaming be considered performative? The cast perform the stories within the game, projected onto huge screens behind them, while other gamers act as directors to move the camera and frame the action. Monologues are spoken over the visuals, and chiptune music (mostly from other games) plays in the background. There’s a real sense of collaboration to it all, with multiple players coming together to create a single whole – the essence of both theatre and Minecraft. Theatre can be playful; here that’s made literal.

Further, the narrative of mother and son highlights a generational gap and a swapping of roles. Often it’s the children who are better suited to new technology, parents lagging behind. And that spreads into the audience too. It’s a delight to see so many children in the theatre, excited to see their favourite game projected on-stage and explaining the mechanics and rules of the game to their parents – parents who remain confused and dumbfounded.

Though it explores some interesting themes, the disparate stories of Mine don’t quite come together into a cohesive thread. And for some, the total use of video games might be a step too far into a strange, frightening technological world. Yet viewing theatre through screens and avatars could become a reality for the medium. For now, it remains a unique and innovative experiment.

3/5

Watch: Mine runs at the Arts Depot until 23rd March, before heading to Cambridge Junction.

Photos: Chris Randle

The Rubenstein Kiss @ The Southwark Playhouse

The first play from writer James Phillips which debuted in 2006, The Rubenstein Kiss explores the story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who, in 1953, were executed for allegedly sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union. It’s a story that became emblematic of Cold War America and McCarthyism. With a few name changes (Rosenberg to Rubenstein) Phillips creates a narrative of political and generational divides inspired by this story, directed by Joe Harmston in this revival at the Southwark Playhouse.

On top of that, though, The Rubenstein Kiss is a love letter to Arthur Miller. Phillips’ script is littered with not so subtle references: most blatantly to Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable’s film The Misfits that Miller wrote, and to his play The Crucible. These aren’t even nods, but whole monologues devoted to drawing parallels. In addition, there’s the running thread of a sung aria from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, that crowbars in themes of sacrifice and purity further explained through monologue. It lends the play a clunky feel, as if following in the footsteps of others rather than creating an identity of its own.

The thematic parallels are warranted, however. The story of the Rubensteins is one of sacrifice and martyrdom, choosing to profess their innocence in spite of evidence held against them, knowing the consequence would be death. Equally, we witness evidence against them from their own family. The politics are a little murky, but there are plenty of shades of grey here that are ripe for drama, Phillips ultimately allowing the audience to side with or against the couple through a lens of governmental paranoia.

His play is structured with alternating timelines: the Rubenstein’s in the 50s and two young people in the 70s who, predictably, have a personal link to the case. Instead of explaining the facts (and therefore relying a little too heavily on prior knowledge), Philips focuses on a more intimate portrait of a family pushed to breaking point. The second act does eventually tie together the threads, but it’s a long and laboured slog to get there.

The performances are accomplished. In particular, Ruby Bentall brings inner-strength to Esther Rubenstein, proving the character to be the more courageous of the central couple. Elsewhere Sean Rigby brings some much needed humour as David Girshfeld, and Dario Coates and Katie Eldred have great chemistry in the 70s storyline.

Sean Cavanagh’s design is sparse and simple, the stage book-ended by flat pillars of New York scaffolding and the traverse staging literally putting the audience on opposing sides. Harmston’s intention to draw a parallel with our current political climate is intriguing if not altogether clear.

2/5

Watch: The Rubenstein Kiss runs at the Southwark Playhouse until 13^th April.

Photos: Scott Rylander

Blood Knot @ The Orange Tree Theatre

Apartheid seeps into the plot of this early play from South African playwright Athol Fugard like a poison. Set in Port Elizabeth, 1961, it depicts the relationship between two brothers who share the same mother, though their fathers are different. While one is black, the other can 'pass' as white.

It's this tension between brotherhood and racial difference that's at the heart of the play, underlined by the duality of dreams and reality.

Matthew Xia directs this revival at the Orange Tree Theatre that's more humorous than the subject would suggest. There's a playfulness between brothers Morrie (Nathan McMullen) and Zach (Kalungi Ssebandeke), revelling in boyish banter and power fantasies. The plot hinges on Zach's lusty desire for a woman, as Morrie persuades him to strike up a penpal friendship with a "well developed" eighteen year old. Yet when they discover she is white, things take a more sinister turn.

The set, designed by Basia Binkowska, is a shanty home that mirrors itself. On the one side sits Morrie, who tenderly cares for his brother in motherly, ritualistic fashion. On the other sits the childlike Zach, who is less naive than he initially seems. The shifting mood is supplemented by eerie, dreamlike electronic soundscapes from composer Xana.

The entire play takes place in the confines - and apparent safety - of this home. The first half plods. Fugard certainly humanises Apartheid, but the production feels static and repetitive. Racial tension simmers subtly under the surface as the brothers discuss their varying experience, differences in race running deeper than skin.

Yet Blood Knot is a play of creeping intensity. It's increasingly punctuated by the brothers' dreams and flashbacks, but there's tragedy in their japes. Eventually it culminates in a power fantasy of horrific proportions, their differences no longer performative but dangerously visceral. Both McMullen and Ssebandeke commit to authentic performances that slowly develop to an explosive, unsettling conclusion.

Though perhaps an edited, one act version would intensify that slow dread without a break, Fugard's play is thematically rich and deeply affecting. Over 50 years since its Broadway debut and over two decades since the end of Apartheid, it still resonates with the power to shock.

4/5

Watch: Blood Knot runs at the Orange Tree Theatre until April 20th.

Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

Sigrid - Sucker Punch

So here it is, “the sound of 2018”. It’s been over a year since Norway’s Sigrid won the BBC’s coveted Sound Of award and, after a steady stream of singles and EPs, we finally have a full debut album in 2019.

Thankfully, though, this isn’t simply a best of from the past year. All those previous releases have simply served to keep Sigrid in the public conscious, gearing up for the main event that – surprisingly enough – isn’t just predominantly new, it’s her best work.

Breakthrough hit Don’t Kill My Vibe still stands out as a powerhouse single, the semi-shouted chorus a cacophony of hooks, drums and empowerment. The rest of the album follows suit, with a series of tightly constructed, polished pop tracks. Don’t Feel Like Crying is a concise two and a half minutes of euphoric string stabs and giddy melismatic melodies. Mine Right Now starts intimate before building to a vibrant, neon-lit chorus punctuated by a repeated “hey!”. Basic, an anthem for basic bitches worldwide, revolves around a “na na na” earworm and succeeds for its clarity and, well, basicness. And if you haven’t heard Strangers yet, where were you last year?

As the longest track, In Vain, takes us on a journey and hits all Sigrid’s moods along the way. What begins as a heartfelt ballad of delicate vulnerability eventually finds power after the repeated “give it, give it up” bridge and the fizzing synths kick in. Level Up sees Sigrid in folk mode, while the album ends on a downer with the anything-but Dynamite. Her voice cracks beautifully but the energy drops. She’s far more comfortable in the throbbing 80s synths of Never Mine.

Listening to ‘Sucker Punch’ at last, it’s not hard to see why Sigrid was chosen as the sound of 2018. To an extent this is pop by numbers: Scandi artist sings sad bangers full of hooks, synths, and “heys!”. The songs are short, accessible, emotive yet upbeat and danceable.

It’s hard to hold this against Sigrid, though. This might be frothy pop but it’s so well put together that the infectious hooks are undeniable. There’s a carefree innocence to the songs that arrives in a flurry of strings and yearning melodies. It might not be an emotional sucker punch, but this debut will no doubt worm its way into your head.

4/5

Gizzle’s Choice:

* Basic

* Don’t Feel Like Crying

* Don’t Kill My Vibe

Listen: 'Sucker Punch' is out now.

Captain Marvel

It seems that Marvel Studios have finally hit their stride. After so many films that struggled to balance sincerity and humour - leaning too heavily on the latter - with Black Panther they finally created a film that was both meaningful and entertaining. The key? Diversity.

That continues with the latest release, Captain Marvel. This is the first Marvel film with a female lead. It's a film that features a badass woman kicking ass. It's a film where the woman doesn't have a romantic counterpart. She is, instead, powerful on her own terms.

That's not to say the narrative is perfectly told. We're thrown straight in at the beginning, with warring inter-galactic factions, a protagonist with amnesia, and snippets of characters and information that don't altogether make sense. It's enough to be intrigued, but it relies on stereotypical and convenient sci-fi tropes.

From there, the middle section flatlines as our heroine crash lands unexpectedly on Earth. Though she is human, she is essentially an alien on the planet as she hunts down apparently evil shapeshifters. There's eye-rolling humour in the misunderstandings between her and the humans, and the pace plods as secret bases are uncovered and twists of mistaken identity are piled on top of one another. While Brie Larson's soon-to-be-known-as Captain Marvel is a character we care and root for, the overarching plot is unclear and meandering.

Where it does succeed is in its placement within the Marvel universe. The events of Captain Marvel take place prior to the rest of the series, so there's plenty of fun to be had seeing Samuel L. Jackson's young bumbling Nick Fury amongst the other agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and the film's climax sets up the whole Avengers plotline. It also allows for some fun 90s nostalgia, not only in the setting and costumes but a great grunge soundtrack.

The plot might be a clichéd affair, but really we watch Marvel films for some high-octane popcorn entertainment. Captain Marvel delivers. There's humour here based not on bathos but actual jokes - a welcome change - and Larson's sardonic performance is full of energy. Sure, her character arc of finding her true power is predictable, but when she does unleash her potential it results in some awesome action sequences and a huge amount of fun.

It culminates in a battle against multiple enemies soundtracked by No Doubt's 'I'm Just A Girl', representing everything that's great about this film in one scene. Like D.C.'s Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel proves that women are just as awe-inspiring as any other superhero.

3/5

Watch: Captain Marvel is out now.

New Music Friday 08/03/19

Marshmello feat. CHVRCHES - Here With Me

This collaboration kind of makes sense. Last year's album 'Love Is Dead' from Chvrches was a continuation of their brilliant electro pop that undeservedly bombed compared to their previous two albums. So pairing up with a globally recognised producer is a surefire way of getting a hit, right? Yet Here With Me is so sub par, hints of the band's brilliance peeking through a dull non-chorus. You can practically here Lauren Mayberry gritting her teeth through every word.

Don't bother.



Ava Max - So Am I

Sweet But Pyscho came out of nowhere at the end of last year and now the American singer follows it up with So Am I, featuring a twee chorus that's truly vomit-worthy. "Do you ever feel like a misfit?" she questions, before noting "it's ok to be different." The production is trite pop stuff that's ultimately forgettable. She's aiming to be the next Lady Gaga, but so far she seems more one hit wonder.

Don't bother.



Call Me Loop - Body Like Yours

Body Like Yours is immediately recognisable as Call Me Loop. That's saying something for an artist with only a handful of singles and no debut album yet. Her style is bubbly and sensual pop - not necessarily original, but polished, fun and a refreshing change to most dance-pop in the charts. Body Like Yours is taken from her new EP 'Drama', five short songs that whip by in a colourful but gossamer light haze.

Worth a listen.



Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles

Fender won this years BRITs Critics' Choice award and marks the welcome return of guitar music to the mainstream. His vocal alternates from a light falsetto to a rough, soaring tenor over chugging guitar riffs fit for stadium tours. And where his lyrics are powerful and socially conscious, his recent Live Lounge cover of Ariana Grande's Break Up With Your Girlfriend... shows he's not averse to pop either. Hypersonic Missiles balances those two sides: the lyrics reference political chaos but its chorus is a hopeful sing-along with squawking saxophone. A Bruce Springsteen for our times.

Worth a listen.



Louis Tomlinson - Two Of Us

Yes this is a tragic song about Tomlinson's mother who passed away a couple of years ago. To write such a candid song is admirable. But lyrically, this is a trite GCSE poem put to music. This is not the song of a superstar.

Don't bother.



The Chemical Brothers - We've Got To Try

Another track from the duo's forthcoming album 'No Geography', We've Got To Try is soundtracking the current F1 season. It's fitting then that the video features a dog in an F1 car, while the track itself revolves around an acidic hook, with a repeated soul vocal sample and sun-dappled strings breaking through the weird, futuristic electronica.

Worth a listen.



Gesaffelstein feat. The Hacker & Electric Youth - Forever

Recently reaching a new audience as the producer of The Weeknd's Lost In The Fire, French producer Gesaffelstein now releases his new album 'Hyperion' from which Forever is taken. He's amongst a long line of similar artists - Daft Punk and Kavinsky especially - inspired by 80s techno, all deep bass, clipped beats and spacey effects. It's a heady, intoxicating mix that's at once menacing and enchanting.

Worth a listen.

Waitress @ The Adelphi Theatre

It takes a while to get into Waitress. Finally landing in the West End after its Broadway debut in 2016, it is Cath Kidston The Musical, a sugary sweet confection in shades of pastel. It's twee and cute and trying oh so hard to be relatable.

The story is gently feminist. Jenna, the titular waitress (Katharine McPhee), is an ordinary woman and her fellow waitresses Becky (Marisha Wallace) and Dawn (Laura Baldwin) discuss their ordinary problems: marriage, dating, pregnancy, drooping breasts. Jenna dreams of winning a bakery contest so she can leave her abusive husband and follow her dream. It's a show about sisterhood and motherhood and being your authentic weirdo self - all worthy themes.

Yet the delivery is lighter and fluffier than a sponge cake. It means the stakes never feel too high. It is the plight of the everywoman, as dramatic as a 90s rom-com. There's a meet-cute with a boyish gynecologist, a saccharine romantic sub-plot with the cartoonish secondary characters, a gruff old man who's really a big softy. There's never any doubt of a happy ending.

The more you taste, though, the more palatable it becomes. The sugar rush erodes the walls of cynicism to reveal a wholesome centre that oozes out like bittersweet chocolate. The inevitable big climax is full of flavour and you're left sobbing at the end at the sheer loveliness of it all.

Much of that is due to the score from singer-songwriter Sarah Bareilles. Uptempo, piano-driven love songs are instantly recognisable as her work and the infectious hooks will ensure each song becomes a theatre school audition staple. McPhee's voice is well suited to the role and it's clear that she's the main draw for much of the audience. It's soft and light with a beautiful tone that flutters with trilling melisma, her pop style making up for a lack of diction. When she sings "She Used To Be Mine" she has us all in the palm of her flour dusted hands.

She's joined by some wonderful performances by the rest of the cast. Together with Wallace and Baldwin they make a great comic trio, with voices that blend in subtle harmonies. Comedy actor Jack McBrayer, best known for his role in 30 Rock, threatens to steal the show from McPhee as the geeky and eccentric Ogie, while David Hunter proves his vocal chops as the romantic lead Dr. Pomatter.

The band are mostly on-stage, giving an intimate chamber musical feel that suggests perhaps the small scale drama of Waitress would be better suited to a smaller theatre. Yet like the smell of a freshly baked pie, the lure of the show is irresistible. You'll lap up every crumb, leaving your heart as satisfied as your belly.

4/5

Watch: Waitress runs at the Adelphi Theatre until October 2019.

Photos: Johan Persson

New Music Friday 01/03

Carly Rae Jepsen - Now That I Found You

Carly Rae and Queer Eye is the perfect pairing, an antidote to the politically hard times we live in. Now That I Found You will be the theme to the new series from the Fab Five and its fizzing pop joy will underscore hair flips, sassy comebacks and feelgood sincerity. "There's nothing like this feeling baby / now that I found you," she sings over throbbing synths and instantly catchy earworms. There's nothing like a Carly Rae pop banger either, the exuberant "now that I found you!" in the middle eight a literal high point.

Add to playlist.



Marina - Superstar

Marina has been open about her struggles with mental health and its clearly influencing this era of new music. Superstar is a sad banger through and through, the song's fragility reflected in her soft vocal and delicate piano underpinned by deep beats and a chorus you can dance to. The new album is 'LOVE + FEAR'; this track combines the two.

Add to playlist.



Tom Walker feat. Zara Larsson - Now You're Gone

Tom Walker winning the BRIT for British Breakthrough was certainly a surprise. Now You're Gone (from his album 'What A Time To Be Alive') doesn't do much to dispel that. The house beat beneath the otherwise plaintive production is an interesting contrast and Larsson's vocal is a welcome addition. But Walker's personality doesn't exactly shine through.

Worth a listen.



benny blanco, Selena Gomez, J Balvin, Tainy - I Can't Get Enough

At first listen there's not much to this song. Four featured artists yet it consists of little more than a hummed hook and a beat. That beat creeps up on you though and seeps into the brain. With its mix of US and Latino artists, this has the potential to be a real global hit.

Worth a listen.



Emily Burns - Too Cool

Burns is churning out the hits at the moment. Too Cool is a breathless pop track with a playful edge typical of her style. There are plenty of small details too: the vomit noise at the line "it kind of makes me sick" in the second verse; the expansive post-chorus; the extra layers in the final chorus. Could this finally be the hit she's been looking for?

Add to playlist.



Sigrid - Sight Of You

A week to go until Sigrid's album is out. So why not release yet another single? There are no surprises here, with heavy string stabs and a classic pop feel that's buoyant and catchy but not quite her best. Let's save something for the album release, eh?

Worth a listen.



Jonas Brothers - Sucker

After a pretty successful solo career, Nick Jonas has returned to his brothers for this new single, their first since splitting in 2013. The bass in the verses is as sexy and stylish as the cover art, but the stunted chorus is a letdown. Sucker is notable more for its video that features the brothers' girlfriends - it makes you wish they'd form a supergroup instead.

Worth a listen.



Ellie Goulding - Flux

Is Ellie Goulding trying to have an Adele moment? Flux is a piano ballad about past lovers, a stripped back affair without the synths and beats we've come to associate with her. "I'm still in love with the idea of loving you," she sings over minimal production, while the accompanying video is all black and white and moody and raw. This puts too much emphasis on her voice that doesn't have the necessary power to make this work.

Don't bother.

Troye Sivan @ Eventim Apollo

The screams are deafening. Legions of young fans fill the venue, no doubt followers of Troye Sivan from his YouTube days as well as his pop career. You get the feeling this is the future of pop, not just from Sivan's rise on social media, but what he represents to these fans: empowerment.

Sivan is, arguably, the most pre-eminent openly gay popstar of today. He doesn't shy away from gay experience; in fact his songs reflect every facet of it, from joy and exuberance, to sadness, uncertainty and vulnerability. And his fans are there with him, screaming for a hopeful future. When he sings Heaven (a song about his coming out experience) and the audience flickers with rainbow coloured lights held aloft, it's a sign of solidarity.

This popularity is yet to translate into sales and chart success, however. Two albums into his career and Sivan is yet to have a top twenty solo hit in the UK (his highest chart position is at 13 with his Charli XCX collaboration 1999, performed here without her). Perhaps his fans are here for him personally as much as musically.

The lack of chart success is mystifying owing to the quality of his songs. Seventeen opens the show in muted fashion, before we burst into songs like Bloom, Plum, Lucky Strike and Wild - all uptempo fizzing electro pop tracks coupled with a backdrop of fizzing lights. Sivan struts across the stage in a suit and tank top, frequently pausing with arms outstretched in a pose reminiscent of Michael Jackson. He owns every inch of this stage, putting in a performance that's every bit the stadium-filling popstar. Every song hinges on an infectious hook. Each has that euphoric "end of the night" feeling.

The facade is broken between songs as he chats with the audience, at one point literally sitting on a sofa for a natter. In today's pop scene, relatability goes hand in hand with superstardom and Sivan has both in spades. He admits his nerves to the audience, he quips "I feel like I'm in the Lizzie McGuire movie", he speaks of his own sexuality. He even stops the show to sing happy birthday to a fan.

Halfway through he offers us a moment of reflection with a series of downbeat ballads. "Do you feel like getting depressed for a little bit?" he jokes, before singing the heartfelt The Good Side. Sivan sings in a smooth tenor and soft falsetto, inviting us to laugh, cry, dance and everything in between.

Before long, though, he launches into more upbeat pop: the menacing rave of Bite, the playful fun of 1999, the sultry Dance To This (sadly without Ariana Grande). "This was one of the most special gigs of my life," he admits before the cinematic Animal. And then he's back for an encore of Youth and My! My! My!, two songs that sum him up. While the former is a nod to the youthful zest of both him and his fans, the latter is pure unadulterated pop brilliance. It lurches into a dance remix, the light show practically explodes, and the ensuing screams leave our ears ringing into a hopeful future.

4/5