Music: Fan the Flames - Luke Leighfield

Imagine a world without a little bit of clever piano-pop to make you smile. Yeah, it wouldn’t be a fun place. Thank God for Luke Leighfield.

Leighfield has been touring so hard for the past year that he’s just recently celebrated his 250^th gig. He’s not picky either; he’ll play in your front room, at your little brother’s birthday party, and in real big venues, too. And it’s easy to see that Luke Leighfield is all about his music and his fans; the CD leaf is covered in photos of friends and gig-goers. He’s even slipped a CD into the hands of Prince Charles himself, no joke.

Fan the Flames is Luke Leighfield’s second album and it is an instantly likeable collection of piano-led pop tunes. He’s dubbed himself ‘basically a second-rate Ben Folds,’ which is no bad thing as Leighfield has mastered the art of melodic piano pop which is memorable, honest and fun.

Title track, Fan the Flames, makes an impressive album opener; the piano is complimented by chirpy brass, strings and a masterful sax solo. This is the first of the album’s many catchy, piano-driven tracks served with masses of instrumental variety. Another stand-out track is Don’t Break Your Back, a cry for people to be themselves, which builds up to a soaring guitar solo and huge sing-along chorus. But it’s not all mile-a-minute power-pop, as the tempo slows for a handful of tracks such as Home, Scared and It Goes On. Leighfield’s voice easily carries off these more reflective songs, which also make excellent use of his very talented supporting instrumentalists. But, with a merry band of backing vocalists, upbeat drums and an epic brass section, it is I Got Soul which will have even the most pop-hating cynic up and dancing. You can’t hide from such unabashed, down-to-earth and downright infectious music-for-the-sake-of-music.

Fan the Flames is out on Got Got Need Records and £1 from every purchase goes to Tearfund.

www.myspace.com/simplylukeleighfield

Album score – 8/10 Refreshingly shameless piano-pop!

A Mixed Bag

Music I'm getting excited about:

Newton Faulkner - Hand Built By Robots
A tall fellow with majestic ginger dreadlocks who can slap, tap and strum a guitar til it gently weeps. Check out his amazing version of Massive Attack's 'Teardrop.' It might reduce you to tears.

Luke Leighfield - Fan the Flames
Claims to be 'basically a second-rate Ben Folds,' which is no bad thing. This album is full of pop tunes, amazing sax and guitar solos, lots of chances to sing along with a beer in hand, and general good stuff.

Alan & Brian - The CU Notice CD
Easily the most unique and ingenious release of the year. Southampton Uni students will appreciate it best, but the witty lyrics and catchy tunes are enough to make anybody sing along smiling. Notices have never been so much fun.

Full reviews coming soon.

Did I Miss Something?

WHY, O WHY, O WHY WESTLIFE?!

Ok, that's out of my system. I do think it's a valid question, and a cry shared by millions of bewildered music lovers across the country. Well, I can proudly put my hand on my heart and say I have never bought a Westlife single or album, and I never will. I am willing to say that one or two of them have part-way decent singing voices. But really, people, this has to stop! They're not very good! They don't even have good looks in their favour. I even felt embarassed doing internet searches about them for this post!

The Irish 4-piece have hit on an absolute genius money-making formula for their music, or should I say their management has? 14 hit singles is quite an accomplishment and none other than x-Factor's Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh are the gruesome two responsible for this torture. Every song they release is tediously identical to the previous in structure and execution...

A solitary pianist plays some emotional chords.
The two who can sing on their own without too much embarrassment share the verses with the others 'Ooing' meaningfully.
More OOing and a chorus. Followed by verse three. More of the same.
Chorus 2. Note here the clenched fists and upward glances in the direction of
the camera.
Key change. The boys stand up off their stools and spread their arms.
Insert a gospel choir or rain if indoors.

And that's how it's done. They take a ballad, written for them by some chap who's most likely drowned in Guinness in small studio somewhere, and just do what they know. Now, obviously nobody is forcing me to listen to Westlife (although they get so much airplay, it's possible) and that's not even the problem.

What offends me most, is when they take old songs that are just about manageable and then brutally murder them. They did it to 'You Raise Me Up' (Josh Groban's original version tugs at the heart strings rather than activates the upchuck reflex) and now to 'Home,' a gorgeous song when performed by Michael Bublé, and absolute torture sung by the Irish whiners.

All the while Cowell and Walsh can jolly well sit there smugly raking in the money. They have hit a jackpot. And as long as there are impressionable pre-teen girls, and frankly deaf grannies around, Westlife are probably, regrettably, here to stay. But there's a way to stop their chart dominance. Parents - STOP giving young girls pocket money! Ladies - They are all either married or gay. Deal with it and stop screaming! Grannies - They are not nice boys. Get interested in McFly or someone!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Westlife wagon has been a'rollin for way too long and needs to be derailed. Perhaps it was a joke that got out of hand. I hope so, because otherwise it's just embarassing!

Alert the RSPCB - Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Blogs!

This poor blog is suffering from an inhumane amount of neglect (like a dog at Christmas time!) which I can only attribute to my dissertation, a mad, mad summer, teacher training and...no internet!

Never fear - I know you probably don't - I shall return soon with reviews a'plenty!

I have read a lot, listened to a lot and watched a lot since my last post. So keep checking back. Better yet, add an RSS feed to your browser - go, do it!

Films to see this month...

There are a whole bunch of films that i'd like to see in the next few weeks (student loan permitting). Hang on, can we pause for a moment to reflect on the fact that it is almost May already?!!

Some of the upcoming releases look, well, crap. It has to be said, Hollywood has taken to churning out some big-budget big flops of late. However, there are a few that seem to be a little different from the current phase of ambiguous, one-worded titles, like Fracture and Premonition.

So, here's my movie wish list before they come and go from the cinema, which they will in about a fortnight:

*Half-Nelson: This has been out for a week or so now, and has recieved some great reviews. It's Ryan Gosling (also in the overly-dramatically advertised Fracture) as a school teacher (no, I'm not obsessed with films set in school!) who lives a secret life as a drug addict. An unlikely friendship flourishes with one of his students who discovers his secrets. It's a case of who will have to inspire who to better things.

*Spiderman-3: I'm a sucker for a comic-book flick. If only because I've seen the other two and would feel cheated out of a trilogy if I didn't watch. Spiderman is back...in black.

*The Painted Veil: The old cinematic adaptation wins out again in 1920s heritage film style. Ed Norton (one of my all time favourites) and Naomi Watts (who has an Oscar and Norton doesn't - does that not seem unjust to anyone else?) are a couple in a troubled marriage who find unexpected unity and forgiveness amidst a cholera epidemic in China.


There we go. Chances are, it'll be Christmas before I actually see them, but I can hope!
Also, be prepared for mounting excitement about the latest Harry Potter release (Film June, Book July) and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Yes!


UPDATE:
I retract the statement about Naomi Watts' Oscar win. She has, infact, also never won an academy award but I'm reliably informed that they are both nominated for one for The Painted Veil. Thanks, Richard! (Richard's Naomi Watts blog can be found here)

Films: The Chorus

Les Choristes/The Chorus (2004/5)
Dir. Christophe Barratier
Cast: Gérard Jugnot, Francois Berléand, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Jean-Baptiste Maunier

French cinema possesses something which neither Hollywood nor British film has managed to recreate, with perhaps a handful of exceptions. I think it’s the way that visual, audio and narrative elements of the films seem to work together so perfectly, each enhancing the other to the extent that cinema becomes an entirely new experience.

The Chorus (Les Choristes) is a story that is very familiar to cinema. A passionate music teacher comes into a struggling school and transforms a class of kids using the power of song. However, (and speaking as someone who absolutely loves Sister Act 2 to the point of knowing the entire screenplay) The Chorus is much more than that story.

Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot ) is the newest teacher to step through the intimidating iron gates of Fond de l’Etang (Bottom of the Well) school for “difficult” children. The school policy is simple and ruthless, “Action – Reaction.” The boys are locked in the affectionately named “Dungeon” (reminiscent of Trunchball’s terrifying “Chokey” in Matilda) for their bad behaviour. Parents visit under strict, prison-like conditions. It’s more than a little darker than a rough-around-the-edges American high school. And the boys range from the virtually pocket sized orphan, Pépinot (Maxence Perrin), to angel-faced Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) and the horrifying school bully Mondain. It’s a real mixed bag, and it seems like a little choral music would move them about as much as a month’s detentions; they have just lost the ability to care. The journey from rabble to choir and community isn’t without its setbacks, usually at the hands of the tyrannical ‘directeur,’ Rachin (Francois Berléand). However, it is Clément Mathieu’s energy and persistence and understanding of the boys as individuals rather than miscreants which eventually unites them and changes the atmosphere of the whole school.

The film is beautifully shot, given the wrought iron and cold stone location. There is some absolutely beautiful music in the film, and the real talent to look out for is little Morhange (Maunier) whose voice is breathtaking. It has a heart-warming sentiment, without sentimentality, and takes a fairly well-used plot and breathes a charm and sincerity back into it. The Chorus does not disappoint.

My rating: *** 3/5 stars
Recommendation: Deal with the subtitles and enjoy being uplifted and inspired.

Films: The Prestige

The Prestige (2006)
Dir. Christopher Nolan
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie, Andy Serkiss, Piper Perabo...

The Prestige is a film about magic. It's a magic film. Can I leave it at that?

The movie starts with Caine's sonorous voice uttering, in a low whisper, 'Watch closely.' The audience physically leans forward in their seats in obedience. However, from this point onwards, it is virtually impossible to stay on top of what happens. At any rate, we are always a few steps behind. The story is adapted from a complex novel of the same name by Christopher Priest. Not having read the book, I can't say how closely it adheres to it's inspiration, but it is a fascinating plot of twists, revelations and secrecies.

The film's structure (with echoes of Nolan's backwards told Memento) is handily outlined by Caine's character, Cutter, in the film's opening sequence. Like a magic trick, this movie will show it's audience 'The Pledge' - something ordinary; 'The Turn' - the ordinary thing made extraordinary; and finally 'The Prestige' - something shocking that you've never seen before. That is exactly what we get.

The story seems to be simple enough; In Victorian London, two magicians who were once friends become the most terrible rivals. Robert Angier (Jackman) is a gifted showman from America and Alfred Borden (Bale - complete with wonderfully warm yet dark Cockney accent) is a natural and mysterious magician with little stage presence to boast of. After a tragic and unexplainable accident involving an assitant, the two men go separate ways and the rivalry begins. Angiers, jealous of Borden's extraordinary skill, sets out to uncover the secret behind his most famous trick, 'The Transporter Man.' Theatrical manager, Cutter (Caine), who mentored both magicians, sees promise in Angier's performance and sides with him. This only serves to make Bale's character more secretive and tormented, rarely allowing us a glimpse into his life off-stage. The strory then spirals out of control through flashbacks within flashbacks, glimpses into secret diaries and an intense rivalry. If I criticise anything, it would be that the film lasts just long enough for the viewer to begin to tie up the threads of the mystery. But however close you come to working it out, the climax - the prestige - will still wow.

Rebecca Hall is brilliant as Borden's loving and tormented wife, Sarah. Look out for her in the future. Scarlet Johansson, despite a sometimes too laboured cockney accent, is fabulously glamorous as a magician's assistant and heart-breaker. Bowie is, of course, an absolute legend in his role as real life scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla and Andy Serkiss is very un-Gollum-like as Tesla's weasley assitant, Alley. It's an all round brilliant cast, but it is Bale who stands out. He really is fantastic in this dark and complex film, and the climactic ending reveals the depth of his character, making his performance even more excellent.

My rating: **** 4/5 stars
Recommendation: Rent it. Watch it. Appreciate it.