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Day: 30 November 2011

Preview: Fenech-Soler

Written by Phoebe Clarke on . Posted in Music.

Fenech-Soler
Manchester Apollo on 1st December

Looking towards their approaching UK tour supporting Example and the possibility of a second studio album next year, I caught up with upcoming synth-based band Fenech-Soler to talk about their self-titled debut album and plans for the future.

Electropop 4-piece Fenech-Soler are an interesting band. Despite not being that widely known, they are no strangers to some previous success. Their track ‘Stop and Stare’ was named by BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James as ‘Record of the Week’ whilst they have much previous success in remixing tracks for other artists.  In fact, lead singer Ben Duffy helped provide the vocals for Groove Armada’s track ‘Paper Romance.’ Their debut album is certainly underappreciated, with tracks such as ‘Golden Sun’ and ‘Lies’ acting as great weekend anthems and Duffy tells me “after a lot of success in remixing, we are keen to promote the band’s own material.”

Naming acts such as Manchester University’s-own The Chemical Brothers as the inspiration for their debut album, but with other clear influences from genres such as French house on tracks such as ‘The Great Unknown’, I ask Duffy about the direction of the band’s material for the future.  “We would love to release a second studio album for around June of next year”.  However this album will be taking a new direction.  “Whilst we will be maintaining our identity of big choruses, electronic music is changing and we have to adapt.”

I was pleased to hear how the band’s favourite past gig was in Manchester at our own Academy 2 and Fenech-Soler will be returning to the city on the 1st December to perform at Manchester’s O2 Apollo. With their mixture of sythns and real instruments on stage and top-notch material from their first album, it will be a show not to be missed.

Happy Feet Two Review

Written by Lily Howes on . Posted in Film.

All singing and all dancing Mumble and the gang grace our screens once again – this time in 3D – with an all star voiceover cast. Elijah Wood, Robin Williams and Hugo Weaving are back with new additions P!nk as Gloria, previously voiced by the late Brittany Murphy, as well as newbies Matt Damon and Brad Pitt.

Moved on from his days of childhood insecurity Mumble (Wood) sees his son Erik (Ava Acres) faced with a similar identity crisis that even a penguin enthused rendition of SexyBack can’t solve. So off Eric waddles with his pals to Adélie-Land in search of some meaning in their penguin lives. Here they encounter the new bird in town, The Mighty Sven, who proved to be a huge annoyance through out. An inspirational penguin that escaped his death by learning to fly – Sven (Hank Azaria) is in fact a Swedish puffin impersonating a penguin, yes really.

This combined with a tenuous plot surrounding the entire Emperor Penguin population being trapped by a giant, shifted iceberg doesn’t leave you hanging off the edge of your seat in anticipation; but what this animated hit lacks in a solid storyline it makes up for in laughs.

Matt Damon and Brad Pitt as comedy krill duo, Will and Bill, continuously entertain on the sidelines as Will attempts to strike out on his own in the big, wide world and reject the conformity of life in a krill swarm. With best friend Bill reluctantly at his side they venture outside the comforts of the swarm and try their hands at turning the food chain on its head to become failed carnivorous crustaceans.

Religious overtones can be seen in Mighty Sven’s preaches of “if you want it, you must will it. If you will it, it will be yours” and there are distinct eco-friendly messages as icebergs collapse in every other scene; all polished off with a good old sing-song. However, this film disappointingly lacks as many toe-tapping remixed hits as the original. Granted the opening medley starts off well and the closing Under Pressure/ Rhythm Nation mix is a successful round-off, especially with P!nks’s lead vocals, but in between these two book end moments a lot of the original songs are second-rate.

Happy Feet 2 is admittedly not as good as the first and is unlikely to be winning as many big awards but regardless will undoubtedly be a festive favourite of the year. Take younger siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins or just go with friends. It’ll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy and will at least give you an excuse to get out of the house during Christmas chaos.