James Uden

This’ll do for now.

This is an excellent BBC 4 documentary to be watched by anybody remotely interested in music.

More excellent (optionally)free music than you can shake a stick at.

Here.

On the brighter side of things publication-wise, I’ve recently come to love this beauty..

It’s pretty much everything I wanted my FMP magazine to achieve and be, so I’m incredibly happy to see that there are some truly driven people out there making this exist (and work) in mass.

Interesting and enthusiastic content regarding food & culture, combined with excellent design work and creativity is a surefire combination to a successful and weighty publication.

They even made a bloody trailer!

The Gourmand is available to read & buy here.

The Stool Pigeon has come to announce that their last issue was indeed, the very last.

It was a genuinely intriguing and insightful free newspaper that wasn’t the easiest read for the sake of making you actually have to think.

It featured consistantly brilliant art direction that helped inspire me for pretty much every design-based degree project that I had. For that reason, I’m really very grateful for its existence.

Let The Day Begin is the first single off the fantastic new record, Specter At The Feast.

No specific numerical order, just great bodies of work that provided this year with an excellent soundtrack.

Title Fight – Floral Green
Basement – Colourmeinkindness
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
Purity Ring – Shrines
Every Time I Die – Ex Lives
Ceremony – Zoo
Beach House – Bloom
Angel Haze – Reservation
Grizzly Bear – Shields
Haim – Forever
The Menzingers – On The Impossible Past
iLiKETRAiNS – The Shallows
Jessie Ware – Devotion
Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind
Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
Metz – Metz
Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II
Deftones – Koi No Yokan
Ab-Soul – Control System
Gallows – Gallows
Bloc Party – Four
Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
Grimes – Visions
Chad Valley – Young Hunger

Originally Posted HERE.

With the departure of two key performers this summer and having shipped off a lot of the squad’s dead weight too, questions were always going to be asked about the outcome Arsenal were headed for this season.

The demand from fans and further financial gain from these sales provided Arsene Wenger with greater determination in terms of bringing players in however, and the additions of Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud have strengthened things up immensely.

After an inconceivably great defensive start and attacking form really kicking in against Liverpool, things at Arsenal are already looking improved. The most obvious note is the creative flair that Santi Cazorla now offers the team. Playing ahead of the rest of midfield, the sharp Spaniard provides options through his dribbling, passing and shooting abilities. Bacary Sagna’s injury has allowed Carl Jenkinson the opportunity to step in and has shown great signs of improvement already, whilst Lukas Podolski has instantly impressed. It’s also been encouraging to see existing squad players return. A quality performance from Abou Diaby against Liverpool firmly springs to mind.

Championship winning teams simply can’t rely on players who don’t consistently perform though. With the likes of Gervinho failing to shine and Arshavin and Chamakh still looking adrift, the manager still has a slight tactical headache in terms of strength in depth. Providing the top performers can keep fit, there’s no reason Arsenal can’t and won’t push for higher than fourth.

As is often the case, plenty of the club’s title challenging potential remains off the pitch too. Potential injuries are always a concern, but it’s the same predicament for every club. On the positive side, Jack Wilshere’s return is rapidly closing in and will provide a great morale boost for the squad, let alone eager supporters. Also, rumoured future arrivals featuring the likes of Fernando Llorente and Falcao indicate further positive intent that Arsenal fans want to see.

In terms of winning it this season, I just can’t see it. Chelsea have come out firing and already look the most realistic threat in clinching it away from either Mancunian club. For Arsenal, I think it’s fair to say that this season provides the timeliest opportunity to now fully develop this promising and improving squad. The potential that this new team is showing highlights how Wenger has done everything right so far in order to become certified contenders, it’s just not time yet.

Originally Posted HERE.

Having gone through controversial change, Gallows are firmly back doing what it is they do best. Now long lost from the sights of a major label, their third record – aptly self-titled – affirms the band’s unity, sense of identity and ultimate awareness of direction.

To many people, Frank Carter very much was Gallows and provided a personal beacon into the emotional depths of each song. To Alexisonfire fans who similarly experienced their beloved group go through further despairing change last year, a sense of positivity and pride for the much already respected Wade MacNeil naturally produced a sense of intrigue and excitement for what this ‘new’ Gallows would offer.

With or without Frank, they had much to live up to with this release anyway. The vast cult success ofOrchestra of Wolves lead rapidly towards major label recognition with Grey Britain, and now it almost feels like we have a decider. Just how much better can these guys get?

For anybody who’s experienced Gallows live, there simply is no question. Fierce presence, performance and relentless energy have got them to this level of expectation, and the same can be said for Wade who, with Alexisonfire, similarly tore audiences apart whilst grasping at their hearts and souls.

Gallows opens neatly with a vocal, monotonous female that ruthlessly questions listeners builds the kind of raw energy you get at a live show the moment those lights go out. It’s not long before Wade forcefully intrudes as if diving into the pit. Naturally riff heavy, we’re off and running. We’re getting lost in the crowd with no opportunity to stop and compose ourselves. The production is incredible.

The already-released single ‘Last June’ provides an immense contemporary tribute to the punk roots that fuel these guys, attributed through a simple-yet-ruthless structure, both musically and vocally. A more sudden avenue into off-the-cuff riff timings rather than safer, anthemic techniques would have made this record near perfection. If ‘Vapid Adolescent Blues’ and the following ‘Austere’ aren’t enough to force even the most technically critical-minded into an explosive mess, however, then I don’t know what more Gallows could have done to please their entire fan base demographic within 11 tracks. The concluding break in ‘Depravers’ is also trademark gold to those requiring well-timed aggressive opportunities at shows.

This record ultimately contains the true and familiar sound that everyone fell in love with in the early days of Gallows’ seminal awakening, whilst pushing since-gained capabilities as far as possible. Wade does himself and the rest of the band proud in his new surroundings and can feel very much obliged to keep singing about hate.