Blog: FADED GLAMOUR

'The Muppets' (UK Release: 10 Feb '12) // Words: Saam Das "It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to meet The Muppets ..." After more than a decade out of the big screen game, it's difficult to do anything but embrace the re-appearance of these much loved puppets. For anyone who holds the warm nostalgia of seeing the 'The Muppets Show' or any of the several feature films, 'The Muppets' [...]

The Electric Soft Parade live at The Haunt, Brighton (4 Feb '12) // Words: Simon Opie There's something in the now customary live event of playing a classic album in its entirety. I've seen a few such gigs and they've always been good. But I can honestly say that this was a gig I'll never forget. It was essentially to celebrate [...]

Words: Saam Das Back in 2007, when this blog was called Keep Hope Inside, I talked a bit about a barely-into-their-teens indie band called Lo-Fi Culture Scene on one of the few podcasts I ever got around to making. Turns out we weren't the only ones to evolve into different things as the LFCS boys are now Casablanca , partly named after the film and a member of The Strokes , with an appropriately mature sound. [...]

'Shame' (UK Release: 13 Jan '12) // Words: Saam Das 2008 saw Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen 's debut feature film 'Hunger' , establishing Michael Fassbender as an actor of considerable note. McQueen, too, received plaudits for his handling of the retelling of the IRA's 1981 hunger strike. The duo have once again come together in 'Shame' , McQueen's second feature, a sex addiction melodrama. Unfortunately, much like 'Hunger' , this latest effort is emotionally hollow. [...]

Words: Saam Das I'm one of those people that likes to check out support acts when they go to see gigs. And by that, I mean Googling the fuss out of them beforehand. Especially when the name is an unfamiliar one. So when I discovered Leah Kardos was supporting Rumour Cubes at the launch of their debut album, I decided to investigate further. In 'DFACE (Practice This Video)', I found a contemporary classical gem. [...]

Words: Saam Das Louisa Rose Allen first came into prominence via her Loui Rose persona, which made some waves in the blogosphere across 2011. We've been holding back posting about her but today, in her new guise as Foxes , she's signed a major label record deal with Sony. So I figure now's probably as good a time as any to talk about her synth-pop anthems. Foxes comprises Loui [...]

VAULT Festival (9-26 Feb '12, The Old Vic Tunnels) // Words: Saam Das VAULT is a three week long festival, combining performing arts, music and film, set in London's Old Vic Tunnels. "From theatrical gigs of elemental fury to immersive operatic worlds, and from late night themed parties to a horror-exclusive cinema, VAULT will thrill everyone who comes through our Leake Street door." We're delighted to be attending some of the events - read on for some of our [...]

Words: Saam Das A few sites have wrote about the debut EP from iAm1 , a genre-mashing duo formed of MC Jamie Williams and acoustic songwriter Oli Rose . Unfortunately, the ones I've come across have either copied the press release verbatim or neglected to write anything more than a sole paragraph. That's depressing for everyone involved. Seeing as I went to a bit more effort, hopefully you'll read on and listen to their dulcet folk-hop tunes. [...]

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn Channel 4 has invested a great deal in hyping up its new sitcom, 'New Girl' , which – after an initially promising start ratings-wise, has reportedly dipped significantly since the series opener. In spite of viewers apparently jumping ship in their droves, I think it's worth sticking with – provided you enjoy quirkiness, spontaneous bursts of song and, perhaps most importantly, the comedy stylings of Zooey Deschanel . Created by [...]

'Martha Marcy May Marlene' (UK Release: 3 Feb '12) // Words: Saam Das The fact that Elizabeth Olsen isn't in the nominations for Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards is a travesty. Indeed, perhaps another year would have seen much greater recognition for the film itself and Sean Durkin , whose directorial efforts here are astonishingly his first in the feature film arena. Intense, haunting, and above all, excellent, 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' deserves better. [...]

The latest feature film extravaganza from our favourite puppets, The Muppets , arrives next week. Before that though, The Muppets are coming to your breakfast table! We've teamed up with the folks at Cravendale who joined forces with The Muppets to provide limited edition stickers that are specially designed to turn a Cravendale milk bottle into some of your favourite characters from The Muppets . Enter below for your chance to win one of FIVE full sets of stickers, with vouchers. 'The Muppets' [...]

Words: Saam Das Last month's MOJO magazine came with a free New Order tribute CD comprising of covers from the likes of Destroyer , Errors and Walls . Alas, I missed out but I did have the pleasure of listening to a rather splendid cover of 'Lonesome Tonight' by FG faves Anothers Blood . Listen to the ethereal, wide-eyed journey through the clouds below. If you're wondering why [...]

• . » Anothers Blood -20Lonesome Tonight (New ....mp3

'The Artist' (UK Release: 6 Jan '12) // Words: Saam Das 'The Artist' is a film almost entirely devoid of dialogue - a throwback to the silent era of cinema. Film critics have fallen over themselves in their praise of the latest offering from French writer-director Michel Hazanavicius . The film has received a dizzying twelve BAFTA nominations and ten Academy Award nominations, as well winning three Golden Globes. But is it quite the triumph that is has been portrayed [...]

'A Separation' (UK Release: 6 Dec '11) // Words: Raman K Exactly a week has passed since I watched the Golden Globe winning 'A Separation' and I cannot shake it from my thoughts. Tense from the immediate opening divorce court scene, shot from the judge's perspective, the film masterfully rakes you into its tragedy. Its screenplay compels you to respond throughout as parent, lover, child, citizen and law enforcer. The signature of director Asghar Farhadi 's creation is that every [...]

Words: Saam Das I don't normally feature new American bands. Mainly because the few that interest me have already been discussed at length on the hundreds of excellent blogs across the pond. But Chicago's Fox The Cat seem rather devoid of such attention. Or any attention really. So here's where I step in and tell you a little more about their compellingly solemn sound. The five piece have only been going since October 2011, [...]

Words: Saam Das On Saturday, I ventured along to XFM's annual All Dayer at the Camden Barfly to see numerous bands. One of them was Hatcham Social . Their set was a miserable experience, albeit made somewhat interesting by the appearance of a guest vocalist in a (dubious) onesie for the final song. That was Mercy . Otherwise known as former major label popstar, Amy Studt . Turns out she's doing exciting new things. [...]

• . » Mercy - Sleepwalker.mp3

'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' (UK Release: 26 Dec '11) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn With a hugely successful novel and a well-received Swedish language adaptation released just a couple of years ago, David Fincher 's re-imagining of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' had to go quite some distance to avoid straying into pointless Hollywood remake territory – and I believe it has, perhaps even outdoing the original. Daniel Craig [...]

Craig Finn – 'Clear Heart, Full Eyes' (UK Release: 23 Jan '12) // Words: Simon Opie The Hold Steady are a relentlessly old fashioned band and this horribly titled solo album by front man Craig Finn is a similarly old school effort. Most people use solo albums to expand their horizons, but this is an album of demos, designed to show what The Hold Steady might sound like if they were a country rock band. [...]

Words: Saam Das Speak to almost any new music blogger and they'll tell you about the dreaded band backlog. Swim Deep have been just another victim until now. A couple of months after I casually dropped their name, along with fellow Midlands bands Peace and Troumaca , I'm finally on it. Join the trio with their blissed out sounds below. It's hard not to resist all the water-related puns so basically [...]

Words: Rajan Lakhani Following Jack's top ten tracks of 2011 and Simon's top eleven , here are my top ten songs from last year. Listen to them all in the YouTube playlist below, including tracks from Tribes , Glasvegas and Cut Copy . YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: TRACKLIST: [...]