Thursday, March 23, 2006

Album Of The Year? Open, says me.

Statues - The Open [Loog Records]

Imagine, if you will, that you have released 2004's standout Indie Rock debut, a critically acclaimed, emotional masterpiece that had everything the commercial market needed coupled with invention and a dedication to be different that must surely mark you out, as Marlon Brando said in 'On The Waterfront' as 'a contender'. The Open did that with their oppulent 'The Silent Hours' album, a brooding triumph of a record if ever there was one. Then remember that the full Brando quote is 'I coulda been a contender' and then feel sad in the fact that this also applies to the Open. It was all 'coulda-beens' and 'shouda-beens.' Lead single, 'Close My Eyes' stalled just short of the Top 40 and since then its all been close calls for a group who missed the sales success their work deserves, whilst Cock Party and The Kaiser Shits (yes, both amausing names I made up myself) go on to glory and hit record recognition The Open stagnate and disappear...
So how would you react? Give up on the biz and everything you've aspired to after the whole 'will-we-get-signed-won't-we-get-signed' rigmoral, playing to half empty venues full of people who don't give a fuck... after suffering all that do you give up because your underapprciated masterpiece chalks up sales in single figures??? Or do you think 'fuck Top Of The Pops' and release a Jazz-influenced, middle-finger-salute-to-the-haircut-brigade-stormer of a sopohmore record that even you first pales next too? Guess which route The Open chose??
Straight from album opener 'Forever' a seven minute long epic comprising lost in the wilderness vocals, swirling atmospherics and howling saxophone, the listener knows they are onto something different. That this leads into a rousing three minute indie dancefloor mini anthem in 'We Can Never Say Goodbye' which pogos along at speed, engrossing, bewitching and uplifting despite its love at the end of the line lyrics. The stark opposition of these two tracks when contratsted with each other best sums up the ethos of Statues - its varied, idiosyncracies never allow the listener to become bored, always demanding attention and wonder with what will follow next.
That's not to say the group have completely abandoned every aspect of their sound, this is still recognisable a follow up to 'The Silent Hours', the scale of War-era U2 (you know, when they weren't COMPLETELY insufferable, just PRETTY insufferable), the etheral spaciness of Cocteau Twins and 'Spirit Of Eden' era Talk Talk still offer a welcome antidote to the Talking Heads/Wire/Gang Of Four fixation that the groups peers have, but newly instilled is a sense of spontaneity, a willingness to take their own ability to a higher level and to offer an artistic challenge to the concept of what the band are.
So, in short, a mesmerising triumph, a challenging, yet accessible record that probably won't get the group any new fans but will assure those who have already fell for this groups charms that they really are that far ahead of the rest of the crowd....

Score - 9/10 Excellent

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

GAME REVIEW: Full Auto [Xbox360)

Everything is about Guns nowadays. Even Gorillaz are singing about 'Kids With Guns' so it follows suit that Sega would want to take the idea one step further. And so it is we end up with Full Auto... or as most will see it, 'Cars With Guns.' Yes, 'Cars With Guns' that idea that so incensed Matt upon these very pages a few months back. So, does Full Auto enlist its gund to give us a brand new gaming experience or is it simply a go faster stripe for the turgid boredom that the Racing Sim usually is?

The story (yes, even racers have stories nowadays) sees you as a retired racer dragged back into the circuit by a mysterious group known only as 'The Shepards' to compete in a series of violent races. And thats about it. No one knows why, but at least its an excuse to blow stuff up - these are 'violent' races after all.

Sound wise the game is fine, with functional sound effects and in-game music, although this didn't stop SASIC slapping on some Aphex Twin from race to race. One complaint - the music returned to the in game sounds at the end of each race. Why? If SASIC puts Aphex on we want Aphex to STAY ON, just like it does in every other game.
Graphically too, the game is fine. Whilst not fully justifing its Next Gen tag, graphics are clear and nicely rendered and there are some very good lighting effects, particualrly from explosions. What the graphics do particularly well, however, is create a realistic background for you to drive through. The attention to detail is remarkable, lending a realistic weight you wouldn't expect in a game featuring cannons strapped to the roof of minis. What even better is the amount of damage that you can enforce upon the scenery (take not GTA, PGR etc.). From spilling rubbish bins to knocking over lamp posts everything is your plaything. Perhaps best is the amount of damage you can do on each building. During one race, SASIC pulled over to blast one building all the way to hell. Satisfingly out constant volley of bullets rendered noticebale damage to the buildings structure and gave a welcome reminder to our rampage of destruction (and had nothing to do we where last at the time.)

The guns serve a higher purpose than simply causing the local council problems though. Only through destruction can you fill your two powerr gauges. One gauge is for the standard boost function but the other is needed for your unwreck feature. 'Unwreck' feature I hear you ask? Well, esentially the same as the reverse metre from 'Prince Of Persia' this allows you to reverse for a few seconds (its limited to the amount in you metre, mind) every time you make a bit of a mess of your lap. Take a corner badly? Have another go! Fly straight into that explosion? Take a harder left on attempt two! Althought this does take some of the tension form the traditional 'I only get one shot at the perfect lap' racing, it does make achieving those X-Box achievements a lot less random and iritiating and adds a spark of originality to a largely staid genre.

It is, unfortunately, but undertandably, removed for the on-line mode which does make the game considerable less inticing online than offline. Not least because online suffers from some loss of framerate and lag which irritates (it is slightly evident offline, but not enough to be particuarly concerned) and this is hopefully something developers Pseudo Interactive will be mindful of in future releases. The on-line option is one of several in game modes which, although diverse enough, are, as with all racers, to be fair, just the same idea with a lick of paint. There is a healthy choice of sports cars and tracks to keep things interesting though.

So, Full Auto then. A nice addition to the XBOX360's early catalogue, which is more downright fun than PGR but not as technically adept or deep as the latter. Still, for a quick arcade gaming blast of FUN (yes, games are meant to be fun, remember) the XBOX360 offers nothing better at the moment. Worth a look.

Verdict - 7/10 Good