The Drop is a good example of how short stories and screenplays are different forms with different expectations and demands. Dennis Lehane, who writes the film, translates the material straightforwardly from his 2009 story ‘Animal Rescue’, producing a low-level Brooklyn crime drama which often feels both undernourished and padded. Director Michael R. Roskam impressed in 2011 with Bullhead, a Dutch-language feature about the animal hormone underworld in Belgium, and here he finds a similar, if less complex, story about day-to-day mob operations and the guarded, tense blue-collar men caught up in them. Bob (Tom Hardy) and Marv (the late James…
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One Strong Arm is a brand new letterpress studio that uses antique wooden and metal type settings to produce beautifully original prints. The new studio, based in Pimlico, Dublin, is the brainchild of Dave Darcy. For the launch of One Strong Arm, Dave teamed up with craftsman Mick Minogue to produce a set of prints that “merge the traditional with the contemporary, through typography and illustration”. The prints pay tribute to the opening lines of some famous works of literature – from the likes of Kafka to Hunter S. Thompson. ‘First Things First’ launched in the Irish Georgian Society last night sponsored…
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Techno is in a very different place from when Ali Wells, better known as Perc, started up his Perc Trax label with his own ‘Ice Cream for Kenton’ single. A solid 62 (thus far) 12”s later, a bunch of digital releases and a handful of albums later, here we are in 2014 where Perc Trax’s brand of blistering machine funk is in vogue to an extent not seen since the 90s. To celebrate a decade of the label’s existence we’re given two CDs; a compilation of new Perc Trax material from both label regulars (Perc, Truss, Forward Strategy Group) and…
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GO WEST! For this installment of Track Record we head to Galway to catch up with the delightful Anna McCarthy from garage pop quartet Dott. One things for certain, Anna sure likes her heft and she shares with us her ten favourite records, ranging from sludge metallers Kylesa to the classic riffage of our very own Thin Lizzy. Photos by Sean McCormack. My Bloody Valentine – MBV This was definitely worth the wait. Listening to My Bloody Valentine makes me feel like I’m wrapped in a fuzzy blanket and this came along just in time for when I really wanted a new…