• The Accountant

    November 21, 2016 - By 

    If there was an award for the most ludicrous film of the year, then Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant would surely win, hands down. But there is a certain, self-aware charm to the film that has grown on me like a virus, as there is no doubt that the director is having fun when the main protagonist is basically an autistic Batman – minus the suit – who works as a gifted accountant while having a knack for killing people. And he partakes in the practice of killing rather a lot… The Accountant tells the story of a mysterious man with…

  • A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service

    November 18, 2016 - By 

    While Bowie’s Blackstar is no doubt the most important musical epilogue of 2016, A Tribe Called Quest’s final chapter, featuring the sadly departed Phife Dawg, is a minor triumph in itself. The group have a legacy in hip-hop like few others: their one-two of landmark records, 1991’s The Low End Theory and 1993’s Midnight Marauders, are as close to perfection as the genre gets. Arriving when rap was dominated by Dr Dre led West Coast gangsta rap, NYC’s Tribe rejected the violent posturing and casual misogyny of the former while paying homage to the more abstract, arty influences that informed…

  • Dinosaur Jr @ Vicar Street, Dublin

    November 21, 2016 - By 

    Not least since their much-heralded 2005 reunion, Dinosaur Jr shows have always been something of a foregone conclusion in that the following facts will almost always hold sway throughout: it will be “should-really-have-brought-earplugs” loud; the band probably won’t verbally interact with each other and – perhaps most assured of all – those who kneel at the altar of J Mascis will spend the entire mass show gawking at the frontman, agog, often open-mouthed and expectant of the next face-melting solo. Having had its doors darkened by many a revered figure this year, Dublin’s Vicar Street is no exception to that trifecta tonight.…

  • Meltybrains? – Kiss Yourself

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    Meltybrains? have been a staple on the live circuit in Ireland for a few years now, gaining a cult following through their Dadaist stage show and irreverent sense of humour. While marrying a post-rock base with a mix of styles on top hasn’t necessarily made for the most compelling of musical statement in their previous recorded works,  Their latest EP Kiss Yourself looks to make amends and move the band forward artistically. Opener ‘Know My Name’ opens with auto-tuned vocals over synth before settling down into the Melty’s now signature sound. It’s a track that promises a lot but that…

  • Douglas Dare – Aforger

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    Whelm, the 2014 debut album by London-based songwriter Douglas Dare, was a bold opening statement. It was held together by Dare’s powerful voice in spite of its musical idiosyncrasies; a voice that was immediately striking in its delivery and cadences, but which later revealed a fragility that suggested it was the tenor of a man in emotional distress. He has always written from a personal place, but his second album, Aforger, amplifies that to the nth degree. It’s an album in which the music is complex (almost to a self-conscious degree) and whose lyrics speak of deep personal strife; a struggle against…

  • Robocobra Quartet – Music for all Occasions

    November 15, 2016 - By 

    Take some seedy post-punk jazzy brass, heavy anchored basslines, sporadic nuanced drum fills, and the expressive vocal stylings of the beat generation’s slam poets and you’re left with a vaguely accurate depiction of Belfast’s own Robocobra Quartet. Music for all Occasions is a fascinatingly fierce attack on the Irish music scene. The nine track collection is refreshingly ambitious and entirely bold throughout, with wandering variations of song length, style, and approach. It’s a very complete record designed to be listened to and appreciated from beginning to end. Lead single ‘Correct’ opens the record and immediately sets the tone for everything…

  • Owlboy (PC)

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    In many ways, Owlboy isn’t a game about success, it’s a game about those little failures which define everyday life. It’s the story of Otus, a plucky apprentice owl who is mute and from the get go, not very good at doing his job. The Owls are bird-human hybrids that guard a world of floating sky islands from sky pirates and other trouble, but as we see in the opening of the game, Otus isn’t exactly cut out for all this malarkey. He can’t fly very well, and he makes stupid mistakes. The kind of mistakes we’re all prone to,…

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition (Bethesda, Multiformat)

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    Traversing a vast, beautiful terrain. Investigating ancient ruins, abandoned mines, towers, oubliettes and outposts. Crafting spells, recipes and potions. Renting a room in a remote hilltop inn. Becoming a vampire. Becoming a werewolf. Becoming a thief and an expert pickpocket. Joining a school of wizards. Being inducted into a sacred order of magical monks. Spelunking in subterranean caverns. Buying a house and filling it with whatever random kipple you desire. Buying a castle and doing the same. Getting married. Buying, selling, trading and stealing. Learning the art of blacksmithing. Hunting down a headless horseman. Fighting dragons. Taming dragons. Riding on…

  • Arrival

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    Most people may not know the name yet, but they soon will. Denis Villeneuve, with films like Prisoners, Enemy and Sicario, has quickly established himself as one of the most gifted visual storytellers working today – this generation’s Ridley Scott. Ironically enough, he will step into Scott’s shoes next year as the director of a new Blade Runner movie. His latest film, Arrival, tells the story of first contact between humans and an unknown alien race, offering Villeneuve a dry run at the sci-fi genre and blockbuster filmmaking on a whole other scale, although Arrival is much more than just…

  • Irish Tour: Ash

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    Downpatrick alt-rock legends Ash performing as part of their 1977 anniversary tour at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre and Belfast’s Mandela Hall. Photos by Moira Reilly and Alan Maguire, words by Justin McDaid. The Olympia Theatre, Dublin Photos: Moira Reilly 1977, now, just seems like one of those albums that slots into the drawer in the mental filing cabinet marked ‘halcyon days’. It’s hard to believe that Ash’s debut album proper is a spritely twenty years old – not much older than Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray were when they released it; ignited by the roar of a TIE Fighter and…