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Steve Strange and the Detroit Starrzz, Citrus Club, Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb 2012

Steve Strange and the Detroit Starrzz - Citrus Club, Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb 2012

Disappointing gig from the New Romantic

(2 stars)8 Feb 2012

When 80s tribute band, and tonight's support act Party Fears Three dedicate their bombastically unsubtle cover of David Bowie's 'Ashes To Ashes' to Steve Strange,…

Raydale Dower - Cryptic Nights at CCA, Glasgow, Thu 2 Feb 2012

Raydale Dower - Cryptic Nights at CCA, Glasgow, Thu 2 Feb 2012

Experimental but playful sound installation

(3 stars)8 Feb 2012

The title of Raydale Dower's new 'spatial sound composition' speaks volumes about the former Uncle John & Whitelock bassist and current Tut Vu Vu clarinettist and sonic architect's methodology.…

Electric Man

Electric Man

A patchy, if well intentioned, Edinburgh-set comic comedy

(3 stars)8 Feb 2012

(12A tbc) 98min Shot in Edinburgh on a micro-budget, comic shop comedy Electric Man declares its intentions from the off: this is to be no social realist kitchen sink drama, typical of the UK film industry, but rather a light-hearted love-letter to…

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

The starlet's debut album outshines the blogocentric hype

(4 stars)8 Feb 2012

(Polydor) Amid the conspiracy theories, the double-standards, the cosmetic surgery obsessions, the questions of authenticity (or lack thereof – like pop was ever without a scheme); amid the histrionic revelations (how dare she have tried before!…

Safe House

Safe House

Brutally slick but flawed action thriller starring Denzel Washtington and Ryan Reynolds

(3 stars)8 Feb 2012

(15) 115mins Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds make a formidable partnership in Daniel Espinosa's Safe House, a brutally slick, if flawed, action thriller.

Still Corners, Captain’s Rest, Sat 4 Feb

Still Corners, Captain’s Rest, Sat 4 Feb

Dreamy shoegaze five-piece tour recent album

(4 stars)8 Feb 2012

Still Corners had one heck of a 2011, playing SXSW, touring Europe and the US and releasing their debut LP, Creatures of an Hour, and the little basement of the Captain’s is full of people wondering if they can be as lovely live as they are on record.

Edinburgh's Bongo Club under threat of eviction

Edinburgh's Bongo Club eviction threat

The venue's lease to be terminated early by landlords Edinburgh Uni

7 Feb 2012

Out of the Blue, the charity organisation that runs Edinburgh venue The Bongo Club, has been served eviction papers by the venue's landlord, Edinburgh University. A statement on the Bongo Club's website said: 'This notice terminates the lease a whole…

Madonna announces Scottish date for July 2012

Madonna announces Scottish date for 2012

The Queen of Pop will visit Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on Sat 21 July

7 Feb 2012

Pop empress Madonna has just announced a world tour which will call in at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday 21 July. The 'Sticky & Sweet Tour' comes off the back of a busy period for Madge: she's just directed period/contemporary romance W.E.

GFF 2012 - Day planner

GFF 2012 - Day planner

Our highlights for each day of the Glasgow Film Festival

6 Feb 2012

It can be difficult, when any festival rolls around, to decide which events to skip in favour of others. Searching rigorously through the programme, referring back to the calendar, trying to fit in as much as possible - it's a painstaking piece of work…

Interview: RM Hubbert in his own words

Interview: RM Hubbert in his own words

The revered Glasgow guitarist explains how music brought him therapy

3 Feb 2012

Solo work and how it began 'I decided when my dad got ill I needed something to take my mind off things. So I decided kind of arbitrarily to learn flamenco guitar. I’d never played acoustics but I thought, "that looks really fucking hard". I don’t…

Sony's new handheld console, the PS Vita - playtest

Sony PS Vita handheld console - playtest

We try out the new hardware with some of the PSV launch titles, including WipeOut and Uncharted

3 Feb 2012

Sony’s new PS Vita is a pretty impressive bit of kit. It’s the most powerful dedicated handheld gaming device on the market. In practical terms it’s pretty much a PS3 in your pocket. The full HD OLED screen really pops and, due to the processing power…

Opinion: why a Sex and the City prequel sounds the death knell for Carrie Bradshaw and co

Why Sex and the City prequel sounds death knell for Carrie and co

Self-confessed fan bears the bad news of a prequel to the series

3 Feb 2012

List writer, and self-confessed Sex and the City fan, Lauren Mayberry bears the bad news of a prequel to the series The TV phenomenon that was Sex and the City was pronounced dead about halfway through film one, roughly at the part where Carrie’s…

Joost Swarte: Is That All There Is?

Joost Swarte: Is That All There Is?

Compendium of the Dutch cartoonist’s satirical alternative comics

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

Apparently so. Or almost so. Is That All There Is? collects virtually all of the Dutch cartoonist’s alternative comics from way back in 1972 to the present day, translates them into English and assembles them, under Swarte’s own supervision, in this…

Singles of the Month: Withered Hand and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

Singles of the Month: Withered Hand and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

Django Django, The Twilight Sad and more also reviewed

3 Feb 2012

Come hither and let us imagine a world, a perfect world – a realm in which Kim Wilde is engaged in a goth-disco tryst with The Sisters of Mercy. Think about it. Harder. Got it? Congratulations, you are now playing ‘Lafaye’ (●●●●, Full Time Hobby), the…

Valentine's Day - how to buy lingerie

Valentine's Day - How to buy lingerie

Don’t get your knickers in a knot - Scottish underwear experts provide expert advice

3 Feb 2012

‘When someone enters the store, and motions to one of the agents, “She’s about your size,” that’s the biggest no-no of all!’ says Jemma Hill, manager at Agent Provocateur in Glasgow. ‘If you’re too shy to ask your partner about sizes, look at the labels…

Glasgow Film Festival: Why I love Gene Kelly

Glasgow Film Festival: Why I love Gene Kelly

Miles Fielder makes a song and dance about the charismatic movie star

3 Feb 2012

For a film lover who hates musicals (this writer), the GFF’s Gene Kelly retrospective ought to be a hard sell. Telling stories through song and dance, Kelly’s forte (the latter of which endeavours earned him a special Oscar in 1951), is anathema to this…

Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire to close for refurbishment

Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire venue to close for refurbishment

Owners G1 promise 'a wholly new look' for club and music venue

3 Feb 2012

Veteran Edinburgh club venue Cabaret Voltaire is due to close for six weeks, from Mon 20 Feb–Sun 1 Apr. The club will be subject to a major refurbishment according to a statement released by G1 Group, who have owned the venue since July 2011: ‘A six…

Valentine's Day - where to take your date

Valentine's Day - where to take your date

Some seductive suggestions for what to do on or around February 14th

3 Feb 2012

Experience a May-December relationship ... or at least, vicariously experience someone else’s. Among the several films the Glasgow Film Theatre are screening to get you into the Valentines spirit on 14 Feb (including Brief Encounter and French…

Valentine's Day - where to buy your flowers

Valentine's Day - where to buy your flowers

Independent florists in both Edinburgh and Glasgow advise thinking beyond roses

3 Feb 2012

‘Red roses are absolutely the worst thing you can buy at Valentine’s time,’ says Esther Kuck, the florist behind The Wild Flower Shop in Portobello. ‘You can spend £70 on a dozen red roses, which is just mad. They probably won’t be good quality, and…

Hazy Recollections – O2 ABC2, Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan

Hazy Recollections – O2 ABC2, Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan

Electro-folk and French lullabies bring weepie and comedy moments

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

Celtic Connections’ Hazy Recollections sessions are great for two main reasons. Firstly, they provide a gathering place for the legion of those with beards and plaid shirts. Secondly, you get to see just how far the festival’s remit of ‘folk, roots and…

New Edinburgh restaurant The Mulroy brings a touch of country-house class to Edinburgh’s dining scene

New Edinburgh restaurant The Mulroy brings touch of country-house class

Chef Damien Rolain's menu favours locally-sourced, seasonal dishes

3 Feb 2012

Not far from Spean Bridge, the Battle of Mulroy between the MacDonalds and the Mackintoshes took place in 1688. With fresh tête-à-tête daffodils on the tables blooming harmoniously with muted yellow walls, an Edinburgh restaurant bearing the name of the…

The Unthanks, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Tue 24 Jan

The Unthanks, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Tue 24 Jan

Sisters deliver inventive tribute to Robert Wyatt and Antony Hegarty

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

This Celtic Connections show was the last planned outing for what Rachel Unthank, with inordinate modesty, refers to as ‘our self-indulgent experiment’ – that is, the Northumbrian folk collective’s double tribute to the songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony…

Ballet West: Swan Lake

Ballet West: Swan Lake

Production combining professional and students tours Scotland

3 Feb 2012

When you’ve left school and moved onto a new life, going back to where it all began could feel like a backward step. If the school in question is in a beautiful location – the Scottish Highlands – it starts to sound more appealing. Throw in a fantastic…

Henry Rollins – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Henry Rollins – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Prolific punk-rocker gets gut laughs on his three-hour rant

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

Few people can make a decent living out of talking on stage for two hours. Henry Rollins, on the other hand, has it down to a fine art. An honorary punk rock graduate having earned his stripes fronting S.O.A. and Black Flag in the 80s, and later, his…

Parent-and-toddler group Dads Rock provides a musical outlet for fathers and tots

Parent-and-toddler group Dads Rock provides a musical outlet for fathers and tots

Edinburgh playgroup for fathers and children aged 0-4

3 Feb 2012

Walk through the doors of any parent and toddler group in the land, and chances are most of the males in attendance will be wearing nappies. Such gatherings are notoriously female affairs (adult-wise at least), with the odd – and I mean occasional…