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PlayStation 4 vs Xbox One
22 May 2013
We put Sony and Microsoft's next generation consoles head to head and see how they compare
Hardware When it comes to the CPU (central processing unit, essentially the heart of the machine), both consoles resemble a current mid-range PC. They’ve opted for 8-core x86 architecture from PC component manufacturer AMD which means developers will…
EP review - Garden of Elks, 'Extended Play'
22 May 2013
Noise pop/college rock debut from a Glasgow band, starting to grow antlers
Fuzzy, relentless and slathered in Pixies and Sonic Youth influences, 'Extended Play' is a frantic debut affair which announces Garden of Elks as a band with genuine promise. Billing themselves as a ‘noise pop’ outfit, GOE are worthy of a place…
The Moth Diaries
22 May 2013
Suspense-less boarding school vampire thriller starring Sarah Bolger, Sarah Gadon and Lily Cole
Arriving a week before Neil Jordan’s vampire tale Byzantium, you have to wonder if those releasing The Moth Diaries were hoping to steal a march on Jordan’s film. They needn’t have bothered. A pale shadow of Byzantium, it doesn’t even hold a candle to…
Epic
22 May 2013
A celebrity cast including Beyonce Knowles and Colin Farrell can't save this rather wet adventure
The title of the latest animated film from Ice Age and Rio creators Blue Sky Studios refers to the scale; although offering a sweeping story of huge armies, arduous journeys, lost princesses and aerial assaults, the action never travels beyond the…
Sparrow and the Workshop – Caves, Edinburgh, Thu 9 May 2013
22 May 2013
The alt.country/rock trio launch latest album Murderopolis with aplomb
There’s a party atmosphere to tonight’s gig at the Caves, the second of two launch parties for Sparrow and the Workshop’s new album, Murderopolis. Bunting and balloons festoon the stage; a bottle of whisky makes its way round the crowd; and both Sparrow…
eagleowl - The Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 10 May 2013
22 May 2013
It only took ten years, but eagleowl’s first album finally hatches
Despite being Edinburgh and UK gig-playing regulars for almost a decade now, this was the night they launched their debut LP This Silent Year, an evening that saw the Fence-signed sextet eagleowl beam in all their slowcore majesty. Well thought-out…
Traverse Theatre at 50: A history of the Scottish theatre institution
17 May 2013
A historical overview of the Edinburgh theatre that became the home of new writing
You can expect a bombardment of birthday celebrations this October when the National Theatre turns 50. But before London’s luvvies go wild, there’s another new-minted quinquagenarian closer to home worth championing: Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre. Yes…
Director Neil Jordan and actor Gemma Arterton talk vampire feminism in Byzantium
17 May 2013
The thriller is 'a continuation' of Jordan's earlier Interview with the Vampire
‘There have been too many vampire films lately,’ laughs Neil Jordan, perched on a chair in London’s Soho Hotel. You might say the director of Interview With the Vampire only has himself to blame. Without his 1994 take on Anne Rice’s novel, starring Tom…
Interview: Camera Obscura set for Rockness 2013
17 May 2013
Glasgow band whose recent history takes US recording sessions, cancer and pregnancy
‘It’s the ultimate test,’ begins Camera Obscura singer and songwriter Tracyanne Campbell, in describing how the band assessed the roadworthiness (literally) of new album Desire Lines. ‘The studio intern Michael had this crappy little car. Every time we…
Scottish festivals 2013 - An A-Z of the best summer festivals
17 May 2013
The best festivals of music, film, food, cycling and more taking place in Scotland 2013
When it comes to festivals, Scotland really doesn’t hold back. From Orkney to Byres Road, muddy fields to stately homes, the growing number of them cater to all tastes, styles and budgets. Our A-Z guide profiles Scotland’s best summer jamborees, the…
Opinion: does the Royal Lyceum's new season display a gender bias?
17 May 2013
Critic Hannah McGill takes a look at the theatre's 2013 programme and finds it lacking
Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, Scotland’s largest producing theatre, just announced its 2013–14 programme. Artistic Director Mark Thomson is proud to have mounted ‘in tough times… a season of work that celebrates the inspiration of great thinkers…
The best European music festivals you've never heard of
17 May 2013
Featuring Electric Elephant, Unsound, Oya and Sunsplash
1 All Tomorrow’s Parties Iceland Sadly coming to an end in the UK, hipster holiday camp hideaway ATP is once more branching out overseas, starting with this weekender on an ex-NATO air base starring Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Fall, Deerhoof and…
Misadventures in Wonderland: Rock'n'Roll Ping Pong
17 May 2013
Our intrepid columnist Alice tells us what she learned at Bongo Club's table tennis club night
1. I’m not entirely negative. Before all my previous challenges for this column, I’ve been a real dick about it. I don’t know if it was the vast amount of attention I was getting from telling people that I was going to an amateur ping pong night in the…
The newly-opened Blackfriars does justice to the memory of Black Bo's
17 May 2013
The new restaurant is established on the site of the hip, arty and vegetarian institution
Don’t be misled by the blue Bo’s sign still hanging over the front door – you’re in the right place. The new Blackfriars, you see, has history. Co-owner and chef Andrew Macdonald, former sous chef at Restaurant Martin Wishart, was an art student before…
Profile: Olivier Assayas, director of Something in the Air
17 May 2013
The writer-director specialises in period pieces that don't slide into nostalgia
Born 1955, Paris Background The son of a screenwriter father and a painter mother, Assayas worked as a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma, before making his directorial debut in 1986 with Disorder. A writer-director with an impressive ability to work…
Traverse Theatre at 50: Upcoming playwrights from Scotland to watch
17 May 2013
Upcoming writers Drew Taylor, Kris Haddow, Michael O’Neill, Molly Innes and Sylvia Dow
When the Trav called out for new playwrights to become part of the Traverse 50, they received over six hundred applications. Staging fifty short plays by way of an introduction to the winners, they selected writers from across Scotland and beyond…
Fast & Furious 6
17 May 2013
If you like your stunts outrageous and your plot soapy and undemanding, this won't disappoint
For a franchise with simple tastes – gleaming cars, well-oiled muscles and bikini babes – the Fast & Furious series has always been ultra-willing to re-tune its engines. This time, we’re in London – a first – and the gang, led by Vin Diesel’s Dom…
Matias Aguayo set for Electric Frog 2013 set
17 May 2013
DJ and producer whose live sets make use his voice as singing and percussive instrument
‘Travelling to different countries and meeting people who speak other languages and have different codes of behaviour, has made me more flexible in the way I communicate and act towards others; I think this is somehow, unintentionally reflected in the…
The Stoker (Kochegar)
17 May 2013
A stange, dark and clever Russian black comedy with an unexpectedly forceful moral message
Edinburgh’s beloved Filmhouse cinema has chosen an unusual and intriguing curio for its first release as a distributor. Directed by the prolific Alexey Balabanov - known for his unflinching but darkly comic fables of the Russian criminal underworld…
The Iceman
17 May 2013
Impressive mafia-themed dramatic thriller starring Michael Shannon, James Franco and Ray Liotta
Is there no film Michael Shannon doesn’t excel in? Here the star of Take Shelter plays real-life New Jersey hitman Richard Kuklinski, who – upon his arrest in 1986 – is thought to have committed over 100 assassinations. Directed by Israeli-born…
The Henderson’s 50/50 Food Festival puts an emphasis on family-friendly good food
17 May 2013
The vegetarian restaurant celebrates good, healthy eating in this 50-day food extravaganza
Information on healthy living comes at us from all quarters today, but when these two cuties were growing up there was only one person they needed to look to for advice – their mum. For Oliver and Catherine Henderson, having food pioneer Janet…
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone
17 May 2013
Shane Meadows' rockumentary fails to satisfy either as a concert film or fly-on-the-wall doc
To borrow from an old Stone Roses B-side, the Mancunian band’s much-hyped reunion may well have been ‘what the world is waiting for’, though it’s hard to claim the same for this accompanying Shane Meadows-directed documentary. The director of Dead Man’s…
Five reasons to head to the Southside Film Festival
17 May 2013
The Glasgow film fest does a great line in Scottish films and site-specific screenings
You can discover forgotten former cinemas Glasgow’s Southside may be lacking in cinemas today but that hasn’t always been the case. Take a meander around the area’s architecturally-diverse former picturehouses on a walking tour with the knowledgeable…
T-Break stage line-up announced for T in the Park 2013
17 May 2013
Upcoming bands selected include Machines in Heaven, Honeyblood and Hector Bizerk
Time for the reveal. The annual announcement of the unsigned Scottish bands chosen to play at T in the Park went out this morning. Not unlike the official T line-up on the main stages, which this year covers old and new US hip hop, synth-melting…
The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish
17 May 2013
The theatre production, adapted from Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's book, is performed with gusto
Sitting in a dark room and keeping quiet for an hour isn’t for everyone – especially if you’re under ten. Promenade theatre solves that problem, with movement actively encouraged and the odd noise generally tolerated. So on that front, The Day I…
