Articles

Bombay Beach

Half real, half dream-like American documentary from director Alma Har'el

23 Jan 2012

(Cert tbc) 80min There was a time when documentary at least generally gave the impression of being a medium distinct from fiction, where various movements (Direct Cinema, cinema verité) put their faith in the relative objectivity of the image, as…

The Woman In Black

Daniel Radcliffe's first post-Potter film lacks the requisite scares for a classic ghost story

23 Jan 2012

(12A) 95mins Susan Hill’s Victorian ghost story has been terrifying theatre audiences for the best part of twenty-five years, second only to The Mousetrap as the longest running show in the history of London’s West End. It has already been…

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

This Tom Hanks-starring adaptation of the 9/11-themed bestseller lacks poignancy

23 Jan 2012

(12A) 129mins Are the memories of the 9/11 attacks now distant enough to justify their use at the heart of a personal tale of loss and grief? Stephen Daldry’s beautifully crafted adaptation of the Jonathan Safran Foer bestseller leaves the question…

The Woman In The Fifth

Elegant but baffling Paris-set drama starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas

23 Jan 2012

(15) 85mins Hollywood studios are often derided for making simplistic dramas that feel obliged to spell everything out. The Woman In The Fifth errs in the opposite direction, leaving bewildered viewers scratching their heads and trying to figure out…

Man on a Ledge

Well paced, high concept thriller starring Sam Worthington, Jamie Bell and Elizabeth Banks

23 Jan 2012

(12A) 102mins Sam Worthington’s latest is an occasionally tense but mostly silly thriller that at least realises its own absurdities. The Hollywood debut of former documentary filmmaker Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cité Soleil), the film follows a…

Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

Buoyant, but lacking dynamics that made last year’s album instantly spine chilling

23 Jan 2012

(Southern Lord) The follow up to last year’s Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I surveys the same improvised and stripped down hinterlands of its predecessor, reviving their string section in favour of the amplified nature of their previous…

Die Hard - Die Hard

Glasgow outfit's eponymous debut of magnificently off-kilter, avant pop tales

23 Jan 2012

(Halleluwah Hits) If this Glasgow outfit had named themselves after any other Bruce Willis film we’d have issues, but as it is we’re rather partial to a bit of John McClane action so we’re giving Die Hard a go. Stick their eponymous debut on and…

The Ting Tings - Sounds From Nowheresville

Second album a mixed bag containing glimpses of what makes them fun

23 Jan 2012

(Columbia) Pity the poor Ting Tings. After selling millions of records, the Mancunian electro-pop duo got stressed, scrapped a whole album and hid from their record label. Allegedly. You can see why the pair might worry about following We Started…

Lambchop - Mr M

Reassembled band present lovely low-key set recalling Sinatra, Bacharach and crooners

23 Jan 2012

(City Slang) Having taken a break from the long-lasting alt.country outfit (to collaborate with singer Cortney Tidwell on 2010’s KORT project), Lambchop founder and frontman Kurt Wagner has reassembled the Nashville-based band to make its 11th…

The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know

Influence of post-punk and synthesisers lends more heart-shredding, austere edge

23 Jan 2012

(FatCat) Bearing the uncertain honour of an ‘anti-production’ credit from Andrew Weatherall (it means general pre-recording guidance, it seems), this second album from The Twilight Sad is a surprising and substantial progression. The washes of epic…

Best of 2011: Scottish food producers

The brewers, smokehouses, bakers and cheesemakers on the rise

20 Jan 2012

2011 wasn’t a fun year for small business but food and drink in Scotland continued to make advances with impressive new products, new producers, new markets, growing food festivals, and an increased awareness of the value and importance of local food…

Glasgow Film Festival 2012 programme announced

Highlights include Your Sister's Sister, The Muppets and Tom Twyker's 3

19 Jan 2012

The programme for the Glasgow Film Festival 2012 was launched today, providing details of the films and events taking place in Cinema City during February. The main branch of the Festival takes place from Thu 16–Sun 26 Feb, and starts off with a gala…

The Artist leads nominations for 2012 BAFTAs

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hugo and My Week With Marilyn also nominated

17 Jan 2012

The 2012 BAFTA nominations have been announced, with Michel Hazanavicius' silent film The Artist leading the way with 12 nominations. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hugo and My Week with Marilyn have also scored nominations in several categories, with Tomas…

Opinion - The 2012 BAFTA nominations

Scorsese, Streep, Tintin and The Artist all nominated - but do they deserve it?

17 Jan 2012

The announcement of any film awards nominations list is guaranteed to stir up debate about which films are missing, which are undeserving of their placement, and most of all, who's most likely to win. The 2012 BAFTA nominations list has all that, plus…

Interview: Felicity Jones, star of Like Crazy

Young actress set to follow Sundance hit with films by Warren Beatty and Ralph Fiennes

17 Jan 2012

A year ago, Felicity Jones was asleep when she got a call from America. ‘I thought there’d been a terrible accident,’ she laughs. But this was no accident. On the line was the producer of her new film Like Crazy: the Sundance Film Festival had just…

John Burnside wins 2011 TS Eliot Prize poetry prize

Scottish poet wins second high-profile literary prize in four months

17 Jan 2012

Scottish poet John Burnside has been named the winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize poetry prize just four months after being awarded the Forward prize for poetry. His 12th collection, Black Cat Bone, was announced as the winner of the £15,000 prize on…

Collection of writer George Mackay Brown donated to Orkney library

Papers, drafts and notebooks from poet and author to be catalogued

17 Jan 2012

A private collection work from Scottish author George Mackay Brown, has been permanently loaned to the Orkney Library and Archive. Coming from the home of the writer's former literary executive, Archie Bevan, in Stromness, the first instalment of around…

Thurston Moore - The Arches, Glasgow, Mon 28 Nov 2011

Captivating picture of solo artistic triumphs from Sonic Youth frontman

17 Jan 2012

You split from your wife of nearly thirty years, who not only is the mother of your child but is also responsible, along with you and some other talented friends, for creating one of the most important musical legacies in modern music – you’re gonna be…

Every Time I Die - King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 7 Dec 2011

Relentless stream of three-minute blitzkrieg salvos

17 Jan 2012

King Tut’s is sold out tonight, and rightly so. US noiseniks Every Time I Die are one of the most engaging bands in the broad church of metal, preaching their inimitable brand of plunging rock ‘n’ roll since way back then in 1998. Trash Talk do a good…

Michael Jackson project based on poems of Robert Burns

Recordings of co-written songs may emerge, says producer David Gest

16 Jan 2012

The Robert Burns' Birthplace Museum is in talks about receiving a copy of songs co-written with Michael Jackson that are based on Burns' poems. Music producer David Gest visited the museum in Ayrshire in December as part of a programme being filmed…

Search for those involved in Glasgow-shot 1980 film Death Watch

Bertrand Tavernier's reality TV film set for 2012 Glasgow Film Festival

16 Jan 2012

Glasgow Film Festival are appealing for anyone who worked on Bertrand Tavernier's film Death Watch in 1979 to get in touch before it is screened in February. Death Watch was filmed in Glasgow in 1979 and will be shown in cinemas nationwide this…

Whole Foods Market opens in Glasgow

A trolley-tour round Glasgow's popular new ethical food outlet

13 Jan 2012

You have to hand it to the Americans – they certainly know how to create an impressive supermarket. The opening of Whole Foods Market in Giffnock has had foodies, healthy eaters and ethical shoppers from Glasgow (not to mention resentful Edinburghers…

Janice Galloway biopic set for production in association Andrea Gibb and BBC

Adaptation of author's books This Is Not About Me and All Made Up

13 Jan 2012

A Glasgow-based production company has teamed up with scriptwriter Andrea Gibb to create a biopic of Scottish novelist Janice Galloway. The BBC commissioned the project in December and the first drafts of the screenplay are being written with a view…

Interview: Frankie Boyle

Scottish comedian on taboos, comedians, sectarianism and cancer

9 Jan 2012

In an exclusive Scottish interview Frankie Boyle sounds off on taboos, sectarianism and the tabloids. The following are his own views in his own words. If you don’t like swearing, controversial comedy, or have been offended by him previously, look away…

Preview of 2012 - Games

A look at the videogames that'll rule your world this year, including GTA V, Halo 4 and Max Payne 3

9 Jan 2012

First off the biggie: Grand Theft Auto V. We’ve seen the trailer and it looks like we’re back in Los Angeles, sorry Los Santos, for the latest instalment of the world conquering videogame developed by Edinburgh’s own Rockstar North. The shoot outs, car…

Chris Duncan of Sub Club discusses plans for the venue's 25th anniversary

9 Jan 2012

You’ll probably be hearing a lot more about this as the year progresses, but it doesn’t do any harm to draw your attention to two anniversaries happening in Glasgow in 2012 – one big and one absolutely enormous, and both under the same roof. This is the…

Danny 'DJ Danny' Robins on Adam Ant, Lil Kim and 'Ice, Ice Baby'

The character comedian divulges his eclectic musical secrets

9 Jan 2012

First record you ever bought Adam Ant – 'Prince Charming'. I was precociously young to buy a record and dressed up like him to listen to it. Last extravagant purchase you made A large kebab. It was the size of a man’s arm. I almost lost…

The best restaurants in Edinburgh and Glasgow for cheap eating in January

Dining out options that won't break the bank

9 Jan 2012

EDINBURGH The Mosque Kitchen Now relocated from its former al fresco spot outside Edinburgh’s mosque, the café-style Mosque Kitchen still serves a fine range of halal meat and vegetable curries in no-fuss polystyrene dishes for under £5 including…

New Year Travel: Escape to Europe

Accommodation offers in Berlin, Rome, Instanbul and Prague

9 Jan 2012

If travelling more is one of your new year’s resolutions check out the HostelBookers.com January Sale. There are offers of accommodation with up to 50% off, making it the perfect time to embark on a European city break to give your 2012 a…

Preview of 2012 - The best events this year

Featuring the Cultural Olympiad, The Dark Knight Rises, WU LYF, Glasgow International and more

9 Jan 2012

It’s 2012, but fear not, things aren’t as bad as they seem. Before you decide to occupy government property, or smash a brick through Dixons, take heart in the folklore of a simpler age. For when times are black, you can always rely on the comfort of…

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery want your children to become Portrait Detectives

New events to get kids interested in the refurbished Gallery

9 Jan 2012

Under wraps for the past two and a half years, the newly re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery cuts quite a dash. But for younger visitors, the wow factor generated by a £17 million spend can be hard to see. Which is why events like Portrait…

In Process and Great Debates

The Scottish Writers’ Centre's events are keeping the country's literary talent in the spotlight

9 Jan 2012

When it comes to getting the literary community ablaze with conversation or putting scribes under the microscope, the Scottish Writers’ Centre seem to have it down to a fine art just now. In Process is their monthly series of events in which a writer…

Round-up of 2011: Comedy

Tim Key, Tommy Tiernan, Stephen Merchant, Luke Wright and Jerry Sadowitz make our laugh-list

9 Jan 2012

Tim Key Having netted Edinburgh’s big fat award for comedy in 2009, the former Coward blasted back in August with an absolute corker of a show. Masterslut was a masterclass of interactive improv raised to glorious levels by the most memorable use of a…

Neighbourhood Watch: Broughton Street, Edinburgh

A guide to Edinburgh's hip gay hub

9 Jan 2012

What’s it like? A street full of bars, restaurants and delightful eateries nestled underneath old tenement flats. Ideal for stuffing your face full of food and hitting a pub with friends just a stone’s throw from the centre of the city. Where’s it…

Interview: Noel Fielding of Mighty Boosh on new sketch show Luxury Comedy

New sketch show explores the comedian's surreal subconscious

6 Jan 2012

Noel Fielding arrives at the Groucho Club in Soho wearing his favourite cape. It’s black with red details – very Ripper chic – and when he sits down, it balloons over the sides of his armchair. By the time the comedian and Never Mind the Buzzcocks…

Preview of 2012 - Emeli Sandé

The Scottish chart-topper aims to release a hit album in 2012

6 Jan 2012

Whenever Emeli Sandé gets a chance to stop and think, she says, the journey she’s already been on in her life still has her pinching herself. ‘To think that three years ago I was sitting in a lecture theatre in Glasgow learning about anatomy,’ she says…

Interview: Isy Suttie on tea, Technotronic and Ice, Ice, Baby

Stand up comedian, actress, writer and musician

6 Jan 2012

First record you ever bought. ‘This Beat is Technotronic’ by Technotronic. Last extravagant purchase you made My Martin three-quarter-size guitar. First film you saw that really moved you Manhattan. Last lie you told I told the postman…

Preview of 2012 - King Lear

New Citizens Theatre boss Dominic Hill brushes up his Shakespeare

6 Jan 2012

Take on the Citizens Theatre and you take on the past. Any artistic director of the Glasgow institution can only be aware of the building’s history. Opened as the Royal Princess’s Theatre in 1848, it became home to James Bridie’s Citizens’ company in…

Preview of 2012 - Brave

Pixar’s highland fling has a lot of heart

6 Jan 2012

After dropping the ball with Cars 2 last summer – the only one of their 12 feature-length releases so far to have been deemed a bit lacklustre – the award-winning animation house will be looking to score big again with Brave. Set in the misty and…

Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier to play Celtic Connections 2012

Material from Sadier's solo album The Trip, plus Stereolab songs

6 Jan 2012

In 2009, when Stereolab announced plans to go on indefinite hiatus, the group’s spectral-voiced singer Laetitia Sadier prepared for a life away from making music. Her other project, the pop quintet Monade, closed for business the same year. Suddenly…

Five picks from Celtic Connections 2012

Featuring Zoe Muth, Jack Bruce, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins and Vieux Farka Touré

6 Jan 2012

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers The year in Americana 2011 belongs to Gillian Welch and the release of her album The Harrow & the Harvest, but amongst a promising field of young female country singers, Zoe Muth stands out. With her ear for an instant…

Preview of 2012 - Errors

Rock Action's math-rock heroes return home

6 Jan 2012

The Glasgow band have been reduced from four to three as their guitarist has left to become a full-time dentist (leaving Steev Livingstone to get to grips with his six string again). Yet, despite this setback new album Have Some Faith in Magic (Rock…

RM Hubbert launches album Thirteen Lost & Found with friends

Aidan Moffat, Alex Kapranos and more to join in at Stereo show

6 Jan 2012

RM Hubbert’s debut album First & Last was more than just an instrumental record by a talented Glaswegian guitarist. Far from a commercial stepping-stone, the record was rather the result of Hubbert’s attempts to document a tumultuous three-year period…

Four List readers share their New Year's resolutions

An insight into getting started in trapeze, cookery, ballet or capoeira

6 Jan 2012

'The feeling of achievement is amazing' Name Denise Deutsch Age 30 Profession Fabric buyer, Mandors Skill Trapeze and Aerial Arts I fell into the idea of aerial arts as a hobby after unexpectedly getting a ticket to see Leona Lewis perform in…

With Burns Night looming, we ask what makes Rabbie relevant today

Author Allan Wilson and academic Gerard Carruthers on Bard's legacy

6 Jan 2012

The Academic: Gerard Caruthers Notoriously, Jeremy Paxman claimed that Robert Burns was a writer of doggerel. The Scottish poet may have written the odd bad line or even bad poem, but, at his best, he was a producer of great poetry and arguably his…

Glasgow boutique Made in the Shade prepares to move to London

Carrie Maclennan and Clare Nicolson on expanding their horizons

6 Jan 2012

Bad news for all Glaswegians who can’t get through the week without buying a quirky new tote bag. The Made in the Shade Maisonette, the spiritual home of the vintage fabric stuffed bird and curly moustache keyring, is closing its doors. Owners Carrie…

Friendly Fires - Barrowland, Glasgow, Tue 20 Dec 2011

Triumphant end of year show from the St Albans indie-ravers

6 Jan 2012

2011 didn’t quite belong to Friendly Fires, as some had predicted it might, but they owned significant parts of it off the back of their euphoric second album Pala – not least the flying feet and skyward waving arms of a few summer festival crowds. The…

Artist Matthew Darbyshire set for new Tramway show

London artists draws inspiration from Charles Rennie Mackintosh

6 Jan 2012

The distinctive art nouveau style of artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh has become synonymous with Glasgow. Lauded for his elegant design of the art school, and the organic allure of his decorative works, his influence now reaches well beyond his artistic…

Preview of 2012 - Fascinating Mummies

Exhibition of Egyptian death rituals and paraphenalia

6 Jan 2012

If, by any chance, you happened to be in Edinburgh in 1988, and at school, there was a very good chance you went on a trip to see the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition at the City Art Centre. It was a big deal, up there with the Glasgow Garden Festival in…

Burns Night 2012: Glasgow and Edinburgh highlights

6 Jan 2012

Edinburgh gets its bard celebrations off to an impressive (and prompt) start with Burnsfest at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in association with Scotland’s Winter Festivals (17–28 Jan, times vary). From a ceilidh in the café to performances of the…

M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming combines ambient roots with pop sensibilities

We reassess the albumprior to Frenchman's upcoming UK tour

6 Jan 2012

The Associates’ Alan Rankine once opined that the best way to make an album is to ‘start with a climax, then go further.’ It’s a maxim that Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez – an Antibes-born, LA-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with an idiosyncratic…

Author and satirist Nick Revell on coming back to comedy

The prominent 80s comic has several dates lined up at The Stand

6 Jan 2012

As one of the original voices from the 1980s Comedy Store era, Nick Revell has been round a block or two. Having earned a Perrier nomination in 1987, his stand-up career seemed to be flying, but in 1992 he decided to have a break and concentrate on…

Playwright Peter Arnott discusses The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Arnott and Vox Motus to resurrect the 19th century American spiritualists

6 Jan 2012

This new show from playwright Peter Arnott and Vox Motus promises to be part Dickens, part Derren Brown. It focuses on real-life American magicians William and Ira Davenport, who in the 1860s were a central part of the spiritualist movement, which first…

Opinion: MSP Joan McAlpine on same sex marriage

The need for equal marriage rights for Scotland's same-sex couples

6 Jan 2012

The introduction of civil partnerships in 2004 meant many people believe we already have gay marriage. Lots of us have celebrated the union of gay friends and family. Thirty years ago, few gay people were allowed to be open about their sexuality. Thank…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy to play Celtic Connections set

Some facts you may not know about Will Oldham's alterego

6 Jan 2012

1. This will be first Scottish performance in over five years The music of Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) has haunted independent music for over two decades now, through various monikers (Palace Music, Palace Brothers, Palace Songs to name a…

Errors - Have Some Faith In Magic

Superb third album that should push the foursome out of Mogwai's shadow

6 Jan 2012

(Rock Action) Lazily regarded as Mogwai-lite for most of their seven year existence, Errors’ third offering finally sees the Glasgow foursome shrug off the shackles of their legendary label founders’ early patronage. Anyone with half a brain could…

The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon discusses theatre production Swallows and Amazons

The musical is to be directed by War Horse's Tom Morris

6 Jan 2012

‘I don’t think of myself as much of a collaborator...’ muses Neil Hannon. A chuckle follows, the irony of his statement kicking in. When he’s not being frontman to The Divine Comedy, the Northern Irish pop star has written music for Father Ted and…

Meanwhile, It's Will and Greg

Will Andrews and Greg McHugh revive their Ugly Kid sketch talents for radio

6 Jan 2012

On first hearing that Will Andrews and Greg McHugh have collaborated for sketch work under the moniker of Will & Greg, the cynical might believe this to be a forced pairing simply to fulfil a US TV show pun. Reflect on this, cynics: the duo’s working…

Preview of 2012 - Millennium Trilogy comics

Scottish crime author Denise Mina adapts Stieg Larsson’s bestselling classics

6 Jan 2012

There’s not a lot left to say about Stieg Larsson. The three homegrown film adaptations of the late Swedish author’s novels – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – along with David…

Eat, sleep and breathe with Fránçois from Fránçois & the Atlas Mountains

A questionnaire about food and the touring musician

6 Jan 2012

Fránçois Marry is fuelled by a combination of herbal tea, techno, chocolate and Cognac – in varying quantities, depending on where the tour van is stopping that day... What time is breakfast? 7am at the hotel before a long drive. Tea or…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Nuala Kennedy

The flautist and singer takes to the stage with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie this month

6 Jan 2012

What time is breakfast? Whenever hunger strikes. Tea or coffee? Always tea! Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking. Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury van-snacks: I have a minor addiction to those cheese puffs crisps. Wotsits or Cheetos…

Malcolm Middleton - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Wed 14 Dec

The ex-Arab Strap man isn't as miserable as he makes out

6 Jan 2012

What better way to celebrate Christmas than with Mr Season of Goodwill himself, Malcolm Middleton, the man whose campaign to get ‘We’re All Going to Die’ to the 2007 Christmas number one spot will live long in the hearts of those who believed in it.

Exposure: Dead Boy Robotics

Edinburgh's avant synth-pop outfit, who released their self-titled debut album in November on Tape

6 Jan 2012

The name Dead Boy Robotics must be an obscenely cool reference to an obscure sci-fi tome, right? No, they came up with the name all by themselves. It fits pretty well as it happens; they describe their sound as an amalgam of ‘laptop bleeps, synth…

Preview of 2012 - Martin Creed: All the Bells

Turner Prize winner invites Brits to ring in the Olympics

6 Jan 2012

Controversial he may be but conceptual artist Martin Creed has always been brutally honest with the paying public. His most famous work to date, Work No. 227: the lights going on and off, did exactly what it said on the tin and helped the Glasgow-raised…

The View - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Mon 19 Dec

Raucous, lager-soaked rock'n'roll show

6 Jan 2012

Being partial to the occasional shandy, it pained The List to witness the mass lager sacrifice that occurred at the ABC this night – nary a punter was spared a shower of the gods’ amber nectar as high-spirited young souls sent pint after pint looping…

Scottish Ballet - Sleeping Beauty

Dynamic and opulent restaging of Ashley Page's 2007 hit

6 Jan 2012

Choreographed by Ashley Page in 2007, as part of a triumvirate of winter ballets he has made with designer Antony McDonald, Sleeping Beauty is opulence itself. Opening in a Victorian hothouse, the guests at Princess Aurora’s christening are lavishly…

The Saturdays - SECC, Glasgow, Tue 13 Dec

Polished pop performance that felt lacking in soul

6 Jan 2012

With Little Mix winning this year’s X-Factor, you would think the positively elderly Saturdays (average age: 24) would be showing signs of abject desperation not to lose their crown as the current biggest UK girl group not in semi-retirement. But no...

Curry institution Khushi's re-opens in new location in Edinburgh

6 Jan 2012

When Khushi’s was engulfed in fire just before Christmas 2008, you might have been forgiven for speculating if it had flown just a bit too close to the sun. In a few years the restaurant had shifted from being an old-fashioned curry café on Drummond…

Kid Canaveral’s Christmas Baubles II - Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 17 Dec 2011

Josie Long, eagleowl and more join in Kid Canaveral's annual shindig

6 Jan 2012

The combination of cheap tins and 12 hours of live entertainment could be an endurance test in the wrong hands, but the second annual Fence Records/Kid Canaveral Chirstmas Baubles all-dayer doesn’t exactly feel like a chore. A joyous turn by Fence…

The King and I

This stylish production of the musical classic can't disguise the script's patronising tone

6 Jan 2012

Like most of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s quintet of hit musicals, the deceptively light surface action in The King and I struggles to keep the lid on the problematic themes rumbling away underneath. Where the culture clash between prim, feisty governess…

Preview of 2012 - Major Lazer

Tsunami of sound from Diplo and Switch's musical alter-ego

6 Jan 2012

Brace yourselves for some sub-heavy electro dancehall from Diplo and Switch as they unleash their collective alter ego Major Lazer: ‘A Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed…

Preview of 2012 - Arika12

Mind expanding, cross-art discussion festival from the INSTAL and Kill Your Timid Notion creators

6 Jan 2012

'At a conference or festival, the best discussions are often the ones you have at the bar,’ says Barry Esson, co-organiser of Arika12. So, in the hope of stimulating some thought-provoking and who knows, maybe even life-enhancing discussion, he and…

Preview of 2012 - Irvine Welsh's Skagboys

Renton, Sick Boy et al are revisited in this Trainspotting prequel

6 Jan 2012

Wonder how Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and co got to be the drugged-up life-rejecting Leith loons in Trainspotting? Well, wonder no more, as the publication of Skagboys brings us a bit more background on the individual and social circumstances revolving…

Preview of 2012 - Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino flexes his Western muscles with Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio

6 Jan 2012

Quentin Tarantino has already given us his heist movie (Reservoir Dogs), his take on blaxploitation (Jackie Brown), his war film (Inglourious Basterds), horror (Death Proof), kung fu (Kill Bill 1 & 2) and of course his crime thriller (Pulp Fiction).

The Big Pink - Future This

Second electro-pop offering let down by over-egged desire to be anthemic

6 Jan 2012

(4AD) It’s easy to assume that London duo Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s oft-scrutinised industry connections have earned them their breaks while ignoring the fact that the dark, feedback and effects-swathed element of their music honours 4AD’s goth…

Review of reviews - The Iron Lady

What we said, and they said, about Streep's Thatcher performance

6 Jan 2012

What we said: ‘The Iron Lady is a film about the cost of power that features a brilliantly convincing lead performance from Meryl Streep, but offers no significant insights on the lady of the title.’ The List What they said: ‘How people react…

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Mumford-esque mimsy-folk from down under

6 Jan 2012

(V2) If you’ve considered moving to the opposite side of the world to escape Mumford & Sons, think again – their Australian kindred spirits and touring partners Boy & Bear await you, ready to close the jaws of a vice-like international folk-pop mimsy…

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52

Orchestral backing and lots of special guests leads to a fun if over-wrought latin-funk-rock record

6 Jan 2012

(Rubyworks) For their fifth studio album the Mexican acoustic rock duo have teamed up with 13-piece orchestra C.U.B.A. to rework nine previous compositions. The radically increased personnel (which is also augmented by several guests including Cuban…

Prinzhorn Dance School - Clay Class

Understated and minimal post-punk effort, but with divisive shouty vocals

6 Jan 2012

(DFA) Whether or not you like Prinzhorn Dance School probably hinges on the vocals. Depending on where you stand on a half shouted vocal (see Mark E Smith, Architecture in Helsinki, Gang of Four et al), their self-titled debut, put out on in 2007 on…

Chris Devotion and The Expectations – Amalgamation and Capital

Worthwhile debut stumbles when it steps away from solid pop template

6 Jan 2012

(Armellodie) Amalgamation and Capital is the debut from Glasgow’s Chris Devotion and the Expectations. Kicking off with ‘A Modest Refusal’, a punchy salute to 50s/60s pop, complete with textbook dum, dum-dum, tshh’s and whoah-ohs, this is an album…

Baobab-Gateway – Strings That Sing

Accomplished Scottish-African musicians with healthy, multicultural roots

6 Jan 2012

(Brechin All) Baobab-Gateway’s name pinpoints the West African influences found in their original sound. The international pedigree and multi-ethnicity of these experienced Scottish based musicians (Salsa Celtica, Bhundu Boys, Waa Sylla) is a…

Shame

Steve McQueen's second directorial effort is an unflinching portrayal of sex addiction

5 Jan 2012

(18) 101min Sexual imagery oozes from every blockbuster and frat boy comedy, but serious discussion rather than cheap titillation is a rarity. Cinema actually finds it hard to confront sex, partly because the American censorship board takes such a…

Director Steve McQueen discusses latest film Shame

Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan star in story of sex addiction

5 Jan 2012

‘When I first heard of the notion of sex addicts I laughed,’ says Steve McQueen. ‘Then I did a bit of research. It’s very similar to an alcoholic that drinks a litre of whisky a day.’ The artist and director is talking about his new film Shame, an…

RM Hubbert – Thirteen Lost & Found

Beautiful collaborative effort from the percussive guitarist

5 Jan 2012

(Chemikal Underground) Last year’s solo debut, First and Last, saw Glaswegian guitarist RM Hubbert communicate all manner of emotions and stories through his own beautifully lush and percussive playing style. On this second album, Hubbert (who…

The Descendants

Star performances from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in Alexander Payne's latest comedy drama

5 Jan 2012

(15) 115m In Alexander Payne’s first film since his 2004 critical darling Sideways, George Clooney plays Matt King, a Hawaii-based businessman and heir to a hugely valuable piece of Hawaiian land. On the eve of him signing a deal to sell the land and…

Haywire

Steven Soderbergh's fast-paced chase movie stars Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas

5 Jan 2012

(15) 93min While other directors talk endlessly about the next great movie they are going to make, Steven Soderbergh keeps on quietly making films at a frequent rate, never repeating himself (Ocean’s sequels notwithstanding), and consistently…

War Horse

Unashamedly sentimental cinema from Spielberg

5 Jan 2012

(12A) 146m As War Horse begins, with soaring shots of rolling English hills and a sweeping John Williams overture, director Steven Spielberg sends a clear message: settle down for some large-canvas, unashamedly romanticised, old-fashioned big-screen…

Coriolanus

Ralph Fiennes proves as adept behind the camera as in front of it in this Shakespeare adaptation

5 Jan 2012

(15) 123min Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut is a powerful reimagining of the Shakespearean tragedy and is a resonant story about leadership, politics and power. Acting as well as directing, Fiennes stars as the central character, the eponymous…

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

Heartfelt ode to Americana from the Swedish siblings

5 Jan 2012

(Wichita) On the surface, First Aid Kit’s obsession with Americana looks a little odd, given that they’re Swedish sisters barely out of their teens. But the pair’s homage is steeped in knowledge, and this second album sounds like it could’ve been…

Edmund White - Jack Holmes and His Friend

A beautifully written tale of sex and male friendship

5 Jan 2012

(Bloomsbury) Edmund White has never shied away from putting himself on the page, scribing autobiographical fiction and memoirs for over 30 years. Jack Holmes and His Friend is no exception. White attended boarding school in the American Midwest…

The Lemonheads - Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners: The Best Of

Expansive look at Evan Dando and co's back catalogue

5 Jan 2012

(Rhino) Evan Dando is still going strong as the lone remaining member of The Lemonheads, although his days as a mainstream slacker rock heartthrob are long behind him. As this two-CD, 47-track collection demonstrates, though – perhaps too extensively…

Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows - Neonomicon

Moore takes some liberties with Lovecraft's stories, but as ever, does a grand job of it

5 Jan 2012

(Avatar) While we wait impatiently for the final instalment of the latest The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century (see our review of part two), we have this new graphic novella from the grand magi of comics to be going on with. Neonomicon is…

Top 5 secretive dance acts

In honour of notoriously interview-shy producer Fake Blood we name our favourite mysterious DJs

5 Jan 2012

Fake Blood For several years no one even knew who Fake Blood was. He was eventually outed as Theo Keating aka DJ Touché (one half of The Wiseguys), and while it’s now a fairly open secret he still refuses to do photo shoots and turns down nearly every…

Single of the month: Trailer Trash Tracys ‘Candy Girl / Strangling Good Guys’

Florence and the Machine, Arctic Monkeys and more also reviewed

5 Jan 2012

Music snobs love to flame Florence and the Machine these days. But as ‘No Light No Light’ (Island) ●●●● proves, Welch does epic, pagan pop pretty much perfectly. Her only crime is that lots of people now like it. They’d no doubt sneer at the recent…

Ralph Fiennes, star and director of Coriolanus - profile

Man behind the modernised Shakespeare adap has Bardic pedigree

5 Jan 2012

Name Ralph Fiennes Born Ipswich, Suffolk, 22 December, 1962 Background Initially a star onstage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Fiennes gained international film recognition for his Oscar-nominated performance as Nazi Commander Amon Göth in…

Clubbers' Decktionary: Witch House

A guide to the myriad genres of clubbing, from Trouble's DJ Hobbes

5 Jan 2012

Witch House aka Haunted House or Drag, proper noun: usually down-tempo to mid-tempo (80-120 bpm), dark, syrupy fusion of hip hop with goth, industrial, noise, drone and/or shoegaze elements. Its main practitioners also favour the use of occult symbols…

Crate Digging: Playdate's Steven and Stewart

On the eve of the leftfield house night's fourth birthday, the residents pick some tunes for us

5 Jan 2012

Steven Nôze ‘Remember Love’ (My Best Friend) features one simple piano loop with two drunk Frenchmen reminiscing over what could have been in broken English with rolling choppy drums that will never get old. Franco-knees-up-party-starting…

5 things you might not know about Nick Helm

The former 'dinner lady' and 2011 Best Joke of the Fringe winner doesn't get on with Alice Cooper

5 Jan 2012

1 Among Nick Helm’s pre-showbiz jobs have been as a ‘dinner lady’ at a secondary school for boys, counting traffic and working in the café of a garden centre. 2 In 2001, he formed a theatre company called Bad Ash Productions whose oeuvre includes I…

The Iron Lady

Meryl Streep shines in a film that avoids tackling Thatcher's politics

5 Jan 2012

(12A) 105min In The Iron Lady director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) and writer Abi Morgan (Shame) take arguably the most significant British politician in living memory as their subject, and perversely evade questioning her policies. The result is a…

The top books for a healthy start to 2012

Dieting and exercise books from Tracy Griffen, Mike Dow, John Briffa and more

5 Jan 2012

It’s that time of year when the season’s jollities come back to haunt you. Stepping on the scales or glancing in the mirror can be a pretty scary prospect. Fortunately, you’re never short of advice in written form come January. Edinburgh-based personal…