A Bobbysix mixtape

For The Sake Of The Song vol. I by Neil Martin on Mixcloud

Film/music reviewer Neil Martin came up with the idea of our contributors making a mixtape from time to time, and then sharing it with you guys. A fine idea, we all thought. So, here is the first in what we hope will be a regular thing, courtesy of Neil himself. Enjoy...

Japandroids - Celebration Rock

Neil Martin chances upon one of the albums of the year so far. Maybe:

Teenage angst is overrated. Sometimes the best way to deal with the uncertainties of youth is to accept that your only option is to blaze through those wilderness years with the reckless abandon of someone who is either immortal or doomed to an early grave.  This is what Japandroids second album sounds like.

It opens with these lines: “Long lit up tonight and still drinking/Don't we have anything to live for/Well, of course we do, but until it comes true/We're drinking.” This pretty much sums up the eight tracks and 35 minutes that follow. Short, concise anthems to directionless youth. Songs about staying up all night, sordid sexual encounters, burning the candle at both ends and living without regret. So often these kinds of songs can sound contrived and up being too literary, a trap The Hold Steady often fall into. Japandroids have the urgency that suggests they are writing about their own lives rather than sounding like 30-somethings writing about some romanticised, mythological idea of urban disaffection and young adulthood.

Celebration Rock sounds great all messy, revving guitars that burst into life like the beginning of the greatest night on the town you ever had. Hooligan choruses of “woos” and “oh oh ohs” that bring to mind drunken bar singalongs at 1am. The band sound just that right kind of sloppy, the best kind of sloppy, on the edge of collapse but always just holding it together, like The Replacements at their best.  In fact this is probably the closest thing I have heard recently to that Mats sound. Most bands compared to them sound studied and academic but Japandroids and Celebration Rock capture some of that raw honesty that made The Mats so wonderful. This is absolutely a contender for album of the year but it may be that I burn out on it in a couple of months. Given the subject matter that would perhaps be only fitting.

Review by Neil Martin

Dirty Three - Toward The Low Sun

Neil Martin gives his opinion on the long-awaited record from Dirty Three: 

Toward The Low Sun is Dirty Three’s first album since 2005 and the band have reconvened after a busy few years working on other projects. The album sees them attempt to return to the improvisatory nature of their earlier albums and there are certainly moments where there is a real sense of that freedom, locking into each other’s playing and just seeing where it takes them. Opening track Furnace Skies is a great example of this and fires different ideas off every few bars all centred around Jim White’s skittering drum work, which is astounding throughout the album. The instinctual feel that all three band members have for each other’s playing is quite something, while at other times the songs have a slow, measured, stately feel and a meticulous level of craftsmanship.

Whereas the majority of post-rock has an almost post-apocalyptic feel to it, the music of Dirty Three is much more bucolic and pre-industrial. It is in this way that many moments on Toward The Low Sun bring to mind Ellis' work (with Nick Cave) on the soundtrack to The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford; gently maudlin piano and violin that bring to mind cornfields and open plains and an indefinable sense of longing.

Where post-rock often seems to soundtrack global catastrophes, the music of The Dirty Three soundtracks personal, intimate tragedies. At other points, particularly the exceptional That Was Was, the band explode into life and unleash an intense focused rockist bent. Ellis manages to make his violin sound like Neil Young’s White Falcon as he releases a squall of feedback and distortion across a country blues backing.

Toward The Low Sun rewards repeated listens and the focus and artistry of the trio’s playing begins to really reveal itself on the third or fourth listen. So often instrumental music is seen as background music but this demands your attention in order to really appreciate the intricacies and emotional punch that Toward The Low Sun carries.

Review by Neil Martin.

Bobbysix.com's End of Year Review 2011 - Neil Martin

As we head towards the conclusion of our End of Year reviews, Neil Martin give his recommendations from 2011. Check back on New Year's Day for Bobbysix.com's overall winners of best film, album, gig and song:

Top 10 Albums
1. We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves - JOHN MAUS (pictured, above)
2. Space Is Only Noise - NICHOLAS JAAR
3. Wolfroy Goes To Town - BONNIE PRINCE BILLY
4. The Ship’s Piano -DARREN HAYMAN
5. Veronica Falls - VERONICA FALLS
6. The Last Of The Country Gentlemen - JOSH T. PEARSON
7. Ravedeath, 1972 - TIM HECKER
8. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming - M83
9. James Blake – JAMES BLAKE
10. All Eternals Deck - THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

Top 10 Songs
1. On Battleship Hill - PJ HARVEY
2. Believer - JOHN MAUS
3. Space Is Only Noise If You Can See - NICHOLAS JAAR
4. Found Love In A Graveyard - VERONICA FALLS
5. Boeing 737 - THE LOW ANTHEM
6. Love The Way You Walk Away - BLITZEN TRAPPER
7. Tree By The River - IRON AND WINE
8. Thou Art Loosed - JOSH T. PEARSON
9. Blue Suicide - COMA CINEMA
10. Replica - ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER

Films

1. Drive 

2. Snowtown
3. The Guard
4. Troll Hunter
5. Small Town Murder Songs
6. The Future
7. Confessions
8. Tyrannosaur
9. Submarine
10. Attack The Block

Neil Martin - Contributor
Englishman Neil is a media teacher, musician and disc golfer - not necessarily in that order. He also knows more about films than you know about anything.

Tyrannosaur

 

Neil Martin gives his opinion on the much-anticipated, and heavy-going, Tyrannosaur: 

Paddy Considine’s directorial debut is a bleak and uncompromising film which shows that as well as being arguably the finest British actor of his generation, Mr Considine also has considerable talent behind the camera. 

Tyrannosaur is not for the faint of heart but if you have the stomach then it is well worth putting yourself through it. Peter Mullan plays Joseph, a middle-aged alcoholic consumed by rage and impotent anger at the world. His booze-fuelled bitterness brings him into the world of Hannah (Olivia Colman) a do-gooding Christian whose own life is far grimmer than her positive, outwardly-smiling persona initially suggests. It is this central relationship and the incredible, brave performances from the two main actors that create the film’s heart and drag you along when the going gets really tough. Colman in particular is outstanding and should be a serious contender come award season. Her performance brings to mind that of Kathy Burke in the very similar Nil By Mouth (clearly a touchstone for Considine) in that an actor known mainly for comic roles proves more than a match for more experienced “heavyweight” actors. 

There are a few missteps in Tyrannosaur, a lazy montage sequence for example that borrows too heavily from Considine’s good friend Shane Meadows as well as some clumsy music choices. Considine does show a definite visual flair in Tyrannosaur though and his use of close ups and focus as well as some interesting drony soundtrack choices (reminiscent of this year's Snowtown) give the film a stronger visual style than most British realism. 

Whilst I initially found myself a little disappointed with Tyrannosaur, the final 20 minutes absolutely floored me. This is a film with flawed characters living flawed lives where nothing is black and white and no easy solutions tie up the loose ends. A triumphant debut and the first step in what is sure to be a vital new voice in British cinema.

Review by Neil Martin. Follow him on Twitter.

Red State

Red State is not your typical Kevin Smith movie, as Neil Martin discovers: 

Something strange has happened to Kevin Smith. His past as a purveyor of foul-mouthed slacker comedies does not prepare the audience in any way for what unfolds in this difficult, brutal and uncompromising film. 

It starts simply enough as what seems like another teen horror movie when three horny teenage boys head off to meet a mysterious woman for sex after contacting her through the internet. Things take a turn for the worse when the trio then find themselves at the mercy of a Westboro Baptist Church-style right wing fundamentalist Christian group and are imprisoned in their fortified compound. Michael Parks is terrifying as Abin Cooper, the hate fuelled bigot and leader of the 5 Points Church. There is something worryingly believable in his conviction and faith that makes us all too aware of the real power that charismatic “men of god” can have over their flock. 

After briefly flirting with the promise of some Hostel style torture porn, the film changes tack again as the authorities become involved and a Waco-esque siege situation develops. It is here that the film really comes into its own as a bold and daring piece of cinema. John Goodman (on blistering form) plays grizzled ATF agent, Joseph Keenan, who is forced to deal with some very difficult orders that throw a harsh spotlight on the American government’s approach to homeland security and the controversial Patriot Act. 

Visually, Smith also shows a hitherto unseen stylistic vision. His camera is a restless, prowling and invasive presence, at times uncomfortably close to its subjects. There were moments when I found myself wondering if this was not directed by some other Kevin Smith, such is the stylistic and thematic shift in this impressive work. 

Red State poses some very difficult questions about faith, government and modern American society in general and offers no easy answers. The final third of the film will leave you reeling and wondering who you are supposed to be rooting for. This is fierce, angry and questioning cinema of the kind that no one expected Kevin Smith capable of making. It’s not perfect and it’s certainly not fun but it’s an essential piece of cinema that is guaranteed to polarise audiences. 

Review by Neil Martin

Troll Hunter

I don’t know about you but I’ve always wondered why there weren’t more films featuring trolls. The troll is a woefully underrepresented creature in cinema history but you can rest easy, as Troll Hunter is here to fulfil all your celluloid troll needs.

Andre Ovredal’s film uses the now over-familiar trope of recently discovered home video footage to tell its tale of mythical creatures, Norwegian folklore and government cover-ups, but the story unfolds with such verve, wit and originality that the form of the film works perfectly.

Troll Hunter tells the tale of a group of students making a film about mysterious bear killings in rural Norway. They begin to follow a particularly enigmatic “rogue” bear hunter and discover there is more to the story than meets the eye. It turns out that the Norwegian government has been covering up the existence of trolls for years and employ a troll hunter to deal with unruly trolls whose activities (eating sheep and generally destructive behaviour) get too close to the general population.

Weirdly the film seems to have been marketed as a horror, which it is not. Yes, it has elements of horror in it but it is essentially a comedy that draws upon folklore and mythology, so don’t watch this expecting to be scared out of your wits. What you will get is a very clever (watch out in particular for a brilliant reference to my own favourite childhood fairy tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff), very funny and very well made (the trolls look incredible) low-budget sleeper hit that is sure to gain a huge cult following.

Review by Neil Martin

Small Town Murder Songs

Bobbysix.com's latest recruit, film-buff Neil Martin, casts his eye over Small Town Murder Songs:

Ed Gass-Donnelly’s Small Town Murder Songs is a quiet storm of a film. A powerful and subdued modern gothic tale of crime and redemption set in a small Menonite town in Ontario, Canada. Walter (Peter “We cut off your Johnson, Lebowski” Stormare) is the police chief with an unspecified violent past who just wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his family, the town and God. When the body of a young woman is found on the outskirts of town Walter grabs this opportunity to prove he is a changed man by solving the case.

The film moves at a stately pace and is driven by Stormare’s incredibly subtle but emotionally complex performance. The quiet intensity he brings to the film is bewitching and he captures the spirit of a man battling his demons in desperation to make amends for his past. Jill Hennessy is also excellent as Walter’s ex and possible victim of Walter’s past transgressions.

Small Town Murder Songs has been somewhat lazily compared to the Coen Brothers but it actually carries far more emotional weight than any of their films and has more in common with the recent wave of rural dramas such as Winter’s Bone, Shotgun Stories and That Evening Sun. Films that attempt to show a more honest and realistic depiction of small town life without resorting to cheap and lazy stereotypes have produced some of the best work coming out of America in the last few years and, whilst this film is resolutely Canadian, it fits perfectly into this milieu and is among the finest films of the year.

Review by Neil Martin

Getting To Know... Billy & the Fingers

In the latest in the Getting To Know... series, Neil Martin from Billy & The Fingers talks to BobbySix.com about how he loves making music with mates, even if those pesky second verses do prove to be elusive:

I would describe Billy & The Fingers' sounds as borrowed chord progressions, stolen words and half remembered melodies. The sound of Friday night if your Friday night consists of sitting round my flat drinking and recording hastily written songs.

I take inspiration from Brian Eno’s first 3 solo albums, Robert Pollard’s approach to recording and releasing music, Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound, Neil Young’s vocal on Mellow My Mind and the Louvin Brothers' vocal harmonies.

Music makes me selfish. It takes me out of the stresses of the week and places me entirely in the moment. Creating music with friends is the single greatest thing you can do. Music is not a career for Billy & The Fingers (some of you will not be surprised at this), it is a release. There is no gameplan and no mission statement. This is for us.

If I could only listen to three albums for the rest of my life, they would be:

Brian Eno – Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy
Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Gene Clark - No Other

There is not really much I can add about them that hasn’t been written elsewhere far more eloquently than I can manage other than all three albums continue to astound me on every listen.

I wish I had written lots of things but then if I had written them then they would probably lose that magic. The songs of John Darnielle make me absolutely sick with envy and are probably responsible for me not writing more. Karl writes most of the words for Billy & The Fingers songs and I tend to add bits and pieces to finish them off or make them fit with the vocal melody. Occasionally I will write a whole song but I am incredibly self critical of my own words and have a million killer first verses lying around that I couldn’t find good enough second verses for.

Aside from music there is: Badlands, A Room For Romeo Brass, Harold & Maude, The Straight Story, Buffalo 66, All The Real Girls. There is also: Geek Love by Katherine Dunne, And The Ass Saw The Angel by Nick Cave, James Ellroy, David Peace, Flannery O’Connor.

And on top of these wonderful things there are innumerable other things that need to be done and as a prolific procrastinator with attention issues most of them aren’t done as well (or perhaps as regularly) as they could be.

Be sure to check out Billy & The Fingers on their Myspace page.