Missy Higgins - The Ol' Razzle Dazzle

Nicole Dora has a listen to the very long-awaited return of Missy Higgins: 

It was 2004 when Missy Higgins came along and became a permanent etching on the Australian culture scene. With her debut album The Sound Of White going platinum nine times over, everyone knew about the Melbourne based singer and her mix of light-hearted cynicism and beautifully tragic melodies/sonnets. Eight years after that first album and with a second long-player also under her belt, it seems that Missy is only just starting to get her groove back. With that second record kind of fading into the background, this third album - The Ol' Razzle Dazzle - is a reminder that the national icon is still alive and kicking (you can't blame me for saying that - The Sound of White is practically the soundtrack to the mid-noughties for the lives of many ladies and gentlemen all over Australia). Some call The Ol' Razzle Dazzle a foray into darkness and, while there are undertones of this through the album, at the same time it just sounds like someone who has lived life a little bit.

The first single, Unashamed Desire, shows us a hint of sinister intentions with the handy use of a cowbell, while songs If I'm Honest and Everyone's Waiting don't have the same conviction as previous tear jerkers like The Special Two, but you get the feeling that this album is trying not to get too concerned with the whimsy of unrequited love.

With ample time to let this album grow on me, I am still waiting for the funny feeling that I got from Higgins' first record - something that swayed from the heart-swelling to the stomach-dropping. This time round you can tell the direction is intending to move into new territory and it will be interesting to see what this cultivates and what path Missy goes down from here.

Review by Nicole Dora

Romance Was Born at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week

 

Nicole Dora casts her eye over the Romance Was Born Collection at RAFW:

For Rosemount Australian Fashion Week,  it seemed this year it was all the rage to show your S/S 11-12 collection off site and off schedule. Designers such as Ginger & Smart and Carla Zampatti chose this option, as did Australian fashion darlings Romance Was Born. With a collection titled The Oracle and held at the Mitchell Library, everyone was wondering what Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales – the duo behind the label – had up their sleeves.

Every designer has some sort of inspiration to back up their collection, however Romance Was Born seems to be one label that takes it to a whole other level. With the press release reading like a fantasy novel, we are told of child princesses and other worldly creatures and this is translated beautifully in the clothes. Intricate prints in varying fabrics and textures give way to cuts that are decidedly 1920’s. It’s not that these references are subtle enough to wear in the 21st century, it’s that RWB reminds us that fashion is not to be taken too seriously (and obviously this involves going out dressed like a chic flapper lady).

The word on the street it that RWB have grown up – I don’t think it is an issue of maturity, but rather a widening of the target audience for this latest collection. What was once a crazy print on denim cut off’s and frilly cropped jackets, we are now seeing on slouchy pyjama-style pants and posh singlet tops that show off impeccable tailoring and craftsmanship. The lycra leggings made another appearance, but this time they have been adorned with a digital print featuring antique turquoise and gold jewellery.

That isn’t to say all the crazy had left the building, with a dress featuring pearl embellishment and finished off with a skirt made from fake hair. Classic The Never Ending Story character Rock Biter also made an appearance in the form of a sculpted top paired with gold sequined jeans. There was an excess of elegance in this collection, but I’m quite happy with the result because under all the glam, Romance Was Born are still kooky and wild and perfectly unique.

Review by Nicole Dora

Getting To Know... Nicole Dora

You may have noticed an unfamiliar name attached to yesterday's film review. With Nicole Dora becoming the latest writer to join BobbySix's team of awesomeness, it's only polite to introduce her to you. So here she is, in her own words:

Writing is so wonderful. But there are times when I could liken the activity to giving birth to a litter of puppies. And not in a good way.

I'd love to interview someone without getting even the slightest bit nervous. Sometimes I remind myself of a tiny, tiny mouse. In an attempt to give a proper answer, I’m going to say Obama, but only because his dog Bo is hell cute and I would love to play puppy tug-of-war with him.

I'm currently listening to my ipod on shuffle because there are so many songs on there that I didn’t even know I had, or know who the hell sings them. And anything by The Jezabels because they are freaking awesome.

Sydney is pretty ace. I never thought to appreciate our harbour until I went to New York and peered into their dirty, dirty harbour (I swear it looked red?). I also never thought to appreciate our amazing beaches until I tried swimming at Coney Island (take my word for it, its fun enough to chill on the wharf).

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

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker, because if I was in a situation where I had to listen to only three albums for the rest of my life I would feel like I’m tripping balls, and its fun to trip balls to Tame Impala.

Arcade Fire -The Suburbs 

Anything by The Jezabels because they are freaking awesome.

I feel slightly nervous with putting these three choices up so don’t judge me. I promise you albums that narrowly missed out include The National’s High Violet and Warpaint’s The Fool.

When I'm not writing you can find me drinking copious amounts of green tea, teaching myself how to crochet, sweating it out at yoga, wandering up and down King St in Sydney's Newtown, eating Japanese food, eating Indian food, pretty much eating any food that crosses my path, annoying my cat Wally, chilling with my pigeon Lucky, feeding my dog Scruffy, searching for the perfect plastic pink flamingo and figuring out what kind of things I should write in interviews like this!

Check out Nicole's Tumblr here.

Never Let Me Go

Nicole Dora casts her eyes over Never let Me Go, the new movie from Mark Romanek:

I have never been a fan of book-to-film adaptations and, while I haven’t read Never Let Me Go, I can easily say that the film counterpart is nothing short of wonderful. What starts out as the seemingly normal lives of children living at boarding school, slowly evolves into a tragic story of survival – just not how we know it.

While the first part of the story proves tragic enough, with a couple having to face a love lost due to the actions of a jealous third party, the fact that all their lives will be cut short because they are not deemed ‘human’ enough takes the film to a heartbreaking new level. Director Mark Romanek merges these two very different issues together beautifully; the completely familiar concept of the love-triangle fused with the inconceivable issue of farming people for their organs. Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan have been cast perfectly as young women who struggle to come to terms with their purpose in life, and The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield showcases his immense talent, ensuring that we are all wondering what his next move will be.

The fact that the film is set from the 60’s through to the 90’s – a period of time that has already passed - makes the moral and ethical implications of human cloning hit even closer to home. If you had the chance to cure all manner of disease at the expense of humans that are cloned for that exact purpose, what would you decide? I would like to think that humans could not turn their back on their own race in such a cruel way, but when faced with a world without cancer it is hard to know what we are capable of.

Review by Nicole Dora. Check out the trailer below.