Idlewild and Edenborn

I'm not sure if Nick Sagan's dystopian trilogy technically falls into the 'young-adult' category. I read them when I was quite young but I don't set much store by those age restrictions in literature - if it's good it's good. Actually that goes for anything really, I mean everyone likes Toy Story, right? Why should you feel guilty or 'uncultured' just because it's animated and there aren't any naughty words?

Idlewild does revolve around a group of teenagers - set in the near future, they attend a school where virtual reality is used as a teaching tool and also by the students to create their own little worlds in which to socialise and/or reflect. The interactions within the group are realistic and relatable; prejudices and tiffs amongst the boys and girls blown up into dramatic rivalries that seem like the be all and end all of existence - just like real high school. However, they are to find out that they are woefully mistaken, and not in any kind of easy or gradual way.

The narrator is Halloween, one of the teenagers who wakes one day with no memory, only the certainty that someone has tried to murder him. His attempts to remember who he is and what happened aren't helped by the insane virtual environment he has created for himself over the years, or by their seemingly sadistic tutor Maestro.

I'm hesitant to give out spoilers (although the blurb does hint at the story's trajectory) so if you want to go into these books blind, STOP READING NOW.

... so around 20 years before we join Halloween and his friends, a plague has wiped out all of mankind. The ten teenagers were genetically modified and placed inside a virtual reality designed to condition them into perfect pillars of a new human race. It doesn't quite go to the dead scientists' plan though and their release from the computer world becomes fraught with danger and fear.

I think what I like about this book, aside from its gothic and sci-fi overtones, is that at its heart it is a classic whodunnit. A mysterious crime, a limited number of suspects and a cool narrator, determined to get to the truth. And he is pretty cool, our Halloween. I used to have a bit of a crush on him, insofar as you can fancy a written description of a fictional person.

The second book in the series, Edenborn, follows the characters as they attempt to restart society on an empty Earth.  They have split into two camps: one believes they should just rebuild humanity as it was and the other that the people they create should be improved genetically.  I actually read this second installment first, because I was a strange child. A maverick some might say. I still enjoyed both books although I think the first one would have been more surprising and the second would have made more sense if I'd come to them in the correct order.

Perhaps my favourite element of Edenborn is the girls' sociopathic daughter Penny and her relationship with Halloween's misanthropic son, their teenage angst leading them to disaster whilst the grown-ups remain distracted by the bigger picture.


Both novels are very good, with three-dimensional characters and interesting concepts at their heart. I only recently found out that the third book, Everfree, exists and I plan to read it soon, so I may review it here. Watch this space you lucky people!

Gomez

These aren't so obscure, particularly not to me. I was brought up listening to Gomez alongside such greats as Van Morrison and The Eagles; to me they're a classic and therefore it seems like they should be to everyone else.

Gomez are pretty successful, more so in America I believe (a song of theirs features in the movie American Beauty) - but quite a few people aren't aware of their music and  this is a sin, which I am here to rectify.

I'd say their best albums are Liquid Skin and Bring It On, the latter of which contains perhaps their most famous song, Whippin' Piccadilly. They're a British Indie band whose use of electric mixing and sounds mingle with jazz influences to create a unique style, funky and bluesy but also modern.

Ben Ottewell's voice is fantastic; powerful and gravelly - and the variety of voices and instruments they employ along with their imaginative, if occasionally nonsensical lyrics ("open hearted surgery never works" ... except it does, doesn't it lads?), are a joy to listen to. From the soulful sensuality of Rosalita (Liquid Skin) to the bouncy energy of Detroit Swing 66 (In Our Gun) and Get Myself Arrested's pure coolness (Bring It On), Gomez are consistently wonderful.

Check them and their entire back catalogue out, you won't regret it.

Transition

Iain Banks is a very well-known writer so this may not seem an appropriate book to review, but as a science fiction novel (not written however, under his sci-fi moniker of Iain M. Banks), this one may have slipped through the cracks slightly; none of my friends who are fans of his have read it.  Even if it's not obscure enough I don't care - anyone who hasn't read it, should.  And since the recent news about his terminal cancer diagnosis, it seems germane to pay tribute to one of my favourite British authors.  The world will be a lesser place without him.


Transition is set in a world wherein the existence of parallel universes had been proven.  Selected people are able to travel, or transition, between these universes with the aid of a drug developed by the inhabitants of an adjoining Earth known as Calbefraques.  These people are overseen and governed by an all-seeing and corrupt parliamentary council known as The Concern.

The characters followed during the novel are largely from the aforementioned version of Earth although they flit between various universes, including our own.  The main protagonist is a hired assassin called Temudjin Oh, enlisted by The Concern to perform tasks of varying skill, violence and size to aid the manipulation of history in multiple worlds.  Through the eyes of those with a clear view of the Concern's overall intentions (such as the mysterious Mrs Mulverhill and the psychopathic Madame d'Ortolan) as well as relatively ignorant outsiders like the cynical entrepreneur Adrian Cubbish of London, Earth (ours), we see the effects of The Concern's actions and the uprising of those intent upon bringing them to an end.

With a twisting and turning plot entangling Temudjin in a battle of political interests, revolutionaries, dangerous experimentation and lethal missions, the storyline gradually unfolds, drawing you in.  Iain Banks has achieved that rare quality in a work of fiction - a storyline rich and complex enough to intrigue and entice the reader, without alienating them with unnecessarily convoluted descriptions or back stories.  It is as complicated as it needs to be without it becoming a negative thing (a fine line often tripped upon, especially by sci-fi and fantasy writers).

Fun, exciting, sexy, filled with action and interesting characters, Transition fulfils everything you could want from a sci-fi novel.  Perfectly crafted and brilliantly written, it's definitely worth a read even if you don't usually go for this genre.
               

Iain Banks

                             

Another Earth

This is what is going to be an uncommon occurrence - a film review.  For the simple reason that advertisement of films is an easy and immediate process; you see a trailer and know whether you want to watch it.  So good films get watched by a lot of people.  This isn't necessarily the case with music (as many great albums take several listens to make an impact) and even less so with books. A blurb is a pitiful excuse for a word trailer.  However, if I know of a great film which I believe to be under-valued I will give it a mention - such as now with this one. 

Another Earth was released in 2011 and won awards at the Maui and Sundance Festivals that year.  On the face of it, it's a sci-fi centring on the discovery of a nearby planet identical to Earth; not only host to intelligent life but an echo of our world - same cities, same people, same lives and events.  This element of the film takes a back seat however, to make room for the story of Rhoda Williams.  

Brit Marling plays the young woman whose prospects are shattered by a horrific accident in which her mistakes lead to the deaths of a woman and child.  Four years on we rejoin her life, freed from incarceration but forced by anxiety, depression and a criminal record to take on a cleaning job at her former school.

She seeks out the man (played by William Mapother) who's wife and child were killed because of her and - by an unusual but believable series of events - takes a job cleaning his house, whose dingy interior and state of disrepair reflect clearly that his life too, has become empty and miserable.  The four years have led to acceptance of his loss, but made it no less painful.

Throughout the film, the two become closer and their hesitant friendship brings some brightness to each of their lives. This relationship and its journey towards inevitable complications and heartbreak makes for a compelling human drama, set against the constant backdrop of 'Earth 2' and the inescapable news coverage of its discovery.  Beautiful cinematography and the constant image of the mirror planet hanging in the sky contrasts with the bleak reality of the two main characters' lives.  

The unsteady, sometimes blurry handheld camera work which marks this out as a low-budget independent film - as well as the extremely subtle acting by the two leads - creates a strong feeling of realness which lays the tragic subject matter bare.  

This film is extremely affecting.  Its themes of pain and loss really bring home the randomness of the universe and how everything can change in an instant. And the fact that a lot about the newly discovered Earth is not revealed keeps the viewer's interest alive.  You can't help but be intrigued by the idea of a parallel planet and its implications.

Another Earth is a beautiful, engaging story of pain, dark truths, love and relationships.  Maybe not suitable if you're looking for an evening of light viewing but it's wonderful and you should watch it.

The Dresden Dolls

I absolutely effing love the Dresden Dolls.  They are sublime.

Amanda Palmer's wailing vocals and off-key piano playing may not be for everyone but to me they embody everything I love about 'weird' music.  Weird means different, means like nothing you've heard before.  It means original and unique, and that's what I look for in a band.

Their début album - my favourite - ranges from the manic silliness of Girl Anachronism and Coin-Operated Boy to the sad, soulful vulnerability of Half Jack, with Palmer's fun and poetic lyrics often touching on something deep, dark and disturbing - like in the troubling Slide.

Brian Viglione's drumming is punchy and imaginative, keeping the songs strong and surprising. The two elements of the band work together perfectly and it's a testament to their genius that they can achieve so complete a sound without guitar or bass players.

Dresden Dolls' mix of cabaret, twisted classical crescendo and punk makes for fresh and beautiful listening.  Their self-titled first album is one of those records that comprises brilliant songs but also comes together as a whole to create a work of art; a sepia-toned, Plath-inspired, pain-tinged, musically accomplished masterpiece that never fails to touch and engage me.

I know a lot of people won't like this album - it's definitely a grower - but I think it's awesome and everyone should give them a listen.

This is a song from their second album, which is creeping ever closer to the first's top spot the more I listen to it, as it has some wonderful songs on it.  Delilah has been a favourite for a while.

Songs of Love, Loss and Debauchery

Now here is a band that is criminally underrated.  And again, one about whom no-one except my good friend Jayne, who introduced me to them, seems to have heard (in my experience).  Even the guy we got talking to when we got to see them live was there to see someone else. 

Kill It Kid are fantastic, and this is one of my favourite ever albums.  Produced by Eels and PJ Harvey producer John Parish as a teaching exercise at Bath University, its complex riffs, grinding bluegrass-style guitar and heavy beats are right up my alley.  To go along with those, there's folksy harmonies, beautiful lyrics and - in my mind - an incredible violinist (Richard Jones, who unfortunately left the band after this album).

Lead singer Chris Turpin's vocals are bluesy and unique - the power of his voice only became fully apparent to me when I saw him perform on stage.  I wondered how that sound didn't damage him on its way out.  And it's perfectly complimented by the other singer/keyboardist Stephanie Ward, whose delicate feminine tone harmonises wonderfully with his throaty timbre. 

An evocative album, it always puts me in mind of dusty desert roads and the deep South - even after the surprising revelation that it's creators are a group of English university students.  

I urge you to listen to this album - I cannot fault it and I never tire of it.  

Darlings of the Splitscreen

For my first music related post I thought I'd go uber-obscure with a band whom nobody (save the person who introduced me to them years ago - and I suspect he may have known them personally since they are from Sheffield) seems to have heard of: Darlings of the Splitscreen. I used to listen to them constantly despite their limited back catalogue and still go back to them regularly. 

They spout a brand of funky electro-pop with more energy than much else out there at the moment - with fun and clever lyrics epitomised in the track In/Out and computer based robotic riffs like that of Juxtaposed, they offer a low-budget, up-tempo bubblegum style that I feel is lacking in pop music.

I am espousing their merits now as there seems to have been a bit of a dearth in their material in the past few years and I fear that their already negligible fame will slide into nothingness pretty soon. And I feel they're talented enough to deserve a bit of exposure.

The best place to hear most of their songs is on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/darlingsofthesplitscreen/
and their EP This Is How We Roll is available on iTunes.
They also have at least one music video on YouTube.

So go and check them out, I hope you enjoy. Here's the only song of theirs I could find on SoundCloud; the WTF Panda Club remix of one of my favourite DOTS song, Hiroshima:


https://soundcloud.com/massnerder/darlings-of-the-splitscreen-hiroshima-wtf-panda-club-remix