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Music, Film, and Gaming

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Brigades signs to Pure Noise Records

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Brigades signs to Pure Noise Records

South Carolina based five-piece pop-punk band Brigades has officially signed to Pure Noise Records and will release their ‘Crocodile Tears‘ EP through the label this coming Spring.

The band’s own Darren Young had the following to say about the decision:

We are extremely grateful to be joining the Pure Noise Records family. We’re looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

You can take a listen to the Brigades track ‘The Writing on the Wall‘ below, taken from the band’s forthcoming ‘Crocodile Tears‘ EP:

The Stepfather (2009) Review

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A 2009 remake of the 1987 thriller film of the same name, The Stepfather seeks to cash in on the popularity of the Gossip Girl TV series as it sets Penn Badgley in a starring role (Gossip Girl’s Dan Humphrey) with Amber Heard playing the role of his on-screen girlfriend (who looks a huge amount like his Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively here).

The film begins with David Harris (Dylan Walsh) leaving a family home behind, leaving three dead children and their mother in his wake; he now looks to find his next victims and ultimately sets his sights upon single mother Susan Harding (played by Sela Ward). As Susan’s son Michael (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school, events occur that make Michael suspicious of his new stepfather, and although not everyone is behind him in his suspicions, Michael seeks to discover the truth about his secretive new stepfather and find out what it is that his mother’s new love seems to be hiding.

The Stepfather is at all times watchable and is certainly not a bad film as a piece of entertainment, with its predictable and extremely clichéd plot it’s certainly not a classic of its genre, however, and although it may nicely pass 100 minutes of your time if you’ve nothing better to do on an evening, there are certainly much better thrillers out there than this one. The film doesn’t set out to reinvent the wheel and has its fair share of plot holes and inconsistencies, if you’re willing to just accept it as a light, throwaway piece of entertainment though then you may just find that you quite enjoy watching this one.

Dylan Walsh’s performance as David Harris is most definitely an impressive one here as he performs his incredibly sinister role superbly well; he’s extremely convincing as his creepy character with a huge murderous secret to hide, and Walsh most definitely steals the show with his impressive acting style throughout the film. The other performances are all fairly forgettable and none of the rest of the cast really provide much in the way of a memorable performance, Walsh’s performance as the stepfather is definitely worth watching though and he most definitely plays the part to perfection.

If you’re a fan of the thriller genre then there’ll be nothing particularly new for you here, if you’re looking for a light piece of entertainment though then you could definitely do a lot worse than watching The Stepfather. Whilst the film is unlikely to massively shock or surprise you, it’s still a fairly entertaining offering from director Nelson McCormick, a man who is probably better known for directing TV shows than he is for directing feature films.

Crystal Antlers touring the UK in February/March 2014

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Crystal Antlers European Tour 2014

Californian rock band Crystal Antlers will be hitting the road towards the end of February, starting out in Brighton on February 25th and finishing up in Leeds on March 2nd.

The band recently worked with Dub legend Scientist on a remix of the track ‘All Gonna Die‘ from their most recent ‘Nothing Is Real‘ studio album, and guitarist Andrew King had the following to say about the experience:

It was great to work with the Scientist. I’ve been a fan of his work for some time now for the groups he’s produced and dubbed and it’s amazing to bring our elements together. He would always say to me “I could take this to a hundred different elements.” Dub music to me is psychedelic, something to trip on. It’s something that relaxes me.

The following is a full list of tour dates for Crystal Antlers’ February/March 2014 UK tour:

Tue 25 Feb 2014 Brighton Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar
Wed 26 Feb 2014 London Birthdays
Thu 27 Feb 2014 Manchester Roadhouse
Fri 28 Feb 2014 Dublin Workmans Club
Sat 01 Mar 2014 Glasgow Broadcast
Sun 02 Mar 2014 Leeds Brudenell Social Club

Taylor Momsen hitting the UK in support of Fall Out Boy this March

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Taylor Momsen

The Pretty Reckless will be touring the UK in March, supporting Fall Out Boy as their arena tour hits the UK.

The Pretty Reckless will release their new studio album ‘Going To Hell‘ later this year, and their latest single ‘Heaven Knows‘ which is taken from the forthcoming album is out now digitally via Cooking Vinyl.

The following is a full list of tour dates for The Pretty Reckless’ March 2014 tour with Fall Out Boy:

Sat 15th MARCH Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Sun 16th MARCH NIA, Birmingham
Mon 17th MARCH Phones 4 U Arena, Manchester
Thurs 20th MARCH Wembley Arena, London
Fri 21st MARCH Metro FM Arena, Newcastle
Sat 22nd MARCH The SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Issues – Never Lose Your Flames Lyric Video

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Official lyric video for the Issues track ‘Never Lose Your Flames‘, taken from the band’s forthcoming self-titled debut album which is to be released via Velocity/Rise Records on February 17th.

FUT 14 Player Profile: Jakub Blaszczykowski

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With fantastic sprint speed and acceleration combined with great dribbling, ball control, and crossing, Jakub Blaszczykowski is an incredibly impressive winger that’d be a brilliant addition to any FUT Bundesliga build.

Playing Blaszczykowski out wide you can use his pace to get away from defenders easily, and once you’ve done this you can then cut inside to torment the opposition defenders further, or stay out wide and utilise the player’s impressive crossing ability. With these two strong options available to you, playing with Jakub Blaszczykowski can make things difficult for the opposition as they’re constantly trying to second guess you and work out if you’ll stick to the wing or move him into the box in order to unleash a thunderous power shot.

Jakub Blaszczykowski is an incredibly powerful player to have at your disposal in a Bundesliga FUT squad; with him on the right wing you’ve always got a good chance of scoring goals, and if you stick someone like Mario Mandzuckic in the box then this can be an incredibly potent formula as you ping balls into the box with Blaszczykowski and utilise Mandzuckic’s incredible heading ability to take full advantage. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would also be an excellent player to have upfront with Blaszczykowski on the wing; Aubameyang might not have the same heading ability as a player like Mandzuckic, he does still perform very well with his headers though and is also incredibly fast so you therefore don’t have to worry about whether or not your forward is going to be able to keep up with the extreme pace of your wide man.

Jakub Blaszczykowski is an excellent right midfielder to sign that won’t break the bank but will provide you with a very strong outlet down the wing.

Movie 43 Review

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Despite an incredibly strong cast, Movie 43 is a comedy film that suffers from its extreme lack of laughs. Although occasionally amusing, all too often the film’s gags fall flat and this therefore provides for an incredibly underwhelming overall viewing experience.

Comprising of a series of short films, Movie 43 feels rushed and surprisingly low budget for a film with such a stellar selection of stars on show. With poor comic timing and a real lack of editing prowess, the film often fails in its quest for cheap laughs and this therefore results in a fairly painful viewing experience as you’re left constantly waiting and wondering when the film’s next laugh will arrive.

Terrence Howard’s sketch stands out strongly here as the finest moment of the film; Howard is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise massively disappointing comedy and although watching the full 90 minutes of the film isn’t particularly recommended, seeking out the ‘Victory’s Glory’ short should surely provide you with a good few laughs should you do so.

With cover art that boasts of ‘the biggest cast ever assembled’, bigger is most definitely not better here; Movie 43 may have an impressive cast at its disposal, but by and large the film itself is anything but.

Still Bust – If You Don’t Like Video Games You Probably Have Other Interests Video

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Official video for the Still Bust single ‘If You Don’t Like Video Games You Probably Have Other Interests‘, taken from the Gloucester based hardcore band’s ‘A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not)‘ debut album.

Man Overboard to perform in-store at Banquet Records

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Man Overboard Banquet Records

New Jersey pop-punk band Man Overboard are to perform at Banquet Records in Kingston on February 6th, kicking off the intimate in-store show at 5pm.

Man Overboard actually hit the road with Mayday Parade later this month, taking in a number of UK venues throughout the UK and Ireland, and will also be joined by Mayday Parade for the in-store show at Banquet.

The following is a full list of tour dates for the Man Overboard/Mayday Parade January/February 2014 UK tour:

23 Jan BOURNEMOUTH o2 Academy
24 Jan STOKE Sugarmill
25 Jan NORWICH Waterfront
26 Jan NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
27Jan NEWCASTLE o2 Academy 1
28 Jan GLASGOW QMU
30 Jan MANCHESTER Academy 2
01 Feb DUBLIN Academy
02 Feb LIVERPOOL o2 Academy 2
03 Feb CARDIFF Solus
04 Feb LEEDS Cockpit
05 Feb OXFORD o2 Academy 2
06 Feb KINGSTON, Banquet In store 5pm
07 Feb LONDON Koko

Youth Man Announce January 2014 Tour Dates

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Youth Man

Birmingham based psych-punk trio Youth Man are to perform a number of UK shows later this month, kicking off in their hometown of Birmingham before going on to play four more tour dates throughout the country.

Having released their debut EP ‘Bad Weather‘ at the end of last year, big things are expected of Youth Man in 2014, and having already gained radio coverage on XFM and Radio One and been championed by the likes of NME and Rock Sound, the future certainly looks to be extremely bright for Youth Man.

The following is a full list of Youth Man’s January 2014 tour plans:

18.1.14 – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
22.1.14 – The Bell Jar, Sheffield
23.1.14 – New Slang, Kingston
25.1.14 – Start The Bus, Bristol
28.1.14 – The Old Blue Last, London