So You Want To Read a DC Comic …

DC Comics puts out a load of great comics, but it can be really hard to figure out which ones fit your tastes or feature the heroes you care to read about. But donÔÇÖt worry about that, weÔÇÖve got you covered. Check out the following list of our favourite DC books to learn what the stories are about, why theyÔÇÖre worth reading, and where to … Continue reading So You Want To Read a DC Comic …

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is perhaps Marvel StudiosÔÇÖ most intricately crafted film yet. The set-up is straightforward enough: ┬áCap and Black Widow are working for Nick Fury when S.H.I.E.L.D. comes under attack. Unsure of whom, if anyone, to trust, they must uncover a hidden threat before it destroys them all. The film not only serves as a strong follow-up to CapÔÇÖs first outing, Captain … Continue reading Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Review: Curtain Call (by Broadway Dance Society), The Gate

Last week the Broadway Dance Society performed their annual showcase, featuring popular musicals like Wicked, Mamma Mia, Billy Elliott, and The Lord of the Rings. Vaiva Seskeviciute reviews the studentsÔÇÖ powerful performance Broadway Dance Society performed ÔÇ£Curtain CallÔÇØ last Saturday at The Gate Arts Centre where viewers could enjoy tap, jazz, ballet, Irish, American high-kick and contemporary dance. During the two-hour show the audience was … Continue reading Review: Curtain Call (by Broadway Dance Society), The Gate

Review: Windband & Chamber Orchestra Concert, St TeiloÔÇÖs Church

Culture editor Sum Sze Tam ventured into a stained-glass church for an evening of atmospheric music that veered from the brassy, to rousing, to the absolutely beautiful Perhaps the most impactful thing about this concert, before it even began, was the venue. Set in St TeiloÔÇÖs church on Woodville Road, the audience are seated on pews in between the pillars of the church interior. YouÔÇÖre … Continue reading Review: Windband & Chamber Orchestra Concert, St TeiloÔÇÖs Church

Interview: Skindred

Alec Evans talks to Benji Webbe of Skindred ahead of their Newport Helicop-tour show at Newport Centre Your last shows were part of the Soundwave Australian touring festival. How do Australian crowds compare to the UK, particularly Wales? Benji Webbe: Yeah, that was good fun, that was real good fun. We played on a great stage with bands like Clutch and Chino from the DeftonesÔÇÖ … Continue reading Interview: Skindred

Album Review: playlounge – ‘pilot’

ÔÇÿpilotÔÇÖ is the debut album from the London based duo playlounge [they like lowercase, IÔÇÖm not just being lazy ÔÇô ed]. The opening track, ÔÇÿi am a lionÔÇÖ shows you instantly what this band are about. Noise. Lots and lots of noise. Its starts the album with such enthusiasm screaming a very loud ÔÇÿHELLO WEÔÇÖRE HEREÔÇÖ but yet is so rhythmically sound it keeps you … Continue reading Album Review: playlounge – ‘pilot’

Album Review: Radstewart – ‘Wiccans and Beatlemancers’

RadstewartÔÇÖs debut EP proper, ÔÇÿWiccans and BeatlemancersÔÇÖ is as confident and catchy an indie pop record as youÔÇÖll hear this year. The Cardiff boys have garnered a great deal of interest lately and ÔÇÿWiccansÔǪÔÇÖ serves to continue their rise to indie royalty in the ÔÇÿdiff. The EP starts with a riff very similar to The Pixies garage classic ÔÇÿWhere Is My Mind?ÔÇÖ This may be … Continue reading Album Review: Radstewart – ‘Wiccans and Beatlemancers’

Album Review: Johnny Foreigner – ‘You Can Do Better’

If youÔÇÖve spent the last seven years blissfully unaware of the melodic noise-pop sounds common to Johnny Foreigner records, then describing ÔÇÿYou Can Do BetterÔÇÖ as exactly what you would expect is nothing more than an empty remark. If, on the other hand, youÔÇÖve followed the band from the beginning, then you shall not be disappointed. Having admitted taking inspiration from the favourites of their … Continue reading Album Review: Johnny Foreigner – ‘You Can Do Better’

Live Review: Chvrches, Cardiff Solus

ItÔÇÖs hard to know what to expect from a band like CHVRCHES. When the band consists of essentially two guys behind keyboards and a singer, one might not expect much of a performance from the live show. In some ways this is true, but at the same time they are somehow completely mesmerising. This probably has a lot to do with the combination of the … Continue reading Live Review: Chvrches, Cardiff Solus

Live Review: Manic Street Preachers, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena

The area around the Motorpoint Arena seems surprisingly quiet for the Manic Street Preachers’ only Wales show of their ÔÇÿFuturologyÔÇÖ tour. ItÔÇÖs slightly funny to think that the largest throng in the city centre is currently outside the Cineworld to meet Russell Crowe when one of the countryÔÇÖs finest ever musical exports is gearing up for a show a few hundred yards away. Inside the … Continue reading Live Review: Manic Street Preachers, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena

Live Review: Franz Ferdinand, O2 Academy Bristol

About ten minutes in to Franz FerdinandÔÇÖs gargantuan 90 minute set I am struck by how bizarre a situation I have found myself in: watching Alex Kapranos and co rocking out to a full O2 acadamy. In 2014. Minus ten years and perhaps this would seem normal, but a feeling of sheer nostalgic pleasure proves impossible to resist. I suppose Bristol agreed, a hungry crowd … Continue reading Live Review: Franz Ferdinand, O2 Academy Bristol

Album Review: Sky Ferreira – ‘Night Time, My Time’

The long awaited album by Sky Ferreira has finally arrived. After four unreleased albums, it has been an arduous journey for the 21 year old in creating Night Time, My Time and the result is a raw and rocky affair. The cover artwork features a topless Ferreira standing in a shower, a deviation from the squeaky clean pop star her label wanted and this sets … Continue reading Album Review: Sky Ferreira – ‘Night Time, My Time’

Interview: Of Mice and Men

Alec Evans chatted to bassist/vocalist Aaron Pauley from Californian metallers Of Mice & Men, ahead of their sold out GB Live show at Cardiff’s Great Hall. You are currently touring the USA with the UKÔÇÖs Bring Me the Horizon. Are they a good band to have as touring partners? Aaron Pauley (Bass, clean vocals): Oh, absolutely! ItÔÇÖs funny too, because weÔÇÖre from California so our … Continue reading Interview: Of Mice and Men

Live Review: Bombay Bicycle Club, The Great Hall – Cardiff

Spring is finally descending, the sun is beginning to shine; that means one thing, itÔÇÖs time for everyone to realise how much they love Bombay Bicycle Club again. Fitting then that they should pop down to the Great Hall to showcase their impressive new album, ÔÇÿSo Long, See You TomorrowÔÇÖ. The theme of the show is made immediately clear; ÔÇÿwe are not the same Bombay … Continue reading Live Review: Bombay Bicycle Club, The Great Hall – Cardiff

Album Review: Rodrigo Y Gabriela – ‘9 Dead Alive’

Rodrigo y Gabriela are now on their fifth album. Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela QuinteroÔÇÖs instrumental Mexican guitar duo have built up a promising following ever since the release of debut re-Foc in 2002, gaining a cult following after playing on the streets of Dublin, resulting in second album Rodrigo y Gabriela reaching number 1 in IrelandÔÇÖs album chart while it only reached 53 here in … Continue reading Album Review: Rodrigo Y Gabriela – ‘9 Dead Alive’

Live Review: Howl and Birth of Joy, The Moon Club, 27.03.14

Eerie blue stage lights illuminate the Moon Club.┬áThe floor is sticky with its carpet of spilled lager. An audience clad in black overcoats and leather boots lie in wait, eagerly anticipating the werewolves of CardiffÔÇÖs rock scene. Howl breathe new life into a genre that has become somewhat stagnant in South Wales.┬áThe problem is not a lack of heavy rock bands; the problem is the … Continue reading Live Review: Howl and Birth of Joy, The Moon Club, 27.03.14

Album Review: Band Of Skulls – ‘Himalayan’

The title of Southampton rockers Band Of Skulls’ third album is a decent starting point to describing the sound on show here. ‘Himalayan’: the riffs are towering and the rhythm section is colossal. Kicking off with ‘Asleep at the Wheel’, the lead single, guitarist and vocalist Russell Marsden howls, “Where we are going is anyone’s guess!”, before laying down a monstrous Led-Zep style guitar riff. … Continue reading Album Review: Band Of Skulls – ‘Himalayan’

Album Review: Kylie Minogue – ‘Kiss Me Once’

‘Locomotion’. ‘I Should Be So Lucky’. ‘Better the Devil You Know’. ‘Spinning Around’. ‘CanÔÇÖt Get You Out of My Head’. From the beginnings of her fame as Charlene Robinson in┬áNeighbours┬áto joining┬áThe VoiceÔÇÖs judging panel earlier this year, there arenÔÇÖt many figures in pop with quite the same CV of hits as Kylie Minogue. Even after a breast cancer scare in 2005, creating enough awareness publicly … Continue reading Album Review: Kylie Minogue – ‘Kiss Me Once’

Review: Thief

When a franchise that is beloved by its fandom is rebooted, it is always going to be a divisive game. So in this instance an attempt has to be made to separate the game from its predecessors and judge it on its own merits. Last month after several years of development, anticipation and internet arguments, Eidos Montreal released the simply-titled Thief. First off, the game … Continue reading Review: Thief