Comic Review - The Wicked + The Divine

The Wicked + The Divine is an ongoing creator owned comic. It is written by  Kieron Gillen with art by Jamie McKelvie. Currently 2 issues have been published. It's published by Image. This is a spoiler free review.

The Wicked + The Divine #1 cover by Jamie McKelvie

I've spoken before about how absolutely brilliant Gillen & McKelvie's Phonogra; it should come as no surprise that I rate this highly too. And I do rate it very highly. With only two issues out it is one of three comics that vie for the title of my favourite, (The others are Alex + Ada, reviewed here, and Sex Criminals, to be reviewed soon).

One of the reasons I like it so much after two issues is the lack of wasted space. It's common in comics that the first issue is all set-up with a final page reveal that gets the main story started. Partly because it's serialised story telling and you want people to buy the next issue but partly because creators want to set up the world they are telling their story in. The Wicked + The Divine creates the world as it tells the story.It's set on a world that is basically our own. The concept is that every 90 years 12 gods become incarnate in already living people. Within 2 years they're all dead.

The current incarnations of the gods have all become pop stars. The story is told through the filter of Laura, a fan of the gods/popstars who wants to become one of them. The secondary main character, (so far anyway, i guess she'll become as prominent as Laura soon), is Cassandra; a critic and journalist who is sceptical that these people are gods.The comic deals with how people are idolised and elevated by society as a whole. Laura & Cassandra represent the two extremes of this. One totally buying in to the idea and the other not just dismissing it but hating that people buy in to it. Nonetheless, they are both obsessed with the truth behind the story; they're both obsessed with the gods.

Art by Jamie McKelvie

As I said before, Laura wants to become one of the gods. She wants what they have. Of course a journey towards becoming that means leaving behind everything else, friends, family, college. She wants what they have but if she achieves it and becomes famous, will there be anything left of her. Will she still be Laura or another, ultimately disposable, celebrity. After all, these people are gods. But only for two years.

I mentioned this will be spoiler free so rather than talk any more about the plot I'm going to talk about what makes the book great. Firstly, the art is gorgeous. McKelvie has the knack of drawing images that even when full of movement and action are never confused or muddled. They lead the reader exactly where they need to go. Matt Wilson's colours deserve special praise too. the palette fits perfectly with the art; it's bright without ever being garish. Gillen's writing is clever but not subtle. That's not to say there's nothing to be found be re-reading or digging deeper into the story, there is, but it's a book about pop culture and how that leads to a transient immortality. It is frequently on the nose but never overbearingly asking you if you get the points it's making.

 Art by Jamie McKelvie 

Gillen & McKelvie are two talented creators and their work is always worth checking out. When they're collaborating it becomes a must buy for me. The Wicked + The Divine is shaping up to be their masterpiece. You should grab the first two issues and join in.

One last thing. Being that it's a book based around popstars, and Gillen is an ex-music journalist, he's created a spotify playlist for the series here.

My Favourite Albums - Hometowns

Hometowns is the debut album from The Rural Alberta Advantage. Released in 2008 and then re-released in 2009 after the band signed with a new & bigger label.

The Rural Alberta Advantage, from here on out I'll just refer to them as The RAA, is a three piece Canadian band made up of Nils Edenloff, (guitar and vocals), Amy Cole, (backing vocals, keyboards and percussion), and Paul Banwatt (drums).

Amy Cole, Paul Banwatt & Nils Edenloff (l-r)

If you read the last installment of Sunday Music you'll have seen, and heard, Don't Haunt This Place from Hometowns. It's one of my favourite songs from the album but it's not necessarily representative of the whole album, at least musically. I'm not sure there is one song that's representative of the musical styles on the album.

 The Dethbridge in Lethbridge

Lyrically however the album covers the same ground regardless of the music. The songs are about longing for something lost. A man in Toronto looking back at his past in Alberta and writing about that. So the lyrics are about things lost. Things left behind. A simpler way of life that we have when we're younger; soon enough to be replaced by the more complicated adult world. And it's a world that can never be revisited. Even if you go back to those places you've changed even if the places haven't. It's nostalgia, the remembering of things we loved that are gone.

Four Night Rider

Of course the problem with nostalgia can be that it leads to a refusal to grow up. Always looking back at the past is the easiest way to miss the present. This is not a trap that I personally feel Hometowns fall into. It's not an album about nostalgia as much as it's an album about living. Partially of this comes from the lyrics but mostly I think it comes from Paul Banwatt's drumming. All three members of the band are skilled musicians worthy of praise and the band works together in a perfectly complimentary way. All that said; Banwatt may be the best drummer around at the moment. In my opinion he's certainly vying with The Bad Plus' Dave King for the title. His drumming is always flawless, always driving the band along but never straying to far ahead. It gives the album a much needed vitality.

Luciana

Nils Edenloff's vocals do somewhat sound like Jeff Magnum's. The RAA however aren't another band trying to be the next Neutral Milk Hotel; they are just uniquely themselves and Hometowns is the perfect, (I know I've over-used that word), and expression of that. In a world where it's easier to tear things down and make snarky, pithy comments, (something I am very guilty of) this is a sincere album by a sincere band. If there is one song that perfectly sums up this album it's In The Summertime. A song about the past, dealing with the present optimistically, and looking forward to the future. Driven along by Banwatt's heartbeat drumming accomponied by Amy Cole's keyboards and finishing off the song, and the album, with her vocals.

In The Summertime

Your music collection is a much poorer place without Hometowns.

Comic review - Satellite Sam

Satellite Sam is an ongoing creator owned comic. It is written by Matt Fraction with art by Howard Chaykin. Currently 8 issues have been published and a trade paper back collecting issues 1-5 is also available. It's published by Image. Before we go any further there will be some mild spoilers in this review.

Satellite Sam #1 cover by Howard Chaykin

Matt Fraction is currently writing another creator owned book at Image, Sex Criminals. Sex Criminals is a sex comedy. I won't go into it any further now, there will be a review in the next week or two. I mention only because Satellite Sam is pretty much the polar opposite of it.

Satellite Sam is set in the early 1950's at the birth of TV. Satellite Sam is a serialised kids sci-fi TV show. In the first issue the star, and owner, of the show is found dead. In a secret apartment in which his son, the main character, finds boxes and boxes of photos of women.

Art by Howard Chaykin

The comic revolves around Mike, the aforementioned son, and his attempts to find out just what happened to his dad and what all those pictures are about. Also, he replaces his dad on the Satellite Sam show, despite not being an actor. Or at least it's mostly about that. There are plenty of subplots running through the series. There's the studio owner trying to compete with the networks. The show's writer dealing with various pressures that would be too spoilerish to go into. One of the female co-stars of the show, Maria, and her relationship with her boyfriend. The director and his health. One of the crew members, Gene, trying to creative an inventive new style of TV show. Mike recruits another of the show's female co-stars to help him find out more about his dad. This co-star is also a born-again Christian and former hedonist. Her helping Mike leads to her having to confront issues from her past she thought long dealt with. To put it another way, the series is packed with plot and sub-plots.

Sometimes that works against it as they don't always seem to mesh together well. Mostly though it's a compelling look at just how messed up and inter-connected everything is. The comic has a tight, clautraphobic atmosphere. Everyone's trapped in some way. Mike is trapped in his father's shadow. The station is trapped by federal legislation. Other characters are trapped by the contrast between the lives they want to lead and the lives they have to appear to lead, again I'm trying to avoid spoilers. Maria is trapped, trying to make a career in America after leaving her life in Italy behind after the war. The picture below is her dressing for her boyfriend exactly how she appears on one of the posters for an old film of hers. She's trapped by the past and her heritage.

Art by Howard Chaykin

Even Gene, as he tries to break new ground in his medium, is trapped by what a terrible person he can be.

Gene's struggle is really the struggle of the comic. He wants to make a TV show where the words and the story clash with each other and both need to be paid attention to. The comic is the story of people trying to make their way in the world and the art is full of tightly framed panels to show just how constricted they are. Ultimately the things they do are limited by things they can't control.

It's fair to say that the comic has too many plotlines than it can handle sometimes and it's true to say that the main character, Mike, is pretty much a forgettable main character, (to a degree that's part of the point of his character but it can make it a little too hard to care about him), but overall this comic is a well written & beautifully drawn series that weaves interesting stories that promise to pay off in an very entertaining way in the future. I think it's worth checking out.

Comics review - Alex + Ada

This is my first comic review here. I'll be reviewing some series that are on going and others that are complete. This review is of the ongoing series Alex + Ada.  There'll be some mild spoilers in the review; nothing that will inhibit your enjoyment of the story. If you don't want to read any further then let me say now; this book is great and worth your attention.

Alex + Ada issue #1 cover by Jonathan Luna

Alex + Ada is a creator owned series co-written by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn with art by Jonathan Luna. It's published by Image and currently has 7 issues released. I think, based on the way Jonathan Luna's previous works with his brother Joshua Luna, that Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn plot the overall story and individual issues together and Sarah Vaughn scripts the dialogue.

Alex + Ada takes places in the very near, and recognisable, future USA. It's set in a world where technology has progressed in not too outlandish ways except, perhaps, for the prolifiration of robots. Basic robots that perform household chores and other more advanced robots that are companions, basically sex slaves. (There's no sex or nudity in this book)

Mild spoilers from this point on.

A year before the story starts AI has been banned. Robots with AI had become self aware and violence followed.

The story starts with Alex. Recently broken up with his girlfriend and drifting along going through the motions. If you've been through a break-up you'll know the state he's in. Not wallowing in grief, just recovering and trying to move on. It's his birthday and his wealthy grandmother decides to buy him, against his protestations, a Tanaka X5; the most advanced robot around. She has one, Daniel, that is her adoring sex slave and she thinks it's just the thing Alex needs to cheer him up.

Ada arrives and is completely subservient to Alex. He has no desire to have her but is unable to bring to return her.

Art by Jonathan Luna

Alex  comes to believe that it is possible for Ada's AI to be unblocked in such a way that she can have her own personality. Despite it being illegal he resolves to pursue this. It shouldn't be too much of a spoiler or a shock that his attempts are ultimately successful.

Art by Jonathan Luna

So, that's the plot. What makes the story great is how the obvious themes are explored. Sci fi meditations on the nature of humanity, freedom and morality are pretty common but in Alex + Ada they are explored in subtle, non-preachy ways. Alex wants to do the right thing but that makes him a law-breaker; something he's obviously not comfortable with. Ada gaining full awareness puts there relationship at risk; she's gone from a servant to a friend. He can no longer command her, only try and teach her. Her new freedom comes with significant dangers; the truth must be kept secret from everyone. Ada's explorations of life and its experiences are portrayed with a childlike charm that is almost impossible not to appreciate. But it comes with a price. As Ada learns more she wants to experience more. Given that her existence is highly illegal she has so far been mostly confined to Alex's house. When she wants to go out into the wider world a whole new set of problems with present themselves. As much as Ada has learned about the world she hasn't experienced much at all. She has no idea how to interact in company. She could not pass as a human in dealings with the real world. Yet, she will need to experience the real world at some stage.

A final word on the art. Luna's work is so beautiful. He has a knack for knowing what to draw and how to draw it that comes across as realistic rather than hyper-exaggerated. Alex acts as a decent guy and this is believable because that's how he looks. His grandmother is drawn to be loving towards him and slightly eccentric. It's no surprise that the characters personalities match the way they are drawn so well, Luna is co-writer after all, but it is still worthy of praise.Again, the key word is subtle. The same is true with the colours. Everything has a beautiful muted touch to it. This is very much the not at all distant future rather than some fantastical future.

The first 5 issues of Alex + Ada are available in a collected trade paperback now 9in the US at least, the UK edition is released at the end of July) and I heartily recommend checking it out and picking up issues 6 and 7 while you're doing it. I don't think you'll regret it at all.

My favourite albums - Juxtapose & listening to Tricky

If you've been reading the weekly Sunday Music posts you know that for the last few weeks I've been posting Tricky songs every week. The problem is, that's only one or two songs out of six I post on a Sunday. Here's a solution. It's moving a little too slowly for my liking. It's been a while since I've made a new entry in the My favourite album series. This is a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Today I'll be talking about Tricky's 1999 release, Juxtapose.

Juxtapose was released in 1999; the first album to not feature Martina Topley-Bird on vocals. It is, I think, a big step forward in Tricky's style. Maxinquaye was such an impactful album that all the albums that followed it felt like reactions to it. Not attempts to copy it or improve it necessarily. The albums that followed Maxinquaye were all good; I personally rate Pre-Millennium Tension very highly. None of them quite stepped out of the shadow that the masterpiece that is Maxinquaye cast.

Juxtapose does step away from it. It's an entirely different style of music. Maxinquaye is over the horizon and in the past.

Contradictive by Tricky

This is the sound of a more mature Tricky. No longer an artist worrying about the trip-hop label being hung on him; he decisevly moves away from mid-90's trip hop. There's an argument to be made that trip hop follows the direction Tricky sets on this album, that doesn't change the altered course Tricky lays down here.

For Real by Tricky

Some credit for the album must of course go to producers DJ Muggs & Dame Grease. DJ Muggs is Cypress Hills' DJ & producer and has worked with a lot of other bands and artists. Including, oddly enough, Simply Red and, most famously, House of Pain. Dame Grease is probably most well known for his production with DMX and Nas. There's an entirely different feel to this album than all the ones that went before and a lot of that must be down to the producers.

She Said by Tricky

All that said, this is still unmistakably a Tricky album. His vocals are still delivered with that characteristic low almost growling tone. His lyrics are down to earth and often poignant. It is a Tricky album and it is a great one.

My favourite albums - Different Class

Not long before I put this blog on hiatus, a phrase which implies a degree of planning that certainly did not exist, I had decided to do a series of posts about my favourite albums. It's still something I want to do, now I'm going to do it.

A few ground rules first:

I'll be choosing 99 albums. Obviously, this won't be a short term project.

I'm going to limit myself to three albums per band/solo artist. This is to avoid filling the list with just the discographies of my favourite bands and seek albums that I love rather than just come up with the easy answers.

I'm going to avoid Best Of albums with the exception of some older jazz and blues artists who didn't really record albums, just singles.

These albums are not in any ranked order, I'll just write about them in the order I want to.

That's it, let's move on to the first album, Different Class by Pulp.

Different Class came out in October 1995 in between 1994's His 'N' Hers and 1998's This Is Hardcore, two other albums that will eventually feature on this list. All three of those albums were nominated for the Mercury Prize and the three albums together, in my opinion at least, form a cohesive whole about changing views and experiences of life.

Back to Different Class. Even though His 'N' Hers broke Pulp through to mainstream success Different Class made them absolutely huge. As good as His 'N' Hers was, and I think it's a great album, Different Class improves significantly on it. There's a maturity to the songs. A sense that these aren't just kids anymore but reflective adults, looking backwards to the past and forward to the future as well as recognising the present. Different Class came out in the midst of Britpop, it is very much a Britpop album, but it's also much more. It's not just about the present, about modern life in 1990's Britain and when it does talk about those subjects it isn't just about the perils of the rat race or the fun to be had at parties and festivals. It has major themes of working class life and sex running through it. It is, as I've said, an album of people who have become adults and are starting to have adult worries.

Live Bed Show by Pulp

The most well known song from the album, and from Pulp's career, is of course Common People. A song that pretty perfectly sums up the album. A song about cultural tourism the song is Jarvis Cocker's definite statement, at least it seems to me, about the class system in Britain. All done in a way that is funny and never boring. It's also covered by William Shatner if you want a really weird experience.

Common People by Pulp 

At the heart of it all Common People is an album about identity and belonging. It doesn't lionise or demonise the culture it's part of, it never sneers at it or tries to excuse it. It's full of sarcasm, piss taking and self-awareness It's about belonging regardless of how valuable or not the thing you belong to is. It's about creating something of your own to belong to, about not being afraid of life or living it your way. Not better or worse than the alternative ways and cultures, but truly yours.

Mis-Shapes by Pulp

The Last Royals - review

Update: The EP is available free on noisetrade for this week, go download it.



You'll remember The Last Royals from their cover of EMF's Unbelievable I posted just over a week ago.

Signed to Ooh La La Recordings The Last Royals are Eric James on vocals, synths and guitar and Mason Ingram on drums, percussion and samples. I described the Brooklyn based duo as producing catchy music that's full of hooks. That's not just true of their cover but of their EP.

Catchy indie pop at it's best, The Last Royals craft songs that spend all day stuck in your head. Backseat Lovers sound like an exceptionally talented updated take on late 90's indie. Obviously all band have influences, but that's not to say The Last Royals are solely derivative and offer nothing on their own merits. Crystal Vase is just full and bouncy and fun and catchy and about the desperation, isolation and discord that happens in the aftermath of a marriage breaking up. It's not exactly easy to write a song that combines those elements. Always, To Belong is again steeped in late 90's indie, but much better. Had the indie scene actually been this good in the late 90's bands like The Strokes wouldn't have seemed so necessary. Come Take My Hand is a demo that certainly doesn't sound in anyway unfinished or under-produced. Backseat Lovers (Crayon Remix) sounds less like a remix and more like a complete re-imagining of the original, with a large serving of tenderness.



The track listing for the EP is:

Backseat Lovers
Crystal Vases
Always, To Belong
Come Take My Hand (Demo)
Backseat Lovers (Crayon Remix)

On the off chance you missed their cover of Unbelievable here it is again:

Unbelievable by The Last Royals (originally by EMF)

and you can download Backseat Lovers (Crayon Remix) here:

and listen to Crystal Vase here:



You can visit The Last Royals myspace and youtube

And then you can, and should, go and buy the EP. It's only $2.99 and you can get it from bandcamp and The Last Royals webstore. I've got no vested interest in you buying the EP, I just think you might fall in love with it like I have.

Icarus Himself

I've featured Icarus Himself before, two songs from the excellent debut album Coffins.

In case you've forgotten them here are the links again:

Sometimes I Can't Stand You, But That Doesn't Mean I Don't Want You Around by Icarus Himself (this may very well be the most played song on iTunes for me)

Precedents - Icarus Himself.

I described them as lo-fi, sarcastic, funny and cynical indie rock.

Now they've got a new EP out, (in fact it was released in May, I should have posted about it ages ago), called Mexico.



Mexico is all the things that Coffins is, but more. It may be that the more restricted focus of the EP format has led to more concentrated songs, whatever the reason this is a huge step forward from the already excellent Coffins. The songs are still minimalist and lo-fi, but in a much more textured way. Mexico sounds like Coffins with equal parts of Beirut, specifically the trumpet, and Wolf Parade, specifically Language City, mixed in. The songs sound murkier, the vocals less to the fore, but this just brings the songs together as a whole.

I know I'm not doing a great job of describing the sound, but that's because it is hard to describe. It's like a really weird case of deja vu, the first time you listen to it the EP sounds familiar but new. Anyway, I'm going to stop trying to describe it now and let you hear for yourself:



It's hard for me to pick a favourite track, but I think I'll go with Seen It Coming (Mexico) the last track from the EP. Give Mexico a try, you will love it.

Buy it (and debut album Coffins) here

Visit their myspace here They're doing an 11 gig tour of some of the northern states (4 of the gigs are in Wisconsin) later this month and into October, dates are on myspace, and you can stream 2 songs from Mexico and 4 from Coffins while you're there.

Record Review - 8mm

As I've said before one of the things I like about this blog is discovering new music. Bloggers have trouble with DMCA notices and it can be extremley frustrating but when somebody gets in touch with you and shares music with you because your blog is a good way for other people to come across their music then that's very rewarding.

A couple of Sunday's ago I featured 8mm's cover of Bad Moon Rising, which was pretty popular until a DMCA notice killed it. There's a new link to the file, so chances are if you're reading this you've heard the cover. If you haven't, here's the link again:

Bad Moon Rising by 8m (originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival). Even if you haven't heard the cover, chances are you've heard them on the various TV and movie soundtracks they've featured on in the last few years.

8mm have released an EP called Love And The Apocalypse, and that's what I'm reviewing.



Firstly, the cover of Bad Moon Rising was good, but it's not really that much like the music on the EP. As good as the cover is Love and The Apocalypse is better. A lot better.

8mm have been described as a mix of Tricky, Portishead and PJ Harvey but I don't think that describes this album. To me Tricky and Portishead produce music that's dense, it's the sound of inner-city England but 8mm, despite still being down-tempo, have much airier sound, much freer and almost carefree. It's the perfect music to listen to on a sunny day, the sort of music that brings happy memories to mind. It's pop music in the very best sense of the word.

That's not to say that it's in anyway disposable, throwaway music. The lyrics aren't carefree but they sit perfectly with the contrastingly mellow music. And the comparison of vocalist Juliette Beavan with PJ Harvey is a fair comparison. Mostly they remind me of Viva Voce when they were still a two-piece.

8mm are vocalist Juliette Beavan, her husband and multi-instrumentalist Sean Beavan (who's almost guaranteed to have mixed and/or produced something you own) and drummer Jon Nicholson.

This EP's full of songs that get stuck in your head and is well worth adding to your collection, I highly recommend it.

Here's a couple of videos of Deep Blue You from the EP:



The track listing is:

Los Angeles
Deep Blue You
Mean (my favourite track from the EP)
Never Go Back Again
Life Is Good
One For The Road.

Buy it here from iTunes.

Visit 8mm's website and myspace.



As a bonus here's the video for Stunning from their 2006 album Songs To Love And Die By: