Lets Talk About...The Mandalorian

I don't want to say I am out on The Mandalorian. Yet. And yet I am very disappointed by the third series of the winning series so far. I feel the injection of Mando into The Book of Boba Fett was a mistake as it showed the producers of the live-action Star Wars series moving forward felt the only way to keep people interested was to keep giving people the man behind the mask and the creed and the way.

The new series shows Din seeking to bathe in the waters of Mandalore to be redeeming following his removal of the sacred helmet and revealing his Pedro Pascal face to Grogu. That sort of tale of redemption is one that could have been the basis of a series worth of stories, Din's journey to the waters, the obstacles along the way and yet he got there at the end of episode 2 and thus redeeming himself.

There, for this padawan, appears to be a confusion in the storytelling. In Episode 4, The Foundling we have now a tangent where we see Grogu being rescued from the Order 66 attack on Coruscant by the clone troopers by other jedi. This now paints the tale as Grogu being a very important foundling who demands constant attention and support - this made me ask the question is he really a clone of Yoda, did the Jedi use the technology to their own benefit in some way knowing that something bad was going to occur.

Like last week's episode 'The Convert' a tale that revolved around Dr. Pershing and his intrepid partner in supposed asylum crime on Coruscant, that diversion was interesting and heralded a tale where you where given time with periphery characters who were afforded time and a character made more whole. And yet that was bookended by some boring bits involving Din and Bo Katan being welcomed back into the group.

I think the problem they have with the Mandalorian is perhaps the man himself. He is now redeemed. He is no longer a bounty hunter. He is a surrogate father to Grogu. What is his journey now? Or is this series with four episodes remaining just a foreshadowing or warm up to the incoming Ashoka or Skeleton Crew series. What is Mando now if nothing more than a gatekeeper to more content from Star Wars universe. As a fan of that universe for so long I am not going to object to more content, yet you have to make it engaging and worthwhile. The tone of a lot of episodes currently is very plodding and playing with our attention that hopes for more to come, its just a matter of when will that be forthcoming.

Patience is a virtue and must be a part of the creed. This is the way.

Gold Cage 'Social Crutch'

LA trio Gold Cage release debut album SOCIAL CRUTCH on 27th March from Felte Records

Comprised of singer/bassist Mony Katz, singer/guitarist Cole Devine and drummer Sage Ross - the trio combine dreamy shoegaze melodies, with a lyrical tension of the present day environment and this is embedded in an aura of post-punk influence ranging from Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth to the present day peers of Ezra Furman and Activity.

While Activity - whose own debut is released the same day - are more avant-garde, Gold Cage have the backbone of the punk ethos through their collective DNA, rich evocative songs dripping with hooky basslines and in Katz and Devine's combined penchant for whispered delivery they have a knack of making songs that stick with you.

From lead single and album opener, 'Repeater Kember', this is the song that shows off their influences and this was followed up by second single 'Halcion' - a song that shows off the best of New Order and Smashing Pumpkins to the fore.

Yet the best single might be third track 'Introduce My Mind' a song that is the most catchy of the album and ripe for radio play with the mainstream appeal every band requires for crossover potential.

All in all, Gold Cage have made a stunning debut album that if given the right audience may well shoot them to greater things, the band allows the listener to hear the tightness of the band as a unit and is not as inclusive as other works say allowing the listener to enter their world and enjoy the view.

Social Crutch is released from Felte Records on 27th March.
Visit their homepage to purchase material

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Things Can Only Get Better - David M. Barnett

Following on from his best seller CALLING MAJOR TOM, David M. Barnett is back with a new novel set in the mid 1990s.

Our lead protagonist is Arthur Calderbank, an elderly widow who is not living in a chapel that overlooks the cemetery where his deceased wife, Mollie lays now.

Arthur is the custodian of the cemetery, keeping gravestones clean and making sure the proper respect is paid by those who visit and those merely passing through. In his elderly years, life has one more surprise for Arthur. It is Christmas time and his wife's birthday is December 23rd, every night of her birthday an unknown person leaves moonflowers on her gravestone.  Arthur is perplexed as he has no idea who it could be as they had no children and no living family members.

Meanwhile, Arthur encounters four teenagers - Kelly, Gemma, Nicola and Timmy - who through will and determination believe they can be a rock and roll band reminiscent of Oasis and other Britpop bands of that esteemed era of popular music.

Tension ensues as the days wind down to the night flower mystery, the children have their own bad luck to contend with as bullies from all sides make themselves known.  All the children have dreams but living in a former mining town, their parents are out of work and looking to blame someone for it; they feel they have to dream to be able to leave the town, Kelly visits along with her mother to her factory job and has this vision of being the unlikely sprocket, the cog that is not wanted but can still get out of the system.

Barnett writes wittingly and lovingly, he is assured in writing genuine dialogue for both teenagers and the elderly getting the write back and forth between all generations spot on, which is difficult in these times nevermind trying to time capsule how people actually did speak, one teenage girl constantly says, 'He is well fit' which memory serves as a correct term of endearment over twenty years ago.

The author is a self-confessed cinema geek and his filmic references are great to spot throughout the novel from the little nod to a pharmacist recalling Its A Wonderful Life to the British cinema mining town Brassed Off to the youngsters wanting to make something of themselves a la Sing Street.

He also does a clever trick of talking about today by looking into recent history - the ground swell of opinion on immigration, entitlement of youth - and the past being lost to newer generations. Barnett makes a comment that we should all remain strong as a community of support and respect.

Barnett writes so well that this reader devoured the book in merely a couple of days, his recall and use of historical events help set in stone an entertaining piece of work that will be enjoyed with relish by many a new reader.

Things Can Only Get Better is published by Orion Books on November 14th.

My thanks to them for the review opportunity

'Dismiss' by Cold Showers

The new video release from LA based synth pop band Cold Showers for single 'Dismiss'

The album is a fine amalgamation of pop influences from the 1980s and to present day, in the same vein as White Lies there is a sombreness to this pop with strands of euphoria reaching up to the sky.

Cold Showers are one of those bands that sound like they are from the North of England, where the bleakness has fed into the songwriting - when the band hails from Los Angeles where that mix of sunshine and isolation becomes a winning combination.

Lead single, 'Shine' is one of those anthemic pop songs that will feed into your ears and much like the maligned 'Simplify' by Young The Giant - a song that should be sung by many a festival crowd.

'Dismiss' is more about a relationship near its darkest point before the inevitable parting, yet it still has that europhic edge. Dating back from 2013, the band decided to re-record it for the new album 'Motionless' out on May 24th from Dais Records.

Opening with a riff reminiscent of Johnny Marr and The Smiths, with lonely vocals this is nevertheless a gripping piece of pop-rock music.

The band tour with Tamaryn in May -The Shacklewell Arms on 25th May; Broadcast, Glasgow May 27th; Night People, Manchester on 28th May and The Lanes, Bristol on 29th May.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

For The Missing - Lina Bengtsdotter

It seems that Nordic noir is not going away, from the high point times of the The Girl trilogy by Steig Larsson to the Wallander novels; noir from Scandinavia is in vogue and not retreating to the shadows.

The debut novel by Bengtsdotter, is one of those novels that takes a while to get its claws into you, and once it does, it refuses to let go.

Nordic noir follows a template of a structure familiar to crime readers old and new; a young detective fighting her own demons must go back to her hometown following a long absence as a new case opens up old wounds for not just our protagonist but the family and friends she left behind for the bright lights of a big city.

This familiar tale of redemption to overcome a failing is well handled. DI Charlie Lager, is a detective with an affliction for alcohol, but the type of drinking where she drinks to an oblivion yet she wakes up for work with no problem; her peers know of her vices and dance around the issue as she is good at her job.

A missing child in her hometown leads Charlie to head north away from Stockholm, at odds with her partner and at odds with the town she returns to; nevertheless Charlie must find the missing Annabelle before it is too late.

And yet it is not Annabelle she is really looking for, Charlie is really looking for herself and this journey home helps her. Good writing is not just by the numbers of thriller and crime tropes, Bengtsdotter navigates a gripping tale of kidnapping, infidelity and violence against women with assuredness.

For The Missing is out now from Orion Publishing on all formats.

Hearts Beat Loud

The new film from Brett Haley is a coming-of-age movie for two people at different ends of the age spectrum, both overcoming life difficulties and hurdles.

Frank (Nick Offerman) is a 40 year old owner of a vinyl record shop in Brooklyn, New York called Red Hook Records; at the outset he is deciding to shut up his business having discussed the lease with his landlady Leslie (Toni Collette). The reason for this big decision is that Frank's daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons) is leaving the Big Apple for college at UCLA where she will study medicine.

Frank is a single parent, following the death of his wife and Sam's mother in a bicycle accident shortly after Sam was born, and there is a kinship between the pair cemented by their weekly jam session.  Helped by the upheaval in their life, Frank's missed opportunity at a career in rock music by the sudden death of his wife and Sam's blossoming lesbian relationship before she departs for LA means the song they start playing around with in the session, ferments to the song that gives the film its title.

Giddy with excitement, Frank publishes the song on Spotify and remarkably it appears on a new Indie playlist along side his idols - Spoon and Iron and Wine - this give Frank a much needed shot of enthusiasm and asks Sam to forego her university career and make a start of being in a band together.

The film is a sweet confection of comedy and drama; from Ted Danson's barman Dave who offers Frank morsels of comfort over bottles of beer to the actual awkwardness of Frank and Leslie's courtship. However, the same sex relationship is handled delicately with real sincerity with Frank instilling the belief that life and love is important to music.

Shot through medium close ups mostly and with a score that is winning, it is a shame that on occasion that the film is very much middle of the road ending in a concert of triumph but the main protagonists are ultimately settling. There may have been ample opportunity to discuss matters such as dementia in old age, the resentment towards missing opportunities and young love in the last summer of childhood.

Hearts Beat Loud is out now from Park Circus Films
Thanks to them for the review opportunity.