films

Blue Ray by THWACK!

31st Mar 2024 — Leave a comment

Nothing is meant to last, but that makes it all the more worthwhile.

Everything has a deadline, everything will come to an end. Despite the passion, despite the pain everything expires. But doesn’t that make it all the more meaningful? This isn’t forever, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Debut release, Blue Ray by THWACK! discusses the semantics of demise, connection, and passion. As a sultry, punk-esque orchestral track, it offers up a deeper connection to some darker themes but was predominantly inspired by the album covers ‘In the zone’ by Britney Spears and ‘Fallen’ by Evanescence and the unrequited love the two pieces of art seem to share.

The music is energetic, lively, and hauntingly good, boasting an ethereal edge fueled by empowered vocals and an emboldened drumbeat. As debuts go, this is definitely one that doesn’t need to demand attention, it will already have it after the first few beats. Celebrating imperfect connections and the passion of the taboo, Blue Ray conveys the thrill of knowing that this kind of passion isn’t forever, but it is for now.

The cover art for the Blue Ray is a captivating piece that appears to draw inspiration from René Magritte’s “The Lovers” and the film “Midsommar.” This melding of influences serves as a powerful reminder that appearances can be deceiving, and that there is often more beneath the surface than meets the eye. The use of visual elements reminiscent of these iconic works of art and cinema enhances the depth and intrigue of the cover art, inviting viewers to contemplate the hidden truths that lie within.

The first iteration of THWACK! occurred somewhere in the haze of lockdown when Charlie (Shey/They – Vocals, Guitar) became worried the world was gonna end and thought it would be awful for that to happen without at least attempting to start a band. A little digging and they discovered Chlo (She/Her – Bass, vocals) writing emo poetry at the base of the Marc Bolan Tribute statue.

Music history was formed in this meeting and formed again a little while later when Charlie (quite by accident) stumbled upon Mal (She Her – Cello, Vocals) in an anarchist wine tasting event in a disused theatre in Brixton. A few weeks later we had our first rehearsal with the addition of Blake (They/Them – Drums) who was found through a queer spiderweb connecting via 1980’s Indiana, it became clear in that moment that punk bands really had been lacking a string section. We later found Frankie (They/Them – Electric Violin, Vocals) in the dark cabaret under lands of South London and thus THWACK! in all it’s glory was born.

With musical backgrounds from punk, drag, glam and emo the music produced boasts an eclectic edge , a smorgasboard of sound to choose from.They’ve been playing together for a while so despite the unique influences the signature sound of THWACK! is starting toshine through.

Describing their music as ‘ quite genre queer ,tight and unpredictable, the next Wet Leg and the Waluigi to The Last Dinner Party’s Mario” it will be exciting to see how this band evolves.

I’m Just Ken wins Best Song at critics choice award.

17th Jan 2024 — Leave a comment

but Ryan Gosling couldn’t have done it without Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and American Ferrara.

Ryan Gosling reacting to the news at the CCA January 2024

The 2023 blockbuster Barbie revived Cinema, set TikTok Trends and soundtracked our 2023 . It had us singing, dancing and crying all in one sitting.

Personally ‘I’m Just Ken’ sits pride of place in my frequent plays on Spotify, it is also one of the few songs I can proudly play on piano and I completely understand and truly believe it is deserving of the award. However not everyone shares this view and after seeing his reaction to the award perhaps Gosling himself  is amongst those on TikTok that do not think it was worthy of the win. Adversity to the award choose to highlight h the cruel parallels  between the meaning of the Barbie and a song about a man complaining he is not the protagonist in a woman’s story, arguing that ‘I’m just Ken’ , a song produced by a man, sung by a man, wining this award is considerably quite ironic. Perhaps they have a point and that is fine, I just don’t agree.

I’m Just Ken scene from Barbie July 2023

‘Dance the night away’ by Dua Lipa and ‘What was I Made for? ‘By Billie Ellish (Both from Barbie) were also nominated with many arguing that they should have won for the sole reason they were sung by a woman,  personally the gender of the writer behind a song should not factor whether it is a success, its success should be measured by its popularity, its relevance to the film and its resonance with the audience and although what was  I made for hits bulls eye, it was I’m just ken that had us bouncing, revving us up for a workday, creating kitchen dance routines and filming TikTok’s.

Fuel to this fire was poured earlier last week when host of Golden Globes Jo Koy made a pretty low-brow and rushed joke at the origin of the film comparing it to Oppenheimer which was ‘base doff a 721 paged Pulitzer prize winning book about the Manhattan project and Barbie is on a doll with big boobies” a childish and sexist reduction to what Gerwig’s creation actually depicts, its complexities too deep and expansive to cover in what is meant to be a music review… although Gerwig herself has offered a sympathetic response saying ‘well he’s not wrong she was the first doll mass produced with breasts’

Access Hollywood Jo Kay Golden Globes Speech 2024

‘I’m just ken’ allows Barbie’s ‘love’ interest a voice, giving him a narrative in a film that is supposed to be about female actualisation, empowerment and self discovery. It not only allows him power over his won story allowing him to just be ken rather than Barbie and Ken but also demonstrates how many men also struggle with their own identity, their own emotions rarely being taken seriously. it is his redemptive arc, allowing viewers to empathise with I’m, for that is the true definition of feminists, creating equality between men and women to better the situation, 

Produced by Mark Ronson and written by Andrew Wyatt ‘I’m Just Ken’ is a modern masterpiece, with 80s influences. On the surface a fun throw away song, an excuse for a comedic choreographed dance break and for Gosling to show-off his range. The whole weight of the song is in its own inability to take itself seriously, the duo paired with visuals becomes a distracting display of thoroughly refined dance moves taking away the attention from how ken is truly feeling, detached from reality, alone in his feelings and powerless in the face of an overshadowing figurehead for his own society, it is a truly feminist anthem. 

Murder on The Dancefloor Waltzes its way back to Chart Top Spot.

16th Jan 2024 — 2 Comments

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Return to the Charts

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Murder On The Dancefloor

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit, “Murder on the Dancefloor,” has made a resounding comeback, thanks in part to Emerald Fennell’s 2023 gothic and glorious film, ‘Saltburn‘ .The film, featuring Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, has propelled the colourful track back to the number 8 position, over two decades after it reached number 2 upon its initial release.

The groovy track, “Murder on the Dancefloor,” delves into the themes of tumult, jealousy and doing what you can to set the groove with similar semantics being discussed in ‘Saltburn’ it is fitting that this song would soundtrack its final scene. Depicting a disturbing dialogue about desire, deceit and the class divide ‘Saltburn’ has quickly become a cult classic with Gen Z and millennials coming together to show their love for both the film and the track in a slew of viral TikTok’s.

“Saltburn”-themed videos featuring the track have amassed an impressive 4 billion views on the app. The track also experienced a significant surge in streams on New Year’s Eve 2023, with 1.5 million streams in a single day. Furthermore, in the first week of January, “Murder on the Dancefloor” claimed the top trending spot on The Hot 100, marking its first appearance on the list.

Perhaps this musical miracle holds a motto we should carry into 2024: we may plant seeds in the day that will only grow at night- Bextor herself put it poetically in a Newsnight interview earlier this month “You have to be open to the unexpected, and you can’t plan what happens next”.