'The Drums' Review

The Drums are always going to be hyped-up and over-rated by music critics and reviewers, but there is still no denying that some of this hype is justified. This is due to the bands likeability by virtue of their ability to make catchy indie-pop songs. Another factor that makes the Drums so popular is that they are at the forefront of this new wave of American surf-pop and Smiths-esque indie music. You could say that the Drums are a band that are ‘in fashion’, and they dress as if they are an advertisement for Topman.

The Drums consist of vocalist Jonathan Pierce, guitarist Jacob Graham and Connor Hanwick and they were formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2006. Their first release was the E.P. Summertime. Their first full length studio album is self titled it was released in June 2010.

The first track on the first album is called ‘Best Friend’ and according to Jonathan Pierce it is the first song that he and Jacob wrote together. It is a great way to start off the album. The song is catchy as hell and you will find yourself singing along. The music is simple and the melodies are hummable and it is a very easy song to listen to with a steady beat. The song also sets the tone for the album, the lyrics are dark “You were my best friend, and then you died”, and the music continues to be simple and melodic. The next track is entitled ‘Me and the Moon’ and is another good song that you will find stuck in your head. Now the next track “Let’s Go Surfing” is definitely the bands most famous song, and it is probably the first Drums song that you have heard. It is the first single they released and it is one of the best pop gems of the last few years. Their finest attempt at writing the ‘perfect pop song’ they strive for.

The album continues as it started off and the rest of the songs are up to the standard which they’ve set for themselves in this album. ‘Forever and ever Amen’ is a clear stand-out. The album does however lose momentum towards the end. People will say that all their songs song the same which I feel is quite true, as they all follow the same format of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, and chorus. I will say that this album may not be perfect but it is definitely worth having. It is one of the most charming albums of the year and I often get cravings to put it on.

7.5/10

My Nine Inch Nails CD Collection

Here is my incomplete Nine Inch Nails Halo Collection.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

This new album from Nine Inch Nails was released for free on May 5th earlier this year and it was released physically last month in a limited edition CD/DVD set. The bonus DVD being 5 rehearsal performance of songs from the Slip. These performances are of a very high standard musically and visually, they are well mixed and well directed and are a great bonus for NIN fans.

The album itself is quite good, with some standout tracks, including, 'Discipline', 'Echoplex', 'Letting You' and 'Demon Seed'. Now those songs are all loud rock tracks. The album also includeds some instrumental ambient tracks which brings diversity to the album so there's something to enjoy for every Nine Inch Nails fan.

The Slip is loud raw and finely tuned, it brings the anger of previous albums, like The Downward Spiral yet brings NIN fans into a new era in sound, going places Nine Inch Nails have never been.

The album gives fans at least five new concert anthems.

The album artwork is up to the standards previously set by Rob Sheridan on other NIN albums. The booklet has a very good minimalist symbol for every song on the album.

In conclusion I give The Slip 4/5 because it has some great new songs and a very good DVD but it's not as good as previous Nine Inch Nails albums.

Top 5 Upcoming Pixar Movies

After the commercial and critical success of Wall-E, people are starting to remember how good Pixar can be with hit movies like Cars, Toy Story and The Incredibles Pixar are known as one of the greatest animated movie studios in the world so I have compiled a list of future Pixar movies that we can look forward to and I have arranged them into a Top 5!

No.5

The Bear and the Bow: It's an action-adventure movie set in Scotland, a tale about a Princess Merida who wants to become an archer. She has an argument with her mother which results in her making a terrible choice causing danger on her fathers kingdom and her mother's life. She struggles with magic and a curse. It will be released in 2011.

No.4
newt will follow the story of the two last remaining blue newts on earth will be forced to save their species from extinction, the only problem is that they hate each other! It will be released in 2011.

No.3

Up! is a story of a seventy-something aged man and his sidekick, a wilderness ranger who go around fighting evil beasts and villains, yet the old man keeps his schedule of dinner early in the day and napping at noon.

No.2
Cars 2 is the sequal to the much loved cars movie and it will be released in 2012. Lightning McQueen and his friends will be on a comedic, fast-paced adventure all over the world.

No.1
Toy Story 3 will be the next installment of the Toy Story series and willbe an all new story with all the characters we've come to know and love and it will be released in June 2010.

The Dark Knight Review

I wasn't really in love with Batman Begins so if the Dark Knight hadn't gotten such great reviews on the IMDb and in film magazines I probably wouldn't have gone to see it, but since it was voted No.1 on the Top 250 movies of all time, I decided I'd see what all the fuss was about, and when I saw it I was not disappointed and neither will you be disappointed if you see it. From start to finish your interest will be very high, but it will be going up and down throughout, but maintaining a very high standard.

The movie begins will a high octane, high energy bank robbery, which I think is a great way to start a movie because it grabs the film goers attention instantly. How the Joker pulls it off getting all the money for himself and not having to share it with his co-workers, shows how evil the Joker is and how he has no respect for his fellow criminal, it gives us an insight into his character straight away so we know what we're dealing with for the rest of the movie.

One of the best things about this movie is the acting with wonderful performances from Christian Bale whose performance is flawless and arguably his only downfall is his somewhat over-the-top Batman voice, Heath Ledger who gives a great performance with only a couple of poorly executed lines, and of course we are given great performances from Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and Gary Oldman also gives a great performance. Another great thing about this movie is it's soundtrack which is some excellent collaboration work between Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. The movie is also very well written and very well directed by the Nolan brothers.



So if you haven't already seen this movie you should definitely go to see it, you will really love the movie and you'll be dying to see the next one and if you weren't too keen on Batman Begins you'll be giving it a second look.

In conclusion I am giving the movie a 4.75/5, the only problems being that some people might think it's too long and it isn't as enjoyable the second time as it is the first time, the second time I saw it which was two weeks after I saw it the first time I found myself bored towards the end.

Wall-E Film Review

Last week I went to see Wall-E in my local cinema, I wanted to see it because I had heard such great reviews about it and I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I was quite impressed with the visual aspect of Wall-E, the colours were stunning, the lighting was excellent and Wall-E himself is an incredibly cute and well designed character. It's really very amazing the way that Wall-E, being a robot can express so much emotion through his movement and his eyes.


The first forty minutes of the movie are great, in which Wall-E is on earth all alone left there to clean up the planet as all of the humans have gone on a massive spaceship to escape the horror of what the earth has become. Unfortunately for Wall-E all of the other Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth- Class models have died and he is left completely alone, until he finds a cricket that he befriends. Wall-E has been carrying out his tedious work of condensing the rubbish and putting the blocks of condensed rubbish into organised piles for hundreds of years but he doesn't give up and if he finds anything of intrest he brings it back to his shed and adds it to his collection. Then Wall-E's world changes when a ship comes down to earth, carrying EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Examiner) who goes around earth searching for plant life. EVE meets with Wall-E and with this the story unfolds, giving Wall-E the task of saving the world.

The main action of the movie is pretty standard for a childrens movie and is what you'd expect from a movie like this so the plot is only average but Wall-E's likeability is outstanding. If you have kids I would highly recommend going to see Wall-E and don't be surprised if you're kids start asking for Wall-E merchandise! So in conclusion I would give this movie 3.75/5 so it's definetly worth a look, the visuals are the best part and the story is average (but not disappointing). Pixar have done an excellent job.