vamos

But end up sleeping in until midday, so don't bank on doing much sightseeing

As in, proper 'fuck me, games used to be this difficult?!' hard.

Got to one point in the game with so little ammo that I had to restart the whole thing from scratch. the fact I did though is testament to how much I liked the atmosphere.

This is what the Halo test footage that became District 9 was looking like when they axed the project.

I've no idea WHAT they were expecting, given how wicked some of this test footage is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BaVb2TlWb0

Liked it a fair bit too. Will stick with it...

Never realised their second album was out so will look into this...

Seems to sum up a lot of what I think is happening in my view / inbox of late.

Very pleased to see Aesop Rock so high too (for obvious reasons!) but it's also reminded me that there are a fair few records I still need to check out...

and summation of their career path.

Which is a shame.

Good review Rob.

Loved the previous record

it's because the site hasn't been updated yet or because the editorial team think it's more of a record a specific writer likes than the site as a whole.

I think...

The drumming: it's fucking awesome

Usually I feel after a dozen or so listens I can figure out which way it's gonna go but I still can't with this one.

Seen a few real canings of this new record and a few people saying it's his best yet, so it's not just me either.

I'd still argue that a decent Matthew Dear album is gonna be better than 80% of everything you'll likely buy this year.

Was gutted to hear they've split so early in their career.

Any idea why?

Cheers

Only gave it one spin but seemed pretty dull. Still, Lisbon did too and I love that now...

where people are giving it 8/10. It never grabbed me sadly, and I love the debut and half of Version 2.0.

Since I wrote this review, it has grown on me loads. I think the high pitched nature of the warped vocals put me off at first. They did on 'Never' initially too. The album as a whole would be a lot worse if 'Distractions' wasn't in the place it is for sure.

I kinda hope that they follow this release with a release like The Box single, where they reconstructed that track in 4 different ways. A few of these songs could certainly be extended into 15 minute show pieces.

I found this track to be a bit dull though to be honest.

If I didn't own In Ghost Colours, it'd probably be in my top 3 albums of the year and I'd rave about every song on there as - taken as individual songs - they're all great.

But as a whole album, I dunno... sort of great, sort of not?

Wasn't so smitten at first but it gradually works it's way into your consciousness.

It's a masterful exercise in layering. Each track seems to start with nothing and flourish into a wonderful thing.

It's possibly a slightly more upbeat track shy of an 8, but the last track is utterly amazing and a few earlier ones really remind me of Low and Yo La Tengo at their most reflective.

Been trying to work out how I could describe it to someone. Best I managed was:

Think the volume levels and scuzziness of Part Chimp, the combination of tunes and monotony of Six by seven and the howling vocals of Trail of Dead.

But that does seem a bit shocking to cover all those mid to latter albums with one track each.

Not that I care, as I have them all anyhow...

I'd have given it an 8 too. Gets better with every listen.

Ot it on tape in Asda for a quid. Listened to it and it's instrumental b-side for about 6 months solid, and I went from buying Janet Jackson records to an indie nerd. It's why I probably still love 'Monster' a bit more than I should.

The word great is used too often about music; but it's entirely justified in REMs case.

Then surely it is wroth a purchase...

WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY off of 'Blackout' standard

It strikes me as not being quite indie enough for me to like it, nor quite R&B enough for me to like it.

Some of it makes me cringe a bit.

But 'Monster' is genuinely the only REM album I could not live without. I adore it.

I was listening to this only a week ago unaware of the rerelease and I'd forgotten what an 'inbetween' record it is. You can almost hear parts of 'Out of time' and 'Document' starting to form in the background of these tracks.

I find it a good, interesting record, but way down the list of my personal favourites.

Nice review Andrzej.

Echoes my thoughts of them at Primavera entirely

That's mental...

You fools.

This means you missed out on great sets by PiL, Shellac and Matthew Dear...

The second track in particular is about the best thing Aidan's done in several years, and that's coming from someone who liked most things Aidan has done in the last several years.

I miss Arab Strap desperately but at the same time, now they've split up they give us twice as many records. So not all bad.

It's just a shame they don't tour together still and do 1 hour of Malcolm material, 1 hour or Moffat material and 1 hour of Strap. That'd be the best tour ever.

it only bloody transpires that he loves The Chap too.

What a man...

Going to sound great...

You're quite good at this writing lark, aren't you? Someone should pay you to do it for a living...

For someone who takes her clothes off as much as she does, it amazing how totally asexual her videos are.

This is her first mistep for me since she got big. Lacks the humour, ownability and presence of her other songs / videos. The song is generic and lacks that whacky edge her other stuff does, and I could totally imagine Sophie Ellis Bextor or Rachel Stevens doing it (barring the 'Don't be a drag' bit). The video is a mess, with the beginning totally divorced from the rest. And it's phallic without being controversial.

5/10 for me.

I still adore that record even a year on

But suspect that is because - on my first 4 listens - it's pretty much In Ghost Colors: Mk II

Ta!

I was desperately torn myself between Phantom Band & Hot Chip, with both being just as good as t'other truth be told, but my Last FM tells me I have liked that Hot Chip record an insane amount and so plumped for that.