Lo-fi hushed harmonies and hypnotic acoustic guitars are the order of the day on the second album from this east London band. There’s a timeless quality here that holds the listener under an intimate though at times claustrophobic spell. They sound almost like an English Midlake, and even manage to catch that band’s recent medieval sound on some song intros. As with the last Midlake album there is a tendency for the initial impact to diminish towards the end as their singular, slightly melancholic vision begins to sound a little samey. Ultimately, however, these shimmering songs triumph, ending on a high with the breathtaking ‘Flickering Light’.
Album, Album Review
Cyndi Lauper is facing criticism for messing up the words to the National Anthem at the U.S. Open on Saturday night.
Performing before the beginning of the final match between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, Lauper botched the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during a remembrance of the Sept. 11 attacks. [Watch the performance below.]
The “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” singer tripped over the same part of the National Anthem as Christina Aguilera did earlier this year at the Super Bowl. Instead of singing the correct words, “O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming,” Lauper instead sang “O’er the ramparts, we watched as our flag was still streaming.”
Viewers promptly took to Twitter and Facebook in droves to mock the mistake.
“Holy Smokes …’The flag was still streaming’ – Cyndi Lauper just totally DESTROYED the Star Spangled Banner at the #usopen #fail,” read one of many posts on Twitter.
Cyndi Lauper tweeted after the event, “Whew, I just did the anthem for the US open. Read more…
Anthem, Cyndi Lauper, National Anthem
Members of this trio all have an interesting musical lineage. There’s a husband and wife team – Shelly Poole and Ally McErlaine – previously of Alisha’s Attic and Texas, with a second female vocalist Charity Hair formerly of The Alice Band. This debut opens with desert guitars and a haunting resonance suggestive of the Paris, Texas soundtrack, before settling into more mainstream country fare. At its best there are dreamy songs delivered with gorgeous vocal harmonies and echoes of Emmylou Harris. At other times there’s a pleasant jauntiness that will please lovers of uplifting country but may grate on those seeking more of the alt approach hinted at by the album’s opening.
After the red carpets emptied and the movie theaters turned off their lights, the celebrities attending the annual Toronto International Film Festival made good use of their chauffeured cars and fancy duds by hitting the many parties and intimate shindigs held around town.
From the large studio fetes to the impromptu bar hopping, PARADE has all the details of the late-night shenanigans and A-list mingling.
Friday: The night kicked off the weekend with a bang as Hollywood’s reigning royal couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stopped in to promote his latest film Moneyball. After the premiere, the dazzling duo headed to an intimate dinner on the rooftop of The Borroughes Building with the rest of the cast, including Chris Pratt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Read more…
Festival, Film Festival
