Another British band making a splash on this side of the pond is Band of Skulls, with their recent Shangri-La Records release, “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.”
These guys (and a gal) are a cross between The Pretenders, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The White Stripes, with a little aggro-emo-soul.
After a touring summer ending with Lollapalooza, their tunes will be featured in the upcoming release of “New Moon” (Twilight 2).
Here’s a YouTube clip of their single, “Blood.” Blood and Skulls, yea. Rock on.
Arctic Monkeys are a foursome out of Sheffield, England, who play a new-fangled spin on the Brit-pop emo-rock introduced by bands like Oasis, Radiohead, Catherine Wheel, and The Cure in the 90s.
Their 2009 release, Humbug, is now available and includes the first single: Crying Lightning
They’ve got the Super Good stuff. Check out the YouTube video here:
There’s a very recognizable drum intro in U2‘s 1981 hit single, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, which makes the listener fix rapt attention for the song that follows. Something about the way Bono and Edge want the audience to feel the Irish Republican Army‘s complaint asks the listener to halt and turn one’s ear.
The new Steve McQueen (no relation) movie, Hunger, about jailed Irish nationalist Bobby Sands, has a stirring quality very similar to this U2 song. If someone knows nothing of the IRA struggle with British authoritarian power, then this movie will pique their attention.
Hunger is a film of extremities, of taking the mind and shaping it for one’s purpose, and of a crude yet sublime vision. Actor Michael Fassbender lost almost 40 lbs. to effectively and purposefully fix the audience’s attention on the ravages of the Bobby Sands hunger strike that lasted 66 days. All does not end well.
The film is struggling for a full domestic U.S. release, even though it won the “Camera d’Or” for Best First Feature at 2008′s Cannes Film Festival. If Hunger doesn’t come to your town, look for a large DVD release, and more awards to come.
Take a peek at this stark film — think Midnight Express and Shawshank Redemption mixed with a dose of Gandhi. Here’s the New York Times film review for Hunger .
