Cool Manchester

Ryan Jarvis

Outside This Town EP

Review By Andrew Barclay

The north has very often been the leading light in indie music in recent years, and despite much of this talent being heavily influenced by the 60s and the 60s revival music scenes, it still manages to some how sound very fresh and invigorating.

Ryan Jarvis is something of a gem in the Manchester music scene at the moment and based on this EP, will definitely be up on stages across the UK and beyond before too long.

'Shy Away' starts the EP off, and Jarvis' northern voice is honest and full of emotion. The song itself seems to deal with low self esteem, and the delicate melody is apt here.

'Outside This Town', the title track of the EP invokes an image of urban hopelessness that is both gut wrenching and somehow assuring as Jarvis lyrics lead us to the notion of unity, when the skies are bleak and the wind is cold, we still have each other.

'Shine For Me' is a slow, breezy number with Jarvis looking away from the cities and into his minds eye with companions and loved ones. The open eyed wonderment of what could be. It's a well produced song, and Martin Coogan, who is on engineering duties, helps bring out the song's wistful delivery.

'Thought Of You' closes the EP, and deals with relationships and hopes, dream and inner turmoil, all wrapped up in a stunning descending melody that will be stuck on repeat in your head for days on end.

If your record collection or iPod includes Oasis, Paul Wellar or The Courteeneers, then Ryan Jarvis will be a welcome addition. You can get hold of his EP from his website, and I very much recommend that you do.

http://www.ryanjarvis.bigcartel.com/product/outside-this-town-ep

It would be very easy to complain about the sorry state of the UK top 40, but there are still some very good songs around at the moment. Here's a list of some new [ish] songs that I'm currently mad for on my ipod at the moment

Imagine Dragons - It's Time

Imagine Dragons are an "indie-rock" band from Las Vegas and that's all I really know about them! Their single "It's Time" though is rather fantastic with a great video too. If this song gets enough airplay, I have a feeling it could be massive in the same way Gotye and fun. have been.

Alexandra Stan - Lemonade

This year was the year that Owl City stopped being a "one hit wonder." Hopefully, the same thing will happen with Alexandra Stan, her follow up singles to "Mr SaxoBeat" suffered in the charts mainly because they sounded exactly the same as the debut. Lemonade though is a bit different. The beats are slower and I think it's much catchier - almost reminiscent of early Ace of Base [that's no bad thing!]

Gotye - I Feel Better

Talking of one hit wonders, Gotye is another act that I hope won't fall into that trap. Somebody That I Used To Know is one of my favourite songs in ages and the album is came from is just brilliant. This track is scheduled for release very shortly and is a great pop track with Motown influences. I know a chart position probably isn't that important to an act like Gotye, but it would be nice for him to have another hit

Kylie Minogue - Flower

This year is Kylie's 25th anniversary of being in the music business and I know a massive fan like myself is probably very biased, but this song is just OUTSTANDING! Flower has been a fan favourite ever since she sang it on the "X" tour back in 2008 and it has finally been made available as part of The Abbey Road Sessions, her new album out at the end of the month. I don't need to say anything else, if I did I would go one for pages and pages about how much I love it

Pet Shop Boys - Invisible

Elysium is, in my opinion, the best Pet Shop Boys album in a VERY long time and this one is my favourite track. I have no idea if there are any plans to release it as a single, but I would be very pleased if they did. It's very dark, slow, moody and reminds me of something from 1990's "Behaviour" album - one of my all time favourite CDs! You can call it derivative if you want, but I think this is the Pet Shop Boys at their best.

Adele - Skyfall

I know this is probably a controversial choice, but I really like this song. The past few James Bond songs have been ok but they just haven't been "Bondy" enough for my liking. I like nearly all of them but the greatest Bond themes probably came from the 60s with Nancy Sinatra being my absolute favourite. Skyfall is nowhere near as classy as You Only Live Twice but it does the job of a Bond theme perfectly well. If I was to be picky I would question rhyming "Skyfall" with "crumble" though....

Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child

Last week everyone was predicting that Adele would have the first Bond theme to ever reach the number one spot, but then this song came along....  

So these are my most listened to songs at the moment that I feel comfortable admitting to [Oppa Gangnam Style!]. Are there any songs that you would recommend yourself? I would be interesting in hearing them

Next year The Trafford Centre celebrates its 15th Birthday 

I'd like to have a bit of a debate about this one. Apart from the experience of shopping there, what impact has the centre had on the surrounding area? As well as Manchester city centre, do you think town centres like Stretford, Altrincham, Eccles or Urmston have been affected in any way since its opening?

I'm going to hold back on my opinion one this one, but what do others think?

I would be grateful for some opinions on this one....

First of all, I apologise. My intension was to create one of these each month and I let that lapse. I hope I can keep this up this time.

What I’ve Missed

OK, now, if I had been posting, I would have been recommending Perks of Being a Wallflower, Paranorman and Hope Springs. Now, these films are still on in a lot of locations, please please please, go and see them! They are definitely worth watching and I think some of the best films this year.

Hotel Transylvania – October 12th 2012

Last week Joe and I watched Looper and I think its fair say our opinions are divided. Joe made it obvious that he didn't like the film while I felt like I enjoyed it, but on closer reflection I'm not sure now.

For those that don't know that much about it, the film is about time travel and stars Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis. The trailer pretty much sums up the whole film's set up:

Bruce Willis and Jospeh Gordon Levitt were both great in their roles and Emily Blunt is always good, plus the action zipped along at a good pace.

However, as the film moved along quite quickly it didn't give you time to stop and think. If you did you would realise how ludicrous the whole thing was.

I'm going to sound completely nerdy now, but the writer hadn't fully gripped the concept of time travel and this is where the problem lies. I want to like the film, and I think I did, but when I stop and think about what I have watched I have to admit it is all a bit rubbish.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a massive Sci-Fi fan, but the best Sci Fi stories are the ones that have some sort of root in reality. Time travel stories are very difficult to get right as you have to see the story from all angles, otherwise there will be massive plotholes and inaccuracies...

I'm torn about this one, the film lover in me wants to praise a really well made film but the geek in me can't get past all the errors. It's hard to explain what these errors are though without spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it.

What do others think? Am I being to harsh on the film? This geek would like to know