Arts & Entertainment
The latest arts and entertainment highlights, previews, reviews, music and film features and opinion pieces from The Skinny writers.
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MusicSt. Vincent – Strange Mercy
"I was going for something a bit more direct, more tactile" says Annie Clark of her third album, a collection themed around an investigation of "those kind... Read more »| 26 Aug 2011 -
MusicPeter Wolf Crier – Garden of Arms
Peter Wolf Crier’s rustic debut drew comparisons to For Emma, Forever Ago, partly for some slight aesthetic similarities, and partly because the back-s... Read more »| 26 Aug 2011 -
MusicThe Drums – Portamento
Following their critically-lauded debut of last year, Brooklyn trio the Drums seek on Portamento to cement their position as the foremost practitioners of me... Read more »| 26 Aug 2011 -
MusicShimmering Stars – Violent Hearts
Shimmering Stars arrive to the reverb/Spector/dream-pop party fashionably late, with a record that makes no qualms about lifting hooks from bygone hit parade... Read more »| 26 Aug 2011 -
Music
Squarehead – Yeah Nothing
Yeah Nothing, the debut LP from Irish guitar pop trio Squarehead, forges links between Beach Boys-style overlapping vocal harmonies and a rougher-edged garag... Read more »| 26 Aug 2011 -
Music
Jono McCleery – There Is
A product of the ever-diversifying Ninja Tune stable, Londoner Jono McCleery may have self-released his debut and been directed to the label's more rock-orie... Read more »| 25 Aug 2011
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Books
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
On face value, The Borrower is a story about a librarian, a small boy and the primacy of the written word; on second thought it is a political satire... Read more »| 25 Aug 2011 -
Music
The National @ Corn Exchange, 23 August
As The National take stage for their inaugural Edinburgh show to initial rousing applause, there follows a hushed expectancy that immediately bristles neck h... Read more »| 25 Aug 2011 -
Books
Good As Dead by Mark Billingham
Not to be confused with Mark Billingham’s last book, From The Dead, this latest offering is a solid police procedural. In fact, there’s r... Read more »| 25 Aug 2011 -
Music
The Pineapple Chunks – A Dog Walked In
It’s hard to figure where an oddity like The Pineapple Chunks might fit in the grand scheme of things. Theirs is a sound slick with nostalgia, with hea... Read more »| 24 Aug 2011 -
Music
Mariachi el Bronx – Mariachi el Bronx II
What made Mariachi el Bronx’s debut such an intriguing listen was just how accomplished it was, especially given the style’s untried nature for t... Read more »| 24 Aug 2011 -
Music
CANT – Dreams Come True
Dreams Come True is a collaboration between Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear and George Lewis Jr. of Twin Shadow, and it sounds – hold on to your hats! &nd... Read more »| 24 Aug 2011 -
Music
Luke Haines @ Cabaret Voltaire, 22 Aug
Luke Haines may take something of a backseat on this rare live appearance, but his sardonic sniping at middle-Britain is clearly evident nonetheless. Taking ... Read more »| 23 Aug 2011 -
Art
Art Late: Back With A Vengeance
The Edinburgh Art Festival will once again be going out in style with an after hours extravaganza of events tying together the different exhibitions across t... Read more »| 23 Aug 2011 -
Music
Molly Wagger – Flambeaux
It’s difficult to get a handle on Molly Wagger: an ‘alternative space rock’ outfit signed to a label known predominantly for disco and elec... Read more »| 23 Aug 2011