DVD Review: The Drop

If like me, you missed The Drop when it originally hit cinema screens last year, then this is your chance to finally catch this gritty crime drama on DVD and Blu-ray.

The story follows Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) an apparent underdog lonely bartender at Cousin Marv’s; a neighbourhood bar in Brooklyn. Bob’s cousin, the eponymous Marv (James Gandolfini in his last completed film role), runs the business as a “drop bar”; laundering money through a covert scheme of funneling cash to local gangsters.

Under Marv’s heavy hand, Bob finds himself at the centre of a robbery gone awry when money intended for a Chechen gang is stolen from the bar by masked gunmen.

The robbery is investigated by cynical police officer Detective Torres (John Ortiz) and while Bob tries to forge a relationship with his neighbour Nadia (Noomi Rapace) he finds himself entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighbourhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living – no matter the cost.

The big pull for The Drop is undoubtedly the multi-layered characterisations within the film. No character should ever been taken at face value and there are surprises on every level right through to the final moments.

Undoubtedly Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini are brilliantly cast in the lead roles but there are also strong performances from Noomi Rapace and Matthias Schoenaerts, the latter portraying a ticking time bomb of menace with an air of mystery.

This DVD review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on March 27, 2015.

CD Review: Meghan Trainor - Title

Try as you can to avoid it , some pop is almost too infectious to ignore. Meghan Trainor had already been riding high in th US charts  before her singles started to scratch the surface in the UK  and as Lips Are Movin' and All About That Bass have proved, she is certainly more than a one-hit wonder.

The catchiness of her melodies continue with her debut album Title which includes her next UK single Dear Future Husband (already a big smash in America) and collaborations with John Legend on Like I'm Gonna Lose You and Shy Carter with Mr Almost.

My tweenage daughter loved this and I have to say as a forty-something Dad so did I, its all about that bass? No trouble!

A version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment section The Guide on Friday March 27, 2015.

CD Review: Ratworld by Menace Beach

Ratworld is Leeds combo Menace Beach guitar-psyche fuelled debut.

Harkening back to the days when indie music really was indie Ratworld is energetic loud and slightly out of phase but all the brilliant for it.

Time for the great pretenders to move over, Drop Outs is among one of the many album highlights.

• A version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on Friday March, 27. 2015.
• Read Andy Howells' Q&A with Ryan from Menace Beach
• Official Menace Beach website

Review: Robot Wars 2015, Newport Centre

New episodes of Robot Wars may have been off our TV screens for 14 years but as the audiences gathered at Newport Centre for the beginning of the 2015 tour there was evidence that the live show inspired by the series has a life of its own.

The Robot Wars 2015 tour commenced here in Newport with two live shows on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon and there was much to enjoy for all the family. Home-constructed featherweight and heavyweight robots doing battle not just with each other but also the arena dome that not only fires flames at the remote controlled participants but is also liable to spring them into the air. To add to the drama house robots including the hammer-wielding Major Damage and Matilda (a frightening female with a chainsaw for a backside) then wade in and start throwing their heavy-metal about.

Live show presenters Chris and Trevor do much in the way to encourage audience participation from foot stomping and yelling to splitting half the audience into rival teams. Among this year’s  highlights were both presenters build robots to do battle in the team featherweight round, which saw the debut appearance of new House Robot Olly who fired paint-balls at the robots.

Of course, the audience, young and old lapped up every thrill and spill with an adrenaline rush enthusiasm that no-one wanted to end, proving that Robot Wars still rules in the field of Family Entertainment.

Check out robotwars.tv for updates on further live shows and how to get in on the action of building your own robot.

• A version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus on March 24, 2015
• Andy Howells Interviews Major Damage's creator John Findlay

Meet The Band: Purple

Texan trio Purple make a welcome return to these shores for a run of shows including Bristol Louisiana on March 29 alongside Demob Happy.

Having cemented their live reputation on their inaugural visit late last year, the band follow a series of European dates with their first UK shows of 2015 in support of forthcoming single DMT.

Bookended by recent single, album opener Wallflower, and new single DMT, the band’s debut longplayer (409) picked up plenty of thumbs up on it’s release last year, not least a 5K review in Kerrang and plenty of plus points in lieu of their incendiary live shows.

DMT, a live favourite features vocalist / drummer Hanna Brewer full throttle ahead blitzing through all six minutes of riotous wig out aided and abetted in no small part by fellow thrill seekers, bassist Joe ‘Prankster’ and guitarist Taylor Busby.

Andy Howells recently put questions to Hanna...

Who are you and how did you come together?
We are Purple and we ended up together cuz I (Hanna) saw Taylor's reggae band play an' thought he was a really bad ass singer and asked him to jam with me. I messaged him on myspace and he ended up coming to my jam room and we just wrote and recorded material and then later we got a bass player!

Where are you from?
We are from Beaumont Texas, Baybeh!

How would you describe your music style?
I would describe it as punk and wild. But we can still get down to earth and real.

What’s been your best live experience?
When we played a sold out show in Berlin with The Subways and Kill it Kid!! 1800 cap! We killed that show and sold some damn merch!!

What are you working on at the moment?
We are on tour with The Subways and Dune Rats!! And also writing new tunes for our second album. I'm so freakin' stoked about these new songs. I think it's better than the first album.

Where can we see you live?
Welp... We have been playing a lot in the UK and Europe!! You can catch us at Bristol Louisiana on March 29.

Where can people hear your music?
Purpletexasmusic.com, YouTube.com/purpletexasmusic and we are also on Vimeo and Spotify!!

• A version of this Q&A by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on March 20, 2015.

Bringing Major Damage To Robot Wars Live Show - John Findlay Interview

This weekend the thrills and spills of Robot Wars return to Newport as this years tour launches at Newport Centre. Earlier this week technical director John Findlay spoke to Andy Howells about this years live show.

John’s association with Robot Wars goes back some 16 years when he began building and competing robots in the popular television series. He progressed to become the driver of TV house robot Ripper before building Major Damage for the live shows.

How did you get involved with Robot Wars TV Series?
It’s my Dad's fault! Actually I was at university training to be a car designer and he watched the show. He phoned me up one Sunday morning and said “Have you seen Robot Wars? You could do that!” That’s how it evolved. I had a go at building my first robot which to be honest wasn't very good. You’re under the illusion when you go there for the first time that the robots aren't very powerful .So I took my remote control car apart, the wheels off my mums wheelie bin and went down to the filming. Obviously when I came back my robot was all destroyed and burned and I had to explain to my mother why her wheelie bin wheels were molten rubber.

When you do it once, meet (the TV presenters) Craig Charles and Philippa Forester and get the adrenaline rush been in the arena with your creation I left there with my bin bag going “you know what? I’m going to go back and get my revenge on those nasty house robots!” I've been all over the world with it; it’s the best job in the world.

And you got involved in making it a live show?
I was on the TV show with a robot called Ripper for the last four series and it was 12 years ago when the show was last on. When the TV show finished I started a company to keep it going as a live show. We've been doing it for 12 to 13 years now.

Has Robot Wars popularity endured?
It had peaked off a little bit and then they showed the repeats on Dave and now there’s a whole new generation of kids that have grown up watching the repeats. We do a lot of work in schools using the robots to promote engineering, so at the moment we’re getting busier and busier and also on course to getting a new TV series commissioned, then hopefully it will be the next phenomenon again.

The current star of the shows is the house robot Major Damage; can you tell us a bit more about it?
Damage is signed to Robot Wars so when the new TV series comes along it will be the new robot in the show. It was built in 2007 and is now known as the 'Big Daddy of the Arena' because it’s the star of the show. It’s got its cushion jaw, a flame thrower and everything you need to defeat the opponent. Many have had a go to try and kill it but haven’t succeeded yet.

Can you tell Robot Wars fans anything about this weekends show in Newport?
We've got the molds from the BBC to replicate a brand new Matilda which launches at this show. Another new feature for this year is we are going to try and get the presenters to build a robot during the show and put them in with the featherweights. We've also got a new house robot called Ollie who s going to fire paintball at the other robots and that’s going to splat the hell out of them and just destroy them.

How much are robots part of your life now?
It’s taken over; I get told off for having robot parts all over the house! We've actually got the R2D2 who’s in the show in the dining room sat at the dinner table at the moment. We had it for Christmas dinner as a bit of a giggle when the family came and we decorated him with tinsel but we have to get him ready for Newport. R2D2 has proved a big hit with the kids and adds an extra element.

And you’re remaining hopeful to get Robot Wars back on television?
It just takes the right production company with the right budget and hopefully we’ll be away and getting it back on TV. It keeps coming back and then phases out again. Dave showed a series just before Christmas which has helped our lives considerably, I was in a school today and we showed the children a video of Robot Wars and I asked them “Who remembers Robot Wars?” You’ve got 5 and 6 year olds who’ve seen it over Christmas and they are like “this is great, we want our parents to take us to see it!” It’s funny because there hasn’t been a series in 12 years and it can still entertain the kids and they can still get hooked on it. And they still love it.

• Robot Wars takes place at Newport Centre on Saturday at 5pm and Sunday at 1pm. For ticket information visit seetickets.com 
• For more on Robot Wars 2015 Tour visit the official website
• A version of this interview by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on March 20, 2015

Meet The Band: Demob Happy

Brighton’s finest new purveyors of raucous, off-kilter garage rock, Demob Happy follow their triumphant 2014 debut single Succubus with powerful new cut, Young & Numb, due for release later this year via the bands own Milk Parlour records.

Fusing their natural affinity to relentless chord-thrashing with a fondness for melodic undertone and bold dynamic shifts, Young & Numb comes laced with feedback and fuzz. Lyrically, meanwhile, the track is less the nihilistic stoner manifesto that its namesake could allude to, and more a vicious rumination on the dazed efforts made to drag knowledge and meaning from the bedlam of youth.

A headline tour through last October saw Demob Happy leave the UK’s small venues broken and beaten, when, upon their return, The Guardian’s Single Of The Week heralded their debut single, Succubus as “a joyride through rock's sleazier back alleys”. Their live show is heralded as a whirlwind of energy and chaos, always handsomely toeing the line between dexterity and disarray.

Catch the four-piece on tour through March and April 2015, which also marks their first venture into Europe before they descend upon the UK.

How did you come together?
We're just four best friends who enjoy mutually coming together in small rooms over guitars and drums, and on the road over people who've paid to see us.

Where are you from?
We live in Brighton, but were from Newcastle, and Wales is our favourite place to write music. Carmarthen has good water and good milk.

How would you describe your music style?
Its really a simple winning formula, just super catchy up-beat pop rock that mums and sisters alike can enjoy.

What’s been your best live experience?
Our best gig by a long shot was performing at Alan Shearer's annual summer fete to raise funds for keen, yet under-privileged inner-city telemarketers at the Newcastle metro arena.

Where can people hear your music?
People can hear our music by stealing their Grandma's 3.6 GHZ Macbook pro and typing into the internet address bar - www.soundcloud.com/demob-happy

Where can we see you live?
We're about to set off on a world tour of the UK and Europe. the closest gig to South Wales being at the Louisiana, Bristol on March 29th. Thanks for having us!

• A version of this Q&A by Andy Howells was published in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on March 13, 2015
• Demob Happy Official Website