Rhett Brewer is an unusual ethereal singer/songwriter who reminds me of Sigur Ros and Lisa Gerrard rolled into an electrical synth machine at 80 bpm. This the video to “Millenia” from the album Hotel de Ville.
Video Vault – Rhett Brewer
Live Vault – Wendy Rule
Wendy Rule continues to gather a cult following for her quirky dark folk music. Here is Wendy performing “Artemis” is her living room! Beautiful…
Game Review – Numblast
Numblast is a quick fire addictive puzzler that will have you screaming at yourself for not having reflexes quite fast enough and give people who enjoy massive scores the opportunity to shine in all its glory. It was released on PSN yesterday.
The Premise
Like all puzzlers, the premise is a simple one – combine squares of the same number blocks. The numbers range from one to four and rotate round in a square format. There is a bizarre over the top story to it all and its to return your friend to human form after being turned into a monkey! It’s all a bit draft but more fun for being so.
The Gameplay
The screenshot above is the whole game. You must arrange numbers into square blocks of 2×2, 3×2, 3×3 and so on if your lucky enough to get that good. When doing so, the squares light up. This starts off the chain reaction. The blocks you’ve just lit up then change number – 1 moves to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4 and 4 to 1. It’s up to you to line up the relevant numbered blocks next to it to keep the chain moving and growing. It takes a few minutes to get the hang of it but then your off and away. However its not always that simple! Over time, blocks are “devolved” and turn black and once all the blocks are black its game over and the process speeds up the further on you go. There’s a great reflex/strategy element to it all and you cant get too far by just button mashing.
The Graphics
For a puzzler, the graphics are great. The main screen is easy to see and the characters are moving about too – there’s even cut scenes!
The Sound
A surprising strong point is the music which alters during the game depending on how close to game over you are. Its really quite clever. Also the voice overs are so over the top and random they add to the general madness of the story arc and graphic design.
The Replay Factor
You. Will. Be. Hooked! Even though its single player all the way (a dreadful shame for no multplayer) the endless and time limit scenerios will keep you coming for hours, and the puzzle mode is a nice addition. Maybe multiplayer will arrive at a later date…
The Positives
~So addictive it hurts
~Has a charm that pulls you in
The Negatives
~Lack of multiplayer
The Verdict
Even without multiplayer this is a fabulous game and one any puzzler (or casual puzzler e.g. Bejelewed) would seriously enjoy losing many hours to.
Live Vault – Lisa Miskovsky
Lisa Miskovsky is this weeks live vault artist . She’s a very talented live performance and this is a tv performance of “A Brand New Day” which is beautifully melodic and catchy. Enjoy
Bjork – “Voltaic” Trailer
Bjork’s Voltaic was released today and here’s a fantastic trailer showcasing the massive boxset! It’s winging its way to me now and I can’t wait! Bjork’s memorising live and her videos are always artistic and very interesting.
Imogen Heap – Ellipse Album Video Trailer
Quite possibly in one minute, an album has just placed itself in the album of the year category already! Here’s a video trailer for Imogen Heap’s new album Ellipse. Let the freak outs begin….. now!
Most Viewed – June 09
June missed being our most busiest month by just 21 hits so March 09 still holds the crown of busiest month – however for the first time ever one artist completely outrun everyone else by such a margin, their top post (our most viewed post this month) had more hits than the second, third and fourth busiest posts combined! Well done the Imogen Heap – everyone’s gone mad over the tracklist for Ellipse and we’ll be buying the album on release day so expect a sharp review on the day (provided its in shops – we couldn’t get a copy for Speak For Yourself in a store and had to buy online and wait). Patrick Wolf, Dead Can Dance & Vienna Teng’s album reviews all followed behind. Here’s the top 10 artists followed by the only two game reviews on site (we will be doing a top 5 game hits too). Congrats to Lisa Germano for making a new entry and Tori Amos, number 1 last month, dropped straight back out the charts again! June should be a busy month with lots of reviews not just here, but over on new site I Love Disaster Movies, which is another personal indulgence to another hobby of mine! Enjoy the summer!
01) Imogen Heap (1 Month)
02) Patrick Wolf (RE)
03) Dead Can Dance (RE)
04) Vienna Teng (-)
05) Akira Yamaoka (^)
06) Utada (v)
07) Brendan Perry (-)
08) Sarah Slean (v)
09) Lisa Germano (NE)
10) Yasunori Mitsuda (RE)
Live Vault – Imogen Heap
Back in 1998 when Imogen Heap was just stepping into the world of music with iMegaphone, I had found my new favourite artist and saved up to buy one of my first ever CD’s. “iMegaphone” has such a special place, I was delighted when Immi played not so long ago a re-release concert for the album. This is “Sweet Religion” my favourite from the album. Enjoy!
Video Vault – Chitose Hajime
Having just watched the live DVD from her fourth album, I thought I’d treat everyone to some Chitose Hajime. This is the video for Wadatsumi no Ki and is a beautiful song. Enjoy!
Game Review – Magic Ball (PS3)
Magic Ball is a retro throwback to Breakout and has been on the PlayStation Network for a while now. With its latest DLC it’s expanded into a great little game that you can easily pop in and play for a bit whilst cooling down from other games.
The Premise
Following the route of breakout and its many clones, you are a bat at the bottom of the screen. In front of you lie not blocks like the 80’s and 90’s versions but whole 3D vistas for you to bounce your ball at and destroy. There’s no plot, its just the game itself and your quest for a damn high score that’s at stake here.
The Gameplay
Magic Ball, like all puzzle type games is simple. Bat the ball and destroy everything in sight. You’ll be moving your bat left and right to stop the ball falling out the game zone as if it does you lose a life. Lose them all and its game over! The playing arena’s for destruction come in two themes(Pirates and Knights), each with 24 levels a piece. The difficulty ramps up very slowly at first and towards the end becomes quite challenging. Recently a Witches pack has been added with another 24 levels which is like the expert mode of the game and you should go for that after completing the previous two sets.
Batting the ball isn’t all that goes on. Randomly scattered in each level are power ups that cam help or hinder your progress. Some add weapons to your bat like laser beams and cannon balls, others make your bat bigger or smaller and others effect the size or type of ball you’ll have. There’s also some nifty weather effects like the hurricane and earthquake that can topple your playing field and change the level dramatically.
What’s great about the game is that physics are spot on. Very rarely will you lose a life and think it was unfair. The ball is predictable but still requires thought and skill in where your going to bat it to.
The Graphics
Magic Ball’s graphics are bold and colourful and that’s exactly the best way to do a game like this. It has a sense of humour in its art work that gives the game charm. The changes from night to day are handled nicely too.
The Sound
Magic Ball has some very catchy music. The pirate themes in particular get stuck in your head for a long time. It’s great to have download games that have original music to them and I salute TikiGames and Creat Studios for doing so.
The Replay Factor
Magic Ball does have that one more go factor that all puzzle type games need to succeed. There is a co-op 2 player mode which works well with a friend (and makes the whole game a lot easier and about racking up points instead of survival) locally however the online option doesn’t usually have players on and I’ve never been able to play with anyone to try it. The game has plenty of trophies including a gold but some of the silvers and bronzes seem to be the wrong way around as the bronzes are at times much more time consuming than the silvers which are all about destroying a level in a certain order to leave something remaining until last. Also judging by the level menu layout I’d expect more DLC packs coming later this year too.
The Positives
~Classic old skool gameplay improved for new generation
~Genuinely good clean fun
~High score seekers will spent a lot of time getting the 2,000,000 point trophy
The Negatives
~Could be too repetitive for some to persevere
The Verdict
Magic Ball hits all the right buttons for a classic game of bat and ball. There is nothing lacking or missing and what it does it does perfectly. While it may not be to everyone’s taste it deserves recognition for showing exactly how you should update a classic by keeping exactly what everyone knows and loves and adding some bells and whistles to it.
Lisa Gerrard & Klaus Schulze – “Farscape” Review
For once I’m at a loss for words and am completely torn. Lisa Gerrard’s latest collaboration partner is Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream fame and an electronic maestro with a career spanning over 40 (!) albums. “Farscape” is a two disc journey. Over the two discs seven songs, although they are more like symphonic movements, glide over you in a spacious ambience. Lisa’s vocals float and twist throughout the pieces and what you are given is something that on the surface is lightweight ambience but for those looking for more, can enjoy the lengthy process of ambience song structure.
Each song is entitled “Liquid Coincidence” and then is given a number 1 through 7. “1″ is 22 minutes long. Its swirling synths and arpeggio’s dust against Lisa’s ever evocative voice. It’s one of those tracks that once it starts, you forget its there almost and then quarter of an hour later, its still going but nothing much has changed except at half way through chill out beats join in. “2″ is 31 minutes long and is a bit more easy listening chill out world music. There’s some excellent use of echo on Gerrard’s vocals here but once again, nothing will be rushed and half an hour later, you feel as if you’ve been somewhere but your not quiet sure where. “3″ is 26 minutes long and concludes disc 1 as being somewhere in-between the previous two songs but sounds almost identical.
Disc 2 starts with “4″ at a much shorter 18 minutes! There is a noticeable shift in tone and that’s because disc 1 centres around Lisa improvising over Klaus’ music. Disc 2 is the other way around. “4″ is darker and less fluffy out-of-body-experienced with discordant stabbing brass samples however by the mid point its turned into a slightly more dramatic version of 1,2 and 3. “5″ for some reason works better for me as its a perfect blend of each other’s strengths although again its an 18 minute movement. “6″ is 24 minutes long and does little to change what’s already been heard although there is no percussion in this track at all and sounds better for it. “7″ is the shortest track at 13 and a half minutes. Who’d have thought that on an album? It basically wraps all the other tracks into one coherent piece which is a lovely feeling track and reminds of swimming with dolphins.
I’m so torn as its brave and at times genius. However quite why every song has to be half an album long is beyond me. It completely depends on your mood. Yes, you can close your eyes and drift off to it if you have time but its all so hypnotically similar so then one track blends into the next and then none of the differences actually stand out. The best track is the shortest one as it packs all the album into one track, which they could have easily done and then changed the electronics about and made some different sounding tracks. The whole overall sound sounds like a cheap relaxation CD you find from something like Time Life.
I will probably never listen to the album as a whole ever again. It completely devalued itself for me as a single piece. I will only tackle this CD one track at a time and even then only as background music when I’m busy. To have Lisa Gerrard’s voice as background music is something I’d never thought I’d say but alas, that’s all I can see this CD being used for. Sorry!
Live Vault – Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf is this weeks Live vault hot of his latest album, the excellent The Bachelor. This is anthem “Battle”. Enjoy!
Rock Band: Beatles – E3 Press Conference Video
Harmonix have long been doing great things with music games (Frequency & Amplitude) and now their Rock Band series is getting the Beatles look. Take a look at their E3 presentation in a special video made for Higher Plain Music by the fantastic Jeriaska. Jeriaska is runner of Nobuooo.com , Jeriaska.com and also a great vimeo channel packed with various goodies and interviews.
Without further ado then… Rock Band: Beatles! Following the same concept as all Rock Band’s before them, taking your individual instruments and then pressing the right note or hitting the right drum at the right time. However everyone knows many Beatles songs so now instead of being a pure rockers dream, its now in prime position to eclipse SingStar as the drunken Saturday night party game. I can hear the renditions of “Hey Jude” already…
This video follows their E3 presentation of the new game! Enjoy!
“Final Fantasy VIII Piano Collections” Review
Final Fantasy VIII Piano Collections continues the excellent series’ trend for producing albums that piano lovers can treasure. Taking 13 tracks from the soundtrack and arranging them on a piano, the formulae hasn’t changed, and it doesn’t really have to, its all down to the passion and the arrangements. Shinko Ogata is the ivory maestro this time around and if I could have just a tenth of his piano playing expertise then I’d die a happy man.
“Blue Fields” opens the album with a delicate start of this pleasant tune that calmly pitter-patters though like a dream which “Eyes On Me” calmly takes over. The delicateness of this love song is made even more apparent here in a perfectly converted to piano song. The soft playing of a complicated piece makes for superb music for drifting off to sleep and cuddles in candlelight. “Fisherman’s Horizon” is the last of the trio of dreamy songs, closing the section in beautiful fashion before the album takes a step up in pace.
“Succession Of Witches” strips away the dream to create an uneasy and haunting song awaking you to the evil side of Final Fantasy VIII but retaining a cutesy effect to make it more eerie. “Ami” makes the original piano tune into a beautiful epic with the softest of playing and the loveliest touches to make for an enchanting piece before “Shuffle or Boogie” gives the album a big lift in beat with a bluesy number that provides a nice bit of fun to the collection.
“Find Your Way” is a piece of abstract work that infects the mind with superbly detailed piano work and excellent tension building. “The Oath” is a dramatic uplifting track that gets more confident and powerful as it moves on but never fulfils its promise of a big ending.
“Silence And Motion” is a beautiful song that comes across bitter-sweet but dramatic with the song ever evolving and fast changing in what is one of the best surprises of album. “The Castle” is one of the most complex songs on the album with several different sections the song. Some are dramatic and slow, others complex and fast giving us another great evolving track. Having spoken to many pianists just being able to play this track is a marvel in itself. “The Successor” continues the evolving complexity trend with a song with a very different view to an end boss theme. It slows it right down and gives it a beauty that could have been lost in all the power of the original. Its not what I was expecting, but it gives the end boss theme a very unique edge to it.
“Ending Theme” is dramatic, elegant and regal all at the same time with several sections to it, including the Final Fantasy theme and the near 6-minute epic is a fantastic piece of work. The closing track is the extremely fun and very complex “Slide Show Part2″ with ends the album on a light note with a great, bouncy classic Laurel and Hardy sounding song!
Final Fantasy VIII Piano Collection is probably the most relaxed of the all the collections to date. Its emphasis on soft but complex melodies holds it in a good stead and the more you listen, the more you hear and the more you enjoy. Another gem in the collection.
Poll: What’s Your Favourite Final Fantasy Piano Collection?
We’ve been going FFPC mad lately and have reviewed nearly all of them. While we wait for Piano Collections for XII and the I-III era (will they ever come at all?) here’s a question to take your mind off it..
Live Vault – Touhomus
This week’s live vault is a superb rendition of the classic Tomb Raider theme, composed by Nathan McCree. YouTube’r Touhomus has pre-mapped every instrument on his keyboard and with lots of effects, has recreated and played real time – the whole arrangement! Take a look here. Stunning work!
Lisa Germano – New Album
Lisa Germano has a new album coming! “Magic Neighbour” is due out of the 18th of September. Nothing else is really known as of yet but we aren’t worried, Lisa’s albums are as intimately revealing as they are extrovertly beautiful. We can’t wait!
Imogen Heap – Ellipse Tracklist
It’s finally coming, after many iBlogs, Imogen Heap’s 3rd solo (4th overall) album “Ellipse” is coming and here is the tracklist:
01. First Train Home
02. Wait It Out
03. Earth
04. Little Bird
05. Swoon
06. Tidal
07. Between Sheets
08. 2 – 1 (formerly ‘Pollyfilla’)
09. Bad Body Double
10. Aha!
11. The Fire
12. Canvas
13. Half Life
You can hear the creative flow of the album via Immi’s fantastic iBlog’s on her YouTube page. This is turning out to be a great year for music! Ellipse is due to be released in August
Game Review: Trash Panic (PS3)
Trash Panic's Game Screen
It’s been a long time coming but here it is: HPM is doing game reviews too! Please bare with me while I find a format that’s suitable for such things – it’s a learning curve for me. However we have a corker of a game…
The Premise
Trash Panic was released yesterday on the PlayStation Network for PS3. Basically you have a giant bin that you need to try to fit in all the rubbish coming your way but compacting it down and smashing everything up. It’s a bit like Tetris/Bust-A-Move but without the blocks or balls.
The Gameplay
Trash Panic takes place on one screen like all these puzzlers do. A conveyor belt brings you constant household items to throw into the bin. You then throw the objects into the bin and depending on their properties, it’ll either smash into pieces (great), crack (good), not be damaged (not good) or fall out the bin (awful). Each items properties make common sense. A microwave is going to smash a light bulb and a massive safe is going to seriously dent a microwave. Using your brain you can try to arrange what’s going to hit where and roughly gauge what will happen next. The game ends when 3 items fall out of the bin undamaged – usually the annoying spot on named bouncy ball.
Soon enough the element of fire is brought in. You can make a fire from matches and toilet rolls or wooden objects that can clear a decent amount of your playing area. You also have the option to place the lid on the bin which stokes the fire up and halts the trash coming at you which is nice. Finally there’s the option to shake the bin with the sixaxis controller to move your objects about a bit in the hope they fall down and make more room.
Add to that objects you need to save not break and boss objects you need to smash up in ten seconds and you’ve got a lot going on.
Controls are spot on, as is the on screen displays and because its all a new twist on the genre the gameplay mechanics are still fun after the novelty as worn off.
The Graphics
For a cheap game the graphics are perfectly fine. The layout is clear and you instantly know what’s going on. There’s not too many bells and whistles on but its a puzzle game and you don’t need them.
The Sound
Original music is provided and while its pleasant enough it doesn’t stand out. It is nice though that as the trash can fills up the music gets more fraught and dramatic. The smashing sounds are nice too.
The Replay Factor
Trash Panic has great replay because in each game, the trash is organised in a different order. The two player (local not online) verses battles are fun too – even for people playing the first time. You are also graded and trophies are available too and they look quite hard to achieve. As no game is exactly the same its always fresh. Puzzle games live and die by the replay factor and this game certainly has it.
The Positives
~Great twist on the genre
~A lot for your money
~Should satisfy anyone who wants to smash up things in frustration
The Negatives
~Sometimes you feel at the games mercy when things shatter or burn in an unexpected manner.
The Verdict
Trash Panic is a great little puzzler. There is a bit of luck and randomness involved but that shouldn’t stop anyone who enjoys something unique and engrossing getting this gem. It has that “just one more go” factor that all great puzzle games have and at £3.99 its an absolute bargain.
Dead Can Dance – First Song Released
Brendan Perry has just released the first studio recording of Dead Can Dance from 1982. The songs “A Means of Escape” is available to download from Brendan Perry’s website. It keeps true to the début albums more rockier sound with Brendan on vocals. It’s pretty good too with the strange percussive bells rounding off the song.
