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NOFX - Self-Entitled Review

NOFX are one of those rare bands with whom more of the same is never a bad thing. Although this release eschews some of the more pop orientated elements of 2009's 'Coaster', pretty much everything you've come to expect from them is present here: Mell Yells, El Hefe's copious use of the wah pedal, acerbic lyricism and that stupidly quick bass drum pattern that Erik "Smelly" Sandin always uses. 

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Flobots - The Circle In The Square Review

This progressive blend of hip hop and groove-fusion hits somewhere between the two marks set by their previous efforts: debut album 'Fight With Tools' and 2010's 'Survival Story.' A hybrid between the popular-ism of the initial and the distinctive nature of the latter. The result is something that both works and doesn't at the same time.

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Refused - Manchester Academy 14/08/12 Review

When the doors to the venue open at seven, the eighteen year olds who have been at the front of the queue for a couple of hours get told off by security for sprinting towards the barrier and a guy who looks like Jesus hands me a leaflet for upcoming events around Manchester. I sit down and read through since the band listed as 'the Refused' won't be on until 9:15, but the only thing that stands out to me is that Manchester's Institute for the Deaf puts on gigs. We Are The Ocean and Madina Lake are playing there soon, which makes sense. 

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Heyward Howkins - Hale & Hearty Review

Think of an finely tuned mix of City and Colour, The Cure, Bon Iver and Nick Drake.  Add some very Sgt. Pepper-esque vocal mixing, and combine all of this with minimal song textures.  That is essentially what Philadelphia's own Heyward Howkins has created, and the wistfullness and simplicity shown is downright hypnotic from start to finish.

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Google Nexus 7 Review

Let's be honest, Android tablets have been a sort of sketchy affair.  A mish-mash of hardware form factors and disappointing user experiences.  But that is about to change.  

"7-inch tablets are going to be dead on arrival," the late Steve Jobs proclaimed in October 2010.  Google, myself and probably lots of others would beg to differ with the Nexus 7.

The next in the line of products that present the metaphorical middle finger to OEMs and their depreciation of the stock Android experience through needless clutter and skinning, the Nexus 7 redefines your pre-conceptions of what makes a budget tablet.  This software and hardware love affair between Google and Asus has produced something with the real potential to kickstart the campaign for Android tablets as a whole.

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Film Review: Ted

As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John's side ever since - a friendship that's tested when Lori, John's girlfriend of four years, wants more from their relationship. (Source: IMDB)

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HEALTH - Max Payne 3 OST Review

Californian noise-rock outfit and capitalisation enthusiasts HEALTH dabble with cinematic electronica in their soundtrack for Max Payne 3 - the latest in the acclaimed and much loved videogame series - while still paying tribute to their experimental roots.

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Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

In some ways, Christopher Nolan could feel helpless about the large portion of negativity directed his way now The Dark Knight Rises is finally upon us after months if not years of heightened anticipation and amplified speculation. However downright spectacular TDKR (and it truly is) happened to be, it will forever be within The Dark Knight’s shadow.

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Japandroids - Celebration Rock review

Japandroids' sophomore LP 'Celebration Rock' starts the way it finishes: with the sound of fireworks. As the title suggests, this album is a celebration -- of youth, energy and aimless defiance that often evokes a sense of pensive longing for either the future or the past, depending on your age.

 

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Athura - A Hand In Death's Design Review

Raw and powerful, yet orchestrated and structured. A contradiction of musical textures, which has been brought before us by Plymouth 6-piece Metal act Athura.  Bringing an untamed anger, while feeling meticulous in their utilisations of groove, complex harmonics and powerful melody.

 

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Tech Review: Samsung Galaxy S3

It'd be safe to say that the Samsung Galaxy S3 has had a tumultuous journey to launch. Following frenzied speculation, rumour and everything in-between; a whole host of alleged 'leaks'; and a manufacturing hiccup that threatened to take the shine off the worldwide launch, the S3 has now lifted the crown from the iPhone 4S in claiming to be the UK's most popular smartphone. But does the S3 really merit the year-long wait from its 20 million-selling predecessor, the S2, and just how worthy is it in toppling the might of Apple's iPhone?

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Architects - Daybreaker Review

Completely remove any misguided pre-conceptions that this takes them back to their days of Hollow Crown.  The melodic ferocity has very much returned; but with subtle hints towards the rather polarising The Here and Now and a sense of maturity in song construction, you have is a wildly different and, at times, melodically beautiful album to experience.

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Game Review: Minecraft - Xbox 360 Edition

Notch's Minecraft truly is a phenomenon in gaming. In a couple of short years, the deviously-simple sandbox building game represents everything fundamentally great about indie game development. Going from a project created in the bedroom of the aforementioned Markus 'Notch' Persson and since riding on the back of nothing more than word alone (up until now, Minecraft has been entirely self-published), the game has now been played by millions and, along with it, earned its creator millions in the process.

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Grove Leather Back Review
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Grove Leather Back Review

In the grand scheme of phone cases, it would seem natural to assume that a stick-on leather back for a phone would seem rather pointless.  An all-round needless accessory of style over substance that sacrifices too much of its protective qualities.

But in the case of the Grove Leather Back, this is where you'd think incorrectly.

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The Black Keys - El Camino Review

The American blues duo hit us with their seventh studio album in the end of 2011, and they hit us hard. From the moment you press play a feistiness is unleashed, with the well known 'Lonely Boy', until the final tracks, like 'Nova Baby' you just wish you could sing a long live to, when you just can't help but press repeat. 

 

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The Maccabees - Given To The Wild Review

Third time lucky? Or do bad things really come in threes?

The Maccabees have only recently come into my preferred bands just before their third album release, 'Given To The Wild', and before this album my opinion of them was a very indie sound: twangy guitars, fast drum beats, unique voice, the usual.

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Film Review: Titanic 3D

A pioneer of the resurgence in 3D, James Cameron's dedication to the format can simply not be under-estimated. Having been the driving force behind the technology in Avatar's decade-spanning journey to our screens – which went on to gross £2.7 billion at the box office, the biggest in history by quite a margin – Cameron has spent the last year braving the waters in supervising the most ambitious 2D-to-3D conversion ever seen, in bringing his very first billion dollar movie back to the big screen where it belongs.

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SBTRKT - Hold On (SISI BAKBAK RMX)

The rumours of Thom Yorke being the musical mind behind SISI BAKBAK are in high debate over the recent remix of SBTRKT's 'Hold On' on Youtube. 

The musical style is very much similar to Yorke's style: sections of repetition and polyphony, which is Radiohead all over.  The speculation of this artist playing Seattle's Key Arena can only be linked with Radiohead (playing April 9th).

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Game Review: SSX

If you've ever plunged down a slope of death-defying proportions, listening to a certain Run DMC song, playing as a male individual with a giant afro, you probably have been watching this game very closely to see whether it is the renaissance of a genre that's been dead for too long, or a metaphorical final nail in the coffin of video-game brand rebirths.

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Hardware Review: PlayStation Vita

You have to give Sony credit. It takes a ballsy company to release major new hardware at a price upwards of £200 in such economically difficult times (and at a time where we're constantly reminded of the games industry's troubling outlook), but it takes even more confidence to launch hardware that, essentially, swims against the tide of current gaming trends. In a market now chock-full of often-shallow social games, 59p Apps for mobile devices and free-to-play triple-A titles, it's an immensely risky strategy to put so much marketing grunt and belief behind a portable gaming machine in which off-the-shelf titles are priced comparatively to their console equivalents, and where going all-in for the hardware is likely to cost much more than buying another home console.

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