Darkness is everywhere, but adrenaline is scarce

By David Hollinshead, Staff Writer

(@)\(@)(@)

—— eS

Coil released their newest album, Dark

Adrenaline on January 24. The group’s
sixth album lives up to its name, and has been
receiving positive reviews from fans for the
group’s choice to return to their original dark

[er alternative metal band Lacuna

sound.

Lead vocalists, Cristina Scabbia and
Andrea Ferro, have each brought something
different to the table. Scabbia’s almost gothic
operatic voice will send chills down your spine
(in a good way), while Ferro’s less clean-cut
vocals are an excellent contrast. The vocalists
together combine for an awesome effect, while

guitarists Cristiano Migliore and Marco Biazzi
use powerful guitar riffs to leave you head-
banging.

The album starts off strong, as the first
four songs instantly grab the listener. The
dark tones and strong lyrics were perhaps best
described by Liz Ramanand from Loudwire,
comparing them to an “Edgar Allen Poe
poem brought to life.” But while the CD
starts off great, the heavy effects slowly fade
as the tracks go on. If I may compare things
to Macbeth, the comedic character of Porter
was used lighten up the tension in the play,
thereby making the intensity of the story more
effective. Dark Adrenaline’s non-stop piling on
of misery eventually wears itself out, leaving
the listener unaffected by the darkness in the
end.

me
a .
?

 

Serving justice;
the bumper kart way

 

By Cody Klyne

f there’s one take away from
[Te Fast and the Furious series—

besides the fact that Paul Walker
is a listless Gerber baby of an
actor—it’s that high speed chases
and explosions go together like too-
tall people in too-small cars (which
is to say, excellently). Now, thanks to
Smash Cops for iOS, you can work
out your aggression by dishing out
street justice as you take control of
the mayhem from the comfort of
your favourite Apple device.

Over the course of 22 missions,

players are tasked with smashing
and crashing their preferred law

By David Hollinshead, Staff Writer

(o)\(©)(@)(@(o)

—— SS SS SS a

anadian singer-songwriter
( Rae Spoon released his

latest album, | Can’t Keep All
of Our Secrets, on January 10. Rae
Spoon continues the switch from
his country roots to an electric pop
sound that I found myself tapping
my foot and bopping my head to
the whole way through.

Electronic beats don’t tend

to strike people with feelings the
way some other genres do, but
somehow Spoon is able to find a
happy medium between the two,
as his lyrics are definitely heartfelt.
Not only are his songs surprisingly
and spectacularly emotional, they’re

enforcement vehicle—though only | also catchy.

one of five is available out of the
gate—into “criminal” drivers by
means of a unique drag and tap
control scheme. Unfortunately, it’s
that last point that also wound up
being my key frustration. Despite
being intuitive, fidgety driving
exhausted my patience even after
I'd worked my way through a bulk
of the content.

That said, whether you’re
taking down your opponents by
disabling their vehicles, or racing
against the clock to the end of an
area, Smash Cops is an enjoyable,

 

visually appealing diversion for sd
those who find themselves in need >

of some simple car combat on the ns

go. @ RaeSpoon —

 

 

Forget the secrets, Rae
Spoon keeps the beat

The underlying bass from
Scott Monroe gives his songs
another dimension, and perfectly
compliment Spoon’s guitar and
synth melodies. The album’s
first three songs are upbeat, with
amazing hooks, and will definitely
leave you hitting the replay button.
The songs following the trio
however, delve into emotion more
than dance. The songs slow down;
the hooks remain, but with a song
title like “When I Said There Was
An End To Love I Was Lying,” it
gives you a good idea of what the
rest of the album is like.

There isn’t a bad track on this
record, and even if electronic music
isn’t really your thing, I would still
recommend picking this up. Even
this early in the year, the album
has potential for some award
nominations.