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Arts

 

Sir Paul owes more than
‘Kisses on the Bottom’

 

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

O©@

have always been a Paul
[seco fan. Asa child, I

lived and breathed The Beatles,
Wings, and McCartney’s various
solo albums. I stuck by him through
Driving Rain (2001) and Chaos and
Creation in the Backyard (2005), I put
up with Memory Almost Full (2007),
but with Kisses on the Bottom, I have
to draw the line.

Kisses on the Bottom was severely
disappointing. Granted, McCartney
is now 69 years old, and the album

is essentially a bunch of covers—
but it just didn’t cut if for me.
With Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton,
Diana Krall, and John Clayton each
playing some role in the making of
this record, I feel there should have
been much, much more to offer.
For what it is, the album’s fine
enough. McCartney’s a musician
well past his prime, singing old
jazzy songs. As is to be expected
though, he consistently strains to
hit notes. Perhaps this is just me
still trying to remember him as a
mop-topped Beatle, but he simply
doesn’t have the voice to fit this
style of music.

 

Destined to be average,

and that’s okay

By Cody Klyne, Editor in Chief

hether you're an eye roller
or a true believer when
it comes to discussions

of fate and destiny, chances are
you have an opinion one way or
the other. In Kingdoms of Amalur:
Reckoning, the world is governed by
fate and predetermined outcomes,
and you're given the proverbial
golden ticket as an aberration: a
“fateless one.”

Fantasy clichés abound in
the Kingdom of Amalur. You’ve
got your gnomes and your elvish
analog in the form of the mystical
Fae. You've got your trolls and your
gnolls. From steel greave to jewel-
encrusted helmet, it’s an inoffensive,
generic fantasy. Aesthetically aping
games the likes of World of Warcraft
and Fable—something that has
been acknowledged by the game’s
developers, Big Huge Games and 38
Studios—Reckoning seems to relish
in particle effects, sunny skies, and
doe-eyed NPCs. Where the game
manages to introduce something
new to the action RPG genre is in its
fluid, combo-encouraging, combat

 

system.

From smashing a sprite with
a massive hammer, to kicking said
sprite in the head, to slamming the
ground to propel shards of rock in
its general direction, Reckoning’s
combat has the potential to be as
simple, or as varied, as the player
desires. It’s God of War lite done
right.

While the borderline uninspired
world and storytelling of Reckoning
might turn off those looking for
more in the league of Skyrim, what's
presented is tight, functional,
and fun. In an industry obsessed
with the 5/5, it’s time to get real
and make room for the “average”
experience.

 

 

Grimes’ ‘Visions’ are fulfilled

 

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

©0000

laire Boucher, better known
( as Grimes, has been rising

steadily to prominence
since 2010. After relocating from
Vancouver to Montreal in 2006,
Boucher began developing an
image that encompassed her
alternative creativity and artistry,
eventually and literally producing
a sound to match this image.
With the addition of Visions
(released February 21), Boucher
has remarkably released four LP’s
in the span of two years; has it all
paid off?

Visions opens with
“Infinite ¥ Without Fulfillment
(intro),” a tame blend of beats
accompanied by Boucher’s light
vocals. From then on until the
soothing, ambient closer, “know
the way (outro),” Boucher takes
the listener through a world that
blends familiar melodies, choirs of
automatons, laser beams, and, of
course, her signature neo-soprano
vocalizations.

It seems as though nothing
can stop the young artist from
spreading her mechanical magic
around the indie scene. Four
albums strong already and Boucher
has nowhere to look but up as she
continues to create unique and
beautifully chaotic music wherever
she goes.

 

  

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