The game is a joint production involving Channel 4 and Littleloud, and is written by Kieron Gillen: comic-book writer, gamer, co-owner at Rock, Paper, Shotgun and all-round nice guy who was kind enough to answer a few question about The Curfew, some of the issues that the game brings up, and of course his comic books. The interview below has not been edited, and we’d like to thank Kieron and Rebecca Ladbury for their time and co-operation.

BURNALLZOMBIES: Can you describe a little bit about the creative process behind The Curfew? It was commissioned by Alice Taylor, commissioning editor of Channel 4’s educational programming, so how much of the idea was already in mind, and how much developed over the course of writing?

KIERON GILLEN: Channel 4 Education has its vague over-arching themes which it plans to use as fuel for projects. Littleloud was considering a couple of them – Civil Liberties and Mental Health – when they approached me as possibly as a writer. In the end, it was the core of one of Littleloud’s idea – “the curfew”, a safehouse, four people, day-after-tomorrow “Canterbury Tales”-structure – which we ended up developing. And it developed a lot… though, since that core is recognisable in the short-form I list above, it shows that it’s much more about execution than the grand oversweeping structure.

In short – the high-level theme came from Channel 4; everything about the actual execution of that theme came from Littleloud.

Channel 4 and its affiliated channels have been heavily promoting The Curfew during ad breaks, and a lot of these ads are similar in style to Channel 4’s TV shows. Was The Curfew always planned as an interactive “game” with a real-life cast, or were there ever other/“simpler” possibilities of telling the same story? And how did that format affect your approach as a writer.

Littleloud have a long history at making webgames. Arguably their most famous previous one was the BAFTA-award winning Bow Street Runner, which uses the earlier version of the same technology – rendered backgrounds, real-actors and similar conversation/mini-game interaction. The Curfew was basically the spiritual sequel to Bow Street Runner, just turning the technology to a new end. Being a gaming geek, I think of it as Planescape Torment to Bow Street Runner’s Baldur’s Gate.

I’ve never written for actors before. Like any new thing, it affected my writing by provoking me to panic. It’s just how I operate.

As part of Channel 4’s educational programming, much of The Curfew revolves around notions of citizenship, as well as the rights and responsibilities of a nation and its inhabitants, and other civil rights issues. At what stage did Amnesty, Liberty, Human Rights Watch and The Equality And Human Rights Commission get involved in the production, and what kind of response did they have to the story?

I’m afraid you’d have to talk to Littleloud and Channel 4 about this, as I never communicated to them directly. Basically, even at synopsis form, everything I wrote was taken to Channel 4 and evaluated whether it was actually suitable, and then – apparently – eventually presented to experts. That so many human rights groups are linked is probably the best evidence of how they took it.

While a fictional narrative, there’s some real-life issues writ large in The Curfew, and one of the most interesting aspects for me has to do with the availability and control of media. As a writer and games journalist, you straddle an interesting divide between creator and consumer: what are your own thoughts on censorship and access to media, as well as piracy and digital content, based on your experiences from both sides?

Big question. I suspect any answer I can give which works in a short interview format is going to sound really pat. I’ve started writing this paragraph a few dozen times now, and I can’t work out a way to get to the end of the paragraph and make a point I actually believe which doesn’t demand another eight paragraphs of explanation.

It’s a big question, and most of the questions are about the world we’re choosing to make. My immediate urge was to write that I’m against censorship in all its forms, but I just start picking at that and drawing a line between what censorship is and isn’t. I think the democratisation of the press with the internet age is an important thing – but I also understand that married to the postmodern belief in all-opinions-are-equal, the based chew of capitalism and general entitlement that it leads to some really nasty places. One of the themes in The Curfew which people haven’t picked up on as much is the basic one of personal responsibility – of where it starts and where it ends, and what communication is anyway.

It’s a game which is fundamentally won or lost by weaponised empathy. We’re here with each other and we’ve got to make the best of it.

And the question of Piracy is another essay, which I don’t think necessarily overlaps with digital content. I’ll go as far to say that if you can’t give people access to something in a format they want – digital – you can’t be too surprised when they pirate when there’s no other option.

Currently The Curfew plays out on site, with plans for a full downloadable experience later this year. Are there any plans to support The Curfew with other narratives outside of the main game? Or to revisit the world in some other format in the future?

I don’t know what Littleloud has planned… but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is never touched again. I think games are desperately obsessed with turning their worlds into brands, which is great for capitalism and not so great for the art.

Most of our readers probably know you best as the writer of Phonogram, some of your more recent work with Marvel Comics or maybe your games journalism with Rock, Paper, Shotgun: it’s a pretty eclectic CV, so were there any major differences (or similarities) in writing The Curfew?

Impossible deadlines.

If only I was joking.

I think it would be fair to say that you’re as passionate about games and music as you are about writing, and knowing what games someone plays or what music they listen to gives a real sense of character: in Phonogram, music even defines their very being. Similarly, in The Curfew, the game The Call Of Grand Theft Duty is integral to one of the characters: is this something you do consciously when creating a character, or does it just come naturally? Do your characters develop from their interests, or do they develop the interests as they grow? And have you ever written a character that you suspect of liking Kula Shaker? [If you've read Phonogram, you'll get that. If not: shame on you.]

Someone in a random tweet or e-mail just wrote asking something like “would you say the major theme across all your work is how humans interact and are shaped by the culture they consume?” And I thought… well, yes. That’s it, innit? I’d never put it that cleanly, but if you want a BIG THEME across everything I do, that’s it. That said, Lucas [The Boy in The Curfew] is given a far harder time than Phonogram’s cast for his solipism.

In terms of creation, it works both ways. Some of it comes quickly. You just know that a character would like a certain band. In Phonogram, it occasionally goes the other way – like Laura emerging from the black swamp of Long Blondes records. And then when you’re writing a character, you catch a record and realise it resonates with that character. Lloyd only got a happy ending in Phonogram when I found myself listening to Los Campesinos late at night, and found myself thinking “Lloyd really could do with hearing this. He’d learn something.” When thinking about Generation Hope [Kieron's new X-Men series, commencing in November, focussing on the supposed mutant saviour and a team of new mutants], I was listening to These Dancing Days’ “Hitten” and it sort of clicked. That’s where she is, right now, and that’s what this series is about.  I tend to see songs as blobs of narrative and meaning in an unrealised, pure form. [Jamie] McKelvie [Kieron's collaborating artist on Phonogram and Marvel's Siege: Loki one-shot] says that instinct is pretty much the thing which allowed me to write Phonogram.

The character who likes Kula Shaker lives, crumpled up, in my office-bin.

Moving away from The Curfew, any plans to revisit the world of Phonogram after The Single’s Club [the second series in the comic]? Or to see (hear?) Phonogram on stage or screen?

I’d love to do another series of Phonogram, but it’s just incredibly, incredibly unlikely. Financial reality crushed it, and now McKelvie and myself are just too busy.

Phonogram on screen or stage would be highly amusing, especially considering I originally wrote it to be as unadaptable as possible. That said, you never know.

There seems to be a second wave of the British invasion hitting Marvel and DC over the last few years, focussing on names like yourself and Paul Cornell; how does it feel to be name-checked in the same breath as the likes of Gaiman, Moore, Carey, Morrison et al?

That’s complimentary company you’re putting me in. I like to imagine when you say I’m name-checked in the same breath, the breath is saying “Isn’t nearly as good as XYZ”.

Really? It’s about as strange as you may expect.  On the other hand… okay, I’ll spin off at an angle. When doing Phonogram, Jamie and I wanted to do something that mattered to other people as much as the stuff which inspired us mattered to us. We are people who have had life-changing experiences with art, and we wanted to be part of that chain. So, when people come up to us and talk about how much the work means to them, up to the point of changing how they dress or what clubs they go to or whatever… well, it’s profoundly embarrassing and  bizarre. But it’s also exactly what we wanted. As odd as it is – and that you find it odd is about the only way you can tell you haven’t gone off the deep end – it’s what you entered this game for, so you have to smile and say thank you and (if pressed) say that you understand, because you were there yourself once.

So when people compare me to some people who I absolutely count as major influences…

Well, I didn’t get into this line of work to be shit.

I want to be as good as my influences – all my influences, inside and outside of comics. Hell, I want to be better, even if I don’t think I’ll ever be. You have to try.

You’re finishing up a pretty successful run on Thor at the moment, and Generation Hope will be on shelves later this year: did Thor give you a chance to get involved (or even check out) the film/tie-in game? And how close will Generation Hope run alongside the other X-Men titles?

Nope. I’ve only seen as much of the film as everyone else has, which I kinda like. I want to be surprised. And Generation Hope will be part of the core X-men universe. They’re Matt [Fraction, current writer of Uncanny X-Men] and my characters, so they’re always going to be. However, I also want to write a book which is readable entirely by itself. Anything I write, I try and make the smallest individual elements mean something by themselves.

Finally, regarding characters or franchises from the worlds of comics and video games: if there were one character or franchise you could get your hands on, regardless of rights or medium, what would you write?

I would like to get my hands on all the Suburban Glamour characters, so Jamie doesn’t own them anymore. And then I would write them really badly, saying things like “Jamie McKelvie smells bad. He smells so bad. Pooooooooo! He smells like Pooo.” And then I would phone him up and laugh at him. Again.

[Jamie McKelvie was unavailable to comment on his personal scent at the time of posting this...truth is, we didn't actually ask anyway.]

The Curfew is currently in Beta and can be played here.

Generation Hope begins in November; Thor is an ongoing series and Siege: Loki is available as one-shot or as part of several Siege collection from Marvel Comics, including a Siege: Thor Hardcover due later this year.

Phonogram: Rue Britannia and Phonogram Volume 2: The Single’s Club are available now, published by Image Comics.

Kieron is a regular contributer and co-owner of Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

First off is the first official screenshot to the game’s first downloadable chapter entitled “The Signal” set to be released July 27th. Where the DLC will take place in regards to the overall story is yet to be seen but those who bought Alan Wake first hand (and kept the coupon issued within it) will get to experience the DLC for free while everyone else can expect to pay 800 Microsoft Points to continue Alan’s journey into the night.

Alongside this screenshot Remedy have also released an Alan Wake themed video to Poets of the Fall‘s single “War”.  The band are no strangers to Remedy’s work, contributing the theme music to both Max Payne 2 and Alan Wake, and players will recognise them as the music behind the game’s fictional Heavy Metal band “Old Gods of Asgard”. Check it out below to see Alan take on some Taken with the power of some flares and alt-rock.

Support for Gaga’s Dublin gig was provided by New York’s Semi Precious Weapons and Denmark’s Alphabeat, two bands that complemented Lady Gaga’s performance, but in totally different ways. Semi Precious Weapons brought a vicious, androgynous glam rock to an audience probably too young to appreciate it, or perhaps too meek for their brash pseudo-punk stylings. The band already have the attitude and swagger to perform to an arena audience, but left little chance to appreciate their sound, with frontman Justin Tranter dropping to the floor of the stage to change his leggings and high heel boots, to the confusion of more than a few parents who’d brought their kids for a good old-fashioned pop show and left with a much different education. It was a suitable introduction to the pomp and drama of Gaga’s performance, after a quick detour via Denmark.

For their part, Alphabeat went down a lot better than Semi Precious Weapon, but never quite made the stage their own and clearly would have felt more comfortable on a smaller stage. Nonetheless, the Danes’ infectious pop got the audience singing along and ready for Lady Gaga, notably by finishing their set with “Fascination”, aka the song from that Diet Coke TV ad.

With the European leg of Gaga’s tour only beginning on Thursday, there were some small teething problems: reviews of her shows at the MEN in Manchester called attention to them, including delays and missed cues, but also highlighted the many, many high points. Dublin didn’t get any such technical difficulties, but was still waiting nearly an hour for her to take the stage once Alphabeat had departed. Nobody really minded much: Michael Jackson songs and Mexican waves filled the time, but there was nonetheless a sigh of relief once the singer’s appearance on stage became inevitable. And by that stage, nobody cared any more: it was gonna be a good evening.

A white curtain covered the stage, a screen upon which to project some artistic videos of Lady Gaga, before lifting to reveal a New York streetscape: two open girders made to resemble buildings and covered with neon advertising (amongst them a dentist, BBQ and large sign reading “What The Fuck Have You Done” )with a car in the middle of the stage. Gaga performed “Dance In The Dark” atop one such building, her band and back-up singers residing in the opposite building across the stage. Making her way down to the main level of the stage through new song “Glitter and Grease,” she opened the bonnet of the car, revealing a keyboard on which she played an introduction to “Just Dance.” A catwalk in the middle of the stage allowed the singer and dancers amongst the audience, and Gaga was just at home on the smaller area as she was taking up the larger stage, and certainly wasn’t afraid to play to her fans. She explained the concept of the show to one of the dancers, a “friend” that she was taking to the Monster Ball. But how would they get there now that her car broke down?

“Beautiful, Dirty, Rich” and “Vanity” made way for a costume change, and Lady Gaga returned to perform “The Fame” in flowing red robes alongside “Emma” (a keytar/cello/synthesiser designed by the Haus of Gaga which she used during last week’s BRIT Awards performance.) A brief interlude provided more video and allowed another costume change: dressed as a nun in a transparent white habit (and with plasters covering her nipples), she rode a Subway carriage onto the stage, armed with her disco stick for a hyped-up version of “Love Game” before dedicating “Boys Boys Boys” to her many gay male fans. For “Money Honey,” she emerged from centre stage on a pedestal, playing yet another keytar and with a hat that resembled splayed legs before stripping down to her underwear to perform “Telephone” (complete with Beyonce audio cameo) on the catwalk. By the time the singer returned to the stage proper, a rickety piano had been wheeled out and, for two songs (“Brown Eyes” and “Speechless”) there was no Lady Gaga, there was even no arena, just a small stage with the singer-songwriter plaintively addressing her fans and talking about her life with no shortage of wry humour and modesty. But things soon picked up again, with a hurricane (of swirling panels and lights) arriving alongside S&M-styled dancers who helped her into a leather dress with large head-dress so Lady Gaga could return once more, performing “So Happy I Could Die” on another raising platform that lifted her close to the arena’s roof.

Another short break, and as the screen lifted, the audience discovered that the twister had blown them to Central Park, littered with misshapen streetlights and park benches resembling razor blades, where Lady Gaga performed “Monster” in a large white…well, it looked like a yeti-costume. Stripping down to a black leotard, she performed “Teeth” with blood smeared along her neck and cleavage, before cavorting in an angelic fountain for “Alejandro,” fireworks shooting from its wings as the song closed and allowed Gaga another costumer change for “Poker Face.”

The show ended with a “Paparazzi” fight, serenading a giant octopus (?!) before playing out the Monster Ball with “Bad Romance,” incorporating a spinning gyroscope, disco-ball motorbike helmets and a final bow as Gaga and the other performers left the stage, a very impressive two hours after they had walked onto it, leaving an audience in awe of what they had witnessed, a full-on performance more akin to a musical than a simple gig, that went by pretty smoothly for all the costume and set changes in it. And, more importantly, left several thousand fans with a night they’ll never forget.

Zombie Rating: A+

Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour is currently touring the UK and Ireland.

New Year’s Eve is as good a time as any to look back over some of the best of what 2009 had to over. On that note, we bring you the inaugural Burnt Zombie Awards, a run-down of the finest movies, games, music, TV and comics had to offer this year. Of course, if you disagree, we can discuss below. It’s not as if we’ll send the zombies around if we don’t agree with you…

Movies

Movie Of The Year (Drama/Comedy/Romance): Synecdoche, New York

It may have been a 2008 film, but it only got released here in Ireland this year, and even then, only in limited cinemas. Still, Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut was everything you would expect from the writer of Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: brilliant, bold, witty, confusing, and ultimately heartbreaking.

Philip Seymour Hoffman took centre stage as Caden Cotard, a hypochondriac writer struggling to reconcile the stage with real life, as both his work and his life begin to crumble around him. The star’s performances are legendary, and it’s unfortunate that this movie was somewhat overshadowed by his Oscar nomination for Doubt, not least because of the performances from a supporting cast that includes Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Tom Noonan and Dianne Wiest. By the end of the film, neither the audience nor Cotard himself are sure what is real and what isn’t (and perhaps Kaufman doesn’t know himself) but it doesn’t make the film any less moving.

Movie Of The Year (Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror): Star Trek

Hands down one of the year’s most entertaining and successful films, Star Trek proved to surpass most expectations at the box office: we expected something good, but never something this good. Rebooting the ailing franchise, J.J. Abrams brought his back to the beginning with an origin story for the original crew of the USS Enterprise that established itself in a new universe while lovingly acknowledging a history that spans over five decades.

Perhaps more interesting was the fact that Star Trek didn’t feel rushed, but crammed a hell of a lot of action into it’s running time, never letting up on the adrenaline, but never letting the story slip either. It’s the first film in a long time that won over new fans to the series, usually a good sign when eleven movies in, and it doesn’t look like this will the final frontier or anything like it.

Honourable Mentions:

Avatar; Paranormal Activity; The House Of The Devil; Moon

Games

Game Of The Year (Cross-Platform): Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum takes the Burnt Zombie for Game Of The Year, with its rich story, impressive graphics and some seriously fun gameplay. Although there have been plenty of games that have put players in control of the Caped Crusader, few others have had the depth to the character as this game, embracing the tactical elements of Batman’s nocturnal exploits as well as the combat techniques of one of the best fighters that comic books have to offer. Not to mention what it’s like in the shoes (and cape) of the World’s Greatest Detective.

With a sequel already announced, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll be limited to Arkham Asylum for further adventures, but that may even be a disappointment: the asylum’s location on an island gave the game a sandbox feel, with no areas off-limits or out-of-bounds. If any further games can do the same with Gotham City itself, they may just blow everything else out of the water.

Honourable Mention:

Assassin’s Creed II

Game Of The Year (Platform Exclusive): Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

The further adventures of Nathan Drake couldn’t have come sooner. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was a difficult game to improve upon, but its sequel did just that, bringing the humour and action of treasure hunting to the video game world that the fourth Indiana Jones movie failed to bring to the cinema. With the secret of ultimate power hanging in the balance, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves manages to turn the action up to eleven while still having time to throw in a femme fatale, a love triangle and a mythical city, making the PS3 a must-have console for this must-have game.

Honourable Mention:

inFamous

Game Of The Year (Downloadable/DLC): Shadow Complex

A platforming game with 8-bit style sensibilities, but in 2.5D and massive guns, Epic Games (also known as the guys behind  Gears Of War) brought Shadow Complex to the XBox 360, allowing players to explore a vast underground facility while uncovering a dark conspiracy that reaches to the top of the US government. What set Shadow Complex apart was that the game was customisable, and could be finished at several points, each leading to a different experience. And of course, let’s not forget the foam gun.

Honourable Mentions:

‘Splosion Man; Marvel Vs Capcom 2; Fallout 3 DLC

Music

Album Of The Year: Lady GaGa ‘The Fame Monster’

Pop, rock, dance…you name it, and there were traces of it on Lady GaGa’s second album. Not content to provide the soundtrack of the year with The Fame, the album was re-released with all new tracks and  bundled with a new album in the shape of The Fame Monster. Over the course of twelve months, Lady GaGa has worked with some of the top names in music, as a writer and a singer, and it doesn’t look like she’ll be stopping any time soon. What’s more impressive, though, is that you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone, no matter how “hardcore” who hasn’t found themselves singing along to one of the artist’s songs over the last year.

Honourable Mentions:

Florence & The Machine’s Lungs; Thrice’s Beggars

TV

Show Of The Year (Drama/Comedy/Romance): Modern Family

A dysfunctional (and not-so-conventional) family who love to hate each other: thankfully, Modern Family doesn’t have any will-they-won’t-they distractions, but instead a ribald dark look at family life. From the creators of Frasier, it’s like Al Bundy never left our screens, and I challenge anyone to watch the show without seeing some members of their own family brought to life.

Honourable Mentions:

30 Rock

Show Of The Year (Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror): LOST

Continuing to bring the finest in WTF-ery, Lost‘s fifth season jumped around in time before settling into answering…well, it still didn’t many questions, but we know it’s on its way there. But in a season that marked the series’ landmark 100th episode, along with some departures, what LOST hasn’t been giving in answers, it’s certainly providing in the shape of drama.

Honourable Mentions:

V; True Blood

Comics

Comic Series Of The Year: Dark Avengers – Brian Michael Bendis

What happens when the bad guys pretend to be good guys while…they’re kind of trying to really be good guys, even though they might be bad guys at heart? If you’re reading Dark Avengers, then you’ll have an idea of what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t, then why not? The series has brought some wonderful moments in its relatively short run so far, most of them involving Norman Osborn’s nefarious plans, slipping mental health and The Sentry being blown to bits. Repeatedly. The future of Dark Avengers really depends on what comes from Marvel’s Siege storyline, but 2009 has certainly been the year for this book.

Honourable Mentions:

Thunderbolts – Andy Diggle; Uncanny X-Men – Matt Fraction; Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man – Brian Michael Bendis

The latest entry in the SingStar franchise, this Take That game features 25 tracks from the band’s career, going from their debut “Do What U Like” right up to songs from their latest album The Circus. The goal is simple: sing along to your favourite Take That song and hope that you hit the notes better than your friends, a goal which isn’t always the easiest to reach when struggling to hit the high notes of Patience or Back For Good (c’mon, everyone knows the words to Back For Good, right?)

The benefit of a Take That version of SingStar is that, like the band and their music, you don’t have to be a teenage girl to enjoy, although it does help: many of those teenage girls from the 1990s have grown up and I can think of several mothers who’ll be thrilled to open their presents on Christmas Day to find this waiting for them. Mind you, there are also a few dads who really wish they were Robbie Williams and will be having a go after a few too many slices of brandy-soaked pudding.

The thing with singing games is, you either like them, you don’t, or you secretly like them but are far too ashamed to play them with other people around. With the likes of Rock Band and Band Hero around to exorcise that shame, that leaves us with those who like these games and don’t. And if you don’t like SingStar games, and you don’t like Take That…well, there’s just no hope for you any more, and you can drop all games consoles and music systems off at BurnAllZombies’ HQ for immediate confiscation.

Zombie Rating: B+

SingStar Take That is available now on PS2 and PS3.

1. A Million Love Songs
2. Babe
3. Back For Good
4. Beautiful World
5. Could It Be Magic
6. Do What U Like
7. Everything Changes
8. Greatest Day
9. Hold Up A Light
10. I’d Wait For Life
11. It Only Takes A Minute
12. Love Ain’t Here Anymore
13. Never Forget
14. Once You’ve Tasted Love
15. Patience
16. Pray
17. Promises
18. Reach Out
19. Relight My Fire
20. Rule The World
21. Said It All
22. Shine
23. Sure
24. Up All Night
25. Why Can’t I Wake Up With You

Tracklist below:

1. Vices
2. Bed
3. At the Bottom
4. Gasoline
5. You Stole
6. Be Gone
7. Sink
8. Bought a Bride
9. Daisy
10. In a Jar
11. Noro

Brand New‘s “Daisy” is due for release September 2009.

The image has come straight from the horse’s mouth, having been posted earlier today on Muse’s twitter, @musewire.

Muse’s “The Resistance” is due for release September, 2009.

Coming straight from Muse‘s official Twitter, we’re going to take it that the tracklisting for the upcoming album, “The Resistance” are intentional and verifiable. The tracklist is below.

1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. Undisclosed Desires
4. United States Of Eurasia (+Undisclosed Desires)
5. Guiding Light
6. Unnatural Selection
7. MK Ultra
8. I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S’Ouvre A Ta Voix)
9. Exogenesis : Symphony Part I (Overture)
10. Exogenesis : Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
11. Exogenesis : Symphony Part III (Redemption)

Muse‘s “The Resistance” is due for release September, 2010.

Dalle has described Spinnerette not as a band, but her working with “whichever musicians I want to work with at the time,” and the personnel on this record have just as much pedigree as Dalle herself. She is joined by Tony Bevilacqua (formerly of The Distillers), Jack Irons (from Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Pearl Jam) and, most notably, Alain Johannes, who has previously worked with Queens Of The Stone Age and Chris Cornell and who shares some of the song-writing credits here.

“Spinnerette” is made up of a mixture of songs, many of which echo the styles Dalle has previously shown with The Distillers while providing a broader and more mature sound that is at once infectious and sexy. Lead single “Ghetto Love” provides the album’s introduction, with its bass-driven riff and sultry vocals making way for some psychedelic guitars and the anthemic, audience-inclusive “hey”-shout of the chorus. “Valium Knights,” easily the best song of the collection, closes the album out, an explosive ode to death (or rather, short life.)

The rest of the album is no less infectious, drawing comparisons with both classic punk, and those bands that the genre might not want to claim as its own. Straightforward tracks like the werewolf-as-desire symbolism of “All Babes Are Wolves” (evocative of Dalle’s work with The Distillers) or the heavy, 8-minute epic sexiness (and southern rock) of “A Prescription For Mankind” make way for “Sex Bomb” and “Rebellious Palpitations,” a mashing of styles that remain guitar-driven, but make you wonder what Gwen Stefani’s solo career might have sounded like had she focussed on a heavier, rockier sound. For “Distorting A Code,” Dalle’s vocals take on a softer edge, channeling Debbie Harry as the band make like the rest of Blondie, the track even fading out for the perfects 80s flashback experience.

Here moreso than ever before in her time with The Distillers, Dalle’s strengths are clear, that she is capable of crafting and performing some mighty fine pop-punk songs that even the most hardcore of punk traditionalists can (and should) appreciate, a skill that is most obvious in “Geeking” a chilled, sing-along melody reminiscent of a sound R.E.M. or The Smashing Pumpkins had nearly twenty years ago. If Dalle can keep turning out albums like this over the next twenty years, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be talking about Spinnerette in the same awed tones. As such, the album gets a solid B+ (and will be staying on repeat for a good while.)

For those of you Ireland-bound, Spinnerette are performing at this year’s Oxegen Festival on July 10th; “Spinnerette” is out now, and the video for “Ghetto Love” is below.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]