NYLON - February 2008 - (Page 112) BRITISH SEA POWER Do You Like Rock Music? (World’s Fair) Brighton, on England’s south coast, is a city with notoriously disagreeable weather, and it is also home to the lads from British Sea Power. Therefore, it’s no surprise that their songs are best listened to in a wintry bar where everyone keeps their scarves on. Their third album, Do You Like Rock Music?, offers more of the band’s classic hallmarks of weird lyrics with obscure references (“The Great Skua” is a large, coastal bird with a habit of threatening humans by flying at their heads; “Canvey Island,” a spot in the River Thames) and a stir-crazy, cooped-uptoo-long creativity in the form of babies crying on “Atom,” music that ebbs and flows like the tide on “Open the Door,” and a mysterious, haunting church organ on “We Close Our Eyes.” British Sea Power have always earned a great deal of praise for their live shows—which used to include vintage naval uniforms and fake forests set up across the stage—and fans and critics have debated whether the band is truly weird or just trying too hard. Rock Music is unlikely to settle the debate: Those who are already British Sea Power fans will be thrilled, and those who don’t see the appeal probably still won’t. CLARA LEONARD ’ZINE AND HEARD It’s not surprising that the city that spawned punk has also historically produced its share of punk publishing: fanzines. DIY mags that push buttons and boundaries while reporting on fashion, music, and art from an outsider perspective, fanzines have always flourished alongside the scenes they reflected, and it’s no surprise that the culture is once again thriving. ’Zines first took off in London in the ’80s with Mark Perry’s punk bible Sniffin’ Glue, and glossies The Face and i-D were born in a similar street-level fashion. But the crop of London-based ’zines that now fill bookshelves and backpacks started with the inception of Marmalade magazine in 2004. True to handmade tradition, Sarah Teulon’s mag encouraged readers to contribute their own ideas and to “cut out and keep” the articles they liked, with its eclectic contents conveying the mixed-up nature of its title. But while Marmalade now thrives on subscriptions and is a tastemakers’ favorite, it also has helped generate its share of young upstarts. Toy Pirate and Greenwich Pirate are the grabsize black-and-white books currently working their way through the hands of every art-school undergrad in New Cross, the corner of South London that spawned the Klaxons. Set up by 24-year-old Kev Bassett, the chaotic editorial is crowded with everything from satirical poetry to interviews with sufferers of Asperger’s Syndrome. Fashion-focused Rag may be more tabloid newspaper than cut-andpaste, but it still gave the glossies a rude awakening last year with its tongue-in-cheek blend of trade news and accessible features. Editor Kay Barron saw an opportunity for a seasonal fashion title which didn’t take itself too seriously and that reflected the style of the boutique shops it sells in. She says Rag “excites and educates, without the intimidation or dryness of alternative fashion magazines.” Disorder was started in a South London shed by fashion designer Davide Firmager, and though it’s now sold in chain bookshops, it still tells its readers that it’s “the magazine you can be in.” Another growing staple in the ’zine scene is Crystal Visions, an arty collection of what editor Patrick Cole describes as “wizards, castles, and the general feeling you are stuck in a Henry Darger painting with Shabba Ranks as your sidekick.” Cole also aptly describes the eternal appeal of fanzines, saying, “Something that has been created with no intention of being sold will always be inspiring.” RS EDI T ED BY KAT E WI L L I AMS
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