Review // Kukee

A girl can never have too many accessories so it was a nice surprise to come across a website full of great jewellery that I'd never heard of before.

Kukee.co.uk offers a range of quirky (or kooky) jewellery at what can usually be seen as 'too good to be true' prices. However, don't let the low prices put you off: the cost may be cheap but the quality is not.

After seeing someone I follow on Instagram posting their purchases, I had a look at the website and couldn't resist buying something from it myself.

The website is too good to order just one thing so I decided to buy the rings in the above picture along with a crescent moon necklace and an ear cuff. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the items: they feel solid, robust as they're made from a metal plated material and not cheap plastic (which you may assume from how little they cost). As well as this, all the rings are fully adjustable which is a major plus as I've had several experiences in shops, such as New Look or Primark, where it has been difficult for me to find a ring which fits perfectly so making the rings adjustable means they can fit any sized finger comfortably so this instantly puts this website one above other retail stores, for me. But that's not the best thing. If you were to guess how much this haul cost me, what would you say? £25? More? Maybe, if you were shopping at a different store but at Kukee, I spent just £10.50 (plus £2.20 on p&p).

If that doesn't make you want to take a look at the website then I don't know what will.

After receiving this purchase, it's safe to say I've become a Kukee loyal. I wear my rings with every outfit and today, I made my second purchase.

Two rings and two necklaces for £9

The low prices they offer got me thinking: why don't all shops offer jewellery at similar prices? Even Primark, which is probably the cheapest fashion retailer, rarely have jewellery items on sale at £1 or £2. I did a quick search online and came across this:

On the left, a set of rings from Topshop priced at £8.50 and on the right, a ring from Kukee priced at £2.
Now, fair enough you get four rings for your £8.50 but looking at them just from the pictures, there's already - to me - a great distinction in the quality of the rings.
With the ring from Kukee, you get a choice between gold or silver plated and they look of a much higher quality (and like they should cost much more than £2) as well as looking far more representative of a cat than the Topshop items. I have seen someone on Instagram with this ring and they've expressed nothing but joy over it. I know which one I'd choose.
This just shows that although they're a cheap store, they keep up-to-date with the trends and offer good (if not better) quality items.

If you like the sound of Kukee, the owner of the store has recently announced that she is also setting up a vintage clothing shop - called Wild Wolfy - with just as low prices (items at £5, £10 and £15 - stated on the Facebook page). You can find out more about that here and here.

Enjoy!

Darwin Deez // Songs For Imaginative People

Fan of Darwin Deez? Can't wait another two days for the release of his new album?

Then you're in luck!

Soundcloud have kindly given us an exclusive stream of the full album to banish those withdrawal symptoms and sense of anticipation.
It can be heard here or here.

Enjoy!

Songs For Imaginitave People is released on February 11th 2013.

Reality TV // The Rise of The Fickle Public

Love it or loathe it, reality television is fast becoming one of the most popular television genres within Britain.

The entertainment industry has a great power to make and break humans: one second you can be on top of the world and within an instant, you're.. sorry, who are you again?
And from this, my attention has been brought to the amazing fickleness that we, as the British public, seem to have.

The most recent example in the British reality tv world is someone I'm sure you all have some sort of opinion on: Rylan Clark. His appearance on the 'talent' show: The X Factor caused much controversy within the industry as well as the public. Every Saturday night I'd sign onto Facebook, as well as Twitter, to see my homepage filled with status after status such the like of: "Can't believe Rylan is still there! It's a fix!" or "Get Rylan out!". So it would be safe to presume that he was hardly the most loved contestant on the show.
However, with a new year comes a new series of Celebrity (should that word be there..?) Big Brother and with the amount of controversy caused by him, the producers jumped at the chance to get him on the show. His 'lovable, genuine character' being portrayed to the public night after night, along with his disputes with 'villains of the house' Heidi and Spencer Pratt, have (surprisingly?) resulted in cheers from the audience on eviction nights and suddenly my newsfeed is full of status' stating: "Rylan to win!"

Are we really that much of a fickle nation? It would appear so.

A similar story to that of Rylan's is Frankie Coccozza's stint in the 'celebrity' world. Also appearing on The X Factor, he was regularly bombarded with abuse for having no talent. Although, unlike Rylan, he had an entire nation of teenage girls behind him as he had a generic 'rocker' look. He was compared to Pete Doherty in his sleazy nature as well as regularly being photographed drunk, not to mention his recreational cocaine use which then resulted in his departure from the show. All of this led to his unpopularity within the general public.
That is, until he also decided to enter the Big Brother house. And, just like Rylan, became a beloved character with people suddenly rooting for him to win.

On a different note - recent stories surrounding the lead singer of rock group: Lostprophets have left me slightly uneasy towards claiming to be a fan of the band. Although his actions clearly do not affect the rest of the band members or the music they made, why is it that I feel like I would be attacked for listening to them?

And, after all of this, I present to you to Queen of the fickle reality tv world...



After being shot into the public eye from being in the band: Atomic Kitten, there has rarely been a time when Kerry Katona has not featured somewhere in a magazine or newspaper and I'm sure the above clip is nothing new for you.

We've all been made aware of how much of a rollercoaster her life has been: from being a young and naive pop star, seeming to have it all whilst married to Brian McFadden from the boyband Westlife and once they had split, her life took a drastic turn. And, of course, the industry - as well as the nation - disowned her.
In 2004, she took to the reality tv world (in an attempt to reboost her career - it seems to be the foolproof plan) when she entered 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!' in which she won and became Queen of The Jungle - also resulting in her winning over the public perception of her.
Although, her life wasn't rosy for long, as once her second marriage had broken down, she spiraled out of control once more which resulted in undercover footage from News of The World showing her snorting cocaine while her children were preoccupied. And of course, that infamous 'This Morning' interview.

Following that interview, she was shunned by the nation - branded a slurring mess. However, after a few cheap magazine and newspaper interviews claiming how much she has turned her life around (for the 100th time) along with the odd "I've lost 2345654 pounds on this fad diet!" declaration and multiple reality tv show appearance - also including Celebrity Big Brother (what is it with that show?) she has managed to claw her way back into the nations heart to become a Z-List nation treasure once again.

She really is the ultimate victim of this fickle world.
But I'm sure we'll have another reality show ladder for her, as well as everyone else, to make their way up once they have been kicked back down to the ground.

Muse // The 2nd Law

Whether you're a fan of Muse or not, you can't argue against the fact that they're not afraid to be bold with their albums and they're definitely one of the most experimental bands around and their new release: The 2nd Law is definitely their most experimental piece of work yet.

Their 9-minute-long symphony in The Resistance was something extraordinary and created a lot of hype around that album and with The 2nd Law comes another hype, a new Muse era: the rise of musestep.

The trailer released for the album gave fans a taster of what was in store from this album sampling the song Unsustainable and giving us an insight into the alluded musestep.



The album is not full of this genre of music though, the experimental material is left for the end, as well as seeping into their song Follow Me, with their two takes on dubstep: Unsustainable and Isolated System, ending the album.
Personally, I prefer the latter of the two songs. Isolated System is a much softer version of dubstep without lyrics whereas I think Unsustainable would be preferred more by fans of the Skrillex form of the genre.

As well as their development of musestep, fans are introduced to the vocal talent of another member of the band: the bassist, Chris Wolstenholme. Although hearing his voice on a track is not entirely new to Muse fans as he is featured as a background vocalist in Supermassive Black Hole.
But in this album, he is given two songs to himself: Save Me - a beautifully vulnerable sounding song including lyrics such as: "Don't let me go, I'm nothing without you" - and Liquid State, a much rockier song with harsher vocals, which, to me, sounds very similar to InnerPartySystem.
Decisions like this are somewhat risky, introducing a voice that is unfamiliar with Muse fans, however gathering from their reactions, it seems to have paid off. Having a different voice to listen to is quite refreshing and shows yet another side to Muse and their talents.

However, Muse have not forgotten their roots. The album is still full of fantastic riffs and guitar solos, the sound everyone associates with the band.
Explorers seems very reminiscent of Soldier's Poem from Black Holes and Revelations, and the guitar solo from Madness is very Brian May-esque therefore creating a similar Queen sound to that of United States of Eurasia from The Resistance.

It's difficult to say if this is their best album yet as every album they produce is so diverse and completely different to the previous. It's the Muse we all know and love, with a twist.
They give their fans something new every time and with their next album, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned reggae. Although, I'm sure they could even make that work.

Bloc Party // Four

Waking up this morning, it seemed like every other day: I'd get up, make myself a cup of tea and retire back to my bed for an hour or so of mind-numbing daytime television.

All while downstairs in the kitchen, I had August 20th marked down with 'BLOC PARTY ALBUM!'. I was counting down the days. Soon I would have the long-awaited album in my hands.

I was aware there had been various leaks surfacing on the internet, as well as the band themselves streaming the album on their website, but I had vowed to keep away from it until I could have a solid copy to listen to.

So there I was, in bed, when my brother bursts through my door with a parcel in his hands. I was slightly confused... I hadn't been expecting anything. Then he says those words that make my heart beat faster: "It feels like a CD".

Could it be?!

I grabbed it off of him and ripped it open and there, in all it's glory, were those 4 concentric circles in red, blue, yellow and green. I had it. I was finally holding Four. I couldn't help but just hug it and savor it for a few minutes. It may sound like an over-reaction but every Bloc Party fan has been waiting three years for this moment to arrive.

I had no idea what to expect from it as I placed the CD into my laptop. I had heard people say it was a lot heavier than the previous albums and it had been highly praised. From what I had heard from 'Octopus' and 'Day Four' I was sure it would be something incredible but all I knew at that moment was that I had to turn up the volume and just let the music take hold of me.

Straight in with the first song 'So He Begins To Lie' and it seemed everyone was right, it was much heavier but this wasn't anything I would be complaining about, instead, I was reveling in it.
Their use of guitar has become much heavier and they have a more apparent rock sound, moving away slightly from their previous mellow indie image.

However, they don't leave it behind completely.
Songs such as 'Day Four', 'Real Talk', 'Truth' and 'The Healing' take them back to their Silent Alarm roots with that 'This Modern Love' sound.

I noticed as I was listening to it that they seem to split the different genres up, with heavier songs being broken up by a chilled out, mellow song placed in between. It is pretty refreshing to have something softer in between so you don't feel, perhaps, bombarded with this brand new sound from them.

As well as that, Kele splits up the songs with his own version of an interlude: odd little anecdotes and musings. They provide the listener with a laugh as well as an insight into the band's personality, showing that they're much more than just the music.

I can safely say that Four was worth the three years of waiting and avoiding all the material online. I love this new sound from them, albeit I'm slightly bias being a rock fan, and if anybody hasn't been much of a Bloc Party fan from their previous albums then I'd definitely recommend that they give this a listen.
I have no other words to describe it other than simply: incredible.

Bloc Party are back!

Music Recommendation // Dog Is Dead

Bored of listening to the same old bands and songs?
Well, it's that time again!

I'm here to provide you with something new to please your ears.

I'd previously heard Dog Is Dead whilst surfing through the music channels one evening as I lay on the couch with the boredom washing over me and they were brought back to my attention today as I tuned into Fearne Cotton's Radio 1 show today.

They're a five-piece band from Nottingham, England and describe their music as 'indie pop'.
If you want a better idea of what they sound like before deciding to listen to them, then think of Noah and The Whale, with a slightly more indie twist at times.. and there, you have Dog Is Dead.
Like the sound of that? Well you should.

I currently have their selection of songs from Spotify playing as I write this post and they almost sound familiar because they are so Noah and The Whale-esque.
Their music has also appeared in Skins so you may recognise them from that.

At the moment they have three EPs available: 'Dog Is Dead', 'Your Childhood' and 'Confessions' but have yet to release their debut album.
These EPs still provide us with enough material to get a feel for the band and to get us more excited about the awaited album.

As I stated, their music is also available on Spotify if you want to have a listen before purchasing anything.

If you're currently feeling stressed then I think this will be the perfect band to chill out to, especially if the sun is shining.
Dog Is Dead are an essential to have on your Summer 2012 playlist.

DZ Deathrays // Bloodstreams

I seem to have abandoned my blog for the past few months, I guess I've kind of been out of the loop for a while but here is my attempt to get back into the game.

Back in February, I attended a Pulled Apart By Horses gig... not my usual musical venture, I must admit, however it was probably some of the most fun I've had at a gig.
So that got me thinking, why not make a more permanent move into this genre of music.

And that thought brought me to the following band.

DZ Deathrays are a two piece 'thrash pop' band from originating from Brisbane, Australia.
I first heard this band whilst having a casual listen to BBC Radio 1, when Huw Stephens put the track on and I instantly thought of Pulled Apart By Horses.
Although, in my opinion, the vocals aren't as brash as PABH which makes it a fairly easier listen for me.
So for those of you that aren't so keen on the 'hardcore screamo' type of music, this could be the band for you and could also be a great way to ease yourself into this genre of music.

Their debut album 'Bloodstreams' was released only yesterday (7th May 2012) and is currently available to listen to for free on Spotify.
I definitely recommend you give them a listen.



I know it's around the time of exams for many people, so why not take out your books, blast a bit of this out and let them take you through your revision.
If you don't enjoy it, I will eat my metaphorical hat.