The music scene seems awash with 1990s grunge survivors lately. Pearl Jam have returned to sell out arenas; if Kurt Cobain was still around, his label would be rushing out Nirvana anniversary releases (oh hang on, they already are)... and heres perhaps the most surprising Seattle comeback of all: Alice In Chains. This hard rock outfit mustered the big tunes and attitude for commercial success, but they disintegrated as their original frontman Layne Staley met a bleak, drug- induced end in 2002. Appropriately, their first new album in a decade bears a bruised-sounding title; crucially, the music within is deeply moody but never mawkish survivors is the operative term here. New lead vocalist William DuVall is tasked with stepping into a dead mans shoes, but he holds his own from the fantastically gritty opening track All Secrets Known (A new beginning... he intones, ominously). DuVall also works great Born, as these things often are, from a haphazard set of live jams, Monsters Of Folk is a Travelling Wilburys-style meeting of minds between Conor Oberst (pictured, right) and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jackets Jim James and M Ward. Steeped in a burnished 1970s spirit of West-Coast dreams and disenchantment, this self-titled debut fluidly blends cosmic country with blue-eyed soul, freewheeling wagon blues, weightless harmonising and overcooked Gothic prairie into a seasoned hymn to the open road. While capitalising on their similarities, MOF also gives room to the quartets individual sensibilities so Oberst carries the impassioned, morbidly humoured Ahead Of The Curve, while Slow Down Jo, a shimmering slice of pastoral folk, gives centre stage to Wards ethereal vocals. In other words, a supergroup that doesnt resemble a vanity project. Cheers to that! Claire Allfree When Maps debut album We Can Create was shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Prize, this act (the indie/electronic alter-ego of James Chapman) was an unassuming star compared to fellow nominees Amy Winehouse and Klaxons. Theres still an air of modesty about this follow-up LP, but that eventually makes its intensity even more gripping; Maps seem capable of turning introspection into an art form and conjuring symphonies from thin air. Chapmans wispy vocals have an emotional pull that really hits you with repeated listens, whether hes expressing urban anxieties on Papercuts or dabbling in clubby rhythms on Let Go Of The Fear and Love Will Come, which are anthems for staying in. Maps deliver strong words and tender melodies, and this is an album youll want one-to-one time with. Arwa Haider As he continues to bat away rumours of a Stone Roses reunion for the umpteenth time, former frontman Ian Brown does seem to be fanning the flames, first by recording his new album at Battery Studios where his old band made their debut and then by using the image of roses on the cover art. You even have him alluding to them in the track For The Glory. When the bombs began to fall / I didnt do it for the Roses / As I was striding ten-feet-tall / Well, thats another story. What a tease. My Way has been labelled as highly autobiographical which could go a long way towards explaining the Stone Roses allusions. Here, in his Bookings 01 677 8899 | www.dublintheatrefestival.com No booking fees on online bookings and when bought in person at the Festival Box Office. By Lee Hall [Billy Elliot] BreathtakingThe Guardian Gaiety Theatre Oct 6 10, 15-40 The Pitmen Painters National Theatre [UK]/Live Theatre Newcastle Evening Standard Proudly supported by A wonderful piece of theatre Financial Times SELLINGFAST! path At home with the Darwins: Paul Bettany plays Darwin as the family man at pains to reconcile his theories of evolution with his family life opening of anything, its because shes in it or Im in it, he says. We dont flirt with that world or invite that attention into our lives. While he has no intention of becoming one half of a celebrity couple, Bettany has no problems about appearing on screen with his wife. They met on the set of 2001s Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, though didnt really share any scenes, and Creation is the first time theyve acted together. Shes quite good, he smiles slyly. Im very fond of seeing marriages on screen. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor knocked it out of the park twice. And Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci have worked together a number of times, and are pretty awesome. After the intellectual and emotional gymnastics of Creation, Bettany is now exercising his actual muscles. Having completed biblical apocalypse tale Legion, he is currently shooting Japanese graphic-novel adaptation Priest, where I ride around on a big f***ing motorbike and I stab vampires, he grins. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor because I was given a set of holsters and a cowboy hat and guns, and its absolutely fulfilling that bit of me. He may make a convincing Charles Darwin but theres no doubt Bettanys just a big kid at heart. Creation (PG) is in cinemas from tomorrow. FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS Dublin Ulster Bank Theatre Festival No sooner has the Fringe Festivals Spiegeltent been dismantled than the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival starts. Yes, scotching any doubts that the recession was forcing us into a premature winter of discontent, the city remains our oyster thanks to the bevy of international productions on offer at this years luvviepalooza. An obvious highlight is Chekhovs Three Sisters, pictured, by Cheek By Jowl, an epic family saga of siblings coming to terms with not only the death of their father but festering away in their provincial hometown (Sep 29 to Oct 2, Gaiety Theatre). Another classic, Daphne Du Mauriers The Birds immortalised on celluloid by Alfred Hitchcock has been given the Conor McPherson treatment (Sep 29 to Oct 10, Gate Theatre), while Gina Moxleys The Crumb Trail is a chilling multimedia reimagining of Hansel And Gretel by The Brothers Grimm (Sep 29 to Oct 4, Project). Elsewhere, Sebastian Barrys Tales Of Ballycumber, starring Stephen Rea (Oct 7 to 10, Abbey Theatre), Enda Walshs multi-award winning The New Electric Ballroom (tonight until Oct 10, Peacock Theatre) and an adaptation of Pat McCabes novel The Dead School (venues and times vary) merit your attention. From abroad is The Manganiyar Seduction, a feast of Rajasthani musicians performing inside a tier of illuminated boxes (tonight until Sun, Gaiety Theatre), Rimini Protokolls Radio Muezzin which evokes the city streets and concerns of Cairo (Oct 6 to 11, Samuel Beckett Theatre) and the China-set play The Blue Dragon (Oct 7 to 11, OReilly Theatre) an eye-popping sequel to Robert Lepages 1985 production The Dragons Trilogy. Lucy White Tonight until Oct 11, various venues, times & prices. Tel: (01) 677 8899. www.dublintheatrefestival.com Thursday, September 24, 2009 metrolife 13 Staying In Music Reviews Album Of The Week Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue Virgin Monsters Of Folk: Monsters Of Folk Rough Trade Ian Brown: My Way Fiction Maps: Turning The Mind Mute sixth solo offering, Brown steps away from the social commentary to offer a deeply personal insight into his own life. Stellify and Just Like You are clear stand-outs with their pounding beats and euphoric choruses, while his cover of Zager & Evans In the Year 2525 is a brave gamble that pays off handsomely. Elsewhere though its pretty much epic rock by rote. Ann Lee chemistry with the bands real-life guitar hero/founding father Jerry Cantrell, whose agile, grinding riffs remain a driving force here. Black Gives Way To Blue is packed with knowing hooks and noble resolve on tracks including Lesson Learned and the single Check My Brain, plus fine touches such as Elton Johns piano turn on the title ballad. It works both as a homage to Staley and a reassertion of Alice In Chains potential; this is a classic rock album, delivered with 21st-century dynamism. Once, it felt like Alice In Chains coulda been contenders. Now theres no denying that they are. Arwa Haider index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html