D Monday, February 1, 2010 metrolife 13 CD OF THE WEEK Corinne Bailey Rae: The Sea EMI TV Picks Of The Day The 2010 52nd Annual Grammy Awards RT2, 7pm Catch all the highs and lows from the biggest night in the music industrys year. Having whittled down last nights overlong ceremony we are left with the major awards, presented by the likes of Jeff Bridges, Miley Cyrus, Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana and Ringo Starr, not to mention performances from Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift and belle of the ball Beyonce (pictured), who is nominated for ten awards. Adam Hyland THEATRE REVIEW The Girl Who Forgot To Sing Badly DVD Creation Icon, PG, 20 Naturalist Charles Darwin may have been a man with huge ideas, but this film offers a very low-key approach to his life, taking its classy time over his domestic environs, problems in putting pen to paper and obsessions over the minutiae of the experiments that would lead to his theory of evolution. Its slow in places theres only so much excitement to be gleaned from ponderings on barnacles and pigeons but the religious schisms that lie at its heart inevitably power things along; Darwins theories challenge God as almighty creator, bringing him into conflict with his devout wife and community. Meanwhile, the death of Darwins favourite daughter Annie finally completes the loss of faith thats been creeping up on him. Paul Bettany brings the right balance of sensitivity, brains and turmoil to our hero, and Bettanys real-life spouse Jennifer Connolly simmers with resentment as the wife whose religious ideals have strayed so far from her husbands. An important story well acted and well told and its sad and worrying that, at the time of its Irish cinema release, it was deemed too controversial to be shown in America. Extras: audio commentary with director Jon Amiel, Darwin featurettes. Sharon Lougher Its impossible to dissociate Corinne Bailey Raes second album The Sea from the 2008 accidental death of her husband Jason Rae. Yet suggestions that The Sea is Bailey Raes Back To Black are wide of the mark: this is no strident, brassy outpouring of grief, rather a thoughtful consideration of the strange ways in which grief and faith work, with the raw edges countered by a gently celebratory sense of redemption. Bailey Raes music has taken a quantum leap on from the girly MOR of her debut here are bolder, more wayward arrangements into jazz, blues and soul that, at their best, twist around unexpected melodic phrasing and abstract rhythmic patterning. Most significantly Bailey Raes voice has matured before, her caramelised vocals sat on the surface of the music; here the music seems to stem from deep within. Lyrically, The Sea is more concerned with presence than absence opening song Are You Here starts with: Hes a real live wire, against puttering bass before coasting upwards on drums and guitars; Id Do It All Again was written in the wake of an argument before Raes death and is one of the most viscerally tender tracks here. A classy but definitely commercial artist, Bailey Rae is still in thrall to pop dynamics and its telling that the sunnier songs (Paris Nights/New York Mornings; Closer; the squealing funk of The Blackest Lily) are also unexceptional. Elsewhere though, a more oblique approach throws up I Would Like To Call It Beauty, the albums beguiling stand-out, and a transfigurative hymn to loss. Soulful, gorgeous and utterly sincere, The Sea isnt a masterpiece but its much more than her debut gave us reason to expect. Claire Allfree GAME Mass Effect 2 XBox360, 59 (also available on PC, 41) Few sequels have been as eagerly awaited as the follow-up to one of this generation of consoles finest role- playing games. Arguably the first truly successful console RPG, Mass Effect offered an epic experience as you assumed the role of elite soldier Commander Shepard while humanity staked a place in a beautifully drawn galaxy of aliens and betrayal. If it had a downside, it was in the sometimes clumsy controls, average vehicle play and shooting. Mass Effect 2 manages to improve on the RPG elements character creation, levelling up, conversation, quests, story while completely overhauling the action. The result is one of the best games in any genre ever made. Steven Fox SINGLES Marina And The Diamonds: Hollywood (679 Atlantic) Im obsessed with the mess that is America-a-a-a-a squawks Greek/Welsh wonder Marina Diamandis, the new darling of the art-pop scene. Think big voice and even bigger shoulder pads: if youre the sort that loves Corinne, this will totally do your head in. Husky Rescue: Sound Of Love (Catskills) The intriguingly Finnish five-piece drift along smoothly, with the alluring voice of Reeta Vestman controlling the sledge. Put it on at a party, then revel in people declaring how effortlessly cool you are... Jedward featuring Vanilla Ice: Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) (Sony) Utterly painful cover of Vanillas Ices already sacrilegious sampling of the epic Queen classic. In comparison to the twin terrors, Vanilla Ice actually sounds OK on this, and I never thought Id say that. Michael Franti & Spearhead: Say Hey (I love You) (Island) Irresistibly funky reggae-dancehall combo from the socially conscious and now love-struck Californian. If we were in Waynes World, this would warrant a schwing! Lisa Hannigan: Ocean And A Rock (Hoop) The low-key Co Carlow singer (pictured) airs her romantic sentiment with lyrics involving hairbrushes, buttonholes and cups of tea. Cosy, undoubtedly. Annoying? Weirdly not. Sharon Lougher Gurgling laughter filled the auditorium at the world premiere of Finegan Kruckemeyers childrens theatre piece, The Girl Who Forgot To Sing Badly, which tickles the heart strings as much as the funny-bone. Peggy OHegarty is the seven-year-old child of packer parents they pack stuff for a living; anything, foxes into boxes, grand pianos into jars and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into single breaths. Their phone doesnt stop ringing until one fateful day when the city is deserted. Peg has a Narnia moment in a nearby house, but on returning home, finds that her parents have disappeared. Throw in a villain called Peter, a mouse called Hildegard, a boat and a heap of wordplay, and youve as much for adults as for children. Performed by The Arks theatre maker in residence, Louis Lovett, and directed by Rough Magics artistic director Lynne Parker, its an original take on well-worn fables; Peters wonderfully yucky demise acts as a warning to be careful what you wish for, while Peggy finds not only her true voice but also that familiarity breeds not contempt but solidarity. Paul OMahonys ingenious set is made entirely from a wooden crate, while Carl Kennedys sound design is as atmospheric as it is amusing (the snow-shaker/blizzard scene is particularly strong). But its Lovetts compelling one-man performance that sprints from tragic to comic and back again that really ticks all the boxes. Lucy White Until Mar 7, The Ark, 11a Eustace Street D2, various times & prices. Tel: (01) 670 7788. www.ark.ie Tower Block Of Commons Channel4, 9pm This latest slice of reality TV should prove addictive. The idea is to have a bunch of British MPs including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith swap their maids, tennis courts, swimming pools and spin doctors to spend eight days on run-down council estates complete with gangs, drug dealers and frank-talking kids. Of course, with their enunciated vowels and sharp suits the politicians are fish out of water but heres hoping that something of real long-term value can come out of it beyond a piece of interesting telly. Sharon Lougher index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html