New things for your amusement this May
TV: Eric (Netflix from 30th May)
Set in 1980s New York, Eric is a new emotional thriller following the desperate search of a father when his nine-year-old son disappears one morning on the way to school. Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch), one of New York’s leading puppeteers and creator of the hugely popular children’s television show, ‘Good Day Sunshine,’ struggles to cope with the loss of his son, Edgar, becoming increasingly distressed and volatile.
Full of self-loathing and guilt around Edgar’s disappearance, he clings to his son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet, ERIC, convinced that if he can get ERIC on TV then Edgar will come home. As Vincent’s progressively destructive behaviour alienates his family, his work colleagues, and the detectives trying to help him, it’s Eric, a delusion of necessity, who becomes his only ally in the pursuit to bring his son home.
Film: Young Woman and the Seadir. Joachim Rønning in cinemas from 31st May
Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905.
Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement - the 21 mile crossing from France to England.
Music: Ibibio Sound Machine ‘Pull The Rope’Out May 3rd
Afro-funk fusionists Ibibio Sound Machine’s new album release is set to delight.
Fronted by Nigerian singer Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine is a clash of African and electronic elements inspired in equal measure by the golden era of West-African funk & disco and modern post-punk & electro.
‘Pull The Rope’ is the band’s fifth album, a nimble, sleek machine that’s thrilling from the first note of the opening title track. Eno’s otherworldly voice and PK Ambrose’s throbbing bass driving through a kaleidoscopic array of house, post-punk, funk, Afrobeat and disco, bangers and ballads. This album makes an argument for unity that begins on the dance floor.
“We are the places we grew up, the places we’ve been, and the people we’ve met along the way,” Williams says. “Hopping around the globe, we’ve found that people are fundamentally the same, they’re people. Opposing sides push and pull, but there is an alternative to war, violence, and suffering.”
Stand out track: ‘Got To Be Who U Are’.
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