Niamh Smith, Author at The Orbital

Future Islands – As Long as You Are (Album Review)

1Nov

By Niamh SmithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Future Islands – As Long as You Are (Album Review)

Niamh Smith In 2014, the Baltimore-based synthpop group Future Islands unexpectedly became a viral hit. Featured on the Late Show with David Letterman in the U.S., and Later… with Jools Holland in the U.K. shortly afterwards, the lead single from their fourth album, the emotionally resonant Seasons (Waiting on You), was named the best song of 2014 by esteemed publications, such as NME and Pitchfork. The band found themselves playing festivals such as Coachella and Glastonbury, and, determined to keep up with the demand for new music, they rushed out another album, 2017’s The Far Field. Despite positive reviews and good sales, the quartet of Samuel Herring (vocals), Gerrit Welmers (keyboards), William Cashion (guitars) and Michael Lowry (percussion) have described the record as ‘condesc...

1Nov

By Niamh SmithNo Comments

Creative Writing

A Ghost Story

Niamh Smith He had never seen such beauty; her raven tresses hanging down in thick strands, the intense pools of blue that were her eyes, the porcelain skin of a china doll. He had been watching her for years and had never dared to show himself. I would scare her if she saw me, he thought, but still he followed her to the empty study. She sat down at the archaic mahogany desk, but instead of writing a letter (that was what he had done in his lifetime, he observed) or switching her computer on, she sat there, alone in quiet thought. It was a perfect time for him to reveal himself. She had often remarked to her friends that the study was haunted, and she had little idea how right she was. She did not expect, at that moment, to feel a soft hand...

23Oct

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Culture & Literature, Visual Arts

Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years

Grayson Perry is one of Britain’s most iconic living artists. Known for his idiosyncratic pottery style and his female alter ego Claire, Perry is the subject of a new exhibition at the Holburne Museum in Bath. Focusing on his work in the 1980s and 1990s, completed before Perry’s psychotherapy, the objects featured are shown together for the first time in decades, having been crowd-sourced from across the UK. Upon entering, you are faced with three distinct terracotta plates. One of these, an untitled piece, is surrounded by a border fashioned from tree bark, which Perry describes as ‘very redolent of faeces, which was probably intentional’. Perry’s witty commentary, which can be found on labels throughout the exhibition, sets the tone for the pieces on display, a delightful mixture of ...

Chris Williamson: Debating Society caught in furore over invite to former MP

16Oct

By Niamh SmithNo Comments

News

Chris Williamson: Debating Society caught in furore over invite to former MP

Royal Holloway Debating Society have been widely criticised for inviting the former Labour MP Chris Williamson to give a talk as part of their guest speaker series. The Student’s Union stepped in to ensure that the controversial event, due to run on the evening of 5th October, was cancelled after the society received backlash for inviting an openly anti-Semitic speaker. Williamson, the former Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, was suspended from the Labour Party last year, after a series of comments which underplayed and dismissed anti-Semitism within the party. Formerly the MP for Derby North, the 64-year-old politician described Labour as being ‘too apologetic’ over reported incidents within Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition. He also attracted ire for admit...