Album review: 180 – Palma Violets

180 Palma Violets (The Label/Rhythmethod) As retro as their candied namesakes, the Palma Violets have ridden a wave of hype off the back of an NME tour and crashing single Best of Friends, but their youthful exuberance and hurtling adherence to the rock n roll lifestyle fails to provide the solid bedrock of promised stardom. True, they’ve mastered a ”sound” thanks to Pete Mayhew’s swirling gothic organ and lad-about-town lyrics from frontmen Chilli Jesson and Sam Fryer, and ex-Pulp bassman producer Steve Mackey does very little to break their live-feel style by twiddling too many knobs, but this next big thing just doesn’t seem to have the same smash-and-grab impact of, say, The Arctic Monkeys.

Share

Missing cargo ship found, crew safe

A Russian cargo ship believed to have been hijacked off the coast of Sweden last month has been located, the ship’s owner told CNN on Monday. The Arctic Sea’s crew is safe and onboard a Russian navy vessel, according to Victor Matveev, the director of Solchart Management AB. The Arctic Sea, which sails under a Maltese flag, was carrying a 6,500-ton cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria when it reported trouble in Swedish waters on July 24

Share

Nukes, drugs, pirates: Russian ship lost in sea of rumor and intrigue

Whether or not it has anything more dangerous than a cargo of timber on board, vanished ship Arctic Sea certainly now carries the answers to one of the most intriguing maritime mysteries to emerge in recent times. Since it disappeared off the charts more than two weeks ago, rumors and conspiracy theories have stirred in the Russian-crewed vessel’s wake, with a fog of conflicting sightings and reports doing little to help separate fact from fiction.

Share

Fight for the Top of the World

At the end of August, a wisp of flame suddenly appeared in the Arctic twilight over the Barents Sea, bathing the low clouds over the Norwegian port of Hammerfest in a spectral orange glow. With a tremendous roar, the flame bloomed over the windswept ocean and craggy gray rocks, competing for an instant with the Arctic summer’s never-setting sun. The first flare-off of natural gas from the Snohvit gas field, some 90 miles offshore, was a beacon of promise: After 25 years of false starts, planning and construction, the first Arctic industrial oil-and-gas operation outside of Alaska was up and running.

Share

Eco-boat attempts perilous Arctic voyage

An eco-friendly French boat is hoping to successfully cross the perilous Arctic sea passage that links the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific. “Le Mangier” is attempting to navigate the icy, unpredictable Northern Sea Route, a 6,000 mile passage that skims the northern coast of Siberia. It is a trip that only a handful of leisure boats in history have successfully completed

Share