NO NONSENSE #25

Hey dolls,

Fancy another recommendations newsletter? I speak for the whole Polyester team when I say we’ve all been watching way too much Big Brother, but here’s everything else we’ve been consuming – reading, listening, to watching (and eating…) – for the last couple of weeks.

Misha MN - Culture Editor

Film: Metamorphosis of Birds

A poetic examination of family by Portuguese director Catarina Vasconcelos. Juxtaposing voiceover with recreations of childlike memories, this quietly beautiful experimental docudrama delves into worlds of loss, legend and lineage. Its non-sequential storyline and occasional contradictions give a true insight into collective remembering, and shows us that our own internal experiences of memory are far more important than an emotionless exercise in accuracy.

Halloween films: Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2

Just the absolute best Halloween horrors around. Very 80s, stunning hair and wardrobe for femme fatale and all round icon Julia Cotton played by Claire Higgins, great physical special effects, vomit inducing body horror, bone chilling lines (Jesus wept!), stylish torture demons, and top tier writing from legendary Clive Barker, a great addition to any midnight movie marathon. Essential spooky viewing. Interesting aside; the story is set in london but the studio wanted an American appeal so all side characters have been dubbed with American voices which gives the film a strange feeling of placelessness, which adds to the isolation of the characters and the unreality of the plot. Every little helps.

Music - Klaus Nomi by Klaus Nomi

Legendary 80s avant-garde club creature Klaus Nomi and his gender bending counter-tenor voice was noticeably absent from Spotify for at least a decade, but now his best (self titled) album is available for streaming and its everything you’ve ever wanted. Pop hits like “Lighting Strikes”, “Total Eclipse” and “You Don’t Own Me” make for great party bangers, whilst his haunting opera arias from Saint-Saëns’ Samson and Dalila and Purcell’s King Arthur offer a more haunting and reflective look into the output of a very singular artist.

Lauren O’Neill - Copy Editor

Music: Suntub by ML Buch

A really singular perfect record by probably my favourite musician currently working. I love ML Buch so much. Her previous work has been quite metallic-sounding and had this really cool way of making the digital world feel really physically close and embodied, but her more recent work, including Suntub, embraces the warmth of midwestern emo-style guitar and really lets the light in. It’s a bit of a challenging listen for me at the moment because of all the emotions it stirs up but I think the best art should do that!

Food: Fry-ups

I honestly hadn’t had a full English in years before last Sunday when I was dying of a hangover, and I don’t think a meal has hit so good for me this entire year. Stunning toast, perfect deep-fried hash browns, crispy bacon… absolutely made my life. Shoutout Crossroads Café in Peckham I love you.

Gina Tonic - Deputy Editor

Book: Penance by Eliza Clark
A stellar second novel from Eliza Clark, really couldn’t put this one down and loved how she played with narrative tone and formatting!! A multi-angle look at true crime that was really well executed imo.

Film: Velvet Goldmine
Hadn’t rewatched this since being a teenager but it’s a campy, glittery classic with a stacked cast – worth watching just for Toni Colette’s wardrobe alone.

Charlotte Landrum - Platform Editor

Music: Crazymad, for Me by CMAT
CMAT’s new album DELIVERS. Amazing as always. Listen to it now.

Food - Soup
It's really true when people say you can make anything into a soup. It’s so easy and cheap and so lovely to have some good bread on the side. I’ll be having pumpkin soup tonight, and who knows what I’ll be making next week.

Hatti Rex - Contributing Editor

Film: Vamps
A 2012 Vampire movie starring Krysten Ritter and Alicia Silverstone as vampire besties, they don’t feed on humans but you do see them occasionally sticking a straw in a rat.

Art: Anna Uddenberg’s HOME WRECKERS
@filet_minion_thing on IG’s first UK solo show at The Perimeter is well worth a visit if you want to freak yourself out with a collection of uncanny almost-human sculptures, including the work she did for Balenciaga and a newly commissioned film that seems to be about manbabies.

Music - Fcukers
New fave band alert, unsurprisingly also from New York, really love their version of Beck’s Devil’s Haircut called Devil’s Cut x

See ya next time!

XOXO

The Polyester Team <3