So, Julian Plenti is Skyscraper. He is also Paul Banks of the celebrated New York rockers Interpol and this is his debut solo album. With that cleared up, the question "What's it like?" inevitably follows. Well, what it definitely isn't like is another Eighties-synth-drenched vanity project of the kind we've been seeing from so many indie musicians recently. Instead, Banks has chosen to follow a similar path to the one Thom Yorke took with The Eraser by making music that doesn't differ heavily from that of his day job. Skyscraper is basically an album of two halves; songs like Fun That We Have and Games for Days have the same paranoid beating heart as Interpol, albeit with a slightly less grandiose feel. Then there are the ones that should be filed under "lovely" next to the likes of Bon Iver. The folky string-laden Skyscraper, for example, which is perhaps the most beautiful thing Banks has ever recorded. Later on comes Unwind with a stomping rhythm and flurries of horns reminiscent of Broken Social Scene. There are some humorous moments too, like the sleazy Girl on the Sporting News, the closest that Banks has ever come to a traditional love song. Many of the tunes are particularly appealing because they offer the departure that Interpol's last album that Our Love to Admire never delivered. In fact the opener Only If You Run, with its slow start and emotionally detached vocals, easily tricks the listener into thinking this is the band's long-awaited comeback. By the end of the album however, it's obvious that this is a slightly different beast. The folky On the Esplanade is chilling and wonderful before the instrumental closer H sums up the complex and characterful record. Rich with new ideas, beautiful melodies and shattering art-rock rackets, it makes you wonder how Interpol will be able to compete.
* Oliver Good
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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