H&M – new Exclusive Conscious Collection and retail chain.

Last week, H&M revealed that they were launching a retail chain, set to open in 2013. The line ‘& Other Stories’ will be set at a “slightly higher price bracket” according to their press officer Camilla Emilsson, and has already been compared to their other sister store Cos. The company aren’t divulging any more information though, and no news as of yet on the ‘unique’ name choice either (I must admit, it’s not quite as catchy as its three-character counterparts).

But the people at Hennes haven’t focused all of their energy on ‘high quality fashion’ for the new line. They also have a new Conscious Collection, opening in stores on April 12^th. The pieces are all made from sustainable materials, and have already been coveted by Amanda Seyfried and Kristen Davies. The cocktail dresses certainly have the wow factor, but they have a lot to live up to following the Marni-mania of last month.

But by collaborating with high-end designers and opening a chain of new luxury stores, is H&M in fear of alienating the customers who love the store for its cheap and cheerful bargains? In dedication, I’ve picked my favourite new-season pieces for under £20.

Trousers £12.99, Bag £14.99, Blouse £19.99, Kimono £19.99, Dress £19.99, Shorts £12.99, Trousers £14.99, Blouse £14.99

So do H&M really need a new upmarket store whenUKsales in the main branch are higher than ever, or should they just stick to their designer collaborations? And more importantly, what DO you make of that ampersand-starting store name?

-Rozi

How to wear: printed trousers

Summer is officially upon us, but Christmas came early for the lucky bloggers who managed to snap up these Zara Navajo trousers (a bargain at £25.99) before they sold out in stores and online.

These printed trousers are the perfect transitional piece for chilly spring days and can be worn with absolutely anything. There’s been no shortage of bold trousers on the catwalk, and high street S/S collections have jumped on the bandwagon too, but Beyoncé’s Stella McCartney floral trousers teamed with yellow courts sealed the deal for me (Kudos to Ms. Knowles for teaming two trends in one look).

Printed trousers are a great staple item because they can be dressed up or down. Colour clashing is still big this season, but I particularly like how fruity-girl paired her navajos with an all-black ensemble. If in doubt, team with a fluffy cardigan or leather jacket. Texture, lace and metallics have also seen a resurgence on the catwalks, so if the Aztec or bold floral trousers are a bit daunting, invest in a shimmer, pastel or paisley print trouser to update your summer wardrobe.

Clockwise from top-left: Christopher Kane S/S ’12 catwalk, Topshop pink metallic Leigh jeans, Marc by Marc Jacobs Mona paisley trousers, Whitney Port in peach jeans, J. Crew paisley pencil skirt.

While the Navajo print trousers look great with black, paisley and pastels look fresh paired with neutrals and whites, or a plain denim shirt á la Whitney Port. Prints and textures can not only be worn throughout the seasons, but depending on your personal style. Skinny pastels can be prepped up with a crisp white shirt and loafers, but look just as great worn with an oversized jumper and Dr. Martens.

So grab yourself some printed trousers, whether they be snakeskin, floral or Aztec. Buy a shape and style that suits you, and don’t be afraid to wear them with everything (there’s been clashing florals a-go-go at Dolce and Gabbana, Sportmax and Prada).

I’ll leave you with my top five favourite printed trousers that are in stores now. That is, of course, until I can get my hands on those Zara beauties.

Warehouse, Fashion Union, Sandro, DKNY, Biba

-Rozi

Incoming - Sigur Ros - Valtari

Today Sigur Ros announced their first studio album in four years, the date is for the 28th of May and that seems to be a definite.

After being away for so long I’m interested to hear what they have come up with, it seems there is a promotional track on their official website, which to be honest; sounds like it could be from any previous Sigur Ros album with the exception of Von.

The visuals are also strikingly similar to everything else they have ever done which probably means that they haven’t moved on at all. I’m not saying that this is an entirely bad thing but sometimes the bands who don’t progress just fade into the background whilst still making the same music they always did, in the case of Sigur Ros, that would be a shame.

All of this is speculation though, and I’m sure whatever it is it will be a good listen, especially if you are already a fan of their music.

Their website with promo track “Ekki Múkk”.

A little about the new album with some cryptic Icelandic words.

Upcoming tour dates.

-Greg

Essay - Self Published Photo Books From 1963 - Present

In the following essay I will be investigating the self-published photo book and it’s evolution from obscurity to reasonable mainstream success and why that may be. I will also be looking at how the content of some of these photo books differs from that of exhibition and commercial work and how, with modern technology, the photo book is changing. I will be looking at artists such as: Ed Ruscha; Sjoerd Knibbeler, Alec Soth and Lester B Morrison. I will also be looking at zines from the 1960’s to the 1990’s. The sources I will be using in the essay are various websites of distributors such as Little Brown Mushroom, Self Publish Be Happy, the website Blurb and online articles from newspapers and blogs. I have chosen these sources as the self-published photo book market is widely available online and thousands of books from family photo albums to artistic books can be purchased and feel that it is relevant to the subject of the following essay.

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Coming soon

We have a couple of things coming up soon!

Our Limbo Cast is finally going to be around by the end of April so you can listen to us talk crap about everything from films and video games.

New articles coming with music, film, photography and game reviews.

An essay on self published photo books.

We are also looking for collaborators and guest writers and interviewees for some of our articles. We can be easily contacted through our Facebook page HERE

So keep an eye out and keep upto date with us.

Review - Radiohead - King Of Limbs

This is probably not a good review for me to do. As I am a huge Radiohead fan, I even have some of their artwork tattooed on my body. I’m going to try and make this review as fair as possible, but, I can’t promise.

Radiohead last released an album in 2007, In Rainbows. A great album I’m sure most of you will agree, In Rainbows departed a little from the soundscape type music they had previously released. It was a more musical approach than previous albums. It seemed that their progression had shifted somwhat more towards their earlier style as the album was more reminiscient of their 1997 album Ok Computer.

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SUPER MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT BOY

http://store.steampowered.com/app/40800/

Super meat boy is a breath of fresh air. Hard twitch gaming where you play a slab of meat who dies when you hit salt. And it’s 3 pound.

…

buy it.

it’ll run on pretty much any pc nowadays.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT GLASSJAW LEAK is a fake

This post on glassjaw forums seems legit:

“Be on the lookout for a fake torrent on sites, upped by someone with the username [jonnybeans].  It has three v0 mp3s of Junkies, Glue & NBF, the 128kbps Rodney mp3 of Stars, and the same stream-ripped upsampled mp3 we’ve had of Lennon since ‘08.  Sad thing is, leak sites (it-leaked being one)) are declaring this as a legit leak when the accuracy of the info isn’t even solid yet…”

God bless you Mark. You kind, kind soul. So don’t download that link, its full of cheap shitty quality mp3s that you should really just buy direct from gj or wait for the ep (not confirmed).

Support your bands kids

HOLY FUCKING SHIT GLASSJAW RELEASED AN EP

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Color-Green-Singles-Explicit/dp/B004GDV36M/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2

or not. Either way this has popped up on amazon, I’m not too familiar with the authorisation process on amazon so I can’t say whether it’s fake or not. However, judging by the bogartian way glassjaw have been playing their releases as of late I’d say it’s fake. Still. It’d be nice.

In related news the new glassjaw vinyl released on 12/12 (no fucking way) is “You think (you’re John fucking Lennon)”. Shame it’s a song released in 2008, but it’s nice for their to be an official release, and it works pretty well in a playlist with the other songs. Also of note is the use of a locked groove, which repeats a drum loop until you  physically move the playback head of the player further on to play the song proper.

Cheeky.

Coming soon:

Thee oh sees review (spoiler: it’s good)

Some more nice album reviews

More stuff about games, hopefully with some interviews with some videogamey people

More movie reviews

A shrine to Justin Beck

Film Review - Short Cuts

1001 Movies Review by Mully

Year: 1993

Director: Robert Altman

Writers: Robert Altman & Frank Barhydt (original stories by Raymond Carver)

Starring: Julianne Moore, Anne Archer, Huey Lewis, Andie McDowell, Robert Downey, Jr., Tim Robbins, Frances McDormand, and bloody loads more.

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Machete

Recent Release Review by Mully

Directors: Robert Rodriguez & Ethan Maniquis

Writers: Robert Rodriguez & Álvaro Rodriguez

Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Steven Seagal

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Review - The Hundred In The Hands

A two part combination of Jason Friedman and Eleanore Everdell make up The Hundred In The Hands. After a couple of EP’s, their debut self titled album came out on the 20th of September this year. It is something vaguely recognisable, it could be the vocals, reminiscent of a younger Karen-O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, maybe the mix of musical influences behind the mainly electronic music, maybe it just doesn’t stand out from alot of the music around at the moment. Thankfully, I don’t think the latter is the case. Although THITH don’t really revolutionise music they offer a decent attempt at originality and a modern, tuneful and slightly catchy take on electro-pop, and afterall, a band signed to Warp records should probably achieve this right?

A solid album really, with stand out songs such as Lovesick (Once Again) and Pigeons they really make a great effort and it’s refreshing to hear something that is probably quite pop, but at the same time, decent.

Their website

Welcome to Limbo

After blogging for a few months, the Limbo team has decided to open up a Tumblr.

We are a small team of artists, musicians and writers and want to bring you the best in current issues, music, art, photography and media.

In the next couple of months we will also be launching our newest venture; The Limbo Cast! (Our very own podcast)

So sit back, read, view, listen and enjoy to what we have to offer!

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Enjoy, and be sure to reccomend us to all of your friends (and possibly family!)

Greg.