In a statement released this morning, Owen said:

“Friends,

I began playing solo violin shows in 2004. Although it was essentially a solo project, I named the band Final Fantasy, as the experience–and the tone of the material–was reminiscent of the hours and hours I had spent as an adolescent playing those epic JRPGs.

But the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason, and so I am voluntarily retiring my band name. In the new year, my record Heartland is coming out, and it is my first to be released in many territories, including Japan. With this in mind, I feel it is in my own best interests to definitively distinguish my music from Square/Enix’s games.

So, I am no longer playing shows as Final Fantasy. Subsequent releases, including Heartland, will be issued under my own name, Owen Pallett. Prior releases will sometime soon be re-packaged and re-issued.

I thank Square/Enix their kindness and support, and I thank you all for your understanding.

Salud!

Owen Pallett”

Makes sense really!

Picture by Regis Andrade

Our original review of the album said:

The Resistance may not be their most cohesive work yet, and certainly not their finest, but it’s not too far off. Any producer in the world would probably have changed so much of this that you’d never recognise it, but it’s Muse’s ability to take risks and do things their own way which has made them one of the greatest bands in the world.

So, a worthy winner? There was some pretty stiff competition from Bombay Bicycle Club, Grammatics and Arctic Monkeys, but the boys from Devon held firm until the very end to win our first end of year poll.

Stay tuned for the TMM Writers’ Choice Award, which is slightly different to the winner of our public poll.

After the album is released, the band will be heading out to perform the following shows:

FEBRUARY
12 Glasgow O2 Academy
13 Edinburgh Picture House
15 Nottingham Rock City
16 Leeds O2 Academy
18 Newcastle O2 Academy
19 Manchester Academy
20 Birmingham O2 Academy
22 Bournemouth O2 Academy
23 Bristol O2 Academy
24 Norwich UEA
26 London O2 Brixton Academy
27 London O2 Brixton Academy

You can catch the band on the following dates:

JANUARY
07 London, Hoxton Bar and Grill (already sold out)

FEBRUARY
24 Glasgow, Nice n Sleazy
25 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
26 Manchester, Islington Mill
28 Sheffield

MARCH
01 Birmingham, O2 Academy 2
02 Oxford, O2 Academy 2
03 London, Scala
05 Dublin, Crawdaddy
06 Belfast, The Pavilion First

Picture by PixelJelly

This year’s list is no different, and alongside the Drums, Everything Everything and Marina And The Diamonds you’ll find Owl City, Hurts and Devlin. The list spreads from bubblegum pop (Daisy Dares You) to rap (Giggs) via soul (Rox), with electronica also represented fairly well through the aforementioned Everything Everything, Delphic and Gold Panda.

So, that longlist in full:

• Daisy Dares You
• Delphic
• Devlin
• The Drums
• Everything Everything
• Giggs
• Gold Panda
• Ellie Goulding
• Hurts
• Joy Orbison
• Marina And The Diamonds
• Owl City
• Rox
• Stornoway
• Two Door Cinema Club

All worthy winners, I’m sure you’ll agree. With the exception of Daisy Dares You who appears to have made it onto the list as a joke. For us, it’s between Everything Everything, Delphic and Two Door Cinema Club – but we’ve been wrong before.

You can find the full BBC coverage of this year’s competition here.

Starring Dev Hynes himself – pretty obvious, since he is Lightspeed Champion – it’s set in the sweltering hit of Death Valley and comes complete with bouncy rhythm and a short but sweet guitar solo. Its the first song from Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You, which is down for a 1 Feb release via Domino.

Anyway, enough of us. Check it out below:

Codeine Velvet Club: Vanity Kills (Island)

It comes to something when single of the week is from a band that features one of the Fratellis, albeit it as one half of an Alex Turner/Miles Kane type partnership that has brought about the release of an album that – actually – isn’t all that bad at all. Jon Fratelli and Lou Hickey have come up trumps with an upbeat vaudeville number that camps around for three and a half minutes before leaving without outstaying its welcome – a perfect tonic for a dreary Monday afternoon.

Paramore: Brick By Boring Brick (Fueled By Ramen)

I’ve never been one of those who “get” Paramore. Maybe it’s because I’m not the kind of person who gets the whole teen-angst, emo, Twilight-esque thing. There was a time, however, when I thought 30 Seconds To Mars’ last album was brilliant, and I’d probably have enjoyed Brick By Boring Brick back in the day. Sadly, I now know better. It’s alright, but just doesn’t do enough to be memorable and warrant further listens.

We Were Promised Jetpacks: It’s Thunder And It’s Lightning (Fat Cat)

In a similar vein to Paramore, it’s the turn of one of Scotland’s buzz bands to drown us in angst-ridden music. “Your body was black and blue” they scream, before launching into a breakdown that is probably impressive live, but lacking something on record. It’s a shame too, because the first half of the song does its level best to be listenable – but that finale really undoes all of the hardwork that precedes it.

The Rifle Volunteer: End Season (Too Pure)

I’ve no idea what it is about mid to late November, but it doesn’t half make people release depressing music. This time it’s the turn of the Rifle Volunteer, who spend nearly four minutes moaning incomprehensibly before changing pace slightly and wailing. It’s at this point that you start to lose faith in music and consider becoming a librarian instead.

The Answer: Comfort Zone (Albert Productions)

When a song begins with the words “work all day, come back home, get a little older” you really have to despair. Especially if the three songs you’ve listened to previously have tried their best to push you towards breaking point. It’s unusual too, as the Answer are more well-known for their particular brand of noughties hair metal – and it isn’t long until they pick themselves up for a slightly rousing chorus. Normal service is resumed all too quickly though, and we slow things down for each verse before giving up altogether. There’s elements of Guns N Roses’ epic November Rain at times, but in the end it doesn’t even come close.

Opening with the The Jeweller’s Hand – the final song on third album Humbug – it’s apparent that the band have mellowed somewhat since their earlier days. Instead of an explosive introduction their arrival on stage is somewhat subdued, with the band beginning the laid-back number behind a massive red curtain that slowly opens. It’s an effective opener, and the band waste no time in laying into their more famous tracks, such as first single I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor which sparks mass hysteria among the 11,000 plus crowd.

But it’s not just the album tracks which get an airing here, as recent b-side Sketchead (taken from recent single Cornerstone) is introduced as “one of our new songs”. As a song it’s difficult to place, and not one that you can see sitting alongside Crying Lightning and the aforementioned Cornerstone. It serves as more of a bridge between old and new, linking a wide gulf which is all the more evident in a live environment.

The raw The View From The Afternoon seems out-of-place in this new, mellower Monkeys set, while the seedy My Propeller and haunting synths of Pretty Visitors somehow suit the band more these days. Meanwhile, the tracks which are included from Favourite Worst Nightmare – 505, Brianstorm, Fluorescent Adolescent (complete with the end of Mardy Bum inserted halfway through) et al – sound fresher accompanied by Humbug. That said, When The Sun Goes Down arguably gets the most rousing reception of all as lead Monkey Alex Turner takes the reins to perform the introduction on his own – again inciting riots in the crowd when the song really kicks off.

It’s similar to the earlier scenario with I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor, making it look as if the majority of the audience are here for the select few songs from Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not that are performed tonight. The noise that greats Turner’s every word is deafening, and the finale – 505 – prompts nearly 20 people being hauled from the crowd by security staff.

By the end of their near hour and a half set Turner heads off, leaving the band to finish the song without him. It’s a strange ending, with many of the crowd unable to believe they’re not coming out for a second encore – but alas, the house lights come on and music pipes in over the PA. It’s not often that a band manages to keep up the quality for a entire set, but tonight Arctic Monkeys managed it in spectacular style.

Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug is nominated in our Album of 2009 vote.

Picture by thetripwirenyc

How did you come together?
Marc and Shane were at uni together and chose to form a band upon leaving. Shane’s ability to drown out the sound of a rocket launch using just a snare drum impressed Marc, whose own willingness to play guitar chords not yet heard by man had been duly noted. Stee J, from Blackpool, was recruited in the hope his northern twang would bring good luck – it was early 2006 after all, and the Arctic Monkeys were on the verge of hitting the big-time.

Sonny was brought in at a later date to replace the original bass player, who had broken his wrist. Sonny had been a regular at early Dear Acetate shows, and was talked out of doing a clock-making apprenticeship so he could join the band full-time.

Rob is the most recent addition to the group after quitting his old band, who wore bright orange boiler suits and ridiculous makeup. Having someone with that sort of mentality was too intriguing a prospect to be ignored for the other DA lads.

What was your first gig like?
The first gig with this current line-up was at an outdoor music festival in Watford town centre on a scorching Saturday afternoon. Stee J had rushed back from Download festival that morning to play the show, and rushed back to Download festival immediately afterwards! Marc broke a string, went temporarily blind when his glasses fell off and then swore loudly into his mic. Shane was itchy, having just had a batch of new tattoos administered. Sonny wore a hat. Rob pulled a fat Irish girl afterwards. The music went down a treat though, as a large number of people were spilling out of a nearby pub to come and jive along to our guitar-driven dance-rock!

What plans do you have for the next six months?
We’ve just spent a long while recording our debut album, Lost Days & Nights, which was mastered by the legendary Ray Staff – his past credits include Led Zeppelin, the Clash and Muse, to name but a few. So we’re about to release this record, get a load of shows booked and haul ourselves off round the country to promote it. We also plan to integrate several untruths about Sonny in as many publications as we can possibly muster before he notices and makes us stop.

How would you like the band to be remembered?
As pioneers of the do-it-yourself music revolution: our debut album is entirely self-produced (engineered by Shane in his studio) and will be released and promoted exclusively by us, without the help of a record label. As well as entertaining with our music, if we can go some way to showing others that they too can make a record without feeling they need to get signed by a major, then we’ll be all smiles.

Snow Patrol: Just Say Yes (Polydor)

It’s quite amazing how one band can be panned for being dreary (see the rest of the reviews), yet the kings of dreariness have somehow come up trumps this week with a rousing new song as part of their greatest hits package. It marks a complete departure for the band and hopefully is a positive sign of what’s to come. If not, then let them have their moment with Just Say Yes – they’ve earned it.

Camera Obscura: The Sweetest Thing (4AD)

Glasgow’s Camera Obscura have so far evaded mainstream praise, despite this year’s My Maudlin Career being jam-packed with classics such as the almost-single-of-the-week The Sweetest Thing. It’s a jaunty little number packed to the brim with tight harmonies and a feel-good tone, but the sugary-sweetness of it all does grind after quite a few listens – and that’s all there is between the best two songs this week.

Royksopp: This Must Be It (Wall Of Sound)

Almost from the off Royksopp’s Karin Dreijer Andersson-aided track brings across the image of a packed Ibiza dancefloor, and does a good job of invoking a club feel – but that’s about it. The vocals are the best thing on it, which is understandable given Andersson’s Knife and Fever Ray background, but everything else is utterly forgettable. Bound to get party feet moving, but precious little else.

Dead Confederate: The Rat (Kartel)

A sub Kings Of Leon/Nickelback attempt, which does nothing to try and elevate Dead Confederate above the masses of copycat bands trying to cash in on the Followill/Kroeger success. Again, it’s a forgettable couple of minutes – only picking up for the final 30 or 40 seconds… which isn’t really enough in these hard-to-please days. Hopefully the album isn’t this dreary throughout.

Daniel Merriweather feat Adele: Water And A Flame (Columbia)

There’s no doubting that Aussie Merriweather has talent but, much like a lot of his debut album Love & War, this is another dreary ballad that chugs along hopelessly devoid of direction. It’s prime for a mid-afternoon slot on Radio 2 – which isn’t too bad a thing – and even comes with added Adele to aid the subtle slip into a coma. Water And A Flame disappears into the background from the very first chord, which is a shame as both have shown in the past that they’re brilliant vocalists. This is just the wrong song.