Weekend Combo

Capitalist zombies, mediative artwork and rooftop cocktails
7 May 2021
This article is part of HERO Dailies – Essential culture, curated daily and also part of Weekend Combo – What to do this weekend

HERO DAILIES: Essential culture, curated daily
WEEKEND COMBO: What to do this weekend

See our archive of Weekend Combos →

FRIDAY 7th May – SUNDAY 9th May 2021

Record release

Tune in, turn up
Iceage are back with their fifth record, Seek Shetler, a decade after they devastated us with their stunning debut work New Brigade. That signature grimace is still present, but now these four Danish raconteurs are weathered pros, and within Seek Shelter they embellish that hard-wired passion within a dark beauty – via layered orchestration, gospel choir and, in the case of lead track, Vendetta, pulsing Madchester beats.

Released today, this is the type of music you need in your hands, so get yourself to your nearest record store and bag a copy. (P.S. buy yourself a ticket to see frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt in conversation with Spaceman 3 legend Pete Kember via Zoom from Rough Trade.)

Iceage’s new record Seek Shelter is out now via Mexican Summer.

Exhibition

Visual compositions
With commercial galleries now allowed to open in the UK, there are some artistic gems to be seen. One of these is Pace Gallery’s exhibition of works by Robert Mangold. The artist’s first solo show in the UK in twelve years, the exhibition spans from Mangold’s early career in the 80s to now, presenting a survey of his conceptual, minimalist compositions balancing shape, line and colour. Bold abstract forms, Mangold’s work guides viewers towards meditative states, allowing you to lose yourself for a moment or two.

Robert Mangold: A Survey 1981 – 2008 runs until 22nd May at Pace Gallery.

Robert Mangold at Pace Gallery

Film

Should’ve gone to Specsavers
What if you were living under an exploitative, cruel system that kept you distracted by consumerism, sex and mass media? Imagine that, hey. Well, that’s the world presented in John Carpenter’s classic 1988 sci-fi movie They Live. But one man, Roddy Piper (George Nada), stumbles upon a pair of sunglasses that reveal the dark reality of the world around him: it’s being controlled by evil aliens who manipulate humans through subliminal advertising and other mind control techniques, disguising their heinous plan in plain sight.

A mix of political allegory and crash-wallop b-movie action, the film is a whole lot of fun, plus it gave us the now-iconic line: “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass – and I’m all out of bubblegum.”

They Live is now streaming on Netflix UK.

Food + Drink

Not so standard
As the sun gradually warms up London town, rooftop bars are once again de rigueur. Over at the cool-as-hell Standard hotel in King’s Cross, they’ve opened up their very top floor for an open-air bar experience. Surrounded by 360 views of the city, you can sip on some lovely cocktails (the spicy Tommy’s margarita is a must) and fill your stomach via the NYC-approved hot dog stand on-hand. Booking is now open – and speed is essential. Plus, if you get too pissed, why not just stay the night.

The Standard is located at 10 Argyle St, WC1H 8EG.

Top image: Iceage / photography by Marco Van Rijt / originally published in HERO 19.




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