Most men can be relied upon to have just one mid-life crisis, but Nick Cave isn't like most men. In 2007, the moody Australian troubadour marked his 50th birthday by ditching the comfort of a piano and (with three of his regular Bad Seeds in tow), released an album of strident, gratuitous rock'n'roll. The risk paid off and reinvigorated Cave's career, but few expected the trick could be pulled off twice.
While Grinderman 2 feels less revolutionary than its predecessor - and perhaps that's because the novelty has worn off - it's similarly loaded with ferocious riffs, rumbling rhythms and bad-ass attitude. It departs from the steady chugging of the original in some ways, however most notably by being an album of greater sonic variation.
The opener Mickey Mouseand the Goodbye Men is every bit as weird and jilted as the title suggests, and serves as a perfect reminder of the band's lunatic sound. Then lead single Heathen Child offers-up a 1970s rock-stomp mixed with occult imagery. Those in search of Cave's brilliantly bizarre lyrics won't be disappointed either - Palaces of Montezuma features the lines: "a custard-coloured super-dream of Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen".
From the psych-pop of Bellringer Blues, to the towering noise of Evil, the album slowly begins to reveal a subtle trend: whereas Grinderman's debut focused on the paranoia that can sometimes accompany later life, this offering sees Cave embracing those agitations.
A Thousand Suns
Linkin Park
(Warner Bros)
Their last album, Minutes to Midnight, saw the California sextet abandoning the angst-ridden anthems for which they became famous and embracing their softer side. A Thousand Suns continues this trend, and then some. The album marks the wettest point in the history of nu-metal - a genre that most music fans had probably forgotten ever existed.
Hands All Over
Maroon 5
(Polydor)
After a three-year hiatus, the Grammy-winning funk-poppers return with an album of blustery ballads and falsetto radio rock, midwifed by the super-producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange (Nickelback, Def Leppard). Singles Give a Little More and Misery will delight fans, but aside from the country-tinged Out of Goodbyes, there's very little here they won't have heard before.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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