God Help the Girl
You could fill an entire review with what God Help the Girl might be. The album shares a title with an as-yet-unshot film by Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch. The booklet contains the beginning of a short story and the album itself is billed not as a soundtrack or concept album, but a “musical narrative.” … Continue reading
Wilco (The Album) review
Wilco (The Album) by Wilco (the band) opens with “Wilco (The Song),” a tongue-in-cheek ode to the ability of music to save lives. “Are times getting tough?” frontman Jeff Tweedy asks, before offering “a sonic shoulder for you to cry on,” and reassuring that “Wilco will love you, baby.” For an artist who has never … Continue reading
Sin Nombre review
It’s not a shock that Adriano Goldman picked up the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival for his work on Sin Nombre. The film, which tells the intertwining tales of a Mexican gangster and a Honduran family looking to emigrate to the U.S. by whatever means it can, is stunningly shot. … Continue reading
Oscars expand playing field
On June 24, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a major change to the best picture category at the annual Oscar ceremonies. For the first time since 1935, the category will expand beyond the usual five nominees — it’ll spotlight 10 movies, all vying for the illustrious best picture nom. There has … Continue reading
Black Moth Super Rainbow – Eating Us (Graveface)
After three full-length albums and a handful of EPs, it’s only natural that Pennsylvania psychedelic outfit Black Moth Super Rainbow would feel the need to expand on its sound. Not that Eating Us, the band’s fourth release and second for Graveface Records, marks a significant stylistic shift. The band still deals in hazy keyboards, shimmering … Continue reading
Drag Me to Hell review
It’s not necessarily true that all horror movies these days are sequels, remakes, torture porn or some combination of the three, but it certainly feels that way. This year alone has seen a 3-D remake of My Bloody Valentine, a reboot of Friday the 13th and The Last House on the Left. In a few … Continue reading
Up – review
Between Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and the back-to-back critical success of Ratatouille and Wall-E, Pixar has built up a vast store of goodwill. The consistently groundbreaking visuals are a big part of the studio’s success, but even more so, their attention to character, their flair for visual storytelling and their willingness to ignore marketability in … Continue reading
CD review: Lhasa – Lhasa
Montrealer emerges from half-decade silence with another masterpiece. New York-born, Mexico-raised Montrealer Lhasa de Sela waited five years between her 1998 debut, La Llorona, and its follow-up, 2003’s masterful The Living Road. In that time, she quit the music industry to join a circus in France, eventually finding the inspiration to cobble a near-perfect album … Continue reading
Akron/Family – Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free (Dead Oceans)
Akron/Family lost a member between 2007’s Love is Simple and the new Set ’Em Wild, Set ’Em Free, but being short-handed doesn’t seem to be holding them back. Set ’Em Wild is even more sprawling than anything the band has done before — something of an achievement from an outfit that’s equally comfortable with folksy … Continue reading
Leonard Cohen – Live in London (Sony)
It’s a widely known secret that Leonard Cohen’s first concert tour in 13 years was prompted by financial woes. When his manager (allegedly) ran off with Cohen’s savings and the publishing rights to his songs, the then-71-year-old had little choice but to hit the road and recoup some of the losses. Judging from Live in … Continue reading
The Consumption 