New releases on CD & DVD
Blu-ray: Tokyo Story / The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice
Tuesday, 07 July 2020
Yasujirō Ozu’s The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice and Tokyo Story were released in 1952 and 1953 respectively. Tokyo Story regularly features in critics' Top 10 lists and was voted Best Film of all time in a 2012 poll of film directors in Sight & Sound magazine.
Album: Rufus Wainwright - Unfollow the Rules
Monday, 06 July 2020
After Unfollow the Rules: The Paramour Session and the #Quarantunes “robe recitals” comes the album: Unfollow the Rules, no longer stripped back (though everything's relative) but in all its pomp and glory.
Album: The Jayhawks - XOXO
Saturday, 04 July 2020
If one song best captures the overall mood of XOXO, it's the Beatles-meets-country strains of "Living in a Bubble". The punchy lyrics offer a timely...
Album: Polly Scattergood - In This Moment
Friday, 03 July 2020
A decade ago, Polly Scattergood was Mute Records’ newest, most-likely-to signing and, while she never crossed over like similar unconventional female...
Album: Willie Nelson - First Rose of Spring
Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Listening to Willie Nelson’s latest album is like pulling on a pair of beloved beat-up cowboy boots. The declarative vocal over simple guitar, a...
Blu-ray: Criss Cross
Robert Siodmak's masterpiece of film noir - a story of passion and betrayal |
Album: Paul Weller - On Sunset
Another near-perfect album from the Modfather |
Blu-Ray: Laughter in Paradise, The Green Man
Alastair Sim redeems a pair of patchy non-Ealing comedies |
Album: Sparks - A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
Arch rhymes and secreted emotion from veteran LA ironists |
Album: HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III
Energy and experimentation from sister trio at the top of their game |
Album: Nadine Shah – Kitchen Sink
A fresh look at women's woes from one who knows |
Album: Khruangbin - Mordechai
The Texan three-piece are hard to pin down, but easy to love |
DVD/Blu-ray: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Slow-burning passion packs a strong erotic punch in Céline Sciamma's film |
Album: Dream Wife - So When You Gonna…
Arts punks’ sophomore effort dashes expectations |
Blu-Ray: A Foreign Affair
Billy Wilder and Marlene Dietrich weave that old black magic in their black market tale |
Album: John Legend - Bigger Love
Soulman as new man, in variations on clean-cut romance |
Album: [MONRHEA] - her[ART]
Debut from female Kenyan electronic producer showcases innovation and possibility |
Album: Neil Young - Homegrown
The unearthing of the singer-songwriter's long-lost album turns up moments of pure gold |
Album: Michael Franti & Spearhead - Work Hard & Be Nice
Ex-Beatnig and Disposable Hero of Hiphoprisy lurches towards the middle of the road |
Album: Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Poetry and romance for an age of disillusion |
CD: Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
Bob returns with an unadulturated, stone-cold masterpiece |
Album: Norah Jones – Pick Me Up Off the Floor
Strong songwriting captures the mood of the times |
Album: Larkin Poe - Self Made Man
Female-fronted blues-rock stalwarts return with the songs and enough range to carry the day |
Album: Jehnny Beth - To Love Is To Live
Former Savages leader lets her guard down |
Blu-ray: Hagazussa
A woman dubbed a witch yields to psychosis in a superior folk horror movie |
EP: Imelda May - Slip of the Tongue
Spirited poems from Irish rockabilly queen |
Album: John Scofield, Steve Swallow, Bill Stewart - Swallow Tales
Trust and empathy between musicians built up over decades |
Album: Hinds - The Prettiest Curse
Spanish indie types beef up their sound to great effect |
Album: Dion - Blues With Friends
The Wanderer returns to his roots |
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Blu-ray: Tokyo Story / The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice
Yasujirō Ozu’s The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice and Tokyo Story were released in 1952 and 1953 respectively. Tokyo Story...
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Album: Rufus Wainwright - Unfollow the Rules
After Unfollow the Rules: The Paramour Session and the...
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Reissue CDs Weekly: Philip Rambow - The Rebel Kind
“Strange Destinies” is the first track. “Take your eyes off me Svengali” is its memorable opening phrase. Conjuring up Van Morrison, Tom Petty,...