CDs/DVDs
CD: William Tyler - Goes WestThursday, 17 January 2019
Its Dali-esque sleeve image captures Goes West perfectly. Over its 10 instrumental tracks, the music drifts inwards from outside as if introducing the endless open space of an intensely lit desert. There’s a sadness-tinged reflectiveness too; one... Read more... |
CD: Abdesselam Damoussi and Nour Eddine - JedbaWednesday, 16 January 2019
It’s not often that music of this kind gets a release outside of Morocco, and Arc Music and the producer/musicians must be applauded for curating such an intense, inside view on the ecstatic release of Sufi music across the kingdom, often drawn from... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: Under the TreeTuesday, 15 January 2019
If you’ve ever had an argument with a neighbour, watch Under the Tree and take notes. This mesmerising story of a dispute over a tree blocking the sun in a next-door garden is based, says Icelandic director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, on an actual... Read more... |
CD: Katie Doherty & The Navigators - And ThenMonday, 14 January 2019
It’s more than 10 years since Katie Doherty, a new-minted music grad championed by the Sage-based Folkworks collective, was named Newcomer of the Year and released Bridges, her debut album. And Then is only her second – which is not to suggest she’s... Read more... |
CD: Monzen Nakacho - Necropolis SpacewaySunday, 13 January 2019
Monzen Nakacho is an old and distinguished part of Tokyo that’s renowned for its nightlife. It’s also the moniker that Worthing musician Gary Short has given himself for his 21st century keyboard wizard persona. Short’s output has been called “... Read more... |
CD: Pedro the Lion - PhoenixSaturday, 12 January 2019
It’s hard to see the first album under the Pedro the Lion name in 15 years as anything other than a homecoming. There’s the title, Phoenix, for one thing: a dual-purpose nod to both songwriter David Bazan’s hometown and the mythical bird, reborn... Read more... |
VoD: 1985Friday, 11 January 2019
Dallas writer-director Yen Tan has brought 1985 back to stylistic basics, and the resulting resolute lack of adornment enhances his film’s concentration on a story that achieves indisputably powerful, and notably reserved emotion. Independent cinema... Read more... |
CD: Lorelle Meets the Obsolete – De FactoThursday, 10 January 2019
De Facto is the fifth album from Mexican duo Lorelle Meets the Obsolete and the first to be recorded in the home studio of core members Lorelle (Lorena Quintanella) and The Obsolete (Alberto González). The change has certainly served them well,... Read more... |
CD: Venom - Storm the GatesWednesday, 09 January 2019
“Hey you, motherfucker / What you looking at? / What a fucking loser / Acting like a twat.” Yes indeed. Venom, the originators of black metal, are back to celebrate 40 years of disregarding taste and decency at every opportunity with their... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: The RiderTuesday, 08 January 2019
A cannily crafted biographical docudrama about the Lakota Sioux broncobuster and horse trainer Brady Jandreau – playing himself as Brady Blackburn – The Rider will resonate with anyone whose dreams have gone up in smoke. Jandreau was 20 when, on... Read more... |
CD: You Tell Me - You Tell MeMonday, 07 January 2019
This 11-tracker begins with 35 seconds of rhythmically bedded instrumental colour which opens the curtain for a lovely, folky slab of art-pop titled “Enough to Notice”. Odd touchstones surface: Skylarking XTC, Stackridge, Dirty Projectors. Yet there... Read more... |
CD: Yak - Pursuit of Momentary HappinessSunday, 06 January 2019
“Are you tired of being pissed and confused?” opens the epic title track of Yak’s second album. Later on singer Oli Burslem brokenly croons, “For now I’m in pursuit of momentary happiness; it’s vacuous and a game gonna lose [sic]. Do you remember... Read more... |
