Album Review: Frankie Rose ‘Cage Tropical’
“The transformation of 1980s synth pop from a frequently mocked fad into a respectable modern genre has been glorious to behold.”
Album Review: Male Gaze ‘Miss Taken’
“Anyone who claims that most new music is terrible probably isn’t trying hard enough.”
Sheer Heart Attack: Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’
“With ‘Baby Driver,’ Wright delivers a delightful, mid-summer cinematic treat.”
‘Beyond the Lights’ and ‘Into the Forest’: Nina Simone as a Tool for Female Empowerment
“The female gaze, when expanded and reproduced through various media, can be a significant tool of empowerment for exploring and blending different artistic themes and forms.”
Album Review: Dead Heavens ‘Whatever Witch You Are’
“It’s less macho than stoner rock, but more elegant than garage punk.”
Album Review: INVSN ‘The Beautiful Stories’
“INVSN may not make the music that flawed people deserve, but it’s definitely the music that we all need right now.”
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Josh Homme and Andreas Neumann’s ‘American Valhalla’
“There is a sense of bearing witness to history-in-the-making and of the unlikely melding of soulmates.”
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Nick Broomfield’s ‘Whitney: Can I Be Me’
“‘Whitney: Can I Be Me’ plays out like a tragedy of the most cinematic kind.”
Album Review: Animal Youth ‘Animal’
“There are few things more frustrating to a music critic than wanting desperately to love an album but never quite getting there.”
Cannes Film Festival Review: John Cameron Mitchell’s ‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’
“‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’ is spirited but doesn’t have anything new to say.”
EP Review: Ultrviolence ‘Forty Knives’
“Throughout ‘Forty Knives,’ Jespersen’s voice betrays his emotions and listening to him sing often feels like sneaking peeks at his diary.”
Album Review: Jen Gloeckner ‘VINE’
“Even though Gloeckner recorded ‘VINE’ in her Dubuque, Iowa bedroom, there is nothing bare bones or lo-fi about it; her passion for her art is obvious and impressive.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Guillaume Canet’s ‘Rock’n Roll’
“Canet’s performance seems to come from a place of real insecurity, and the resulting film plays out like an externalized catharsis.”
Album Review: CFM ‘Dichotomy Desaturated’
“Based on the music from ‘Dichotomy Desaturated,’ I’d say he’s destined for greatness.”
Album Review: Blood and Glass ‘Punk Shadows’
“While ‘Punk Shadows’ may not evoke the well-worn clichés of mohawks and safety pins, it does offer listeners a bracing dose of originality in the form of nine wildly eclectic tunes.”
Review: Terrence Malick’s ‘Song to Song’
“‘Song to Song’ finds itself in its vast mercies. It balances tragedies and heartbreaks with life’s many graces.”
Album Review: The Shins ‘Heartworms’
“Even if Mercer never ends up creating his ‘Pet Sounds,’ he seems to be settling nicely into his ‘Sunflower’ years.”
Album Review: Ryan Adams ‘Prisoner’
“The songs on ‘Prisoner’ seem shackled to the chains of (unrequited) love.”
‘Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood’: Some Thoughts from a Mark Kozelek Fan
“Kozelek is present, combative and always original. He forces you to listen to his music on its own terms.”
Album Review: The Raveonettes ‘2016 Atomized’
“‘2016 Atomized’ is an apt title for an album full of songs that are obsessed with nuclear and romantic annihilation, each track a finely distilled blast of musical essence from The Raveonettes’ particularly heady bouquet.”