Shovel & Rope’s kid-friendly latest covers album has its heart in the right place, but is an absolute sonic disaster. Americana duo Shovels & Rope…
With Conway the Machine’s growing popularity comes a cynicism about the state of the rap industry that reads more out-of-touch than progressive. “In a class…
Ignorance brings depth to Tamara Lindeman’s songwriting, working with The Weather Station for bigger production and grandiose performance. Oftentimes, the best solutions are also the simplest.…
Carnage is both a progression and double-back for Cave and Ellis, re-embracing some of their punk and sleaze of their past while still offering delicate, impressionistic…
Shiesty Season is low-key, minimally-produced rap record that thrives on Pooh’s undeniable charisma and swag. T’was first decreed by the ever-ostentatious Young Thug to be the…
Gaia There’s an ancient, malevolent force living in the depths of the forest in director Jaco Bouwer’s Gaia, a psychedelic bit of eco-horror that finds nature…
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Nick Cave has never been one to coddle. His music demands that listeners sit for a while with uncomfortable questions,…
The “Zack Snyder cut” isn’t the holy grail of superhero cinema, but it’s at least a singular vision and a distinct improvement on the studio-bungled…
The Courier doesn’t rank among the spy film greats and misunderstands its own core, but it’s a diverting enough shadows-and-cigarettes throwback. The Dad Movie of 2021…
After being forced to cancel 2020’s festival in the eleventh hour in the wake of Covid’s proliferation across the U.S., SXSW returns in 2021. Adopting…
Keep an Eye Out is a mere blip of a film, but for fans of Dupieux’s deadpan gonzo schtick, there are small pleasures to be found.…
Rose Plays Julie ultimately relies too heavily on well-worn revenge tropes at the expense of any substantive study of identity. So cold and somber that it…
While frequently interesting to watch unfold, The Inheritance has no overarching vision and thus finds much of its potential political power muted. Inspired by both…
The spectre of doom looms over the besieged town of Srebrenica for the entirety of Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?, but the portended massacre only…
While Willie Nelson boasts a pretty high floor and That’s Life is indeed a pleasant enough listen, it’s the also the songwriter’s least essential album in…
The Truth Hurts is a tough albums for listeners to contend with, its hateful rhetoric feeling of a different hip hop era even as much as…
Open Door Policy finds The Hold Steady still rocking, but the group skews self-referential almost to the point of parody. After ending an otherwise shaky…
Harlecore is an almost otherworldly album, built from familiar parts but singular and thrilling in every way. Danny L Harle makes music for an alternative universe,…
Lunch in the Park is a tough-to-stomach, badly-mixed album that sees Sun Kil Moon ill-advisedly embrace for electro-ambient leanings. There’s a lesson to be learned from…
By Request is a thrilling jukebox collection, more rarified that typical covers album, and a profound response tragedy. Though barely perceptible in the music itself, A.J.…
Willie Nelson With That’s Life, Willie Nelson finds himself two albums deep into a cycle of Frank Sinatra cover songs. Assuming he’s following the model…