CDs/DVDs
Blu-ray: Everybody in Our FamilyFriday, 03 May 2019
The packaging suggests that Radu Jude’s Everybody In Our Family (Toată lumea din familia noastră) is a dark romp, one source describing it as a “chaotic yet endearing comedy chamber piece”. And no one would dispute the sheer craft on display, Jude’s... Read more... |
CD: Leo Sayer - SelfieThursday, 02 May 2019
For Brits below a certain age Leo Sayer is the curly haired middle-aged chap who swearily walked out of the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2007 and disappeared. However, for those around in the 1970s his diminutive dancing form, ever-ready grin and... Read more... |
CD: Vampire Weekend - Father of the BrideWednesday, 01 May 2019
Three albums in, and Vampire Weekend were due a shake-up. Enter Father of the Bride, by far their most ambitious record to date. It’s an 18-track behemoth featuring 14 musicians and six different producers, spanning from folk to jazz. It may be a... Read more... |
Blu-ray: Khrustalyov, My Car!Tuesday, 30 April 2019
The title of Khrustalyov, My Car! comes, infamously, from the words uttered by NKVD chief Lavrenty Beria as he departed the scene of Stalin’s death in March 1953, and Alexei German’s film comes as close as cinema can to dissecting the surreal terror... Read more... |
CD: Editors – The Blanck Mass SessionsMonday, 29 April 2019
Editors’ last album, the electronic-infused Violence, was hailed as a big departure for the indie rock band on its release a little over a year ago. It wasn’t really, it was simply the latest stage of a transformation that can be traced back to... Read more... |
CD: Amon Amarth - BerserkerSunday, 28 April 2019
Many groups have based their career focusing almost completely on one thing and evermore honing it. Bands ranging from The Ramones to the Cocteau Twins to the Black Keys to even the Foo Fighters could arguably be said to follow this remit. Swedish... Read more... |
Blu-ray: Ikarie XB 1Friday, 26 April 2019
This Blu-ray reissue brings sci-fi masterpiece Ikarie XB 1 back to its original visual glory, with the 1963 film presented here in the 4K restoration first shown at the Cannes festival in 2016 (distributor Second Run had previously released an... Read more... |
CD: P!nk - Hurts 2B HumanThursday, 25 April 2019
Look behind the lyrics of some of P!nk’s biggest hits, and you’ll see that those powerhouse vocals and big pop-rock choruses have always been used to distract from a certain vulnerability. But even by that standard, eighth album Hurts 2B Human might... Read more... |
CD: Kornél Kovács - Stockholm MarathonThursday, 25 April 2019
On his second album, Swedish star DJ Kornél Kovács has achieved the impossible and made “tropical house” interesting. Somehow, he's taken every cliché of that slow, lilting pop dance sound Drake and lifestyle influencers Instagramming from pristine... Read more... |
CD: Bad Religion - Age of UnreasonWednesday, 24 April 2019
Bad Religion have been making politically aware, high-speed, melodic punk rock for throwing yourself around with glorious abandon for nigh on 40 years now. As anyone who saw them at last year's Download Festival will be aware, however, their... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: Pet Shop Boys - Inner SanctumTuesday, 23 April 2019
Pet Shop Boys are never shy of producing stylishly conceived fan mementos. Coming not long after Faber & Faber’s hardback collection of Neil Tennant’s lyrics, this four-disc set is just such a slice of lovingly rendered memorabilia. After well... Read more... |
DVD: The House by the SeaMonday, 22 April 2019
Robert Guediguian has spoken of the influence of Chekhov on The House by the Sea (Le Villa), and the shadow of the Russian dramatist, particularly The Cherry Orchard, can certainly be felt in the French director’s latest film, his 20th in a career... Read more... |
