// Category Archive for: Current Faves

Music Review: Henry Wagons, After What I Did Last Night

By Melissa Bratcher

If Nick Cave had taken his Johnny Cash obsession even further, he might have been Henry Wagons. Henry Wagons, too, is from Australia, and bears more than a passing vocal resemblance to Mr. Cave. Henry Wagons has a rumbly, rich baritone voice, and a penchant for country-rock. But Henry Wagons has a wicked sense of humor to his lyrics as well as a sometimes surprising heartfelt bent.

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Blu-Ray Review: Convergence

By Tim Murr

In the summer of 1999, Detective Ben Walls (Clayne Crawford) is enjoying time off with his wife and daughter when he is called in to investigate a bombing in downtown Atlanta. Not long after arriving on the scene, Walls is injured by a second blast, set intentionally to harm first responders. He awakens in the hospital, seemingly unharmed, but nothing is as it seems. Worse, the terrorist behind the bombing may be in the hospital with him.

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Music Review: JD Souther, Home By Dawn

By Melissa Bratcher

The third of Omnivore’s expanded reissues of JD Souther’s criminally overlooked solo albums, Home By Dawn, is an unusual album. The things that make his previous albums, John David Souther and Black Rose work are there: his incredible lyricism, gift for melody, and warm vocals. These things have to share space with a particularly 1980s sounding production. Songs are slicker than they need be, and while the writing is, as always, brilliant, they suffer. A bit. But keep in mind, this is JD Souther we’re talking about, and he’s got this.

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TV Review: Lucha Underground S2 E02, The Dark & The Mysterious

By Sachin Hingoo

Well hi there, Believers! We’re back at the Temple for episode two of the season.

We open on a recap of Mil Muertes’s victory over Prince Puma from last season, as well as a recap of the scene from the finale where Black Lotus killed her trainer, Dragon Azteca, and joined up with Dario Cueto. We also see the end of last week’s show, where Pentagon, Jr. broke the arm of Lucha Underground Champion, Mil Muertes.

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DVD Review: A Brilliant Young Mind

By Sachin Hingoo

A Brilliant Young Mind, sadly changed from its far-superior UK title, X + Y, is a film that shows how much a fairly overdone concept can be elevated with outstanding performances, very thoughtful casting, and an intriguing directorial vision. It’s not the most innovative piece in the world, but for the kind of sentimental comfort food it’s aiming to be, it’s satisfying and even moving. Should you watch this movie? I think you should.

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Music Review: Field Music, Commontime

By Less Lee Moore

At this point, we can safely state that the 1980s musical revival is in full flower. New Romantic, Goth, New Wave, Industrial, Shoegaze, Dance Pop… some version of all of these can be found in nearly everyone’s Spotify playlist. What of those other subgenres from the ‘80s, those bands who didn’t really fit into any category? That’s where Field Music comes in.

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Music Review: Dressy Bessy, Kingsized

By Melissa Bratcher

After a seven-year hiatus, Denver-based Dressy Bessy have returned with the sugary popified, jittery delicious Kingsized. Joined by a who’s who of the what-used-to-be-college-radio stalwarts (but is surely called something else now), Kingsized is a return to form with an added grittiness. Guitars are fuzzy and heavy, providing a smart counterpoint to meringue light, sunshiny melodies and Tammy Ealom’s distinctive vocals (think: the sound of the Shangri-La’s smoking under the bleachers with the Slits).

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Music Review: JD Souther, Black Rose

By Melissa Bratcher

Thank you, Omnivore Records, for reissuing JD Souther’s albums. The recent reissue of Souther’s debut, John David Souther, was like reading a blueprint for Americana music. Souther’s follow up album, Black Rose, shows an artist broadening his horizons, marrying jazz with rock and coming up with something unexpected but very effective.

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Music Review: Peter Murphy, Wild Birds Live Tour

By Jeffery X Martin

There’s a joke: Old Goths never die, and if they did, how could you tell?

While Robert Smith is arguably the queen of the Old Goths, their king is certainly Peter Murphy, the former lead singer of Bauhaus, who has found himself in the strange position of Gothic Tom Jones, selling out shows filled with swooning plus-sized women wearing the same black dresses they wore in 1985, while their husbands huffily cross their arms and wonder when Anthrax will tour again.

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TV Review: F is for Family, Season 1

By Tyler Hodg

Netflix’s latest original adult-oriented cartoon, F is for Family, is racist, homophobic, and misogynistic–all in the name of satire.

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