// Category Archive for: Current Faves

Blu-Ray Review: The Mule

By Brad Henderson

Leigh Whannell, along with his partner in crime, James Wan, erupted onto the scene with Saw back into 2004. Together they wrote some of the sequels, plus Dead Silence, and Insidious 1 & 2 (and soon to be part 3) Now Whannell has brought us a non-horror flick, The Mule.

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Blu-Ray Review: Compañeros

By Brad Henderson

As a kid I grew up on a variety of different films. My mother loved horror, dad loved westerns and action flicks, my grandma was obsessed with dramas, and I loved everything. I’m thankful for the upbringing I had because it made me who I am today. Even though I was a cinephile by the time I was seven or so, I still missed a lot of films. Now I’m 30 and I’m still making epic discoveries on my own. Recently I discovered one of the best westerns I’ve ever seen, Compañeros.

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Music Review: People On Vacation, The Chronicles Of Tim Powers

By Tyler Hodg

After a successful crowdfunding campaign, People on Vacation have returned with their sophomore album The Chronicles of Tim Powers. The duo—consisting of Ryan Hamilton (Smile Smile) and Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup)—have written fun, upbeat songs that include musical aspects of their previous bands, but thankfully are not rehashed music from their past. Although People on Vacation has been dubbed a “supergroup,” there really isn’t anything super about them; their music is down to earth and far from extravagant, significantly adding to the relatable feel that The Chronicles of Tim Powers possesses.

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DVD Review: The Witch Who Came From The Sea

By Less Lee Moore

From the lurid Frank Frazetta-style cover art to its evocative title, The Witch Who Came From The Sea seems like it might be a female-fronted version of The Beastmaster. As intriguing as that possibility sounds, the film is something altogether different and much more profound. Directed by Matt Cimber (Butterfly, Hundra) in 1971, The Witch Who Came From The Sea wasn’t released until 1976, and even then, ran afoul of the MPAA for what they considered gratuitous violence, nudity, and rather dark subject matter.

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Music Review: Bowling For Soup, Songs That People Actually Liked, Volume 1

By Tyler Hodg

Here’s something that might make you feel old: Bowling for Soup has been making music since 1994. With the release of their first official greatest hits album Songs That People Actually Liked – Volume 1 – The First Ten Years (1994-2004), the band reminds us all that music doesn’t need to be taken seriously to be enjoyable.

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Music Review: Murder By Death, Big Dark Love

By Melissa Bratcher

With a band name like Murder By Death, I wasn’t surprised by the heaviness of their latest, Big Dark Love. It’s a heavy record lyrically, touching on depression and chronic illness, obsession, and isolation. It inhabits a dream-like space, but the kind of dream that borders on a nightmare—the kind of dream where things are just a bit wrong, but you can’t put your finger on why exactly. It’s the kind of dream where you always end up alone, in an unfamiliar, sinister place, with wolves baying. Big Dark Love is unsettling in that subtle way, and quite effective.

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Concert Review: Zola Jesus At The Horseshoe Tavern

By Less Lee Moore

January 22, 2015
Toronto, ON

At a time when Internet hype threatens to smother any semblance of genuine talent, it’s difficult not to be cynical. Rest assured, however, that Zola Jesus deserves all the praise. Nika Roza Danilova is the real deal.

For those wondering if Danilova can replicate the powerful vibes of her latest album, TAIGA (review), in a live setting, the answer is yes. Her already-amazing voice is actually better in person than on record, which is kind of astonishing. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

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Music Review: The Westies, West Side Stories

By Tyler Hodg

On the surface, The Westies appear to be nothing more than a generic soft-rock band, but when examined more closely, they are much more than what meets the eye (and ear). The stories behind the band and their music are equally intriguing, and both lend a hand in creating a more extraordinary picture, in the form of their debut album West Side Stories.

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Music Review: Various Artists, Stoned – A Pscyh Tribute To The Rolling Stones

By Melissa Bratcher

Tribute cover albums occupy such an odd space. If a band covers a song too faithfully, they’re destined to be compared, probably unfavorably, to the original. If you add nothing to your interpretation, then why cover the song in the first place? If a band goes too far afield in their musical choices, and they make the song truly their own, then they have the purists who complain that they haven’t hewed closely enough to the source material. It’s a tightrope.

On Stoned – A Psych Tribute To The Rolling Stones, the artists from the neo-psych scene (the Allah-Las, The Tulips, Clinic, Tashaki Miyaki, Yeti Love, et al.) tread that tightrope. Some of the covers are straightforward, faithful renditions (with more reverb, because it’s neo-psych music), and some take the songs in a much different direction. It’s an intriguing record.

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Music Review: Jim White Vs. The Packway Handle Band, Take It Like A Man

By Melissa Bratcher

Jim White’s collaboration with The Packway Handle Band is an early entry in the “most delightful albums of 2015” list that I am currently compiling (in my head). Full of clever, cinematic lyrics and ripping bluegrass, Take It Like A Man is a joy from start to finish.

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