// Category Archive for: Reviews

Music Review: The Black Black, Adjusted I

By Tim Murr

When the song “Meticulous” exploded from my speakers, I said “Shit!” and stopped the song, turned the volume up, backed the track up to the beginning, and let it fly. Because, shit, you gotta play something like this loud! The Black Black debuted in 2014 with their LP Boogie Nights. Now they’ve returned with a fantastic EP that will blow your doors off.
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TIFF 2016 Movie Review: Brimstone

By Sachin Hingoo

Though Westerns are generally not my thing (I consider the genre’s zenith to be 1988’s Young Guns, which is effectively an issue of Tiger Beat in Stetson hats), I was drawn to Martin Koolhoven’s Brimstone on the strength of the cast and early buzz that its extreme content would fit appropriately in TIFF’s audacious Midnight Madness programme, if not for its sprawling running time. In both cases, I wasn’t disappointed. Koolhoven’s script is as heartbreaking and well-acted as it is uncompromisingly brutal and terrifying, and his cast, led by Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce, execute the difficult material perfectly.
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Tyler Talks Horror: The Conjuring

By Tyler Hodg

Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b.

In this series, I’ll be taking a look at classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. The concept is scary simple. (more…)

Music Review: Luke Winslow-King, I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always

By Melissa Bratcher

Luke Winslow-King’s new album, I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always, begins like you’d expect one of his albums to begin: killer bottleneck riffing and sonic space. Then, it quickly becomes something unexpected. He’s no longer playing stripped-down, front porch-blues. He’s moved boldly into the realm of contemporary blues players (Gary Clark, Jr. is an apt comparison) with a full band, with any trace of whimsy eradicated, and Winslow-King’s fine voice prominent. It doesn’t sound like him, though. Not the him that we’ve come to expect.
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TIFF 2016 Movie Review: (Re)Assignment

By Sachin Hingoo

When the best thing you can say about a film is that “it’s not quite as transphobic as people are saying”, you know that film has major issues.
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Tyler Talks Horror: Night of the Living Dead

By Tyler Hodg

Hi, I’m Tyler Hodg and I’m a horror n00b.

My status is not an exaggeration. If I was to chronicle my experience with the genre, it would exclusively include the climax of Saw, and about 40 minutes of Amityville Horror II: The Possession. Impressive, huh?
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Music Review: Various Artists, Afterschool Special: The 123s Of Kid Soul

By Melissa Bratcher

Have you ever listened to an album that is so charming that you just can’t bear it? I have. The fine folks at Numero Group have added to their considerable catalogue of genius compilations with Afterschool Special: The 123s of Kid Soul. Think: bubblegum pop + funk = sheer delight. Think: the Jackson 5. Think: infectious beats, voices so sweet you just want to curl into a ball and giggle, and true love. It’s hard for me to be objective; it’s so darling.
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Music Review: Amanda Shires, My Piece Of Land

By Melissa Bratcher

Some pregnant women nest by painting walls, decluttering, pasting photos in albums. Amanda Shires wrote an album. My Piece Of Land was written and recorded as a way of dealing with her pre-motherhood anxiety when she was pregnant and unable to travel. The result is introspective, incredibly honest, and furiously lovely.
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Music Review: Riley Etheridge Jr., Secrets, Hope & Waiting

By Melissa Bratcher

There’s always a trickiness to concept albums. Do the songs work on their own merits, or do they need the framework of the concept to bolster them? Is the concept explicit, or do you need to read copious press materials or liner notes to ferret out a theme? Will I need to take psychedelics to understand this album?
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Music Review: St Paul and the Broken Bones, Sea Of Noise

By Melissa Bratcher

It would be hard not to like St. Paul and the Broken Bones. You can call them what you like, soul revival or neo-soul or just soul, but the end result is the same: a band that makes bracingly soulful music that feels both classic and modern. Lead singer Paul Janeway vocally brings to mind the greats (Otis Redding in particular) and adds his own particular twist, with his testifying vocals (as you may recall, Janeway studied to be a preacher, and it certainly shows in his voice).
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