// Category Archive for: Reviews

Music Review: Various Artists, C86: The Deluxe Edition

By Less Lee Moore

“C86 was introduced to the world on 3 May 1986 when the NME revealed that the next tape to be released in its highly-popular and long-running cassette series would be a compilation of indie bands.” So begins Neil Taylor’s extensive, exhaustive liner notes for the deluxe edition of C86, now expanded from its original 22 songs into three discs’ worth of music. If you weren’t around for the original version, The Deluxe Edition should give you hours of listening enjoyment as well as the excuse to delve into the discographies of dozens of bands.

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Interview: David Gedge And The Scene That Wasn’t A Scene, C86

By James McNally

It’s June 14, on the eve of England’s first World Cup game in Brazil, and I’m in a muggy club in London, surrounded by an alarmingly large number of bald and bespectacled middle-aged men. It’s a show organized by Cherry Red Records, who have just released a massive three-disc edition of the NME‘s seminal C86 collection, first issued as a mail-order cassette nearly 30 years ago (review).

I’m here to watch bands featured on that cassette, some of whom sound like they haven’t played together in many years. But that certainly doesn’t apply to The Wedding Present, now into its fourth decade as a recording and touring band. Despite numerous personnel changes over the years, the face and voice of The Wedding Present remains taciturn singer/guitarist David Gedge. We talked about the origins of the C86 project, whether it was ever really a “scene,” how difficult it is to be a working musician nowadays, and, just for fun, what England’s chances were in the World Cup.

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DVD Review: Under The Skin

By Brad Henderson

I find it harder these days to write reviews of films that I thoroughly enjoy, and easier to review the films that I think are OK or not the greatest. Under The Skin will be in my Top 10 for this year and will not move from that spot.

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DVD Review: All Cheerleaders Die

By Brad Henderson

Lucky McKee has been on my radar ever since I saw his first feature May and I’ve made sure to follow his career closely. After May, McKee did a small film called The Woods, which I’ve been a fan of for a while and which still holds up. Then, came a thriller called Red that represented a change of pace for McKee, although it still had many horror elements. In 2011 McKee shocked audiences with The Woman, which was brutal, beautiful, and gave him the chance to show his true talents. The Woman is a well-shot horror film that focuses on a more technical and storyline-driven aspect rather than a ton of brutality. Now McKee has another horror film under his belt called All Cheerleaders Die.

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DVD Review: The Human Race

By Brad Henderson

These days it feels some films are made because of their “twists.” Please stop. Twists are fun and they work some of the time, but if you have a cool minor idea for a twist, please don’t build a very subpar feature around it.

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Music Review: Circulatory System, Mosaics Within Mosaics

By John Lane

Two things I want to get out of the away in the beginning of this review: Comparisons have been floated already in numerous reviews about this new album. The first is the comparison to The Beach Boys’ SMILE; while flattering perhaps to them in a remote way, I cannot think of a more off-base touchstone. To compare Mosaics Within Mosaics to SMILE is like visiting a wax museum and comparing the waxworks (SMILE) to the Easter Island statues (Mosaics). This is not to denigrate SMILE or Mosaics Within Mosaics, but rather to illustrate that the two albums occupy two entirely different planets not worthy of comparison. It’s like gazing at the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, observing the moustaches, and then saying the whole thing reminds you of The Village People because, you know, moustaches.

The second point of contention is the casual throw-around of the word “psychedelic” in all these reviews. Again, lazy and misleading, as the term itself has a sort of anachronistic dusty taint to it—would Steve Reich be considered psychedelic because of his experimentation with form and structure? I feel like the old person shaking his head at a young woman wearing styles that were unflattering in “my day.”

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Music Review: The Last Hombres, Odd Fellows Rest

By Melissa Bratcher

After a decade of not recording together, roots rock band The Last Hombres have reunited for Odd Fellows Rest. Noted for being the band that Levon Helm asked to join, The Last Hombres make what could be considered bar band music: bluesy guitars, that certain middle of the road tempo, sing along choruses. The thing that sets The Last Hombres apart and far above the fray is their outstanding musicianship. Each song is like a master class on how to play with technical excellence as well as passion and is paired with literate lyrics.

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Music Review: Jim Mize, Jim Mize

By Melissa Bratcher

You can call Jim Mize a lot of things: eccentric, a hopeless romantic, and a visionary. You can also call him a great storyteller in the fine Southern tradition of raconteurs. On his latest release, the self-titled Jim Mize, he makes snapshots through well-placed words and his singular guitar work. The album feels rooted in the South in music and lyrics, though there’s not much that explicitly states it. But the South gets in, like kudzu, and Mize is an Arkansas native. It’s in the water. Or the air. Or possibly the dirt.

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DVD Review: Wolf Creek 2

By Brad Henderson

When I first saw Wolf Creek I was amazed. The film still holds up to this day. It’s also one of the best “true story” films I’ve ever seen.

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Music Review: Frog Eyes, Carey’s Cold Spring

By Hanna

After a hiatus of three years, during which the album was already mostly finished, Frog Eyes’ Carey’s Cold Spring was self-released by Carey Mercer through Bandcamp last October, and is now being released by Paperbag Records on vinyl and CD.

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