Karen Allen is all smiles during her visit to Toronto ComiCon, March 19, 2016.
Marion Ravenwood, Katy, and Claire Phillips. They’re all roles played by Karen Allen in the lengthy filmography she’s compiled over five decades of work.
Bleached’s follow up to 2013s Ride Your Heart lets their intentions be known right out of the gate. Welcome The Worms is a heavy, swaggering album that conjures up sunbaked Los Angeles (and the attendant debauchery) and destroyed romances. That’s all wrapped in furiously catchy songs that are just delightful.
This episode of Outsiders takes on the aftermath of the ill-fated trip to the gun shop. It affects everyone a little differently, but will surely have long-term repercussions.
If there are any lessons to be taken from the world of The Walking Dead, it’s these: Never get comfortable. Never let your guard down. Never trust the quiet times. There is always a calm before the storm. This week’s episode is no exception. Life in Alexandria seems to settle into a pattern after Maggie and Carol’s ordeal with their alter egos, and this episode very much reads like a filler episode, but don’t let the quiet parts fool you. Continue reading ‘TV Review: The Walking Dead S6 E14 “Twice As Far”’
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Making a lot of music in a short amount of time can result in one of two very different outcomes: slapdash garbage or effortless fabrication. Versus is Eureka California’s third release in three years, and demonstrates the latter. The record has a sense of urgency that showcases the band’s hunger, rather than just being an outpouring of unnecessary noisy drivel.
On first blush, Pop. 1280s album Paradise feels like some sort of quasi-industrial throwback to 1984, but it’s something else entirely. Sure, there are drum machines and samples, but frequent touches of echoing piano, spidery Goth guitar, and sitars give the songs a surprising sense of depth and breadth.
Singer Chris Burg’s pronounced growl provides gravitas to lyrics that would sound at home in a Philip K. Dick novel: gritty science fiction that’s dirty and uncomfortable.
The band’s latest video, for the surly and sensational “Phantom Freighter,” captures this vibe visually with an aesthetic that pays homage to early David Cronenberg and George A. Romero. And what is that green stuff?
Paradise was released by Sacred Bones on January 22. Be sure to check out the band on their upcoming European tour.
European Tour Dates:
04/15/16 – Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
04/16/16 – Berlin, Germany @ ACUD
04/17/16 – Halle, Germany @ Chaiselongue
04/19/16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ De School
04/20/16 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ ACU
04/21/16 – Tournai, Belgium @ Water Moulin
04/22/16 – Bruxelles, Belgium @ Magasin 4
04/23/16 – London, United Kingdom @ The Shacklewell Arms
04/24/16 – Leeds, United Kingdom @ Headrow House
04/25/16 – Paris, France @ Batofar
04/26/16 – Rennes, France @ BAR’Hic
04/28/16 – Madrid, Spain @ Siroco
04/29/16 – Zaragoza, Spain @ Las Armas
04/30/16 – San Sebastian, Spain @ Le Bukowski
05/01/16 – Gigor, France @ Gigor Electric
05/02/16 – Clermont Ferrand, France @ Raymond Bar
05/04/16 – Milano, Italy @ Ligera
05/06/16 – Pordenone, Italy @ Pn Box
05/07/16 – Marina di Ravenna, Italy – Hana-Bi
05/08/16 – Verona, Italy @ Centro Avanzi
05/09/16 – Zagreb, Croatia @ AKC Attack
05/10/16 – Wien, Austria @ FLUC
05/11/16 – Budapest, Hungary @ Müszi
05/12/16 – Prague, Czech Republic @ 007
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Margo Price makes proper country music. Not bro-country, but honest to god, real live country music. She takes up the mantle of brilliant female singers: Loretta, Dolly, Tammy. Her debut album for Third Man Records, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, is throwback country on the surface, but her lyrics and sensibilities are completely modern. It’s an incredibly solid album, the kind of album that has staying power in your brain.
By the 1990s Sepultura had built quite a reputation for themselves. Formed in 1984 by Max and Igor Cavalera after hearing Black Sabbath’s Volume 4, they soon made a name for themselves playing black metal inspired by bands like Venom and Celtic Frost and in 1985 recorded their debut Bestial Devastation, a split EP with Overdose, followed by the full-length Morbid Visions in 1986. Sepultura hailed from Brazil and their reputation made their albums sought after items in both America and Europe.
Davina and the Vagabonds are well-known for their live shows, blending jazz, soul, brilliant stage presence, and top-notch musicianship. Attendees walk away converts. It stands to reason then, that Davina and the Vagabonds would at some point put out a live album. So they did.
Last Christmas I discovered a song that quickly became part of my annual holiday playlist: “It’s Xmas (And Everyone Is Miserable)” by Dirty Sidewalks, a Seattle-based band who traffics in the kind of poppy shoegaze that put bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on the musical map. The undeniable hooks and straightforward attitude of the track won me over immediately.
Now Dirty Sidewalks have a new video: “Hey Girl (I Wanna Be Your Man)” is the B-side to the band’s recently released vinyl single, “It’s Getting Better.”
Filmed with a low-budget glitter aesthetic, the video suits the song’s sweet yet snarly charms perfectly and features subtle nods to both the Reid brothers and My Bloody Valentine. Singer Erik Foster sounds enough like his shoegazing forebears to reel you in, but Dirty Sidewalks have an appeal that’s all their own, and one that will keep you coming back for more.
If you like what you see (and hear), be sure to pick up the “It’s Getting Better” single, available on both black vinyl and white vinyl from No-Count Records.
Dirty Sidewalks have a full-length album planned for the summer, so follow them on Facebook to keep up with the latest news.
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