Music Review: The Darkness, Last Of Our Kind

By Tyler Hodg

For fans of The Darkness, the very fact that there is a fourth album is a miracle. The band departed for a hiatus in 2006—which at the time seemed like a definite end—but subsequently returned and is now releasing their second album since the break-up, titled Last of Our Kind. With newcomer Emily Dolan Davies on the drums (who has already since parted ways with the band), The Darkness attempt to bring evolution to their music. Not everything on the album works, but there is enough to satisfy both casual and diehard fans alike. Thankfully, the more time spent with Last of Our Kind, the richer it seems.

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Blu-Ray Review: Let Us Prey

By Less Lee Moore

Brian O’Malley’s feature debut Let Us Prey reveals its darkness slowly and deliciously at first, evoking a sense of dread and mystery that keeps you watching. It also provokes a lot of questions. Who is this mysterious stranger who looks a lot like Liam Cunningham? Why has Police Constable Rachel Heggie been reassigned? Why is everyone at the police station so angry?

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Blu-Ray Review: Society

By Less Lee Moore

Oh how we all get richer / Playing the rolling game
Only the poor get poorer / We feed off them all the same
—Society‘s version of the Eton Boating Song

How do you explain a movie like Brian Yuzna’s Society? It truly is one of those things you must experience for yourself. The 1989 film is an important chapter in the body horror/ero goru subgenre, but it’s also just plain weird.

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Music Review: The Story So Far, The Story So Far

By Tyler Hodg

Pop-punk may not be on top of the world like it was in the early 2000s, but it’s still a major underground scene. The Story So Far has found success in that very scene and with the release of their self-titled third album, The Story So Far, the band continues to create music in the same vein that they have since their formation. For fans of their previous work that don’t care to see major evolution, this latest album from the group is perfect. For fans of their previous work that would like to see the band branch out and incorporate new styles and show significant growth, disappointment may be imminent.

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Music Review: Jamie Lin Wilson, Holidays & Wedding Rings

By Melissa Bratcher

Jamie Lin Wilson’s (The Trishas) solo debut, Holidays & Wedding Rings, has the trappings of a classic country album: women looking for love and taking it where they can find it, heartbreak, cheating, death, all with a hearty dose of mandolin and lap steel to anchor the songs. Wilson has a wonderful twang in her vocals, and indeed, a dusty road of Texas runs through the songs. The thing that sets Holidays & Wedding Rings apart is Wilson’s songwriting. There are unvarnished truths in her lyrics, and she doesn’t shy away from them.

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Music Review: The Grahams, Glory Bound

By Melissa Bratcher

There’s something amazing about The Grahams’ newest album, Glory Bound. It feels absolutely timeless. Alyssa Graham has an unaffected, incredibly powerful voice and the songs feel as if they could have been pulled from country radio in the ‘70s (the last truly excellent country era). There’s an ease to these songs, borne of a couple who have known each other since they were children, and now that they’re married, make the kind of music that feels as if it has always existed: rooted in the earth, clicking along train tracks through the countryside, forever.

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Interview: Composer Claudio Simonetti of Goblin

By Jeffery X Martin

As a founding member of the Italian progressive rock band Goblin, Claudio Simonetti has helped create some of the most famous and recognizable horror soundtracks of the last 50 years. His side bands, Daemonia and Simonetti Horror Project, have also met with great success. Popshifter spoke with Simonetti about the upcoming 30th anniversary re-release of the Demons soundtrack, American fame, and the horror of working for a major label.

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Music Review: Demons (Original Soundtrack 30th Anniversary Re-Release)

By Jeffery X Martin

Lamberto Bava’s 1985 monster movie Demons is a nasty, brutal affair, filled with sharp teeth, green blood, and enough stream of consciousness nonsense to make an absurdist’s brain melt. It’s also considered a minor classic by horror aficionados. One of the things that makes the film so effective is the ambitious soundtrack by Claudio Simonetti.

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Spring: Interview with Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson

By Less Lee Moore

In the two years since I talked to Aaron Moorhead about Justin Benson about their amazing 2012 film Resolution, a lot has happened. The pair contributed a segment to V/H/S Viral called “Bonestorm” and brought their second feature, Spring, to the Toronto International Film Festival. (And there was some kind of mascot battle.) In March, they released Spring as part of a BitTorrent bundle, which is an extremely cool way to bring a movie directly to the viewer.

They visited Toronto last week in anticipation of Spring‘s theatrical premiere in Canada so I talked to them about what has changed over the last few years and what they are going to unleash upon audiences next.

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Music Review: Ty Segall and King Tuff, Live At Pickathon

By Less Lee Moore

Pickathon aims to answer the question, “What does it take to be the best weekend festival of the year for music lovers?” 2015 marks the fifteenth year of this unique festival, known for scheduling a diverse blend of musical acts.

Easy Sound has just released a vinyl only split 12″ of Ty Segall and King Tuff performing at the 2013 festival, which seems appropriate considering the history of Pickathon. Segall takes the first half, with six songs that are fairly stripped down, considering his reputation as a shredder.

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