If a filmmaker can winch the bindings tight enough, sometimes the rest doesn’t matter. If all there was to Dave Franco’s The Rental, an economical Continue Reading
Music Dose
Protomartyr's 'Ultimate Success Today' Succeeds in Reflecting Our Times
Protomartyr’s Ultimate Success Today is a true post-punk record, in that it doesn’t so much have an imitative relationship to other post-punk bands (in the Continue Reading
Tedo Stone Concocts Glammy Pop Earworms on 'Same Old Kid'
For the last eight years or so, Tedo Stone has been creating a presence in a strong and vibrant Athens, Georgia music scene. It’s been Continue Reading
VEAUX's "Tell Me That You Love Me" Examines Life as a Black Man in a Conservative Community (premiere)
VEAUX began as Medic, an indie rock outlet that played alongside the likes of Blondie and Dinosaur Jr. Comprised of Aaron Wagner, Andrew Black, and Continue Reading
Tobi Debuts the Soulful Pop of "Can't Control Me" and "Puzzle Piece (Mirror)" (premiere)
Ashley Tobias, better known as Tobi (Gogol Bordello, Dälek) releases her latest EP, Puzzle Pieces, 24 July via Internet & Weed. The vocalist/percussionist/dancer teamed with Continue Reading
Italian Producer Populous Collaborates with Women Around the Globe on 'W'
Producer Andrea Mangia — better known as Populous — named new album W in honor of women. It isn’t an empty gesture, either. Over the Continue Reading
David Ramirez Storms Into New Ground with 'My Love Is a Hurricane'
David Ramirez was a great folk singer, but he hasn’t been for some time. To be clear, it’s not because he’s fallen off, but because Continue Reading
Evicshen Is the Mad Scientist of Industrial Noise with 'Hair Birth'
Victoria Shen, the Massachusetts-based noise artist known as Evicshen, is a wildly ambitious and unpredictable musician. Working with electronics for more than a decade, she Continue Reading
Ottessa Moshfegh's 'Death in Her Hands' Is Not What It Seems
What happens to a murder mystery without the murder? It’s a mystery. But not in the sense of the literary genre, or a secret. It’s Continue Reading
Going Beyond the Neutron Dance with Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters
Wednesday, 4 March 2020. It’s Motown night at Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar, New York City. The club has a surprise for Ruth Pointer, whose Continue Reading
Trixie Mattel on Horror Movie Gin, Writing a Book, and How Not to Photograph a Drag Queen
“Can you fucking believe it?” asks Trixie Mattel. “2020 is equal parts garbage, but … so lit. Like, it’s all perspective.” Not many people can Continue Reading
The "Luxurious Loneliness" of Anime Film 'Perfect Blue'
It sometimes seems that loneliness has never been quite so visible. The experience of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to trigger discussion around Continue Reading
GS Sultan's 'Music for a Living Water' Is a Meditative Love Letter to Liquid
Electronic music has its share of detractors, and many of them complain that the format is overly cold and clinical. Some composers, like GS Sultan, Continue Reading
Jockstrap's 'Wicked City' Is an Unfolding of Boundaries
With a name like Jockstrap, you might expect the UK duo of Taylor Skye and Georgia Ellery to play facetious art-pop tunes. Well, they do, Continue Reading
How Aaron Sorkin and U2 Can Soothe the Pandemic Mind
While sheltering in place, many of us are dining on pop-culture comfort food. Though new and edgy fare stimulates the taste buds, songs, and stories Continue Reading
Country's Corb Lund Finds the Absurd in 'Agricultural Tragic'
Canadian country and western singer-songwriter Corb Lund is a funny guy. He’s also smart, good with wordplay, and knows how to tell a story. On Continue Reading
Irmin Schmidt Meets John Cage on 'Nocturne'
When it comes to Irmin Schmidt, we must expect the unexpected. From his groundbreaking days as a founder member of Can, through to his soundtrack Continue Reading
Shinichi Atobe's 'Yes' Sports an Appealing Electronic Eeriness
The sleeves of Shinichi Atobe’s last two albums show us zones without people. On Heat, it was a beach resort populated by a single lonely Continue Reading
Activism Starts at Home: A Conversation with S.G. Goodman
When I called S.G. Goodman on FaceTime, the first thing I noticed was how calm she appeared on her back porch in a lawn chair, Continue Reading
Victoria Bailey's "Skid Row" Exemplifies the Bakersfield Sound (premiere + interview)
Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline is a title perfectly indicative of what Victoria Bailey sets out to accomplish with the upcoming album. She’s classic Continue Reading