Reviews of Music, Movies, Anime & More

A surprisingly candid view of even the most mundane aspects of North Korean culture.

This music is full of embellishment while sounding neither gaudy nor ostentatious.

Consider it the filmic equivalent of a bacon double cheeseburger with a big side of greasy fries.

Shoegazer pop that proves to be far more affecting and infectious than one might initially think.

One of the best albums of 2007 so far, as well as one of the best albums of Low’s career.

Ronnie Martin’s antediluvian history concept record takes even the most familiar of Biblical tales and puts a newly poignant spin on them.

What’s most gratifying about Out of the Woods is the appreciation it exudes for the simple graces of life.

Though less bombastic and fiery than Funeral, Arcade Fire’s sophomore album is no less powerful.

It’s an inspiring vision of the way music could be, of the way music perhaps should be — especially in Christian circles.

I don’t have any problem calling this some of the best music I’ve heard from Yellow6 to date.

The film’s look is so hyper-realistic, so stylized, that it ends up feeling sterile and artificial.

The Brothers Martin is equal parts Starflyer 59 and equal parts Joy Electric, not just a trip down nostalgia lane.

Melancholic dark ambience that is as good as anything I’ve purchased from the likes of Projekt, Cold Meat Industries, Manifold, Soleilmoon, etc.

The world could always use some more goofily charming, historically irreverent sci-fi.

The first important album of 2007.

Despite some really fun action scenes, Tom Yum Goong is a decidedly inferior film to its predecessor, Ong-Bak.

A welcome shot in the arm for the world of intelligent metal.

Deerhoof’s experimentation often seems to serve no other purpose than to show off that the band can, indeed, experiment.

Those expecting to hear the pastoral soundscapes that Hood meanders through on their albums might be a bit surprised.

Loss of a Child have yet to arrive at a sound that conveys the power they’re straining so hard to communicate.