Criticize This!

ALBUM REVIEW: Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals
We Are Free, 2007
**** out of 5

If the music of the noughties can be characterized by just one thing, it’s the discovery that an infinite number of permutations in cross-breeding can produce some pretty interesting hybrids. Of course, there are some ingredients that are the flour and eggs of the standard indie soufflé: A pinch of Joy Division? Sure, why not. How about a soupcon of Mitch Easter jangle pop? Maybe a dash of Trout Mask Replica seasoned with a little Zep?

And that’s what makes All Hour Cymbals such an interesting proposition: they are the crème Brule to indie’s standard blancmange. The antecedents aren’t at all obvious, and when they are, they sound like a cross between psychedelic pop and world music.

New on DVD - January 29, 2008

Right at your Door Criticize This! pick of the week - A man locks himself inside his house after a terrorist attack on Los Angeles. When his wife returns he must decide if it's safe to let her in with him.

The Invasion - A crappy remake of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers starring Nicole Kidman and Danial Craig. Also available on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.

King of California - Michael Douglas does his best at being the eccentric father to Evan Rachel Wood's straight daughter. Unfortunately the movie is stale and never goes anywhere. Also available on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.

Also available this week: The Comebacks, Daddy Day Camp, The Nines

COMIC BOOKS #25: More on Brand New Day, Batman, Titans and more!

Graphic Novels:

Batman: Year One
Batman: The Long Halloween

Comics:
Spiderman's Brand New Day
Teen Titans Titans of tomorrow storyline

COMIC BOOKS is written, shot, and edited by Michael Goldberg

ALBUM REVIEW: Cat Power - Jukebox

Cat Power
Jukebox
Matador, 2008
** out of five

Over the past decade Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, has essayed a quirky essence of indie-ethics and a breathy intimacy into a series of interesting albums on the Matador label. As its name implies, Jukebox is an album of covers which Marshall selected, mostly from Americana and soul leanings. Props must be given to her for gamely tackling material outside of her normal oeuvre, but unfortunately, some of it is just a little beyond her reach.

Now, Jukebox isn’t the Cat Power’s first foray into other people’s material. That distinction goes to 2000’s excellent The Covers Record, featuring songs like Satisfaction and Sea of Love, the latter of which is currently availably on the Juno Soundtrack. The main difference between Jukebox and The Covers Record is that on the new record Marshall’s usual backing of lo-fi acoustics and scratchy late night sounds has been largely replaced by punchy brass, Hammond B-3s, Colonel Cropper Telecasters, and all the other accoutrements cribbed from the How To Make a Classic Soul Record handbook.

CT! WEEKLY - January 27, 2008

-Heath Ledger died this week in what appears to be an accidental drug overdose. No matter what the reason, the world has lost one of the best upcoming actors.

-A Best Buy in San Diego put together a makeshift Heath Ledger tribute the day he died! Guess they wanted to get rid of that last Lords of Dogtown DVD they had on the shelf. Very tacky.

-Johnny Depp may finish the role Heath Ledger was working on for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Sounds like a very interesting idea.

-The Oscar nominations were announced this week. No big surprises (although I was hoping to see Waitress get nominated for something).

-Toy Story 1 & 2 are returning to theatres in 3D!

-Check out this great interview with Ronald Harwood on adapting The Diving Bell and the Butterfly into a film.

-Hamburger phones are hot sellers since Juno was released.

-Can you record an album in 29 days?

-David Beckham is killing us with his carbon footprint.

-Star Trek XI trailer is now available in HD.

CT! WEEKLY is a list of the top movie, music, television, game, gadget (and anything else entertaining) news of the week. If you have any news we can use drop us a line at info@criticizethis.net (or post a comment below).

MOVIE TRAILER: Strange Wilderness (2008)

From the team that brought you Grandma's Boy comes Strange Wilderness - the first big stoner movie of the year. Starring Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, and Fred Wolf (who also directed it), this looks very funny and could be a surprise hit. Watch the clean unrated trailer below.

New in theaters - January 25, 2008

Untraceable - Diane Lane plays an FBI Special Agent who must track down a tech-savvy Internet predator whose victims' fates are linked to the number of hits his site gets. The more hits, the quicker the death. When the cat-and-mouse game takes a personal turn she and her investigative team realize they only have so much time to track the suspect down.

Meet The Spartans - Kevin Sorbo and Method Man star in this satire of last year's action smash 300, about the 300 Spartan warriors who took on Xerxes and the massive Persian army. From the creators of Epic Movie, Meet The Spartans pokes fun at everything from Britney Spears to You Got Served.

ALBUM REVIEW: Brad Laner - Neighbor Singing

Brad Laner
Neighbor Singing
Hometapes, 2007
**** out of five

Brad Laner has been putting out music in various forms for over a quarter of a century now. His closest brush with fame probably came in the mid 1990s, when his band Medicine was loudly and uncomfortably shoehorned in with the dying embers of the dreaded shoegazing scene. If I had thought about it, I would have assumed at that point that Laner had retreated, possibly propping up some seedy bar and wondering why he given a single a stupidly prescient title like Never Click. Thus it came as a shock to me that, not only has he been consistently working hard on music, he has been heavily involved with musical entities that I have obliviously enjoyed time and time again.

His own projects include that aforementioned Medicine, as well as eclectic electronic project Electric Company. He has also appeared on a number of other artists’ releases, including Blinker the Star, Vetiver, Brian Eno and Caribou. With all this pedigree and cross-pollination then, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Neighbor Singing is Laner’s first solo album under his own moniker. It’s even more of a surprise that it’s a mellow and accessible recording, considering the dizzying array of styles and sounds invested within it.

NEWS: Ledger Autopsy Results Inconclusive

More details emerged today about actor Heath Ledger's sudden death in his Manhattan apartment. An autopsy conducted on the Brokeback Mountain star's body came back inconclusive, however police seemed to be pointing to accidental drug overdose, not suicide, as the likely cause.

Six different types of prescription drugs were found in the residence, according to a published report, including medication for insomnia, anxiety, and an antihistamine. A rolled up $20 was apparently found by the bed where Ledger was discovered by his housekeeper and a masseuse, fuelling speculation he may have been snorting drugs. Authorities are testing the bill at a lab but said there didn't appear to be any drug residue on it.

MOVIE NEWS: No Country, Juno Up For Oscars

No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood appear to be the films to beat at this year's Academy Awards, to be handed out Feb. 24.

Both films were nominated for eight awards, including best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. Blood's Daniel Day-Lewis was up for best actor, while Javier Bardem from No Country received a nod for his supporting turn as an enigmatic killer.

Competing with those two for best picture: Juno, Atonement, and Michael Clayton.