Based on an assumedly semiautobiographical novel and well-directed by a member of the Coppola filmmaking dynasty — Christopher Neil, nephew of Francis — Goats centers on Ellis (Graham Phillips, TV’s The Good Wife), who leaves the remote Arizona desert home he shares with his trust-fund hippie mom (Vera Farmiga, Safe House) for a prestigious prep […]
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Drive-In
(How meta it would’ve been to see this at an actual drive-in; I’ll settle for its DVD debut from Sony Pictures’ Choice Collection, rather than the alternative, which is to never see it at all.) Like American Graffiti three years before it, the movie follows a select handful of youngsters, mostly teens, over the course […]
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Wild Nothing — Nocturne
While it’s great to dive into heady, groundbreaking stuff or brilliantly crafted pop songs, it’s just as nice to enjoy something as beautiful and simple as the music that Jack Tatum is writing as Wild Nothing, and while 2010’s Gemini was a great listen, he’s made leaps and strides heading into Nocturne. It’s easy listening […]
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The XX — Coexist
The xx is the exception. The English band’s 2009 debut, xx, is a modern classic, lauded for its moody and sparse pairing of R&B and indie grooves. “Intro,” “Crystalised” and “Islands” all made splashes, and The xx went from 0 to 60 like that. So then comes the follow-up, Coexist, with the words “sophomore slump” […]
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Map quest
Having formed at a Chicago art school, alternative-rock outfit Maps & Atlases has never shied away from lofty goals or pushing itself creatively. In the early days, that meant making math rock fun. Now, it means channeling the members’ inner Marty McFly. “It’s tough to make an album that exists out of time,” singer and […]
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Hank airin’
Politics and social justice have never been too far from the mind of punk legend Henry Rollins, and the world of the Black Flag front man turned spoken-word artist plunges more and more into that realm as we approach Election Day on Nov. 6. Naturally, it’s become a chief point of discussion during this tour, […]
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Still whipped
Photo: Joshua Dalsimer The planet is heating up, running out of fossil fuel and getting stingy with clean air and water. World nations seem chronically on the verge of global economic collapse. Crazed gunmen and suicide bombers make daily headlines. Literacy is down, obesity is up and Kim Kardashian is a household name. Humanity, meet […]
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Red-hot rock
Photo: Jason Tanaka Blaney When Ohio rock act Red Wanting Blue got booked to play Norman Music Festival this past spring, the band members worried about whether they’d be able to impress the crowd. “These people have seen everything,” lead singer Scott Terry said. “I’ve never been close to a tornado, but most of these […]
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Animal Collective — Centipede HZ
In direct contrast to, say, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective thrives on being inexact, and to come so close to re-creating the formula nonetheless is impressive. Centipede Hz is not half as catchy; nothing resembles “Summertime Clothes” or “My Girls,” save for “Applesauce.” What you’ve got instead are nearly a dozen jarring pop songs that split […]
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Blondie has more fun
Blondie co-founder Chris Stein hears traces of his band in a lot of contemporary rock and pop, from Garbage to Lady Gaga. It’s an impressive range of influence for an outfit once considered the ugly duckling of New Wave acts toiling in the sweaty, steamy environs of New York’s CBGB back in the 1970s. “Assuming […]