Reviews
Weezer’s Van Weezer Is All Big Riffs with Little Payoff: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-06T22:09:22+00:00“>May 6, 2021 | 6:09pm ET The Lowdown: We’ve spent the first months of 2021 wrestling with some truly difficult questions. How will the pandemic end? Can America recover from its increasingly violent political polarization? Is Weezer actually good again? While the answers to those first two are still forthcoming, the last one seemed more straightforward — upon its surprise arrival in January, the band’s 14th studio album, OK Human, delivered some of Weezer’s most lyrically confessional and musically adventurous songs in recent memory. That record largely succeeded thanks to its grounded relatability, two words which seem unlikely to describe the followup to OK Hu...
Weezer’s Van Weezer Is Hard-Rock Cosplay
In a 2019 interview, Weezer ringleader Rivers Cuomo spoke about their most recent self-titled album at the time, Weezer (a.k.a. the Black Album). “My main goal for any album at this point is for it to have at least one song that the audience at our shows every night wants to hear,” Cuomo said. He was uncertain that the Black Album would fulfill that goal, but that Weezer “would fail in a different way, which is exciting to me.” Cuomo goes on to describe himself as a resilient songwriter, and he’s right. He recognizes that fans likely won’t enjoy a new Weezer album nearly as much as 1994’s studio debut Weezer (or the Blue Album) or their second album, 1996’s Pinkerton, but that doesn’t preclude Cuomo’s lofty ambitions that Weezer will one day perform at a Super Bowl halftime show. That coul...
Iceage Bring the Storm on Fifth Album Seek Shelter: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-04T04:00:21+00:00“>May 4, 2021 | 12:00am ET The Lowdown: Danish rock experimentalists Iceage will return with their fifth album Seek Shelter on May 7, just a few days past the three-year anniversary of their 2018 acclaimed album Beyondless. Seek Shelter acts as Iceage’s own sonic laboratory, where they test hypotheses about introducing a significantly wider array of soundscapes into their catalogue. Seek Shelter is proof positive that these experiments paved the way to successful results, as it’s the band’s most inventive album to date. Their latest not only illustrates the breadth of Iceage’s range, but also that they’re not afraid to creatively roll the dice — and in the case o...
The Growing Pains of AG Club’s Fuck Your Expectations
Favorably compared to A$AP Mob and Odd Future for their versatile sound and offbeat, self-made visuals, the Avant-Garde Club (AG Club) juggles listeners’ hopes and their own ambitions. On their latest two-part release, Fuck Your Expectations, the East Bay area hip-hop collective focus on their genre-bending, DIY sound and leave all judgments behind them. The haunting horror-game-random-encounter horn that opens lead single “COLUMBIA” almost jumps out of the instrumental, and it’s one of the most recognizable sounds on part one of F.Y.E. But on the album, it’s followed not by the boastful lyrics of rapper-writer Jody Fontaine but the astounded voice of Apple Radio’s Zane Lowe. “What is going on with this group?” he asks incredulously, replaying the song’s intro...
What Drives Us Is Dave Grohl’s Sweet Love Letter to the Road: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-29T18:45:44+00:00“>April 29, 2021 | 2:45pm ET The Pitch: What motivates rock stars to hit the road — enduring endless hours in a cramped van with smelly bandmates and mic stands poking you in the ribs, all to play a gig that could have 10,000 people or just 10? That’s the premise Foo Fighters frontman and rock legend Dave Grohl sets out to explore in his 90-minute documentary, What Drives Us. But amid his exhaustive interviews with music contemporaries both young and old, from St. Vincent to The Edge to Ringo Starr, Grohl’s journey evolves into something bigger: a quest to examine the appeal of the touring life in all its highs and lows and the soul-feeding nature of rock st...
Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse Misfires at Every Trite Turn: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-28T18:15:38+00:00“>April 28, 2021 | 2:15pm ET The Pitch: Here lie the life and tragic times of John Clark, aka John Kelly, aka Tom Clancy’s killer dude. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse — the novel — is a post-Vietnam veteran thriller about a lost Navy SEAL who snaps and decides to take on drug lords and the Vietnamese after his pregnant wife dies in a car crash and his new girlfriend dies at the hands of her pimp. Yeah! That right there is what we used to call paperback intrigue, folks. Look it up at your nearest used-book store. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, the new Paramount-to-Amazon Prime thriller starring Michael B. Jordan, is about an elite SEAL, John Clark, whose very pregnan...
The Mosquito Coast Is a Slow Burn That Ultimately Pays Off: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-28T15:00:30+00:00“>April 28, 2021 | 11:00am ET The Pitch: Allie Fox (Justin Paul Theroux)– an ambitious yet incredibly flawed man — goes on the run with his family as government agents zero in on their location. Along the way, they find that peril comes in many forms and the consequences may outweigh even the loftiest ambitions. This seven-part series, adapted from Paul Theroux’s 1981 novel of the same name, highlights man’s flaws as well as the unrelenting power of the environment. The Unseen Friend and Foe: While the series may be about civilization’s own imperfections, it’s hard to miss the presence of Mother Nature. Throughout each episode, viewers are transported to stunning...
Pose Closes with an Emotional, Iconic Finale in Season 3: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T17:10:42+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 1:10pm ET The Pitch: Several years have passed since we’ve checked in with the stalwart, fierce queens of the House of Evangelista; it’s 1994, and the drag scene — and their lives — have changed in numerous ways. Gone is the underground feel of the ballroom, replaced by younger generations who look for cash prizes before a feeling of community, and HIV/AIDS continues to rip through New York City’s queer population like a plague. Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) juggles house motherhood with a new career as a nurse’s aide and a stable relationship with a handsome doctor (Hollywood‘s Jeremy Pope). Pray Tell (Billy Porter), meanwhile, drowns the sorrows...
Manchester Orchestra Retain Their Majestic Magic on The Million Masks of God: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T15:55:23+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 11:55am ET The Lowdown: Manchester Orchestra have evolved considerably since 2006’s relatively rowdy and simplistically produced debut LP, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child. That’s not to imply that it’s lackluster in any way, but rather to note how it offered only glimpses of the grand, luscious, and welcoming Americana/indie rock that they’d achieve fully with 2017’s A Black Mile to the Surface. Led by songwriting duo Andy Hull and Robert McDowell – and rounded out by Andy Prince and Tim Very – it was a gracefully melodic, emotional, and dense collection that ranked alongside the best modern entries into those styles. Luckily, follow-up The Mi...
Netflix’s Yasuke Brings New Flair to the Samurai Anime: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-26T20:50:17+00:00“>April 26, 2021 | 4:50pm ET The Pitch: Yasuke (LaKeith Stanfield) isn’t your typical feudal samurai warrior, and no one will let him forget it: He’s Black. During an age of honor, tradition, and uniformity, the infamous Black Samurai’s high rank makes him a target in a world full of bigotry. But after a lifetime of pain and blood, all he wants to do is live peacefully. Unfortunately for him, that doesn’t seem to be what fate has in mind. Based on the historical figure of the same name, Yasuke follows the samurai as he abandons retirement to help transport a mysterious, magical child (Maya Tanida) to safety. The series combines the creative vision of LeSean Thoma...
Concert Review: Korn Deliver “Monumental” Livestream Performance
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-26T16:38:47+00:00“>April 26, 2021 | 12:38pm ET Setting the Stage: Like most artists who released new albums in late 2019, Korn did not get the opportunity to mount a widespread tour in support of The Nothing – as the COVID-19 pandemic took care of that (particularly a summer 2020 outing that would have seen them co-headlining with Faith No More). So, why not a global streaming event? Titled “Korn: Monumental”, the performance was broadcast Saturday (April 24th) from the set of the interactive Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience in Los Angeles, and produced by Danny Wimmer Presents (known for rock festivals like Sonic Temple, Aftershock, Louder Than Life, and more). Taking ...
The Sluggish Stowaway Still Delivers Thrills and Chills in Space: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-22T21:55:56+00:00“>April 22, 2021 | 5:55pm ET The Pitch: A trio of astronauts: Commander Marina (Toni Collette), Doctor Zoe (Anna Kendrick), and Biologist David (Daniel Dae Kim) find their plans for a two-year research mission to Mars derailed when they discover an unwitting stowaway named Michael (Shamier Anderson). Things go from bad to worse when the trio realize there isn’t enough oxygen on the ship to sustain four people: either one person has to die, or all of them do. In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream: The second Netflix space film in five months, Stowaway is also the second film of its kind (and overall) from director Joe Penna, who also penned the chilly survival film...
