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REVIEW
music review // JOANNA NEWSOM - 'HAVE ONE ON ME'(DRAG KJHK's weekly guide to sonic consumption. CITY)
It's fitting that this elvish California chanteuse's third full-length album be more than two hours long and recorded on three CDs. Her previous release, Ys, leaned towards epic, finely-tuned, orchestral pieces that one finds even more of on this album, all overflowing with Victorian lyrical flourishes and equally ebullient strange instrumentation.
But interspersed throughout these tracks are short little gems of true, pithy songwriting, much more like her debut album, The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004). The harp is still the dominant instrument (on which Newsom is an unquestionable virtuoso), but there are simply stunning orchestral arrangements on many of the songs that don't overpower other elements (which happened a bit on Y).
The standout element of this album is the lyrics, which are pure poetry and could stand on their own without music. The meandering tune "You And Me, Bess" is both humorous and melancholy, while the simpler "81" is mysterious and full of clever wordplay.
For those who have heard Newswom in the past and have been immediately repulsed by her unique, warbling voice, take another listen. She has certainly polished her singing technique,
making it more versatile and palatable than on previous releases. But this album, like her others, is a grower. Give it a few listens with an open mind, particularly with the lyrics in front of you, and it will reveal itself slowly.
★ ★ ★ // JASON CHARNEY
movie review // 'REPO MEN'
hollywood hits, indie flicks and everything in between.
For a movie that champions what it means to be human, Repo Men seems to be missing a few vital organs. Chief among these are originality, innovation and the ability to take advantage of a willing cast. What could have been a grisly commentary on the current healthcare debate now feels as careless and artificial as the synthetic organs our titular heroes are assigned to retrieve.
Stop me if you've heard this one. In the not too distant future, a shadowy medical conglomerate known only as the Union offers replacement organs to the highest bidder. The only catch is that once anyone gets behind on the payments, a Repo Man is dispatched to carve up the client and reclaim the merchandise. The best of these butchers for hire are Remy (Jude Law) and his sociopathic BFF Jake (Forrest Whittaker). Both men love their job with a perverse passion, although Remy's wife (Carice van Houten) wants him to settle down with a nice desk job.
But Remy's enthusiasm is dampened considerably after an on-the-job accident forces him to swap his heart for an exorbitantly priced man-made ticker. This prompts Remy to turn against his former employer Frank (a
gloriously smarmy Liev Schreiber) and arbitrarily join forces with a fugitive torch singer (Alice Braga). Will Kake be forced to hunt down his old friend? Will Remy and his new love interest have to infiltrate the bad guys' gargantuan headquarters to take down the system from within? Do you really have to ask?
Almost everything about this latest dystopian nightmare is too familiar to be compelling. Every neon-drenched alleyway and bombed-out serrapyard feels harvested from older, better sci-fi films like Blade Runner and the supremely underdeterred Children of Men. The derivative plot reads like an ill-advised Minority Report remake, and the admittedly enjoyable action sequences are a virtual grab bag of stolen movie memories, shamelessly cribbing off everything from the Matrix trilogy to the South Korean thriller Oldboy. What should feel like the future instead seems like a diluted, uninspired version of the past. Sci-fi fans deserve better.
✩✩ // LANDON MCDONALD