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music review // LOS CAMPESINOS! — 'ROMANCE IS BORING' (ARTS & CRAFTS) KJHK's weekly guide to sonic consumption.
Reviewing an album is an interesting task, at least for me. Crammed between classes, work, and the daily grind, usually when I sit down to take a look at an album. I have to focus and make sure I hear all of the minimalist additions that are the difference between a good album and a spectaculare it. It takes a fair amount of effort to really analyze it and offer a fair critique.
However, with Los Campesinos! I really never have a problem concentrating.
Their last album, *We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed*, allowed you to just go through the album and absorb it, and then when you wanted to listed to it another time through (which you would) you could pick up on a multitude of details that just simply seemed invisible before.
Romance Is Boring doesn't change that a bit. Gareth Campesinos' subtle lyrical additions are just as prevalent ("More post-coital, less post-rock") as before, and sonically, it's absolutely as solid as previous albums.
Their guitars have the tone set to 10, locked on the bridge pickup, the keyboards still have that bloody quality, and it's wonderful. They still have the self-deprecating lyrics, the teenage adrenaline, and the catchy hooks that made me get into them in the first place.
Sure, it doesn't really branch out too much from *We Are Beautiful*, but you know what they say about things that aren't broken ...
// LOGAN NICKELS
music review // BEACH HOUSE - 'TEEN DREAM'
KJHK's weekly guide to sonic consumption. (NONESUCH)
The words "teen dream," evoke images of high school, coming-of-age tales, and both the good and the bad of teenage existence. Similarly, the album Teen Dream captures that tumult and brings to mind the beautiful, bright reminiscing of young and carefree days as well as the longing that accompany those recollections.
Teen Dream is Beach House's third full-length album since their inception in 2004, and true to adage, it's a charm. Each song is beautiful, rich and listenable. The duo, made up of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, create dream-pop that boasts an absorbing, ambitious interaction between Legrand's voice and the keyboard and guitar melodies that give the album its lovely bur moody feel.
This skilled interaction is evident immediately. The starter track, "Zebra," directs the album down its dream-ridden track from the get-go, with music and instrumentation that are as meaningful and earnest as the exotic verses themselves. The duo's talent also shines through on the album's first single, "Used to Be." another nostalgic title that is fitting for the song that follows.
From the first track to the last, the album skillfully embodies this pairing of hope and sorrow.
"Real Love" is a soulful track, and the album closes with "Take Care," a suitable farewell to the sentimentality and beauty that permeate Teen Dream. And after listening to this engaging, fulfilling album, the final note finds me wishing that every dream sounded this good.
AMANDA SORRELL
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movie review // 'THE MESSENGER'
This year's Academy Award nominations, as with years past, include a mix of mainstream Hollywood movies and independent fare. Sometimes it can be easy to overlook the smaller films in favor of more accessible, less demanding fare. But these independent features shouldn't be ignored. They've been nominated for a reason. The Messenger, up for awards in the best original screenplay and best supporting actor categories, is one of these.
The Messenger is a war drama about soldiers assigned to deliver news of casualties to army families. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is a staff sergeant recently returned from Iraq, where he earned war hero status. Upon his arrival he's assigned to work with Tony Stone (Woody Hartelson) as a messenger bearing news of soldiers' deaths. Tony warns Will to stay emotionless and detached from the families he speaks to, but it's not easy. Things get complicated after Will forms an attraction to a young Army widow (Samantha Morton). Along the way, The Messenger also explores the complexities of Will and Tony's relationship, and Will's own difficulties adjusting to life back home.
It often tough for audiences to get genuinely invested in films about the Iraq war, and also difficult for these movies to avoid putting politics before story-telling. Director Oren Moverman, who also co-wrote the script, manages to mostly avoid a grandstanding. He does this by creating a story that focuses on human experience and relationships rather than debating the rightness or wrongness of the war in Iraq. It also doesn't hurt that he gets top-notch performances from his actors. Both Foster and Harrelson, who received an Oscar nod for his work, bring touching, multi-layered interpretations to their roles that make the audience see them as real people-likeable characters as familiar as a relative or high school classmate.
The Messenger is a surprisingly gentle film that tackles a big subject with a realistic, respectful approach. It may not be a visual dazzler like Avarat or action-packed like Inglourious Basterds, but it's the kind of movie that sticks with the viewer. It's the kind of movie that, though it may be small, cannot be ignored.
✩✩✩ // ABBY OLCESE