Month: October 2019

Big Thief Back On Top With ‘Forgotten Eyes’

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For the third time this year folk-rockers Big Thief get to the #1 of our loop. The Brooklyn combo who have released not one but two of the best albums of the year is our song of the week with ‘Forgotten Eyes’. On a singer/songwriter-heavy edition Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Julien Baker round up the Top 3.

And right when his former album ‘Blonde’ has been named by some influential critics the best of the decade, Frank Ocean‘s return with a teaser from his new opus is the week’s highest new entry. Also debuting, another song by Leonard Cohen‘s posthumous new album, as well as new ones by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds;Pusha T & Swizz Beatz; Destroyer; Bill Callahan; The Comet Is Coming; Courtney Barnett; TNGHT; Soleá Morente con Las Negris; Black Lips; The 1975… and The Nationals’ Matt Berninger with Phoebe Bridgers on the first taster of his first solo album. Check Our Loop in full here.

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Haunted By Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds ‘Ghosteen’

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When the band has just announced an extensive 2020 tour through Europe and the States, unsurprisingly, the return of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds has quickly gone to top our loop. ‘Hollywood’ one of the many standout tracks on their masterful new album ‘Ghosteen,’ the second after the tragic death of one of Cave’s sons, is our favourite track on this edition. Big Thief and FKA Twigs round up the Top 3.

Two indie electro-pop new singers, Maria Taylor and Otha, bring this week’s biggest entries. Also debuting the long-awaited first solo song by R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, as well as the latest ones by Gang Starr; Caroline Polachek; Single y Family; Melii; Porches;Wolf Parade; Beach Slang; Beck; Cass McCombs; La Zowi con Bea Pelea y Florentino; Deerhoof… and another of the many unreleased gems by Arthur Russell. Check Our Loop in full here.

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Lana Del Rey Swears Her Way Up The Loop

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She has finally made it back to to the top, with the title track of her sixth album, ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell,’ Lana Del Rey has crafted her best record to date and one of the albums of the year. Holding on after our fortnight away, Brittany Howard; Yves Tumor; Ariel Pink and Leonard Cohen round up the Top 5.

The biggest news during the last fifteen days was Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds‘ return with anoter mindblowingly personal album, which unsurprisingly is this week’s highest debut. Also debuting the latest tracks by Sleater-Kinney; Nilüfer Yanya; Danny Brown feat. Run The Jewels; Kim Gordon; Blood Incantation; Travis Scott; Anna Meredith; FKA twigs; Bonnie “Prince” Billy; Mikal Cronin; Mount Eerie feat. Julie Doiron; Julien Baker; Panda Bear…and a the comeback of the seemingly incombustible punk veterans Green Day. Check Our Loop in full here.

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#LFF2019 Closes With Scorsese’s Impressive ‘The Irishman’

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The 63rd edition of the BFI London Film Festival went out with a bang. After twelve days of such standout works as Pedro Costa’s Locarno winner ‘Vitalina Varela’; Robert Eggers’ gothic nightmare ‘The Lighthouse;’ Céline Sciamma’s masterful ‘Portrait Of A Lady On Fire’ and many more; its closing gala wrapped it up on a high note with one of the most awaited films of the year, Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman.’

In the last few weeks, we had been reading about the many controversies surrounding its long and difficult gestation; the involvement of Netflix; the use of a new (and arguably revolutionary) technology to de-age its protagonists (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci on top of their game); the current, changing state of cinema… But perhaps the biggest headline we can take out if it is that ‘The Irishman’ is vintage Scorsese, called to rank among his finest works. The director; his two stars (De Niro -who also came for one of the LFF’s screen talks- and Pacino) and the film’s producers, Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Jane Rosenthal, gave a crammed press conference to present the film.

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#LFF2019 Recommended: A Year of Notable British Debuts

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One of the conclusions one can get from this year’s LFF is that, judging by the large number of notable first features premiered, a new generation of British filmmakers is making its way into the industry. Such excellent works as ‘Saint Maud’ by Rose Glass, which we already reviewed and was selected for the official competition; Fizal Boulifa’s depiction of working class life in ‘Lynn + Lucy;’ the psychological thriller ‘Make Up’ by Claire Oakley; the violence among a family of Irish drug dealers as told in Nick Rowland’s ‘Calm With Horses’ and, not exactly a debut but equally accomplished, ‘Nocturnal,’ the first narrative feature by former documentarian Nathalie Biancheri, show no shortage of fresh talent in UK cinema.

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#LFF2019 An Impressive Lighthouse; A Rather Basic Instinct and The Sex Life of the Disabled.

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Our third festival chronicle features one of the best and most bizarre films of the year, ’The Lighthouse;’ A controversial; female gaze depiction of the boundaries between sexual desire and abuse, ‘Instinct,’ and a surprisingly enjoyable exploration of the sexual life of a young woman with cerebral palsy in the Japanese dramedy ’37 Seconds.’

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#LFF2019 The Story of Sound in Film; An Irish Drama; a US Indie Comedy and Mexican Social Realism.

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Our second day at the LFF screenings began with a blast or, more specifically, with tons of them as featured in Midge Costin’s superbly didactic documentary ‘Making Waves: The Art Of Cinematic Sound.’ It continued with the thought provoking Irish drama ‘Rose Plays Julie’ dealing with a young woman searching for their real parents; ‘The Climb,’ a deadpan US indie comedy about friendship and we finished the day with our favourite film of the festival, so far, a Mexican drama about the great wealth divide ‘Workforce.’ Here’s our chronicle:

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#LFF2019 Recommended: Two Discoveries and A Return To Form

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The first day of the London film festival finally arrived and I had almost forgotten, after a year abroad, the hardships of London Public Transport. A massive overcrowding in the Northern Line prevented me from being on time for the press screening of the opening gala , Armando Iannucci’s adapting Dickens in ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield,’ which I’ll try luck later on the week with one of its public screenings. Instead, I opted for an Indian film, Jallikattu, which turned out to be quite a unique experience not for the faint-hearted. Yesterday I also caught up with Rose Glass’ disturbing first feature, Saint Maud, and the latest and rather good work by Canadian (former) wunderkid Xavier Dolan, Matthias et Maxime. Here’s my chronicle of those films

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#LFF2019 Recommended: Three Remarkable Portraits Of Strong Women

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One day before Armando Iannucci revisiting Charles Dickens in ‘The Personal Story of David Copperfield’ kick-starts this year’s edition of the London Film Festival, here’s a few tips on films we have already seen and believe you should not miss. We begin with three portraits of strong women, fiercely fighting against the society’s conventions imposed on their lives, either by unwanted marriages; unaccepted LGBT relationships or an employment precariousness that comes in their way to a fulfilled existence.

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