Pan American 360 Business/360 Bypass Kranky By: Eric G. Pan American is the nom de plume for Mark Nelson, the guitarist and sometimes singer for the experimental post-rock outfit Labradford. With Pan American Nelson gets to explore the ambient side of his electronic pursuits, where Labradford rarely ventures. With only six songs comprising almost an […]

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Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci Spanish Dance Troupe Mantra/beggars Banquet By: Robert H. Every once in a while I have the embarrassing experience of running upon a great new band that turns out to be a great old band that's been producing quality work for five years or more. Such is the case with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. […]

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Huon Songs For Lord Tortoise Animal World By: Eric G. If you say the title of this Huon record really fast it sounds like Songs The Lord Taught Us, which is a classic Cramps’ album from 1980, but while Huon may be Cramps fans there is hardly any trace of it in these loose, warbled […]

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Magnolia Directed By Paul Thomas Anderson New Line Cinema By: Eric G. Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to Boogie Nights is an equally long but far more disturbing look at guilt, regret, embarrassment, and reconciliation. Anderson weaves together seemingly unrelated vignettes, but he manages cleverly to tie them all together. It feels like Robert Altman’s Short […]

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Dynamic Syncopation Dynamism Ninja Tune By: Eric G. Dynamic Syncopation is The Herbaliser’s producer Jonny Cuba and UK DJ The Loop Professor equipped with a vast record collection, a predilection for sophisticated, jazzy grooves and potent hip-hop stylings. The instrumentation fuses electronics along with a pastiche of organic beats, which are low and slow, but […]

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Sally Timms Cowboy Sally’s Twilight Laments For Lost Buckaroos Bloodshot By: Robert H. When an artist falling under the struggling rubric "alt.country" is good, it is usually because of a return to whiskey-glass songwriting and a rawness of presentation that escapes the Nashville production halo. Sally Timms tries another route: a combination of light irony […]

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The Talented Mr. Ripley Directed By Anthony Minghella Paramount By: Eric G. With an Hitchcockian title sequence that immediately triggers feelings of trepidation and dread, Anthony Minghella is off to a good start with his follow up to The English Patient. The cinematography is predictably stunning with a lush 1950’s Italian setting as its backdrop. […]

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