Styles: documentary
In her director’s notes, Kimberly Reed writes that her documentary Prodigal Sons began as an exploration of her adoptive older brother Marc’s search for his biological roots and especially its wild outcome. (Believe it: A grandpa Orson Welles and a grandma Rita Hayworth.) The progression of the production instead turned Kim toward assessing her damaged relationship with Marc and working toward reconciliation.
Styles: experimental rock, krautrock
Others: Wooden Shjips, Sanae Yamada, Suicide, Neu!
Moon Duo is the tandem of Eric “Ripley” Johnson (guitarist, vocalist for Wooden Shjips) and Sanae Yamada. Rather than representing a departure from the hazy, drug-addled psychedelia of Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo functions as a natural creative extension for Johnson. Whereas the Shjips are strongly rooted in a late-60s/early-70s, distinctly Californian aesthetic of Jefferson Airplane and The Doors, Moon Duo is a more geographically, if not temporally, adventurous project.
More about: Moon Duo
Styles: drama
Others: Take It From Me, All of Us
There is a curious strain of low energy that infects contemporary American independent film, as though cinema were meant is to emulate the uncomfortable moments of strained conversation. Perhaps it is a natural rebellion against the previous generation of Sundance kids, Quentin Tarantino, the Andersons, and Kevin Smith, who defined their films through colorful freneticism, crisp dialogue, and postmodern pastiche.
Styles: documentary, family history
Others: Capturing The Friedmans, Grey Gardens, Last Train Home
Cindy Kleine’s first feature-length documentary details the story of her parents’ troubled marriage. Utilizing old photographs, long-forgotten early love letters between her folks, and fairly recent interviews with the two of them, Kleine weaves a sadly uneventful narrative of Mr. and Mrs. Kleine’s sham of a marriage.
Styles: glo-fi, chillwave (etc.), R&B
Others: Washed Out, A.R. Kane (circa “i”), Panda Bear, Junior Boys
I imagine the advent of glo-fi (or chillwave, or whatever you want to call it) as a golden age for car commercials. I say that with no snark intended; god knows I enjoy Neon Indian’s “Deadbeat Summer,” but I can’t hear it without conjuring up an aerial shot of stylish twenty-somethings cruising down an oceanside road, laughing for absolutely no reason. I only hope Miracle Whip doesn’t catch on and ruin this for everybody by playing Washed Out behind one of their baffling, Reality Bites-esque sandwich-party ads.
More about: Toro Y Moi
Links: Toro Y Moi - Carpark
Styles: drama
Others: Hotel, Toast, Lovely Rita
Order and ritual form the questions and mysteries addressed in Lourdes, a French film about miracles and the problems and promises that they inspire. Directed by Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner, the film follows Christine (Sylvie Testud), a wheelchaired woman suffering from multiple sclerosis, who makes a trip to Lourdes (a commune in France) in hopes of regaining her health and mobility. Yet the pilgrimage offers her more of a chance to socialize rather than physical or spiritual salvation.
Styles: broken dream pop, noise
Others: Inca Ore, Buckets of Bile, Zola Jesus
Back in 2008, Megan Remy released her first full-length under her U.S. Girls moniker, Introducing… U.S. Girls. On that icy bath of a record, Remy honed her own brand of mirror-universe pop deconstruction across its decisive, ascetic 25-or-so minutes. The means were simple, almost stark to the point of antagonism — one voice, one drum machine pattern, one guitar lick, heavy tape-distortion, muddy reverb, every idea rigidly rationed out like sugar in wartime — but the collective effect was devastating.
More about: U.S. Girls
Links: U.S. Girls - Siltbreeze
Styles: thriller, horror
Others: Aviator, Gangs of New York, The Departed
Unlike Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s first collaboration, 2002’s long-delayed Gangs Of New York, Shutter Island’s release-date bump from October to February wasn’t blamed on reshoots or re-edits — not even the trailer changed over the interim. Instead, Paramount said it hoped the economy would pick up by now… now being right after the Oscars. Translation: Marty probably wasn’t headed back to the podium, and the only way this underdeveloped, overbaked period thriller could be a blockbuster is if the nation suddenly had money to burn.
Styles: East Coast rap, mainstream hip-hop
Others: Ghostface, Beanie Siegel, Young Gunz
Pay little mind to the title; The Stimulus Package isn’t aiming to ape Jeezy’s post-Recession thug motivation shtick. Freeway lacks the pretension or ambition to put out even a half-assed concept album. Free’s always been something of a yeoman rapper: consistent, modest, and never not rapping his ass off. But modesty and lack of ambition hardly advance careers. Freeway’s first record was produced by Just Blaze, and Free At Last, his excellent 2007 follow-up, was overseen by both Jay-Z and 50 Cent. Since then, his reputation has been in steep decline.
More about: Freeway and Jake-One
Links: Freeway and Jake One - Rhymesayers
Styles: electronica, ambient, drone
Others: Machinefabriek, Lawrence English, Fennesz
Swedish musician BJ Nilsen has a well-deserved reputation as one of the preeminent sound artists operating today. His standard procedure consists of electronically-treating field recordings — often of animals and natural environments — and combining them with traditional instruments that are usually rendered unrecognizable. You’re never sure what exactly you’re hearing when listening to a Nilsen album. While knowing his methods is in no way a prerequisite to enjoying his music, you’ll probably hear his albums differently once you know how they’re constructed.
More about: BJ Nilsen
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