Brothers

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the new Exit Planet Dust reissue from The Chemical Brothers. From the outside, The Chemical Brothers have never really appeared to be an act that anyone associates with the concept of “evolutionary development,” but that is really the fault of shortsighted critics who simply assume that the group’s influence and growth is limited because the music first gained life on a series of dance floors. Such rigid thinking is foolish, really; in...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Oczy Mlody LP by The Flaming Lips. It has been pretty evident that The Flaming Lips were in need of a change over the last few releases, the band just wasn’t sure what needed to happen in that capacity and so elected to throw everything at the wall to see what might stick. They tried getting darker and more dissonant on The Terror, but that didn’t work out so well because...

Ollie Ottoman delves into the new Blu-Ray release of Hail Caesar! by the Coen Brothers.

 Ever noticed how Coen brothers movies tend to alternate in the impact they make? The Big Lebowski didn’t really catch on when it was released, but O Brother Where Art Thou is one of the most celebrated films in moviedom. No one really talks about the follow-up Intolerable Cruelty after that, but No Country For Old Men was highly visible at the Oscars. Same with...

Artist: The Rubens Album: Hoops Label: Warner Brothers Do you know the reason why the catbird is able to immitate other bird and animal sounds, reader? It’s actually a defense mechanism: catbirds want to either blend in with their surroundings and not get noticed by potential predators, or imitate a sound which will scare potential predators away. The catbird’s abilities come to mind when one thinks about The Rubens too; on first listen, it’s easy for listeners to melt into...