The Brown Note Movie Review

Drop (2025) Movie Review

Not an original bone in it's body but utterly enjoyable sub-Hitchcock hokum, that makes great cinematic use of limited environs. Luckily they also have an excellent lead to helm it all in Meghann Fahy, as she traverses a dinner date with murderous complications.

Billy Woods - Golliwog (2025) Album Review

As a painfully stick in the mud old school rap fan, I am deeply ashamed to have featured the last two Armand Hammer albums, without paying any attention to the twenty-five plus year career of one half of the duo, Billy Woods. Golliwog is one of the finest and most immersive rap albums of the recent era, though that immersion is not pleasant, the world being a nightmarish horror-scape, it is however brilliant.

Djrum - Under Tangled Silence (2025) Album Review

DJ Felix Manuel has delivered one of the best - and classiest, and most listenable - electronic albums of recent years. A pairing of his virtuoso piano playing and equally dexterous drum programming - all produced to sonically beautiful fidelity.

Warfare (2025) Film Review

A few years ago I would've ranked Alex Garland alongside Robert Eggers, as one of the most exciting new directors out there, now it's two utterly forgettable war films, back to back, that are bad in completely different ways. Though Warfare does share with Civil War, having both nothing to say and being at the back of the pack of numerous other much better films on the same subject. Watch something like The Outpost to see how the single battle film can be done so much better.

Gone But Forgotten: John Martyn Part 2

After my initial exposure to the mercurial talents of John Martyn - who created his own language through Folk, Blues and Jazz through the 1970's and on - a follow up. Before I focused on the immortal albums like Solid Air and One World, this time an extensive look at the rest. Well, up to a point, specifically from his debut, London Conversations in 1967 to The Apprentice in 1990. A slow start, and some real 80s trash lie in wait, but a few more classics are added to the list and it's a fascinating journey. Fans of Beverley Martyn turn away.

Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025) TV Review

After a lackluster decade of documentaries, Theroux returns with one of his finest, most important - and most timely - ever, on Israeli colonization of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It says the quiet part out loud - it never has been about how the Palestinians behave, it's always been about ethnic cleansing.

Black Country, New Road - Forever Howlong (2025) Album Review

Since their second album, Ants From Up There, bagged my album of the year in 2022, and promptly lost their iconic leader - no British indie act has gone through more change. Now firmly ensconced in their Harry Potter House Band/Music Hall Indie phase with a beguiling, detailed and unique baroque new album.

Havoc (2025) Movie Review

Director Gareth Evans rightfully made his name with the iconic Indonesian action crime films, The Raid and the even better The Raid 2. This grimy cop thriller goes unexpectedly full tilt Hong Kong era John Woo, but it's a law of diminishing returns as the dozens (hundreds) of bodies pile up, albeit imaginatively.

Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE (2025) Album Review

Happily, Justin Vernon's much loved project has made the tilt away from the experimental, abstract songwriting of the last two albums, and a return to more satisfying complete pieces of the first two, albeit with the odd slightly annoying and incongruous hangover stylistic elements. Still, it's great to have him back in this pocket and with his own defined genre of Neo-Country-Soul.

A Minecraft Movie (2025) Movie Review

Well who knew, if you take something with a rusted on fan-base and don't abuse that fan-base or take them for granted, people will come and watch your film. There's nothing good about it - great turns from Jason Momoa and Jack Black aside - but there's nothing really bad about it either.