The Brown Note Movie Review

Darkside - Nothing (2025) Album Review

Maestro Nicolas Jaar is one of modern music's MVPs. His long run of solo albums plus the two superb AAL albums plus the Pink Floyd analogous cat-nip Darkside project, with guitarist Dave Harrington and now winningly drummer, Tlacael Esparza. Possibly their best album in this now The Smile analogous collective. Continually restless and evolving - often in one track - and always hugely listenable, my fave of the year so far.

Panda Bear - Sinister Grift (2025) Album Review

Noah Lennox - aka Panda Bear - has long established himself as the most prominent offshoot of the erstwhile Animal Collective band. I have found recently albums - even with the (godlike) Sonic Boom co-album Reset - to be too simplistic and over acclaimed. That's half true here, where songwriting, melody and sequencing get it over the line. I do miss the wild abandon and inspiration of Person Pitch though.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Purple Bird (2025) Album Review

One of the most fascinating aberrations ive ever reviewed. Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy) has an impeccable thirty year discography, with some of his best and most interesting work in recent years. He is undoubtedly one of the finest songwriters and lyricists in modern American history. So for some reason he has decided to release a generic modern mainstream country album. The lyrics are either very broad and trite, or surprisingly on the nose takes on men and women, the instrumentation, arrangements and song progressions as predictable and unambitious as modern country itself. Then there's the anti gun track. Most baffling of all is how this album is actually acclaimed by critics.

OsamaSon - Jump Out (2025) Album Review

One of the buzziest internet-rap stars of the last couple of years, makes distinctive wall-of-sound melodic rap, that is very post Chief Keef, even more Playboi Carti and a little Salem. It's pleasant stoner music/head music but could do with a wider variety of attack.

The Gorge (2025) Movie Review

It's a set up and environment worthy of a computer game, with two high class leads and being beautifully shot and produced. However the tonal shifts and a world that doesn't seem explored enough, along with a lot of plot conveniences to facilitate the story, it's only just worth it.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025) Movie Review

I'm a huge fan of Gerard Butler tilting towards being a B movie action titan in mold of Liam Neeson or Jason Statham and loved the grimy, flawed Heat via Training Day via Bad Lieutenant charms of the original. Happily this seems to now have morphed into a franchise, though shifting in tone to a near buddy comedy, it still does enough.

Squid - Cowards (2025) Album Review

In an immortal era for British indie guitar music, out of the holy trinity of BCNR, Black Midi and Squid - they are now the only ones with either their original lead singer or who haven't split entirely. Their excellent third album is every bit as good as their first and a tiny bit less so than their classic second. Another cohesive, oblique look at the absolute state of society and the world around them.

The Weeknd - Hurray Up Tomorrow (2025) Album Review

Abel Tesfaye's last outing as The Weeknd, allegedly, caps a magnificent modern pop trilogy. It may be a little more diluted than After Hours, or Dawn FM due to its incredible length but it still showcases a the most thematically fascinating modern pop star and his peerless voice, melody and production.

Anora (2024) Film Review

Another of the big Oscar contenders and one of the most unexpected. What I thought would be some dour indie love drama, is actually the funniest screw-ball comedy in years. It's laugh out loud hysterical throughout with a mega-watt powerhouse lead. Though if you've a low tolerance for hardcore sex/nudity/drug taking and swearing, you might want to give it a wide berth.

The Brutalist (2024) Film Review

Writer-Director Brady Corbet enters the big league of hugely ambitious auteurs, with this intermission requiring epic, chronicling the post WW2 life of a holocaust surviving Jewish architect. A near masterpiece and understandable front runner at this years Oscars, though if the astonishing acting masterclass given by Adrien Brody gets beaten by nepo baby Timothy Chamalet's Bob Dylan impersonation for best actor, there truly is no god.