Like An Earthquake is a tremendously dynamic and intricate effort; the vocals are provided a proper boost through Crooks’ backing instrumentation. Crooks boldly comes out with her own style, creating an exciting overall backdrop for Little Bird. Turn the Key gives listeners the chance to hear another side of Crooks; this track takes on elements of Melissa Etheridge and early Sheryl Crow. Crooks represents a step forward for the singer-songwriter…
Do You Believe? Is the first track on Love Transmitter, and it provides listeners with a solid introduction to the styles and approaches that will be presented on the remainder of the album. Taken separately, the track is something that could easily be on rotation at alternative and modern rock stations. All Used Up is a track that touches upon the work of Franz Ferdinand and an earlier new-wave…
Prince Avalanche is set in 1988 and benefits from a dazzling array of stars, which include Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. While the film benefits greatly by the specific decisions made regarding the scenery, the writing is so taut that the story could easily be told on a threadbare stage. Throughout each part of the film, there is a certain laser-like focus that is put into furthering the narrative. The…
Simply put, Dogfish Head’s Kvasir is one of the most complex and fulfilling beers that we have tasted. This could be due to the fact that the beer is based off the remnants that were present in an ancient Danish cup. The 10% ABV may scare imbibers away, but the heavy alcohol content is moderated by an intense blend of syrups (honey, birch), berries (lingonberries and cranberries) and a slew…
Fun Fun Fun Fest is a festival weekend like no other. I arrived around 4:30pm on Friday to find comedian Patton Oswalt doing a standup routine inside a sweaty and claustrophobic tent. Outside of the tent was the orange stage which had Johnny Marr doing How Soon Is Now amongst other hits from the group which he played guitar, The Smiths. The sound was clearly bleeding into the tent as…
The intuitive nature of the DaVinci Ascent allows individuals to easily find the temperature that they would like for their herbs. The easy to read screen allows users to know precisely the level at which they would like to vaporize their plant material. The product is able to impart the effect of medicinal material without having to combust it. The Ascent is very light and will fit into any sort…
There are very few holiday albums that look to do anything special. Joyful Noise is an album that will shatter all conceptions that listeners will have about holiday music. The album begins with Crunchy Drummer Boy, a much more eclectic and bouncy version of the classic Christmas track. The music here does come from left field, but it is done in a fashion that is absolutely catchy and hard to…
Global Warmer has a piney nose with a pour that is very effervescent. The beer is a reddish-orange with a small, rapidly-dissolving head. The mouth feel contains a decent amount of hops, but dissipates quickly. Subtle hints of spice can be discerned alongside a dry malt backdrop. The overall taste of Global Warmer opens up as the effort warms up; a maltier and heavier fruit presence ensures…
Likely one of the most underrated rock bands to come out of the ‘70s, a decade that inexplicably made everyone from Journey to Styx famous, Memphis-based rockers Big Star always seemed on the edge, (but just not quite there yet) of making it big. Their debut, 1972’s #1 Record, arguably their best, boasting songs like “The Ballad of El Goodo,” “Don’t Lie to Me” and “In the Street” (sadly, best known…
Yes, a lot of the pre-movie publicity surrounding Lindsay Lohan’s comeback movie, The Canyons, focused on the fact that her co-star James Deen is a porn star. But Lohan aside, who does a pretty solid job in this clunky erotic thriller, it seems just about every other actor here was trained in pornos as well. The acting is stilted and dialogue pretty weak, thanks to one-time literary hit maker Bret…
