Fracasos El Sexy Dyspepsidisc By: Eric G. Fracasos is an upstart band from Evansville, Indiana with many influences but little direction. Any band that evolves out of something called ‘Fernspank’ is already off to a bad start. El Sexy is full of genre-hopping, slightly self-indulgent instrumental interludes, acoustic guitars that sound like they were recorded […]

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Pinehurst Kids Viewmaster 4 Alarm By: Eric G. Having ‘kids’ in your band’s name is kind of a stigma these days in light of the whole emo/punk debacle (the Getup Kids, etc.), but the Pinehurst Kids really have nothing to do with that unfortunate genre, excepting the aforementioned name problem. Pinehurst Kids are a trio […]

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Low Christmas Chair Kicker's Union/kranky By: Robert H. In a year sponsoring releases by apparently infallible talents like Luna, Beck, and The Magnetic Fields, a band consisting of an undistorted guitar, a plodding bass and a snare drum might seem likely to fall through the cracks. But, damn, if Low isn't a surefire nominee for […]

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Macha See It Another Way Jet Set By: Eric G. Mixing traditional Eastern music like Javanese Gamelon Gong with experimental indie rock sounds like a bad idea, but this quartet from Athens, Georgia makes a strong case for it on its second album. The impact of Macha’s music is far more effective live than on […]

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Beck Midnite Vultures DGC By: Eric G. Beck has abandoned all sincerity for Midnite Vultures, but that hardly matters given that this might be his best record yet. Odelay overexposed Beck. It wasn’t his fault, though. He got way too many amazing reviews for any ego to remain grounded. It took the public a while […]

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The World Is Not Enough Directed By Michael Apted Mgm/ua By: Eric G. Things were looking grim for Pierce Brosnan’s turn as James Bond as both Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies were relatively disappointing, but The World Is Not Enough finally gets the Bond franchise back on track. The problem hasn’t been with Brosnan- he […]

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Sleepy Hollow Directed By Tim Burton Paramount By: Eric G. Tim Burton returns to theaters with a return to form. Mars Attacks! was an amusing satire, but it was hardly what Burton does best. Sleepy Hollow is not exactly the most exciting tale ever told, but Burton makes it funny and scary in this mock […]

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