Reviews

Judy Collins – The Essential Judy Collins

Ill-chosen selection that ignores her best work

Nathalie

Unmistakably French web of desire and revenge

Falcons

Moody, often magical Icelandic drama

Triad And Emotional

Stylish Hong Kong gangster flick that doesn't quite realise its potential

Les Égouts Du Paradis

This unintentionally funny French heist movie is mired by its late-'70s aesthetic. Francis Huster is the swaggering hero, all but popping out of super-tight beige slacks and ruefully mouthing lines that mention "the poetry of the cash balance". The earnest political radicalism seems dated and risible now, but the direction is competent and the bank heist itself is good fun.

Matchbox 20 – Show: A Night In The Life Of Matchbox 20

While Matchbox 20 have been a byword for AOR, director Hamish Hamilton's concert film has a sense of scale and occasion that makes Rob Thomas and friends look like a group with something almost thrilling to say. Caught in Atlanta during their 2003 tour, the band build a head of steam banging through hits like "Push", "3 AM" and "Bent".

The Dream Syndicate

Remastered and expanded recordings from Paisley Underground pioneers

Neal Casal – Return In Kind

LA's 35-year-old singer/songwriter nearly jacked in the solo stuff last year, so Return In Kind, though a covers record, is something of a reaffirmation. Where Casal has sometimes been victim of a too-perfect voice, here (as in recent work with side project Hazy Malaze) he adds grit to the mix.

The Long Firm – Universal

The Beeb are hoping for a kind of Our Friends In The North success with this 1963-79-spanning Soho crime drama. Its author, Jake Arnott, has written sleevenotes for this 44-song double album, which moves from buoyant '60s hits from James Brown and Dusty to '70s landmarks by T. Rex and The Jam. R Dean Taylor's "There's A Ghost In My House" is exhilarating, Rod Stewart's "Reason To Believe" is moving, and Bowie's "London Boys" is seedily weird.

The Kingsbury Manx – Aztec Discipline

Ethereal North Carolina quintet's difficult third full-length album
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