Reviews

Engagingly oddball debut from Icelandic electrobod

Album number nine from Dean and Gene Ween, who know no stylistic bounds

Set fire to anything. Set fire to the air," urged John Cale at the beginning of Music For A New Society. That 1982 masterpiece was the evisceration of a man whose fractured psyche was mirrored perfectly by songs arranged in jagged, improvisatory style; a knife held at the throat of sweetness. Now he reappears with his first album of songs for seven years, and his finest album in any genre for over two decades.

Greatest hits (again) plus recent acclaimed remixes

Slow, slow journey into heart of darkness

A Dogme film in danger of giving a tiring genre a good name, Susanne Bier's love tragedy is deeply involving and intensely moving. When a woman's lover is paralysed in a car accident, she falls in love with his married doctor. Not once in its two hours does the film hit a dishonest note, there's subtle humour, and the acting's exemplary. You'll be tenderised.

An immaculate digital restoration job, including muffle-free audio, silky silver monochrome and original 'pillarbox' framing, adds an unnerving contemporary kick to Fritz Lang's 1931 masterpiece. Detailing the slavering hunt for bug-eyed child murderer Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) through a dark and hostile, shadow-filled Berlin, this is the original, if not the best, serial killer flick.

Tough thriller from director Ron Shelton based on a James Ellroy story. Kurt Russell is outstanding as veteran bad-ass Los Angeles cop Eldon Perry, who realises too late the waste he has made of his life. Great support from Brendan Gleeson as his malignant boss and Ving Rhames as the upright officer dedicated to bringing him down.

Despite recording together for 14 years (much of that as part of The Black Dog), Ed Handley and Andy Turner still explore the syntax of electronica with awe and excitement. Tracks like "Crumax Rins" or the haunting synth fugue "Cedar City" may hint at the tenebrous dissonance of their earlier incarnation, but generally Spokes is passionate and optimistic.

Solo outing from Clannad singer moving into Enya territory