Reviews

Marden Hill CADAQUEZ Various Artists THE COOL MIKADO ALL ÉL In the '80s, Mike Alway's él records were a beacon of intelligent perversity, elegantly absurd and non-commercial.

DIRECTED BY Peter Mullan STARRING Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, Anne-Marie Duff Opens February 21, Cert 15, 119 mins The opening scene of Peter Mullan's award-winning social drama The Magdalene Sisters unfolds in a Dublin pub in 1964, where Guinness-stained granddads in cloth caps slap their thighs to fiddle-dee-diddle-dee music played by a lecherous priest who salivates suggestively over his bodhran while crucifixes are reflected in whisky glasses and a lusty Irish buck rapes his own cousin.

Comedy terrorist Chris Morris writes and directs this extended riff on what could have been one of his more unsettling TV sketches—think Kafka remixed by Chris Cunningham. Paddy Considine, a talking dog, a demonic baby and a nerve-jangling soundtrack blur the line between black humour and abstract art. More please. DVD EXTRAS: Runner's commentary, alternative 5.1 mix, original radio monologue, dog animation, remix of the film by Cartel. (SD)

Initially promising black comedy, acidly penned by Dan (Dead Man's Curve) Rosen, which follows a group of student types as their campaign for political correctness moves from right-on moaning to casually poisoning anyone whose views don't dovetail with their own. Even an early Cameron Diaz performance can't stop it losing momentum late on. DVD EXTRAS: None. (CR)

Savage Hollywood satire from 1950 retains its bleak, sardonic edge

Fourth LP from purveyors of Hispanic-Americana

Two EPs from modern-day Bob Dylan

Subtle, simmering 'new acoustic' debutThese gentle, vaguely retro acoustic stylings from British songwriting duo Hudson and McDevitt exude real charm, evoking melancholy memories, tempered optimism and warm pints in cold country pubs. Reference points include a less tortured Turin Brakes or less populist David Gray, though ticking clocks, babies' cries and the mesmerising "For You" will have you digging out your crusty copy of Floyd's Wish You Were Here. Bursts of energetic violin from Chris Goddard give it an extra edge. Pastoral peaks.

Excellent, if creepy, lo-fi folk

Hailing from the same US stable as The Mendoza Line, the Austin, Texas quartet Shearwater embrace a drowsier strain of melancholy on their second LP—all shuffling shades of piano, picked guitar and stings. Producer Brian (Daniel Johnston) Beattie filters just enough light to ward off any impending claustrophobia, while the contrast between ardent ornithology student Jonathan Meiburg's falsetto and Okkervil River moonlighter Will Robinson Sheff's upbeat crackle adds a subtle duality.