Reviews

The Magdalene Sisters

Peter Mullan proves himself a director of real bite in this harsh, affecting study of how '60s Ireland's strict adherence to Catholic doctrines ruined the sanity of many a young woman. If deemed to be in "moral danger", girls were incarcerated, with nuns serving as jailers. Geraldine McEwan makes a chilling wicked witch, and a sparky cast ensures it's an engrossing, unpreachy story.

Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time – Keep Going

One-time Tin Tin on mature and thoughtful form

Kim Fowley – Fantasy World

Brand new outing from legendary underground songwriter, producer, talent diviner and LA scenester

Chris Clark – Empty The Bones Of You

Decent second album by Warp's apprentice Aphex

Masked And Anonymous – Columbia

From the all-star fable casting Ole Bob as Jack Fate—"a fallen rock legend well past his prime." They said that, not me. This includes several exotic covers of his songs, from an Italian folk version of "If You See Her, Say Hello" to a Japanese "My Back Pages". "One More Cup Of Coffee" is tackled, amusingly to some of us, by Turkey's recent Eurovision winner, Sertab Erener.

Snow Patrol – Final Straw

Superb third album by undervalued Northern Irish rockers

Suzanne Vega – Retrospective: The Best Of Suzanne Vega

Articulate US storyteller looks back on 20-year career

Marvin Gaye – I Want You (Deluxe Edition)

Oft-dismissed post-Let's Get It On team-up with Leon Ware

Disco Inferno

Black comedy traces rise and murderous fall of Club Kid emperor

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Philip Noyce's deceptively simple tale, describing the inspirational Disneyesque homeward journey of three headstrong aboriginal children, is accompanied by a stinging assault on the rarely explored genocidal project central to Australian nationhood, and in particular the crisis of the country's infamous "Stolen Generations". The result, simultaneously palatable and unnerving, is a contemporary cinematic anomaly—a politically provocative piece of mainstream film-making. DVD EXTRAS: Audio commentary, Making Of... documentary, trailer.
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