Reviews

Third album from young prog masters

Poll-winning singer-songwriter in his native Ireland, Rice is about to crack America

Ninth album by veteran Austin-based bard of disenfranchised America

This melancholic accompaniment to the David Gordon Green slow-burner draws succour from the nocturnal chambers of alt.country's heart. Will Oldham's "All These Vicious Dogs", Sparklehorse's "Sea Of Teeth" and Mogwai's "Fear Satan" are more than willing to cry into your beer. David Wingo, whose lyric yielded the film's title, couples with Michael Linnen for three tracks; Mark Olson and Paul Jones also peer for clouds among the silver linings. I'm writing this on the hottest day of the year, and it sounds inappropriate.

27 minutes of rickety alt.rock genius

History of both '60s and '80s ska hits

Classic mid-'80s Jam & Lewis R&B

Fabulous bird's-eye view of feathered fliers

Unfairly pilloried on its theatrical release for co-opting the dolefully serious subject of capital punishment into a twist-ending thriller, Alan Parker's depiction of the eponymous philosophy professor and death row defendant (Kevin Spacey—droll), gutsy crusading journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet—er, enthusiastic), and their frenetic race to prove Gale's innocence is fundamentally competent—sometimes clinical—studio entertainment. DVD EXTRAS: Commentary from Parker, deleted scenes, Making Of..., music featurette, posters, trailers.

Michael Chiklis often grabs the plaudits for his portrayal of detective Vic Mackey, controlling the dealers and gang-bangers of LA's fictional Farmington with his renegade Strike Team, but this DVD release of The Shield's first series is a jolting reminder of how creator Shawn Ryan conceived it as a complex ensemble piece steeped in moral ambiguity. Ryan exposes the politics and brutality that underpin police work, while the handheld photography makes gunfights, rape and murder hideously real. Brilliant.