Reviews

Petite sex-rocker rings changes for fourth album

Compilations of two sonic soul forces

Long-awaited re-release for one of the great lost albums of the early '70s

Oblique polemical melodrama as would-be epic

Terry Gilliam's solo directorial debut. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's poem, like Python's Holy Grail it deals with medieval muck and monsters—in this case a fearsome dragon to be slain by hapless hero Dennis (Michael Palin). Lots of good ideas and a very odd cast of British comedy talent, but mired in darkness, only the occasional laugh.

Set during the Ulster 'Troubles', Hidden Agenda begins admirably enough with director Ken Loach's usual muscular dissection of political realities. Then Maurice Roeves suddenly appears as a mysterious Captain (think Donald Sutherland's X in JFK) who implicates the RUC, the Tories, MI5 and the CIA in a grand, preposterous plan to ruin the Labour Party.

Stylish Norwegian thriller, remade last year by Christopher Nolan, whose version is almost eerily faithful to the original. Nolan had the powerhouse cast—Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank—but this probably has the sharper atmospheric edge, and director Erik Skjoldbjærg builds the tension expertly.

Sublime second LP from Chicago quartet

Second solo outing from Atari Teenage Riot singer features J Mascis, Alec Empire and Alex (Neubauten) Hacke

Shoehorned onto this page because there's now a parallel DVD, which means this compilation of Volumes 1 and 2 (Cherry Red 1982-84) counts as a soundtrack, okay? The label's reissue of its golden age revels in the courage to be slightly twee. It's the sound of Englishness, only without the mindless violence. Art-rockers like Monochrome Set and Fantastic Something stand up well, having first politely checked that nobody minds if they do. Morgan Fisher's version of "Un Homme Et Une Femme" shrugs coolly, while Felt's "Penelope Tree" carries a torch for Television.