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Review of No Way This Time from Love In Reverse

Love in Reverse has released their first recording in over 20 years with their new single “No Way This Time”. Signaling what the band calls the “beginning of their next phase” this song is destined to become one of your favorites in the LIR catalogue. With catchy hooks, intelligent introspective lyrics, rock-solid drumming, awesome guitar riffs, and some soul satisfying synth, Love in Reverse pick up right where they left off more than twenty years ago.

For those of you not familiar with Love in Reverse, they were the newest (re)incarnation of the band Dog. They blasted onto the scene with music that reflected the 90s alternative sound but with their own unique futuristic twist. Imagine if early Soundgarden melded with Smashing Pumpkins and borrowed Radiohead’s equipment to travel into the far off future to battle alien invaders. But apparently the burden of knowing how much pop culture in the future would suck took its toll. After a trio of albums singer/guitarist Michael Ferentino, drummer Dave Halpern, and bassist Andres Karu went their separate ways. The new single features all three original members sounding like they never left us. If only all bands could sound this good 20 years after breaking up, the universe would truly be a better place.

Hello everyone. Please allow me to introduce the first brand new Love in Reverse recording and video in over 20 years. Right here and now. "No Way This Time" marks the beginning of our next phase. Single will be released worldwide to most streaming and download joints on 8/2/19. Full album TBA. Have a fantastic day!

Posted by Michael Ferentino on Friday, July 12, 2019

Review of 0x001 from Coarses

‘0x001’ is the 2016 release from Coarses. It’s a collection of ambient tracks that work just as well as stand alone pieces as they do as a whole. I stumbled upon this collection of drone goodness after seeing the trailer for the amazing short film ‘The Pond’ (link below). This is excellent music for writers of horror, thrillers, or any sort of dark fiction.

‘Open Field’ puts you in a trance right away with what sounds like the breathing of some fantastic machine. From the sound of it, its most likely a machine that eats people.

‘Worship’ creates an unsettling atmosphere, like you’ve just happened upon some ancient druidic ritual. Never a good thing.

‘Focus’ changes this up a bit with its catchy techno beat, and ‘Focus on Hands’ is the album’s best track. The finale is machine-like, bringing to mind The Terminator in his relentless quest to kill his intended target.

If you’re a fan of drone and ambient, this is definitely for you, and if you’re a fan of horror soundtracks, you should definitely check this out.

The Pond from Dane Elcar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlMRLmVRhcU

 

https://alteredtapedstates.bandcamp.com/album/0x001

 

Track Listing:

A1 Open Field

A2 Worship

B1 Focus

B2 Focus on Hands

Review of High Plaine from Ghost Box Orchestra

A ghost box, or Frank’s box, is a device used for contacting spirits through different radio frequencies. Some claim these devices should not be taken lightly, or abused, as there can be severe consequences. Others claim its all a bunch of superstitious nonsense. Either way, the ghost box has been the subject of great interest to those interested in contacting the spirit world. Doubtless its only a matter of time before Hollywood seizes upon this concept and creates an entire movie franchise around it. But for fans of music, Ghost Box Orchestra is something else entirely.

If you’re looking to “revisit” the 90s with new music, this is your chance! Ghost Box Orchestra is a band out of Boston that brings back the echo drenched neo-psychedelic 90s with a heart-warming vengeance. Sounding like The Verve back in their A Storm in Heaven days with a bit of Shoegaze thrown in for good measure, this album is definitely the type of music made for those who love music. And it contains enough reverb to kill a small elephant.

The album starts strong with “Flutter” and continues with the psychedelic guitars of the title track. Some high points include “Wave Goodbye”, with its slow plodding drums and sinister vocals sounding like some sort of death march. “Dead & Gone” conjures up memories of Stabbing Westward at their most menacing. Its heavy groove will make you want to smear the blood of your enemies on yourself after you’ve slain them. (editor’s note: this is not recommended as law enforcement usually frowns on such actions)

The last track, “Casualty Devotional” is the album’s masterpiece. It showers you in shimmery vocals while endless echoes of synthesizers and guitars fill the space around like an oncoming tide. Like a good story with a third act that pays off all the setups, this is the track that the entire album has been leading up to. And like a good story, you will not be disappointed, with the ending. After listening to this album, you will truly believe that you’ve been communicating with the spirit world, and from the sound of it, the Other Side is in good hands.

Track Listing

1 Flutter

2 High Plaine

3 Socrates Burned.

4 Wave Goodbye

5 Dead & Gone

6 Days Are Forever

7 Within the Sound

8 Casualty Devotional

https://ghostboxorchestra.bandcamp.com

 

DEATH WISH (2018) Film Review

DEATH WISH (2018)
3.5 STARS (out of 5)
 
A bold remake of the 1974 classic film which originally starred Charles Bronson and led to a successful series of 4 films.
 
In this update, Bruce Willis stars as Dr. Paul Kersey, an E/R trauma surgeon in modern-day Chicago, where treating gunshot wounds is as common as ordering pepperoni on a deep-dish pizza. As the opening credits roll, a talk radio montage reveals the community’s exasperation with all of the violence.
 
Lucy (Elisabeth Shue) is Kersey’s upper middle class wife who is finally completing her PhD after 15 years of being a mom and home-maker. Camila Morrone plays Jordan, the Kerseys’ daughter, a high school senior bound for NYU in the Fall. Vincent D’Onofrio is Kersey’s ne’er do well brother Frank, for whom Paul cares unreservedly.
One evening while at work, Lucy and Jordan are brutally savaged by home invaders. Wife Lucy does not survive the event and their daughter Jordan is now in a coma.
 
After Lucy’s funeral, Kersey’s father-in-law introduces the concept of guns for self-protection. A notion previously uncomfortable to Paul.
 
Days and weeks pass and the good doctor becomes unsatisfied with the slow pace his wife’s murder investigation.
 
One evening, while treating a bullet-riddled criminal patient, Paul finds, and confiscates, the patient’s handgun–a Glock–which he brings home. Paul teaches himself to use the Glock and decides to roam the city at night with the purpose of finding trouble. On that first night, he interrupts a random act of violence.
 
This situation, a car-jacking, requires rapid reaction and Paul’s instincts take over. He thwarts the heist and both criminals are killed. One of them expires from his initial wounds. But the other requires additional kill shots…which Paul obliges.
 
Unbeknownst to Paul, the episode is captured on a cell phone video and he becomes an instant social media sensation dubbed “The Grim Reaper”. The only thing protecting Paul’s identity is that his face was obscured by the hood of his sweat jacket. Later on, while reviewing the video of his exploits Paul seems quite self-satisfied, almost amused.
 
The remainder of the film has Paul gunning down other bad guys while always remaining one step ahead of the police and throwing Chicago social media into a deeper frenzy over the meaning, purpose and justification of being a vigilante killer.
 
Eli Roth (God Bless him) offers a nod to conservatism when he has a fellow NYU-bound girlfriend of the comatose Jordan reading Milton Friedman aloud for Jordan at her hospital bedside. Which is to signal that capitalism, crime-fighting and cowboying-up are all back en vogue. Touche!

TERMINAL (2018) Film Review

“TERMINAL” (2018)
4 STARS (out of 5)
Watching this movie is like taking a trip to an Adult Disneyland where Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride includes neon-lit malt-shops, Go-Go bars and blood-splattered surgical theaters.
It is a highly-stylized, pop-art, film noir whose archetype can be traced back to Frank Miller’s “Sin City” (2005) and Alan Rudolph’s “Choose Me” (1984).
A creepy mix of 5 plots all intersecting through a shabby railroad terminus and all featuring an omnipresent femme fatale who’s always several stiletto-heeled steps ahead of the other players.
Margot Robbie as the enigmatic, platinum-blonde anti-heroine was born for this role. Her character wears many hats: waitress, stripper, assassin, nurse…and each of them involves costumes that fit the art-deco-noir motif. Her Lana Turner-esque seduction of Alfred (Max Irons) is terribly smooth. He’s so over-matched (Life can be so unfair!) but we eagerly endure his erotic pain.

Mike Myers impressive as the Terminal’s idiosyncratic Night Manager. Limping to-and-fro pushing his garbage cart, he’s decades removed from SNL, Shrek and Austin Powers…but he may have found a terrific new career in horror films. I’d love to see more.
Simon Pegg as an emaciated, terminally-ill, English scholar. We’ve never seen him look this old, frail and mature. Gone is the jovial round-faced zombie fighter from “Shaun of the Dead” or the effusive Scotty from “Star Trek”. He articulates quite reservedly, like any erudite dialectician would. This is a more restrained role for Mr. Pegg and we hope he tries this again. I can almost see him taking on Rex Harrison roles like p Captain Gregg (“Ghost and Mrs. Muir”) and Professor Henry Higgins (“My Fair Lady”). Bravo, Simon. You are growing by leaps and bounds.
The sub-plot involving Dexter Fletcher and Max Irons as bumbling hitmen is yet another literal allograft from Harold Pinter’s “The Dumbwaiter” (also poorly concealed and uncredited in John Favreau’s “Made” and Martin McDonagh’s “In Bruges”). These two gents are stuck in Pinter’s hitman quandary and grate on each other as expected. Fletcher is the more seasoned actor and you’ll recognize him from many character roles throughout his career, the best of which was as Tony the Concierge in BBC’s “Hotel Babylon” series from 2006-2009.
Max Irons is a relative newcomer but has a strong family pedigree with Jeremy Irons as his father. He’s over-matched by both Robbie and Fletcher, but he doesn’t cave in, so we root for his survival.
GENRE: Mystery, Horror, Noir, Crime, Comedy
DIRECTOR: Vaughn Stein
WRITER: Vaughn Stein
CAST: Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Mike Myers, Dexter Fletcher.
RUNTIME: 95 Minutes