Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.

Leisure

Critical Voices: Mick Jenkins, The Healing Component

Joining the ranks of reborn Christian rappers including Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, and Kendrick Lamar, Mick Jenkins paints a bold picture of himself in his debut studio album, The... Read more

By October 10, 2016

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Critical Voices: Bon Iver, 22, A Million

Five years after the release of their last album, Bon Iver has taken an experimental, manipulated approach to music in their extraordinary third full-length album 22, A Million. While it seemingly... Read more

By October 8, 2016

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The Girl on the Train is Subtle, Bone-Chilling

Psychological thrillers earn praise when executed well. Their mind-boggling plot schemes cue existential crisis along the lines of reality versus figments of imagination, but because of that very tendency, films... Read more

By October 6, 2016

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Critical Voices: Danny Brown, Atrocity Exhibition

When music reviewers talk about genre-blending, they most often mean the seamless incorporation of one genre into another.  Projects like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly from last year exemplify... Read more

By October 6, 2016

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A Shock to the Electronic Genre: Bob Moses at the 9:30 Club, 9/29

Like Robert Moses, the New York architect that the Canadian band Bob Moses is named for, Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance are on their way to becoming architects of a... Read more

By October 5, 2016

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Critical Voices: Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots

Florida Georgia Line lead singers Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley said prior to the release of Dig Your Roots that their third album would cover more mature topics than those... Read more

By October 5, 2016

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Necessary Evils: The Birth of a Nation Finds Beauty in Hate, Hope in Atrocities

Having been both coronated and condemned in the months preceding its release, The Birth of Nation arrives as one of the most complicated pieces of cinema in recent memory. Adored... Read more

By October 4, 2016

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No Mastermind Behind This Film: Masterminds Proves Itself Unworthy of Cast

Director Jared Hess used to win hearts with his endearingly awkward oddball films, but those days seem to be behind him. Based on the 1997 Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery, his... Read more

By October 3, 2016

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Critical Voices: Shawn Mendes, Illuminate

When Shawn Mendes first broke out onto the scene in 2014, he was fresh-faced and stealing teen hearts everywhere. It’s 2016 and his new album, Illuminate, plays with a more... Read more

By October 3, 2016

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Miss Peregrine’s is Dark but Unspectacular

On a tiny grey island in Wales, there is a colorful home for children. These children are peculiar; they have unique qualities that make it hard for them to live... Read more

By September 30, 2016

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Culture and Identity in the Modern Era: Visions and Revisions at the Renwick Gallery

Art is a constant struggle to balance culture and a sense of personal identity. Often artists must walk a fine line, expressing their own outlook on society while still creating... Read more

By September 30, 2016

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Life Put To Film: Moonlight is an Impressive Exercise in Storytelling

Moonlight is unlike any other film you’ll likely see in a mainstream theater. Amid a sea of sequels and remakes, its screenplay is thrillingly original. The 110-minute film explores masculinity... Read more

By September 29, 2016

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Critical Voices: Bruce Springsteen, Chapter and Verse

On September 23rd, Bruce Springsteen celebrated his 67th birthday with the release of his new album, Chapter and Verse. His new book, Born to Run, will also be available this... Read more

By September 28, 2016

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A Pleasant Derivative: The Magnificent Seven Evokes Happy Nostalgia

After an undoubtedly underwhelming summer at the cinemas, The Magnificent Seven rides into theaters to allay the summer blues. Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the 1960 Western classic starring Yul Brynner... Read more

By September 28, 2016

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The Weird and the Whimsical: Glass Animals at Echostage, 9/25

  The British indie rock group Glass Animals performed at Echostage on September 25th. Featuring many tracks from their latest album How to Be a Human Being and a few... Read more

By September 28, 2016

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Critical Voices: Mac Miller, The Divine Feminine

Mac Miller has come a long way since the early frat rap days of his career. “Donald Trump,” the best known single off of his 2011 debut album Blue Slide... Read more

By September 27, 2016

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Critical Voices: Young Thug, Jeffery

After the release of two mixtapes, a modeling gig with Calvin Klein alongside Frank Ocean, and features on Kanye West’s extremely popular The Life of Pablo, Young Thug has dropped... Read more

By September 27, 2016

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Austen Cut Loose: A Charming and Disarming Production of Sense and Sensibility

In Jane Austen’s classic novel Sense and Sensibility, gossip flies across tearooms and parlors in regards to the futures of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Left no inheritance by... Read more

By September 26, 2016

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Concert Preview: Bob Moses, 9:30 Club 9/29

Robert Moses was not a musician, but an urban planner of New York – though his name now describes an up-and-coming pair of musicians from Vancouver, Canada. Tom Howie and... Read more

By September 24, 2016

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Concert Preview: Ryan Bingham and Brian Fallon & the Crowes, The Lincoln Theater 9/28

The Texas raised singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham is probably best known for his work on the movie Crazy Heart for which he won an Academy Award and a Grammy.  In January... Read more

By September 24, 2016