Watch out for some of the most interesting releases of the week — five in music, five in film.
MUSIC
1. Tyler, The Creator — Wolf (April 2)
The third solo album from Odd Future’s mastermind represents a stretching-out period for Tyler’s persona and aesthetic; after working hard to establish and defend the most ambitious collective of hip-hop’s left field in years, he puts away some of the battle gear to indulge in more reflective lyrics, laid-back production and marijuana-flaked reminiscences of fame, among other serious subjects.
2. James Blake — Overgrown (April 8)
The young UK producer whose 2011 debut inhabited a smoke-and-mirror world of introspective piano balladry and minimalist dubstep returns with Overgrown, a bolder, more beat-heavy foray into masterful alt-R&B. Blake bridges the gap between his sparser, more ponderous first album and his latest through the inclusion of high-profile guests Brian Eno on the experimental bolero of “Digital Lion” and GZA on the brilliant rap-soul number “Take a Fall For Me.”
3. Bonobo — The North Borders (April 1)
The North Borders features Brilliant downtempo electronica from UK musician Simon Green, who is now moving further away from the last strands of ’90s era trip-hop that inflected some of his earlier work towards a highly accessible, warm palette of ambient breakbeat and future garage. One standout song includes inspired vocals from Erykah Badu.
4. Caveman — Caveman (April 2)
Atmospheric Indie rockers from Brooklyn streamline the eclecticism of their low-profile debut into a unified statement that marries the anthemic guitar soundscapes of late ’80s/early ’90s shoegaze with the bright, heartfelt vocals of contemporaries such as Grizzly Bear and Local Natives.
5. Heavy Hawaii — Goosebumps (April 2)
Goosebumps is the debut full-length from San Diego band Heavy Hawaii, whose gritty, warped brand of surf rock brings to mind the melodies of Brian Wilson interbreeding with the pop experiments of Ariel Pink. Another interesting species in the evolution of the surf genre, which has also been mixed with pop-punk in recent years by fellow San Diegan group Wavves.
FILM
1. Jurassic Park 3D (April 5)
An unavoidable 2013 film experience. What more can be said to persuade a legion of fans to relive an experience they grew up with, or introduce it to another fan-to-be? Audience members are encouraged to pay special attention to the newly enhanced visual spectacles of a leg of goat hitting the glass ceiling of a truck, a spoonful of jello quivering as velociraptors enter a dining room and the beads of sweat on John Hammond’s face as he realizes his plan to revive dinosaurs was sort of a bad move.
2. Upstream Color (April 5)
The long awaited follow-up to Shane Carruth’s 2004 cult hit Primer moves away from the tech-heavy probabilities of time travel to more organic themes; in as far as it is possible to synopsize Carruth’s work, the plot concerns the interactions between a couple before and after coming into contact with a strange microscopic organism. Although this may read as the premise for a horror film, Upstream Color is a visually arresting enigma that should be experienced first and unraveled afterward.
3. It’s a Disaster (April 12)
It’s a Disaster is an independent comedy about a couple’s brunch interrupted by news of a dirty bomb being detonated in a nearby city center. Despite the grim and possibly apocalyptic implications of the circumstances they now find themselves in, the plot zeroes in on the four characters’ relationships and behavior as hidden personality traits begin to emerge. Starring David Cross and Julia Stiles.
4. Eddie the Sleepwalking Cannibal (April 5)
Eddie the Sleepwalking Cannibal is another macabre comedy following Lars, a failed painter in a rural Canadian town, who finds a bizarre source of inspiration in his new roomate Eddie’s penchant for night-time “snacks.” As Lars’ work improves drastically, he finds himself oddly inclined to let Eddie continue his unconscious rampages and even to get involved himself.
5. Trance (April 5)
The latest work by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) is a British crime thriller with a psychological twist. James McAvoy plays an art auctioneer-turned-art thief who double-crosses a gang by attempting to make away with a painting they aided him in stealing. After sustaining a head injury and subsequent amnesia, the gang attempts to use a hypnotherapist (played by Rosario Dawson) to determine the missing painting’s location. The film will open in Davis on Friday at the Varsity Theatre downtown.
ANDREW RUSSELL can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
