Lancer Spirit Online

James Blake spins melodic melancholy on ‘The Colour in Anything’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 13, 2016

There's nothing wrong with tragic storytelling, the problem is that there's simply too much of it. Seventeen tracks, seven of them crossing the five-minute mark, is a lot of music to take in. James Blake may not sound like anyone else with his eclectic blend of electronic, ambient and R&B, but that sound barely evolves over the hour-plus runtime of 'The Colour in Anything.' The album begins to drone on, melting into the background far more than Blake intended.

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Radiohead mix ambiance, emotion on ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 12, 2016

A Moon Shaped Pool, the long-awaited ninth LP from the British experimental rock quintet, traces its roots through the band's thirty-year history: "Burn the Witch," its lead single and manic, bubbling beating heart, was first worked on during the 2000 sessions for that year's acclaimed Kid A. The orchestral post-rock of closer "True Love Waits" was debuted as a tender, folk-flavored dirge in 1995.

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‘Captain America: Civil War’ an amusing letdown

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | May 9, 2016

Civil War falls somewhere in the middle of the rankings of the rest of Marvel Studios’ films. It is keeps you focused and amused but never amazed.

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Death Grips astound, confuse with ‘Bottomless Pit’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 6, 2016

That's not to say Bottomless Pit is a mellow affair. It's about as mellow as a bad acid trip while skydiving; from the impossibly fast black metal-accented drums that spring to life fifteen seconds into the album's opener, "Giving Bad People Good Ideas," to the post-apocalyptic, overdriven drone of the eponymous closer. Bottomless Pit is what would blare over the blown-out, sand-caked stereo in Mad Max's Interceptor, and to hear its second single debut on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 Radio show earlier this week is as jarring and unexpected as it is hilarious.

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‘Lemonade’ a cinematic concept album

Beyonce's second "visual" album is grandiose yet contained

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 4, 2016

While the rallying cry of "Formation" is left for bonus track (or end credits) territory, its visceral sound and empowering message is felt in ripples throughout the rest of Lemonade. This is pop music untethered; an organic fusion of pop, rap, electronic, R&B, and even rock elements. Her choice in collaborators is top-notch, as evidenced by contributions from everyone from The Weeknd to James Blake to Kendrick Lamar. The dancehall-esque pulse of "Sorry" stands in sharp contrast to the gutsy blues of Jack White duet "Don't Hurt Yourself," yet the dissonance lends itself to cohesion.

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Jason Coburn’s keys to success

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 4, 2016

“I do what I do for myself,” Coburn said. “I’m not so interested in building a fanbase or anything. I think that people are starting to lose track of the fun in music, but I’m trying to keep that alive and keep myself from going down a similar path. I’m a huge admirer of [Nirvana drummer/Foo Fighters frontman] Dave Grohl, because he takes that idea of fun to its extreme.”

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‘Hardcore Henry’ dulls with weak gimmick, listless violence

Riley Walberg, News Editor | May 4, 2016

What isn't shocking is the story itself. Unmemorable, unsurprising, and uninteresting, Hardcore Henry's plot quickly becomes predictable, especially when you realize that you're basically watching someone else play a video game. The more the story goes on, the more video-game-like it becomes, complete with waves and levels of enemies escalating in difficulty and even a final boss fight at the end.

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Drake underwhelms with ‘Views’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 3, 2016

Ultimately, Views falls short of greatness. Drake has portrayed this release as his evolution; an expansion on his signature sound that would propel him towards legend status. It's reflected in the album's cover - Drake, solitary and sullen above the rest of the world, poised to strike from atop the CN Tower. In the end, though, Views is enjoyable, but more of the same.

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Classic Review: ‘Sunset Blvd.’ (1950)

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | April 13, 2016

Somehow, Billy Wilder created a movie that feels as fresh today as it did in 1950, as though he knew exactly how it would be taken in today.

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Deakin lives up to six-year expectations with debut

Joe Conry, Reporter | April 8, 2016

'Sleep Cycle,' Deakin’s first solo album after his departure from experimental-pop group Animal Collective, is a psychedelic freak-folk-accented trip into the hazy, ethereal memories of Dibb’s past. With the exception of Tim Dewit who plays drums on “Footy”, 'Sleep Cycle' is a solitary self-reflection into Deakin’s worrying thoughts and emotions surrounding his future.

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‘Zootopia’ merges Disney charm and social impact

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | April 6, 2016

While not entirely managing to avoid every Disney cliche, Zootopia does pull off originality.

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Don’t need your help: The unlikely resurgence of cassette culture

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | March 31, 2016

Even back when they were all the rage, it was hard to explain what made cassettes popular. Quality-wise, they were terrible. The ultrathin, wiry spools of tape could tear, knot, or burn out with ease. But they were cheap, and they were portable. As such, the cassette tape ruled. It has lain dormant since the advent of the compact disc, but with the popularity of vinyl, what's to stop a slowly-growing movement of entrepreneurs and self-starting indie outfits from mounting a tape comeback?

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