Music Review: August Burns Red, Rescue & Restore

August Burns Red has never been a band to stick with the same old thing. Each record, they continue to push themselves and step outside what most would consider straight, standard metalcore. Rescue & Restore, the band’s fifth full-length album, continues this trend, and pushes the genre even further than they have before. It’s always a pleasure to see what these Lancaster, Pennsylvania natives have up their sleeves.

Music Review: Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City

 

I've only ever really liked the singles from Vampire Weekend, songs like "Mansard Roof", "Oxford Comma", and honestly, I can't remember anything specific that I cared for off of Contra. But somehow the band has stayed on my radar, particularly with the immense anticipation for their third recording, Modern Vampires of the City. As I've told many people before, I'm very interested in third albums, particularly because most bands try something new the second time around, then blend the original sound with the new sound to make something either super memorable or ultimately forgettable.

Music Review: Kanye West, Yeezus

If there’s one thing you can’t fault Kanye West for, it’s creativity. The man makes every attempt at making music that is just way out of - what seems like - his comfort zone. With Yeezus, he somehow kept the entire project under wraps until the last couple of months. After the immense (critical) success of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, he’s back with a follow-up, and it proves to be much more in your face than anything he’s released before.

Movie Review: Now You See Me

“The closer you look, the less you’ll see.” Those are some of the first words wise-cracking magician Danny Atlas tells his audience within the first minutes of Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me. Unfortunately, his words are the tell that gives away the increasingly wobbly drama of the film itself, resulting in what could possibly be the greatest shell game in theaters. Coming from the director of the Transporter series, the better Incredible Hulk, and Clash of the Titans, the film’s quality is is hit or miss, and a great indicator of what lies under the shell: not a lot.