Friday is here! And what better way to wrap up a shortened work week than with some big movies and music releases? Here’s what’s out now.
The fall movie season officially kicks off with a bang. Or maybe I should say with a scream. More than 20 years after its TV adaptation, IT heads to the big screen. This take on the Stephen King novel focuses on seven children in Maine who are hunted by the eponymous being, which often appears as a terrifying clown. Check it out. Maybe you’ll float too…
If you’d like something less heart-stopping, look into HOME AGAIN. Reese Witherspoon stars as Alice Kinney, a single mom living in Los Angeles. Her life changes unexpectedly when she allows three young men to move in with her. Yes, of course, it’s a romantic comedy!
Other films include THE GOOD CATHOLIC, another romantic comedy that stars Zachary Spicer as a small-town priest who falls in love. Then there’s 9/11, starring Charlie Sheen and Whoopi Goldberg as two of five people trapped in an elevator in the World Trade Center during the attack. Also out is SCHOOL LIFE, a documentary about married teachers of Latin, English and guitar.
Onto music, it’s the first of what looks to be many, many packed weeks for the rest of the year! One of this year’s most anticipated releases, The National’s SLEEP WELL BEAST, is out today. For their first record in four years, the five-piece has expanded its sonic palette with electronic touches. But their woolly, taut guitar sound, rhythmic mastery and baritone rumble remain as strong as ever.
One of the biggest returning names this year is Tori Amos, with NATIVE INVADER. As the songwriter said, “The record looks to Nature and how, through resilience, she heals herself. Time and time again she is able to renew, can we find this renewal for ourselves?”
Also out is OKAVI, from Zola Jesus. The singer-songwriter brings a digital, goth flavor to her music, fusing wonderfully with her operatic voice. This new album looks to up the atmospherics, creating expansive soundscapes that spread like melodic static.
And there’s more! You’ve got SOUTHERN CROSS, the posthumous final album by Gregg Allman, the lost Neil Young album HITCHHIKER, FORCED WITNESS by Alex Cameron, OUTRAGE IS NOW by punk duo Death From Above, PARALLELS by electronic musician Nosaj Thing and two TWIN PEAKS soundtracks!
So what are you excited about? Any releases or other happenings you’re looking forward to? Comment below!