February 16 • 2024

Feb 16-22, 2024 / Vol. 43 / No. 25

Visible Secret

Visible Secret 2001, NR, 105 min. Directed by Ann Hui, Starring Eason Chan, Qi Shu, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang. Comedic ghost story from Hong Kong New Wave filmmaker Ann Hui (Boat People, Song of the Exile).

Red Island

Red Island 2023, NR, 107 min. Directed by Robin Campillo, Starring Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez, Charlie Vauselle. Coming-of-age story from the director of BPM is set in Madagascar under French colonialism in the 1970s.

Land of Bad

Russell Crowe stars as a veteran drone pilot attempting to rescue a special ops team stranded in the jungle

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

The term “atmospheric river” was first coined in 1994. In the 30th year of their reign and every three years thereafter, pharaohs would have to run a footrace in their palaces’ courtyard to prove their worth. If you’re broke in the U.S. you’re broke. But if you’re broke in the UK, you’re skint, a slang…

Review: Ramsay Midwood, Manchaca Eyeball (Live From Sam’s Town Point)

Seventy years from now, an archival label will surely re-release Ramsay Midwood’s lost live nugget from Austin in 2024. The non-AI-generated review will read something like this: Certain rare albums just seem to capture a place and time, and nothing echoes Austin in the mid-Twenties like Ramsay Midwood’s Manchaca Eyeball. Surely this isn’t the Austin…

Review: Middle Sattre, Tendencies

A queer coming-of-age epic reeling from religious trauma, the debut record from experimental eightpiece collective Middle Sattre drowns in melancholia. Across a 14-hymn narrative, lead vocalist Hunter Prueger grapples with internalized homophobia and self-loathing, playing tug-of-war between tracks. Realization echoes through the ambient walls of opener “I Once Felt Safe,” with serene chimes drifting alongside…

Review: Other Vessels, Empty Afternoon

Skirting around squeaky-clean love stories and romantic cliches, Other Vessels’ Valentine’s Day EP pays tribute to the messier (and more beautiful) truths of true intimacy. Titular offering “Empty Afternoon” bursts from soothing, acoustic folk into full-blown rock balladry, buoyed by the sometimes sweet, sometimes snarling vocals of Miranda Haney. Caro Somes’ moody guitarwork catches fire…

Headlines / Quote of the Week

Our Bout With Drought: In good news, our historically severe drought conditions seem to be improving. In December, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District declared a Stage 4 Exceptional Drought for the first time in its 36-year history. But this week, levels in the Lovelady monitor well ticked us down to a Stage 3 drought.…

Review: EddieAngel, LOVE BOMB

Though a fresh UT-Austin graduate, EddieAngel bears the weight of decades on debut EP LOVE BOMB – at least vocally. The jazz-driven R&B vehicle steers the Austin singer-songwriter’s powerhouse chords through spry lyrics, shooting syllables like daggers and falling headfirst into riffs. He squeaks out “electricity” with the posture of Prince on “U & I,”…

Review: Transit Method, Othervoid

Like everyone else, Transit Method spent most of the pandemic in hibernation to emerge stronger and more focused. With the LoCoco brothers (singer/guitarist Matt and drummer Mike) now joined by bassist Charlie Anderson (Panopticon) and guitarist Bryan Rolli (various publications, including the Chron), the prog-rocking metalheads streamline their sound on third LP Othervoid. Shouted vocal…


Recent

Gift this article