Singer-songwriter Sophie Payten, or “Gordi” as her family and fans know her, began writing music from a young age on her farm ... More
Album by Gordi
Singer-songwriter Sophie Payten, or “Gordi” as her family and fans know her, began writing music from a young age on her farm outside the small town of Canowindra, Australia. Her anticipated debut album Reservoir follows last year’s EP Clever Disguise, a favorite of critics like NPR. Gordi recorded Reservoir amidst studying for her medical degree and playing shows, including supporting label mate Bon Iver during performances of his recent album. The album is built on brooding layers of electronica and folk and captures feelings of loss, especially in friendship. (Jagjaguwar)
›› ISSUE Feature: Live performance and interview with Gordi
Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Ingrid Goes West showcases a stellar ensemble cast (Aubrey ... More
Film by Matt Spicer
Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Ingrid Goes West showcases a stellar ensemble cast (Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell and Billy Magnussen) and through its unforgettable central duo of Plaza and Olsen, embraces the joy and horror of over-sharing in our hyper-connected age. In his breakout feature debut, writer-director Matt Spicer mines wicked comedy, dark psychodrama and scathing satire out of friendship and connection in the “like me” era – where loneliness, vulnerability and deception bubble just beneath the surface of our carefully constructed public personas. (Neon)
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Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Jeannette Walls, this stirring and at times heartbreaking coming of age drama is helmed by Destin ... More
Film by Destin Daniel Cretton
Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Jeannette Walls, this stirring and at times heartbreaking coming of age drama is helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) and stars Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Ella Anderson and Academy Award winner Brie Larson. It delves into the turbulent and poverty-ridden childhood of Jeannette Walls (played at different ages by Chandler Head, Ella Anderson and Brie Larson) and her three siblings, portraying through flashbacks the nomadic and neglectful disfunction they endured at the hands of their unstable parents: a charismatic alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother. The film follows the family as they move from the Arizona desert, to Las Vegas, to an Appalachian mining town, the children learning to fend for themselves as their parents outmaneuver bill collectors and the authorities, finding themselves both inspired and inhibited by their unconventional and reckless upbringing. Ultimately, this poignant drama unfolds as an inspiring story of success in the face of adversity, tapping into the power of imagination and the unshakable bonds of familial love. (Lionsgate)
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Some Freaks is a beautiful and powerful indie film starring breakout Lily Mae Harrington and Thomas Mann. Lily Mae Harrington’s debut role ... More
Film by Ian MacAllister McDonald
Some Freaks is a beautiful and powerful indie film starring breakout Lily Mae Harrington and Thomas Mann. Lily Mae Harrington’s debut role has been dubbed as remarkable, winning awards across the festival circuit. The film, which is the directorial debut of Ian MacAllister McDonald, is hailed as a modern day interpretation inspired by the John Hughes teen classics, with characters that includes a plus-sized girl, a one-eyed guy and a closeted gay teen. (Good Deed Entertainment)
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The seven short stories in Sour Heart are narrated by young Chinese immigrants—girls who, like author Jenny Zhang, are growing up between ... More
Book by Jenny Zhang
The seven short stories in Sour Heart are narrated by young Chinese immigrants—girls who, like author Jenny Zhang, are growing up between two cultures while dealing with belonging, girlhood, family and identity. A graduate of the acclaimed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Zhang was born in Shanghai and raised in New York, where many of Sour Heart’s stories are based. Her prose is candid, blunt, sweet and unafraid to be gross about bodies—often mimicking the way young girls talk to one another or themselves. Underneath is a sharp clarity: Zhang is best at finding humor in the shame, confusion and strangeness of growing up, while speaking to the claustrophobic love of families with tenderness and irreverence.
Zhang has previously published two books of poetry, Hags and Dear Jenny, We Are All Find, and gained a following through her pieces in Tavi Gevinson’s Rookie magazine. Her debut book of prose, Sour Heart is also the first book published through Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s Lenny imprint at Random House, named for their newsletter and website that covers feminism, style, culture and friendship. (Penguin Random House)
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Over the past two decades, exiled Russian artist Slava Mogutin has become internationally renowned for his candid and courageous portrayal of disaffected ... More
Book by Slava Mogutin
Over the past two decades, exiled Russian artist Slava Mogutin has become internationally renowned for his candid and courageous portrayal of disaffected youth and alternative urban subcultures, coupled with his writings, multimedia work, and political activism. Bros & Brosephines, his latest release from powerHouse Books, acts as a detailed survey of Siberian-born, New York-based Mogutin’s studio and fashion photography and commissioned portraits. Featuring previously unpublished images, the book dissects the conventions of beauty and masculinity through Mogutin’s provocative signature blend of art, fashion, and fetish. Featuring a preface by Zachary Drucker, an essay by David J. Getsy, and an epilogue by Bruce LaBruce, the monograph details Mogutin’s varied artistic collaborations, including Brian Kenny, Gio Black Peter, Audrey Bartenev, Asher Levine, Martin Elmasflaco, Sebastian Meunier, Francois Sagat, Jan Wandrag, and more. (powerHouse Books)
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›› ISSUE Feature: SUPERM: Slava Mogutin and Brian Kenny
In a collection of over 500 works by 100 historical and contemporary artists, Auto-Photo: Cars and Photography, 1900 to Now documents the ... More
Book by Xavier Barral
In a collection of over 500 works by 100 historical and contemporary artists, Auto-Photo: Cars and Photography, 1900 to Now documents the ongoing fascination of photographers with the form, impact and meaning surrounding the automobile. The invention of the automobile altered our landscapes, expanded our geographical horizons and drastically modified our appreciations of space and time. As well as exploring these paradigm shifts, photographers captured the automobile’s formal qualities, function and design, and the geometrics of city roads and rural highways. Contributors and renowned photographers include Robert Adams, Brassaï, Langdon Clay, Robert Doisneau, William Eggleston, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Anthony Hernandez, Joel Meyerowitz, Daido Moriyama, Catherine Opie, Martin Parr, Ed Ruscha, Malick Sidibé and Stephen Shore. Other projects in Auto Photo shed fresh perspective on the automobile, such as a series of car models created by Alain Bublex for the Foundation Cartier show, as well as a comparative history of auto design and photography, scholarly essays and artist quotes.
(Fondation Cartier Pour L’Art Contemporain/ Editions Xavier Barral)
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Academy Award winner Holly Hunter drives home this engrossing, lyrical drama that chronicles a mother’s quest for rectitude in the wake of ... More
Film by Katherine Dieckmann
Academy Award winner Holly Hunter drives home this engrossing, lyrical drama that chronicles a mother’s quest for rectitude in the wake of the devastating loss of her son. Written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann and featuring an original score from Sharon Van Etten, Strange Weather tells the story of Darcy Baylor (Hunter), an academic administrator at a Mississippi college, who finds her job in limbo after a round of budget cuts. Still haunted by her son’s suicide seven years ago, Darcy learns that his old college pal is now the owner of a successful restaurant chain, whose concept, down to the last detail, was stolen from her son. Darcy sets out for New Orleans to settle the score, and finds herself on a backroads journey through the thick of her own grief. Strange Weather immerses the viewer in the strange and sultry nuances of the South, subtly emphasized by Van Etten’s powerful score. “Katherine [Dieckmann] is an artist, and she spoke to me like an artist. She taught me a lot about writing to film and how to enhance the scene and emphasize the emotions conveyed (or beneath the surface),” says Van Etten. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. (Brainstorm Media)
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Snail Mail, the alias of Baltimore’s 17-year-old indie rocker sensation Lindsey Jordan, is re-releasing her debut EP Habit on vinyl on July ... More
EP by Snail Mail
Snail Mail, the alias of Baltimore’s 17-year-old indie rocker sensation Lindsey Jordan, is re-releasing her debut EP Habit on vinyl on July 28th, amidst growing buzz. The re-release of the EP, which had previously been released digitally and on cassette, comes in tandem with her recently announced tour dates with Waxahatchee and Girlpool throughout the rest of the summer. Habit delivers a frank and fearless brand of guitar-driven indie rock that captures the emotional sprawl of suburban boredom and teenage restlessness with an expressiveness and lucidity that belies Jordan’s young age. “All the songs on Habit are collectively like a sigh,” says Jordan, who cites guitar legend Mary Timony of Helium as inspiration for her powerful riffs: “[Mary] definitely helped me learn to shred.” (Sister Polygon Records)
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