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Fresh heartaches
Ryan Adams has always floated just below superstar status. His latest album Prisoner (★★★★ )isa fine collection of fresh songs and new takes on heartache that demonstrates as much mastery as anything Adams has done. It matches surprising melodies with brilliant arrangements and affecting, urgent lyrics, reminding listeners that this is a craftsman who turns just about everything he touches into gold. His familiar blend of muscle and vulnerability sparkles on Do You Still Love Me? And when Adams, on Shiver and Shake, sings, ‘‘I reach out for your hand but I know it isn’t there’’, it feels like he’s practically bleeding.– Scott Stroud, AP
Classic Country
Alison Krauss’ Windy City (★★★★) is classic country, with most of the tunes older than their 45-year-old singer. Krauss embraces them as her own, expanding her palette and making the traditional sound contemporary. Krauss draws on familiar and obscure material previously performed by artists such as Ray Charles, Willie Nelson and Brenda Lee, and the arrangements are as wide-ranging as the songs’ sources. The only quibble is: It’s too short. – Steven Wine, AP
Growing up Aussie
A mix of Napoleon Dynamite, The Castle and Donnie Darko, Rosemary Myers’ adaptation of Matthew Whittet’s stage play Girl Asleep (M, is filled with evocative imagery and cinematic brio. From slow-zooms to clever point-of-view shots and the use of props to display titles, there’s a lot to draw you in to what is essentially a slight character study and coming-of-age story. Star Bethany Whitmore shows great promise, with her performance particularly impressive in its manifestation of adolescent fears. – James Croot
A celebration of ‘our song’
Christchurch-born director Tearepa Kahi’s (Mt Zion) lovingly crafted, intimate documentary Poi E: The Story of Our Song (G,
captures the anarchic spirit of the song and its creator Dalvanius Prime. The juxtaposition of archival footage with modern day recollections is expertly bridged by an extended audio interview the late Dalvanius made just a couple of years before his death in 2002. This allows the film to have a single voice, even if it’s surrounded by so many others (incredibly all of whom have a nickname), from the local Patea butcher who assisted in Dalvanius’ well before its time crowd-funding campaign, to modern Maori stars Stan Walker and Taika Waititi, who share the influences the song has had on their lives. – James Croot