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Gelb sets new standards
Formerly of Giant Sand, Howe Gelb starts his foray into loungelizard piano-tinkling on Future Standards (★★★★) by way of the introduction of You Do Something to Me. Then, Gelb’s world-weary voice sings a song of forlorn love in Terribly So, aided by Lonna Kelley, whose waif-like but endearing vocals adds another dimension. The whole album is like that, full of snippets of jazz standards, yet it stands as a testament to just how Gelb has integrated melodies and chord sequences into a full body of work. – Colin Morris
Easing the tedium
James Mercer takes the helm on Heartworms (★★★★), producing The Shins’ fifth album and shaping the band’s style and identity as much as ever. Mercer creates a diverse set of tunes which remain playful, even when he explores relationships where nothing appears to be simple or straightforward. The title tune has typically Mercer-ish confessions, wordy and rather resigned, with sounds which hark back to the band’s early albums. The Shins may not change your life, but with albums like Heartworms they can definitely ease the tedium. – Pablo Gorondi, AP
Mad Mel’s return to form
Now here’s the Mel Gibson we remember. A decade after his last stint behind the camera, on 2006’sapocalypto, Mad Mel is back with the stirring World War II action-drama Hacksaw Ridge (R15,
that harks back to his Oscar-winning efforts on Braveheart and directorial debut The Man Without a Face. As with all the films he helmed in the 90s and noughties, this is a heady mix of the sacred and the profane, the intimate and the epic. And like Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, it’s a story about injustice and unswavering belief. However, in true Gibson style, it’s a tale presented with plenty of awe-inspiring lunacy, stomach-churning imagery and gut-wrenching intensity.– James Croot
Confusing Walk
Ang Lee’s new film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk the story of a traumatised young American soldier thrown into the front-line of public relations, alternates between the orderly and the messy. When it’s the former, it can be clear-eyed or preachy. When it’s the latter, it can provocative or unconvincing. Both the narrative and mood change without warning. The heartfelt grace and sense of time passing that become unbearable in Lee’s Brokeback Mountain is absent, replaced by chance encounters and splashes of memory. – Craig Mathieson, Fairfax