Blogcritics Author: Jordan Richardson

Music Review: Fiftywatthead - Fogcutter

Jordan Richardson — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 11:55:32 EST

A monstrous obsession with the Art of Loud.
Out of the working-class chill of Windsor, Ontario, the last thing one might expect would be an extreme music outfit the likes of Fiftywatthead. Yet this unspeakably vicious metal quartet has emerged from the Canadian city, slugged on the peninsula near Detroit, to deliver a total assault on the eardrums.Heavy as shit, deafening as hell, and lethal...

Music Review: Stars Like Fleas - The Ken Burns Effect

Jordan Richardson — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 16:39:02 EST

Audacious and endlessly beautiful.
Amorphous and calculated at the same time, the music of Stars Like Fleas creates wraith-like music that has no issues burying itself in the listener’s consciousness. Based out of Brooklyn, of course, the band is the invention of Shannon Fields and Montgomery Knott. With components of avant-garde jazz, noise rock, indie rock, and electronica,...

Music Review: Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night

Jordan Richardson — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 18:09:57 EST

Is it possible to be both boring and fascinating? I think so.
Amid fuzzy guitars, awkward and distant vocals, and a hazy sense of boredom, Crystal Stilts’ Alight of Night is quite an interesting piece of work. The band, out of Brooklyn, is sure to polarize listeners. Having dropped out of the sky in a bundle of shoegaze ennui, Crystal Stilts got their shit together in 2003 and released a debut single...

Music Review: Ludacris - Theater of the Mind

Jordan Richardson — Sat, 3 Jan 2009 10:11:28 EST

Exit Stage Luda with this "theatrical" record.
When the house lights go down to start Ludacris’ Theater of the Mind, an ensemble cast takes to the stage and delivers a performance that is mostly comedic, sometimes sharp, sometimes funky, and often very entertaining. Unfortunately, Luda’s sixth studio album lacks a certain punch and finds the artist often forcing himself into sharp...

Nintendo Wii Review: FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play

Jordan Richardson — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 22:03:35 EST

A fun pick-up-and-play soccer game for Wii.
The FIFA Soccer (Football) franchise from EA Sports has, along with the NHL franchise, been one of my favourites. When I had the opportunity to take a look at FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play for the Nintendo Wii, I jumped at the chance. I’m not really much of a gamer. I play sports games, mostly, and I’m not a big fan of fussy controls, codes,...

Music Review: Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra - Where or When

Jordan Richardson — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 14:43:05 EST

Enticing, rewarding, and flat-out cool.
Music is, in large part, about the joining of various components of sound to form something along the lines of sonic bliss. Sometimes a seemingly perfect set of components is made even richer with the addition of another, while other times the addition spoils the soup. In the case of the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra’s Where or When, adding...

DVD Review: Ghost Town (2008)

Jordan Richardson — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:56:51 EST

All work and no play makes Jordan a vital member of society.
Ricky Gervais may be a slightly less attractive option in comparison to Jennifer Love Hewitt, but he’s every bit the Ghost Whisperer she is in 2008’s rom-com Ghost Town. Sure, elements of the film aren’t all that stunning and there’s nothing particularly earth-shaking about this David Koepp project, but it does mark...

Music Review: Saliva - Cinco Diablo

Jordan Richardson — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:44:47 EST

A paint-by-numbers rock band creates a bad record. BOOM!
In a lattice of noise and volume, Saliva provides more reasons why nu-metal should be buried alongside rap-metal in the Graveyard of Senseless Trends. The Memphis rockers have unleashed their latest, a 10 track storm of tepid swill entitled Cinco Diablo, on a world of waiting fans who get the majority of their musical material from WWE wrestling...

Music Review: Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances

Jordan Richardson — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:58:20 EST

Utter chaos, bar punk grandeur, and aggression.
Shakespeare’s bloodiest, most aggressive work is a play called Titus Andronicus. It is about a Roman general swept up in a cruel cycle of retribution with the Queen of the Goths, Tamora. Shakespeare’s work is often considered a piece of exploitation or sensationalism by some scholars, with revenge as the prime motivation and brutality...

Music Review: Karl Blau - Nature's Got Away

Jordan Richardson — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:13:43 EST

Nature gets away from Karl Blau on this incredible record.
When it comes to Karl Blau, it’s all about listening.Based out of Anacortes in Washington State, one finds a real sense of the magnificence of the Pacific Northwest in his work. Equal parts shade and splendour, Blau’s DIY pieces have a quiet sensibility about them that belies a musician gifted as much in the art of listening to noise as...