PopMatters

PopMatters is a global online publication focused on cultural critique, exploring various facets of popular culture. The magazine features reviews, interviews, and in-depth essays about a wide range of cultural items and expressions, including music, TV shows, movies, literature, video games, comics, sports, theater, visual arts, travel, and online culture.

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Tunde Adebimpe's Rare Talent Comes Into Sharp Focus " PopMatters

3 days ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

Thee Black Boltz Sub Pop Tunde Adebimpe is best known for his work with TV on the Radio, a band he co-founded and serves as co-vocalist and principal songwriter. TV on the Radio are distinguishable from their indie rock peers, not just because the members are mostly Black, but due to the creative energy they bring to the process.
‘Warfare’ Tells a Brutally Universal Story Through a Narrow Lens » PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Chris Barsanti

Warfare A24 A tight and terrifying docudrama combat procedural, Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s Warfare tracks just one engagement in the Iraq War. The firefight was unremarkable enough to have almost certainly been forgotten by anybody not there. For the soldiers and civilians involved, however, it was likely a singular moment of their lives. Mendoza and Garland do nothing to burden their story with external meaning.
Tucson's XIXA Travel to the Aztec Underworld on 'XOLO' " PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Adriane Pontecorvo

XOLO Jullian Records The latest album from Tucson, Arizona-based rock group XIXA (each “x” sounds like a “ch”) is an intentionally dramatic outing. Over nine tracks, XOLO tells the tale of Arcoiris, a young girl guided by Xolo, a hairless Xoloitzcuintli dog, through the nine levels of Mictlān, the nine-level underworld of Aztec cosmology.
The Long Dark Reach of Cornell Woolrich's Noir Thrillers " PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX Kino Lorber All the films in Kino Lorber’s three-disc box Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XIX are highly visual and suspenseful treats. We’re going to focus on the often overlooked gem, Mitchell Leisen’s fascinating and fabulous No Man of Her Own (1950), inspired by Cornell Woolrich’s noir premise that happiness is always just beyond reach.
'Renegade Queens' Celebrates Latin Jazz Scene Women " PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Adriane Pontecorvo

Salsa de la Bahia Vol. 3: Renegade Queens Patois Records In his liner notes to Salsa de la Bahia Vol. 3: Renegade Queens, renowned San Francisco Bay Area jazz DJ and music writer Jesse “Chuy” Varela offers crucial context. “As you listen to the music presented here,” he writes, “understand that this compilation is as much a celebration of the Bay Area music community as it is these individual artists.” Of course, the community in question is no one thing.
Tim Berne's 'Yikes, Too' Creates Adventure and Magic " PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Will Layman

Yikes, Too Out of Your Head / Screwgun Alto saxophonist and composer Tim Berne has been a vital and ubiquitous figure in “downtown” New York creative music for more than 40 years. He arrived in the city to study with Julius Hemphill, a hero and key influence. Berne’s music, made in solo projects, collaborative bands, and as a side player across all those years, has always reflected a combination of R&B feeling, out-jazz freedoms, and careful compositional detail.
Sophie Gilbert Excavates Millennial Misogyny's Buildup " PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Sam Franzini

Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves Penguin I don’t remember much of the 2000s, the decade I was born, but I remember NBC’s The Biggest Loser (2004-2016), which came to mind while reading Sophie Gilbert. The Biggest Loser was a game show by way of humiliation, pitting overweight Americans against each other to drop body fat through grueling workouts, and as quickly as possible.
Bon Iver Finds Inner Peace on 'SABLE, fABLE' " PopMatters

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

SABLE, fABLE Jagjaguwar Bon Iver purists may feel a familiar sense of frustration after listening to Justin Vernon’s fifth studio album, SABLE, fABLE. On the one hand, the record includes the SABLE EP (2024), which features three strong tracks, including the unmatched “S P E Y S I D E”. That offering hinted at a return to form, even if it included odd capitalization and punctuation choices (are those spaces in the song title?).
Mali's Salif Keita Sounds Inspired on Irrestible 'So Kono' " PopMatters

2 weeks ago | popmatters.com | Adriane Pontecorvo

So Kono NØ FØRMAT! It’s not all that surprising that Salif Keita’s 2018 farewell album Un Autre Blanc was not the end of his recording career. After all, as Keita himself has explained over the years, music is his life, a path for which he gave up his standing in Mandinka royalty, a mode of expression through which he has found global renown.
Hobart Bosworth's Edgy Strong Silent Type Clings to Life " PopMatters

2 weeks ago | popmatters.com | Michael Barrett

Behind the Door / Below the Surface Fllicker Alley Seafaring tales of gruesome revenge and underwater redemption mark a double feature of silent melodramas on Blu-ray from Flicker Alley. Behind the Door / Below the Surface combines two silent films directed by the forgotten Irvin V. Willat and starring Hobart Bosworth, an actor-producer of tremendous importance in the development of the Hollywood industry.