Category: Staff Reviews

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Staff Picks: The Best DVDs of 2023

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It’s time once again to present the best films and TV shows of 2023 in our collection, as chosen by our librarians. There were a lot of common favourites among the staff this year, including a few that haven’t made it into the collection yet. I’ve included all their recommendations here; hopefully you’ll find a new favourite film among them.


Shinji’s Picks

The Blue CaftanThe blue caftan
Delicate and tender, this touching LGBT drama centres on a middle-aged married couple who run a traditional caftan shop in Sele, Morocco. Hiring a young handsome apprentice to keep up the demand tests their long, caring relationship and they must face their secrets and reality. The actor-turned-director Maryam Touzani weaves this unconventional love story with great care and compassion. A lot of feelings are going on between the three characters, but Touzani’s nuanced direction, with exquisite tempo, effectively uses their gestures, silence and, most importantly, ‘gaze’ to bring out their deep emotions. It’s a meticulously crafted, detailed work including the lighting and the colour. This is only Touzani’s second feature and will surely put her on the map of world cinema. A little gem.

AlcarràsAlcarras
Catalonian filmmaker Carla Simon’s fresh breeze-like debut Summer 1993 was hailed by both critics and audiences alike, and another sunny pastoral tale about a peach farm family Alcarras, is even more wonderful, but bitter. The Sole (Catalonian for “sun”) family has been farming for generations, but they are now facing eviction just because there is no signed document. The worry looms over this extended family, affecting everyone in a different way, while they try to carry on their life as normal. Simon portrays them with great attention to small moments of everyday life, and her masterful character study allows every member of the family to shine. These non-professional actors, especially children (all from the region), are so natural and alive. Their future looks bleak, but by giving us a glimpse of alluring Catalonian rural life Simon makes what could have been a social realism story wonderfully charming and lovable. This marvellous ensemble drama won the Golden Bear (best film) at Berlin International Film Festival in 2022. Deservedly so.

GodlandGodland
Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Palmason gained critical acclaim for A White, White Day and his latest effort Godland, inspired by late-19th century photos of Icelandic countryfolks, is a larger scale, more ambitious work. This historical saga follows a young Danish priest who was sent to Iceland to build a church. As he travels to reach his destination he gets to know and photograph its people, but the stunningly beautiful yet brutal wildness and the tension with a rough-edged Icelandic guide turns it into an ordeal. This harshness and intensity echo some vigorous dramas such as There will be blood or The Power of the Dog and it is indeed a powerful film like them. With some impressive long-take shots, it’s also one of the most visionary films in years, capturing the amazing Icelandic landscape. Showing his unique aesthetic, Palmason takes us an incredible cinematic journey. Brilliant.

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Staff Picks: The Best CDs & Vinyl of 2023 – Part 1

Mark

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. Every month this year my colleagues Sam, Neil and I reviewed some new material for the music collection at Te Awe Brandon Street Library. The list below is the Top 10 picks from each us for 2023, the albums we enjoyed listening to most over the course of the year. Some of these titles featured on various critics’ Best of 2023 lists, but others are just albums that struck us as being unique and interesting.

Mark’s Picks:

Sleepwalker / Post, Louise
One of the most successful female fronted ‘Alt-Rock’ bands of the 1990s, whose influence still features prominently in a lot of contemporary bands, Veruca Salt‘s original line-up split acrimoniously after 2 full length albums and an EP, as founding members Louise Post & Nina Gordon went their own ways. Post continued with a couple more heavier albums & EPs under the ‘Veruca Salt’ moniker, while Gordon delivered a couple of much more commercial sounding solo albums. Hatches were apparently buried in 2013 when the bands original line-up, like a lot of other bands of that era, reunited to tour and eventually released a 2015 reunion album. Post & Gordon collaborated with Skating Polly on a 2017 EP, but following some touring in 2018 the band had been dormant. However Louise Post’s return to music was one of the surprising releases of last year, with her first solo album Sleepwalker. Apparently arising, like a lot of material, out of the Covid lockdowns she whittled down 50 or so tracks to the 11 that make up the album. As perhaps to be expected of someone her age, it’s a darker-tinged adult oriented ‘album’, rather than a set of singles. She really digs into mature stories of the domestic comfort/discomfort of long term relationships, alongside more upbeat tracks that work as homages to her own pop past. What’s perhaps the most surprising is how great it all sounds, as she works in a lot of genres and different instrumentation, but never loses focus on investing each track with a hooky, melodic line, disproving the long-held theory that it was Gordon who brought the ‘pop’ voice to Veruca Salt’s original albums. Her immediately distinctive voice is in great shape, and the sympathetic production puts it above the mix, so there is a real clarity to the album & it’s sound.

Rat saw God / Wednesday (Musical group)
Wednesday are a US alt-rock band from North Carolina and ‘Rat Saw God’ (a nice Veronica Mars homage), is their 5th album and first on the prominent indie label Dead Oceans, was hailed as a career breakthrough and ended up on a lot of the Best of 2023 lists last year. Helmed by singer-guitarist-songwriter Karly Hartzman the band takes it’s name from cult UK 90s band ‘The Sundays’. They fuse the vocal stylings of that band’s indie pop with the shoegazy rock of Swirlies, 90s grunge, the noise-pop of Sub Pop bands like Velocity Girl or Spinanes, as well as some alt-Country influences akin to Mojave 3. The twangy distortion creates a dirty/clean sonic aesthetic, and the combined – seemingly disparate – musical elements deliver something that, while obviously trading on past styles, still feels new & fresh. It’s an album of character studies, biting lyrics, and narratives of pain and suffering that reflect both the messy and euphoric moments of the protagonists. While they have been around for a while, there is a real sense of ‘next big new band buzz’ with this album.

Mermaidens / Mermaidens
Mermaidens returned with their fourth full length in 2023. Gone are the, sometimes, obtuse post-punk/psyche-rock overtones of their previous work for a slicker more pop sound, that harks back to the fizzy ‘Alt-Pop’ that ran through bands like Pixies, The Breeders & Belly, with dashes of 80s shoegaze & punk. With Samuel Scott Flynn (Phoenix Foundation) at the helm as producer, there is a real sense of arrival with this album. Every musical element is cleanly locked in place, the song-writing is more immediate & catchy, with plenty of pop hooks, along with more harmonies and shimmery, hypnotic, grooves. Perhaps their best album yet, and clearly one headed for the top in the next local music awards. (VINYL here for Mermaidens).

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January’s New Music for Te Awe

Mark


via GIPHY

Statler: Well, it was good.
Waldorf: Ah, it was very bad.
Statler: Well, it was average.
Waldorf: Ah, it was in the middle there.
Statler: Ah, it wasn’t that great.
Waldorf: I kind of liked it.”
-‘The Muppet Show’.

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. I buy music for the CD & Vinyl collections, and also run the Libraries’ Wellington Music Facebook page). My Music Specialist colleague Sam, and Fiction Specialist (and avid music fan) Neil, join me every month to cast an eye over the new material we have been buying for the music collection at our CBD Te Awe library. We pick out some interesting titles across a range of music genres, and try to limit our reviews to a few lines only. Can we encapsulate an entire album in just a couple of lines? [Ed. This is probably unlikely at this point]. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? [Ed. This is more than likely]. Read on to find out…

Come around and love me / Ngonda, Jalen
Mark Says: The debut album from this London-based Washington DC singer is fully steeped in vintage soul influences, with his falsetto floating over a pulsing Motown styled groove of bass, conga’s, orchestral strings and sax flourishes. Released on the Daptone label, it’s smooth sound & romanticism harks back to The Delfonics & The Impressions but, like a lot of the music in this ‘Retro-soul’ genre, it perhaps checks a little too many boxes along the way. A great voice, though.
Neil says: Jalen Ngonda’s debut album is a deep and heartfelt sonic love-letter to the music he grew up with, and which formed him as a musician. It is a vibrant, smooth and sophisticated album, deeply immersed in the R&B and soul music of the late sixties and early seventies. His self-professed love of the Beatles and Beach Boys makes very occasional appearances to. What really makes the album soar is his charismatic, truly fabulous voice, which is in places reminiscent of the legendary Marvin Gaye.

Continue reading “January’s New Music for Te Awe” →

December’s New Music for Te Awe

Mark


via GIPHY

Statler: Well, it was good.
Waldorf: Ah, it was very bad.
Statler: Well, it was average.
Waldorf: Ah, it was in the middle there.
Statler: Ah, it wasn’t that great.
Waldorf: I kind of liked it.”
-‘The Muppet Show’.

I’m Mark, the Music & Film Specialist at Wellington City Libraries. I buy music for the CD & Vinyl collections, and also run the Libraries’ Wellington Music Facebook page). My Music Specialist colleague Sam, and Fiction Specialist (and avid music fan) Neil, join me every month to cast an eye over the new material we have been buying for the music collection at our CBD Te Awe library. We pick out some interesting titles across a range of music genres, and try to limit our reviews to a few lines only. Can we encapsulate an entire album in just a couple of lines? [Ed. This is probably unlikely at this point]. Do we actually know anything about new music? Or, are we just too old to understand what most of this is banging on about? [Ed. This is more than likely]. Read on to find out…

My 21st century blues / RAYE
Mark Says: Debut full-length studio album from English artist Raye, who gained recognition as a songwriter-producer for other artists after she was signed to Polydor at age 17. A mini-album & series of EPs saw her nominated for a BRIT award 4 times, and and become one of the most streamed (2.3 billion) artists in the world. In 2019 she was awarded the BMI Impact Award in recognition of her ‘ground-breaking artistry, creative vision and impact on the future of music’. However after revealing that Polydor has been sitting on her debut for several years she split acrimoniously with the label and became an independent artist, releasing ‘My 21st century blues’ at the beginning of 2023 to universal acclaim. A darkly tinged musical journey through funky soul, hip hop vibes and many other genres, full of emotionally charged writing and unfiltered emotions it digs into various themes with candour, including experiences around alcohol & drug addiction, body dysmorphia, and sexual assault.
Sam Says: Rachel Agatha Keen (known professionally as Raye) is a singer/songwriter from the UK. Having released several EPs over the space of a near decade, in 2023 she has come forth with a debut full-length album entitled My 21st Century Blues. Fusing pop, dance, and R&B, with (true to the title) a notable blues flavour, the music bubbles with vigour and immediacy, the various musical styles fusing together in a way that enables the album to continue to feel fresh and exciting over its full forty-five-minute course. Raye’s vocals are equally energetic and emotive, providing a kaleidoscope of moods to the already colourful music. Overall, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ is a modern pop gem.

Continue reading “December’s New Music for Te Awe” →

Staff Picks CDs for December…

Mark
CDs on a grainy sand beach background

To round off the year, here are some Staff Picks of new & old CDs from the Library collection that out Staff have been enjoying.

Martin’s Picks:

Guts / Rodrigo, Olivia
Not a CD that needs much boosting from WCL, of course, but it surprised me by just how good a mainstream album created by a 20 year old can be. Wise and sharply witty, Rodrigo takes a wry look at her teen years, with droll lyrics and a musical nod to the pop/rock sounds of the 90s. Try ‘Bad Idea Right?‘ ‘Get Him Back!’ or the opener, ‘All American Bitch’.

The Leo Kottke anthology / Kottke, Leo
Born the same year that WW2 ended, Kottke released his first album in 1969 and his most recent in 2020. A master of the 12-string guitar as well as a self-effacing vocalist (who described his own voice as sounding like “geese farts on a muggy day”), this selection of instrumental and vocal tracks covers the first 15 years of his career. It has some of the best of his instrumental offerings, including ‘Mona Ray’ ‘Vaseline Machine Gun’ and ‘Airproofing’, all of which amply justify his place in the 12-string pantheon.

Begin to hope / Spektor, Regina
This 2006 album is a great introduction to the work of the idiosyncratic Russian/American songsmith. Her sideways view of the world and flawless ear for a hook are on display throughout. Check out ‘Fidelity’, ‘Better’ or ‘On the Radio’.

Bring it on / Gomez
My vote for ‘Greatest Band That Everyone’s Forgotten About’ goes to this lot from Southport in England. Blessed with four songwriters and three distinctive vocalists, there was almost too much talent for one band. This is their debut, and it won the Mercury Prize in 1998, beating out Massive Attack, Pulp and The Verve. Sadly – and despite a couple of equally excellent follow-ups – the band slowly slid from view over the following couple of decades. Check out the video for album single Whippin’ Piccadily to see legendary screen and TV actor Toby Jones fooling around on an escalator.

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It’s ‘Noirvember’ on Kanopy

Mark

Ready for cynical heroes, intricate plots, and underlying existentialism? Sounds like you’re ready to get moody with Kanopy’s Noirvember collection.

Following the end of World War Two, French publishing house Gallimard started publishing translations of American crime novels through its Série noire imprint: including authors such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and David Goodis. The following year, French critic Nino Frank wrote the earliest essays identifying a new departure in American film making, the ‘film noir’- though the term itself did not come into ‘official’ use until the publication of Raymond Borde & Etienne Chaumeton’s study ‘Panarama du film noir americain’ in 1955, and wasn’t widely adopted in America until the 1970’s. According to Borde and Chaumeton, the ‘noir’ cycle officially begins with John Houston’s The Maltese Falcon (1941) and ends with Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly (1955) – though the style can be traced back as far as Fritz Lang’s M (1931), and forward to films like Memento (2000).

Characterised by fear, mistrust, bleakness, paranoia, fatalism, disillusionment, existential plots and confessional voiceovers, they provided a distinctly pessimistic view of post-war America. However, while the view was American, the ‘feel’ was distinctly European with shadowy expressionistic lighting, stark and skewered camera angles, jarring editing and deep shadows. Due to this style, the best noirs are in black and white – with key European directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Jacques Tourneur. Noir protagonists were typically anti-heroes: crooked cops, down and out private eyes, war veterans, petty criminals, gamblers and killers; while the women were often unloving, mysterious, duplicitous and manipulative – but always gorgeous.

While the style dropped out of favour after the late 1950’s, its elements were present in several standout films of the 1960’s, from The Manchurian Candidate (1962) to Point Blank (1967). It made a resurgence in the 1970’s, and an even stronger one in the 1990’s. Films from this period on are referred to as ‘neo-noir’ and, while some are merely an affected stylism, enough original ‘noir’ runs through them to satisfy purists. Since then, these influential cinematic works have grown in popularity as modern filmmakers use similar aesthetics.

Whether you’re looking to dive into the dark world of the classic genre, or want to see what updates have been made to keep the concept fresh, you can explore Kanopy’s well-rounded collection here.

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