Album reviews: A Fine Frenzy, Anberlin and Angel Snow

Alison Sudol, a.k.a. A Fine Frenzy, has one of the most heavenly voices in all of alternative folk rock, and she puts it to good use on her third release, Pines. A concept album about a pine tree being given a chance to create a life of its own choosing, Pines takes you on a mesmerizing musical journey.

ARTS Pick: Angel Olsen

Music critics have deemed Angel Olsen’s voice “blood-curdling” for a reason. Sliding from nearly spoken word to the theatricality of cabaret in an instant, her range makes a chilling impact on each song she records.

ARTS Pick: Rick Ross

Big man of the rap game and Maybach Music Group founder, Rick Ross (Rick Ro$$ or Ricky Rozay, to the overly-colloquial), brings a Cerberus act rounded out by fellow Maybach artists Wale and Meek Mill to town.

ARTS Pick: Lyle Lovett

One of the most consistent names in the Americana genre, Lyle Lovett hasn’t slowed down since his 1986 country debut. With 13 albums and an impressive filmography under his belt, he’s never allowed his style to grow stale.

Two hearts, one beat: The love-tinged fury of Shovels and Rope

Fueled by the passion of young love, the wanderlust of the open road and the thrill of chasing the rock ‘n’ roll dream, Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent spend their days covering the highways of America in a Winnebago. At night the married couple takes the stage as Shovels and Rope and delivers raucous, stripped-down […]

My Fool Heart starring Jim Waive gets a long-awaited screening

“There’s been a lot of Charlottesville movies,” Jeffrey Martin said, “but this one is about Charlottesville.” He’s talking about My Fool Heart, a feature film directed by Martin and produced by his wife Lucinda Buxton, which has been in production locally for the past three years. The couple recently relocated to San Francisco, but Martin is back in town […]

Charlottesville’s Art in Place program celebrates a new season

En route to the newest Art in Place installation, I watch a motorcyclist rip through a crosswalk. An angry truck driver breaks hard and then floors it. A pedestrian stops short and flips him the bird. As I approach Schenks Branch on McIntire Road, the mood changes. Alan Binstock carefully assembles his work, a glass […]

ARTS Pick: Clowning Workshop

Working through the tides of life’s natural ups and downs can get the better of even the best of us. Some shut off, while other’s go off (see road rage, going postal, and anger management). Enter the ringmasters at Charlottesville Circus Arts, who have a funny way of looking at life’s lemons.

Film review: Wreck-It Ralph rises above the arcade fray

Maybe it’s the 1980s and 1990s nostalgia for vintage video games. Maybe it’s John C. Reilly’s and Sarah Silverman’s terrific performances as Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz. Maybe it’s because so many animated movies lately have been just O.K. (Frankenweenie) or downright mediocre (Brave). But something about Wreck-It Ralph made my cold critic’s heart grow three sizes.