Popcorn

Not saying every band should take a decade between releases but the new, third There Will Be Fireworks album Summer Moon is everything I hoped it'd be. The opener is absolutely mighty and might fill a Frightened Rabbit-shaped hole in your indie-rock heart therewillbefireworks.bandcam…

Ten years in the making! The best things are worth waiting for...

The new Withered Hand album is fantastic - best pop record I've heard in ages other than, y'know, Taylor Swift tr.ee/ehgU6Etoj6

Take my money @delgados_the

Come on Scotland, let's do this!

Film review: The Father: A devastating, moving character study of dementia rather than the psychological thriller hinted at in the slyly edited trailer. Anthony Hopkins isn't just on career-best form, he delivers one of the most extraordinary acting performances of all time. 8/10

Film review: Nobody: It steals much from John Wick with its imaginative hand-to-hand combat and intentionally darkly comedic violence (the chair-throwing scene is proper laugh-out-loud slapstick) while setting up the superb Bob Odenkirk for sequels as the unlikely antihero. 7/10

Film review: Land: Robin Wright directs and stars in this Into The Wild-esque tale of an urbanite living off-grid in a remote Wyoming cabin. As a spectacle it suffers from a lack of location variation, while the bleak vibe is unlikely to leave you with pangs of wanderlust. 5/10

Film review: Dream Horse: Predictable and twee in the extreme, it's effectively the Welsh version of Seabiscuit but with almost zero screen time or credit given to the jockey, which is quite odd really. If you're in need of feelgood family fare, consider those boxes ticked. 6/10

Film review: Cruella: There's parallels with Joaquin's Joker in Emma Stone's portrayal of Cruella as she find ever more inspired and twisted ways to outdo her fashion nemesis. It's maybe half an hour too long but the interplay between Stone and Emma Thompson is enthralling. 7/10

Film review: A Quiet Place Part II: More of the same really, which, after its delayed release, makes this a bit anticlimactic. The change of pace and camera work in the opening Day 1 scenes are a total thrill ride so it's a pity the rest of Part II is stuck in the one tempo. 7/10

Tickets to see A Quiet Place Part II on May 30 booked and Manchester Orchestra's new album The Million Masks of God on repeat... things are going to be alright youtube.com/watch?v=b8cbKhh2…

I didn't hear a better album than Folklore in 2020

Not much deliberation involved since the release schedule was decimated, but here are my favourite films of 2020 1. The Gentlemen 2. 1917 3. Jojo Rabbit 4. Tenet 5. Parasite other notables: Saint Frances, Richard Jewell & Glasgow Film Fest cracker Our Ladies (still unreleased)

Phew, that wasn't a dream

So good

Holly Humberstone is an incredible singer/songwriter - I think you should know that if you don't already. Everything she has released (which isn't that much) is outstanding. Go discover open.spotify.com/artist/0nnY… and her latest effort: youtube.com/watch?v=x8YhFtde…

Film review: Bill & Ted Face The Music: Who is this even aimed at? For those who grew up with the duo, any pangs of nostalgia will soon be erased by the sheer awfulness of it all; everyone else will eye-roll at a pair of ageing dads spouting extinct 90s catchphrases. Dude. 2/10

Film review: The Broken Hearts Gallery: If you can get past the pretentious New Yorker bohemianism then you'll find a low-stakes romcom that demands nothing from its audience. Unlikely to be revelationary unless you're an SWF 20-something who has never watched Bridget Jones. 6/10

Film review: The New Mutants: This dire spin-off has more chance of blue-screening the X-Men franchise than rebooting it. The fact that these uninspiring rookie wizards come closer to dying from boredom than bad guys in this single-location dark fantasy says it all, really. 2/10