Over the last week or so, I've fallen back into The Chameleons UK pretty hard, and now Strange Times is a daily double listen (at least). I can't explain how much this album affects me; when I first found it in 2015 I was at a precipice, an unknown crossroads before me. It empowered the part of me that knew how everything would turn out, even if another, bigger part refused to go along with it.
I'd be remiss if I didn't add the caveat that, in my opinion, to really get the maximum effect of this song, it must be listened to in the context of the entire album, or at the very least, immediately followed by the next successive track on the record, Swamp Thing. Talk about an extremely powerful double-hitter.
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I was SUPER excited to come home from work yesterday, smoke out, and watch Jeffrey A. Brown's debut feature The Beach House on Shudder. I knew nothing about this one going in except a blurb I saw that called it "Cosmic Body Horror."
I was not disappointed.
The Beach House takes an everyday situation, makes it awkward, so that a lot of the expectation is based on social mores. The film then balances on a precipice of possibilities, slowly turning up the tension, never quite doing what I expected it to. Which is almost always a great thing.
This one would make a great double-feature with Richard Stanley's The Color Out of Space, as the two films have similar themes and color palettes. Strong tone, great visuals and camera work - some nice juxtapositions of macro and micro with the lens - and eventually, squirm-inducing effects. Highly recommended, but wait for when you're open to a slow unraveling.
The Beach House was the first in a two-day, self-styled event viewing program that culminates tonight with the VOD premiere of Natalie Erika James' Relic. Without theatrical premieres and fests to look forward to, this is the way I stay sane and psyched for Horror Cinema!
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Playlist:
Various Artists - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Series Event)
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
The Chameleons UK - Strange Times
Lissie - My Wild West
Emma Ruth Rundle - On Dark Horses
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Exhalants - Bang (single)
The Obsessed - Lunar Womb
The Jesus Lizard - Head
Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch
Mannequin Pussy - Patience
Pygmy Shrews - The Egyptian
Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley (Expansion)
EPMD - Unfinished Business
Brainiac - Hissing Prigs in Static Couture
Holy Porter - Kistvaen
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Card:
Personal or global? I think we know the answer to that one, although I don't really have any conflicts (that I know of) at the moment.
