The Last of Us | Episode 6 review: Kin
Recovering from the aftermath of episode 5, Joel and Ellie finally reach Tommy’s and have a moment to breathe in episode 6.
Reviews
Glow review | Deeply soulful offerings from UK multi-hyphenate Wesley Joseph
★★★★☆
Walsall-raised, London-based Wesley Joseph lays down his marker as one of the UK’s brightest emerging talents on Glow, a project that’s more pensive than previous releases.
The Son review | A reasonably affecting family melodrama
★★★☆☆
High-flying businessman Peter (Hugh Jackman) struggles to get through to his son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) in Florian Zeller’s family drama, The Son.
Trustfall review | Pink’s new album is an oddball mix of styles
★★★☆☆
Pink's Trustfall is a strange, eclectic mix of styles and influences, but Pink’s voice remains impressive.
The Point review | Alan Fletcher is a quietly confident wordsmith
★★★★☆ Alan Fletcher (Dr Karl Kennedy from Neighbours) releases his debut Americana album featuring soft, sad musings on relationships and everyday domesticities. Read our The Point review.
Optical Delusion review | Electronic stalwarts Orbital explore our dystopian world
★★★☆☆
Orbital enlist more features than usual on Optical Delusion, to ponder our post-pandemic world. Whilst an impressive tenth album, it doesn’t continuously dazzle.
Sharper review | Julianne Moore excels in Benjamin Caron’s thriller
★★☆☆☆
AppleTV+’s new film Sharper, starring Julianne Moore, is a twisty thriller from director Benjamin Caron. Read our review.
Beyond The Streets London review at the Saatchi Gallery
★★★★★ The Saatchi Gallery’s new exhibition, Beyond The Streets, is massive. In both scale and scope, the display dwarfs any street art exhibition the UK has hosted before, spanning the breadth of the subculture on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
The Inspection review | Elegance Bratton’s military drama lacks nuance
★★★☆☆ Based on writer-director Elegance Bratton’s own experiences, The Inspection follows a young gay man on his way to become a Marine.
Rolo Tomassi at Electric Ballroom review | Britain’s most underrated rockers reaffirm their brilliance
★★★★★
Over nearly two decades, Rolo Tomassi have amassed an ardent following without a modicum of mainstream attention. At their largest show to date, the Sheffielders indulge in the fruits of their labour, welcoming 1,500 loyalists to an evening of immaculate emotion.
Cuts & Bruises review | Inhaler mature with the scars to show for it on sophomore album
★★★★☆
Cuts & Bruises demonstrates that Inhaler are capable of that much-coveted element from debut to sophomore – maturity – whilst preserving the winning formula behind It’s Always Like This.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania review | Who is Kang The Conqueror?
★★★☆☆
Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man makes a flashy return in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which introduces us to Kang the Conqueror.
Nostalgia review | A siren-song to a youth lost in Naples
★★★★☆ In Mario Martone's Neapolitan gangster drama, cherished memories unravel and turn violent in a hail of masterful cinematography and impassioned performances.
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On review | Cuteness overload
★★★☆☆
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is heartwarming and cute, but also designed for the social media audience.
Love Story from Hoxton Mini Press captures love in the Modern Age
A new photographic anthology, Love Story, from Hoxton Mini Press, showcases over 150 images from 23 talented photographers, exploring love in the modern world and challenging our perceptions of relationships.
Desire, I Want to Turn into You review | Caroline Polachek’s mashed-up rollercoaster ride
★★★☆☆
Desire, I Want to Turn into You, Caroline Polachek’s second solo album under her given name, has been one of this year’s most anticipated releases. And whilst there’s plenty to love about it (it has, after all, been released on Valentine’s Day), its experimentation doesn’t always stack up.
Master System review | Monster Florence’s cerebral rap explores our dystopian world
★★★★☆
Colchester alt-hip-hop group Monster Florence dissect the dystopian state of the world through lyrical tricks and commendable beats on their new album Master System; a record which ultimately demonstrates how underrated they are.
Reverend and the Makers at Islington Assembly Hall review | Write them off at your peril
★★★★☆
Sheffield outfit Reverend and the Makers rolled back the years to deliver welcome upbeat indie at Islington Assembly Hall – and even took to the streets to do so.
You Me at Six at Alexandra Palace review | Pop-punks return to their roots but play on autopilot
★★☆☆☆
You Me At Six take on Ally Pally on Saturday night, in a predictable show that adheres to the “arena rock 101” handbook.
Two Dozen Roses review | Ernest is disarmingly charming
★★★★☆ Ernest's Flower Shops (The Album): Two Dozen Roses is a deluxe country music expansion showcasing the versatile crooner's signature style and blending of influences.
The Last of Us | Episode 5 review: Endure and Survive
Episode 5 of The Last of Us sees Joel and Ellie fight humans and infected alike, including our first Bloater.
This Is Why review | Pop-punk Paramore evolve from their emo years
★★★☆☆
After nearly six years, pop-punk darlings Paramore return with brand new, highly anticipated album This Is Why.
Blue Jean review | Impressive, but flawed debut
★★★☆☆
In Blue Jean, Georgia Oakley’s impressive, but flawed debut, a PE teacher faces a personal crisis in Thatcher’s Britain.
Your Place or Mine review | Kutcher and Witherspoon can't connect in split screen bore
★★☆☆☆ Your Place or Mine is a straight-to-Netflix romantic comedy that reunites two likeable performers, Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon. I’m playing fast and loose with the word ‘reunite’ here because Kutcher and Witherspoon aren’t in the same room together for most of the movie.
Women Talking review | A moving ode to solidarity between women
★★★★☆
In Sarah Polley’s gentle Women Talking, a group of Mennonite women debate whether they should leave their colony after a series of brutal attacks against them.
This Stupid World review | Yo La Tengo carve their own brand of optimism amid despair
★★★★☆
After 16 albums and nearly 40 years as indie rock’s depressive cult heroes, you may think Yo La Tengo would be running out of things to say and ways to surprise. But on their 17th LP This Stupid World – their first of wholly original material since 2018’s There’s a Riot Going On – there’s a living urgency in the trio’s meditative assortment of reflective odes to time and past and all that holds.
The Lehman Trilogy review | an undeniably intimate epic
Charting the rise and fall of America's fourth largest investment bank, Sam Mendes' Tony Award-winning epic, The Lehman Trilogy, returns to the Gillian Lynne Theatre following its acclaimed Broadway run.
Truth Decay review | Screaming self-pity from You Me At Six
★★☆☆☆
The truth hurts. This much is true. And whilst You Me At Six attempt a return to their authentic selves on their eighth studio album, Truth Decay often wallows a bit too much in self-pity, with its more impressive melodic aspects too far and few between.
Pollen review | 'Tennis will soundtrack your next party'
★★★☆☆
Tennis's new album is the ideal soundtrack to a 'cool, artsy, backroom party' taking a break from Father John Misty. Read our Pollen review.
Raven review | Kelela revels in both the dancefloor and the afterglow
★★★★☆
After a hefty six-year hiatus, Kelela is finally back on the scene with her second studio album RAVEN. The singer re-emerges to add to the sanctified canon of her previous discography, all the way from her mixtape Cut 4 Me, released a decade ago, to her 2017 debut album Take Me Apart, with a scattering of features on tracks from the likes of Solange and Gorillaz along the way.
