Reviews

Various Artists – Beginner’s Guide To World Music

Moderately entertaining introductory selection

Jane Birkin – Arabesque

Gainsbourg's grand amour offers Oriental stylings

Dandies Of The Underground

Comprehensive collection of Philly pop-soul boys, fronted by Todd Rundgren, who looked to Swinging London for inspiration and then blew up

Various Artists – The Wire 20 1982-2002

Triple box set celebrating independent alternative experimental music

The Man Without A Past

A moving story of love and identity from Finland

Beastie Boys

The rap trio who defined cool in the '90s for want-not-to-be-middle-class white boys have probably released this two-disc video compilation just in time, before they become horribly passé. Fair play to them, though, these are 18 of the best pop promos ever filmed, from Spike Jonze's cop show pastiche for "Sabotage" through to the robot-battling epic "Intergalactic" and the '60s action spoof for "Body Movin'" (featuring a great chicken-in-the-face scene). Camp as hell. Are we sure they're not gay?

Stamp Of Approval

A stand-out hit among the current new wave of globally fê ted Latin American features, Fabián Bielinsky's fine caper thriller fucks with audience perception like a pumped-up David Mamet puzzler. A motley team of conmen and crooked cops progress from petty shop swindles to plan a rare stamp heist, but as the stakes escalate and the cast of characters broadens, nagging questions about who's hoodwinking who throw up dazzling wheels within wheels.

Erasure – Other People’s Songs

Kitsch covers of pop standards

Boxstep – The Faces All Look On

Eight-piece Pittsburgh ensemble with epic debut

Richard Buckner

Americana cult hero gets down to basics
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