TAKE EIGHT ee KENSINGTON HEIGHTS THE CONSTANTINES KENSINGTON HEIGHTS The Constanines’ last record, Tournament of Hearts, was a brilliant exercise in restraint. The band distilled their working-class rock down into ten sparse tracks that constantly threatened to erupt, but never did. Kensington Heights, the Cons’ first outing for Canadian label Arts & Crafts, is less conservative than its predecessor, and as a result the songs sound cluttered; verses and choruses are less distinct, a shoegazey reverb replaces the crisp guitar tones of Tournament, and Bry Webb’s Springsteen meets Strummer vocals are left to wallow somewhere in the middle of the mix. Still, Kensington Heights is undoubtedly a Constantines record: guitarist Steve Lambke’s contribution, “Shower of Stones,” is, as usual, the weakest link in the record (Lambke’s arrangements are great, but his voice simply can’t hold a candle to Webb’s), whereas the strongest moments—lead single “Hard Feelings” and “Brother Run Them Down”— showcase the Guelph fivesome at their rockin’ best. - Luke Simcoe NINE INCH NAILS THE SLIP Now that NIN frontman Trent Reznor is finished with record labels and no longer has to worry about the bottom line, he’s free to do things like give out entire albums for free to his fans. This is the second free album available on the NIN website, the first being an instrumental album that honestly wasn’t very exciting to anyone who’s not a die-hard fan. But The Slip is an album that will really grow on you... or maybe claw into you is a more fitting allusion for this band. The song “1,000,000” is Nine Inch Nails at their best, a heavy industrial mix with menacing lyrics. If you enjoy music that makes you angry, which I do, you’ ll definitely like the songs “Letting You” and “Head Down.” Even though it’s a free album, they definitely included some grade A material. The download is available at theslip.nin.com. - Mark Fisher THE INVISIBILITY EXHIBIT SACHIKO MURAKAMI In Sachiko Murakami’s Invisibility Exhibit, poems about Vancouver’s missing women transform the abstracts and statistics that we’re all familiar with into expressions of immediate physical need. Murakami’s emotional and precise poems make Vancouver’s missing women, and the problematic downtown east-side with which we associate them, painfully visible. Not only are the women themselves pulled out of invisibility, but also the sense of loss and bewilderment that surrounds their absence. By focusing on what is ignored or not present, Murakami puts the more visible aspects of our city into complicated perspective. This is beautiful poetry about an important subject, and it comes right on time. - Aimee Ouelette DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE NARROW STAIRS Since the moment they formed in some Bellingham basement, DCFC has been making the slow, seemingly inevitable trek towards maturity and accessibility. They hit the accessibility benchmark with 2005’s Plans, and with Narrow Stairs it seems like their long march towards maturity may well be over. The album is darker, more atmospheric, and more rough around the edges than the well-polished Plans, and a few critics have ventured that the album sounds like the result of Ben Gibbard grappling with turning 30. I’ve still got a few years until I hit that milestone, and consequently, Narrow Stairs doesn’t resonate all that strongly with me. There are of course some great moments: the beautiful spaciousness of all eight minutes of “I Will Possess Your Heart” is a standout, and both “Cath” and “No Sunlight” are vintage Death Cab, all shiny, but laced with macabre. Still, as a whole the record resounds far more with the sound of settling than any of the band’s previous outings. - Luke Simcoe NO AGE NOUNS In 2007, No Age, part of a burgeoning L.A. art-punk scene, released one of my favourite records of the year: a collection of their various vinyl-only EPs entitled Weirdo Rippers. Less than a year later, the duo, consisting of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/singer Dean Spunt, are ready to release their first proper LP on Sup Pop Records. Nouns, which officially hits store shelves on May 6, finds the band continuing their tradition of mixing early punk rock riffage with indie atmospherics. Shiny, reverb- drenched soundscapes slowly build, only to be shattered by short bursts of snotty punk bliss. Curiously, I think No Age are about to find themselves at an interesting junction. They’re signed to one of the largest independent labels in the world, and they’ ve got a sound that, while experimental at times, is still undeniably catchy and fun. Long story short, you’re going to be hearing a lot more about this band in the coming months. - Luke Simcoe NAx ine eo No ss | NICHOLAS CAGE NATIONAL TREASURE 2 While it isn’t as good as the first one, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets delivers as a fast paced adventure film that keeps you guessing until the end. Just like the first one, National Treasure 2 is a fun movie. While it might not always make perfect sense, and some scenes might stretch even the wildest imaginations, it is still a good ride that combines great action with a fun mystery that takes the characters across the whole world. The movie stars Nicholas Cage as Ben Gates, a treasure hunter who must traverse the globe to clear his family’s name. Jon Voight plays the role of Cage’s father. National Treasure 2 isn’t as great as the first one, but it is still well worth the price of the DVD. - Garth McLennan June 2, 2008 ROB SHEFFIELD LOVE IS A MIXTAPE When music journalist Rob Sheffield was 23, he met a girl named Renee. Bonding over a shared interest in music, the two would begin a whirlwind romance and enter quickly into wedded bliss. Five years later, Renee was dead, killed by a rare disease. Love Is a Mixtape is the couple’s story—or more accurately, their soundtrack—told via a series of mixtapes that the two exchanged during their relationship. To sound clichéd, the book will make you laugh and cry, and it’s told in the sardonic tone that we’ve come to expect from our pop culture writers (Chuck Klosterman, I’m looking in your direction). Like many who lived through it, Sheffield has a tendency to overemphasize the importance of the 90s, but his ability to write about music not from the perspective of an insider or musician, but as a fan, makes his tragic love story all the more earnest and moving. Love Is a Mixtape is a must-read for anyone who’s ever used someone else’s songs to try and express either love or loss. - Luke Simcoe INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL The biggest blockbuster of the year is the latest installment of the legendary Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and without a doubt, it lives up to the hype. Steven Speilberg and George Lucas reunite to create a wild ride of a movie that grossed an incredible $311 million in the first five days of its opening. It has been 19 years since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and in all likeyhood, this won’t be the final Indy film. Both stars Harrison Ford (who plays Indiana Jones) and Shia LaBouef (who plays Mutt Williams, Indy’s sidekick) have expressed interest in continuing the franchise, and Lucas and Speilberg have said that they will make new Indy movies only if the fans want more. Judging by Crystal Skull, that won’t be a problem. - Garth McLennan 13