Hospitality – Hospitality

The music industry has come a long way. Since Napster revolutionized the digital distribution of music, we’ve seen a paradigm shift not just in the way music is sold, but the way we listen to it. It seems were passed the days of wanton lawsuits against unwitting criminals, and it seems that now even the idea of the LP is beginning to wear away against the tide of singles, playlists and EPs. Take Hospitality as an example. With them, we have a group that put out an acclaimed EP in 2008 by themselves. Now, almost four years later, they’ve signed with a label and put new versions of those songs and a few new ones as their first LP. I never got to hear that EP, or even look at its tracklist, but if you had, wouldn’t you find it a little annoying that this band got caught up in the old ways and has made so little progress over all this time?

Honestly, this is neither here nor there, as the reality is this album is the first time I heard of Hospitality. And what I heard, I liked. This is that catchy, indie pop kind of music that I tend to gravitate toward, so I’m not going to have to much to say. The lead singer/songwriter Amber Papini has a voice that reminds me of Karen O or Tracyanne Campbell, but all the critics tell me she sounds weird, so I guess be aware of that? I don’t all the reviews I’ve read are pretty positive, that’s why I listened to this in the first place. I think that Tracyanne Campbell comparison is fair, because Hospitality does remind me Camera Obscura a little bit, kind like if those guys got mixed with Vampire Weekend.

Anyway, it’s still pretty early in the year and while there aren’t really that many exciting movies or video games out yet, there’s actually been a few pretty solid albums that have come out. That’s another cool thing about music, it seems the barrier for entry is lower than a lot of other media. Dozens of great albums come out every month and actually get covered by enthusiast press. You can’t really say that about movies and video games. While I really like this album, what I’m really excited about is the future of Internet distribution.

Favorite Tracks: “Friends of Friends,” “Betty Wang,” “All Day Today”

The Woman in Black

It is not often that a mainstream horror movie is released to even remotely positive reviews so when it does happen I’m all over it. Aside from that The Woman in Black appealed to me for two reasons: one, it’s a gothic period piece and two, it was produced by Hammer Films. To someone unfamiliar with Hammer Films let me provide a little backstory. Hammer Films is a UK production company that was established in the 1930s and rose to fame in the 50s and 60s for their traditional Gothic horror films. Hammer Films were atmospheric, classy, and often surprising violent all in one marvelous package. They recently returned to producing films a few years ago but this is the studio’s first stab at a Gothic horror film in over thirty years. How does it stack up those original productions? I’m glad to say this is one of the scariest and most atmospheric horror movies I’ve seen in awhile.

Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young widower father working as a lawyer in early 1900s London. Still haunted by visions of his dead wife, Arthur must also deal with continuing pressure from his employers. So Arthur is sent to the most depressing English village you’ve ever seen to handle the Eel Marsh estate. Previously owned by the now deceased Alice Drablow, Arthur quickly discovers there’s something askew about Eel Marsh. Since the death of Drablow the town has had an unusually high child suicide rate and it is believed to be connected to her death. Thus it us up to Arthur to uncover the ghastly secrets of the “Woman in Black.”

The role of Arthur Kipps doesn’t demand much aside from someone who can act frightened and give the occasional “Who’s there?” line, but Radcliffe does a fine job. Though find it odd to see the 22 year old Radcliffe playing the father of a four year old. Not that it would be that unusual for a man that age to have a child (especially during the time period) it’s just strange to see someone we still primarily see as a child actor playing a parent. Ciaran Hinds plays a wealthy landowner who befriends Arthur and does fine job in the only other other significant role in the film, I’ver never understood why he doesn’t receive more prominent roles. Though characters aside this is a movie about the effects and atmosphere.

This film is shot in some of the most eerie locations I’ve seen in a horror movie. All of the sets are dressed in a gloomy, gothic decor that could only exist in turn of the century England. Eel Marsh itself is like a living, breathing character. It rests on raised forested hill with a lone road that periodically gets swallowed by the tide every day. So whenever Arthur is taken up to Eel Marsh you know he’s in for a long stay. The Drablow house itself is the classic haunted house filled with cobwebs and many, many creepy dolls. Of course this is where Arthur sees “The Woman in Black” figure and though the scares are sometimes cheap they are a lot of fun.

I’ve noticed in the best horror films you always find yourself continually waiting for the next daylight scene, often because that’s where you get some relief. The Woman in Black like any effective horror movie truly delivers on that constant feeling of tension and dread and it’s very thrilling. Sure, The Woman in Black lacks originality in many aspects but it takes a traditional horror style and hits every right note. For what it is this is a great scary movie.