[rating=4]
Released March 25, 2013
Review. Review. The Burning of Rome effortlessly fuses indie with cabaret and bluegrass to create their own distinct sound finds Little Bastard.

“It’s kitsch, it’s disturbing, it rocks harder than most albums I’ve heard in recent months…”

[rating=5]
150 min • Prince of Wales Theatre • From March 21, 2013

The Book of Mormon is a masterpiece of musical theatre. It’s witty, clever, base, crude and even touching, finding profundity in profanity.

“One would expect the creators of South Park to have penned a musical that’s rude & crude laced with humour that’s juvenile and vile, all boxes that The Book Of Mormon ticks, and does so with relish – but it is also incredibly slick, well staged and deceptively intelligent.”

[rating=5]
Released March 11, 2013
Review. John Grant’s Pale Green Ghosts boasts beautiful songs coupled with painfully honest and idiosyncratic lyrics.

“Whilst his music doesn’t fit any stereotyped categorization of gay music, the songs are distinctly queer, with the bent of a man who has struggled with his sexuality, his addictions, his demons, and continues to do so. “

[rating=4]
Released May 27, 2013
Upon Ayr by Fletcher. Marcus Reeves is impressed by Ben Fletcher’s debut album, which has great sensitivity, feeling and authenticity. .

“If this is what Fletcher can produce by polishing up his ‘demos’, it would be interesting to see what he might do with a big budget, but it is perhaps the limitations imposed on the recordings and his ‘one man band’ aesthetic that has made the album such an impressive and focused collection..”

Protecting the Innocent.

Gay Relationship Column. Scottie wonders about the responsibility of ‘the other man’ when he sleeps with someone who is in a relationship that is supposed to be monogamous.

“I couldn’t condone my friend’s actions or attitude, but for some reason, I didn’t feel the need to scold him either. Maybe it was because I hoped that his conscience would take over once he made his confession to me.”

From the Smiths to Britpop.

Musician Emily Capell talks about her early influences, cheesy ’80s pop and a song that lead to a series of appearances on the gay cabaret scene.

“Yeah. I write about what I know … what I do. You won’t believe the amount of people that actually ask me, ‘Is your dad really a Smiths fan?’… of course he is! Can you imagine if he wasn’t … ‘no, he really likes Take That’.”

[rating=5]
Cert:18 • US: 60 min • RabbitBandini Productions • January 19, 2013

Interior. Leather Bar. This playful film is a fascinating look at queer desire, and the extent to which we are actors in our own lives.

“The narrative sets up questions around freedom of expression, individual and societal homophobia, and anxieties about depicting sex generally, so that the sex itself, when it happens, becomes an embodiment of those issues.”

[rating=5]
Released March 15, 2013
Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience is, finds Little Bastard, a sonic thrill with a relatively uncommercial soundscape.

“The 20/20 Experience is probably one of the most impeccably produced albums I have ever heard. It’s not just slick, it’s intricate and beautiful, with a layer of soul that, if you scratch the surface of each song, bleeds through.”

[rating=2]
Released January 21, 2013
Marcus Reeves finds that the cowboy sound starts off well but turns out to be style over substance.

“Lonesome Dreams feels like a project that has been made with great passion and is well played and put together, but rather than paint with his palette sparingly, Schneider has used all his colours at once on every sonic canvas to create an ultimately unwelcoming landscape.”

[rating=5]
Cert: NR • USA: 109 min • Public Square Films • 2012

How To Survive A Plague is a first-rate, suspenseful documentary that looks at how activists from ACT UP and TAG made AIDS research possible.

“Shot through archive interviews, newsreels and camcorder footage, it’s a truly inspirational story of how a community can come together and fight for real social change. Essential Viewing.”