Mountain Man, “Made The Harbor”
Bella Union/Partisan
To a new listener, it’s hard to predict what the first full-length album by a band called Mountain Man would sound like. It’s not totally surprising to find the band makes folk music — but that it’s an all-female trio and it’s mostly acapella? As offbeat as it sounds, that’s exactly what Mountain Man delivers with “Made the Harbor.” The music is about as bare bones as you can ask for, as the three heroines deliver their captivating tunes with just basic guitar accompaniment — and sometimes not even that. What’s more, the album was apparently recorded in an abandoned ice cream factory, so the vocals for each track bounce around and slightly echo, making for a more beautiful, and even haunting, experience.
A
DAVID HELMAN
 
Sheryl Crow, “100 Miles from Memphis”A&M
Sheryl Crow’s seventh studio album is 100 miles away from country music, or so it may seem to anyone who’s never heard the nine-time Grammy award winner’s sultry voice. Delivering much more soulful and sexy sounds, Crow’s powerful vocals convey an array of emotions that will drive listeners to the songstress’ small “community-oriented, God-fearing” hometown that inspired the album. At times a bit churchy, the album is definitely full of passion and drama and sets Crow apart from other famous Nashville stars.
A
JULIAN TATE
 
The Books, “The Way Out”Temporary Residence
“The Way Out,” the fifth LP by eclectic New York duo The Books, continues the band’s penchant for pairing voice samples with distorted layers of acoustic guitar and wailing melodies. While previous Books albums tended to err on the side of noise-rock, “The Way Out” is more mellow and pensive, as the voice samples form collages for the band’s eerie soundscapes. While the album often thrills through serenity, nearly half the songs seem to confuse tranquility for interesting music. Still, The Books have created an album that is easy to get lost in — sometimes too easy.
B-
CHRIS ABSHIRE
 
Marc Cohn, “Listening Booth: 1970″Saguaro Road Records, Inc.
Marc Cohn, the folk singer-songwriter best known for the 1991 hit “Walking in Memphis,” released this week his fifth full-length studio album, “Listening Booth: 1970.” The 13-track album is a collection of covers of songs released that year. And successfully tackles Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight” and Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” but falls flat on others, like Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Only Living Boy in New York.” The slow, smooth renditions rely heavily on Cohn’s voice, making for a sometimes boring album that peaks during a few songs, like the cover of Bread’s “Made It With You” that features India.Arie.
C+
NICHOLAS PERSAC
 
“Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”IFC Films
This candid documentary provides an insightful look into the more complex than expected life of Joan Rivers. The 77-year-old comedienne is a showbiz legend, but her decades in entertainment have reduced her image to a shallow, shrill shtick. “A Piece of Work” makes Rivers human again and shows how she has been affected by going so far down the Hollywood rabbit hole. Personal loss, the hunger for success and the fear of losing it all are among the film’s themes, but the best part is realizing how much Rivers understands about herself. She knows what people think of her, but she only hopes they keep thinking.
A
RYAN BUXTON
 
“Inception”Warner Bros. Pictures
“Inception,” the latest film from “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan, is an audacious film plastered with bold cinematography, grandiose special effects and a mind-numbingly extravagant plot that involves entering people’s dreams to steal secrets. Nolan also crafted the script for the film, which provides audiences with more than two-and-a-half hours of action shadowed by a darkly omnipresent score by Hans Zimmer. “Inception” is a majestic film, but its action is sometimes lost by failed attempts to inject emotionality into the story, which leaves the characters sadly underdeveloped. Despite this disillusioning aspect, however, “Inception” remains elegant and likeably complex.
B
MATTHEW JACOBS
 
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