Welcome back to Thrak Attack! It has been a whirlwind month with lots of freezing nights. I hope all is well and got to settle in and get to experience these adventures that I did! Tons of new music, a few new games and movies, and one killer TV series! Here are the Top 10 releases of February 2021!
10. "Little Oblivions" by Julien Baker is not a great album. Granted I only had a day to really dive into it so maybe it'll gain some steam after a little more time with it but I just did not enjoy it. I love her earlier music and it truly features lots of heart but this one seems like an album for the sake of an album. It just a lifeless and receptive sound with nothing to grab my attention. Not my favorite obviously but better than some other releases this month.
9. Blue Fire for the Nintendo Switch is a crossover of Legend of Zelda and Hollowknight. The spooky art style and tight platforming mixed with the fantasy nature of the different shrines and levels make it feel like a perfect combination. Unfortunately for me I was not a good enough platformer to play this game. It was just a little bit too difficult for me but it was a nice breath of fresh air in between Cyber Shadow and another game that came out higher up on this list!
8. "Music" by Sia should have been the biggest release of the year. A simultaneous release of an album by an acclaimed artist and a movie based on the songs should have been great! I listened to the album and loved it! Lots of the songs including "1+1", "Beautiful Things Can Happen", and "Miracle" then I was very jazzed to watch the movie! The first half was great! The characters were well written and compelling, the plot was being set up for satisfying character arcs, but then something took a turn for the worse. The movie got jumbled and unfocused. Two or three extra plot points really muddied up the film's direction, a cameo from the director stopped the film dead in it's track, and a plot point that should have been meaningful left me feeling confused because we didn't know about what was going on with that part of the movie until it already happened. The lack of direction coupled with some problematic social issues plaguing the film's production and inception really left a bad taste in my mouth. I really wanted this one to be better.
7. "As the Love Continues" by Mogwai is a mainly instrumental album from an extremely underrated group. The Scottish group have been around since 1995 and I have heard them in passing but never got to experience their music. I am glad I did though! This album is solid! Notable tracks include "Pat Stains", "Supposedly, We Were Nightmares", and "Ritchie Sacramento". Although I really like this album listening to it all the way through does really bog it down. Due to the lack of lyrics on most tracks not many of them stand out. It's a really good album but one to drive to or listen to in the background while cleaning.
6. Flora & Ulysses on Disney+ is a cheesy kids movie about a super powered squirrel that would not be enjoyable without the dynamite cast. Ben Schwartz and Alyson Hannigan are great as the quirky artistic parents going through a rough patch who just need some reminders of how to live in the real world and not a fantasy one, Dani Pudi is fantastic as the not so villainous antagonist, and the lead Matilda Lawler is fantastic as the cynic who learns to look and find the magic in a world that may lose it. Lots of subtext in the film is muddled by some strange characters and ideas which are taken from the book it's based on. With that being said, this film has no right to be this good!
5. "Death by Rock n' Roll" by The Pretty Reckless is a paint by numbers rock album that makes it on the list due to the fact that it is a paint by numbers rock album that doesn't feel stale or boring. Songs like "Only Love Can Save Me Now", "Witches Burn", and my favorite "Turning Gold" make for an enjoyable listen! There's not much else to say about this album but that is why it's smack dab right in the center of this list!
4. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is a port from the Wii U (from 2013, so pretty dated) that has had the life breathed back into it with the addition of Bowser's Fury. I won't really review 3D World due to the fact that it's basically the same as the 2013 version but Bowser's Fury is the reason we're all here. This game is a great reminder of how innovative Nintendo is with its IP's. This add on is the perfect combination of 3D World and Odyssey that rewards tight platforming as well as exploration. A solid 6 hour experience was enough to get me and many other people excited! The way that Bowser interacts with the overworked is so vastly different than we've seen before from King Koopa. This probably would be a lot lower on the list without the Bowser's Fury addition.
3. Bravely Default II is the third installment (oddly enough) in the series that started on the 3DS. This is the first installment on the Switch and it made it relatively well. This is a turn based RPG with some unique twists. It has taken me a lot of time to get used to this new style of battles but I think I'm finally getting the handle on it. A lot of people have been hating on the character designs but I have been enjoying seeing these cartoony characters in these beautiful landscapes. I know it's odd at times but it's also super endearing and I love that they stuck to their guns even on the big console release!
2. "Medicine at Midnight" by the Foo Fighters is the 10th studio album from the now legendary rock group led by Dave Grohl. Fortunatel for us, it feels completely fresh and new. The styles are completely different in this album which was shown off by it's single last year with "Shame Shame". There are some heavier songs such as "No Son of Mine" but there's an underlying theme of disco or grooviness to the rest of the songs. My top three are "Making a Fire", "Waiting on a War", and "Holding the Poison". Such a great departure from the norm from this amazing group of musicians!
1. WandaVision is the first Disney+ series spawning from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I'm glad it is! The show asks just as many questions as it answers in each episode which helps the viewer waiting anxiously for the next episode! I know the show was #2 on the January list, it has since made it's way to the top spot! Whether you're an MCU aficionado or have never seen a Marvel movie, this show will draw you in! It has everything from perfect acting and costuming, spot on visual effects, tonal shifts that keep you questioning what's really going, and a plot that will knock your socks off! I cannot wait for the finale next week!
Thank you, Ross Patrick
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