Rather than slogging through a lake of reviews to find something you’re just going to put down after 10 minutes, Cult of Mac has once again waded through the iTunes store to compile a list of the best new albums, books and movies to come out this week.
We’ve got a rap-tastic future you’ll either love or hate, a yummy comeback from Kelis, a dark indie movie you may have missed and a soul-searching memoir from Barbara Ehrenreich.
Enjoy!
Music
Future – Honest
You will either love or hate Hate HATE Future. His raw, emotive, and heavily Auto-Tuned rap vocals have caused a split among rap fans, but we love it, especially paired with a heavy hitter like Pusha T on “Move That Doe.” Honest surges with a new self-assurance of the artist coming into his own as Future has become more comfortable letting the grit of his rap show. Anchored by giants like Kanye West, Drake, Pharrell, Wiz Kalifa, and Pusha T, Future’s second LP is the rap album you can’t miss this week.
iTunes – $12.99
Neon Trees – Pop Psychology
Neon Trees are the pop-alt icons of the aughts. Their catchy electric tunes induce involuntary foot-taps, head bops, and before you know it you’re singing along whether you like it or not. Pop Psychology is the inevitable progression from hits like “Everybody Talks” and “Animal,” but it also contains deeper conflicts as singer Tyler Glen opens up about coming out of the closet in an all-Mormon town.
iTunes – $7.99
Kelis – Food
When I think of Kelis, my mind naturally turns to milkshakes bringing boys to yards, but on Food Kelis sheds both her contemporary R&B sound as well as the futuristic electro-pop that made Acappella a hit, in favor feast of impeccable soul melodies served next to sweaty funk grooves. Food is different from anything else she’s made in her career and boy, is it delicious.
iTunes –$9.99
Books
Struck By Genius
by Jason Padgett
At 31 years-old, Jason Padgett was a dude who cared more about his biceps than his career. Ironically, a savage mugging forever altered the way his brain works, giving him unique gifts like the ability to see water in crystalline patterns or fractal patterns emerging from the movement of tree branches. His unique case of acquired savant syndrome makes Struck by Genius a fascinating read as Padgett recounts how he overcame huge setbacks and embraced his new mind.
iTunes – $12.99
The Remedy
by Thomas Goetz
In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, causing over a third of all deaths. The Remedy presents the riveting history of the world’s most lethal disease, but also taps into the life of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his link to the birth of medical science by exploring his history of debunking a lauded TB cure.
iTunes – $13.99
Living with a Wild God
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Not only is she an educated scientist,but she’s also an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In Living With A Wild God, Ehrenreich recounts her quest to find truth about the universe and everything else, presenting a book that can be enjoyed by the religious and atheists alike.
iTunes – $12.99
Movies
Small Time
I only watched Small Time because as a Breaking Bad fan, I’m hoping that Dean Norris (Hank) can make it in comedies as well. He doesn’t get as much screen time as I hoped for in this comedy about a high school graduate who shuns college to work at his dad’s used car lot, but the moments he does get in provide the perfect amount of relief in this heartwarming comedy.
iTunes – $12.99
Omar
Turning political issues into effective personal stories is incredibly difficult – possibly more so when the backdrop is set in Palestine – but that’s exactly what filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad does in Omar, a 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. The film’s titular character is a amiable baker who conspires to gun down an Israeli solider with two friends. Omar is subsequently captured, tortured, imprisoned, and then forced to make a horrible bargain for his freedom.
iTunes – $4.99
Favor
Favor is a riveting indie-gem about Kip Desmond, an affluent guy with a beautiful wife. Kip’s lifestyle isn’t that interesting, but when the waitress he’s been sleeping with on the side is accidentally killed all hell breaks loose and Kip finds himself committing horrible act, the kind he never suspected himself capable of, with his buddy Marvin.
iTunes – $12.99
