New Music From Nothing

New music from Nothing! Lead single from their upcoming album A Short History of Decay, out February 27 on Run For Cover Records. Pre-order HERE.

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NCBD:

A nice, tight list of great books today. Let's get 

I guess I'll be leading every Transformers entry in these pages with, "Look at that cover!" because hot damn if Dan Moya isn't turning out some of the most elegantly pleasing covers in all of comics at the moment. I was a little concerned about switching out the analog space-dust style of Jorge Corona and DWJ for this more polished look for the book. However, it's been incredible so far.

Jason Aaron is out, and Gene Luen Yang takes over writing as of this issue, backed by Freddie E. Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse on art. I will miss Juan Ferreyra's art; Ferreyra's look was new to me and gave the book a bold new look that I think we were all ready for with 2023's continuity-adhering relaunch. Now, it looks like the new team has once again reinvented the book from the ground up, and I find myself once again happy that I didn't jump off when the issue counter got reset. 

Minor Arcana continues to thrill me with its seaside vibes and mysterious characters. 

Always a great thing to see Cobra Commander rising from the ashes of his missteps. Also, to have Copperhead feature so prominently on a cover makes my heart sing - one of me favorites, he is!

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Watch:

I finally had the chance to sit down and watch David Cronenberg's latest film, 2024's The Shrouds. 

After a few initial misgivings, I ended up really liking this. It reminded me a lot of Cronenberg's novel, Consumed, which I am a fairly big fan of. There are a few nuances to Vincent Cassel's acting choices (which might have more to do with an otherwise solid script), but overall, The Shrouds starts in a relatively small place and expands into a very Cronenberg-esque conspiracy. I've been thinking about his predilection and approach to conspiracy lately; most of his films deal with secret cabals and their agendas. Starting with Consumed - unless I'm missing something - those conspiracies become global, moving away from small groups of rag-tag conspirators to incorporate global countries. North Korea is a major force in Consumed, and both Russia and China may or may not figure heavily into The Shrouds. Fifty years of making films that have grown in budget, scope and acclaim have helped David Cronenberg become a Director with global urgency, and that is on full display here. 

I watched this on the Criterion Channel app, but it's likely available elsewhere as well (although Criterion is becoming a must-have channel in our house, so I'd just recommend signing up for the trial and checking them out).

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Blackbraid - Blackbraid III

Willie Nelson - Oh What a Beautiful World: The Songs of Rodney Crowell

Deadguy - Near Death Travel Services

Fever Ray - Eponymous

Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land

Stone Angel - Eponymous

Carter Burwell - Blood Simple OST

Tim Hecker - Infinity Pool OST

Nothing - a short history of decay (pre-release singles)

Mondo Decay - Nun Gun

Dreamkid - Daggers

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Page of Swords

• XIV: Temperance

• Eight of Cups

Agility again. Agility tempered with emotional control. Or, perhaps, Agility achieved through emotional distance?