Music Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Music

A person in a black outfit crouching beside an old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape player, with a soccer ball on the floor next to them.
Review

Sisters with Transistors

by Caitlin Quinlan

This illu­mi­nat­ing doc­u­men­tary pro­files extra­or­di­nary women musi­cians who shaped elec­tron­ic sound.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Smiling students sitting at desks in a classroom, one wearing a striped sweatshirt.
Review

Moxie

by Emily Maskell

Amy Poehler’s sec­ond fea­ture behind the cam­era miss­es the mark in its search for humour and solidarity.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A woman in a red jacket with her hand on her ear, standing in front of red curtains.
Review

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché

by David Jenkins

A stir­ring and fraught moth­er-daugh­ter rela­tion­ship is at the cen­tre of this live­ly punk rock doc.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Performer playing keyboard on stage, surrounded by large crowd.
Festivals

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) – first-look review

by Leila Latif

Questlove’s tri­umphant direc­to­r­i­al debut charts the cul­tur­al impact and lega­cy of the 1969 Harlem Cul­tur­al Festival.

3
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two people in formal attire embracing in front of a neon sign in a dimly lit setting.
Review

Sylvie’s Love

by Cheyenne Bart-Stewart

Tes­sa Thomp­son and Nnam­di Aso­mugha shine in a heady tale of two lovers, set in 1960s Harlem.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Serious-looking man in grey suit holding an anatomical model of a human brain.
Review

David Byrne’s American Utopia

by Charles Bramesco

Spike Lee’s filmed ver­sion of David Byrne’s cel­e­brat­ed con­cert shows a pop mas­ter at the peak of his powers.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A male musician playing an electric guitar on stage, surrounded by red lighting and a microphone.
Review

Zappa

by Erik Nielsen

Alex Win­ter directs this expan­sive por­trait of the self-styled rock god, for hard­core fans and skep­tics alike.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Group of men in old-fashioned attire gathered around a reclined man in a dimly lit room. Brick floor, wooden furniture, and instruments including a violin and trumpet.
Review

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

by Flora Spencer Grant

The enter­tain­ing sto­ry of the tit­u­lar ​“Moth­er of the Blues” sees Chad­wick Bose­man shine in his final performance.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Young woman with dark hair wearing headphones, smiling at the camera.
Review

I Am Woman

by Leila Latif

Pop music and women’s lib­er­a­tion come to the fore in direc­tor Unjoo Moon’s slight biopic of Helen Reddy.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Enthusiastic crowd with raised hands, diverse faces expressing joy.
Review

White Riot

by Adam Woodward

The sto­ry of how Rock Against Racism com­bat­ted fas­cism in ​’70s Britain has some dis­turb­ing con­tem­po­rary parallels.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect