Drøn’s sophomore album is a wonderful meandering journey through sonic textures, synthesized soundscapes, and deep ambient grooves. The music here is much less percussion-driven than their debut album, but it delivers comparably high production value. Just over a dozen songs take us into a wide variety of abstract moods.

Grade: A.

0.3

Drøn’s debut on the German ambient label, Elektrolux, is a lush set of deep downtempo moods, slow instrumental grooves, and rhythmic IDM tracks. The production level here is very high and the arrangements are inventive and imaginative. This beautiful group of recordings takes the listener to other worlds and times.

Grade: A-.

0.3

A suicidal girl is rescued by and joins the act of a circus knife thrower in this quirky French picture. The dark comedy is in black and white, giving a much older, more classic cinema feel. The story is well-written and inventive and the acting performances are first-rate.

Grade: B+.

0.3

Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn star in this quirky espionage film from the 80s, in which a disillusioned contract employee decides to sell classified secrets to the Soviets and ropes his stoner buddy into the efforts. While based on a true story, many of the events depicted here seem implausible.

Grade: B-.

0.3

Dennis Ferrer delivers a beautiful set of house tracks in his first album on Defected Records, producing a wonderful collection that ranges from Latin-influenced deep house to funky soul grooves. The lead vocalists on these tracks are backed up by some well-arranged backing and first-rate composition talent.

Grade: A-.

0.3

Deepsky drops a varied set of techno, breakbeat, trance, and house gems on this fun record from 2002. The production value here is quite high and there are plenty of hooks here to get the listener’s head nodding. Pulsing basslines, aggressive percussion, and inventive arranging make this disk quite unusual.

Grade: B.

0.3

This album is full of well-produced minimal techno tracks, abstract grooves, and collaborations with the likes of Joris Voorn and Funk D’Void. The music here is warm, full of soul, and mercilessly pounding. With a little touch of disco, this ten-count set features plenty of head-nodding moments.

Grade: A-.

0.3

In this strange romance set in an alternate world where those who commit suicide go after they die, Zia seeks out his girlfriend, who followed him soon after his death. A gaggle of very interesting characters inhabit this compelling world and a strange group of misfits takes up Zia’s quest.

Grade: B+.

0.3

The stories of six teenagers intertwine in an Australian high school in this tragic drama in which each person seems to have a slightly more painful life than the next. An unexpected ending throws the bewildered audience for a loop. The story and acting performances here are all first-rate.

Grade: B+.

0.3

In this sweet relationship drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, Tom meets Summer in an advertising agency, where he designs greeting cards. The picturesque story jumps randomly around various points in their short relationship, through the bliss at the beginning to the pain and obsession at the end.

Grade: A-.

0.3