OK, so you’ve survived the horrors – the horror – of Blue Monday and you need a little something to instill New Year’s euphoria back into your soul. Don’t get your hopes up too much for the middle of January, but there are a few things out this week that might just be enough to get you through with some quality new music, a few hard-hitting films and a little decent telly. Gamers will have to keep their hopes on ice for now, but it won’t be too long before we get a few big grizzlies to take on, which you can read more about below.
Music – out on the 20th January 2017
Menace Beach’s flash-kicking garage and psych rock release, Lemon Memory, is our album of the week. The Leeds-based “supergroup” – consisting of Ryan Needham (former lead singer of Komakino), Liza Violet of Department M, Nestor Matthews of Sky Larkin, Matt Spalding of You Animals, Nick Chantler of Seize The Chair and MJ of Hookworms – makes its return with its second studio record and it’s shaping up to be class. You can check out lead single, Give Blood, in the stream below:
There’s also some threadbare electronica from Austra in Future Politics, and Californian indie rock from Foxygen’s new album Hang. If you really want something uber uplifting then there’s new Lights & Motion record, Dear Avalanche, to fire in some Swedish ambiant, shoe-gazing dream pop mojo. All-in-all, it’s not a bad week for music.
Movies out this week
Cinema (out 20th January 2017):
The big movie release this week is Natalie Portman’s Jackie Kennedy biography, Jackie, which has already earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globes. It’s likely to be a big contender in the 2017 Academy Awards too, along with Manchester By The Sea and La La Land, which came out last week, so it could be one to catch.
Other films out this week that could be worth a watch include Dev Patel’s latest movie, Lion, telling the story of a lost boy’s life on the streets of Calcutta and eventual journey home twenty five years later. It also stars Roony Mara (Pan) and Nicole Kidman (Paddington).
You could also check out M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological horror, Split, which stars James McAvoy playing a guy with multiple personality disorder. If, however, you’re more into tats, bikes and muscly muscles then there’s XXX: The Return Of Xander Cage, but we’ll leave that to your conscience to decide.
DVD, Blu-ray and digital download (out 16th January 2017):
Ben-Hur (2016) is probably your best bet when it comes to home entertainment. Chariot fights and Roman brutality abounds in the 2016 remake.
Computer games
By far the best looking new game release out this week is the PS4 exclusive, Gravity Rush 2, but it doesn’t look like it’s a must-play if we’re being honest. There’s also RPG, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King on the 3DS, but again we’re a bit lukewarm on it to be honest.
Gravity Rush 2 trailer:
January is a pretty dry month for gaming, but with Poochy And Yoshi’s Woolly World and Horizon Zero Dawn on the horizon for February, it won’t be too long before things get more exciting. There’s also the Nintendo Switch, The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands to look forward to in March, so you’ll be able to get your yayas off then.
What’s on TV
This week’s TV highlights include more Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish on Dave on the 17th January at 9pm, Martin Clunes: Islands of Australia on the 17th on ITV at 8pm, Jack Dee’s Inauguration on the 19th at 10pm on BBC 2, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown at 9pm on the 20th on Channel 4 and Episode 3 of Taboo on BBC 1 on the 21st.
There’s also Episode 3 of Walking The Americas on Channel 4 (22nd at 8pm) and then the first episode of Homeland Series 6 straight after it on Channel 4 at 9pm.
There’s another slew of good movies to watch on TV this week with Hellboy II: The Golden Army on the 17th Jan at 9pm on ITV 2, Elysium on 5 Star on the 17th Jan at the same time, The Forty Year-Old Virgin at 9pm on ITV 2 on the 20th and Snow White And The Huntsman on Channel 4 at 6:45 on the 21st. The weekend will also see The Other Woman on Channel 4 at 9pm, Looper at 10:30 on BBC 2, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on ITV 2 at 6:50pm, Star Trek (2009) on Sky One at 9pm, Terminator Salvation at 9pm on E4, and Amy (2015) on More 4 at 9pm, all on Saturday, and then there’s Trainspotting on Channel 4 at 10:05pm ahead of the T2 Trainspotting release in a few weeks, and The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug on ITV 2 at 8pm both on Sunday.
