Cub — Wunderhorse
A Spotify recommendation seconded by an amusing Sputnikmusic review. To paraphrase that review, there’s very little new here—but what impresses is how thoroughly this mid-20s former punk rocker distills the best of ’90s Britrock and lets it rip. Snatches of Blur and Radiohead, among others.
The City and the City — China Miéville
It took some time to get into this novel by “New Weird” author Miéville. In structure, characters, and plot, this is a standard detective novel—but there’s a bonkers angle that makes what would otherwise be a straightforward mystery into a master class in speculative fiction.
Mad Men Season 6
Still cruising through Mad Men, and I’m impressed on a second viewing how the show manages such huge leaps in character development over the course of its run. For example, by Season 6, Don Draper is less an enigma than a tragic, lonely figure, less ad man than addict.
Taylor Coe 