Bloglander

Each week we offer the skinny on some of the best new music and home video releases. We call it Tuesday Taste, and here's the lowdown for this week: 

MUSIC

Waxahatchee, aka Katie Crutchfield, continues her remarkable trajectory as a songwriter on Ivy Tripp, her third full-length. It's a bigger, brasher sound for someone most known for conversational vocals and intimate lyrics, but it totally makes sense on Waxahatchee's latest. Here's a taste of Waxahatchee live: 

Toro Y Moi is the performing name for Chaz Bundick, and on his latest, What For?, the songwriter and producer delves into some tasty pop that leans heavily on the synthesizers rather than the guitars of past efforts. Here's a tune called "Empty Nesters:" 

Mountain Goats' John Darnielle is an incredibly savvy songwriter, using folk-rock as the basis for an endlessly entertaining series of albums. The latest, Beat the Champ, is a themed album of sorts, about pro wrestling, one of Darnielle's childhood passions. It makes for surprisingly excellent listening, like this: 

MOVIES & TV

A Most Violent Year got sort of lost in the shuffle of holiday-time movie releases, nearly forgotten among the family fare, blockbuster sequels and Oscar bait, although many critics found this New York crime story starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain worthy of a few nominations itself. Here's a look: 

The Immigrant was a long time coming to video, taking nearly a year after hitting theaters. But given that it stars the consistently excellent Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix, you should expect this period piece about two Polish sisters arriving in America in the early 1920s to have a lot to offer. Here's a look: