Welcome to HNGN's weekly top picks, where we cull the best and brightest releases in music, fashion, beauty, tech and pop culture. Come back every other week for more of-the-moment goodness. - Editing by Michael Lello.
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MUSIC
By Michael Lello
Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free (Southeastern Records)
In 2013, former Drive-by Truckers member Jason Isbell put himself on the map as a solo artist with his fourth album, “Southeastern,” which became a staple on critics’ annual best-of lists. He hasn’t missed a beat with “Something More Than Free,” which debuted atop the Billboard Country charts when it was released last week. Below, check out the new track “Palmetto Rose,” perfect for fans who like artists who hang out at the corner of rock and country, like Ryan Adams, Josh Ritter and Neko Case.
Joss Stone: Water For Your Soul (S-Curve/Stone’d)
British soul singer Joss Stone stormed onto the scene as a teenager with her 2003 debut “The Soul Sessions.” Six albums and more than a decade later, she’s departed from her signature sound to create an album dominated by reggae and hip-hop flavors. Produced by Damian Marley – a son of Bob Marley – the new sound seems to have its roots in SuperHeavy, the short-lived supergroup Stone and Marley were in alongside Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart and A.R. Rahman.
Check out the fun music video for Stone’s empowering track “The Answer” below.
Wilco: Star Wars (dBpm)
Wilco shocked its fans – in a good way – earlier this month when it released, for free, a new album called “Star Wars.” The overall feel of the album, the band’s ninth, is tuneful but with heavy shades of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” the 2002 album that the band’s label at the time famously refused to release due to its experimental nature.
You can download “Star Wars” for free at the band’s official website, while CD and vinyl versions will be for sale on Aug. 21 and Nov. 27, respectively.
You can also stream the entire album via YouTube below.
Public Enemy: Man Plans God Laughs (Spitdigital)
The iconic socially and politically driven rappers, at it for more than 30 years, are back with a typically lyrically sharp collection of new songs on their 13th studio release. MC Chuck D and company nod to the past with references like a sample of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” in the lead track, “No Sympathy For The Devil,” while keeping an eye on the issues of the present.
MOVIES
By Cal Setar
Pixels (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
When aliens mistake video footage of old arcade games as a declaration of war, a battle breaks out that will decide the fate of Earth. Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, Ashley Benson and Brian Cox make up an all-star cast of characters out to save, and in some cases, destroy, the planet.
Paper Towns (20th Century Fox)
“The Fault In Our Stars” author John Green’s new coming-of-age story about a boy, Quentin, and his neighbor. Quentin becomes enamored with the mercurial Margo, whose mysteriousness increases tenfold when she suddenly disappears one night, leading Quentin and his friends on an adventure that reveals to Quentin the true meanings of friendship and love.
Southpaw (Weinstein Company)
“Southpaw” tells the story of Billy “The Great” Hope, the one-time Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World. A set of tragic circumstances push Billy to the edge – he loses his wife, his child and his title – and force him to rebuild himself anew as he looks to win the fight of his life.
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (Paramount Pictures)
Ethan Hunt and his team of elite, high-level operatives take on their biggest and most difficult mission yet. With the IFM disbanded, Hunt and his crew are out in the cold, forced to operate on their own – and with a little help from a member of a rogue nation – as they look to take down this newest threat, the Syndicate.
FASHION & BEAUTY
By Oulimata Ba
NARS Satin Lip Pencil
This makeup junkie was treated to a free sample of NARS’ Satin Lip Pencil for her birthday and I can’t stop gushing about it.
The pencil delivers a smooth dose of velvety pigment in just one glide. And the shades alone are worth mentioning because they come in 16 novel colors, like Sangria, Rose Brown and Cognac, and are named after real parks from around the world.
NARS’ Satin Lip Pencils range from $25 to $26.
Karen Walker for Sephora Collection
After teaming up with jewelry designer Alexis Bittar for a collection of gilded makeup brushes, Sephora is looking to pimp out your glam tools with another collaboration. This time the muse is Karen Walker, a New Zealand-based designer hailed for her eyewear and lauded as the epitome of quirky cool fashion.
This fall, look out for Walker's six-piece brush set designed with handles that look like sleek tortoise shells. The brushes come in a golden stand, so it adds a royal touch to your home. Walker continued the turtle theme with a $48 compact mirror, made in the image of her round-frame Orbit sunglasses, as part of the Sephora collection.
Karen Walker's $125 Amber Craft brush set is expected to hit Sephora shelves in October.
Chuck Taylor All Star II Converse
ZTE is treating customers with the Axo Pro, a cheaper alternative to unlocked smartphones. The device comes with a 5.5-inch, 2,560x1,440 LCD screen and is made of warm aluminum. Additional features include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 processor (2GHz), 4GB of RAM, an AKM AK4961 DSP chip for high-quality audio, a 13-megapixel main camera that provides 4K video recording at 30 frames per second, and a secondary 2-megapixel camera. The ZTE Axon Pro is available now for $450 and comes with a microUSB cable and JBL in-ear headphones.
