The Star-Telegram arts writers spotlight what's rocking their world this week.
1 Lawless Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: John Hillcoat's violent, Depression-era drama about bootlegging may not be everybody's cup of white lightning, but the soundtrack -- overseen by Nick Cave (of Birthday Party and Bad Seeds fame) and Warren Ellis -- is magical. Its mix of vintage bluegrass and contemporary craft (contributors run the gamut from banjo player Ralph Stanley to Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age) adds to the allure of the film and stands on its own. The soundtrack is available on Sony Masterworks.
-- Cary Darling
2 Cat Power, Sun : The six years that have passed between singer-songwriter Chan Marshall's last album of original songs (2006's The Greatest) and this collection have contained lifetimes. A long-term relationship with actor Giovanni Ribisi blossomed and collapsed, leaving Marshall to craft Sun, a raw-nerved, haunting album ranking among her strongest works to date. Highlights abound on the largely self-produced LP, including the 11-minute opus Nothin' But Time, rich with bold electronic flourishes.
-- Preston Jones
3 Plague Inc. on iOs: Psst, wanna get ill? This gruesomely entertaining new iPhone app, from Ndemic Creations, allows players to create viruses and systematically infect the planet, racing against determined scientists who are working to concoct a cure. By tweaking "lethality," "infectivity" and "severity" levels for your burgeoning virus, you collect DNA "points" and try to earn infamy as a fast-moving scourge. The end of the world never felt like so much fun.
-- Preston Jones
