Merry-Go-Round Magazine is an independent, online culture magazine based in Los Angeles. Consider supporting us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/mgrmhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mlgiuwxvyk2zIt's our Bandcamp Picks of the Week, featuring longstanding music writer @jasonpwoodbury.bsky.social's latest cornucopia of cosmic country, JASON P. WOODBURY AND THE NIGHT BIRD SINGING QUARTET, and Cashier's fuzzy, deeply-felt EP, THE WEIGHT. Read about both and then check them out on @bandcamp.com! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/bandcamp-picks-of-the-week-5-7-2026/09 May 2026 14:55 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgiuwxvyk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mlbttrxmcs2pRooted in both medical truths and American realities, Amy Wang's SLANTED is an outrageous and entertaining body horror parable that offers a commentary that shouldn't soon be forgotten. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/slanted-peels-the-layers-of-american-beauty/07 May 2026 18:28 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbttrxmcs2phttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3ml4gypmt5c2wNext week, @happyjusttoseeyou.bsky.social will release their excellent third album LAST WEEK'S HORSE, among the best of the year so far. We have one more taste of the record on the site today, a premiere of their final single, the daydreaming ballad "Everything I Am." Give it a listen today! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/track-premiere-happy-just-to-see-yous-everything-i-am/05 May 2026 14:55 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4gypmt5c2whttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mjs5guccy22kIt’s our Bandcamp Pick of the Week, featuring the squiggly art pop R&B of Choker’s HEAVEN AIN’T SOLD, out now via Jet Fuzz! Read about it, go give it a listen, and then check it out over on @bandcamp.com! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/bandcamp-pick-of-the-week-4-18-2026/18 Apr 2026 19:12 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjs5guccy22khttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mjryve53ts2kDesperate to score easy points from its unapologetic cheesiness, YOU, ME & TUSCANY is trying, perhaps too hard, to win you over. Not without shortcomings, the film has heart, and a currently bleak indie ecosystem needs that. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/you-me-tuscany-desperately-needs-to-sell-you-its-cuteness/18 Apr 2026 17:51 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjryve53ts2khttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3miytr6bgz22qOn his third album under the moniker, Jack Rutter pushes the Ritt Momney project to new levels both sonically and thematically, with songwriting that is constantly asking “why am I the way that I am?” https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/ritt-momney-advances-songwriting-and-sonics-on-third-album-base/08 Apr 2026 17:42 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3miytr6bgz22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3miotmbhx4s2sIt's our Bandcamp Pick of the Week, featuring the rigid rhythms and digital imperfections of Liam Aldous's NO CITY COULD SOUND! Read all about it and then give it a listen over on @bandcamp.com! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/bandcamp-pick-of-the-week-4-4-2026/04 Apr 2026 18:13 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3miotmbhx4s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mimf2uizfs2gLEVITICUS is more an exercise in despair than suspense, foregoing jump scares for atmospheric dread and coming out the other side somehow emotionally comforting beyond the horror. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/leviticus-is-an-eerie-ode-to-queer-survival/03 Apr 2026 18:48 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mimf2uizfs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mi7ab4tjzs2tFORBIDDEN FRUITS never quite feels as inventive or fun as its premise and marketing would imply, a disjointed movie that has plenty of potential but comes up well shy of becoming the campy horror classic that was promised. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/forbidden-fruits-doesnt-pass-the-taste-test/29 Mar 2026 13:17 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi7ab4tjzs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mi2nwqxva22yIan Tuason's UNDERTONE lingers, opening with a gentle, unexpected threat and never letting go. The initial festival buzz that it's one of the scariest American horror films of the last decade is warranted. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/undertone-creeps-in-and-refuses-to-let-go/27 Mar 2026 17:38 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi2nwqxva22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mhvg3t5qts2kNot without a side of cheese, TRYING TIMES finds ways to minimize James Blake's shortcomings and deliver some of his best songs yet. Beyond the flaws, it has a music festival optimism that lands, and that's commendable in the year 2026. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/trying-times-is-james-blake-at-his-best-whatever-that-means-in-2026/25 Mar 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhvg3t5qts2khttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mhlrza674225It's our Bandcamp Pick of the Week, featuring Liz Cooper's confident art pop transformation NEW DAY, out now via Sleepyhead Records! Read about it and then grab a copy over on @bandcamp.com! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/bandcamp-pick-of-the-week-3-21-2026/21 Mar 2026 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhlrza674225https://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mhlfch3muk24Where Andy Weir's original source material feels dynamic and gripping, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's adaptation of PROJECT HAIL MARY falls short, a competent and entertaining enough picture that works as a blockbuster but falls short of the novel's power. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/project-hail-mary-is-a-functional-adaptation-of-a-powerful-sci-fi-story/21 Mar 2026 15:54 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhlfch3muk24https://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mhjimrhd322dJoyce Manor and Militarie Gun are at the peak of their powers right now, each night proving whey they're two of the best live rock bands doing it. We caught the show in Atlanta earlier this week and it was excellent, check out our review below! 📸 Jamie Godin20 Mar 2026 21:48 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhjimrhd322dhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mhj2t436yk2mSXSW can feel overwhelming even in the best of times. MGRM writer Michael Fairbanks (@kingofburbank2) walks us through surviving the 2026 iteration of the Austin based festival, including catching buzzy films like OBSESSION, HOKUM, POWER BALLAD, and more! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/how-to-burn-yourself-out-at-sxsw/20 Mar 2026 17:41 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhj2t436yk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mhggtffe7s25@jackprobst.com is dusting off some albums, revisiting the past, and exploring how music is forever etched into our lives! This month: Piled up DVDs in your bedroom. Fledgling jobs you hate. The release of rage. EAR PWR's SUPER ANIMAL BROTHERS III. It's a tale from the Bargain Bin! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/the-bargain-bin-ear-pwrs-super-animal-brothers-iii/19 Mar 2026 16:38 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhggtffe7s25https://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mheafi62t22uNow 20 years after it went off air, DEADWOOD is an especially fascinating artifact from the golden era of TV, remaining something of a knotty morality test. Longtime MGRM writer Dan Blomquist goes back to consider his writing about the show 10 years ago. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/you-cannot-fuck-the-future-on-deadwood-and-reckoning-with-our-past-selves/18 Mar 2026 19:37 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mheafi62t22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mh7cxytbq22rFrom the seeming inevitability of PTA and ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER all awards season to the surrealness of Michael B. Jordan beating out an interesting (and more compelling) crop of Best Actor nominees, here are five takeaways from the 98th Academy Awards! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/five-lessons-from-the-2026-oscars/16 Mar 2026 20:40 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh7cxytbq22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mgzoikqsik2jCommendable in its messaging, I LOVE BOOSTERS unfortunately lacks the focus to reach the highs of SORRY JUST TO BOTHER YOU. While engagingly stylized and even sometimes quite exciting, it disappointingly lacks depth. Check out our review from SXSW '26! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/boots-riley-splatters-everything-against-the-wall-in-i-love-boosters/14 Mar 2026 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgzoikqsik2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mgxgm2u5qc2gIt's our Bandcamp Picks of the Week, featuring the blistering metal of Melpomene's A BODY IS A SUGGESTION and the house'y electronica of Debbie Sings' OH MY! Read about both and then check them out over on @bandcamp.com! https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/bandcamp-picks-of-the-week-3-13-26/13 Mar 2026 17:24 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgxgm2u5qc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mgx6gj26ac2dThere is more to THE MOUNTAIN to think about or talk about than any Gorillaz album in the last 15 years, but it still never reaches the highs of their previous work. It's a messy exploration of grief riddled with tonal contradictions and strange instincts. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/gorillaz-only-reach-mid-peaks-on-the-mountain/13 Mar 2026 14:58 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgx6gj26ac2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/mgrmagazine.bsky.social/post/3mgniuasws22xNext Sunday, the 98th Academy Awards will air, but they'll have a notable exclusion: Daniel Lopatin’s beautiful MARTY SUPREME score. One of the best of '25, the textured synth work becomes a dazzling and complex reflection of the emotional journey of Marty Mauser. https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/daniel-lopatins-beautiful-synths-elevate-the-oscar-snubbed-marty-supreme-score/09 Mar 2026 18:38 +0000at://did:plc:hc7mtwvfjayb2bpoixun7vm3/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgniuasws22x