Recently, when I’ve scanned through the confusing lists on streaming services to find something, anything to pull my interest, I’ve gravitated toward documentaries about endurance. There’s something that speaks to all of us contained within the hearts and minds of athletes who push the limits, even if, for many, best enjoyed from the comfort and distance of a sofa.
I’m no runner or climber. I don’t train for hours every day to reach peak fitness. Still, I appreciate the sacrifices of those who do and envy the single-mindedness of those who drill away at one objective with such intensity.
Sports and endurance events have always captured the hearts and minds of the American people. That is only set to continue with the legalization of sports betting and the release of FOX Bet in the fall.
There are also certain sporting moments that make you realize that you can do it; that you can make that push. A recent one for me was Tyson Fury getting up in the 12th round to a Wilder KO. That moment gives me the strength to pull myself off the sofa after a long nap. Here, are a handful of top-notch endurance documentaries that can help you to do the same.
Free Solo (2018)
Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Free Solo” is an Oscar and Academy Award-winning documentary that follows the journey of American climber Alex Honnold, as he attempts to make an insanely challenging climb without any ropes.
Honnold attempts to climb El Capitan in Yosemite, known in the climbing world as a particularly rough route. To do the climb free solo is downright dangerous, and even though you know that he will survive (given the release of the documentary), death never feels too far away, as you watch him jump across rocks and clinch on to impossibly small edges.
What makes this documentary even more interesting is the conflict that you can feel with some members of the film crew about whether it is even ethical to film the climb, as their presence undoubtedly puts extra pressure on Honnold. The fact that Honnold gets a girlfriend during the long preparation creates yet more conflict between love and a personal passion, and ultimately, life and death.
There are several other notable rock-climbing documentaries. I could recommend “The Dawn Wall,” which tells the story of professional climber Tommy Caldwell, who attempts a climb in Yosemite, too; this time with ropes but without one of his fingers. It’s another quite compelling and enduring tale.
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014)
Next up is the “Barkley Marathons,” released a few years ago and currently available for streaming on Netflix. The documentary covers an unusual and unique ultra-marathon in rural Tennessee and outlines the history of the elusive race, as well as the 2012 race, in all its glory.
The Barkley Marathon is a race that is so challenging that less than 20 people have ever completed it in the 25+ years that it’s existed, and again, no one finished in 2019. Even applying for the event is hard enough, and only 40 runners are accepted every year, mostly left to the discretion of founders “Lazarus Lake” and “Raw Dog.”
The race itself involves five loops of 20 miles each, for a total of at least 100 miles, with around 12,000ft of elevation per loop. Two-thirds of the course is off-track, and runners cover all sorts of soul-crushing terrain, including crawling through a tunnel under a prison.
The documentary, although depicting a grueling event, maintains a light and heart-warming atmosphere sprinkled with good humor, though you had better believe that the runners take their attempts seriously indeed.
When We Were Kings (1996)
“When We Were Kings” is a documentary that covers Muhammad Ali at his peak, with action both inside and outside of the ring as well as a look at the body and mind of one of the world’s greatest-ever sportsmen.
The documentary covers the run-up to Rumble in the Jungle as well as the event itself. Ali takes on George Foreman in what is now Congo in 1974, earning himself $5 million in a country run by a dictator. A commentary not only on boxing but also the African American condition, the film shows the physical and mental endurance of a man who fought to change the world.
Dreamville, Revenge of the Dreamers III: J. Cole’s long-awaited Dreamville compilation is out now via Interscope records. The follow-up to 2015’s Revenge of The Dreamers II features a long list of artists from the Dreamville roster, including J. Cole, J.I.D, Bas, EARTHGANG’s Johnny “Olu O. Fann” Venus, Young Nudy, as well as Ari Lennox, Omen, Ty Dolla $ign, and Dreezy. Cole has been teasing the project since January, while a new documentary about the making of the album called Revenge: A Dreamville Film also became available to watch on YouTube this Tuesday.
Jaden Smith, Erys: Self-proclaimed icon Jaden Smith follows 2017’s baffling Syre LP with Erys, out now via MSFTS Music/Roc Nation/Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from his sister Willow, Tyler, the Creator, Kid Cudi, as well as A$AP Rocky. “Syre is the nice one, kind of the more sensitive one,” Smith said in an interview. “And Erys is just kind of like, doesn’t really care at all.”
Jesca Hoop, Stonechild: The American singer-songwriter’s fifth full-length studio album is a follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed Memories Are Now, which featured impressive songwriting and a stripped-down, raw acoustic sound. Produced by John Parish, the album features the single ‘Outside of Eden’ with Justis and Kate Stables of This Is the Kit. “I have to say it’s a moody little guy,” says Jesca Hoop about the album, “and she’s definitely on a trip… dressed in something dark and rich.”
The Soft Cavalry, The Soft Cavalry: This new band is made up of Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell and musician Steve Clark, who married in 2018.
BABii, HiiDE: UK electronic artist BABii makes futuristic electro-pop/R&B with a dreamy, ethereal aesthetic that has been compared to the likes of Grimes and FKA Twigs. BABii has also collaborated with inventive electronic producer Iglooghost, who supported her in making her debut album, which is out now via Deathwaltz Records. “When writing it, I was still trying to keep a dying relationship alive,” BABii says, “but it was falling apart because of secrets being kept, I was also his secret and there was a lot of things hidden between us.”
Two radically different artists, legendary hip-hop producer Madlib and 37-year-old Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs, follow up their critically acclaimed 2014 collaborative project Pináta with Bandana, a project that cements their status as one of the best rap duos working today. Without much of a unifying concept, apart from Gibbs’ signature gangsta bars and Madlib’s delicate celebration of the obscure cultural past, their effortless chemistry becomes the driving force of the album. Gibbs’ consistently impressive flow grounds Madlib’s eclectic beats, as in the hypnotic ‘Crime Pays’ or the soul-infused ‘Freestyle Sh*t’. It’s more musically contained, too, with the notable exception of the abrasive and hard-hitting ‘Flat Tummy Tea’, while the features are fittingly more sparse to allow space for the duo to shine through. Killer Mike offers a memorable hook on ‘Palmolive’, as does Anderson .Paak on the Bollywood-sampling banger ‘Giannis’. ‘Education’, featuring Yasiin Bey and Black Thought of The Roots, explores racial injustice throughout history, from slavery to institutionalisation. The final cut ‘Soul Right’ sees Gibbs growing more mature and introspective: “Mama told me it’d be alright, yeah/ I broke it down and it was all white, yeah/ I pray the Lord to get my soul right.”
Thom Yorke’s third solo album (not including last year’s excellent soundtrack for Suspiria), ANIMA, which is accompanied by a beautiful short film starring Yorke and directed by frequent Jonny Greenwood collaborator Paul Thomas Anderson, is the Radiohead frontman’s best and most fully-fleshed solo effort yet. For the first time, a Thom Yorke album no longer feels like a side project in the same vein as Atoms for Peace. Produced by long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich, ANIMA is the most accomplished expression of Yorke’s eclectic electronic influences, this time seeped into a sea of emotion, unconscious dreams and fears, which give the album a wondrous, and sometimes menacing, quality. It is an album composed of imagistic fragments; rarely does Yorke evoke a clear message, and when he does, it’s usually about the horrors of technology or society at large (‘The Axe’, ‘Not the News’). But the record is at its most profoundly beautiful when it looks inward: reminiscent of ‘Daydreaming’ off of A Moon Shaped Pool, ‘Dawn Chorus’ might as well be one of the most perfect songs Thom Yorke has ever written: “If you could do it all again/ A little fairy dust/ A thousand tiny birds singing/ If you must, you must,” he sings. But there are none of the lush orchestral arrangements that permeated Radiohead’s latest album; instead, Yorke has found his own unique way of approaching this solo project, which feels simple yet intricately layered, but equally complete.
Last week I talked about the recent pattern of rock bands going back to basics. And if this isn’t what The Black Keys are doing with this one, then I don’t know what it is. Let’s Rock is the band’s first album in a decade that is produced by them and not by long-time collaborator Danger Mouse. Recorded in Dan Auberbach’s Nashville studio, the album features a simple arrangement centred around the electric guitar, with only a few female backing vocals here and there. There’s a lot of swagger to the fuzzy guitar licks here, and the tight, pop-infused songwriting leads to high points like ‘Eagle Bird’, ‘Lo/Hi’,
Kim Petras might occupy same mainstream-adjacent space of artists like Charlie XCX and SOPHIE (both artists with whom she has collaborated), who take the pop formula and turn it in on its head with subtle, and sometimes bold, experimentation. But as she makes clear on her debut full-length album, she has nothing but appreciation for unapologetically straightforward pop music. Petras is no big pop star – not yet – but she sure sounds like one, and the songs here are a testament to that. Fans of her abrasive Turn Off the Lights Vol. 1 EP last year might be slightly underwhelmed by Clarity’s more conventional and arguably generic approach – but that’s not to say that it’s not filled with well-crafted and confidently performed pop songs – ‘Personal Hell’ fuses dark new wave synths with a light summery mix, ‘Icy’ is empowering and downright infectious, while ‘Do Me’ is a sultry banger that expertly mixes elements of contemporary experimental pop in a way that’s almost unnoticeable yet incredibly effective. There’s an uneasy cloud hanging over Clarity, as it was produced by Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual assault by Kesha, and while his production is accommodating and tight in some places, it becomes too safe and commercially-friendly in others (see ‘Got My Number’, ‘Blow it All’). It’s not a perfect or artist-defining debut record – it still feels somewhat constrained – but there’s no denying that Petras can only go up from here.
Portland rock band Summer Cannibals return with a new album following 2016’s Full Of It, their first for legendary punk label Kill Rock Stars. But the entirely self-engineered and produced Can’t Tell Me No sees guitarist/vocalist Jessica Boudreaux exploring a different sonic pallet following a tumultuous personal relationship, somewhere between the alternative rock melodies of Wolf Alice, the defiant energy of riot grrrl, and the raw emotion of grunge. It’s not quite as ferociously energetic as Full of It, which might leave some fans disappointed, but it’s more mature, and the impact less short-lived. There’s the absolutely infectious single ‘Can’t Tell Me No’, which features pretty much everything that makes a great Summer Cannibals track: Boudreaux’s powerful vocal performance, tight riffs, and an excellent bass line. But thankfully, it’s not just the single that delivers: ‘False Alarm’ is reminiscent of Sleater-Kinney while ‘One of Many’ takes a more light-hearted, pop-adjacent approach. The slower-paced experiments ’Behave’, ‘Spin’, and ‘Into Gold’ reach ethereal new heights for the band. If you’re into alternative rock with a punk flair, don’t miss out on this one.
Thom Yorke, ANIMA: Thom Yorke’s third solo album is an accompaniment to the 15-minute short film of the same name directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who has frequently collaborated with none other than Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood. Produced by Nigel Godrich, the 48-minute album is set to be quite different from Yorke’s piano-led soundtrack for Suspiria, and more akin to the strange electronic sounds the Radiohead frontman has been experimenting with for a while.
The Black Keys, Let’s Rock: The title of The Black Keys’ latest album is straightforward, and so, it seems, are the songs on it. Let’s Rock is the band’s ninth studio album and the first since 2014’s Turn Blue, which saw them experiment with psychedelic and soul music. Employing a stripped back rock n’ roll sound composed of just guitar and drums, it’s the first time in a decade that they’ve made an album without the help of producer Danger Mouse. Drummer Patrick Carney called it “an homage to electric guitar”. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
In some ways, The Raconteurs’ long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely feels like the exact opposite of Jack White’s latest solo output. His 2018 album Boarding House Reach was his most experimental, and his bandmates here, including singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, seem to be containing some of White’s eccentricity. Nevertheless, their chemistry is palpable and the energy is there, making Help Us Stranger something more than just an exercise in classic rock nostalgia. There are bizarre, electrifying moments like the Led Zeppelin-infused ‘Don’t Bother Me’, memorable hooks (‘Bored and Razed’), and understated yet expressive ballads (‘Only Child’). But more of often than not, Help Us Stranger sounds like run-of-the-mill, uninspired rock music that lacks the band’s usual knack for narrative storytelling and interesting songwriting – to the point that the title of ‘Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)’ may be more telling than it should be.
Up-and-coming Australian singer-songwriter Hatchie combines the hazy, ethereal sound of shoegaze with the smart pop songwriting of the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen. A follow-up to the Sugar & Spice EP which saw her fully embrace her pop influences, Keepsake blends the two to produce an endlessly engaging dream pop album that benefits from the tight focus and emotional clarity that so many nostalgia-driven dream pop bands today lack. The catchiness of tracks like ‘Obsessed’ is, excuse the pun, something to obsess over, while the earnest, heartfelt lyricism of ‘Stay with Me’ or ‘Without a Blush’ showcases the true, modern heart of the album. These are songs about growing up and discovering yourself (‘Her Own Heart’ would be an excellent accompaniment to a coming-of-age film), being in love and getting lost in it. And this album’s one to get lost in too.
Although Hot Chip has been a band for almost 20 years and its members are pushing 40, they still sound as youthful as ever on A Bath Full of Ecstasy. The synth-pop group once again prove to be one of the most reliable bands in indie dance pop, and their seven full-length album is a danceable, joyful mix of well-produced electronic tunes. There’s the catchy ‘Hungry Child’ and the anthemic opener ‘Melody of Love’ that looks for hope in the darkest moments, while other moments find Hot Chip at their most introspective and surprisingly soulful, like the nostalgia-infused ‘Positive’ and the ethereal ‘Clear Blue Skies’. The album ends just as strong as it starts with ‘No God’, which, in frontman Alexis Taylor’s own words, is “a euphoric song about love for a person rather than God”, and a great one at that. The album may not sound like a bath full of ecstasy, but it sure sounds like a glimmer of hope.
Prolific pop producer Mark Ronson has been around for a while, but he’s been getting more and more attention recently following his smash hit ‘Uptown Funk’ and his contribution to the A Star is Born soundtrack. As a result, his latest solo album is filled with big-name collaborators including Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, Alicia Keys, and Lykke Li, but as is to be expected with an effort like this, it risks being a less than a cohesive project. But that’s not the problem with Late Nate Feelings – if anything, it’s an unexpectedly conceptual album about the feelings that come after midnight, when the throbbing beats give themselves away to mid-tempo grooves. Rather, the album often lacks the emotional delivery that would take this to another level, while the production is so polished it almost becomes indistinctive. More importantly, some of the tunes pale in comparison to others, as if in a rushed attempt to stretch an EP’s worth of good pop songs – including the surprising collaboration with Angel Olsen on ‘True Blue’ and the catchy ‘Nothing Breaks Like a Heart’ with Miley Cyrus – into a full-length album.
In the trend of normally adventurous rock artists going back to basics (look no further than the first album on this list), Titus Andronicus return with a new album following last year’s A Productive Cough. It may not sound like it, but at its core, this is the same band that produced ambitious, narratively interesting albums like The Most Lamentable Tragedy. But the band is going for a straightforward, no-bullshit punk-infused rock n’ roll sound this time around. An Obelisk is by no means a bad record – this kind of attitude suits them, after all, especially in contrast to last year’s mellower effort. The energy is there, and fans of classic punk will no doubt find it at the very least enjoyable. But it lacks so much of what defines Titus Andronicus, and very little of it sticks to you after the first few listens.