September physical media picks: Chelsea Bieker's new novel and Steve Beresford on vinyl

As physical media continues its cultural comeback, The National rounds up the best releases this month across film, music, art and more.

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker (September 3)

The author of Godshot and Heartbroke, American Chelsea Bieker is a dab hand at penning dark but relatable contemporary fiction, often focusing on feminism and motherhood. Her latest release, Madwoman, looks set to follow in a similar vein, as a “gripping story of motherhood and motherloss and the brutal, mighty things women do to keep themselves and each other alive,” according to the publisher.

As I have historically read Bieker’s work on my Kindle or online, on The Cut and The Paris Review among other publications, I made sure to order a copy of the hardback edition of Madwoman before its September 5 release.

With semi-autobiographical themes of domestic violence and the significance of a mother-daughter relationship, there are timely parallels that can be drawn to Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us. But in the case of Madwoman, I am hoping for a book that I cannot put down, which wasn’t the case with Hoover’s 2016 release, despite its enthusiastic reception online.

Farah Andrews, head of features

Dizzy Gillespie’s Big 4 (September 6)

Fifty years ago, four of the biggest names in jazz came together in a recording studio in Los Angeles to make one of bebop’s most spirited albums. These included bassist Ray Brown, drummer Mickey Roker, guitarist Joe Pass, as well as, of course, Dizzy Gillespie.

Bebop had already been well established by then, with most seminal albums in the sub-genre having been released in 1950s and 1960s. Gillespie was a vanguard of the movement, which came as a reaction against the big-bad swing music that dominated the time, and instead favoured quick tempos and complex harmonic arrangements.

Bebop is where the virtuosity of jazz bloomed. Gillespie was in his late fifties when he came to record Dizzy Gillespie’s Big 4 but the trumpeter was still in first-class shape. The album features several classics composed by Gillespie, such as Be-Bop, that were supercharged by an all-star rhythm section.

The record also included novel compositions, such as Frelimo. The album seamlessly moves from pensive melodies to frolicking arrangements, which give each member of the quartet a chance to exhibit their talents. Dizzy Gillespie’s Big 4 is being rereleased on vinyl on September 6.

Razmig Bedirian, arts and culture writer

Happiness (September 24)

Happiness, the notorious third feature by director Todd Solondz, doesn't feel like the kind of film that would get the lavish treatment by Criterion, a home video distribution company that has effectively become the institution that crowns world cinema's true arthouse masterpieces.

Despite a top-tier performance from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, it's too dark, too disturbing – the kind of film that, since it was first released in the '90s, has been passed around from friend to friend by a pirated video file or through a questionably legal YouTube link, with one party waiting for the other to watch it and react to the shocking tale unfolding before them. The blackest of black comedies, the ensemble film skips between slice-of-life storylines.

Unlike other cult films that generate such reactions, this is not full of over-the-top violence or graphic imagery. Rather, it's a film that effectively makes you empathise with seemingly normal folk that are much more troubled – some even evil – than they first appear. You'll laugh, and you'll care, and you'll prefer not to think about it after. Instead, you'll feel compelled to pass it to someone else, and let them sort through it.

William Mullally, arts and culture editor

Mac DeMarco Salad Days - 10th Anniversary Edition Holographic Black 2LP (September 13)

Salad Days was the 2014 follow-up to perennially laidback Edmonton, Alberta-raised Mac DeMarco's lauded first full-length album, 2. His music being “as wobbly and welcoming as a backyard hammock”, according to a glowing review at the time in Pitchfork, DeMarco had already earned cult slacker status by the time Salad Days came out. The album is a diary of sorts, chronicling his rise from a slightly known Brooklyn transplant to darling of the global indie scene.

I’m pretty sure I came across DeMarco on a Spotify playlist, which makes this glorious physical 2LP package – replete with poster, 12-page booklet, original rider, unpublished photos and liner notes – even more special a decade on.

Nasri Atallah, Luxury editor

Chess Players: From Charlie Chaplin to Wu-Tang Clan (September 17)

Chess was invented during India’s Gupta Empire in the sixth century. And while its history before that is a little murky, its hold on contemporary culture has always been profound.

Whether you’re a novice or a serious chess enthusiast, this photobook is the perfect edition to your library, compiling images of people engaging with the game over the past 130 years.

In stunning shots of various styles, from documentary to more stylised, we see how chess has very much featured in many aspects of contemporary life over the years.

There are photos of players on a steamship crossing the Atlantic in 1888 and astronauts playing a game in space. Legendary Hollywood stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen also feature in stunning shots, engaged in the game both on and off the screen.

With an introduction by Dylan Loeb McClain, former chess columnist for The New York Times, the photographs in Chess Players: From Charlie Chaplin to Wu-Tang Clan depict the enduring attraction of the game, and act as an archive and celebration of how chess has touched the lives of people across times and sects of society.

Maan Jalal, arts and culture writer

Steve Beresford and Anne Marie Beretta - Dancing the Line (September 6)

While British musician Steve Beresford was a key member of the experimental music scene in the 1970s, collaborating with the likes of Brian Eno and Gavin Bryars, the '80s found him setting up shop in France, where he did some of his most interesting work with the famed French producer Jean Rochard.

Rochard introduced Beresford to the French fashion designer, Anne Marie Beretta, who designed Max Mara's perennially popular 101801 coat, in addition to running her own successful ready-to-wear line. Along with lyricist Andrew Brenner, the two spent days together writing songs themed around the designer's works, inspired by fashion ideas, fabrics, colours and the emotions her designs evoked.

A cult favourite of DJs, the album has now been reissued for the first time in its history by the boutique record label Wewantsounds.

William Mullally, arts and culture editor

A League of Their Own (September 3)

Tom Hanks is often described as "America's dad" for his emotional and warm roles. From films such as Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan to his voice as Woody in the Toy Story films, he has always delivered performances that imbue parental security and care.

One of his more unsung films is A League of Their Own, in which he plays a baseball coach assigned to train a group of female players during the Second World War, when the men's league was paused as most of their players went off to fight. The film is funny, emotional and very cosy, with a cast that includes Madonna, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnell.

Having been made in 1992, the film is ripe for a remaster, which arrived this month on 4K, allowing fans to enjoy it in the highest fidelity possible, as well as giving first-time watchers a chance to enjoy a lovely film that will definitely stay with them.

Faisal Salah, gaming and social media writer

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