Filter Magazine

The smooth, glossy exterior of the magazine shows that a lot of care has been given to this magazine, and the contents reflect that. Music coverage tends toward good music that isn't as well known as it deserves -- Cursive, Modest Mouse, Hot Hot Heat, Queens of the Stone Age, the Stone Roses, Grandaddy, Supergrass, Hives, Sigur Ros, and more. Don't worry: good faves are not neglected: David Bowie, Lou Reed, Siouxie and the Banshees, and so on. When actors are interviewed, the choices are solid and the people are talented: Elijah Wood, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and so on.

The focus of Filter is clearly-defined, but not narrow. It's stuck on music that is good rather than just popular, but not snobbily so. If the music is good, then it gets included: there's room for Coldplay, the White Stripes and the Strokes in this tight little mag. Many of the groups it covers are up'n'coming. The detailed nterviews are polished and professional, peppered with nice clear photographs (the Bowie shoot is especially gorgeous). And reviews are clearly-written and concise, giving a sense of the album's flavor.

Newcomer Filter has the guts and strengths to become a music mag to be reckoned with. For devoted fans of good music, it doesn't get much better than this. Highly recommended.