Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

“The little band who couldn’t” is the affectingly bittersweet hook for Drew DeNicola’s loving doc about the almost-rise, demise and rediscovery of early ’70s US alt-pop beauties Big Star. Critics, musos and family members pop up to revere a band who spun melancholy into magic over three albums, before bad distribution, bad luck and tragedy broke the spell.

The downside of their cult stature is a shortfall of footage, but the music is uncannily gorgeous, well deployed and copious: for non-initiates, it’ll be like finding lost treasure.

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at GamesRadar+.