New Releases: December 15th

Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind CDEP/LP (Domino)
Five brand new studio tracks that are every bit as lush and beautiful as those found on this year’s stellar Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Alicia Keys – The Element Of Freedom CD (J-Records)
12 time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys returns with her fourth studio album.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & The Picket Line – Funtown Comedown LP (Seanote)
Vinyl LP pressing. 2009 intimate live recording by Will Oldham and young bluegrass band The Picket Line.

Vampire Weekend – Cousins b/w California English 7” (XL)
The first single from their forthcoming album Contra (due January 12, 2010).

Anberlin – New Surrender [Deluxe Edition] CD+DVD (Republic)
Deluxe edition of their 2008 album adds a DVD that documents their Australian tour and performance and the video for “Feel Good Drag.”

George Benson – Songs And Stories [Deluxe Edition] CD+DVD (Concord)
Specially priced double-disc set consisting of Songs And Stories on CD mixed in traditional stereo and a bonus DVD containing high definition and surround mixes.

Julian Lennon And James Scott Cook – Lucy CDEP (Therevolution)
First Julian Lennon recording in almost a decade.

Mance Lipscomb – Best Of Mance Lipscomb CD (Arhoolie)
Mance was in his own words primarily ”a sharecropper and songster” who, after a week of hard work in the fields, would supply the music for both blacks and whites at weekend social gatherings in and around his hometown of Navasota, TX.

Messy Marv & Berner – Blow CD (Smc)
New album includes guest appearances from C-Bo, B-Legit, Yukmouth, Husalah & Fed-X of the Mob Figaz, Killa Tay, J-Stalin, Ampichino and others.

Shiny Toy Guns – Girls Le Disko CD (Ultra)
An album of their top hits remixed by some of the world’s top DJ’s.

Soundtrack – Avatar: Music From The Motion Picture CD (Atlantic)
Features music composed and conducted by Academy Award-winner James Horner (Titanic, A Beautiful Mind, An American Tail).

Sound Tribe Sector 9 – Ad Explorata (1320) CD
Self-described as post-rock dance music, STS9 mixes standard live rock instrumentation with electronics, favoring group rhythm over individual solos.

Robin Thicke – Sex Therapy: The Session CD (Interscope)
Fourth album from the Grammy Award-winning R&B/pop singer, songwriter and producer.

Phil Vassar – Traveling Circus CD (Universal South)
Contemporary country singer Phil Vassar made his name as a chart-topping songwriter before landing a record deal and becoming a hit-making artist in his own right.

Paul Weller – Paul Weller [Reissue] 2xCD (Island/Mercury)
Remastered edition of Weller’s 1992 debut features an extra disc containing 25 bonus tracks, demos, B-sides, mixes, alternative versions and unreleased songs.

Vinyl:

Dire Straits – Dire Straits LP (Reprise)
Nirvana – In Utero LP (Geffen)
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York LP (Geffen)
Iggy Pop – Lust For Life LP (4 Men With Beards)
Iggy Pop – The Idiot LP (4 Men With Beards)
TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain 2xLP (Original Recordings Group)
Audiophile HQ-180 vinyl reissues — now available.

The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life And Death 2xLP (Triple Crown)
Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster [Picture Disc] LP (Interscope)
Recently released on CD — these titles are now available on vinyl.