CDs:
The Acid – Liminal CD/LP (Mute)
“Prepare to fall into a dark, electronic summer haze: the debut album from transatlantic three-piece The Acid is here, and it’s every bit the broody, boundary-crushing gem their early tracks suggested it would be. Colliding lo-fi indie with booming post-Burial bass music influences, the trio – cult Aussie songwriter Ry X, Brighton-based Grammy nominee Adam Freeland and L.A.-born Drake collaborator Steve Nalepa – first grabbed our attention last year with ‘The Creeper,’ a three minute slow-burn of scuttling Portishead-style beats and breathy Thom Yorke vocals.” – NME
Marsha Ambrosius – Friends & Lovers CD (RCA)
The British R&B singer/songwriter’s sophomore album features production from Marsha, Pop & Oak, Da Internz, Eric Hudson, The Justice League and more.
The Atlantic Family – Live At Montreaux [1978] CD (Wounded Bird)
First time on CD for this super session featuring all the great jazz artists signed to Atlantic Records in the early 1970s. This set features Don Ellis, Herbie Mann, Joe Farrell, The Brecker Brothers, Luther Vandross, Klaus Doldinger, Sonny Fortune, Ben E. King, David Newman, Richard Tee and a host of others.
Betraying The Martyrs – Phantom CD (Sumerian)
This Paris, France based metal band is a venerable freight-train of aggression with blazing harmonies, captivating hooks and bombastic off-time precision.
Big Wreck – Ghosts CD (Zoe)
“Big Wreck has often flirted with progressive rock, particularly on their earlier material, and even on Ghosts, while the band might at first glance come off as a somewhat generic modern rock band, close listening reveals some impressively intricate layering and a diverse palette of sounds that is subtle and deceptively simple-sounding.” – Sputnik Music
Bleachers – Strange Desire CD/LP (RCA)
Strange Desire is the debut album from this new project from fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff. “I was very conscious about making an album that didn’t sound like eleven singles,” Antonoff told Billboard in March, after Bleachers had played its first few live shows. The album was written and produced by Antonoff, with co-producer John Hill and Vince Clarke helping with the project. “I Wanna Get Better,” the lead single from the album, was released in February and has received a music video directed by Antonoff’s girlfriend, Lena Dunham.
Botch – An Anthology Of Dead Ends [Reissue/2002] CD/LP (Hydra Head)
As with all Botch recordings this six-song mini-album is a monstrous concoction of metal, noise, indie rock guitar trickery, full of depth and minute secrets which slowly secrete themselves with successive listens.
Henry Butler/Steven Bernstein And The Hot 9 – Viper’s Drag CD/2xLP (Impulse!/Blue Note)
Viper’s Drag is the happy collision of two perfectly matched musical sensibilities—that of the New Orleans singer/pianist Henry Butler and trumpeter/arranger Steven Bernstein — two students of early jazz with decidedly modern voices.
Paul Butterfield’s Better Days – Live At Winterland Ballroom CD (Wounded Bird)
Reissue of this rare live album. Paul Butterfield set the standards in the 1960s and 1970s for kick-ass white electric blues.
Ana Calvi – Strange Weather CDEP/LP (Domino)
Anna Calvi presents a five-track EP of covers of tracks by FKA Twigs, Connan Mockasin, Suicide, David Bowie as well as a collaboration with David Byrne on the title track, a cover of Keren Ann’s “Strange Weather.”
Jack Clement – For Once & For All CD (I.R.S. Nashville)
For Once & For All is the final record from the late Cowboy Jack Clement, recent inductee to the Country Music Hall Of Fame. He was a singer/songwriter and producer who worked with a myriad of artists including Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Tome Jones, AJ Croce, U2, Hank Snow and many others.
John Coltrane & Friends – Sideman: Trane’s Blue Note Sessions 3xCD (Blue Note)
A collection of the legendary saxophonist’s sideman sessions for Blue Note Records from 1956-1957, when Coltrane was a regular member of the Miles Davis Quintet and played with pianist Thelonious Monk.
Driver Friendly – Unimagined Bridges CD/LP (Hopeless)
When Driver Friendly first met in high school in North Houston, Texas their friendship quickly turned from hanging out after school to writing songs in a garage and playing shows around their hometown. As the band gained momentum and a loyal fan base around the area, they took a huge step and moved to Austin, TX- the live music capital of the world- to continue pursuing their dream.
The Eleventh House Featuring Larry Coryell – Aspects [Reissue/1976] CD (Wounded Bird)
Reissue of this 1976 album from this band formed by jazz great Larry Coryell. Larry is best known as one of the original jazz-fusion guitarists of the 1970s. He has issued solo albums, along with collaborations with John McLaughlin and other jazz-fusion luminaries.
Richard Elliot – Lip Service CD (Heads Up)
With Lip Service, Richard Elliot has come full circle as one of the reigning merchants of soul jazz and cementing his role as one of the great contemporary sax players in the world.
Fink – Hard Believer CD/2xLP (Ninja Tune)
Recorded in seventeen days at Hollywood’s legendary Sound Factory studios with producer Billy Bush (Garbage, Beck, Foster The People), Hard Believer is shot through with rawness and controlled aggression; an album replete with calm beginnings seguing into powerfully hypnotic loops and climactic finales. It is a masterful collection of songs from an artist at the peak of his creative powers.
Jerry Garcia Band – GarciaLive Volume Four: March 22nd, 1978 Veteran’s Hall 2xCD (ATO)
The fourth installment of the recently launched archival series presents the Jerry Garcia Band’s performance from March 22, 1978 at Veteran’s Hall in Sebastopol, CA. This incarnation of the Jerry Garcia Band features Garcia and longtime collaborator John Kahn plus drummer Buzz Buchanan and Grateful Dead bandmates Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux. Grammy award winning vocalist Maria Muldaur (“Midnight At The Oasis”) rounds out the line-up. Over two hours of previously unreleased music mastered from original soundboard recordings.
Grave Digger – Return Of The Reaper CD/2xCD/LP (Napalm)
New album from the veteran metal band. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a disc of bonus tracks.
Green River Ordinance – Green River Ordinance CD (Green River Ordinance)
Green River Ordinance formed in Fort Worth, TX over a decade ago and have since been perfecting their own blend of Texas country, Southern rock, and folk into their own unique sound.
John Hiatt – Terms Of My Surrender CD/LP (New West)
Hiatt, a master lyricist and satirical storyteller, weaves hidden plot twists into fictional tales ranging in topics including redemption, relationships, growing older and surrendering, on his terms. Terms Of My Surrender is musically rooted in acoustic blues, accentuated by Hiatt’s soulful, gritty voice, which mirrors the gravity of his reflective lyrics.
Half Japanese – Volume One: 1981-1985 3xCD (Fire)
Fire Records continues their Half Japanese reissue campaign by bringing you the next three albums in the set, collected as Half Japanese: 1981-1985. Half Japanese were formed in 1974 by brothers Jad and David Fair. Despite being lifelong music obsessives, their approach to the craft of writing and the art of performing was utterly unique. Heavily inspired by Jackson Pollock, Half Japanese were always more of an art project than a musical journey. More important than technical ability, was enthusiasm and a thirst for creation. They eschewed traditional ways of playing to explore different tunings, allowing them to coax new sounds from their instruments.
Hercules & Love Affair – Feast Of The Broken Heart CD (Big Beat)
Hercules & Love Affair’s third album sees visionary founder Andy Butler and his ever-evolving musical collective pushing the boundaries of house music, disco, and pop to create a collection of stunningly original new dancefloor anthems.
I The Breather – Life Reaper CD (Sumerian)
Over the course of five years the metalcore titans I The Breather have generated a legion of die-hard followers backed by two highly acclaimed full-length albums and a slew of unrelenting touring across the nation.
Jungle – Jungle CD (XL)
Based around a core musical duo known simply as ‘J’ and ‘T’ who expand to a thrilling seven piece live band, Jungle make mesmeric, modern soul with true global appeal. Combining what The Guardian notes as “tribal in terms of rhythm but postpunk in sensibility” and Brooklyn Vegan proclaims has “a real vintage-ness here, recalling the period of funk and soul just as those genres started transitioning into disco,” Jungle has quickly perked the curiosity of media across the globe. Vinyl version due July 29.
Landlady – Upright Behavior CD/LP (Hometapes)
“It’s about an alien cutting up Earth with a giant pair of scissors and putting it back together.” Landlady’s Adam Schatz introduced “The Globe” in Austin last March, his hands quickly and comically snipping at the air with invisible Texas-sized clippers. It was just halfway through the band’s final SXSW performance at Hometapes’ Friend Island and a spellbound and smiling crowd surrounded the stage. As the song kicked in, sounding like “the Band if they had Dirty Projectors’ skewed sense of song structure” (Pitchfork), one thing was refreshingly and crystal clear: big scissors or not, there was no wall between the audience and Landlady left to cut.
Hubert Laws – Then There Was Light, Vol. 1 & 2 [Reissue/1974] CD (Wounded Bird)
Hubert Laws – San Francisco Concert [Reissue/1977] CD (Wounded Bird)
Hubert Laws is a jazz flute player who issued numerous albums throughout the 1970s.
Lil Keek – Money Don’t Sleep CD (Swisha House Int’l)
18 brand new tracks featuring guest appearances by 2 Chainz, Yo Gotti, Kirko Bangz, Paul Wall, Devin Da Dude, Kevin Gates, 8 Ball, Killa Kyleon, ESG, Big Pokey and more.
Loverboy – Unfinished Business CD (Loverboy)
Loverboy’s new release Unfinished Business contains new songs in search of a feel, old songs needing new lyrics, seven minute songs yearning to be four, drum machine songs waiting for a real drummer, and everything crying out for hooks, hooks and more hooks.
Luluc – Passerby CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Passerby is the second album by Australian/Brooklyn band Luluc; it is their first international release and their Sub Pop debut. Co-produced by the band and The National’s Aaron Dessner, the album shows off all of Luluc’s best qualities, retaining the gentle beauty of the duo’s debut while adding textures built with a cadre of impressive players. Band influences like Simon and Garfunkel and Gillian Welch (and, of course, Nick Drake) can be felt throughout Passerby, while the poignant restraint aligns them well with label mates Low.
Melanie – Photograph (Double Exposure) [Reissue/1976/2005] 2xCD (Wounded Bird)
Melanie was a folk-pop singer/songwriter who issued many excellent albums in the 1970s on Buddah Records and then on her own Neighborhood Records. She is also known for her appearance at the original Woodstock festival in 1969. In 1976 she signed with Atlantic Records and issued the album Photograph. This is a reissue of Rhino Handmade’s 2005 double-CD version.
Morrissey – World Peace Is None Of Your Business CD/2xLP (Harvest)
World Peace Is None Of Your Business explores the tragedy of human apathy in our turbulent, modern era, and maintains Morrissey’s signature humor, drama, and emotional longing.
Jason Mraz – Yes! CD (Atlantic)
The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter who brought you hits like “I’m Yours” and “I Won’t Give Up” is back with his first album since his 2012’s Love Is A Four Letter Word. For Yes! Mraz collaborated with Los Angeles-based folk-rock group Raining Jane.
Novembers Doom – Bled White CD/2xLP (The End)
Cited as one of the earliest American death/doom metal bands, Novembers Doom entered the recording studio this year for their ninth full length album Bled White. Ever since their humble beginnings in 1989, the band has striven to create their own unique brand of dark, brooding and melancholic metal music.
Pennywise – Yesterdays CD/LP (Epitaph)
In November 2012 SoCal’s raucous punk heroes Pennywise announced the return of original vocalist, Jim Lindberg. Coming off a sold-out 25th anniversary tour featuring the classic lineup of Randy, Byron, Fletcher and Jim, the same lineup hit the studio to record Yesterdays, as both a tribute and fierce rebranding of their punk rock legacy.
Plastikman – EX (Performed Live At The Guggenheim NYC) CD/LP (Mute)
EX is the first album from Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman in nine years. Hawtin was an influential part of Detroit’s techno wave in the early 1990s and continues to be a leading pioneer of minimal techno. He is well known and regarded for his work under the alias, Plastikman under which he released a series of minimalist records during the 1990s and early 2000s that put him on the map as a leading electronic artist. This very special album was recorded live at the Guggenheim and consists of seven tracks.
Puss N Boots – No Fools, No Fun CD (Blue Note)
Puss N Boots is a trio of like-minded gals that finds Norah Jones combining forces with pals Sasha Dobson (a fixture on the NYC singer songwriter scene and a frequent Norah Jones cohort) and Catherine Popper (a noted bass player who’s played with Ryan Adams, Jack White and Grace Potter).
Reigning Sound – Shattered CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Reigning Sound’s new album was recorded at Daptone’s Brooklyn studio (where drummer Mikey works in the office) and masterfully engineered by Wayne Douglas. The recordings are warm and punchy, a mixed bag of rockers, ballads, and something in between.
Rise Against – The Black Market CD/LP (Interscope)
Seventh album from the punk band, featuring the single “I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore.”
Slow Club – Complete Surrender CD/LP (Wichita)
An exquisite collection of soulful, sophisticated pop songs with influences ranging from Frankie Valli and Marvin Gaye to Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.
Soundtrack – Monty Python Sings (Again) [Reissue/1989] CD/2xCD (Virgin)
Digitally remastered and expanded 25th Anniversary Edition of this collection of songs by the British comedy troupe. Alongside classic tracks like “The Lumberjack Song” and “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, this expanded edition features seven bonus tracks including four new recordings and three previously unreleased tracks. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe includes bonus CD containing 1970 album Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which consists of sketches from their TV show.
Suicide Silence – You Can’t Stop Me CD/CD+DVD/LP (Nuclear Blast)
Like the once unthinkable creative and commercial reemergence of Alice In Chains or the classic, legendary and timeless touchstone that is AC/DC’s Back In Black, Suicide Silence’s fourth album features a new frontman since the 2012 death of Mitch Lucker. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a bonus DVD.
Linda Thompson – One Clear Moment [Reissue/1985/2003] CD (Wounded Bird)
Linda Thompson was the wife of Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention, and One Clear Moment is her debut solo effort. This is a reissue of Rhino Handmade’s expanded edition from 2003.
Trampled By Turtles – Wild Animals CD/LP (Banjodad)
On Wild Animals, Trampled by Turtles seventh studio album, themes of impermanence run deep, both lyrically and sonically. The quintet s hybrid folk sound continues its evolution pushing the band further into the grey area between genres that defy pigeonholing.
United Nations – The Next Four Years CD (Temporary Residence)
Originally conceived as a frenetic side-project founded by members of Thursday, Glassjaw and Converge, United Nations membership and ideology have evolved into a full-time flagship for incendiary chaos. Their line-up overhauled to include members of acclaimed screamo group Pianos Become The Teeth, United Nations have become a perpetual lightning rod for controversy, confusion, and contempt.
Various Artists – Country Funk II 1967-1974 CD/2xLP (Light In The Attic)
Here’s Volume II of Light In The Attic’s highly regarded Country Funk collection. All tracks are newly remastered, featuring cuts by Bob Darin, Thomas Jefferson Kaye, Willie Nelson and more. Released both on CD and as a double-LP package housed in a deluxe Stoughton ‘Tip-On’ jacket. This reissue package includes a comic with story by Jessica Hundley along with Jess Rotter’s illustrations.
Various Artists – Eccentric Soul: The Way Out Label 3xCD/3xLP (Numero)
Fueled by the financial drippings of number runners and boosted by Hall-Of-Fame running back Jim Brown, Cleveland, OH’s Way Out Records offered asylum for a rising crop of rogue soul men, rust-belt vocal ensembles, and trial-by-fire producers. Helmed by a friendly consortium of hustlers, police officers, and gridiron giants, pet project beget obsession as Motown arrangers, gospel choirs, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra were all beckoned to the wrong side of the tracks to mint masterpieces for the Sensations, Volcanic Eruption, the Exceptional Three, and Bobby Wade.
Various Artists – Studio One Dancehall – Sir Coxsone In The Dance: The Foundation Sound CD (Soul Jazz)
Featured here is a new collection spanning Studio One’s dancehall period – singers and deejays on classic Studio One rhythms, studio and electronic wizardry from the Brentford Road headquarters, lots of rare 12″ singles, all effortlessly brought together to nice up the dance. Vinyl version due July 29.
Volumes – No Sleep CD (Mediaskare)
Volumes are a collection of five young musicians coming from a wide array of musical backgrounds, ranging from jazz, classical, post-rock to rap and of course metal. The combination of their efforts results in fusions between intricate patterns, melodies, and progressive, yet-not-to-be-overlooked-aggressive, straight to the point, metal.
Weather Report – Live In Tokyo 2xCD (Wounded Bird)
Weather Report is one of the premier jazz-fusion groups of the past 40 years. Formed by keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, they issued a host of critically acclaimed albums in the 1970s and 1980s.
David Wiffen – David Wiffen [Reissue/1971] CD (Water)
This Canadian singer/songwriter’s 1971 album is an underground folk/chamber pop classic, reissued with here with four unreleased bonus tracks.
Anand Wilder And Maxwell Kardon – Break Line The Musical CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)
On a front porch in Philadelphia in early 2004, Anand Wilder and Maxwell Kardon sat with a guitar and a banjo and busily fingerpicked to keep their hands from freezing. After a few false starts they settled on a dirge in d-minor and began improvising lyrics about a labor conflict in a Western Pennsylvania coal town that their fathers had learned about from an old folk song taught in Quaker schools in the ’50s.
Woman’s Hour – Conversations CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)
Woman’s Hour is not your average band. The first clue comes in the name of the London-based four-piece, taken from a beloved female-focused news and culture show on BBC Radio 4. The second is in their graphic, striking monochrome visuals, meticulously curated in collaboration with TATE and MOMA certified fine artists Oliver Chanarin and Adam Broomberg. These play with shape and texture, much like their powerful, iridescent music. On their excellent debut album Conversations, this has the intricate construction and intimacy of The xx and the iridescent shimmer of summer-defining indie pop.
Weird Al Yankovic – Mandatory Fun CD (RCA)
14th studio album from the Grammy-winning pop parodist. Vinyl version due August 5.
Vinyl:
3rd Bass – The Cactus Album [Reissue/1989] LP (Def Jam)
The Cactus Album was the debut album from 3rd Bass. It was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. Released at the end of the ‘80s, this album sums up all that was fun about rap/hip-hop at the time.
ABBA – Gold [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (Polydor)
New vinyl reissue featuring exact reproduction of the original release and pressed on HQ-180gm heavyweight vinyl.
Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin – Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy LP+MP3+CD (Yep Roc)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Alvin brothers, who founded seminal early L.A. punk roots band The Blasters in 1979, have shared a fascination with Broonzy since childhood. After an illness nearly took Phil’s life in 2012, they resolved to return to the studio and pay tribute to the blues legend. Common Ground includes 12 songs that capture a 30-year cross section of Broonzy’s canon, performed by the Alvins’ in their signature style of rollicking roots and stomping country blues.
Ar-Kaics – Ar-Kaics 2xLP (Windian)
Made up of alumnus of bands from across the “genre spectrum” (Chain & The Gain, The Shirks), this Richmond, VA-based group has come together to merge those influences into one sonically cohesive whole. If it makes you happy to call it a throwback, that’s just fine, as long as you recognize they’re crafting solid songs to stomp and swing to, and that their word is truth.
Daniel Bachman – Orange Co. Serenade LP (Bathetic)
Bachman treats his guitar lines and licks in a way that resembles the earth itself, at its most pristine, delicate, yet also primal and overpowering. Pieces move, ascending and descending in the same way that the clouds roll through blue skies, the same way brooks babble down rocky fronts carving their paths in the land.
Beyoncé – Beyoncé 2xLP+DVD (Sony)
Double vinyl LP pressing including bonus DVD. 2013 album from the R&B superstar. The album features 14 songs spread over two slabs of wax plus a DVD that contains 17 provocative promo videos.
Black Nasty – Talking To The People [Reissue/1973] LP (4 Men With Beards)
Talking To The People is the debut release from the Detroit group Black Nasty that was originally issued on Stax-Enterprise Records in 1973. The album features socially conscious songs that reflected the reality of black urban life in the early 1970s. Fans of early Funkadelic will find much to their liking with this funk-soul-rock underground classic. HQ-180gm.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Caravan [Reissue/1963] LP (Fantasy)
Caravan is the legendary jazz album originally released by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in February 1963. It was Blakey’s first album for Riverside Records and was produced by Orrin Keepnews. The album is described as “a slick, fluid, professional set of hard bop at its finest.” — BBC
Braid – No Coast LP (Top Shelf)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Braid’s first full-length in 16 years is an immediate, energetic album that completely eschews the traditional “reunion record” expectation of older people making slower, softer music. A large part of that can be attributed to the group’s rhythm section, Todd Bell (bass) and Damon Atkinson (drums), who have played in lockstep with one another for more than 15 years and whose musical chemistry is undeniable.
Cabaret Voltaire – #7885 Electropunk To Technopop LP (Mute)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. #7885 compiles for the first time both periods of Cabaret Voltaire together on one release – all remastered from the original tapes. This is easily their most thorough catalog-skimming compilation yet and serves as a perfect introduction for new fans.
John Cale – Academy In Peril [Reissue/1972] LP (4 Men With Beards)
Academy In Peril is an exploration of the former Velvet Underground member’s influences and training in classical music, and features mainly instrumental compositions including two tracks with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Cale balances the rock-classical fusion on the record with touches of humor while the music itself is beautiful and subtle, highlighting his skills at composition and arranging.
Circulatory System – Mosaics Within Mosaics LP (Secretly Canadian)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Culled together in the style in which Will Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control) has always worked, using recordings from his copious back catalog of home recordings spanning from 12 years ago to now. Masterfully assembled by Derek Almstead (Faster Circuits) with overdubs by John Fernandes (OTC), Heather McIntosh (The Instruments), AJ Griffin (Laminated Cat), Peter Erchick (OTC), Jeff Mangum abd Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel).
The Clean – Anthology [2003] 4xLP+MP3 (Merge)
First time on vinyl. Anthology serves as a celebration of The Clean, a band whose influence extends so far beyond their New Zealand home that even if you have never heard of The Clean before, you have surely heard of some of the bands (Pavement, Yo La Tengo, and Superchunk, to name a few) who have been influenced by their unique blend of homemade garage rock, hook-filled melodies, and psychedelic experimentalism.
Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll [Reissue/1988] LP+MP3 (4AD)
Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas [Reissue/1990] LP+MP3 (4AD)
Long out-of-print, Cocteau Twins’ fifth and sixth albums are available once again – this time cut from the High Definition masters and pressed on HQ-180gm vinyl.
Holger Czukay – Der Osten Ist Rot/Rome Remains Rome [Reissues/1984/1987] 2×10” (Groenland)
Der Osten Ist Rot sees Czukay’s roots in appropriative music and musique concrète – he trained under Stockhausen – come to the fore. Working with Conny Plank, Czukay uses an Emulator sampler to build messy, madcap collages, pairing lush orchestration with shredded radio broadcasts and ethnic loops. Rome Remains Rome is similarly sampledelic, and, infamously, features a sample of Pope John Paul II.
Miles Davis – Musings Of Miles [Reissue/1955] LP (Fantasy)
The Musings Of Miles is the first LP by Miles Davis, issued by Prestige Records in 1955. This jazz classic features, in addition to Davis on trumpet, Red Garland on piano, Oscar Pettiford on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.
Deep Freeze Mice – Best Of 1979-1989 LP (Night People)
Postpunk/weirdo, pop/DIY band from Leicester, active between 1979-1989. Falls some place between the ramshackle pop sound of The Television Personalities and Zappa-style weirdoisms.
Eels – Beautiful Freak [Reissue/1996] LP (Geffen)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissue now available. “Eccentric and quirky are the best ways to describe the Eels’ debut effort, Beautiful Freak. Concise pop tunes form the backbone of the album, yet tinges of despair and downright meanness surface just when you’ve been lulled into thinking this is another pop group, as titles like ‘My Beloved Monster,’ ‘Your Lucky Day In Hell’ and ‘Novocaine For The Soul’ indicate.” — AllMusic
Eula – Orderly b/w Meadows 7” (Bloodmoss)
Recorded by legendary producer Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans), Eula’s angular, aggressive sound has reached their grandest scale yet. The merging of Alyse Lamb’s guttural wails with the band’s clashing guitars, deep rumbling bass, and booming backbeat-heavy drums is as chaotic as it is meditative. Bisi’s focus on layers and textures is apparent here as he pulls back Alyse’s haunting vocals just enough for the grimy feedback to have as much of an impact in all the heaviness.
Expire – Pretty Low LP (Bridge Nine)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Sophomore album by the Midwestern hardcore band.
Sage Francis – Copper Gone LP (Strange Famous)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. After a four-year hiatus, the indie rap icon has returns with a new album. Copper Gone features beat production from long-time music affiliates Buck 65, Alias, Cecil Otter, Reanimator, and more.
Frankie Cosmos – Zentropy LP+MP3 (Oblique Records)
Ready to melt your hearts and make you believe, Frankie Cosmos’ (aka Greta Kline) songwriting captures everything great about a pop song – sadness, optimism and charm. Her first studio recording after 40 albums of anti-folk bedroom recordings, Zentropy is connected to your soul, revealing the flower you should grow.
Garment District –If You Take Your Magic Slow LP (Night People)
Jennifer Baron mixes pastoral psychedelia with artful minimalist post-punk experimentation and a subtle approach to library music, with just enough droney dreamy color to fill it all in.
Vince Guaraldi Trio – Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus [Reissue/1962] LP (Fantasy)
Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus is the legendary album by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, originally released in 1962. The album contains both original compositions and covers of songs from the 1959 film Black Orpheus. It spawned the hit single “Cast Your Fate To The Wind”, which won the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition.
Hard Girls – A Thousand Surfaces LP (Asian Man)
Hard Girls’ second LP recalls early post-punk pioneers like The Fall and Wire, while also drawing a clear lineage from the earnest indie rock of Sebadoh and Track Star.
Etta Jones – Don’t Go To Strangers [Reissue/1960] LP (Fantasy)
This was Etta Jones’ first album for Prestige Records when it was originally released in 1960 (having been recorded in a single session on June 21 of that year), and although Jones had been releasing records since 1944, she was treated as an overnight sensation when the title tune from the album went gold, hitting the Top 40 on the pop charts and reaching number five on the R&B charts.
Male Gaze – Cliffs Of Madness b/w Think Twice 7” (Mt.St.Mtn.)
Featuring members of Mayyors, Blasted Canyons and The Mall, Male Gaze offers a trifecta of bad vibes: sheets of fuzz, feedback peeking out the corners, and a B+ Ian Curtis impression. These diet pill pop tunes come dressed in your favorite sweater from 1996. Look out for their first full length on Castle Face this autumn.
Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Music [Reissue/1958] LP (Fantasy)
Monk’s Music is often cited as one of the focal points of Thelonious Monk’s six-year affiliation (1955-1961) with the Riverside label. Although the original disc clocked in at slightly over 30 minutes, packed into that half hour are not only the introduction of a few of Monk’s signature compositions, but also some amazing interactions from the assembled ensemble. Joining Thelonious Monk (piano) during these two recording sessions are Ray Copeland (trumpet), Gigi Gryce (alto sax), Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Wilbur Ware (bass), and Art Blakey (drums).
Wes Montgomery – Full House [Reissue/1962] LP (Fantasy)
Full House is the seventh and first live jazz album by American jazz legend, guitarist Wes Montgomery.
My Brightest Diamond – None More Than You 12” (Asthmatic Kitty)
Five new tracks on semi-transparent lavender vinyl. Features saxophonist Colin Stetson and a remix by Lorde collaborator Son Lux.
My Fictions – Stranger Songs LP (Topshelf)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The signature atmospheric dread that My Fictions offers on Stranger Songs is a mix of anger and sadness that is impossible to avoid. The new album is a collection of songs written at an emotional low, and the band is determined to drag the listener down with them.
Nihill – Grond [2009] 2xLP (Hydra Head)
Nihill’s second chapter in a trilogy is at once black metal, drone, doom, noise, and even hints at martial industrialism; arriving at something resembling mechanistic dark ambient as much as traditional black metal.
The Notting Hillbillies – Missing… Presumed Having A Good Time [Reissue/1990] LP (Rhino)
On hiatus from Dire Straits, guitarist Mark Knopfler joined with Brendan Croker, Steve Phillips, and Guy Fletcher for 1990’s Missing… Presumed Having a Good Time. The result is a low-key, joyous run-through of mostly traditional, blues-based songs with a handful of originals.
The Prodigy – Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005 2xLP+MP3 (XL)
Their Law: The Singles 1990- 2005 was originally released in 2005. The album features tracks form the four XL albums Experience, Music For The Jilted Generation, Fat Of The Land and Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned. This is the first time the album has been available on vinyl.
RA – Collateral Damage LP (Bridge Nine)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Collateral Damage was recorded with Dean Baltulonis at The Wild Arctic in Portsmouth, NH (Agnostic Front, Modern Life Is War, Sick Of It All). These ten songs have brutally honest lyrics that cover a wide range of topics and harsh truths with no holds barred. Musically, they are equally as punishing as the band puts an updated spin on heavy hitting CT and NY-style hardcore.
Bonnie Raitt – Nick Of Time [Reissue/1989] LP (Capitol)
The Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer’s tenth album still stands as her signature work and as a turning point in her legendary career. HQ-180gm.
William Shatner – The Transformed Man [Reissue/1968] (DBK Works)
The actor’s debut album from 1968 features poetry and popular songs including the legendary tracks “Theme From Cyrano/Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Spleen/Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds” spoken in Mr. Shatner’s inimitable vocal style. Red vinyl.
Ed Sheeran – X 2xLP (Atlantic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. X finds Sheeran collaborating with a stellar list of producers, including multiple Grammy-winners Rick Rubin and Jeff Bhasker, multiple Grammy-nominee Benny Blanco, Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, and BRIT-Award nominee and collaborator Jake Gosling.
Spiritualized – F**ked Up Inside [Reissue/1993] LP (Plain)
Spiritualized – Let It Come Down [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (Plain)
HQ-180gm reissues now available. F**ked Up Inside is the first live album ever issued by Spiritualized, recorded on tour in 1992 while supporting Lazer Guided Melodies. Let It Come Down features a full orchestra, gospel choir, and many back up musicians to fulfill Pierce’s ambitions. This record is a step forward from Spiritualized’s denser space rock of the first three records to a sweeping orchestral sound with large swaths of strings, brass and choir helping to fulfill the widescreen splendor of Pierce’s vision.
Nikki Sudden And The Jacobites – Texas [Reissue/1986] LP (Numero)
Sudden’s 1986 solo debut for Creation blasted through the saccharin for a damaged and masterful invocation at the imperfect alters of Chilton and Bolan, sonic influences the Brit bore proudly on his velvet sleeve throughout the course of his polarizing prolificacy.
Various Artists – Seven Skeletons Found In The Yard LP (Mississippi)
Great compilation of Calypso classics from Trinidad recorded between 1928 and 1947 by well-known masters of the form such as the Growler, The Lion, Lord Executor and Lionel Belasco, as well as by some lesser known but great artists. Heavy topical songs, minor chord meditations on death, beautiful instrumentals and more.
Xeno & Oaklander – Par Avion LP (Ghostly International)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Brooklyn duo Xeno and Oaklander are a minimal electronics girl/boy duo from Brooklyn.
Books:
The Pitchfork Review – Issue 1 Book+7” (The Pitchfork Review)
The first edition of the perfect-bound quarterly music publication featuring contributions from the Pitchfork staff and edited by JC Gabel of Stop Smiling. Combining new long-form feature stories, photography, illustrations, and other ephemera w/selected recent pieces from P4K, Issue 1 features an interview with Glenn Danzig, a history of Stax Records and Otis Redding, a photo spread from Kanye West photographer Nabil, comics and illustrations from Paul Hornschemeier, Hanna K. Lee, and others, and much more.
The Pitchfork Review – Issue 2 Book+7” (The Pitchfork Review)
The second edition of the perfect-bound quarterly music publication featuring contributions from the Pitchfork staff and edited by JC Gabel of Stop Smiling. Combining new long-form feature stories, photography, illustrations, & other ephemera w/selected recent pieces from P4K, Issue 2 features an appreciation of Ellen Willis, an unpublished profile of Kate Bush, Michael A. Gonzales on gangsta rap after being shot, comics and illustrations galore, and a limited edition 7″ featuring unreleased tracks from Kurt Vile and Watery Love.
The Pitchfork Review – Issue 3 Book+7” (The Pitchfork Review)
The third edition of the perfect-bound quarterly music publication featuring contributions from the Pitchfork staff and edited by JC Gabel of Stop Smiling. Combining new long-form feature stories, photography, illustrations, and other ephemera with selected recent pieces from P4K, Issue 3 features new writing from Ian Cohen and Amanda Petrusich, a history of Joe Tex, why rural rap station 102 JAMZ is the best radio station in the country, a photo spread curated by Christian Storm, comics and illustrations galore, and a limited split 7″ featuring King Tuff and The Lentils.
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