CDs + Vinyl:
6 String Drag – Roots Rock ‘N’ Roll CD/LP (The Royal Potato Family)
After 16 years in hibernation, 6 String Drag is back to remind you about real rock & roll. In the late ‘90s, the Carolina quartet stood out as pioneers of the nascent alt-country movement. The band’s Steve Earle-produced LP, High Hat, remains an undisputed classic of its era. Now battle-scarred and road-wizened, today’s 6 String Drag is the sound of four kindred souls reunited, letting their own histories as human beings mingle freely around their shared love of classic, bygone sounds.
Poppy Ackroyd – Feathers CD/LP (Denovali)
On her second album, Poppy Ackroyd further explores melodies, beats, and sounds flourishing through the limitations of using only piano and violin textures. The way it puts rhythmic intricacy and achingly beautiful melodies together, Feathers is the perfect redolence for stories of hope, love, loss, and migration.
The Adolescents – La Vendetta… E Un Piatto Che Va Servito Freddo CD/LP (Frontier)
New album from the SoCal punk icons. The Adolescents remain one of the most respected bands of the 1980s hardcore/skate punk scene. La Vendetta… E Un Piatto Che Va Servito Freddo proves that they have not mellowed one snarling, snotty bit with tracks like “A Dish Best Served Cold,” “Nothing Left To Say” and “Let It Go.
Adrenaline Mob – Dearly Departed CD (Century Media)
New nine-song EP released in conjunction with their upcoming tour with Iced Earth and Death Angel.
Andy D – Ready, Set, Bleed! CD (Aerobic Int’l)
For those who have fallen in love with the energy and spectacle of his live show, Ready, Set, Bleed! contains the energy fans have come to expect from Andy D. This album leaves the more conceptual narrative framework of WarCries behind in favor of a more free-form collection of inspirations drawing from history, politics, sex, and dancing. “Listeners who appreciate Andrew WK’s hedonistic spirit, Lady Gaga’s synth-pop game and Biz Markie’s cartoon approach to hip-hop may find Bloomington-based Andy D to be their next pop-culture obsession.” — Indianapolis Star
Jeff Austin – The Simple Truth CD/LP (Yep Roc)
Jeff Austin has been playing professionally for nearly 20 years, most of them as the vocalist/mandolinist of the game-changing bluegrass jam act Yonder Mountain String Band. Austin has long harbored urges to stretch out musically and even cast a few pop hooks of his own. He finally makes the leap on The Simple Truth, his solo debut.
Azealia Banks – Broke With Expensive Taste CD (Prospect Park)
“Smile, Chinese Democracy, Detox – the pop music world has never been a stranger to the frustration of the delayed album release. New York rapper and singer Azealia Banks’ Broke With Expensive Taste could have easily earned its own pedestal in such a dubious pantheon. Since she first took music blogs, dorm rooms, and block parties by storm in 2012 with the joyously vulgar earworm 212, Banks has become mired in so many Twitter feuds and record-label publicity flaps that the release of her debut album seemed increasingly unlikely by the month. Instead, she has now presented us with one of the most explosive and intriguing hip-hop releases of the year. We should hardly be surprised — Banks has always demonstrated a precocious talent for confounding expectations.” – Pretty Much Amazing
Blackberry Smoke – Holding All The Roses CD/LP (Rounder)
Holding All The Roses compellingly captures the energy, attitude, and honesty that have already helped to make Blackberry Smoke one of America’s hottest live rock & roll outfits. This 12-song set — produced by Grammy-winner Brendan O’Brien (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young) showcases the Atlanta-based quintet’s emotion-charged mix of bluesy rock, gospel soul, and country, with Charlie Starr’s raspy twang matched by his and Paul Jackson’s snarling guitars, Brandon Still’s hauntingly expressive organ and piano, and the propulsive sibling rhythm section of Richard and Brit Turner.
Blacklisted – When People Grow, People Go CD/LP (Deathwish, Inc.)
An eleven-song amalgamation of Blacklisted’s brave experimental leanings, all of it musically electric, pushed to the point of explosion by vocalist and lyricist George Hirsch’s melancholic introspection, widening the gap between them and everyone else with their inspiring originality, vulnerability, and power.
The Black Watch – Sugarplum Fairy, Sugarplum Fairy 2xCD (Pop Culture Press)
“Like the Soft Boys in a fight with the Velvet Underground, The Black Watch have spent the last two decades churning out traditional aural blur. Founder John Andrew Fredrick has an uncanny knack for finding melody in the dissonance, chaos in the calm” — Austin Chronicle. “A continual conflict between Go-Betweens/Felt/Jazz Butcher romanticism & the Velvets, late Beatles, & Ride/My Bloody Valentine’s thicker inscrutability.” – The Big Takeover
The Brothers – Don’t Stop Now [Reissue/1976] CD (Funky Town Grooves)
The Brothers appeared to be little more than a New York set of studio players, led by Bhen Lanzaroni — but they did an amazing job of replicating a Philly instrumental sound, with plenty of heavy bass at the bottom of the arrangements, and jazzy riffing on wahwah guitar, flute and keyboards over the top.
Bruhm + Bokeh – Transmutations CD (Somnimage)
Exquisite drones and soundscapes by French sound-sculptor Christian Renou and the duo of Mandy Matz (Theiry Anesthetic) and Mykel Boyd —one by each and two collaborative tracks. Renous treats, assembles and mixes acoustic sounds, relying on dense, rapid-fire montages and electroacoustic ambience. Bokeh transforms and layers Boyd’s processed field recordings, and adds vocals and violin.
Call Of The Void – Ageless CD/LP (Relapse)
Denver-based metallic hardcore perpetrators Call Of The Void unleash another ferocious blast of sonic destruction with their sophomore effort Ageless. A pummeling fusion of crusty grind, sludgey hardcore and groove injected metal, Ageless was recorded and mixed by Andy Patterson (Subrosa, Eagle Twin, Gaza) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Integrity).
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – A Year With 13 Moons CD/LP+MP3 (Mexican Summer)
A dense, swirling mass of hypnotic guitar and drum performances that coalesce with modular synth squalls and otherworldly textures.
Michelle Chamuel – Face The Fire CD/LP (The End)
Face The Fire is the debut studio album by American musician, singer and songwriter Michelle Chamuel, who was the runner-up on the fourth season of NBC’s The Voice. “Michelle Chamuel’s soaring, insanely catchy new single ‘The Fall’ from Face The Fire isn’t soothing stuff — make no mistake that this is a break-up song — but her gorgeous falsetto trill paired with the track’s booming hooks makes it one of the more triumphant-sounding heartbreak anthems we’ve heard in a while.” – Paper
Chastain – The 7th Of Never [Reissue/1987] CD (Divebomb)
Chastain – The Voice Of The Cult [Reissue/1988] CD (Divebomb)
David T. Chastain has been wowing fans with his innovative and technically superb guitar playing. The 7th Of Never and The Voice Of The Cult are perfect examples that David T. Chastain was not just a great player, but also a talented songwriter and bandleader with an exceptional group of collaborators. Chastain has gained a reputation over the last 25 years as a powerful, progressive guitarist whose music has been centered on his melodic and technically fluent fret board mastery.
Churchburn – The Awaiting Coffins CD (Armageddon)
Churchburn present their first full-length recording: five songs plus one unlisted bonus track recorded between 2011-2014. The tracks have the pace and aura of properly done doom, with black and death metal influences woven throughout. Layered vocals, guitar harmonies, memorable riffs, heavy percussion makes for a cohesive and bludgeoning piece of modern metal.
Conduct – Fear & Desire CD/LP (Public Tone)
Taking musical cues from industrial, punk, and German progressive movements, Fear & Desire expounds on the inhumane nature of existence, anxiety, and the impulses behind inaction. Though there are many signifiers in Conduct’s music — be it Art Bears, Hula, or This Heat — they have synthesized a unique and slanted approach to the four-piece rock outfit. Recorded by Steve Albini, featuring guest spots from Tim Midyett (Bottomless Pit, Silkworm).
Devo – Hardcore Live! CD/2xLP (MVD Audio)
Devo captured live in Oakland, performing early experimental tracks. No matter how messy, beginnings are exciting. Especially when what happens next endures the test of time. For Devo the beginning happened in the basements and garages of Akron, Ohio. The songs they wrote were raw and unfiltered with no commercial intent. They called it Hardcore Devo. Performing 21 oddities, intercut with poignant stories told by Mark, Jerry and Bob 1, this program is a tribute to the departed Bob “Bob 2” Casale. (Also available on stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray.)
The Districts – A Flourish And A Spoil CD/LP (Fat Possum)
A Flourish And A Spoil is Pennsylvania rockers’ debut LP, and was produced by the ever-reliable John Congleton, who has previously worked with St. Vincent and Angel Olsen. The album’s bluesy garage rock aesthetic, uplifting guitar and feedback serves as an appropriate follow-up to the band’s debut EP released earlier in 2014. Nostalgic but ragged at the edges.
The Dreaming – Rise Again CD/LP (Metropolis)
Although the name Stabbing Westward is now dead and buried, the founders of the band are pleased to rise again as The Dreaming, along with the intense and haunting music that made them a multi-platinum band.
Egyptrixx – Transfer Of Energy CD/LP (Halocline Trance)
Egyptrixx’s music is primitive, minimalist, and fixated on texture and weight. Smudged facsimiles of club music with crude and abstract grooves. Transfer Of Energy starts with cleansing drones then lapses into a fractured digital melody. Toggling between metallic shards of DX7, drum machine blast beats and grandiose, hyper-color drones its strange cohesion of disparate objects suggesting a novel synchronicity.
Elder – Spires Burn/Rise [2012] CD (Armageddon)
First time on CD. Two tracks channeling California desert rock ala Kyuss, stil retaining some of the Sleep influence of the earlier releases. Cover art courtesy by Fred Struckholz of South of Heaven Press.
Exhumed – Gore Metal: A Necrospective 1998-2015 2xCD/LP (Relapse)
In 1998 Exhumed’s now-classic debut full-length Gore Metal was a boundary pushing album of absolutely filthy grinding death metal. Everything about it was over the top — lightning fast speed, blazing guitars, B-movie slasher film inspired lyrics, disgusting album artwork, etc. etc. This was a record that made Carcass look PG. In other words, a true underground classic. Not content to let the album rot away, Exhumed returned to the studio almost two decades later to re-record their landmark debut. The filthy fury of the original version is still there, only tightened up by years of touring and with a greatly improved recording. Presented with completely new artwork that is even more disgusting than the original. Double-CD includes both the new and original versions.
Father John Misty – I Love You, Honey Bear CD/2xLP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
“I Love You, Honeybear was recorded from 2013 to 2014 in Echo Park, Los Angeles. There’s a case to be made that it sounds and acts a bit like Scott Walker, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, and Dory Previn. The songs are a narration of my experience falling in love. My ambition was to address the sensuality of fear, the terrifying force of love, the unutterable pleasures of true intimacy, and the destruction of emotional and intellectual prisons with an imprint that is undeniably my own. Blammo.” (Vinyl version available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe is pressed on tricolor vinyl in a custom pop-up jacket that plays the title track upon opening, using a greeting card-style sound module. Also includes poster and listening instructions.)
Feed Her To The Sharks – Fortitude CD (Victory)
Feed Her To The Sharks is a metalcore band based in Melbourne, Australia.
Finsterforest – Mach Dich Frei CD (Napalm)
New album from The German folk metal band.
Fireworks – Switch Me On CD/LP+MP3 (Shelflife)
After two brilliant 7” singles and one flexi, Fireworks unleash their debut album, Switch Me On. The album continues right where the band left off: more chainsaw fuzz-drenched feedback, more chiming 12-string guitar pop hooks, more reverb-soaked Matthew and Emma vocals, and more jumping out of your f**king seats. All and all, this album is made up of 13 A-sides and if you can sit still while listening to this record, you’re surely walking dead.
Duke Garwood – Heavy Love CD/LP (Heavenly/PIAS America)
Best known as collaborating with various artists from The Orb to Mark Lanegan and Alexander Tucker, Garwood is a hugely heralded veteran blues-rock man and multi-instrumentalist.
Rhiannon Giddens – Tomorrow Is My Turn CD (Nonesuch)
Rhiannon Giddens, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops, makes her solo recording debut with the T Bone Burnett-produced Tomorrow Is My Turn, which features a broad range of songs from genres as diverse as gospel, jazz, blues, and country. Vinyl version due March 3.
Twig Harper – Music For Higher Dimensional Consciousness [Reissue/2009] CD (Somnimage)
Remastered CD reissue originally released on CDR (Heresee 2009). Say hello and goodbye to time and space.
Hate – Crusade: Zero CD (Napalm)
Crusade: Zero is the ninth studio album from Polish death metal pioneers.
Heiress – Of Great Sorrow CD/LP (The Mylene Sheath)
Heiress is a rock band from Seattle, WA featuring former members of Himsa, Undertow, Jough Dawn Baker and Shift. The group performs a cathartic blend of hardcore punk and atmospheric post-metal.
Vijay Iyer Trio – Break Stuff CD (ECM)
“Pianist Vijay Iyer’s 11-year-old trio is a highly maneuverable vehicle for his African, Indian and math-inspired rhythmic ideas, now at a dizzying pinnacle of contemporary jazz multitasking. Iyer, bassist Stephan Crump, and drummer Marcus Gilmore sound joined at the hip even when sometimes seeming to be investigating completely different tunes, but almost everything here feels just as jazz-rooted as the three classic covers on the tracklist. ‘Break Stuff’ is a fascinating flurry of short, bustling phrases and pumping chords that opens out into longer lines against a steady drum hit, and the excellent ‘Diptych’ blends rattling waywardness and angular basslines with contrastingly purposeful and seamless piano improv.” – The Guardian
Danny James – Pear CD/LP+MP3 (Burger)
While Danny James’ Pear beautifully occupies the space of 1970s mellow pop vibes, he also manages to reinvent the concept of retro with this album.
Robert Earl Keen – Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions CD/LP (Dualtone)
Inspired by the bluegrass and acoustic music he grew up around, Keen puts his unique stamp on fifteen standards and other beloved tunes by Flatt & Scruggs, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, even Richard Thompson. Special guests include Lyle Lovett and Natalie Maines on vocals, Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins on fiddle, and Danny Barnes on banjo. (Vinyl version adds five bonus tracks.)
Nguyên Lê – Celebrating The Dark Side Of The Moon CD (Act Music & Vision)
Celebrating The Dark Side Of The Moon demonstrates Nguyên Lê s amazing imagination, enhancing Pink Floyd’s classic with the NDR Bigband and its brilliant soloists, deploying new sound textures created by the uplifting orchestrations of Michael Gibbs. “A masterful, inventive player who has cultivated a wholly unique voice on the instrument, he ranks right up there with Frisell [or] John Scofield … in the post-Hendrix world of jazz guitar.” – JazzTimes
Love And Theft – Whisky On My Breath CD (Hate & Purchase Music)
New album from the thrice CMA-nominated country duo.
Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove – Twin Horses CD/2xLP (Rustblade)
Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove – Twin Horses: Ultra Limited Edition Bag CD+2xLP (Rustblade)
Lydia Lunch’s melancholic acoustic blues meets Cypress Grove’s sensual and cathartic folk. (Limited Edition Bag features the CD, color vinyl, poster, and horse pendant, all in a tote bag.)
Rudresh Mahanthappa – Bird Calls CD/LP (Act Music & Vision)
“There are no Charlie Parker tunes on this album but each track is directly based on a Parker composition or solo. Historically, it has always been easy to state that Bird’s work left an indelible and influential mark on modern music but to prove that fact has been an exciting endeavor” –Rudresh Mahanthappa. “To observe that Mahanthappa fused the incantatory phrase-making and exotic scales of Indian music with the free-wheeling improvisational spirit of American jazz would be an understatement. He’s so thoroughly immersed in both worlds that he conjured up a startlingly original merger of the two.” — Chicago Tribune
Melissa Manchester – You Gotta Love The Life CD (Long Run Entertainment)
With her 20th album, You Gotta Love The Life, Melissa Manchester celebrates not only 40 years as a Grammy award-winning performer and songwriter, but also a renewed independence and vitality.
Marduk – Frontschwein CD/LP (Century Media)
War and its seemingly endless shades of inhumane and gruesome deeds are an inseparable part of mankind’s DNA and a quintessential conceptual element to such a defiant, immoral and contemptuous musical genre as black metal. 1990 formed Swedish act Marduk underlines this fact vehemently with its 13th full-length album, Frontschwein, not only delivering the renowned and revered musical and lyrical onslaught buy also heading back to the WWII-theme known from 1999’s classic, Panzer Division Marduk. On Frontschwein, 25 years of black metal history collide with eons of devastation and destruction amongst human beings. The result is an ugly furious album true to Marduk’s sinister legacy and true to the essence of black metal.
JD McPherson – Let The Good Times Roll CD/LP (Rounder/Concord)
You could mistake JD McPherson for a revivalist, given how few other contemporary artists are likely to assert, as he boldly does, that Keep A Knockin’ by Little Richard is the best record ever made. However, in a very real sense, McPherson is much more a pioneer than roots resuscitator. On his sophomore album Let The Good Times Roll, JD is knocking at the door of something that has arguably not previously been accomplished a spirited, almost spiritual, and very artistic hybrid that brings the forgotten lessons from the earliest days of rock ‘n’ roll into a future that has room for the modernity of studio technique and 21st-century singer/songwriter idiosyncrasies. McPherson and the wonderful Jimmy Sutton pay tribute to their musical heroes, and they do it in the right way by making their own music that carries that tradition forward. With the addition of new team players, including the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, JD McPherson is back with more timeless roots rock ‘n’ roll.
Mike + The Mechanics – Living Years [Reissue/1988] 2xCD (Rhino)
Digitally remastered and expanded double-CD edition of this 1988 album from Genesis founder Mike Rutherford, released to commemorate the album’s 25th anniversary. Includes a bonus disc of ten live recordings plus a new recording of “The Living Years” and a 24-page booklet.
Mojave Lords – Unf##kwithable CD/LP (Mojave Lords/Rancho De La Luna)
Mojave Lords was born in Joshua Tree, CA at Rancho De La Luna recording studio, where Queens Of The Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Daniel Lanois, The Desert Sessions, Masters Of Reality, UNKLE and countless others have created incredible recordings. Theirs is the next wave of desert stoner rock, featuring members of Eagles Of Death Metal, Queens Of The Stone Age, Screaming Trees, Tuatara, and Masters Of Reality. “Dark, sexy rock & roll for a brave new race.” – New York Times
Thurston Moore/John Moloney – Full Beed CD/LP (Northern Spy)
First proper studio album/widely distributed release from the pairing of Thurston Moore and John Moloney (sometimes known as Caught On Tape). The music is heavy and noisy, yet bears the unmistakably poignant touch of the Sonic Youth mastermind and Sunburned Hand Of The Man legend. Thurston Moore is one of the founders of noise rock, and one of the most idiosyncratic guitarists of all time. John Moloney rose to prominence as the drummer of the psychedelic, ever-prolific Sunburned Hand Of The Man. They have been combining their talents in an experimental duo project since 2012, cutting several limited release LPs and performing internationally.
Motorama – Alps [2010] CD/LP (Talitres)
Motorama – Calendar [2012] CD/LP (Talitres)
“Motorama is a five piece post-punk outfit from the Russian port city of Rostov-on-Don. Now, you can probably count the sum total of Russian post-punk bands on one hand. Which, in itself, should be intriguing enough a prospect to perk up most ears. But what’s even more compelling is the fact that their sound absolutely reeks of Factory-era Manchester. By way of early noughties New York. Interested? Alps is a reissue of their self-recorded debut LP, originally released way back when in 2010” – DIY. New album, Poverty, due March 10.
Naturally 7 – Hidden In Plain Sight CD/LP (Hidden Beach)
Naturally 7, the architects of vocal play, are global music stars having exploded on the music scene in 2007 courtesy of a viral video of a performance in the Paris Subway. Their brand of acapella takes vocals to the extreme. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds bonus tracks.
The Neil Morse Band – The Grand Experiment CD/2xCD+DVD/LP+2xCD (Metal Blade)
The Grand Experiment, featuring the talents of Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Bill Hubauer, and Eric Gillette, is sure to blow the minds of all prog fans and appeal to anyone who loves hooky songwriting with virtuoso performances from some of the best musicians in the world.
Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a bonus audio disc featuring three unreleased studio tracks and two live tracks from the [Morse]fest weekend, and a “making of” documentary DVD in special packaging.
NOFX & Friends – Home Sweet Home: Original Songs From The Sh!t Musical CD (Fat Wreck Chords)
Home Street Home tells a story of survival and love among runaway teenagers living on the streets, and features music by Fat Mike with lyrics by Fat Mike, Jeff Marx and Soma Snakeoil. The Home Street Home concept album includes a portion of the songs that will ultimately comprise the full score of the new musical. Based on true stories of the author’s experiences, the store of Home Street Home revolves around Sue, a 16-year old runaway who plunges headfirst into the deviant subculture and alternative lifestyle of the streets. After being adopted into a tribe of homeless teens, Sue finds empowerment and acceptance from her new chosen family.
Paul Revere & The Raiders – The Complete Columbia Singles 3xCD (Friday Music)
The Complete Columbia Singles features all of The Raiders biggest hits (66 in all), with important B-sides culled from their original mono and stereo 45 mixes. “Kicks,” “Too Much Talk,” “Hungry,” “Louie, Louie,” “Good Thing,” “Indian Reservation,” “Let Me,” “Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon,” and “Steppin’ Out’” are some of the great tunes included. Rare sides like ‘”Song For Swingy’” are also on board, along with mid-‘70s hits like “Country Wine” and “Birds Of A Feather” are also included.
Pentacle – Fifth Moon Beyond & Back [Reissue/1996] 2xCD (Vic)
Digitally remastered double-CD set from the Dutch death metal band.
Gretchen Peters – Blackbirds CD/LP (Scarlet)
Co-produced with Doug Lancio and Barry Walsh and recorded in Nashville, Blackbirds features a who’s who of modern American roots music: Jerry Douglas, Jason Isbell, Jimmy LaFave, Will Kimbrough, Kim Richey, Suzy Bogguss and more. But it’s not the guests that make Blackbirds the most poignant and moving album of the Grammy-nominee’s storied career; it’s the impeccable craftsmanship, her ability to capture the kind of complex, conflicting, and overwhelming emotional moments we might otherwise try to hide and instead shine a light of truth and understanding onto them.
Prima Donna – Nine Lives And Forty Fives CD/LP (Alive)
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley on a steady diet of punk and glitter rock, Prima Donna are infamous on the L.A. scene. Their curriculum includes musical road trips with Eddie And The Hot Rods, Adam Ant, Glen Matlock & The Philistines, The Dictators, and even Green Day, who they supported on two arena tours on two continents. Frontman Kevin Preston has also continued participation in Green Day side-project Foxboro Hot Tubs.
Ramones – Live At German Television: The Musikladen Recordings LP+DVD (Sireena)
The very first TV performance of the Ramones in Europe from 1978 for the first time paired as a vinyl + DVD set.
Ravenna Colt – Terminal Current CD/LP+MP3 (Karate Body)
Second album from this band led by Johnny Quaid. As a founding member of My Morning Jacket, Quaid lent his talents as a guitar player and engineer to the band for six years, three albums and an array of EPs and singles. For Terminal Current, Quaid enlisted a group of like-minded musicians operating as a collective.
Rone – Creatures CD/LP (Infine Music)
Creatures is a reflection of quiet open spaces, sun, shadow, electronic sparks and acoustic beauty. Rone’s tracks are short stories with a distinctly optimistic energy, presenting a soundworld where machines express themselves without constraint at any moment.
Schoolly D – Saturday Night! The Album [Reissue/1986] CD (Funky Town Grooves)
Schoolly D’s sophomore opus is an album based on high production values, honest lyricism and pure originality. Unlike his first self-titled EP, Saturday Night! The Album’s song lengths are generally shorter, making for a harder hitting full-length with greater impact from beginning to end. Schoolly School and DJ Code Money came equipped with bigger, better drum machines, rapid fire scratching and discovered the joy of dropping quirky cartoon sound bites atop their patented dusted funk samples.
Martin Sexton – Mixtape Of The Open Road CD/LP (Kitchen Table)
Remember that mix tape your friend made you way back when — the one that’s etched in your soul? Martin Sexton’s new album Mixtape Of The Open Road is that musical cross-country trip, blazing through all territories of style, as you cruise through time and place. This record is a charm bracelet of twelve gems all strung together with the golden thread of what Rolling Stone calls his “soul marinated voice.”
Sherwood & Pinch – Late Night Endless CD/LP (On-U Sound)
Heavyweight, futurist dub from a cross-generational pairing of sound systems masters. The culmination of two years in the studio developing, re-dubbing and deconstructing tracks. Evocative of a long and strange journey from dusk ‘til dawn, it finds the highest common factor between the two producer’s techniques. Pinch’s electronic pulse meeting Sherwood’s analogue FX units head on.
Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson – So Long CD (Helen Scarsdale Agency)
A journey through time, perhaps, for a daydreamer floating in a small boat amidst the radiant hue of a midnight sun. That daydreamer in this instance is the Icelandic artist Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, best known for his electro-surrealism in Stilluppsteypa.
SisQo – Last Dragon CD (Massenburg Media)
He built his name during the heyday of ‘90s R&B. Soaked in soul with gospel-rooted vocals, SisQo rose to recognition as part of the legendary Dru Hill. Often cited as a nuanced cross between Jodeci and Boyz II Men, SisQo is influenced by idols Michael Jackson and Prince.
Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey CD (Motown)
Official soundtrack to the 2015 film adaptation of the best-selling book Fifty Shades Of Grey. Includes tracks from The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra plus new cuts by Skyler Gray, The Weeknd, Jessie Ware, Eli Goulding and others. The album’s opening track is Annie Lennox’s cover of “I Put A Spell On You.” Also featured is a new, sexy version of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love.” Includes two movements from the score by composer Danny Elfman.
Stick To Your Guns – Disobedient CD (Sumerian)
Fourth full length from the hardcore staple band. Features guest appearances from H2O frontman Toby Morse, Rotting Out vocalist Walter Delgado, and Terror vocalist Scott Vogel. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe includes two acoustic bonus tracks.
Taake – Stridens Hus CD (Candlelight)
“Classic Norwegian black metal. In four words, that’s how I would describe Taake‘s latest Stridens Hus, or for that matter, their entire back catalogue. Taake have been one of the most, if not the most, consistent artists writing and performing ‘true’ Norwegian black metal. I know the ‘true’ tag is bit passé, but with all the bands that are currently claiming or being lumped in with black metal, it seem only right to take a step back in time and reclaim “true” not merely as a descriptor that was used in the past by less qualified artists to sell more albums, but here are a statement of sound, intent, and most importantly, quality.” – Echoes And Dust
Tease – Tease [Reissue/1983] CD (Funky Town Grooves)
The Los Angeles R&B scene of the 1980s was a place known for slick studio work and Ray Parker Jr., a Detroit import, had made a name for himself on the Sunset strip, writing and producing for a plethora of artists including his own act, Raydio. Somehow, he and his cohorts in Raydio, namely one Ollie Brown, found their way around the R&B scene in this era, rather deftly. Tease, first assembled in 1979 in L.A., changing its members with each album; the group in this 1983 debut was perhaps their strongest incarnation.
Thousand – Thousand CD/LP (Talitres)
An intimate collection of pop-folk songs.
Thulcandra – Ascension Lost CD (Napalm)
Munich based Thulcandra return with their third album Ascension Lost, which highlights their dark, majestic riffs, covered by ethereal lead guitars and frantic drums. The mysterious screams of frontman Steffen Kummerer are enthroned above all and this distinctive voice and dark-threatening texts are coalesced in thrilling atmosphere.
Robin Trower – Something’s About To Change CD (V-12)
An intensely personal set of new songs from one of the world’s greatest blues-rock guitarists.
Steve Tyrell – That Lovin’ Feeling CD (Concord)
On his 11th album, Steve Tyrell celebrates what he calls “the Great American Songbook 2; the next generation of the Songbook,” recording seminal rock era classics penned by legendary songwriters (many renowned for hits penned at New York’s famed Brill Building) who are also cherished longtime friends.
Foy Vance – Live At Bangor Abbey CD (Glassnote)
New release from the Irish singer/songwriter. Since the release of his debut album, Joy Of Nothing, Foy has had an incredible year — bringing home the inaugural Northern Irish Music Prize for Best Album, sharing the stage with artists as Ed Sheeran and Bonnie Raitt on tour, and now, returning to his hometown to record two sold-out shows at the legendary Bangor Abbey, which makes up this release.
Van der Graaf Generator – Merlin Atmos: Live Performances 2013 CD/2xCD/LP (Esoteric Antenna)
In June 2013, Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and Guy Evans took to the road in Europe to present a series of live concerts that featured a set list that excited devotees of Van Der Graaf Generator like no other for many years. The band had decided the time was right to present their epic classic piece “A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers” in its entirety on stage for the first time, along with Peter Hammill’s equally epic “Flight.” As the centerpieces of the band’s live set, a series of wonderful concerts took place, drawing on the classic material from their past, as well as their more recent albums such as A Grounding In Numbers.
Various Artists – Punk 45: Burn, Rubber City, Burn – Akron, Ohio: Punk And The Decline Of The Mid-West 1975-80 (Akron Ohio) CD/2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
The first of two new Soul Jazz Records’ Punk 45 volumes, Burn, Rubber City, Burn charts the rise of the music scene in Akron, Ohio, at a time when the city and the rubber industry it was associated with was in deep decline. Featuring a fantastic collection of Akron groups including Devo, The Bizarros, Rubber City Rebels, Jane Aire, Chi-Pig, The Waitresses and more.
Various Artists – Soul Jazz Presents: Punk 45 Extermination Nights In The Sixth City CD/2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Extermination Nights In The Sixth City chronicles underground punk of Cleveland, Ohio, which for many people is the true birthplace of punk music in the mid-1970s. Featuring a fantastic collection of punk 45 singles from Cleveland groups including Pere Ubu, electric eels, The Pagans, Rockets From The Tomb, Mirrors, X-X and more.
The Vespers – Sisters And Brothers CD (Black Suit)
On their third album, Sisters And Brothers, the Vespers combine Americana roots with pop melody and rock & roll muscle.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
AC/DC – Every Which Way 2xDVD (Pride)
Fascinating double-DVD set detailing the early days of Australia’s most famous rock band. 205 minutes.
Jeff Beck – A Man For All Seasons: In The 1960s DVD (MVD Visual)
An in-depth DVD documentary tracking Jeff Beck’s music abd career throughout the 1960s. 129 minutes.
Devo – Hardcore Live! DVD+Blu-ray (MVD Audio)
Devo captured live in Oakland, performing early experimental tracks. No matter how messy, beginnings are exciting. Especially when what happens next endures the test of time. For Devo the beginning happened in the basements and garages of Akron, Ohio. The songs they wrote were raw and unfiltered with no commercial intent. They called it Hardcore Devo. Performing 21 oddities, intercut with poignant stories told by Mark, Jerry and Bob 1, this program is a tribute to the departed Bob “Bob 2” Casale.
The Residents – The Commercial DVD (Cryptic Corp)
The Residents had recorded their album, The Commercial Album, in 1980. It contained 40 one-minute tunes. The DVD version of this required enlisting many talented filmmakers from around the world, each contributing one or more one-minute videos to accompany the songs. Though the videos can be viewed in a linear fashion, more intriguing is wandering through a maze choosing ones you wish to watch.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
The Animals – Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted [Reissue/1977] LP (Secret)
HQ-180gm vinyl repress of The (Original) Animals 1977 comeback album.
Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears [Reissue/1968] LP (Friday Music)
Receiving multiple Grammy awards in 1969, including Album Of The Year, BS&T soared to platinum plus with David Clayton-Thomas’ voice as they nailed three huge hit singles with “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “Spinning Wheel” and Laura Nyro’s “And When I Die.”
Cerebral Incubation – Asphyxiating On Excrement [2009] LP (Gore House Productions)
The Las Vegas death metal band’s debut album is available for the first time on vinyl.
Church Bats – Foreign Land 7” (Windian)
Deep from the caverns of New York arises a sound of garage, nay, cave rock. Floor thumping aggression and vocal distortion, penetrating vocals and beastly kicks, Church Bats are here to drop their first 7″ on you, ye “general public”. This sick A-side is followed by Windian’s first instrumental B-side, a great track to take reference of everything you’ve been dealt to know whether you need to throw up that white flag or keep going.
John Wesley Coleman – I Feel Like A Sad Clown 7” (Windian)
This clown-obsessed chanteur brings Windian two beautifully scurran pop tracks that are positive and yet longingly looking forward. JWC’s output has been delicious on all labels, and this 7” is no slouch.
The Damned – So, Who’s Paranoid [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
The Damned – Tiki Nightmare: Live In London 2002 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
So, Who’s Paranoid is the tenth studio album from The Damned. Unavailable for over two years, now reissued as part of an extensive reissue campaign of the bands classic material. Originally self-released in November 2008, it was their first album in seven years and to date is their last studio album. Tiki Nightmare: Live In London captures the band’s full performance from a 2002 gig while touring in support of their 2001 album.
Dinosaur Jr – Bug: Live At The 9:30 Club LP (Outer Battery)
2012 live album repressed on red vinyl.
Dr. John – In The Right Place [Reissue/1973] LP (ATCO)
Released in 1973, In The Right Place was the biggest selling album of Dr. John’s career, containing his most popular top-20 hit songs “Right Place Wrong Time” and “Such A Night” which appears in the music video of 3000 Miles To Graceland and The Band’s The Last Waltz concert.
Dropdead/Brainoil – Brainoil/Dropdead 7” (Armageddon)
Dropdead present two tracks recorded during the same session as their 2011split release with Converge. Brainoil drop a heavy as f**k sludge metal riffer.
Dropdead/Unholy Grave – Unholy Grave/Dropdead [Reissue/2003] 7” (Armageddon)
Reissue of this Japanese release that had been out of print for over a decade, both sides freshly mastered. A total of ten tracks here, five by each band. Furious, fast and brutal political HC from Dropdead. Noisy blasting grind from Unholy Grave.
DYM – NWO LP (Digital World Audio)
First-ever vinyl release from the Canadian dark electronica act.
English Dogs – Forward Into Battle [Reissue/1985] LP (Back On Black)
Vinyl reissue from one of the UK’s prime purveyors of crossover.
Enthroned – The Apocalypse Manifesto [1999] LP (Back On Black)
First time on vinyl for the Belgian black metal group’s third album.
Bill Evans – Paris Concert: Edition Two [Reissue/1984] 2xLP (Original Recordings)
Edition Two of The Paris Concert by Bill Evans was recorded live in November 1979 at L’espace Cardin in Paris, France. Evans is assisted by bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. This second edition of the two includes Miles Davis’ “Nardis” as well as “34 Skidoo.”
Fashionism – Smash The State (With Your Face) 7” (Hosehead)
Debut release from this new band featuring Jeff from Tranzmitors. It’s like Pointed Sticks meets Eddie And The Hot Rods meets The Boys all at once.
Feedtime – Flatiron b/w Stick Up Jack 7”+MP3 (Sub Pop)
First new tracks in nearly two decades from these outsider-rock legends.
First Base – You’ve Got A Hold On Me 7” (Hosehead)
Four songs that sound like The Beach Boys, The Ramones, Protex, and Rudi in a blender.
Freak Heat Waves – Bonnie’s State Of Mind LP (Hockey Dad)
Upon forming in Victoria, BC in 2009, Freak Heat Waves has toured extensively across North America including dates with Viet Cong, Each Other and Red Sea. Their latest album represents much more than the perfection of a widely toured three-piece melody machine, or even a singular studio opus. It encapsulates both ideals: pulsing with references to post-punk, kraut rock, disco, psych and dub, while breathing fresh air into the beats of their absence.
Fabio Frizzi – A Cat In The Brain [OST] LP (Mondo)
Original music composed, arranged and conducted by Fabio Frizzi. Design and layout by We Buy Your Kids. Single LP in deluxe gatefold jacket pressed on HQ-180gm vinyl. Limited edition pressed on black vinyl and randomly inserted “brain vinyl.”
Marvin Gaye – Trouble Man [Reissue/1972] LP (Motown)
Limited vinyl LP repressing of Marvin Gaye’s classic soundtrack to the 1972 motion picture Trouble Man.
Elliot Goldenthal – Pet Sematary [OST/1989] 2xLP (Mondo)
The original soundtrack to Pet Sematary by Elliot Goldenthal. Features over a dozen cues never before released on vinyl, as well as two tracks by The Ramones (“Pet Semetary” and “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”). Packaged with original artwork by Mike Saputo and pressed on HQ-180gm black vinyl.
HIM – Lashes To Ashes, Lust To Dust: A Vinyl Retrospective ’96 –’03 5xLP+USB (The End)
Features a collection of the four essential early HIM studio albums encompassing the group’s trailblazing early catalog, on heavy weight HQ-180gram vinyl, as well as the band’s debut 1996 EP 666 Ways To Love: Prologue on vinyl for the first time ever. Includes an exclusive “heartagram” logo slipmat, and a USB drive with 37 bonus tracks (80 tracks all together) all remastered. (Individual vinyl reissues of HIM’s first four albums are due April 7.)
Willie Hutch – The Mack [Reissue/1973] LP (Motown)
“When an act called Sisters Love were offered a cameo in the blaxploitation film The Mack, their manager suggested that Willie Hutch do the soundtrack. It came to be one of the great ’70s film scores, including a pair of classic funk tunes, ‘Brothers Gonna Work It Out’ and the title cut. The results proved to be another soundtrack that far surpassed the quality of its film.” — AllMusic
Rob Jacobs – Rob Jacobs LP (International Anthem)
An aside from his work with Wei Zhongle, this transmits a fresh compound of beatific psychedelia and virtuosic Eastern folk arrayed with a lyrical ardor that illuminates his perpetually inquisitive nerve. RIYL: Robert Wyatt, Sun City Girls.
Junko/Sachiko – Vasilisa The Beautiful 7” (Musik Atlach)
The “ultimate screamer” from Hijokaidan recorded live with Vava Kitora’s “shamanistic vocalist.” The duo’s intermingling of noise and drone is from a sphere beyond. Sudden, seemingly bi-polar in the extreme, fortified with delay and fuzz.
Michael Kamen – The Iron Giant [OST/1999] 2xLP (Mondo)
Michael Kamen’s original score for the animated cult classic The Iron Giant – available for first time on vinyl, remastered for the 15th anniversary of the film. HQ-180gm black.
Barney Kessel With Shelly Manne And Ray Brown – The Poll Winners [Reissue/1957] LP (Fantasy)
Timeless guitar jazz is the theme on The Poll Winners as six-string maestro Barney Kessel’s expressive, virtuosic approach takes center stage in this 1957 recording. Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Kessel melds effortlessly into the group setting while tastefully affording himself the freedom to let his solo lines flourish. Brought together by a common thread, Kessel, Brown and Manne actually DID win polls in DownBeat, Playboy, and Metronome in 1956, which is what brought them together for this classic small-group date, which features nine pieces and 40 minutes of expressive, modern jazz.
The Killjoys – Naïve [Reissue/1991] LP (Damaged Goods)
Limited repressing of a long lost Killjoys mini album which originally came out on DG back in 1991, this time it’s on red, white and blue vinyl. Before Kevin Rowland launched Dexys Midnight Runners he was the lead singer in this great punk band from the Midlands. Classic amphetamine punk.
Thomas Köner – Tiento De Las Nieves 2xLP+MP3 (Denovali)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. To escape the rigidity of the piano in this 68-minute single piece, dark ambient pioneer Thomas Köner uses his distinctive ansatz to understand music as something filling the space of the temporal dimension rather than as a succession of multi-layered sounds. Over his long, celebrated career, he has worked between audiovisual installation works, sound art, minimal soundscapes, and as one half of Porter Ricks. Among others, he has composed film soundtracks and music to accompany historic silent films for the Louvre Museum and the Musée d Orsay, Paris, who have called him a major innovator in the contemporary music scene.
Laika – Silver Apples Of The Moon [Reissue/1994] LP (Medical Records)
The members of Laika hailed from various interesting places. Margaret Fiedler was one of the vocalists and songwriters for Moonshake as well as a previous member of Ultra Vivid Scene. Guy Fixsen was/is a renowned audio engineer and producer. Bass player John Frenett was also in Moonshake. Drummer Lou Ciccotelli had previously played in Kevin Martin’s band God. Silver Apples Of The Moon was Laika’s first album and is almost unclassifiable. Taking a very forward-thinking approach, the sound is the result of a very unique equation of live drums/percussion, layered guitars/samples, and diverse analog tones that all fuse together to form a hypnotic polyrhythmic combination that was truly original.
Lazy – Soft Sheets b/w Don’t Lie 7” (Volar)
KC art punks return with two more weirdo rippers following their debut LP on Moniker records.
The Legendary Pink Dots – Synesthesia [2002] 2xLP (Norton North)
First time on vinyl. Synesthesia serves as a companion to Chemical Playschool Volumes 11, 12 and 13, with eight indexed tracks, 57 minutes total, and 28 minutes worth of Premonitions smack dab in the middle. Niels and Martijn are credited with horns, guitars and violin but there’s certainly an absence of evidence to prove it. Like Ka-Spel and The Silverman’s solo efforts, the dominating sound is electronic via synths, samples and programmed drums and the majority of the album is instrumental sound pieces.
Dan Lissvik – Shuvit! 12” (Smalltown Supersound)
Studio member Dan Lissvik has turned his focus to the dance floor with these infectious new tracks.
Living Colour – CBGB OMFUG Masters: The Bowery Collection LP (CBGB)
Live from the CBGB benefit in 2005, straight from the soundboard.
Lucero – That Much Further West [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Sabot Productions)
This expanded vinyl reissue of Lucero’s 2003 album includes an extra LP of bonus material taken from the original sessions.
Eric Lunde – Same Head Different Asphalt LP (After Music)
Same Head Different Asphalt is less of an Eric Lunde greatest hits collection, more of an compendium of eight selected recordings from Eric Lunde’s twenty-plus years of cutting edge recordings. Featuring noise, sound and lyrics from the mind of American author and composer. Electronics, field recordings and beats are mixed in to this collection of noise and experimentation.
M83/Anthony Gonzalez/Joseph Trapenese – Oblivion [OST/2013] 2xLP (Mondo)
Original music by M83. Score composed by Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Trapanese. Packaging design by Kilian Eng.
Merzbow/Askew – Level LP (Rustblade)
The first in a series of concept split albums, LEVEL brings together two artistic audio projects on one unique vinyl-only release. Side One features Merzbow, one of the most prolific and respected artists in the world of experimental noise. Side Two features Askew, a collective of artists, musicians and producers from the Rustblade label headed by Justin Bennett (Skinny Puppy, Bahntier) and Jeff “Squigg” Smith (Ohgr, Hate Dept).
The Meters – Fire On The Bayou [Reissue/1975] LP (Reprise)
Stone cold funk from New Orleans. Red/orange swirl for Mardi Gras.
Thelonius Monk – Monk [Reissue/1954] LP (Fantasy)
One of his earlier releases, Monk features the unusual combination of Sonny Rollins on tenor sax with Julius Watkins on French horn.
My Chemical Romance – Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge [Reissue/2004] LP (Reprise)
My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade [Reissue/2006] 2xLP (Reprise)
On their major label debut, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance combined punk, metal and emo to create a sound that brought hope to darkness. Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day), the follow-up The Black Parade is a celebration of love and death and even more darkness. (Other than an uber-limited color-vinyl pressing in 2008, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge has not been available on wax. The pressing of The Black Parade features a laser etching on Side-D.)
NOFX – Backstage Passport Soundtrack LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. In 2008 NOFX starred in the TV show Backstage Passport, a series that documented the insane hijinks of the band as they weaved an unsteady path through exotic locales where most sane bands fear to tread. The reality romp originally aired on Fuse and later went on to be released on DVD, which served up tons of “too hot for TV” bonus footage. After the resounding success of the series, NOFX have been met with endless requests for a soundtrack including all the rare and exclusive songs (five previously unreleased) from the show.
Nuclear Santa Claust – Je Ne Sais Claust LP (Don Giovanni)
Blistering four-to-the-floor punk and occasional bursts of scuzzy power-pop infused garage.
N.W.A. – Efil4zaggin [Reissue/1991] 2xLP (Priority)
Niggaz4Life (also known as Efil4zaggin), is final studio album by gangsta rap group N.W.A, as the group disbanded later the same year after the departure of Dr. Dre and songwriter The D.O.C. for Death Row Records; the album features only four members of the original line-up, as Ice Cube had already left the group in 1989.
The Obsessed – The Church Within [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Back On Black)
The Church Within is the final album by The Obsessed, a metal band formed in the late-‘70s by teenage friends Scott Weinrich, aka “Wino”, (guitar) and Mark Laue (bass) along with drummer Dave Flood (aka “Dave The Slave”) and guitarist/vocalist Johnny Reese.
Orange Goblin – Back From The Abyss [Reissue/2014] 2xLP (Back On Black)
The London hard rocker’s eighth album is back in print on vinyl. A unique, heavy sound that lies somewhere between doom, stoner, classic metal, ‘70s inspired heavy-rock, punk, blues and everything in between.
Post Industrial Noise – Official Anthology LP (Medical Records)
Post Industrial Noise was an “audio artsemble” conceived in 1982 in Columbus, Ohio by the trio Robert Crise Jr, Gerald F. Nelson, and Dana Riashi Ritchey. They started on a drum machine, guitars, and vocals but quickly evolved to one member on synths and two guitarists on occasional synths.
Steven Price – Gravity [OST/2013] 2xLP (Mondo)
The 2014 Academy Award Winner for Best Original Score pressed for the first time on HQ-180gm black vinyl. Featuring original artwork by Kevin Tong.
Quarterbacks – Quarterbacks LP (Team Love)
Basement twee-punk indie DIY broken-hearts and backseats three-piece led by Dean Engles. Recorded with Kyle Gilbride (Swearin’, Waxahatchee, Radiator Hospital) during a four-day session.
Suzi Quatro – Rock Hard [Reissue/1980] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Suzi Quatro – Unreleased Emotion [1982] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Suzi Quatro – In The Spotlight [2011] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Rock Hard is the seventh studio album by singer/bassist Suzi Quatro, originally released in October 1980.The tone is set by the title track, which starts the album with a blast thanks to its effective combination chugging guitar riffs, a stomping beat, and a shout-along chorus that praises the song’s tough female heroine. In the Spotlight is the fifteenth studio album Quatro. Mike Chapman, her original producer and composer of most of her hits, approached her with plans to take her back to her roots.
Retox – Beneath California LP (Epitaph)
Melding the raw with the refined, the band continuously teases yet never settles on any one genre– aside from perhaps (as members of the band itself have referred to their work) “annoying.”
Vince Ripper And The Rodent Show – It’s Fun To Be A Monster LP (Eclectic)
Gnarly goth rock & roll from these UK crazies.
Roam – Viewpoint 12” (Hopeless)
The UK pop-punk band shines with their ability to write catchy hooks and the use of high energy throughout the EP.
Paul Rodgers & Friends – Live In Switzerland 1994 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the acclaimed blues based album Muddy Water Blues with contributions from many special guest artists with a shared love for the blues. In July 1994 the tour in support of this album rolled into Montreux. The regular tour band was joined through the evening by a number of special guests to create a typically unique Montreux festival performance including an amazing finale of “Hoochie Coochie Man” where all the guests join in.
Rosetta – Flies To Flame [2014] LP (Translation Loss)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. Latest opus from Philadelphia’s reining astral-kings of space-rock-metal.
Martin Sexton – Sugar Coating [2010] 2xLP (Kitchen Table)
Given that Martin Sexton waited seven years after his album Wonder Bar to release Seeds, the fact that a mere three years passed between that disc and Sexton’s next studio set, Sugarcoating, suggests something resembling urgency about getting these songs out to his fans. And if in many ways Sugarcoating follows a stylistic path that Sexton has pursued in the past, the title cut is certainly a surprise, a jazzy shuffle leavened with slide guitar and silky harmonies whose lyrics offer a pointed critique of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and how they were sold to the public, a blending of sweet and sour that recalls Phil Ochs “A Small Circle of Friends.” Autographed.
Shanghais – Pretty Mean 7” (No Rules)
A great debut 7” from this Oakland punk foursome that channels everything you love about Bomp! Records into three catchy tunes (each clocking in under two minutes). A timeless concoction of crooning lead vocals over upbeat riffs and bubblegum backups. Think Teenage Head meets Nikki & The Corvettes. On limited red vinyl.
Soundtrack – William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture [1996] LP (Capitol)
First time on vinyl for the soundtrack to the 1996 film. Features tracks by Garbage, Radiohead, Butthole Surfers and more.
The Sun Ra Arkestra – Live In Nickelsdorf 1984 4xLP (Trost)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. The great Sun Ra Arkestra, recorded live at Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf, Austria – March 11, 1984.
Surgyn – Envy LP (Digital World Audio)
Ultra-limited vinyl version of the new album from Scotland’s electro-industrial export.
Thin Lizzy – Shades Of A Blue Orphanage [Reissue/1972] LP (Future Days Recordings)
Thin Lizzy – Vagabonds Of The Western World [Reissue/1973] LP (Future Days Recordings)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissues of the Irish rock band’s second and third albums, both released several years before their 1976 smash Jailbreak.
The Ting Tings – Super Critical LP (PIAS)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Ting Tings, known for their massive hits “That’s Not My Name” and “Shut Up And Let Me Go,” among others, have taken an entirely new approach on their new album. Feeling uninspired, the two (Katie White and Jules De Martino) sought out an adventure in late 2012, which took them to Ibiza. As it turned out, unleashing their party spirit was exactly the impetus and momentum needed to craft something special and true to the starting spirit of their musical adventures. The result is Super Critical, a hook-stuffed, introspective, modern disco record. While in Ibiza, someone introduced Katie and Jules to Duran Duran’s stalwart guitarist Andy Taylor who offered to help sift through some old demos and became co-producer of this project.
Toasters – CBGB OMFUG Masters: The Bowery Collection LP (CBGB)
Live from CBGB in 2002, straight from the soundboard.
Tse-Tse – Land In Sicht [Reissue/1983] LP (Medical Records)
Tse-Tse were Claas Melhop and Clement Hlse. The German duo met in Hamburg at a disco. In between hanging out at trendy bars at some point, Clem took a tiny toy Casio keyboard over to Claas’s place. They began improvising and playing through the home stereo. The drum machine sounds were simply whatever was built into the cheap gear, and everything was recorded on a cassette tape player. The songs came together quite easily with key changes and rhythms evolving quite instinctively.
Carmen Villain – Quietly b/w Let Go 7” (Smalltown Supersound)
Immaculately produced dream pop from another galaxy.
Frankie Vinci – Angela’s Theme 7” (Death Waltz)
Frankie Vinci recorded three songs for the slasher movie Sleepaway Camp and Death Waltz is extremely proud to be releasing them officially for the first time ever. Taken from the original four-track cassette recordings and remastered for vinyl under supervision of Vinci. “Angela’s Theme” is generally regarded as one of the greatest songs featured in a horror movie during the ‘80s with its mix of synths, drum machines and an absolutely killer chorus. White vinyl.
Riccardo Dillon Wanke – Cuts LP+MP3 (Three Four)
After Riccardo Dillon Wanke’s 2008 highly lauded solo debut, Wanke continued his interests in digital and analog manipulation of sound and its application into musical compositions. His work with guitars and keyboards (piano and rhodes) has started from pure radical improvisation and has drawn to the investigation of drones sounds, static music. He explored for years the use of repetitive structures within different perspectives. In many cases, these figures involved long developments. Cuts is his effort to merge this attitude with concise forms and tight evolutions.
War Party – Teenager On Drugs 7” (Windian)
With an A-side that young Brian Wilson would have been proud of, Texas’ War Party presents an elaborate and beautiful pop song that has a chance to be missed and blown into the winds of time.
Wastoids – Dangerous Spaces 7” (No Idea)
Noisy, bratty hardcore punk from four pretty boys from Ontario. Recorded by Jonah Falco of F**ked Up.
Wednesday 13 – Monsters Of The Universe: Come Out And Plague LP (Wednesday 13, LLC)
A concept album about intergalactic forces, UFOs and aliens from the former Murderdolls frontman.
Wiley – Snakes & Ladders [2014] LP (Big Dada)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. A blistering, blazing, rallying call for grime’s first renaissance.
John Williams – Jurassic Park [OST/1993] 2xLP (Mondo)
John Williams’ original soundtrack to Jurassic Park, remastered for the 20th anniversary of the film and pressed on HQ-180gm black vinyl with original artwork by JC Richard.
Young Trynas – Probably Music 7” (White Denim)
DC hardcore has a rich and illustrious history, and you might as well stuff it all into the toilet when Young Trynas are out on the prowl. They play an ugly, unrefined form of hardcore-punk that’s equally indebted to Madball, Hole and Fang, both sonically and spiritually, although Young Trynas are simply making music the only way they know how, rather than attempting to reenact any bygone era.
Frank Zappa And Captain Beefheart – Providence College, Rhode Island, April 26th 1975 3xLP (Keyhole)
Childhood friends and fellow rock visionaries Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart put aside their differences to tour the US together in the spring of 1975 — Beefheart’s only tour with The Mothers Of Invention. The resulting shows found them both in superb form, as evidenced by this legendary 1975 set, preserved in superb fidelity. This edition is pressed on HQ-180gm vinyl, features remastered sound, and includes an insert with background notes and photos.
Zs – Xe LP (Northern Spy)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Zs is devoid of genre and unclassifiable. Since 2000, founder Sam Hillmer has remained its purveying constant, and with the addition of loose-limbed, meditative percussionist Greg Fox (Liturgy, Guardian Alien, Man Forever), and virtuosic avant-classical guitarist and composer Patrick Higgins, the band has found its epochal lineup. The trio’s vision is crystallized on Xe, Zs’ first full-length featuring the new trio, and first proper since 2010’s New Slaves.
Cassettes:
Jim Haynes – Scarlet (Helen Scarsdale Agency)
Jagged bursts of strobe lights. Cackling radio signals bristling with interference. Sawtooth patterns of tactile noise. Torn flesh. Scabbed wounds. These are some of the building blocks to Jim Haynes’ Scarlet.
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