CDs + Vinyl:
Aloke – Alive CD/LP (The End)
Aloke is a New York band, featuring Christian Zucconi of the indie rock collective Grouplove. Their recent EP as well as upcoming full length were recorded with legendary producer and noise merchant Steve Albini. “Aloke all grew up together in a working class town thirty miles north of the city- Ossining, New York, best known for housing Sing Sing prison,” Zucconi recalled about the band’s humble beginnings and the artistic town which fostered their creativity.
America – The Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 8xCD (Rhino)
Eight-CD box set presented in a sleek clamshell box with each disc in a mini LP sleeve that replicates all of the original album art and inserts. Includes: America (1971), Homecoming (1972), Hat Trick (1973), Holiday (1974), Hearts (1975), Hideaway (1976), Harbor (1977), and America Live (1977).
Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room – Party Adjacent CD/LP (Asian Man)
When not penning tunes and holding down the bass chair for pop-punk stalwarts the Alkaline Trio, Dan Andriano makes music on the side as Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room. Influences range from Thin Lizzy to Elvis Costello to Billy Bragg.
Bassnectar – Into The Sun 2xCD (Amorphous)
On Into The Sun, Bassnectar delivers 16 new pieces of amorphous music — a diverse journey through sparkling melodic downtempo to shimmering hype music to mutated indie rock re-cuts to renegade deep house caught in a trap to blistering bass music explosions — plus a continuous mix bonus disc of all original songs and remixes entitled Mixtape 13.
The Bird And The Bee – Recreational Love CD/LP (Rostrum)
The fourth album from the bird and the bee, Recreational Love, came to life over a half-decade of songwriting and recording. “We didn’t mean to take so long but life ended up getting in the way, in a great way,” says vocalist Inara George, who formed the Los Angeles-based duo with multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin in 2005. In the midst of pursuing other projects — George also sings in the indie-folk supergroup the Living Sisters, Kurstin’s a Grammy Award-nominated producer who’s recently worked with Sia, Lykke Li, and Charli XCX — the two met most Friday mornings at Kurstin’s studio to dream up their latest batch of finely textured retro-pop. With a hint of R&B adding some warm grooves this time around, Recreational Love captures the easy intimacy of their collaboration and lets listeners slip into the band’s own charmed and secret world.
Blinddog Smokin’ – High Steppin’ CD (Silver Talon)
Seven-piece band Blinddog Smokin’s new album was produced by Grammy and Oscar winning songwriter Donny Markowitz and features three time Grammy winner Billy Branch blowing harp on three songs. New Orleans pianist David Torkanowsky and Hall & Oates music director and guitarist Shane Theriot add their talents to the recording. The band backed long time soulmate, Blues Music Hall Of Fammers Bobby Rush, on his Grammy and Blues Music Award nominated 2014 release ‘Decisions’.
Camera Shy – Camera Shy CD/10” (Run For Cover)
Before they came to be known as Camera Shy, Nick Bassett and Alexandra Morte had been working on crafting warm weather indie pop indebted with influence to The Smiths, The Sundays and Sarah Records catalogs while the pair made loud, shoegazing punk together in Bassett’s band, Whirr. While the Bay Area act has moved onto a darker terrain since Morte’s departure, she and Bassett have remained a creative unit that serves as a brighter outlet to contrast the caustic dreariness Whirr indulges. Camera Shy’s first exhale of melancholy bedroom pop arrived properly on last year’s Jack-O-Lantern EP, and now, Bassett and Morte refine their soft start with their eponymous debut full-length for Run For Cover Records.
Carlton Melton – Out To Sea CD/2xLP+CD (Agitated)
Out To Sea sees Carlton Melton expand the psychedelia and free outrock sound of their previous output to its furthest horizons. Huge rhythms, outta space riffage, sparkling synths, pastoral passages, searing shards of molten guitar, smothered ambience and gentle guitar-picking all flow together into waves of sound to lap at the shores of your senses.
The Chemical Brothers – Born In The Echoes CD/2xLP (Astralwerks)
“Collaborators return for Born In The Echoes, the pair’s eighth album and first since Further. But here the Brothers largely bend the singers to their will, their voices subservient to the power of the songs. St Vincent’s contribution to ‘Under Neon Lights’, for example, is chilling (‘And she moves to suicide / In and under neon lights’), her voice eventually cut to electronic shreds and fed stuttering back into the mix like a malfunctioning car alarm. They pull a similar trick with London singer Ali Love (who guested on ‘We Are The Night’ single ‘Do It Again’) on ‘EML Ritual’, his vocals pitch-shifted and layered to create the unsettling effect of too many late nights, echoing lyrics about losing your mind (“I don’t know what to do / I’m going to lose my mind”). These two tracks brilliantly marry Further’s brooding electronica with the unsettling feel of the darkest psych-rock. But the real highlights are those that sound least like anything the Chems have done previously, as they burrow further down the rabbit hole, emerging somewhere between early Pink Floyd, minimal techno oddball Ricardo Villalobos and experimental London electro group White Noise, who formed in 1968” – NME. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks.
Crawlspace – Blink Once For Yes CD (Gulcher)
Crawlspace marks thirty years of improvised rock music and noisy trips with a new disc that finds the L.A. combo returning to “classic” form after a long period of studio-based experimentation and then an abrupt return to basic rock & roll on its last two albums. This new one focuses on the band’s approach to spontaneous live composition that has long been Crawlspace’s dominant musical philosophy.
Continental Drifters – Drifted: In The Beginning & Beyond 2xCD (Omnivore)
One of the best Americana supergroups that you’ve probably never really heard of – although you know several of its members. Born in Los Angeles in the early 1990s via a residency of week after week jam sessions at a dive club called Raji’s—then relocating to New Orleans—the band’s trajectory lasted about a decade and ended when Hurricane Katrina demolished their homes and the band members scattered. Key members included Vicki Peterson (Bangles), Susan Cowsill (The Cowsills), Peter Holsapple (The dBs, R.E.M.), and many more—including the only member who has been with them from the beginning, Mark Walton (Giant Sand, The Dream Syndicate). Disc One of this set contains band’s earliest recordings—many previously unissued, while Disc Two contains live tracks and more rarities.
Samantha Crain – Under Branch & Thorn & Tree CD/LP (Ramseur)
Crain’s songs are full of expansive melodies that veer off in unpredictable directions, with lyrics that explore conflicting emotions with uncommon insight and compassion. She has a jazz singer’s phrasing, often breaking words into rhythmic fragments that land before and after the beat, stretching syllables or adding grace notes to uncover hidden nuances in her lyrics.
Miles Davis – Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 4xCD (Sony Legacy)
Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 tracks Miles’ ascendance over eight live festival performances spanning 20 years in Newport, New York, Berlin, And Switzerland. This 296-minute program includes nearly four hours of previously unreleased material. Features Miles’ stellar band line-ups in 1955, 1958, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, and 1975. Every concert features a who’s who of jazz. From the ’50s featuring Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan, to Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb; to the mid-’60s second great quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams; into the ’70s, rock and R&B-rooted musicians like guitarists Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas, electric bassist Michael Henderson, Mtume on percussion, plus jazz drummer Al Foster.
The Domestics – The Domestics CD/LP (Tender Loving Empire)
What separates The Domestics from the escapism of so many other indie pop acts is the fearlessness with which Michael Finn and Leo London confront their own pain. London’s birth parents both battled with drug addiction in his early childhood before he was adopted by his grandparents at the age of two. Finn’s trials came later on, struggling with health issues, depression and dependency in his early adult years. Writing in the aftermath of infidelity, mental illness, substance abuse and child abuse, Finn and London have wrought songs as moving as they are catchy and as honest as they are loud. What The Domestics provide that so many other bands do not is something which all listeners can relate to: vulnerability.
Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters – Father’s Day CD (Stony Plain)
The current Blues Foundation ‘Blues Guitarist Of The Year,’ Ronnie Earl, returns with his ninth album on Stony Plain. For the first time in decades Earl includes a horn section, bringing him back to his early days as front man for Roomful Of Blues.
Flying Saucer Attack – Instrumentals CD/2xLP (Drag City)
“Where in the past Flying Saucer Attack traversed a range of styles — feedback-heavy shoegaze, Nick Drake-leaning folk, electronic-beat-driven rock, a self-made mode dubbed ‘rural psychedelia’ — here Pearce sticks solely to guitar-based ambient sounds. His singing, which often provided a point of entry, is noticeably absent, and few songs have traceable structures to latch onto.The resulting music lives in the cracks and crevices between abstract noise and melodic atmospheres.” – NPR
Jon Foreman – The Wonderlands: Sunlight & Shadows 2xCD (Word Entertainment)
A double-disc set representing the first two of a four-part series of EPs that comprise The Wonderlands, a 24-song magnum opus – 10 years in the making – from one of America’s most beloved songwriters. Each of the 24 songs were co-produced by a different musician friend of Jon’s, including: Darren King from Mutemath, Jeff Coffin from Dave Matthews Band, Andrew Wessen from Grouplove, Taylor York from Paramore, Charlie Peacock, and many more. The Wonderlands is a musical planet of 24 songs, one for every hour of the day. Jon was never in the same room with any of the co-producers during the making of the project; instead, the songs were sent back-and-forth around the world as Jon and these various musicians worked on them.
Galactic – Into The Deep CD/LP+MP3 (Provogue)
The New Orleans funk institution return with a new album, produced and arranged by Galactic’s Ben Ellman and Robert Mercurio. Into The Deep finds Galactic joined by a number of special guests including Macy Gray, Mavis Staples, JJ Grey, Ryan Montbleau, David Shaw of The Revivalists, Maggie Koerner, Brushy One String and Charm Taylor. “We look for uniqueness and a quality that makes the people we collaborate with distinctively who they are,” Mercurio said of their collaborations on the album.
The Gizmos – World Tour 2014 CD (Gulcher)
The first reunion show of the original Gizmos 1976-77 line up ever. The Gizmos were a protopunk band that formed in Bloomington, Indiana in 1976.
Jeff Healey – Best Of The Stony Plain Years: Vintage Jazz CD (Stony Plain)
This release celebrates Jeff Healey’s (1966-2008) four vintage jazz/swing projects released on Stony Plain. This music was Jeff’s first love and allowed him to play guitar and trumpet while having a parallel career as one of the worlds most acclaimed and innovative electric blues and rock musicians. Includes a previous promo only track with the legendary Chris Barber.
Hey Violet – I Can Feel It CDEP (Capitol)
Debut EP from the up-and-coming pop rockers.
Highly Suspect – Mister Asylum CD/LP (300 Entertainment)
Highly Suspect draw comparisons to Queens Of The Stone Age, Royal Blood, Band Of Skulls and early Kings Of Leon. “Brooklyn rockers Highly Suspect have already made a splash with their debut’s first single ‘Lydia,’ a bluesy anthem inspired by ‘literally slow-motion love at first sight,’ according to lead singer Johnny Stevens. Now, they’re back with Mister Asylum’s second single, the highly danceable ‘Claudeland.’” — Billboard
Iron And Wine & Ben Bridwell – Sing Into My Mouth CD/LP (Black Cricket)
Longtime friends Ben Bridwell of Band Of Horses and Iron And Wine’s Sam Beam unveil their first-ever collaborative album, Sing Into My Mouth, an homage to 12 songs that have had indelible influence on both of its creators. Classics interpreted range from Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody),” Sade’s “Bulletproof Soul,” and El Perro del Mar’s “God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get)” the original having recently been featured on HBO’s Girls to deep cuts like Them Two’s “Am I a Good Man?”
Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free CD/2xLP+MP3 (Southeastern/Thirty Tigers)
“When Jason Isbell released the album “Southeastern” in 2013, a promising and talented singer-songwriter turned into one of the most popular and acclaimed artists in Americana music. Isbell first gained recognition in the band Drive-By Truckers. While his contributions were excellent, his later solo releases were spotty. With Southeastern, a newly sober Isbell truly blossomed. Something More Than Free proves that Southeastern was no fluke. Isbell IS one of America’s great artists. Like its predecessor, Something More Than Free is stark and simple. There’s no fancy instrumentation. What there is so perfectly matched to the songs you have to make a point to notice it at all. The focus is on lyrics and melody.” – Knox News
Alan Jackson – Angels And Alcohol CD (Capitol Nashville)
The 15th studio album by the country music veteran.
The Mads – 1969 En Concierto CD (Lion Productions)
The first (and so far only) live recording of a Peruvian rock band from the 1960s. One quick listen makes clear that The Mads demonstrated a lot of Jimi Hendrix Experience influence at this stage of their brief career. Still, it’s clear straight away why the Stones were impressed, why Dennis Hopper told them during the intermission of this very concert how great they were (he wanted to hook them up with Phil Spector), and why they are legends of Pervian rock. Heavy, hard, and loud.
Sebastian Maniscalco – Aren’t You Embarrassed? CD (Shout! Factory)
New release of the standup comic’s second hit Showtime comedy special. The show by the Chicago-born comedian focuses on absurdities of everyday life. The special spawned the Twitter hashtag #Aren’tYouEmbarrassed.
Moonshine Bandits – Blacked Out CD (Average Joe’s Entertainment)
15 tracks including the slamming Summer anthem, “Lady Luck” featuring Crucifix as well as “Outback” which features guest artists such as Durwood Black of Burn Country, Redneck Souljers, D. Thrash of Jawga Boyz, Demun Jones, Bubba Sparxxx, Lenny Cooper, Jeff McCool of Moccasin Creek and the LACS.
Flo Morrissey – Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful CD/LP (Glassnote)
“If you’re after a quick way to feel ancient, just think about how 20-year-old Londoner Flo Morrissey discovered the likes of Joanna Newsom, CocoRosie, and Devendra Banhart in her dad’s car when she was nine or 10 years old. Recently reissued documentary The Family Jams chronicles the innocent days of freak folk, the painfully amateur footage mirroring a shambolic summer tour spent rejoicing in the hands. A decade on, a pristine redux of the collective’s influence manifests in Morrissey’s debut, aided by the production of scene original Noah Georgeson. Complementing Morrissey’s piercing melismatics are softly thumbed acoustic guitars, very familiar harp motifs, and cosmic accents, along with a plush string section and period wardrobe. Although Morrissey reaches back a decade and way beyond, to the likes of Karen Dalton, Nick Drake, and Vashti Bunyan, Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful feels like an accurate representation of right now. She’s part of a raft of privileged British musicians who can afford to be earnest and wide-eyed about the world, but it’s something she does better than most of them.” – Pitchfork
MS MR – How Does It Feel CD/LP (Columbia)
Sophomore album by this New York-based duo consisting of vocalist Lizzy Plapinger and producer Max Hershenow. Plapinger is also known for her work as co-founder of the New York City/London-based Independent record label Neon Gold Records. Their music has been characterized as indie pop, alternative rock, dream pop, and dark wave.
New Bomb Turks – Destroy Oh-Boy!! [Reissue/1993] CD (Crypt)
Updated & newly remastered digipack edition of this January 1993 punk rock classic, crammed with a 20-pg booklet stuffed with pics and liner notes by John Petkovic (Death Of Samantha) and a slew of musician/fan ravings, plus lyrics.
Papoose – You Can’t Stop Destiny CD (Honorable)
New album from the NY rapper featuring guest appearances by Troy Ave, Ty Dolla $ign, Remy Ma, Red Cafe, Maino, andAG (From Shobiz & AG).
Peacers – Peacers CD/LP/Cassette (Drag City)
“Fresh off the streets of San Francisco (well, semi-fresh), sic ol’ Mike Donovan declares Peacers is at hand! Their self-titled debut release is co-chaired by Ty Segall and is rife wif riff n’ razor-wired tunage.”
Powerwolf – Blessed & Possessed CD/2xCD/LP (Napalm)
Sixth studio album by German power metal band. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a special bonus CD Metallium Nostrum featuring eight marvelous cover versions of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest.
Public Speaking – Blanton Ravine CD (Fabrica)
Public Speaking is the solo moniker of Brooklyn experimental musician Jason Anthony Harris. Utilizing found objects, radio, tape recorder, synthesizer and effect pedals, he constructs percussive, textural music for his deep, soulful vocals to croon over. Somewhere between Brian Eno and Tune-Yards, or Tortoise and James Blake, Harris’s music explores pop music as organized sound. The Deli Magazine wrote: “This is soul music functioning as 21st century meditation… [This] is what happens when an artist personally realizes the sound of his environment, and puts it to use.” His first full-length, Blanton Ravine is a lush collection of songs and sounds drawing on avant-rock, IDM, ambient, noise, and R&B.
Radioactivity – Silent Kill CD/LP (Dirtnap)
Although the twelve songs on Silent Kill abide one strict rule–providing garage punk pleasure at all costs — Radioactivity bend that mandate in myriad ways.
Ratatat – Magnifique CD/LP (XL)
Following up on the experimental sounds of LP3 and LP4, Ratatat return to their core guitar-driven sound on Magnifique. “So much of Ratatat’s appeal lies in what it doesn’t do: On the band’s fifth album, Brooklynites Mike Stroud and Evan Mast built sleek, propulsive instrumentals using a spare palette of guitars, synthesizers and simple percussion in such a way that the music sounds both triumphant and understated. These are rock instrumentals that needn’t overcompensate for their lack of words; they don’t strain to be heard or scramble to stand out, but instead convey coolness that seems effortless.” — NPR
The Revivalists – Men Amongst Mountains CD (Wind-Up)
The formation of The Revivalists was all about chance, but everything since then has been a combination of hard work, awesome music, and friendship. The septet has been playing nonstop since 2007, crafting a genre-hopping sound that rounds out traditional rock instrumentation with horns and pedal steel guitar and mixes the divergent backgrounds of its individual members with the humid, funky undercurrents of the band’s New Orleans home. The result is like English spoken with an exotic accent: familiar, yet difficult to pin down. Vinyl version due August 21.
Sam Setzer – Hunter/Jumper CD (Gulcher)
Recorded at Sam Setzer’s home in San Pedro, California, mostly by Sam himself. The record consists of power pop-influenced lo-fi tunes that cover a wide variety of topics, including hanging out with lesbians, self-pleasure, paranoia, and of course, heartbreak.
Sly And The Family Stone – Live At The Fillmore East October 4th & 5th, 1968 4xCD (Legacy)
On October 4th and 5th, 1968, shortly after the release of the band’s third album Life, Sly And The Family Stone took the stage at Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore East in New York City. Along with the success of Dance To The Music, which was released earlier that year and spun off the Top 10 hit of the same name, Sly & The Family Stone were making a name for themselves on the concert circuit, with their dynamic, high energy live performances.
Soundtrack – Different Drum CD (Gulcher)
Soundtrack to the film Different Drum, written and directed by Kevin Chenault. Tod is an unemployed musician and Lydia is pregnant. They used to date each other and with a wedding as the reason, the young ex-lovers drive from South Dakota to Indiana. The trip is filled with detours, interesting strangers, and physical injuries. The soundtrack features music from Xray Eyeballs, Hypocrite In A Hippy Crypt, The Hardy Tree, Underground Youth, Del Mas Alla, and Ubi Escalona.
Sublime With Rome – Sirens CD (BMG Rights Management)
New album from the alt-rock group born from the ashes of Sublime.
Tame Impala – Currents CD/2xLP (Interscope)
Currents is the third album by Australian epiphany pop auteur, Kevin Parker, known to many as Tame Impala. “Kevin Parker of Tame Impala has said that listening to the Bee Gees after taking mushrooms inspired him to change the sound of the music he was making. Parker also suggests that being put in a box as a psych musician was another factor in deciding to go against that grain. ‘I don’t like the idea that I’m a one-trick pony, even if I am!’ he says. ‘No matter what else I do, I have to make sure that ‘Elephant’ isn’t Tame Impala’s biggest song anywhere.” – NME
Various Artists – Ayahuasca: Cumbias Psicodelicas Vol. 1 CD (Lion Productions)
Peculiar aspects of traditional Colombian cumbia were mixed with electric (often fuzz) guitar, played over native Andean and jungle rhythms; this combination provoked an explosion of original musical styles: an instrument to lead the way, usually from the introduction of the song; over this, hypnotic layers of keyboards or guitar with wah wah, and simple bass-lines; to top it off, syncopated rhythms from percussion instruments such as bongos, congas, huiros, cymbals, timbales, among others, often played at breakneck speed, to drive the song forward. Simple, funky, effective.
Various Artists – Back From The Grave Volumes 1 & 2 [Reissue] CD (Crypt)
Various Artists – Back From The Grave Volumes 3 & 4 [Reissue] CD (Crypt)
Various Artists – Back From The Grave Volumes 5 & 6 [Reissue] CD (Crypt)
Various Artists – Back From The Grave 7 [Reissue] CD (Crypt)
Back From The Grave is a Tim Warren curated series collecting US and Canadian mid ’60s teen garage punk… an unusually pure and primitive strain. No psychedelia, no hippy rock and no late ’60s acid rock. Eight volumes were delivered in the ’80s and ’90s.
Various Artists – Shirley Inspired 3xCD (Earth Recordings)
An album of Shirley Collins covers featuring contributions from Graham Coxon, Lee Ranaldo, Bitchin Bonnie Billy Bajas (Bonnie Prince Billy), Stewart Lee, Eric Chenaux, Josephine Foster, Johnny Flynn, Stuart Estell, Trembling Bells and many more. (This triple-CD version of the RSD 2015 triple-LP release, featuring 12 extra tracks.)
Vomitface – Another Bad Year CDEP/12” (Boxing Clever)
“While they’ve preserved their head-bludgeoning guitar riffs and sardonic lyricism, these five new songs are tighter and more complicated. The songs are more melodic, and frontman Jared Micah’s lyrics are sharper and slyer than before. Standout track ‘Did She Come Alone’ exemplifies the trio’s finesse as they veer between jangly pop-punk and distortion-fueled grunge. After just one listen, their self-professed ‘black-surf avant-grunge sludge-pop’ genre seems pretty fitting.” — Stereogum
White Reaper – White Reaper Does It Again CD/LP+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
“For some people, what makes a song really great is how good it sounds when you’re driving a car. Meaning, is this something you’re gonna play when you’re driving around and you need to show your pals something really sick and everyone will dig? Or if you manage to steal the aux cord from whoever’s driving there better be a reason why they shouldn’t throw you out of the car. A good reason would definitely be White Reaper. White Reaper is a band from Louisville, KY that play thrashy but shamelessly fun rock for you and your friends. Their new record, White Reaper Does It Again features the band playing 12 tracks of distorted rock to drive for miles to. On ‘Sheila,’ their singer Tony Esposito jams and chugs through the song’s verse, before a synth line surfs in for the chorus, something you really want to cruise with. It’s a track that’s well-written and perfect for driving your car to the beach, the moon, or wherever possible.” – Noisey
Worthwhile – Old World Harm CD (Hopeless)
New album from the melodic hardcore group.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police DVD/Blu-ray (Cinema Libre)
Based on the acclaimed memoir by renowned guitarist Andy Summers, Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police follows Summers journey from his early days in the psychedelic ‘60s music scene, when he played with The Animals, to chance encounters with drummer Stewart Copeland and bassist Sting, which led to the formation of a punk trio, The Police. The band’s phenomenal rise and its highly publicized dissolution at the height of their fame in the early ‘80s was captured by Summers camera. Utilizing rare archival footage, Summers photos, and insights from the guitarist’s side of the stage, Can’t Stand Losing You brings together past and present as the band members prepare to reunite for the first time in two decades for a global reunion.
Elliott Smith – Heaven Adores You DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)
Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith, whose rise to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 34 in 2003. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in: Portland, New York and Los Angeles, Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer’s prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends and fellow musicians. At the conclusion of the film we have a rich view of an incredible and accomplished talent, a view that places music at the center of Elliott Smith’s legacy. 165 minutes.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Birds Of Paradise – Untitled 7” (Solid Sex Lovie Doll)
Fourth release from Montreal’s favorites Roy Vucino (Sexareenos, PC Gangbangs, PYPY) and Hannah Lewis delivering two smoked out and mournful folk/psych/pop/blues turns.
Blank Pages – No Reception b/w Golden Chains 7” (Dirt Cult)
Berlin’s Blank Pages returns with two new dark melodic punk songs that sound a bit like The Marked Men covering the Wipers. Recorded in Portland, OR during their recent successful US tour, this is the perfect follow up to their self-titled LP, released on Dirt Cult in 2014. Sadly, the band announced that they are calling it quits and did their last European tour, but that doesn’t mean this single is any less crucial.
The Charlatans – Melting Pop [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Beggars Banquet)
The Charlatans is a long-standing UK indie rock band, founded in 1989 in the West Midlands by bassist Martin Blunt, marketed in North America as The Charlatans UK due to copyright issues with the ’60s San Francisco psych rock group with the same name. Melting Pot is a greatest hits album featuring tracks from their time at Beggars Banquet Records between 1990 and 1997. This is the first vinyl reissue since 1998.
Ray Charles – In Person [Reissue/1960] LP (Pure Pleasure)
This is the most cathartic of all Ray Charles’ recordings. On two tracks, “The Right Time” and “Tell The Truth”—both shared with the Raelettes’ lead singer, Marjorie Hendricks—the music transcends art to become powerfully shamanistic. It remains one of the greatest rhythm and blues albums of all time.
Chromatics – Running From The Sun 7” (Italians Do It Better)
A collection of unreleased material from Chromatics Kill For Love sessions. “After hours of tracking at the studio in Montreal, we’d clear the channels on the mixer, open a bottle of wine, and feel around in the dark, working our way through the atmospheric elements and peeling back layers of rhythm. Throwing the songs into the abstract pile and playing them while driving home in the snow.”—Johnny Jewel
Circa Waves – T-shirt Weather 10” (Virgin)
Circa Waves are a British indie-rock band formed in Liverpool in 2013, and have toured with The 1975.
George Clinton – Computer Games [Reissue/1982] LP (UMe)
Computer Games is the debut solo album by funk musician George Clinton. Conceived in the aftermath of a period marked by financial and personal struggles for Clinton, the album restored his popularity. The single “Loopzilla” hit the Top 20 R&B charts, followed by “Atomic Dog” which reached #1. Part of the Respect The Classics vinyl reissue campaign, this repress features a limited edition lenticular 3D cover.
The Cocteau Twins – Tiny Dynamine/Echoes In A Shallow Bay [Reissue/1985] LP+MP3 (4AD)
The Cocteau Twins – The Pink Opaque [Reissue/1986] LP+MP3 (4AD)
With a history of releasing singles between albums, the two EPs of Tiny Dynamine and Echoes In A Shallow Bay were originally released two weeks apart back in November 1985. Seen as companion pieces, they both acted as a precursor to their fourth studio album, Victorialand. 30 years later, they’re now being married together on to one piece of vinyl, completed with reformatted artwork. A year later, in 1986, The Pink Opaque brought together the best of the Cocteau Twins’ early works to become their first official release in the US. Already a cult band on college radio, some classics like “Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” and “Aikea-Guinea” were given new mixes for this release, while it also featured “Millimillenary,” the first run out for incoming band member Simon Raymonde.
Miles Davis – Young Man With A Horn [Reissue/1952] 10” (Blue Note)
Miles Davis – Vol 1. [Reissue/1952] 10” (Blue Note)
Miles Davis – Vol 2. [Reissue/1953] 10” (Blue Note)
Young Man With A Horn is a mono recording by the great jazz trumpeter which was recorded and released by Blue Note in 1952. All songs were originally released as singles, with the exception of the track “How Deep Is the Ocean.” Vol. 1 and 2 are a pair of compilation releases freaturing alternate takes of recordings from the early ‘50s. Part of the overall Blue Note 75th Anniversary vinyl reissue initiative.
Drab Majesty – Careless LP (Dais)
Currently the drummer for Los Angeles lo-fi rock ensemble Marriages and having honed an unorthodox home recording style, Deb Demure of Drab Majesty sources his sounds from a repository of “mid-fi” synthesizers and other lesser-quality instruments. Dreamy dark shoegaze in the vein of Felt, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Depeche Mode, The Cure.
The Ex – The Ex At The Bimhuis (1991-2015) 2xCD (Ex Records)
A compilation of the highlights from almost 25 years of The Ex’s live history at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam — one of the world’s leading jazz clubs. Some 12 exciting concerts wnd festivals with dozens of amazing guests from all over the planet, such as Han Benniink, Wolter Wirbos, Ab Baars and comedian Herr Seele, The October Meeting, Han Buhrs Podium Prijs, ICP Jubille, The Ex Orkest, Getatchew Mekuria, including a New Year’s Eve Party, two nights the 33 1/3 Festival, and the recent concert for Concert For Children.
The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound [Reissue/2009] LP+MP3 (SideOneDummy)
Extremely limited translucent yellow vinyl reissue of The Gaslight Anthem’s breakthrough 2009 album in gatefold sleeve.
Golden Pelicans – Oldest, Ride Longest Line LP (Total Punk)
On Oldest Ride, Longest Line the Pelicans bolster their patented thug punk attack with monstrous riffs straight out of the seventies Aussie hard rock playbook. Think of an alternate reality where Black Flag got stuck on Rose Tattoo instead of Black Sabbath and you’re almost there.
Coleman Hawkins – At Ease With Coleman Hawkins [Reissue/1960] LP (Fantasy)
Recorded in 1960 by the inimitable Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, At Ease With Coleman Hawkins finds tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (nicknamed Hawk) effortlessly gliding through eight outstanding tracks in his trademark breathy tone. Miles Davis once said, “When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads,” and At Ease… shows why – at every turn – Hawkins blows with cool, understated beauty.
Jeezy – Seen It All [2014] LP (Def Jam)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. Seen It All includes guest appearances from Akon, Jay-Z, The Game, Rick Ross, Lil Boosie and Future.
Joy Division – Still [Reissue/1981] 2xLP (Rhino)
Joy Division – Substance [Reissue/1988] 2xLP (Rhino)
2007 remaster versions pressed on HQ-180gm vinyl.
Sk Kakraba – Yonye LP (Sun Ark)
Sk Kakraba Lobi is a master xylophonist from Ghana. SK is a master of the Gyil, meaning he is both an instrument maker and virtuoso performer. The Gyil is the primary instrument of the Lobi, Sisala and Dagara people of Norther Ghana, constructed of 14 wood slats suspended over calabash gourds that have been fitted with resonators.
Magas – Heads Plus 12”+MP3 (Midwich)
Bombastic and hallucinatory all-instrumental wallop that fuses howling ARP Odyssey, capricious Juno funk and fuzzed Rhodes anchored to the ever-present throb of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Housed in an eye-popping full-color UV gloss jacket featuring artwork by renowned sci-fi illustrator, Mark Salwowski.
Man Overboard – Heavy Love LP+MP3 (Rise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New album from the pop/punk band, produced by Bill Stevenson (Rise Against, The Descendents, A Day To Remember).
Dan Melchior & Russell Walker – In Durham LP (Kill Shaman)
The first full length release from the ever-prolific duo of Dan Melchior and Russell Walker (Bomber Jackets, Pheromonas, Lloyd Pack) in thirteen tracks of late night noodles. The new LP strays a bit from the kraut-influenced space rock of last year’s 7” debut and portrays the breadth of their influences with ambient voiceovers, drinking songs, blues trash rippers, and manic pop songs. Melchior’s signature fuzzed-out guitar flurries and psychedelic synthesizer banter play nicely against Walker’s talk-singing poetry to create what is ultimately a very ethereal and hypnotically pleasant set of pop songs. Samples, synths, and live tracks were recorded over a weekend in 2014 when Walker visited Melchior in Durham, hence the clever title.
Midnight – Into The Night LP (Drag City)
Midnight is one of those “shoulda/woulda/coulda” bands that might actually have made it had their utter youthfulness not got in the way. Formed in the outskirts of Chicago and raised on Uriah Heep, James Gang, and Black Sabbath, Into The Night was put to tape in 1977, privately released in 1978. The LP certainly covers all the heavy bases with a wickedly raw mix, at times sounding like proto-doomers Pentagram, with the odd, occasional boogie number and power-ballad as well.
Moon Pool & Dead Band – MEQ 2×12” (Midwich)
Nate Young (Wolf Eyes) and David Shettler (SSM, The Sights) present an album of swinging, dirty, analog techno-funk, created with mountains of old synthesizers. MEQ consists of mixes of their earliest track, reworked by some of Detroit’s best producers: Patrick Russell, BMG, JTC, Ice Cold Crissy, Michael Dykehouse, Erno The Inferno, and Nate Young (in Wolf Eyes mode). Housed in wide full-color UV gloss jacket featuring artwork by renowned sci-fi illustrator, Mark Salwowski.
Mugstar – US Tour 7” (Chunklet)
The incredibly prolific psych collective Mugstar (Liverpool, UK) are back at it with a platter that was originally intended as a tour single for their first US tour this past month. After working with Damo Suzuki (Can) and the peerless Important records, they’ve now signed to Rock Action (label owned by Mogwai) and this is a glimpse of what’s around the corner for their next full length. “Kabuki Skull” and “Goat Head” seem to exhibit more of a stoner drone vibe than anything they’ve done recently.
Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind [Reissue/1982] LP (Friday Music)
With 1982’s Always On My Mind, Willie Nelson created one of the most successful top charting hit albums of all time. The LP features Willie’s vocal and guitar interpretations on the definitive outlaw version of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” (featuring Waylon Jennings), his melancholy #1 title track “Always On My Mind,” plus an incredible reading of Aretha Franklin’s “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.” Alongside great versions of tunes like “Bridge Over Trouble Water” by Simon & Garfunkel, you also get some masterful Willie Nelson originals like the LP’s closer “The Party’s Over.”
Old Wounds – The Suffering Spirit LP (Good Fight Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “The young New Jersey hardcore band make a significant creative leap on their scorching new album.” – Pop Matters
Graham Parker And The Rumour – Mystery Glue LP (UMe)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Graham Parker And The Rumour, one of the UK’s pioneering pre-punk bands, returns with a new album, Mystery Glue. Written in Parker’s second home of New York and recorded in just six days in the legendary RAK studios in London, Mystery Glue is a real return to form for this seminal British songwriter and powerhouse band, which features its original lineup of Parker, Bob Andrews, Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Andrew Bodnar and Stephen Goulding.
Parliament – Mothership Connection [Reissue/1975] LP (UMe)
Mothership Connection was the fourth album by funk band Parliament. It became Parliament’s first album to be certified gold and later platinum. The Library Of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry in 2011, declaring “Mothership Connection has had an enormous influence on jazz, rock and dance music.” Part of the Respect The Classics vinyl reissue campaign, this repress features a limited edition lenticular 3D cover.
Basil Poledouris – Robocob [OST/1987] 2xLP+MP3 (Milan)
Directed by “enfant terrible” Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Total Recall), and starring Peter Weller, Robocop tells the story of a terminally wounded cop in a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit who returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories. Robocop features an amazing score by Basil Poledouris (Conan The Barbarian, The Hunt For Red October). Silver vinyl.
Rambutan – Inverted Summer LP+MP3 (Fabrica)
Utilizing various electronics, synthesizers, tapes, guitar, and bass, Inverted Summer is a sprawling, wide-angle piece of work, yielding deep zones of textural soundscaping that can soothe and unsettle in equal measure. The album captures Rambutan’s thick, dubby atmospherics in all their glory, revealing Hardiman to be a sound artist whose improvisational techniques are as formidable as his sense of structure and development.
Lou Reed – Banging On My Drums 3xLP (Keyhole)
This superb live triple LP set contains rare recordings made by the legendary Lou Reed in America, Canada, Australia, and Holland between 1975 and 1977. Taking in Velvet Underground classics, gems from his incredible solo albums from the period, and a smattering of unreleased tracks, it finds him at what is arguably the peak of his powers, and comes complete with rare photos and an illuminating background interview. Previously released on CD in 2014.
Paul Revere & The Raiders – The Spirit Of ’67 [Reissue/1966] LP (Friday Music)
Often considered one of the best albums of the Summer Of Love era, The Spirit Of ’67 features some of The Raiders’ biggest hit singles, with their equally important LP tracks. HQ-180gm translucent red vinyl.
Memphis Slim & Willie Dixon – In Paris [Reissue/1962] LP (Fantasy)
Recorded live in Paris, In Paris captures the two blues legends accompanying each other (Slim on piano, Dixon on bass) and trading lead vocals, backed by drummer Phillipe Combelle.
Styx – Equinox [Reissue/1975] LP (A&M)
Styx – Crystal Ball [Reissue/1976] LP (A&M)
Styx – The Grand Illusion [Reissue/1977] LP (A&M)
Styx – Pieces Of Eight [Reissue/1978] LP (A&M)
Styx – Cornerstone [Reissue/1979] LP (A&M)
Styx – Paradise Theatre [Reissue/1980] LP (A&M)
Styx – Kilroy Was Here [Reissue/1983] LP (A&M)
Styx – Caught In The Act Live [Reissue/1983] 2xLP (A&M)
Styx – The A&M Albums 1975-1984 9xLP (A&M)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissues of the AOR/classic rock band’s A&M discography. Also available: A 9xLP box set collecting each of these reissues — appropriately titled The A&M Albums 1975-1984.
Symmetry – The Messenger LP (Italians Do It Better)
Symmetry is the instrumental project of Johnny Jewel of Chromatics.
Teen Men – Teen Men LP+MP3 (Bar/None)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Teen Men are Nick Krill and Joe Hobson from The Spinto Band Along with artists Albert Birney and Catharine Maloney. The Teen Men sound is a mix of melodic-psychedelic guitar, keyboard, samples and electronic/ambient tones. “… A sound akin to the soundtrack of a mellow seaside discotheque… glides with a gentle force.” — The Wild Honey Pie
The Thing – Untitled LP (Solid Sex Lovie Doll)
Existing for the blink of an eye in Chicago 2013, only a small group of lucky losers got to witness the birth of Thing. After a year of gestation, Rich Crook (Lover!, Lost Sounds, Reatards) returned with a fully developed band and and album’s worth of punk n’ roll rippers, replete with power poop hooks, Ramones riffage and the wall of Kustom reverb that are their hallmark. Artwork by Haunt Love.
Richard Thompson – Still 2xLP(Fantasy)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “Richard Thompson’s 16th solo album Still closes with an unusual homage to his longstanding sources of inspiration. It’s called ‘Guitar Heroes,’ and though it’s predominantly a standard jump blues, it’s laced with extended interludes in which Thompson — arguably the most under-appreciated guitar hero currently recording — tips his hat to Django Reinhardt, Les Paul and other titans. Each detour is rendered in an idiomatically correct rhythm, and each shows Thompson’s command of the relevant style. It’s like a high-speed history class, taught by one who has pondered, in depth, the signature sounds and moves of the greats” – NPR. Produced by Jeff Tweedy.
Big Mama Thornton – Big Mama: The Queen At Monterey [Reissue/1967] LP (Arhoolie)
Recorded in San Francisco, Calif. April 25th, 1966. For this set, Willie Mae Thornton was backed by Muddy Waters and his knockout lineup of blues heavyweights, including Otis Spann (keys), James Cotton (harmonica), Sammy Lawhorn (guitar), Luther Johnson (bass), and Fracis Clay (drums). Gold vinyl.
The Tobacconists – A Secret Place LP+MP3 (Fabrica)
The Tobacconists are Scott Foust (Idea Fire Company / Swill Radio) and Frans de Waard (Kapotte Muziek / Korm Plastics). A Secret Place work differs from their first LP by its inclusion of bass guitar, rhythms, and synthesizers. Scott Foust calls himself a “one man Dome (Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis’ post-Wire project) promotion army” and admirer of Gilbert & Lewis’ recorded output of the 1980s, but he’s not alone: both Mike and Frans are massive fans too, so they decided this new record should have some of those signature Dome bass lines and general playfulness. Translucent green vinyl.
Try The Pie – Domestication LP (Salinas)
Ex-members of Sourpatch from San Jose, CA playing jangly indie-pop.
Ultravox – Vienna [Reissue/1980] LP (Rhino/Parlophone)
HQ-180gm vinyl LP repressing of the fourth studio album by the British new wave band. Vienna was the first album to feature Midge Ure taking over lead vocal duties from original frontman John Foxx. The album was also the first hit album for the band, who were lumped in with the New Romantic scene alongside Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Visage (the band that Ure and Ultravox keyboardist Billy Currie first worked together in).
Unicorn – Playing With Light [2004] LP (Fabrica)
Issued a decade ago as a CD on Housepig, Unicorn’s beautiful and sinister album Playing With Light is re-introduced to listeners as a rearranged and remastered LP. Unicorn is WT Nelson, known previously as party to ’90s avant-hardcore outfit Man Is The Bastard and its spawn, the prolific Bastard Noise. Playing With Light features three tracks originally prepared to accompany short films by Stephanie Miller, and, interspersed with standalone compositions, work cohesively to live in a world where the alien oscilloscapes of Bastard Noise merge with earthy synths and electric mandocello.
Velvet Teen – All Is Illusory LP (Top Shelf)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. All Is Illusory marks the shape-shifting indie rock band’s fourth album and is the long-awaited and elegant follow-up to 2006’s Cum Laude! that was recorded and co-produced by Steve Choi (Rx Bandits, Peace’d Out) and Roger Camero (No Motiv, Peace’d Out). From its gorgeous, swirling electronics to its harder, angular, ‘90s-leaning flourishes of grunge, indie and emo, All Is Illusory is a welcome return for a band whose varied influences are still very much intact after its short silence.
Versus The World – Homesick/Roadsick LP (Kung Fu)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The dense, pop-punk pedigree of Versus The World is the foundation for some of the most exciting post-hardcore troubadour jams to ever emerge from the west coast. Homesick/Roadsick is their new full-length album — featuring members of Lagwagon and The Ataris.
The Waterboys – Room To Roam [Reissue/1990] LP (Rhino/Parlophone)
Room to Roam was the fifth album by The Waterboys. It continued the folk rock sound of 1988’s Fisherman’s Blues. The album was recorded at Spiddal House in Galway, where the last recording sessions from the preceding album, Fisherman’s Blues, had been recorded. Room To Roam would be the last of The Waterboys’ folk-rock sound until the release of Universal Hall in 2003. HQ-180gm.
What’s Eating Gilbert – That New Sound You’re Looking For LP (Hopeless)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. What’s Eating Gilbert is the brainchild of New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert. Their debut album That New Sound You’re Looking For is an ode and throwback to power-pop of yesteryears.
Zero 7 – Simple Things [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (Atlantic)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissue of the debut album by the British electronica duo. Simple Things features vocals by Sia Furler (on tracks “Destiny” and “Distractions”), Mozez (on “I Have Seen,” “Simple Things” and “This World”) and Sophie Barker (on “Destiny,” “In the Waiting Line” and “Spinning”). The album peaked at #28 on the UK Charts Top 75, staying in the charts for 43 weeks.
Cassettes:
Jeffrey Alexander – Floating Lights (Pome Pome Tones)
“Jeffrey Alexander has a long, meandering career in the subterranean depths of the New Weird America, where free/freak folk, post-rock, and experimental electronics intersect. From The Iditarod (who quietly released a posthumous odds and ends compilation on Morc last year) to his recent Dire Wolves project and his shepherding of the now defunct Secret Eye label, Alexander has remained a stalwart practitioner on the outer fringes. For his latest project, and the first major release under his given name, Alexander has produced Floating Lights.
Dire Wolves – The Bernal Cortex (Pome Pome Tones)
New rawk recordings from this San Francisco band that invented goth choogle. Dire Wolves (Absolutely Perfect Brothers Band) play witchy overblown cosmic improv for fans of Pharoah Overlord, George RR Martin, Can, Träd Gräs och Stenar and twenty-sided dice. This is their seventh full-length cassette release since 2008. “A take-no-prisoners romp through a land of punished amps and cracked cymbals. It is a messy, never-ending heap of a tape, that clocks well into overtime as it showcases fearless jamming and ruthless chord bashing. And best of all, the louder you play it, the better it gets.”—KZSU, Stanford
Flying Saucer Attack – Instrumentals (Drag City)
“Where in the past Flying Saucer Attack traversed a range of styles — feedback-heavy shoegaze, Nick Drake-leaning folk, electronic-beat-driven rock, a self-made mode dubbed ‘rural psychedelia’ — here Pearce sticks solely to guitar-based ambient sounds. His singing, which often provided a point of entry, is noticeably absent, and few songs have traceable structures to latch onto.The resulting music lives in the cracks and crevices between abstract noise and melodic atmospheres.” – NPR
Jackie-O Motherf**ker – Smiles (Pome Pome Tones)
All-new studio recordings from Italy. Gooey fake jazz and fractured folk. Beautiful five-panel insert.
Peacers – Peacers (Drag City)
“Fresh off the streets of San Francisco (well, semi-fresh), sic ol’ Mike Donovan declares Peacers is at hand! Their self-titled debut release is co-chaired by Ty Segall and is rife wif riff n’ razor-wired tunage.”
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