CDs + Vinyl:
Ben Abraham – Sirens CD/2xLP+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)
Melbourne Australia’s Ben Abraham and his debut LP (originally released in late-2014 overseas), is a beautiful collection of relaxed acoustic folk with a focus on intense atmospheres to suit the cinema.
Atrocious Abnormality – Formed In Disgust CD (Comatose Music)
Second long-player from the North Carolina death metal machine.
Avenue Z – Azimimut CD/LP (Mondo Mongo)
Slovenly Recordings’ imprint Mondo Mongo proudly presents the Azimut LP from Avenue Z—the latest exploration from French fuzz-punk powerhouse Magnetix, featuring the synthesizer wizardry of Catholic Spray’s Antoine Quincerot. Fat and meandering keyboard ebb and flow drive this interplanetary force more to the side of prog-rock than anything resembling garage-rock… on the surface. The trademark Magnetix primal rock ‘n’ roll takeovers are omnipresent: complex, and as pile driving as ever via poisonous riffs and heady, hypnotic drums provided by Looch Vibrato and Aggy Sonora respectively.
The Band – The Weight: Live… Chicago ’83 CD (Rox Vox)
Seven years on from their iconic Last Waltz in San Francisco, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel reunited, performing (with backup from the Cate Brothers) to rapturous receptions in the US and Canada. Manuel in particular was in better form than he’d been for years, as The Band tore through a selection of classics from their back catalog, as well as the new track “Java Blues” and numerous oldies they’d played during their long apprenticeship. This set at the University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall on July 1, 1983 was broadcast on WXRT-FM at the outset of their reunion, and is presented here in it’s entirety with background notes and images.
Bas – Too High To Riot CD (Dreamville/Interscope)
Bas, Parisian export turned Queens expert, is the first artist signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville imprint.
Bazooka – Useless Generation CD/LP (Slovenly)
These eleven tracks of turbulent, psychedelic punk brilliantly commandeer the unique sense of youthful contempt of what surely must be the current global vortex of corruption and frustration, yet Bazooka sallies forth with dutiful abandon.
Begrime Exemonious – The Enslavement Conquest CD (Dark Decent)
New album from the Canadian death metal squadron.
Harry Bertoia – Complete Sonambient Collection 11xCD (Important)
In the late 1950s, Harry Bertoia (1915-1978), already a renowned American sculptor, began creating long-form, improvised pieces of music utilizing pure acoustic tones evoked from his sound sculptures. Around this time Bertoia came up with the term “Sonambient” to describe the music and environment created by his tonal sculptures and their lush harmonic overtones. This set features all 11 of Bertoia’s original records newly restored from their master tapes and housed in replica jackets. A heavy duty box, printed with metallic inks, holds the 11 discs as well as a 100-page book containing a lengthy historical essay, an interview with Harry Bertoia from the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, exclusive Sonambient-era material from the Bertoia archive, modern and archival photos of the Bertoia barn, and reflections on Bertoia from David Sefton, Tom Welsh, David Harrington (Kronos Quartet), and all three of Bertoia’s children.
Bestial Mouths – Heartless CD/LP (Cleopatra)
The chilling new full-length from avant garde electronic act Bestial Mouths combines harsh electronic sounds with female vocals that bring to mind Siouxsie Sioux and Diamanda Galas. (Limited copies pressed on clear vinyl.)
Big Ups – Before A Million Universes CD/LP+MP3 (Exploding In Sound)
Big Ups blend punk, post-punk, hardcore, and indie rock into a salty mash that gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. At their brightest, they have been likened to The Descendents, but at their sludgiest, they call to mind bands like Pissed Jeans and The Jesus Lizard.
The Bills – Trail Of Tales CD (Borealis Recordings)
This acoustic quintet from Canada’s West Coast is renowned for their instrumental virtuosity, lush vocal arrangements, and exuberant live performances.
Black Peaches – Get Down You Dirty Rascals CD/LP (1965/PIAS America)
Debut full-length album from Black Peaches, a new project from the very busy Rob Smoughton, who has worked in Hot Chip and Scritti Politti and as Grovesnor. Get Down You Dirty Rascals is a fine excursion into swamp-funk, recorded with a tight-but-loose band made up of members of Cold Specks and The Severed Limb.
Michael Blake – Fulfillment CD (Songlines)
Saxophonist Michael Blake’s ambitious new project, a septet plus guests, was inspired by the centenary of Vancouver’s tragic Komagata Maru incident, where a shipload of East Indian immigrants was denied entry and ultimately forced to depart using exclusionist laws.
Sarah Borges – Good And Dirty CD (MRI Associated)
New album from the Boston-based blugrass/twang-rocker. “Sarah Borges is a nice mix of Keith Richards and Dolly Parton. Not as far as looks go, that would be awful. But as a songwriter she’s right in between roadhouse rocker and country queen.” – The Boston Herald
Breakbot – Still Waters CD (WB)
“It should come as no great shock that ‘Still Waters’, the second album from French producer and Ed Banger resident Breakbot, isn’t a particularly surprising or challenging listen. That’s by no means a criticism — the producer and his label mates have consistently created some of the best French house and modern disco of the last decade. But if you weren’t expecting groovy basslines, disco synths and feel-good funk, then we’re not sure you’ve been paying attention. The new album from the French producer, real name Thibaut Berland, doesn’t deviate drastically from the formula, but would you want it to?” – Clash Music. Vinyl version due March 18.
Jackson Browne – Together Again… Live Syracuse ’71 2xCD (Rox Vox)
Having been an active musician since 1966, by 1971 Jackson Browne still hadn’t released a record, but was regarded as one of the more gifted singer/songwriters of his generation. This magical performance was broadcast on WNEW-FM as he opened for Bonnie Raitt in the intimate setting of the Jabberwocky Cafe in Syracuse, NY, on March 27, 1971. Later that year he signed with David Geffen, toured with Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell, and recorded his debut album, making this set a document of a major talent just before stardom beckoned. It’s presented here in it’s entirety with background notes and images.
Danny Bryant – Blood Money CD (Jazzhaus)
“A fantastic guitar player… able to take a Fender Stratocaster and really make it sing…” — Joe Bonamassa
Joachim Caffonette Quartet – Simplexity CD (Igloo)
This quintet led by young Belgian jazz pianist Joachim Caffonnette is a jazz group as powerful as a rock band. In 2011, the Belgian pianist formed a band with musicians he met at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In February 2015, the band was chosen as one of three finalists of the STORM contest (among 40 candidates).
Canyon Spells – Now That We’re Gone CD (MRI Associated)
Surging guitars, soaring vocals, and songs about cell phones — this is Canyon Spells, a six-piece alt rock band from Nashville, TN. Their debut Now That We’re Gone serves as a musical calling card and social statement alike, as singers Jimmie Linville and Michaela Thomas take on themes of love, loss, and technology. Vinyl version due April 1.
Church Of Misery – And Then There Were None… CD/LP (Rise Above)
“For the last two decades, Church Of Misery have sawed off only the finest in uncompromising doom. The revered Japanese masters are lifelong practitioners of the genre, honoring and extrapolating upon the Sabbathian legacy from which all detuned life springs forth. Church Of Misery’s sixth and latest album, And Then There Were None…, is another blood-soaked trip through homicidal hell, with songs inspired by killers both infamous and obscure. But while the murderous inspiration for the tunes remains the same, the cast of characters is almost completely new.” – The Obelisk
The Coral – Distance Inbetween CD/LP (Ignition)
After a five-year hiatus The Coral return with their eighth studio album. Recorded at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studio with co-producer Richard Turvey, Distance Inbetween was recorded live and mostly in just one take. “Before we started making the album we had discussed that we wanted it to be more minimal and rhythmical,” explains James Skelly (vocals, guitars). “We thought ‘if you’ve got a rhythm section that’s been playing together for almost twenty years, why not make that the centre of the songs?’” On the album James, Ian Skelly (drums/percussion/vocals), Nick Power (keyboard/vocals), and Paul Duffy (bass/keyboards/vocals) are joined by Coral newbie, guitarist Paul Molloy, formerly of The Zutons.
Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place – You’re Doomed. Be Nice. CD (Temporary Residence)
You’re Doomed. Be Nice. is Rob Crow’s first album since his heavily publicized withdrawal from music — specifically the toxic byproducts of the lifestyle of a touring professional musician attempting to survive in an industry of diminishing returns. Rather than perform, record, and mix every note himself — a trademark of his previous solo endeavors — Crow formed Gloomy Place, a band made up of close friends that includes another member of the beloved Heavy Vegetable. Recorded and mixed by Ben Moore (Hot Snakes), You’re Doomed presents a fascinating dichotomy: dynamic, eclectic prog-pop backing alarmingly confessional, often acerbic lyrical themes. Vinyl edition due April 1.
Cub Sport – This Is Our Vice CD/LP+MP3 (Nettwerk)
Offering a bright, slick, and catchy variety of indie pop that stresses the pop, Cub Sport hails from Brisbane, Australia.
Danger Signs – Reset CD/LP (Big Neck)
Dan from the Radio Beats and Test Patterns took the core of his latest band the Activations and threw in some amazing Pittsburgh musicians and out came the realization of his life’s work. A band that would embody the punk rock stylings of The Devil Dogs, mixed with the pop punk craziness that Teengenerate brought to the scene, and then let’s throw in some crazed, high velocity rock ‘n’ roll like Guitar Wolf.
Day Wave – Headcase/Hard To Read CD/LP (Grand Jury)
Day Wave’s new EP Hard To Read is paired with last year’s Headcase EP for this release. Both are intimate and lo-fi synth pop experiments, that borrow equally from confident west coast music and introspective bedroom rock. Warm synths and chiming guitars are used to create something both upbeat and sad at the same time.
Devo – EZ Listening Muzak 2xCD/2xLP (Futurismo)
Do you know your fondues from your fon-dont’s? Fear not spuds, Devo and Futurismo bring you the perfect soundtrack to your space-age bachelor or bachelorette pad with 21 tracks of pure unhinged sophistication – Devo’s EZ Listening Muzak. Whether you’re entertaining guests with a bout of cheese and wine by the fire or throwing the cocktail party of the century, these mutated muzak lounge versions of Devo classics such as “Whip It,” “Jocko Homo” and “It’s A Beautiful World” will be the perfect hors d’oeuvres for an evening of de-evolved fun. Originally created as pre-concert mood setters, popularity and sound board thievery led to EZ Listening Muzak being sold back in the early ‘80s as two fan club only cassettes. For the first time since, these revered recordings are officially released as double-vinyl (two pressings: “antique walnut” and “lava lamp”) and double-CD box sets. Also included is a EZ Listening Muzak version of “Human Rocket” – recorded exclusively for this release.
Dream Death – Dissemination CD/LP (Rise Above)
Third album from the reunited Pittsburg death/doom vets.
Elephant9 and Reine Fiske – Silver Mountain CD (Rune Grammofon)
Often cited as Norway’s best live band, Elephant9 is equally popular in jazz and rock circles. On this, their fourth studio album, Elephant9 once again join forces with Reine Fiske, the Swedish guitarist from Dungen and The Amazing, for an epic slice of modern rock ‘n’ jazz/prog/psychedelia.
Espen Eriksen Trio – Never Ending January CD/LP (Rune Grammofon)
Pianist Espen Eriksen’s musical background is varied, ranging from pop music to jazz and the church organ. eautifully recorded and mixed at Propeller Studio in Oslo, Never Ending January focuses on typically Scandinavian elements such as folk music, melancholia, and the deep woods.
Face To Face – Protection CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
The melodic punk band returns to Fat Wreck Chords for their ninth full-length studio album. Protection draws from the energy and passion of Face To Face’s early records but is filtered through the band’s unique perspective as true “lifers” in punk rock. The result is an urgent and powerful 11-song blast that recalls the melody and angst of the band’s formative sound, while showcasing their greatly matured song-writing acumen. Produced by Bill Stevenson.
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band – The Rarity Of Experience 2xCD (No Quarter)
After a year of touring, The Solar Motel Band returned to the studio last spring with Jeff Ziegler (War On Drugs, Kurt Vile) to put to tape the massive and immense The Rarity of Experience. This double album (officially The Rarity Of Experience Part I & II) sees Forsyth and his band stretching out their sound beyond anywhere they’ve gone before, touching on all corners of progressive, psychedelic and post-rock.
Guerilla Toss – Eraser Stargazer CD/LP (DFA)
Acclaimed underground psych-ragers Guerilla Toss make a gigantic leap forward while evoking the sounds of DFA’s past. Brittle guitars, thick bass riffs, and pounding drums provide a solid platform for keyboard flourishes and shrill, imagistic vocals.
Brett Harris – Up In The Air CD/LP (Hit The Deck)
New solo album by this acclaimed musician who collaborated with The dB’s and Big Star. “From the moment the Revolver-esque riff and harmonies kick in on ‘End Of The Rope,’ it’s just chills of delight and melody – completely sing-along and ripe with subtle keyboard touches; ‘Don’t Look Back’ has no less than a fine melody, but the wonderful contradiction is that there is an air of melancholy in the song – a little slower but still filled with sweetness (‘…I’d trade all my yesterdays at a chance for one tomorrow…’) and ‘Lies’ sounds like something that would easily fit in on side two of Radio City – tight, tense and yet packing a groove. And ‘Out Of The Blue’ wouldn’t seem out of place in the more subdued style of Big Star’s Third, with its somber and semi-soul/gospel feel and full-bodied arrangements (simply glorious).” — Popdose
Heron Oblivion – Heron Oblivion CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)
Members of this new San Francisco combo have put in time in both raging and relatively tranquil psychedelic sound units—this is the premise and the synergy behind this unique album. On the West Coast side, Ethan Miller and Noel Von Harmonson were together in Comets On Fire, who spent a large chunk of the mid-2000s playing unbridled, blistering rock worldwide, fueled by a steady diet of amphetaminized Crazy Horse, High Rise, MC5, Chrome, and Fushitsusha. Noel did time afterwards with Sic Alps and Six Organs of Admittance, while Miller settled into Howlin’ Rain and Feral Ohms. Charlie Saufley resided at the psychedelic pop fringes with his band Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound (kindred spirits to Comets to be sure). He was joined in California by Meg Baird, a leading light in the modern psych-folk canon thanks to her work in Philadelphia’s Espers and as a solo artist (she is also the original drummer for Philly post-hardcore degenerates Watery Love). Three shades of light run through Heron Oblivion: Baird’s rich, beautiful vocal approach, the locked-horns bass and drums of her and Miller’s streamlined-but-motorik rhythm section, and a twin guitar tapestry that both aligns with the dreaminess of the songs and crackles out of containment to froth over the rim, punctuating Opal/Fairport moves with dramatic, explosive fuzz solos.
Hop Along – Get Disowned [Reissue/2012] CD/LP/Cassette (Saddle Creek)
Reissue of the debut full-length from Philadelphia’s Hop Along. Features “Tibetan Pop Stars,” which Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 called “the most painfully beautiful song ever.” Other praise: “Literally every single song on this album is brilliant… Get Disowned is probably the best album that will be released this year. If something tops it, I will be amazed” — Punknews.org; “Get Disowned gives us the things that matter most in music: Passion, fun, emotion, and a sense of being a part of something that matters” — Sputnik Music; “It’s an album made up entirely of stand out tracks” — Already Heard; “Best New Reissue” – Pitchfork. (Limited opaque blue color vinyl pressing also available.)
Hope For The Dying – Legacy CD (Facedown)
HFTD have perfected the craft of melding the modern and vintage sounds of American and European metal into 10 tracks of technical symphonic genius.
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Sings The Blues [Reissue/1962] CD (Southern Routes)
Sings The Blues compiles the crème of Hopkins’ 1946-1948 recordings for the Los Angeles-based Aladdin Record company — remarkable solitary blues recorded in the fully-formed individual style on which he would build a life-long career Lightnin’s guitar style was compelling — old, yet new.
Fernando Huergo – Hashtag CD (Zoho Music)
On his Zoho debut, Argentine-born electric bassist Fernando Huergo introduces his colorful, multicultural quintet in eight originals plus standards by Mongo Santamaria, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, and Billy Strayhorn.
Ihsahn – Arktis. CD/2xLP (Candlelight)
Sixth solo album from Emperor frontman Ihsahn (real name: Vegard Sverre Tveitan).
Inverloch – Distance/Collapsed CD/LP+MP3 (Relapse)
“Inverloch is a name that should conjure up an intense anticipation at this point: the band involves two of the members of diSEMBOWELMENT, the band that is, essentially, the progenitor of the death-doom style. The single diSEMBOWELMENT album, Transcendence Into The Peripheral, is not only the first death-doom album, but a classic in the genre, and the return of not just one, but multiple members of the group to their origins in a new group has created much buzz, as it always does with these sorts of groups. And it rightly should; Inverloch is an exciting group and the two tracks they’ve put out so far are, on their own, killer slices of classic, classy death-doom that are phenomenal listens.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy
Eileen Ivers – Beyond The Bog Road CD (E1)
Beyond The Bog Road is a multimedia concert of music, story, dance and film which celebrates the journey of the Irish immigrants, the story of their impact on America and America’s impact on them. The overlying theme of the recording became underpinned with personal anecdotes and much of the record developed into original compositions and original arrangements of traditional songs. “Eileen Ivers is the Jimi Hendrix of the violin.” – The New York Times
Jono El Grande – Melody Of A Muddled Mason CD/LP (Rune Grammophon)
Jono El Grande (born Jon Andreas Håtun) is a self-taught composer, musician, conductor, painter, and prankster and remains an outsider on the far margins of the Norwegian experimental music scene. He cites movements like Rock In Opposition and the Canterbury scene and artists and composers like Frank Zappa, Stravinsky, Magma, Henry Cow, and Gentle Giant as sources of inspiration.
Janis Joplin – Janis: Little Girl Blue [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Original soundtrack to the acclaimed documentary (DVD/Blu-ray due May 4). A remarkable career-spanning anthology, Janis: Little Girl Blue, brings together 17 essential live and studio performances, including classic solo and Big Brother & The Holding Company tracks. The album debuts a previously unreleased version of “Piece Of My Heart” (also featured in the documentary and recorded live at the Generation Club in New York City in April 1968 during the Wake for Martin Luther King concert).
Judah And The Lion – Folk Hop N’ Roll CD (Judah The Lion, LLC)
Folk Hop N’ Roll is the second full length album from Nashville-based band Judah And The Lion. They have created a new genre called “folk-hop,” and again have partnered with producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton) to mesh the sound of the Beastie Boys with Mumford & Sons and a few other things in between.
The Knocks – 55 CD (Atlantic)
New York City club-pop/dance/house duo The Knocks’ debut album 55 features vocal contributions from Alex Newell, Cam’ron, Carly Rae Jepsen, Fetty Wap, Justin Tranter, Magic Man, Matthew Koma, Phoebe Ryan, POWERS, Walk The Moon, Wyclef Jean, and X Ambassadors. “The Knocks have a knack for earworms. Last summer, the New York City production duo dropped the POWERS-featuring ‘Classic,’ an instant rush of nostalgia and timeless romance. Now The Knocks have teamed up with one of POWERS’ members again — Mike Del Rio — for ‘Dancing With Myself,’ the lead single from their debut album, 55. The slow burner features vocals from bandmember James ‘JPatt’ Patterson singing about a familiar neighborhood: ‘Street lights are singing / Turning up tonight / I’m dancing with myself.’ You’re going to want to keep these guys in your sights as the year goes on.” – SPIN
Oumar Konaté – Maya Maya CD (Clermont Music)
In the title-track of his second album, Malian guitarist Oumar Konaté shouts out to his sister, warning her about gunfire and violence in the streets. Konaté’s Maya Maya comes from a country in turmoil. Shifting between acoustic melancholy (“Wango Maben”) and hard rock (“Hinchi Hinchi”), Konaté and his power trio are 21st-century West African millennials slammed by geopolitics, shocked by an uncertain future, and stymied by fundamentalism, corruption, and failed economies.
Krokofant – Krokofant II CD/LP (Rune Grammofon)
This young, semi-improvising power trio typify a new and invigorating movement currently sweeping across the Nordic region: hard boiled improvisation and strong instrumental personalities bolted onto rock beats and driving rhythms. Equally powerful on record and on stage, Krokofant pull no punches, sounding like some unholy three-way marriage of early ’70s jazz rock (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Terje Rypdal, Ray Russell), the sprawling progressive odysseys of King Crimson and Henry Cow, and the fierce heat of Peter Brötzmann’s harsh free jazz ensembles.
Ray LaMontagne – Ouroboros CD/LP (RCA)
“Ray LaMontagne scored a Grammy for 2010’s God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise while his follow-up, 2014’s Supernova, topped Billboard’s rock charts. But the soft-spoken singer-songwriter isn’t feeling any pressure for his sixth LP. ‘I don’t write in any intentional way,’ he says. ‘I just let things happen. I don’t force anything.’ A lot happened last February when LaMontagne joined My Morning Jacket’s mastermind frontman Jim James at La La Land studio in Louisville, Ky. ‘It was probably the best experience I’ve had in the studio, ever,’ LaMontagne says of collaborating with his longtime friend. ‘It was such a generous, kind, creative, playful atmosphere.’ Those sessions resulted in the eight sprawling meditations make up the rocker’s new album. Says LaMontagne: ‘It was about creating a record that I’d want to listen to if I were in the record store discovering albums. I don’t write singles. I don’t write pop songs. I never have. I’m not that kind of songwriter, and I don’t aspire to be. I let whatever creative force just tell me what to do.’” – Entertainment Weekly
Låpsley – Long Way Home CD/LP (XL)
Over the course of 2015, fast-emerging 19-year-old singer, songwriter and producer Holly ‘Låpsley’ Fletcher has become one of the most hotly tipped new UK artists around the globe with Complex calling her “one of the most promising new artists out there” and Stereogum describing her as “Adele crossed with the xx.” Through beautifully crafted songs such as “Hurt Me,” “Station” and “Falling Short,” the Liverpool, England-raised artist has created a unique sonic identity, mixing sparse, minimal electronic production with gorgeous, emotive songwriting.
La Sera – Music For Listening To Music To CD/LP+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
La Sera’s – fronted by former Vivian Girl Katy Goodman — fourth album was produced by Ryan Adams and recorded at his Pax-Am studios in Los Angeles. According to Adams, his work with Goodman and company in the studio eventually inspired his Taylor Swift cover album 1989. “If it wasn’t for [Music For Listening To Music To], the 1989 record would have never happened,” he told Rolling Stone. “The parallels between the melancholy guitar work on Adams’ 1989 and Music For Listening are easily apparent, but La Sera intertwines the downcast tones with bright, twangy guitars reminiscent of ’60s pop-rock. Katy Goodman’s vocals are melodic and catchy, gently cutting through the layers of guitar and subdued drums. Consider it the joyous flip side to Adams’ gloomy Swift covers” – Stereogum. (Limited white vinyl pressing also available.)
Greg Laswell – Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet CD/LP (Vanguard)
Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet was entirely written, performed, produced and mixed by Laswell, with the exception of cello performed by Colette Alexander (Jens Lekman, Rilo Kiley) and the mastering by Grammy-winner Evren Göknar (Iggy Pop). His most personal release, the album is a soul-bearing experience that is cathartic, atmospheric and haunting, and at times, channels Leonard Cohen, Elbow and Sigur Ros.
Bill Laurance – Aftersun CD (Ground Up)
Bill Laurance returns with Aftersun, a paean to space exploration and life in the cosmos. The music is filtered down to its roots in a quartet that features fellow bandmates from Snarky Puppy Michael League and Robert Sput Searight, along with legendary New Orleans percussionist Weedie Braihma. With flavors of dance music and African percussion at its heart, the album combines deep world grooves with Laurance’s signature genre-bending exploration.
Lionlimb – Shoo CD/LP (Bayonet)
Shoo is the debut album from Lionlimb, the project of songwriter Stewart Bronaugh and drummer Joshua Jaeger. “Lionlimb proved their ’70s singer-songwriter bona fides with a pair of tremendous 2015 tracks, ‘Turnstile’ and ‘Bored Today.’ The Angel Olsen affiliates return with ‘Domino,’ the horn-inflected boom-bap Elliott Smith song of my dreams.” – Stereogum
Lords Of The New Church – The Complete I.R.S. Albums Collection 3xCD (Real Gone Music)
Lords Of The New Church comprised lead singer Stiv Bators (The Dead Boys), guitarist Brian James (The Damned), bassist Dave Tregugna and drummer Nick Turner (Sham 69). This set includes their first three albums: The Lords Of The New Church (1982), Is Nothing Sacred (1983), and The Method To Our Madness (1984).
Loretta Lynn – Full Circle CD/LP (Sony Legacy)
Full Circle is the first new studio album in over ten years from Loretta Lynn. Produced by Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash, and recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, TN, Full Circle takes listeners on a journey through Loretta’s musical story, from the Appalachian folk songs and gospel music she learned as a child, to new interpretations of her classic hits and country standards, to songs newly-written for the project. Highlights include “Lay Me Down,” a duet with Willie Nelson; “Everything It Takes,” featuring guest vocals from Elvis Costello; “Whispering Sea,” a new version of the first song Loretta ever wrote; and soulful new renditions of some of Lynn’s classic tunes, including a rousing renditions of “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven” and “Fist City.”
Mike Snow – iii CD/LP+MP3 (Atlantic)
The members of Swedish/American avant-pop trio Miike Snow never stop making music — their Wikipedia page seems like the foundation for a musical Kevin Bacon game attempting to connect them to everyone in the music industry in six steps or less — but it’s been three years since they’ve released any together. That changes as Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and Andrew Wyatt return with ‘Heart Is Full’ (which appears here on their third album, iii). It’s a big, bold metropolitan pop track bolstered by a walloping boom-bap drum loop, blaring soul samples, Auto-Tuned crooning, and one of those humongous pop-rock choruses Swedish studio pros tend to specialize in. The resulting single sounds like Akon, Peter Bjorn And John, and DJ Premier ended up in a room together and actually figured out how to make their competing aesthetics fit together; it’s chaotic, but beautifully so.” – Stereogum
Mortiis – The Great Deceiver CD/2xCD/LP (MRI Associated)
After a six-year absence, Moriis return with their ninth album. Old school industrial meets metal. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions.
Motorpsycho – Supersonic Scientists: A Young Person’s Guide To Motorpsycho CD/LP (Rune Grammophon)
The first-ever Motorpsycho anthology, released in conjunction with a 2015 retrospective exhibition at Rockheim, Norway’s national museum of pop and rock music, in the band’s hometown of Trondheim. Roughly containing one song from every studio album proper since 1993 as well as a couple of outsiders, this serves as an excellent introduction to newcomers and latecomers, but should also be of great interest to fans. Helge Deathprod Sten has remastered all the tracks from the original masters, and the non- chronological order makes for a natural flow and an intriguing trip through the Motorpsycho universe.
Tyson Motsenbocker – Letters To Lost Loves CD (Tooth & Nail)
“Lost Loves found its way to the right ears to land a label deal with Tooth & Nail. It’s easy to hear why. The album’s pastoral pop/rock echoes solo artists like Benjamin Francis Leftwich mixed with some road-weary folk and the pop smarts of Death Cab For Cutie. If that sounds interesting, it’s because it is.” – CCM Magazine
Nada Surf – You Know Who You Are CD/LP (Barsuk)
Nada Surf’s eighth record, You Know Who You Are, marks the band’s first as an official quartet with the core unit — singer/ songwriter/guitarist Matthew Caws, bassist Daniel Lorca and drummer Ira Elliot — joined by indie rock gunslinger Doug Gillard on second guitar. “‘Don’t get me started about how hard it is to start or stay on track,’ Matthew Caws, singer-guitarist of Nada Surf, sings in ‘Cold To See Clear’ — one of the many anthems that grace the group’s eighth album, You Know Who You Are. Not that Caws and crew seem to have any problem staying on track themselves. The stalwart power-pop band has weathered the stormy fortunes of the music industry since making a splash with its 1996 hit ‘Popular.’ Twenty years later, Nada Surf is a one-hit wonder to some and a cult act to others. Wearing the band’s hard-earned survival like a merit badge, Caws infuses ‘Victory’s Yours’ with a jangly, Tom Petty-esque sense of euphoria. [This is also] Nada Surf’s first album with new guitarist and former Guided By Voices member Doug Gillard, and the new, four-piece lineup fits the band beautifully.” – NPR
Nature – Target Practice CD (Vodka & Milk)
Queensbridge, NY Nature was introduced to the public in 1997 as a member of Nas’ supergroup The Firm, whose members also included AZ and Foxi Brown. The Firm’s first and only album, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature Present The Firm: The Album, went platinum, and topped the Billboard 200 Album Chart. With the new album Target Practice, Nature return with 12 tracks that perfectly capture the style that made him one of the East Coast Rap Golden Era’s most respected artists.
Nektar – Recycled [Reissue/1976] CD (Cleopatra)
The 1976 set of progressive sci-fi rock by British band Nektar, featuring Larry Fast (later of Peter Gabriel’s band) on keyboards, digitally remastered and reissued with a full-length bonus mix.
The New York Dolls – French Kiss ’74 CD (Cleopatra)
The New York Dolls – French Kiss ‘74 + Actress – Birth Of The New York Dolls 2xCD/2xLP [Reissue/2000/2013] (Cleopatra)
A complete live radio broadcast from France featuring raw performances of “Jet Boy,” “Personality Crisis,” “Give Her A Great Big Kiss,” “Pills” and more. (Double-disc version adds studio space recordings of the New York Doll’s early days when they were known as Actress, which was originally released by Get Back in 2000 and Cleopatra in 2013, respectively.)
Not Waving – Animals CD/2xLP (Diagonal)
“Not Waving is already known for his richly textured blend of EBM, acid and ambient sounds on Ecstatic and Emotional Response, but his next LP for [Diagonal] looks to be his most club-focused yet.” — Factmag
The NVs – The NVs CD (Big Neck)
Washington DC garage rock vandals The NVs blend spitfire vocals with urgent, sharp guitar hooks, and restless drum rhythms. Front woman Sal Go brings a banshee howler to a four on the floor punk schematic with frequently dark, volatile, and even humorous lyrics.
Arturo O’Farrill – Boss Level CD (Zoho Music)
While hailed as one of the world’s leading, living Latin jazz musicians, Arturo O’Farrill demonstrates on Boss Level that his artistic personality transcends easy categorization, also embracing influences from modern jazz, classical and contemporary world music genres.
Oceans Of Slumber – Winter CD/LP (Century Media)
Founded in 2011, Texan progressive metal band Oceans Of Slumber return with their second album. Frontwoman Cammie Gilbert mystifies listeners with atmospheric melodies over darkened dynamics that range from the perversely sinister to the adventurously progressive. The band also features in its ranks the drummer of grind purists Insect Warfare (among many others), a jazz guitarist, and an all-around cast of “players’ players.”
Jennifer O’Connor – Surface Noise CD/LP (Kiam)
Surface Noise, New York folk singer/songwriter Jennifer O’Connor’s sixth full-length release and the first since 2011’s I Want What You Want, is an album about the survivalist’s instinct to persevere in the face of all of life’s delightful and often horrifying twists and turns. An album of mini-documents, Surface Noise explores the gravity of imminent loss, cautious hope and the touch-and-go nature of daily life.
Roo Panes – Paperweights CD (CRC Music)
Pane’s music is succinct, honest songwriting, from a place of deep personal expression, resonating with universal truths and values. His is a deep voice, one that sounds aged beyond it’s years, and yet, it’s telling of timeless stories, endless heartache and forever love. It asks that we all find the right way to see the world around us.
Pinkshinyultrablast – Grandfeathered CD (Shellshock)
“Like early-’00s bands like Asobi Seksu, Serena-Maneesh, or Mahogany, Pinkshinyultrablast are rooted in shoegaze while maintaining a basis in electronic noise. The effect is like getting showered with a firehose pumping spangly glitter” – Pitchfork. Vinyl version due March 18.
Poliça – United Crushers CD/LP (Mom + Pop Music)
“The Minneapolis trio Poliça make cavernous, atmospheric synthpop… United Crushers, their third album, has a dark and sleek palette, both musically and lyrically, and it sometimes turns political.” — Stereogum
Robert Pollard – Of Course You Are CD (Fire America)
Solo album number 24 by the tireless Guided By Voices auteur. Meticulously constructed, Of Course You Are is overstuffed with hooky tunes, riffs aplenty and skewed/skewering lyrics. All of the instruments on the album were played by Ricked Wicky’s Nick Mitchell, who also recorded/produced the record, and Mitchell’s evident musicianship lifts the material to another sonic level without over-polishing. The instrumental palette has been broadened – discreet flourishes of strings, horns, piano (etc.) occasionally bring to mind baroque rock classics by the likes of Love and Cardinal. Which is not to say this is chamber pop. Vinyl edition due May 6.
Prince Rama – Xtreme Now CD/LP+MP3 (Paw Tracks)
“The story behind Prince Rama’s latest album reads like a Stefan skit on Saturday Night Live. You can almost hear him giving the recap, ‘This new Prince Rama album has everything. Near death experiences, Viking ruins, extreme sports, and parachutes that open up to reveal a picture of the Mona Lisa.’ Yet this isn’t Stefan’s faux-underground New York; these are Prince Rama’s real-life visions. The story starts while the two sisters were living on a remote island in Estonia. While exploring an ancient viking ruin, Taraka Larson had a near death experience that left her with time-schizophrenia. This condition gave her the sensation of existing in multiple timelines simultaneously, feeling like she was in both the medieval ages and 2067. What she saw was a future filled with energy drink sponsored museums and extreme sports being upheld as art. Recognizing the divide between modern music and these death-defying feats, it was then that she and her sister Nimai began work on their world’s first extreme sports genre album, Xtreme Now.” – Consequence Of Sound
Bill Pritchard – Mother Town Hall CD/LP (Tapete)
The songs on Mother Town Hall are of the classic Bill Pritchard genre. Sparkling guitars, choruses to sing along to, meltingly beautiful ballads, and personal everyday lyrics about characters both real and imagined — a figure whose only female company is a flower; the Vampire of New York, who married a priest from Birmingham; and many others.
Propaganda – Selected Songs CD (Fair Trade Services)
Christian rapper Propaganda has a unique and bold message the reflects both a cultural and spiritual relevance. He has assembled the best of his body of work to date with Selected Songs.
Qluster – Echtzeit CD/LP+CD (Bureau B)
The third incarnation of the legendary krautrock project Kluster/Cluster expands it’s audience with the contemplative, mature, and intelligent electronic music of Echtzeit. It is consistently more harmonious and accessible than the group’s previous electronic albums, moving further in the direction previously indicated on 2013’s Lauschen.
Ripper – Experiment Of Existence CD (Dark Decent)
Pure, uncompromising, ass-kicking death/thrash from Chile — on the same level as Sepultura’s Beneath The Remains, Kreator’s Pleasure To Kill, or Demolition Hammer’s Epidemic Of Violence. Vinyl version due April 1.
RNDM – Ghost Riding CD/LP (Dine Alone)
Sophomore album from the group comprised of Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Joseph Arthur (Fistful of Mercy) and Richard Stuverud (The Fastbacks).
The Rubens – Hoops CD (WB)
Hoops is brimming with giant rock hooks, growling guitars, driving rhythms & soul-drenched vocals. The album and single are massive hits in the band’s home territory of Australia.
Sabaton – Heroes On Tour CD+2xDVD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
A 16-song CD paired with a 38 track double-DVD of the Swedish heavy metal band performing live at Wacken 2015. Also available as a 16-track double vinyl LP.
The Saint Johns – Dead Of Night CD (Kemosabe)
The Saint Johns is a Nashville duo of partners Louis Johnson and Jordan Meredith. Dead Of Night was recorded at New York’s Avatar Studios with Grammy Award-winning producer, David Kahne (Paul McCartney, The Strokes, Regina Spektor). Last October, music blog Speakers In Code called the album’s title track “terrific” and added it, “only makes us wish the album would arrive a little sooner.” Additionally, Paste Magazine praised the duo’s “stunning male/female harmonies,” while Music Remedy declared, “…it’s really the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in a while.” Moreover, of the album track ‘Shadowplay,’ XPN asserted, “…captures everything we love about the band: their confident and warm harmonies and the energy of their songs that swell with emotion.”
Granger Smith – Remington CD (Wheelhouse)
Major-label debut album from the rising country music artist.
Soon – Vol. 1 CD (Temple Of Torturous)
Soon forges an unlikely hybrid of dark doom and heavy psychedelics, conjuring low-end storms and balancing mettle with melodic finesse. Rather than using low, slow riffs as dredging sinkholes, the Chapel Hill, NC quartet keeps its strong forward pushes devoid of any dead weight.
Sounds Of Ceres – Nostalgia For Infinity CD/LP (Joyful Noise)
“Sound Of Ceres is a collaboration between Karen and Ryan Hover of Candy Claws, Apples In Stereo members Robert Schneider, Ben Phelan, and John Ferguson, and The Drums member Jacob Graham. This collaboration resulted in a concise, well balanced, and refreshing adaptation of many of the Hovers’ previous ideas. Combining Candy Claws’ dream pop elements with the vintage psychedelic motifs utilized by the Apples In Stereo, Nostalgia For Infinity introduces an extraterrestrial element to this supergroup’s sound through spacey synths like those in ‘Dagger Only Run.’ Still, the incorporation of components like the bossa nova-esque beats on ‘Ember Age’ and vinyl-distorted wind instrument samples used throughout the album allow Nostalgia For Infinity to maintain its distinct sense of humanity.” – Stereogum
Soundtrack – Zootopia [OST] CD (Walt Disney)
Original soundtrack to the animated motion picture.
Esperanza Spalding – Emily’s D+Evolution CD/LP (Concord)
Esperanza Spalding presents her latest project, Emily’s D+Evolution, marking a rekindling of her childhood interest in theater, poetry and movement, which delves into a broader concept of performance. Taking a new approach to her on-stage persona, the remarkable Spalding taps into new creative energy, delivering musical vignettes inspired during a “sleepless night of full moon inspiration.” As she puts it, “Emily is my middle name, and I’m using this fresh persona as my inner navigator. This project is about going back and reclaiming un-cultivated curiosity, and using it as a compass to move forward and expand. My hope for this group is to create a world around each song, there are a lot of juicy themes and stories in the music. We will be staging the songs as much as we play them, using characters, video, and the movement of our bodies.”
The Struts – Everybody Wants [2014] CD (Interscope)
UK-bred band full of reckless swagger and hugely catchy hooks, The Struts favor the sweet and dirty spirit of glam to modern rock ‘n’ roll. (US release of the band’s 2014 debut album, which was originally released in the EU by Virgin France.)
Submotion Orchestra – Colour Theory CD/LP (Counter)
“Submotion Orchestra is a sprawling beast. Uniting seven members, seven differing points of view, the Leeds collective veer between left field electronics and soulful songwriting in a catalogue that includes three peerless albums.” – Clash Music
Masakatsu Takagi – The Boy And The Beast [OST] CD (Milan)
The Boy And The Beast is a Japanese animated blockbuster directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Wolf Children, Summer Wars). He is part of the new generation of directors of high quality Japanese animated features. This movie features a gorgeous and adventurous score by Kyoto-based composer Masakatsu Takagi who previously collaborated with Mamoru Hosoda on Wolf Children.
Carter Tanton – Jettison The Valley CD/LP+MP3 (Western Vinyl)
By the time he was 15, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Carter Tanton was already playing bar shows in his hometown of Baltimore. Two years later, he caught the attention of Gary E. Smith, best known for discovering and producing The Pixies. In the mid-2000’s he released a couple of EPs with his band Tulsa, prompting Rolling Stone’s David Fricke to claim “…his indie-seraphim voice is not of this world…”, and after a particularly impressive live set KEXP’s John Richards said “…he’s one of the best singer-songwriters in the country today.” Over the years, Tanton has toured and recorded with numerous artists including Marissa Nadler, Strand Of Oaks, Lower Dens, and The War On Drugs. His old friend and collaborator Marisa Nadler contributes lead vocals to the title track, and Sharon Van Etten sings on “Twenty-Nine Palms” and “Through The Garden Gates.”
Howard Tate – I Learned It All The Hard Way – Deep Soul Classics 1966 – 2003 CD (Playback)
A killer collection of work from the great Howard Tate – a stunning soul singer who recorded mostly during an initial decade in the studio, then briefly returned to fame in the few short years before his death – always with a depth and vibrancy that set him apart right from the start.
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee – Back Country Blues [Reissue/1958] CD (Southern Routes)
Singer/Guitarist Brownie McGhee and his life-long musical partner, blind harp-man, Sonny Terry are best known as champions of the “Piedmont”-style blues pioneered by artists such as Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Boy Fuller. In the 1960s, they became icons of the folk-blues revival. The recording presented here however showcase a different chapter of the story. This is a collection of raw and rocking jump blues cut between 1947 and 1955 for juke boxes in black beer joints and dancehalls by the New Jersey-based Savoy Record company. Essential blues recordings from two of the genres’ most revered artists.
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – A Man Alive CD/LP+MP3 (Ribbon Music)
A Man Alive is Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s fourth album. It is another amazing sonic next step for the band following up on the success of We The Common (2013), which was largely inspired by Thao’s volunteer work with the California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners, and marks an evolution in both subject matter and sound. Thao says: “I wanted A Man Alive to be beat- and bass-driven – rather than guitar-based – expanding upon the hip-hop influences of the previous record. A Man Alive is more instrumental, more riff- and loop-centric, and has more manipulated sounds.” The Get Down Stay Down are at their best on this record, and Thao herself experimented with programming beats for several tracks complementing the live drums played on every song.
Tiga – No Fantasy Required CD (Counter)
The new album from the Montreal DJ/electronic music composer features production from Matthew Dear and a guest spot from Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, among others. There’s also a collaboration with Hudson Mohawke called “Planet E.” Vinyl version due April 29.
Tonight Alive – Limitless CD (Fearless)
Hailing all the way from Sydney, Australia, feisty fivesome Tonight Alive attack the US with their irrepressible, female-fronted power pop- punk. Vinyl version due April 29.
Pat Travers And Carmine Appice – The Balls Album CD (Cleopatra)
A supercharged, full-throttle piece of rock & roll by two classic rock veterans.
Joe Lynn Turner – Street Of Dreams – Boston 1985 CD (Cleopatra)
A vintage unreleased live album from Rainbow vocalist.
Twiztid – Mutant (Remixed & Remastered) CD/2xLP+MP3 (Majik Ninja)
A potent concoction of hardcore hip-hop, rock, horror cinema and theatrical styling is the formula brewed by Twiztid – the diabolical duo of Jamie Madrox and Monoxide, who rose from the Detroit underground to seize the world by the throat with their sinister lyrics and infectious beats, and now reign supreme as a self-operated media giant and one of the world’s most popular independent hip-hop acts. Mutant is Twiztid’s fifth album, originally released in 2005 as the second volume of Man’s Myth. Twiztid recently obtained the masters from Psychopathic Records and remixed and remastered the original. (Vinyl edition includes a download for both the original album and remake.)
Unified Highway – Unified Highway CD (Audible Collision/Strange Focus)
Rebelution vocalist/guitarist Eric Rachmany and renowned producer, DJ, and remixer Amp Live (formerly of Zion I) may possess different backgrounds, but they both travel the same creative road. Now, their paths—along with a myriad of musical genres riding shotgun—intersect in Unified Highway. The duo’s self-titled debut explores this intersection via a fascinating fusion of reggae, electronic, hip-hop, alternative, and soul siphoned into unforgettable songs. Vinyl version due April 1.
Various Artists – Beatfreak! Rare And Obscure British Beat 1994-1968 Vol. 1 CD (Particles)
Beatfreak! is a journey through the glorious cultural dustbin where beat pop meets paisley rhythm and blues. Includes rare and obscure tracks by Fingers Lee And The Upperhand, Sons Of Fred, The Habits, The Deejays, Ian & the Zodiacs, Casey Jones and the Governors, Roger Young, The Moquettes, The Hinge, The Chasers, The Jensens, Fifth Column, Thursday’s Child, Red Squares, The Carpetbaggers, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, Alex Harvey, Trev Gordon, and Greg Hunter.
Various Artists – Disco Love 4 CD/2xLP (BBE)
Scotland’s foremost (possibly only) disco obsessive returns with a fourth volume in the Disco Love series.
Various Artists – Folklore: An Anglo Saxon Tribe Of Acoustic Troubadours Recorded Between 1965-1973 CD (Particles)
Folklore collects rare British folk music from the 1960s and early 1970s for a feast of earthly delights. Includes tracks by Wooden Horse, Marian Henderson, The Sun Also Rises, Dave Robin, Gothic Horizon, Gaberlunzie, Billy Nicholls, Dave Morgan, Skid Row, Mike Cooper, Cobweb, Westwind, Janie Grote, Berry Cornish, Foggy, Magna Carta, and Mike Donald.
Various Artists – New York Noise: Dance Music From The New York Underground 1978-1982 [Reissue/2003] CD/2xLP (Soul Jazz)
An essential collection of no-wave and post-punk featuring a selection of highly influential artists, including: The Dance, The Contortions, Theoretical Girls, Konk, Mars, Dinosaur L, Chain Gang, Arto/Neto, Bush Tetras, Alan Vega, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Material, and Implog.
Various Artists – Remixed With Love By Joey Negro Vol. Two 2xCD/2xLP/2xLP (Z. Records)
Twenty more reworkings of classic soul, funk, disco, and boogie tracks from the likes of Grace Jones, Robert Palmer, Cheryl Lynn, The O’Jays, Gwen McCrae, George Benson, and many more. (Vinyl edition spread across two double-disc volumes.)
Various Artists – Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us: A Pre History Of The Bonzos CD (Flashback)
Irreverent and anarchic, the Bonzo Dog Band were one of Britain’s best-loved 1960s groups. But their eccentric brand of musical humor was not without precedent; they drew much inspiration from so-called “novelty foxtrot” records of the 1930s, which they lovingly learned from 78rpm discs. This compilation presents the original recordings of all such songs that they recorded and performed live. Painstakingly remastered, it comes with detailed notes, rare images, and an introduction from the great “Legs” Larry Smith, core Bonzo Dog Band member.
Violent Femmes – We Can Do Anything CD/LP+MP3 (PIAS America)
“After 16 years, Violent Femmes’ singer and guitarist Gordon Gano and bassist Brian Ritchie have put aside their creative differences and made a full-length album, We Can Do Anything. It features the influential Milwaukee-born folk punk band in its finest form since — well, the beginning. he album was produced by Jeff Hamilton, a Milwaukee native and touring multi-instrumentalist with the band. Despite reportedly having hundreds of songs to pull from Gano’s archives, Hamilton smartly kept the album to 10 tracks, totaling 31 minutes of music. It was largely recorded with the full band performing together and with minimal post-production touches. The result is a livewire listen that doesn’t lag for a second. It’s reminiscent of the scruffy sound from its breakthrough self-titled album three decades back. On this long overdue album at least, the Femmes do give it their all” – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (Limited translucent gold color vinyl with bonus track also available.)
Wall Of Death – Loveland CD/2xLP+MP3 (Innovative Leisure)
“The Parisian trio Wall Of Death is well versed in the value of nostalgia. On its Facebook page, the band describes itself as ‘principal exponents of the new European post-psychedelic rock scene.’ The existence of a ‘post’-psychedelic rock is a suspect notion; after all, Tame Impala exists, and scores of bands that know how to work a phaser pedal continue to describe themselves as ‘psychedelic’ in some fashion. If one further looks into the music of Wall Of Death, they will find that psychedelic is alive, well, and still reminiscent of the glory days. Loveland, Wall Of Death’s second album, is a repository of several genre stylistics, with psychedelic, classic rock, and prog intermixing into one reverb-heavy affair. These guys love an echo, whether it manifests in their vocals, which are saturated in reverb, or in the lingering sound of their forebears’ influence.” – Pop Matters
Ward – More Rain CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Ward’s eighth solo affair finds the artist picking up the tempo and volume a bit from his previous release, 2012’s A Wasteland Companion. Where that record introspectively looked in from the outside, More Rain finds Ward on the inside, gazing out. Begun four years ago and imagined initially as a DIY doo-wop album that would feature Ward experimenting with layering his own voice, it soon branched out in different directions, a move that he credits largely to his collaborators here who include R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Neko Case, k.d. lang, The Secret Sisters, and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ. The result is a collection of upbeat, sonically ambitious yet canonically familiar songs that both propel Ward’s reach and satisfy longtime fans. “I think one of the biggest mysteries of America right now is this: How are we able to process unending bad news on Page One and then go about our lives the way the style section portrays us?” says Ward. “There must be a place in our brains that allows us to take a bird’s-eye view of humanity, and I think music is good at helping people—myself included—go to that place.”
Wintersleep – The Great Detatchment CD/LP (Dine Alone)
Anthemic new album from the Juno Award-winning band from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Wolvserpent – Aporia:Kala:Ananta CD/LP+MP3 (Relapse)
Idaho’s Wolvserpent return with a dynamic and epic single-song EP that spans 40 minutes of chilling ambience, mesmerizing experimentation, and captivating, claustrophobic drone/doom.
O.V. Wright – Treasured Moments: The Complete Back Beat/ABC Singles 2xCD (Playback)
The complete Back Beat and ABC Records singles of the mighty O.V. Wright – a hell of a deep soul singer who ranks among James Carr, Otis Redding, and other known southern greats of the late- ‘60s.
Wussy – Forever Sounds CD (Shake It)
“To certain fans of Lucinda Williams, Crazy Horse, Mekons and R.E.M., Wussy became the best band in America almost instantaneously with the launch of their cult classic debut, Funeral Dress, in 2005. Their flawless document of ragged songwriting and modestly adventurous arrangements has only grown in dynamism in the years and albums that followed: 2007’s jangly Left For Dead, 2009’s fatalistic self-titled LP, and 2011’s more lighthearted Strawberry, which introduced the pounding Joe Klug on the backbeat. It was 2014’s schizoid Attica!, though, that put them on the map in a whole new way — notoriously cantankerous Village Voice critic Robert Christgau gave them an A+ rating — with anthems like ‘Teenage Wasteland’ interspersed with threadbare items like ‘Acetylene.’ Still, the Cincinnati quintet’s sixth album, Forever Sounds is their most challenging and densely textured to date” – SPIN. Vinyl version due April 8.
Xixa – Bloodline CD (Glitterhouse)
“The desert has a frequency, a sound you can hear in the wilds around Tucson or the southern reaches of the Sahara — Xixa tunes in and warps it, in glittering, gritty tracks on their debut album. The band hails from the Tucson indie rock scene, core members Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan are also members of Giant Sand and play with the likes of William Sedlmayr and Calexico. Xixa wanders far and wide, into the psychedelia of Amazon backwaters, the bumping grind of cumbia, quirky electronics and West African desert blues.” – Resident
The Zawinul Syndicate – Hollywood Bowl 1993 CD (Hi Hat)
Having made his name with Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis, pioneering Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul achieved immortality by forming Weather Report in 1970. Following their split, he formed The Zawinul Syndicate in 1988, playing an innovative world-fusion hybrid and performing internationally. This superb set at the 15th Anniversary Playboy Jazz Festival, held at the Hollywood Bowl on June 13, 1993, was broadcast on KPCC-FM and finds Zawinul in typically eclectic and inventive form. It’s presented here in digitally remastered sound with background notes and images.
DVD + Blu-ray:
Johnny Winter – Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty DVD (Megaforce)
A feature-length documentary by acclaimed Lemmy co-director and producer Greg Olliver. Features rare photos and bonus footage, including extended interviews and his final studio performance.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Älgarnas Trädgård – Framtiden är ett svävande skepp, förankrat i forntiden [Reissue/1972] LP (Subliminal Sounds)
Subliminal Sounds presents a vinyl reissue of Älgarnas Trädgård’s 1972 debut album Framtiden är ett svävande skepp, förankrat i forntiden, a rare and totally flipped-out psychedelic underground space rock masterpiece from Sweden. The band name translates to “The Garden of the Elks” and the album title to “The Future Is a Hovering Ship, Anchored in the Past.”
The Analog Session – The Analog Session 12” (Transfusions)
Medical Records presents the first in a series of 12” singles on the Transfusions sub-label. In February 2009, Alexander Robotnik (Maurizioo Dami) and Ludus Pinsky (Lapo Lombard) gathered in a room completely engulfed with vintage analog and modular synthesizers (many DIY). What resulted is an absolute brilliant session of pure unadulterated warm techno. Robotnick and Pinsky have deep musical backgrounds in dance music ranging from Italo disco, house, electro-disco, and much more.
Apocalypse Meow / Todd Congelliere – Todd Congelliere / Apocalypse Meow 7” (Rad Girlfriend)
Two songs from each band. Apocalypse Meow features members of Off With Their Heads. Todd Congelliere was in Toys That Kill, FYP, and Underground Railroad To Candyland.
Bauda – Sporelights LP (Temple Of Tortuous)
Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. Chilean progressive rock band Bauda return with their third album.
Blasphemic Cruelty – Crucible Of The Infernum LP (Hell’s Headbangers)
“Ripping, furious death metal in the vein of 1980s death metal with vestiges of speed metal, and solos that bear the mark of Trey Azagthoth. This band is one of the many followers of the legendary Morbid Angel.” – Death Metal Underground
Joe Bonamassa – You & Me [Reissue/2006] 2xLP+MP3 (J&R Adventures)
Joe Bonamassa – Driving Towards The Daylight [Reissue/2012] 2xLP+MP3 (J&R Adventures)
Joe Bonamassa – An Acoustic Evening At The Vienna Opera House [Reissue/2013] 3xLP+MP3 (J&R Adventures
Joe Bonamassa – Different Shades Of Blue [Reissue/2014] 2xLP+MP3 (J&R Adventures)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissues now available. (New album Blues Of Desperation due March 25.)
Dave Brubek – The Essential Dave Brubek 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Double-LP best-of collection from one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz.
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends – Furnace Room Lullaby [Reissue/2000] LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Limited edition red marble color vinyl remastered reissue of Case’s second solo album.
Johnny Cash – The Essential Johnny Cash 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Double-LP collection of classic Cash.
Chill (produced By Quintron And Benny Divine) – Take It From The Blind Side LP (Rhinestone)
Chill is an artist and rapper who grew up in the St. Bernard Projects of New Orleans’ 7th ward. This album is the product of a 10 years-long friendship that Chill and musician/inventor Quintron struck up when Chill was displaced to New Orleans upper 9th ward after Hurricane Katrina. Chill, who is blind, is escorted daily by his nephew to a St. Claude Avenue food and liquor store called Korner Market #2 (aka “Hot Fod”), just down the street from Quintron’s Spellcaster Lodge studio. Take It From The Bind Side is Chill’s first recording. His sound is totally inspired by classic early ’90s MPC driven New Orleans gangsta rap.
Avishai Cohen – Into The Silence 2xLP (ECM)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On Into The Silence, charismatic Tel Aviv-born trumpeter makes his ECM leader debut in a program of expansive, impressionistic and haunting compositions. Avishai’s tender muted trumpet sets the emotional tone of the music in the album’s opening moments and his gifted cast of musicians explore its implications.
A Day To Remember – For Those Who Have Heart [Reissue/2007] LP (Victory)
A Day To Remember – For Those Who Have Heart [Reissue/2008] LP (Victory)
A Day To Remember – Homesick [Reissue/2009] LP (Victory)
A Day To Remember – What Separates Me From You [Reissue/2010] LP (Victory)
These picture disc reissues available once again. The foundation of Ocala, FL’s A Day To Remember was built on a drive to reinvent a genre that was desperately seeking creativity. The music and lyrics performed by vocalist Jeremy McKinnion, guitarists Neil Westfall and Kevin Skaff, bassist Joshua Woodard and drummer Alex Shelnutt are based off true, deep-seeded emotion. ADTR masks over the genres, with a wingspan stretching from the pop-punk genre to metal core, without settling on one single interpretation.
Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) 12” (Cleopatra)
Limited edition color vinyl pressing of this special alternate version of the worldwide dance club staple “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)” plus a cover of Madonna’s “Why’s It So Hard.”
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Under The Running Board [Reissue/1998] 10” (Relapse)
DEP’s classic and highly influential Relapse debut on vinyl for the first time in six years. Pressed as a 10” for higher-fidelity, with an etching on Side-B. Bronze color vinyl.
Mike Doughty – Haughty Melodic [Reissue/2005] LP+7″ (ATO)
Clear purple vinyl pressing with bonus clear orange 7”. Doughty described Haughty Melodic as “a bunch of songs about yearning and redemption and happiness and hope.” The album’s sound is dense, stuffed full of multi-tracked guitars, horns, keyboards, and Doughty’s own voice multiplied over himself in harmony; a departure both from the sounds of Soul Coughing and Doughty’s solo acoustic work.
Eera – Eera 12″ (House Arrest/Fat Possum)
Eera is inspired by the modern school of classic songwriters; think Cat Power, Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith, and PJ Harvey.Having grown up in the Norwegian fishing town of Drøbak, used as the harbor for nearby capital Oslo when temperatures freeze over in the winter, Eera only began to pick up on the dark and brooding sound she channels on her self-titled EP after moving to London. “It’s in the pop world but with grunge elements,” she says of her music, admitting that life changed when she swapped her acoustic guitar for the endless possibilities of an electric. “When I write is when I feel the most relaxed. I forget everything else.”
Noel Ellis – Noel Ellis [Reissue/1983] LP (Light In The Attic)
A reissue of the ultra-rare debut from Alton Ellis’ gifted son Noel, and the third installment in Light In The Attic’s Jamaica To Toronto series. Recorded in Toronto in 1979 by studio wizard Jerry Brown, the album features six dub-loved, heavy yet ethereal tracks with contributions from OG reggae maestros Jackie Mittoo, Willi Williams, and Johnny Osbourne. Includes the hugely influential version of “Rocking Universally,” which was also recorded by The Clash as “Armagedion Time,” as well as the original version of “Dance With Me” (sampled by Kanye West on “All Day.”
Fleetwood Mac – In Concert 3xLP (Rhino)
Fleetwood Mac unveiled a massive Deluxe Edition of it’s revered double album Tusk in 2015 that featured 22 previously unreleased live performances selected from the band’s 1979-‘80 tour. Until now, those concert recordings have only been available as part of the set and only on CD and digitally. The music on In Concert was recorded at four stops during the band’s 111-show world tour promoting Tusk. This new collection serves as a worthy companion to the classic 1980 album Live. Although a few songs are duplicated from that album, each performance on In Concert is unique and taken from a different show.
Flogging Molly – Swagger [Reissue/2000] LP+MP3 (SideOneDummy)
Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies [Reissue/2002] LP+MP3 (SideOneDummy)
Limited edition transluscent red vinyl reissues – Part of SideOneDummy’s 20th anniversary celebration.
Frak – Sudden Haircut 12” (Dark Entries)
Frak are Björn Isgren, Johan Sturesson and Jan Svensson, a trio of synthesizer lovers from Sweden. The band was formed when Svensson and Isgren’s older sisters were best friends and they introduced their little brothers to each other. Inspired by Severed Heads, DAF, Human League, Devo, Skinny Puppy, the boys began collecting analog equipment and started Studio Styrka. While the band were still in their early teens they released the first Frak cassette album in 1987 on their own record label Börft. Almost 30 years later, they continue to release their bizarre brand of Scandinavian techno with their debut release on Dark Entries.
GoGo Penguin – Man Made Object LP (Blue Note)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. GoGo Penguin’s trademark mash-up of minimalist piano themes, deeply propulsive bass lines & electronica-inspired drums has seen them shortlisted for the Mercury Prize w/ their last album v2.0 & has fuelled their exhilarating live shows around the world.
Grieved – Grieved LP (Prosthetic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Grieved is a pure dark mid-tempo hardcore sickness in the vein of Cursed — well crafted, passionate and with killer production.
Thee Headcoats featuring Thee Headcoatees – The Sound Of The Baskervilles [Reissue/1995] LP (Vinyl Lovers)
The self-proclaimed “king of garage rock” Billy Childish acted as frontman to this band from 1989 to 2000. The most prolific of Childish’s musical endeavors, the band recorded 14 albums during its lifetime. Here is what Childish himself had to say about the album: “unsophisticated balderdash from the English gentlemen of rock ‘n’ roll, Thee Headcoats and their cohorts, the majorettes from hell, Thee Headcoatees. 15 raucous tracks of unabashed ineptitude from a secret London pub gig in April 1995. This gig was wasted on the audience as most probably will this record be wasted on your good self.”
Hotel Lights – Get Your Hand In My Hand LP+MP3 (Bar/None)
Marked by a restrained elegance evoking late nights in low lights, Get Your Hand In My Hand finds Hotel Lights at its finest. Led by singer/songwriter Darren Jessee – known as a contributing songwriter and drummer in the band Ben Folds Five as well as a coveted sideman for the likes of Sharon Van Etten and others – Hotel Lights has spent the past decade establishing Jessee as a bonafide bandleader in his own right.
Jealousy – Paid For It LP (Moniker)
Jealousy’s sophomore LP, Paid For It, is a hyper-tactile, hyper-sensual meditation on solipsism brought on by shattered idealism and sensory overload. Songwriter, lyricist, bassist, sound manipulator, and sole member Mark Treise seems unable to stop from steeping himself in the lurid and the lascivious, in masochistic discomfort and gratuitous hedonism, to consider the value of self-destruction as a vessel for self-actualization, to approve knowingly of his own defeat in order to transcend its redundancy. With its sonic combustion, hypnotic rhythms, and distant, powerful percussion, Paid For It is both a nod to dark-glam, post-industrial greats—Coil, Psychic TV, Love and Rockets, Chrome—and an evolution of their premise.
Carly Rae Jepsen – Kiss [Reissue/2012] LP+MP3 (Interscope)
Limited vinyl picture disc LP pressing of the pop sensation’s 2012 album.
Kal Marks – Life Is Alright, Everybody Dies LP (Exploding In Sound)
A self-proclaimed “loud, heavy, spirited group of folks that are a little tired of rock and roll,” Boston’s Kal Marks, write songs that are heavy in sound and subject matter. Led by Carl Shane on guitar and vocals and accompanied by Michael Geacone on bass and Alex Audette on drums, the trio makes music that is candid in delivery and brash in execution.
Mary Lattimore – At The Dam LP+MP3 (Ghostly Int’l)
Mary Lattimore’s music functions as a kind of emotional synesthesia. Rather than seeing colors when she hears notes, Lattimore feels things: sadness, hope, longing, memory. She funnels all of that into stirring songs composed on her harp.
Sean Lennon – Ava’s Possessions (An Original Soundtrack Recordings) 10” (Chimera)
A mysterious film score from Sean Lennon with dreamy washes of echoey drum machines and keyboards with dark and foreboding synth arrangements, twangy guitar riffs with a sci-fi western flair, ’50s pop, ’70s punk, creepy demonic themes interlaced with a touch raunchy, swaggering horns that recalls old school film noir, with a surprisingly fresh indie rock edge.
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Ultimate Wailers Box 5xLP (Cleopatra)
Five-disc vinyl box set featuring the early- ‘70s recordings of Bob Marley performing with the The Wailers. Packaged with extensive liner notes by music historian Dave Thompson and photos by Barry Plummer in a full color 12”x”12 booklet plus four postcards.
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Live ’73: Paul’s Mall Boston, MA LP (Klondike)
Before supporting roles with Bruce Springsteen and Sly And The Family Stone, Bob Marley & The Wailers was booked at Boston’s premier jazz venue, Paul’s Mall, for a week-long residency. Klondike presents the entire original WBCN-FM broadcast of their live set from July 11, 1973 on HQ-180gm vinyl.
Loreena McKennitt – Troubadours On The Rhine [2012] LP (Quinlan Road)
First-time vinyl pressing of the 2012 album by the Canadian folk/new age/pop chanteuse.
Neighbors – Very Rare Expensive Jewelry LP (Malaka)
Seattle indie-rock outfit Neighbors have seen enough sh*t to pack together one hell of an album. Neighbors have toured the states extensively and released two cassettes, a CD, and a record. Inspired by the glory of double LPs (think Dusk Falls Over Cubist Castle), Neighbors recorded Very Rare Expensive Jewelry in 2015. The album echoes with indie excellence, but don’t get it twisted, this isn’t your average white-independent rock. There are many more topics that the album focuses on, filled with inspiration as far and wide as Lee Hazlewood and The Velvet Underground.
Novak – Dumb Records: 1977-1979 LP (Orion Red)
One part glam, one part dumb is smart, one part riff rock ‘n’ roll, Novak’s music is raw, arty punk rock.
Pantha Du Prince – Winterhymn 12″ (Rough Trade)
The first new music from Hendrik Weber (aka Pantha Du Prince) since his 2013 collaboration with The Bell Laboratory, and his first proper Pantha Du Prince release in six years. The crystalline delicacy of “The Winterhymn” is deeply evocative of the track’s namesake season; “Post Human Palisades” finds him merging electronic and organic instrumentation into a delicate narrative of alienation and other, bolstered by a pulsing dance floor heartbeat; and “Dream Yourself Awake” is filmic and transfixing.
Lena Platonos – Red Axes Remix 12″ (Dark Entries)
Lena Platonos is a pioneer of the Greek electronic music scene of the 1980s. She produced and released her second solo album, Gallop, in 1985 that Dark Entries reissued in last year. The album is made exclusively using analog synthesizers and heavily features the iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine. Lena narrates each song, reciting her own surreal Greek poetry with unique skill. Lena says of Gallop, “It’s a study in the mythology of urban population of the contemporary metropolis and also a gaze into the future life of it.” Dark Entries asked Tel Aviv production duo Red Axes to chose their four favorite songs from Gallop and create remixes for each one.
Adnan Othman – Bershukor: A Retrospective Of Hits By A Malaysian Pop Yeh Yeh Legend 2xLP (Sublime Frequencies)
The legendary Adnan Othman has long been a driving force in the Malaysian rock scene. As early as the 1960s his groundbreaking songs in the style known as “pop yeh yeh” (rock and roll sung in Malay) were attracting fans across Malaysia and Singapore. This impressive collection includes rare photos from the artist’s own collection and a detailed biography co-written by Othman himself. This is a rare and personal insight into the life of one of Singapore and Malaysia’s most beloved pop yeh yeh legends, revealing the humble, generous, down-to-earth man behind the spotlight.
Pram – The Stars Are So Big, The Earth Is So Small … Stay As You Are [Reissue/1993] LP (Medical Records)
Pram – Helium [Reissue/1994] LP (Medical Records)
Medical Records’ celebration of 1990’s seminal works on the famous Too Pure label continues with the long overdue reissue of 1994’s Helium by Birmingham, England’s very own Pram. Originally hailing from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, some of the members (who went to school together) moved to Birmingham where they began playing music together. Forming with a more primitive aesthetic with typical keyboards, guitar, drums, and bass guitar, the band eventually began exploring playing multiple instruments including unique and unusual toy instruments and other gear such as theremin, glockenspiel, glass hammer, etc. Their first LP on Too Pure (The Stars Are So Big…) leaned towards a slightly heavier, murkier aesthetic compared to Helium. Both pressed on HQ-180gm color vinyl and expanded liner notes.
Elvis Presley – The Essential Elvis Presley 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
A great selection of hits spanning The King’s entire career with the Sun and RCA labels.
Red Mass –Rouge N. 2 12” (Mondo Mongo)
Montreal art-savant Roy “Choyce” Vucino (CPC, Gangbangs, PyPy, Birds Of Paradise, Night Seeker) returns to the Slovenly Recordings stable with partner Hannah Lewis for a new installment of his acclaimed Red Mass project—presented by Slovenly imprint Mondo Mongo. Rouge N. 2, recorded as a tribute to the French-German satanic horror drama Possession (directed by Andrzej Żuławski), features seven tracks of heated and visionary 21st century Francophone freak-rock on the top deck, with a sinister vinyl etching sprawled across the flip.
Seger Liberation Army – Innervenus Eyes LP (Big Neck)
Thomas Potter (Bantam Rooster, Choke Chains, Dirtbombs), Jim Weber (New Bomb Turks), Jim Diamond (Dirtbombs), Fred Beldin (El Smasho, The Clutters), and Patrick Pantano (The Come Ons, Dirtbombs) perform early neglected covers of The Bob Seger System. With Bob Seger being forced to listen to the SLA CD by his guitar tech and giving it his blessing, the Seger Liberation Army deliver six new Seger burners, along with eight previously released on two singles and a CD.
Mikael Seifu – Zelalem LP (RVNG, Int’l)
Mikael Siefu’s music does not westernize extant Ethiopian music. Instead, Seifu uses Ethio-jazz’s spirit of brewing estranged styles for his own musical tincturing. Seiko’s passion above all else is to create something befitting of its time, yet “eternally Ethiopian.”
Shovels & Rope – Busted Jukebox: Volume 1 LP (New West)
Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. Shovels & Rope’s Busted Jukebox: Volume 1 is a collaborative effort between the duo and their close friends. The ten song collection finds the band covering well known songs or tracks they have written or performed with other artists in the past. Collaborators include Shakey Graves, Lucius, J Roddy Walston, Butch Walker and more.
Lyn Taitt and The Jets – Sounds… Rock Steady [Reissue/1967] LP (Dub Store)
Lyn Taitt was a reggae guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, closely associated with Jamaican rocksteady music. This 1967 album includes songs written by Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and The Paragons, as well as a cover of Prokofiev’s “The Theme From Romeo & Juliet.”
Thug Entrancer – Arcology 2xLP (Software/Caroline)
A narrative of an imagined alien colony existing between the fabric of known/unknown worlds, Thug Entrancer’s Arcology explores high tech/low life society, mechanical structures, and data-driven humanity. Though Arcology was conceived in a similar improvisational womb as Ryan McRyhew’s debut, the new album moves subtly from the free-form foot workouts of Death After Life with an expanded palette vibrating brightly with melodic deployment.
Toots And The Maytals – Sailin’ On: Live At The Roxy Theatre LA 1975 LP (Klondike)
Toots And The Maytals rolled into Los Angeles on October 1, 1975, performing a blistering set of new and old material. The entire KMET-FM broadcast of that performance is now available on HQ-180gm vinyl.
Luke Top – Suspect Highs LP (ORG Music)
Luke Top is best known for being the singer and co-founder of Fool’s Gold, a band that has enjoyed international acclaim for their unique blend of African dance music and new wave pop stylings since 2009. He’s also been a frequent touring member/musical collaborator of artists such as Papercuts, Cass McCombs, and ADLT VDEO.
Twerps – Twerps [Reissue/2009] LP+MP3 (Chapter Music)
Reissue of Australian garage rock band’s debut EP, collecting all of its songs on vinyl for the first time.
Two Inch Astronaut – Personal Life LP (Exploding In Sound)
“Personal Life legitimizes Two Inch Astronaut as a respectable alternative to the regurgitated grunge that threatens to define rock’s ’90s revival.” – Pitchfork
Various Artists – The International Vicious Society Vol. 3 LP (University Of Vice)
Various Artists – The International Vicious Society Vol. 4 LP (University Of Vice)
These sets collate a worldwide mixture of painfully obscure crud-a-phonic dance craze platters from the ’50s and ’60s — a brilliant and bonkers concoction of exotica, teenbeat, and international nonsense novelties.
Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes 2xLP+MP3 (El Camino Media, LLC)
Released last July on CD – now available on vinyl. Ghost Notes is the first new album from Veruca Salt featuring all original members since 1997’s certified gold album, Eight Arms To Hold You. Formed in Chicago, IL in 1993, Veruca Salt took the indie-rock world by storm with their first single “Seether” from their debut album, American Thighs. For their first record in almost two decades Ghost Notes, the band enlisted producer Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins/Sunny Day Real Estate/Liz Phair) who also produced their debut release. (Color vinyl pressing in gatefold sleeve.)
Weather Report – The Agora, Columbus, Ohio October 17th 1972 2xLP (Hi Hat)
Originally recorded for FM broadcast, this live set was taped a few months after the release of their classic 1972 album I Sing The Body Electric, and features Joe Zawinul (keyboards), Wayne Shorter (saxophone), Miroslav Vitous (bass), Eric Gravatt (drums), and Dom Um Romao (percussion).
Cassettes:
Hop Along – Get Disowned (Saddle Creek)
Reissue of the debut full-length from Philadelphia’s Hop Along. Features “Tibetan Pop Stars,” which Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 called “the most painfully beautiful song ever.” Other praise: “Literally every single song on this album is brilliant… Get Disowned is probably the best album that will be released this year. If something tops it, I will be amazed” — Punknews.org; “Get Disowned gives us the things that matter most in music: Passion, fun, emotion, and a sense of being a part of something that matters” — Sputnik Music; “It’s an album made up entirely of stand out tracks” — Already Heard; “Best New Reissue.” – Pitchfork
Leave a Reply