CDs + Vinyl:
!!! – Shake The Shudder CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
Shake The Shudder is a product of !!!’s DIY punk roots presenting a harder edge lyrically and sonically, while incorporating trans-Atlantic electronic music influences. Regularly enlisting the aid of talented female vocalists to elevate to their sound, this new album is no exception with the inclusion of up and coming talents Lea Lea and Meah Pace showcasing “energetic breakout performances that only hints at what they do live.”
Adult Mom – Soft Spots CD/LP (Tiny Engines)
Adult Mom began as the solo project of Stephanie Knipe in a Purchase College dorm room in 2012. Adult Mom now falls between the playful spectrum of solo project and collaborative band with beloved friends and musicians Olivia Battell, Mike Dvorscak, and Bruce Hamilton. Through reflections and explorations of the personal and hidden, the crux of the writing produced by Knipe is focused on excavation. The dredging out of secrets, putting it all in a pan, waiting for the gold to rise. Honesty and intimacy form as Knipe writes clever pop songs that offer a glimpse into the journey of a gender-weird queer navigating through heartache, trauma and subsequent growth.
(Sandy) Alex G – Rocket CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
Rocket is Philadelphia-based artist Alex G’s eighth full-length release – an assured statement that follows a slate of humble masterpieces, many of them self-recorded and self-released, stretching from 2010’s Race to his 2015’s Beach Music. Amid the Rocket recording process, Alex made headlines for catching the attention of Frank Ocean, who asked him to play guitar on his two 2016 albums, Endless and Blonde. More than any stylistic cues, what Alex took from the experience was a newfound confidence in collaboration. Rocket wears this collaborative spirit proudly, and in its numerous contributors presents a restless sense of musical experimentation – effortlessly jumping from distorted sound collage to dreamy folk music to bouncing Americana. Rocket illustrates a cohesive vision of contemporary American experience; the cast of characters that Alex G inhabits have fun, fall in love, develop obsessions, get in trouble, and – much like rockets themselves – ultimately they burn out.
Apocalypse Orchestra – End Is Night CD/LP (Depotz)
Lodged between medieval times and modern metal, Apocalypse Orchestra weaves a faceted tapestry of music, with tones of ancient drone instruments entwining with heavy guitars.
Mulatu Astatke – Mulatu Of Ethiopia [Reissue/1972] CD/LP (Strut)
Recorded in New York, Mulatu Of Ethiopia arrived at a time when Astatke had begun to master the delicate fusion of styles needed to create Ethio jazz. “I left the UK for America and studied at Berklee College in Boston. I learnt the technical aspects of jazz and gained a beautiful understanding of many different types of music. That’s where I got my tools. Berklee really shook me up.”
Beastmaker – Inside The Skull CD/LP (Rise Above)
The glittering technological future we were all promised has turned into a dystopian nightmare. If music must reflect the times, the hour has plainly come to reject the mainstream status quo and get down to the roots and rhythms of life’s elemental heaviness. And that’s where Beastmaker come in. Purveyors of some of the most ecstatically thunderous and raw doom metal to emerge in decades, this three-man riffing machine from Fresno, CA, are manifestly the real deal. From the old school evangelism of opener “Evil One” and the warped psychedelia of “Now Howls The Beast” through to the twisted fury and fire of “Psychic Visions” and creepy closer “Sick Sick Demon,” Inside The Skull is not just a muscular hymn to the glory days of heavy metal’s genesis and early prosperity: this is a vital, virile and venomous slab of wildly creative but spiritually pure doom devastation, designed to rescue us from the drab harshness of present day reality and transport us somewhere cooler, somewhere better and, in the best way possible, somewhere much heavier.
Selwyn Birchwood – Pick Your Poison CD (Alligator)
Selwyn Birchwood is among the most extraordinary young stars in the blues. His deep familiarity with blues tradition allows him to bust the genre wide open, adding new sounds, colors and textures all delivered with a revival tent preacher’s fervor and a natural storyteller’s charisma.
Biters – The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be CD/LP (Earache)
Recalling the early spirit and danger of rabble-rousing rock heroes, Biters have faithfully built upon their punk heritage and their love of ‘70s rock to deliver music that ignites, incites and excites in equal measure. Possessing a heart full of rock ‘n’ roll, the band play foot stomping, fist pumping, spit-on-the-floor anthems possessed of a fighting spirit that refuses to give in. The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be is an instant rock ‘n’ roll classic that makes the genre exciting and relevant again. “Corporate pop culture and fair-weather fads are just something I’m not interested in. I still choose to play rock ‘n’ roll, because I still believe in rock ‘n’ Roll.” — Tuk Smith, Biters
Blink 182 – California [Deluxe Edition] 2xCD/2xLP+MP3 (BMG Rights Management)
Expanded edition of the pop-punk band’s 2016 release featuring 11 new studio tracks and an acoustic version of the hit single “Bored To Death.”
Blonde Ambition – Slow All Over CD/LP+MP3 (Swoon City Music)
Slow All Over, the debut album from eclectic musician Brian Harding’s new project Blond Ambition, is a laser-focused work filled with danceable moments of percussive, head-nodding rhythmic bombast paired with catchy synth and guitar-laden hooks, deliberate and slow-burning pace, and subtly emotive melody. Blond Ambition takes respectful cues from the early disco/dance/avant-garde downtown scene of ‘70s and ’80s New York, the pastiche-sampling art rock of bands like World Party and Big Audio Dynamite, and even the Grateful Dead. Harding also cites his stint as a bartender in an NYC nightclub for exposing him to the house and dance scenes that changed the way he looks at making music. The percussive, kitchen sink catchiness of “Shasta” sets the mood early, with Harding crooning over sunny, almost tropical hooks reminiscent of Here My Dear era Marvin Gaye. The fuzzed-out tone and jangly verses of “Houses Of Reason” build confidently into a rock-solid piece of songwriting with its assured refrain of “We got everything we needed/It’s a funny way to get there,” and despite the song’s defined structure its “jam” qualities never drift. There’s no template at play here, but the intention remains precise.
Buffalo Tom – Let Me Come Over [Reissue/1992] CD/2xLP (Beggars Banquet)
25th Anniversary Edition featuring the original album plus a previously unreleased live show from 1992. Previously loosely linked with fellow travelers Dinosaur Jr. and Uncle Tupelo via a similar three-piece format, stunning depth of songwriting and association with Boston’s Fort Apache Studios – it’s not hard to imagine Buffalo Tom wanted to stake a claim stylistically with their third album, Let Me Come Over.
The Builders And The Butchers – The Spark CD/LP (Badman Recording Co.)
The Portland-based folk rock band return with their fifth full-length effort.
Cayetana – New Kind Of Normal CD/LP (Plum)
Coupling expertly crafted, hooky pop songs like lead single “Mesa,” with sparse, dark, and deeply emotional synth-laden tracks like “World,” New Kind Of Normal is a record that captures quiet moments of crushing vulnerability and the hardened highs of personal strength with equal grace.
The Como Mamas – Move Upstairs CD/LP+MP3 (Daptone)
With their first two Daptone albums (Get An Understanding, and as featured singers on Como Now), The Como Mamas established themselves as three of the strongest voices in gospel music today. If you don’t like raw, soulful gospel music, you’re really gonna hate this one.
Tony Conrad – Ten Years Alive On The Infinite Plain 2xCD (Superior Viaduct)
Ten Years Alive On The Infinite Plain is the quintessential work of artist/filmmaker/composer Tony Conrad. Comprised of both film installation and minimalist score for amplified strings, Ten Years leaps across genre and medium to connect his revolutionary structural filmmaking with the experiments in long-duration sound that Conrad had begun in the 1960s as part of the Theatre Of Eternal Music. [Vinyl edition due June 30.]
Daddy Issues – Deep Dream CD/LP (Infinity Cat)
When singer and guitarist Jenna Moynihan saw the phrase Daddy Issues scribbled on the bathroom wall of a now-defunct Nashville DIY venue, she mistakenly assumed it was the name of an all-girl punk outfit sure to become her next favorite band. Upon realizing that no such band existed, Moynihan and friends Emily Maxwell (drums) and Jenna Mitchell (bass) picked up their instruments, taught themselves how to play and started their own band. Produced by Jake Orrall (JEFF The Brotherhood, Colleen Green), Daddy Issues’ full-length debut Deep Dream combines the best of ’80s alternative, ’90s grunge and ’00s pop, tackling the difficulties of friendship, heartbreak, mental health, sexual assault and a number of other issues that come with the package of youth in the modern world.
The Dead Daisies – Live & Louder CD/2xLP+CD/2xLP+CD+DVD (Steamhammer)
Warts ‘n all, Live & Louders is a document of a band in their prime, a raw slice of visceral energy, an in-your-face assault on the senses.
Demen – Nektyr CD/LP (Kranky)
Hermetic gothic swan songs conjured from funereal piano, twilit ambience, minimalist percussion, and spellbinding vocals. The mood is lulling and lush but lost in sorrow, stark grey structures looming in the night. Majestic open spaces between notes heighten the melancholic grandeur of Orm’s arrangements, blurring the line between lament and lullaby. The songs don’t end so much as ebb away, succumbing to their own downcast beauty.
Do Make Say Think – Stubborn Persistent Illusions CD/2xLP (Constellation)
Do Make Say Think is widely celebrated as one of the preeminent instrumental rock bands of the ‘90s-‘00s. Stubborn Persistent Illusions is the group’s first album in eight years – and a brilliant addition to one of the most consistently inventive and critically praised discographies in the ‘post-rock’ canon. The band has been acclaimed as “the supernova in Constellation’s stellar network…arguably the finest back catalogue of any currently operating instrumental rock band” (Drowned In Sound), creating “some of the most honest, unpretentious, group-oriented rock of their time” (Popmatters). Among the band’s strengths is an ineffable naturalism that avoids anything too woolly, proggy, purist or clichéd, while remaining a fundamentally guitar-driven group whose ornate four-and six-string interplay uniquely balances rockism, pastoralism, and electronic-influenced post-production. Stubborn Persistent Illusions is at once familiar and as fresh as anything DMST has committed to tape; produced and mixed as always by the band itself – a continuing affirmation of the group’s DIY ethos and their singular self-production acumen and aesthetic. [180gm double-vinyl edition features an etching on the D-side.]
Dragonforce – Reaching Into Infinity CD (Metal Blade)
Reaching Into Infinity continues where DragonForce left off with Maximum Overload, the band’s faster material becoming even faster still, while the melodic parts head even further in that particular direction. [Vinyl edition due May 26.]
Electric Sewer Age – Moon’s Milk In Final Phase CD/LP+MP3 (Soleilmoon)
Because Electric Sewer Age was intended to be an anonymous aural experiment meant to free the listeners mind of any preconceptions about who or what created it, little more was ever planned to be publicly revealed about the project, even after the first release. However, following the unexpected and untimely passing in 2010 of Christopherson, the first Electric Sewer Age EP became an epitaph to the loss of this peerless musician, for these were the last tracks he and his decade’s long collaborator and friend Danny Hyde ever completed together. The music, originally intended to conclude Coil’s Moon’s Milk series, was released on CD by Divine Frequency in 2012, and then on vinyl the next year by Danny Hyde. Both editions sold out quckly and have been unavailable until now. [Limited color vinyl pressing also available.]
Endless Boogie – Vibe Killer CD/LP (No Quarter)
New York’s ’60s influenced garage rock act Endless Boogie (no better described than their own name) return on No Quarter Records with their fourth studio effort.
Enslaved – Roadburn Live CD/2xLP (By Norse Music)
After celebrating 25 years in 2016 showcasing a majority of older material, Roadburn Live displays works primarily from the newer and more progressive era of Enslaved’s career, with songs from In Times, Riitiir, Isa, Below The Lights and Monumension. The album features guest appearances by Einar Selvik (Wardruna), Aðalbjörn Tryggvason (Sólstafir), Per Wiberg (Opeth, Candlemass) and Menno Gootjes (Focus) on “Immigrant Song,” the first cover song by Enslaved to ever appear on record.
Erasure – World Be Gone CD/LP/Cassette (Mute)
17th album from the electronic pop pioneers, their first album since 2014’s acclaimed The Violet Flame. From the pounding beats of the album opener (and first single), “Love You To The Sky,” the listener is immediately enveloped in Erasure at their optimistic best with a soaring chorus that fills the room with love and promise. On “World Be Gone,” recent political upheavals are given a thoughtful examination and, as highlighted on the painted artwork showing a ship’s masthead rising up from being submerged in the stormy waters, Erasure are looking ahead, towards an expectant future which points towards love as evidenced on the buoyant closer “Just A Little Love.” [Limited orange color vinyl pressing also available.]
Faith Evans And The Notorious B.I.G. – The King & I CD (Rhino)
The King & I is a duets album featuring unreleased Biggie vocals with productions by DJ Premier, Just Blaze, Stevie J, Salaam Remi, Chucky Thompson, Puff Daddy and more. The album also features guest artist Lil Cease, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Styles P, Sheek Louch (founders of The L.O.X. hip hop group), 112, and a first-time collaboration with Lil Kim. [Vinyl edition due May 26th.]
Fastball – Step Into The Light CD/LP (33 1/3)
The 12-song Step Into Light, on Fastball’s own 33 1/3 label, embodies all of the qualities that have endeared the band to listeners during the trio’s 20-plus year career. Such catchy, compelling new tunes as “We’re On Our Way,” “Behind The Sun,” “Best Friend,” “Love Comes In Waves” and “I Will Never Let You Down” continue the band’s longstanding legacy of infectious songcraft and pointed lyrics, as well as playfully inventive arrangements that lend additional depth and resonance to Scalzo and Miles Zuniga’s distinctive songwriting.
Fire From The Gods – Narrative Retold CD/LP+MP3 (Rise)
Expanded edition of Narrative which was released to acclaim in August of 2016, featuring three bonus tracks. [Limited color vinyl pressing also available.]
The Five Royales – Tell The Truth CD/LP (Southern Routes)
15-track retrospective. Of all the great rhythm & blues groups who impacted the development of soul music, none were more deserving of the overused epithet “unsung,” than the fabulous Five Royales. They were a quadruple threat – great original songs; hard, gospel-derived vocals; blistering guitar work and a bangin’ live show.
Flor – Come Out. You’re Hiding. CD (Fueled By Ramen)
Debut album from the West Coast alt-rock/synth band.
Gnaw Their Tongues – Hymns For The Broken Swollen, And Silent CD (Crucial Blast)
A shambling monstrosity woven from charred bones and infernal technology, stitched with gristle and exposed wiring, Hymns For The Broken, Swollen And Silent lurches like a grotesque assemblage of tortured flesh and mangled machinery, revealing the latest nightmare from Dutch fiend Gnaw Their Tongues. After more than a decade, they continue to disturb with their uniquely dark and depraved blend of black metal, industrial and noise, and this eight-song album shows them to be in prime killing mode. [Limited vinyl edition was released earlier this year.]
Gothic Tropic – Fast Or Feast CD/LP (Old Flame)
Los Angeles’ Gothic Tropic introduces a new brand of female fronted, guitar-driven indie rock. The brainchild of Cecilia Della Peruti, Gothic Tropic keeps the vibe playful and punchy, bringing audiences into a new era of female rock nobility, nodding to stars like Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde.
Nick Hakim – Green Twins CD/LP (ATO)
The story of Nick Hakim’s debut album Green Twins truly began when, armed with the masters for his critically acclaimed Where Will We Go Pt. I & II EPs, Hakim moved from Boston to Brooklyn, spending his time fleshing out unfinished ideas in his bedroom. He came up with lyrics on the spot while playing the live circuit, recording sketches and lyrics on voice memos and a four-track cassette recorder, and embracing the local community of musicians by performing with bands like Jesse And Forever and Onyx Collective. From there, Green Twins came about as a sum of its parts: Hakim took the demo recordings to studios in New York, Philadelphia and London and built on them, keeping the original essence of the songs intact. Hakim says of Green Twins, “I felt the need to push my creativity in a different way than I had on the EPs.” The record draws from influences spanning Robert Wyatt, Marvin Gaye and Shuggie Otis to My Bloody Valentine. “We wanted to imagine what it would have sounded like if RZA had produced a Portishead album. We experimented with engineering techniques from Phil Spector and Al Green’s Back Up Train, drum programming from RZA and Outkast, and were listening to a lot of The Impressions, John Lennon, Wu-Tang, Madlib, and Screaming Jay Hawkins.”
Aldous Harding – Party CD/LP (4AD)
4AD welcomes Aldous Harding, a remarkable talent from New Zealand. Aldous Harding’s music is not for the faint of heart. Disarming in its desolate imagery and stark instrumentation, her songs draw from the core facets of life: death, birth, grief and love. With echoes of folk luminary Linda Perhacs, Harding’s work is one step removed from the modern world, lying in the more savage and dramatic terrain where Kate Bush and Scott Walker reside, wrought with a wry wit and tenacious gall.
Harvestman – Music For Megaliths CD/LP (Neurot)
Over the course of three albums, Steve Von Till has, under the guise of Harvestman, provided the sonic analogue, casting his net for what might have been and yet still be. Both a personal meditation and a tuning fork for the most ancient and enduring of resonances, his latest album, Music For Megaliths, further expands his journeys along the sonic ley lines that run between folk, drone, psychedelia, the ‘kosmische’ outposts of krautrock and noise: not as an act of eclecticism, but of divination, giving voice to an underlying continuity that binds them all.
Jade Jackson – Gilded CD/LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Jade Jackson creates a sound that is simultaneously new and old, merging a youthful spiritedness with a weary storyteller’s perspective usually reserved for veteran artists. Stylistically the sound is unapologetically country rock. It merges the heartbreak and resilience of Lucinda Williams with the melodic confidence of Emmylou Harris.
Jambinai – Difference CD/LP (Bella Union)
South Korean trio Jambinai sound less like a band than a force of nature, fusing the full dramatic range of post-rock dynamics to Korean folk roots to create an exhilarating, vivid and unique fusion.
Jethro Tull – Songs From The Wood [Reissue/1977] 3xCD+2xDVD (Rhino)
Includes Steven Wilson’s 2017 stereo mix, Wilson’s 5.1 mix, live tracks mixed by Jakko
Jakszyk including 5.1 surround mixes and more.
Jlin – Black Origami CD/2xLP+MP3 (Planet Mu)
A percussion-led tour de force, Jlin’s long awaited second album Black Origami is a creation that seals her reputation as a unique producer with an exceptional ability to make riveting rhythmic music. The album is driven by a deep creative thirst which she describes as “this driving feeling that I wanted to do something different, something that challenged me to my core.” Spirituality and movement are both at the core of Black Origami, inspired largely by her ongoing collaborations with Indian dancer/movement artist Avril Stormy Unger whom she met and collaborated with at her debut performance for the Unsound festival – “There is a fine line between me entertaining a person and my spirituality. Avril, who collaborates with me by means of dance, feels the exact same way. Movement played a great role in Black Origami. The track ‘Carbon 7’ is very inspired by the way Avril moves and dances. Our rhythms are so in sync at times it kind of scares us. When there is something I can’t quite figure out when it comes to my production, it’s like she senses it. Her response to me is always ‘You’ll figure it out.’ Once I figure it out it’s like time and space no longer exist.”
Edward Ka-Spel – High On Station Yellow Moon CD/LP (Soleilmoon)
High On Station Yellow Moon is a new solo album by Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots and marks the beginning of his collaboration with longtime friend and fellow traveler Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls. It doesn’t get more conceptual than this.
Wynton Kelly Trio/Wes Montgomery – Smokin’ In Seattle: Live At The Penthouse CD (Resonance)
Previously unreleased live sets by jazz guitar icon Wes Montgomery with the irrepressibly swinging pianist Wynton Kelly and his trio captured live at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on April 14th and 21st, 1966. Recorded less than a year after Wes and Wynton’s classic 1965 live album Smokin’ At The Half Note, which guitarist Pet Metheny calls “the absolute greatest jazz guitar album ever made,” Smokin’ In Seattle finds the dynamic duo joined by the solid rhythm section of bassist Ron McClure (Charles Lloyd, Joe Henderson) and legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb.
King Washington – Potential CD/LP (The End)
Born and bred in sunny Southern California, Los Angeles-based rock group, King Washington delivers an easy, new California sound. The strong Southern California heritage of the band members is made manifest in their songwriting. King Washington fuses elements of their California roots in the folk rock music of the ‘60s and ’70s and builds upon them with a blues tinted indie-rock flavor of tightly tuned and beautifully blended vocal harmonies, winding, lyrical melodies, subtly surprising progressions, and a dose of pushing the limits. They have taken what we love about the classics and added a new rock edge, crafting a flavor all their own.
Pokey LaFarge – Manic Revelations CD/LP (Rounder)
Pokey LaFarge tries to make sense of trouble he’s seen and trouble he’s been in. This is the Great Why of his unending passion for songwriting. Each chord, each riff shades the stories he sets up in his lyrics, always in search of the purest truth within the 10 forlorn, haunting melodies on Manic Revelations. A musician, a storyteller, a narrator of the messy, unkempt American experience…Pokey LaFarge sits, he watches, he writes. Everything that’s worth happening happens in his songs. From the broad social narrative of “Riot In The Streets” to the internal tension of “Must Be A Reason” and “Bad Dreams” to the profound alienation of “Silent Movie,” these Manic Revelations are questions, they are answers, they are an epoch for Pokey LaFarge. Album single ‘Silent Movie’ “is just the sort of refreshing breeze we could all use in these harsh days, blowing in on shambling guitars and sighing horns. As the instrumentation calms your worried mind, LaFarge reminds you to keep in touch with the things that actually make life worth living because, when all is said is done, we only get one shot at this. ‘Growing up is a scam/ The truth is a lie,’ he sings. ‘Better of staying a child/ Till the day you die’” – Consequence Of Sound. [Limited edition 180gm transparent blue vinyl pressing also available.]
Land Of Talk – Life After Youth CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Saddle Creek)
Life After Youth is the first Land Of Talk album since 2010’s Cloak And Cipher. After taking a few months off after Cloak And Cipher’s touring cycle, frontwoman Elizabeth Powell got back to work on a follow-up. Instead, a series of mishaps – post-tour fatigue, a crashed hard drive with new demos, and her father’s stroke in 2013 – turned “a few months” into “a few years.” While caring for her father, Elizabeth fell under the spell of classical, ambient, and Japanese tonkori music, whose meditative quality aided his recovery. Immersing herself in those sounds would change her entire approach to music making; she started writing songs without her trusty guitar, instead building tracks up from synth beds and programmed loops. Life After Youth’s centerpiece track, “Inner Lover,” presents the most radical results of those experiments. It’s an audio Rorschach test of a song: key in on the incessant synth pulse underpinning Elizabeth’s pleading vocal (“take care of me!”) and the track assumes an ominous intensity. But when you surrender to the relaxed drum counter-rhythm and subliminal harmonies, “Inner Lover” projects a graceful serenity. Even the songs built atop more traditional rock foundations exist in that liminal space between dreaming and waking life, confidence and doubt, raw feelings and soothing sounds.
Left Lane Cruiser – Claw Machine Wizard CD/LP (Alive)
Barn burnin’ new album from the punked-up Indiana garage-blues combo.
Linkin Park – One More Light CD/LP (WB)
For any career artist, making new material matter can be the biggest challenge. Inspiration is a fickle thing, and past success often draws a bar that is hard to overcome. But once in a while, unexpectedly, lightning strikes – and an artist we think we know goes somewhere we didn’t know was possible. Miraculously, Linkin Park’s seventh studio album One More Light does just that. And it doesn’t achieve it by being louder or bigger, more avant garde or more dramatic. It achieves it by being more human. One More Light is a moment in time. It’s built on personal stories, sweat-stained and reeling from injuries – the product of six voices, each coming clean about their lives and struggles, as if it were the first time. We get an unobstructed view into what makes the band tick as people, fathers, husbands, musicians, and friends. Looking back, there were signs of One More Light in Linkin Park’s earlier releases. There has always been a catharsis in the lyrics, and genre-bending in the sounds. One More Light continues that tradition, but with a perspective and craftsmanship that only a band of this caliber could command.
Little Steven – Soulfire CD (UMe)
Steven Van Zandt, the longtime guitarist of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, debuts his first solo album in two decades. [Vinyl edition due June 30th.]
Los Straitjackets – What’s So Funny About Peace Love And Los Straitjackets CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
Known for their audacious album concepts and star-crossed collaborations, when it comes to delivering high-energy rock and roll instrumental music, no one equals the finesse, power and perseverance of Los Straitjackets. Now they pay tribute to Nick Lowe.
Low Cut Connie – Dirty Pictures (Part 1) CD/LP (Contender)
With Dirty Pictures (Part 1), Low Cut Connie moves beyond the drunken bar boogie they have become associated with into a deeper, darker, dirtier American life.
Magic Giant – In The Wind CD (Washington Square)
Inside a Redwood tree off the coast of California; within a tunnel by Snoqualmie Pass; on an airstrip in Marble, Colorado; in a wild daisy field near Crested Butte—these are just a few of the places Los Angeles trio, Magic Giant, recorded its debut album, aptly titled, In The Wind.
Austin Bisnow (lead vocals), Zambricki Li (banjo, violin, harmonica), and Zang (acoustic guitar, cello) welcomed nature into the fold as their unofficial fourth member. “It was fate,” recalls Zambricki. “We were scheduled to play all these festivals—Electric Forest, Wanderlust, Lightning in a Bottle—that just so happened to be in really beautiful parts of the country.” Billboard claimed, “With a joyful live show the band is inspiring mass dance-alongs,” while NPR wrote, “Magic Giant captures the energy and spirit of the past few waves of upbeat, passionate indie-folk.” In The Wind threads together a musical cartography of alternative, pop, and folk. The instrumentation includes orchestral drums, banjo, trumpet, saxophone, harmonica, synthesizers, electric bass, cello, viola, violin, dobro, lap steel, mandolin, and more as the musical and lyrical palettes prove equally vibrant. “We use whatever instruments are best for the song,” says Austin. “Lyrically, when we get together to write,” adds Zang, “it’s different from what we would have imagined individually. That’s the beauty of co-writing—we become one unique voice we may never have found on our own.”
Malamanya – Malamanya CD/LP (Secret Stash)
Whether you are brand new to Latin music, or a long time aficionado, Malamanya is sure to lift your spirits and move your feet.
Matisyahu – Undercurrent CD/2xLP (Fallen Sparks)
Singer-songwriter Matisyahu has been on a journey inward for more than a decade. The journey has been private and public. The journey has at times been explicitly external, even while being driven by internal change. Now, nearly thirteen years after the release of his first studio record, Matisyahu and his band have done something unmatched in his past repertoire; they have crafted that journey into a musically thematic eight-song-movement. The band features longtime guitarist Aaron Dugan, Dub Trio’s bassist and drummer Stu Brooks and Joe Tomino, and keyboard virtuoso BigYuki – and the journey starts with them. The band improvised for hours in the studio with Matisyahu watching on as an admirer without singing a single lyric. Out of the improvisations grew melodic themes, rhythmic peaks and valleys, blissful and proto-song guitar passages, deep dub meditations and ultimately an inspired instrumental record unto itself. Only once the band had crafted this musical narrative, did Matisyahu begin to work on a lyrical narrative of his own – one that is simultaneously informed and integrated with the music yet driven by his own personal journey. [Limited blue color vinyl pressing also available.]
MISSIO – Loner CD (RCA)
Debut full-length from the Austin, TX electronic duo.
MisterWives – Connect The Dots CD/LP (Photo Finish/Republic)
Second album from the New York alternative rock band.
Mod Sun – Movie CD/LP (Rostrum)
New album from the prolific Bloomington, Minnesota rapper. Includes features from D.R.A.M, Maty Noyes, Blackbear, gnash, and Dej Loaf.
Morning Teleportation – Salivating For Symbiosis CD/LP (Glacial Pace)
“For their 2011 debut album, Expanding Anyway, rising indie rockers Morning Teleportation enlisted the production help of the one and only Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. With their new follow-up, titled Salivating For Symbiosis, the Kentucky natives expanded their sound as well as their inner circle, bringing in even more star power into the studio. Recorded in Portland with producer Jeremy Sherrer (Jesu, Sun Kil Moon), the sophomore project features a variety of guest contributors, such as Cage The Elephant’s Daniel Tichenor, David Depper of Death Cab For Cutie, and Mimicking Birds’ Aaron Hanson. Morning Teleportation members Tiger Merritt and Travis Goodwin also made use of a wide range of instruments, juxtaposing trumpets with modular synths and banjo, resulting in an LP that’s both rich and richly adventurous.” – Consequence Of Sound
Miles Mosely – Uprising CD (Verve)
Debut album from the world-class bassist. Miles Mosely has toured the globe with jazz superstar Kamasi Washington, and played and recorded with artists including Christina Aguilera, Kendrick Lamar, and Jeff Beck. On this record, Miles channels classic R&B and funk music combining these with impressive lead vocals to create a compelling sound all his own.
Mountaineer – Sirens & Slumber CD (Lifeforce)
“Cranking up the level of melancholy to 11, we have Bay Area’s Mountaineer and their debut full-length release Sirens & Slumber. The band, formed by ex-Secrets of the Sky’s guitarist Clayton Bartholomew, continues to further develop their highly atmospheric sound by moving into Katatonia-esque territories. Delivering nine brilliant tracks, this is definitely one of the releases to get in 2017 if you are a fan of deeply melancholic music. Opening with the lush dreaminess of ‘Foam,’ the band sets a very ethereal mood, while following track ‘Coma Fever’ leads with ripping doom riffs and the contrasting vocals of Miguel Meza. The album continues with this lively pace on tracks like ‘Measured Breaths’ and ‘Womb,’ wrapping a ton of atmosphere around heavy doomy riffs.” – Infernal Masquerade
Mountain Goats – Goth CD/2xLP+MP3/2xLP+12”+MP3 (Merge)
From Peter Hughes of the Mountain Goats: “The theme this time around is goth, a subject closer to my heart perhaps than that of any Mountain Goats album previous. And while John writes the songs, as he always has, it feels more than ever like he’s speaking for all of us in the band, erstwhile goths (raises hand) or otherwise, for these are songs that approach an identity most often associated with youth from a perspective that is inescapably adult. Anyone old enough to have had the experience of finding oneself at sea in a cultural landscape that’s suddenly indecipherable will empathize with Pat Travers showing up to a Bauhaus show looking to jam, for example. But underneath the outward humor, there is evident throughout a real tenderness toward, and solidarity with, our former fellow travelers – the friends whose bands never made it out of Fender’s Ballroom, the Gene Loves Jezebels of the world – the ones whose gothic paths were overtaken by the realities of life, or of its opposite. It’s something we talk about a lot, how fortunate and grateful we are to share this work, a career that’s become something more rewarding and fulfilling than I think any of us could have imagined. We all know how easily it could’ve gone the other way, and indeed for a long time did.” [Deluxe color vinyl edition cut at 45rpm and including a bonus 12” also available.]
John Németh – Feelin’ Freaky CD/LP (Memphis Grease)
John Németh had already established himself among the very top ranks of blues musicians and modern soul singers when he decided to break the mold with his new record, Feelin’ Freaky. Drawing from his strong influences in blues and R&B, as well as contemporary sounds in hip hop and rock & roll, Németh fearlessly crushes all barriers of style and genre with an album of original songs that defies all the usual pigeonholes.
Papa Roach – Crooked Teeth CD/2xCD/LP (Eleven Seven)
Papa Roach have never taken the easy way out and they aren’t going to start now. Over the past two decades the group have established themselves as true trendsetters in heavy music: They’ve been nominated for two Grammy Awards, toured the globe with everyone from Eminem to Marilyn Manson and crafted the nü metal anthem “Last Resort,” which is still in heavy rotation on rock radio seventeen years after its original release. However, the group’s tenth full-length Crooked Teeth sees the band returning to their humble – and hungry – roots. From the instantly infectious nature of the title track to the atmospheric sheen of the moody ballad “Periscope” (featuring Skylar Grey) and the acoustic/hip-hop rock mashup of “Sunrise Trailer Park” (featuring Machine Gun Kelly adding a verse to Shaddix’s rap) Crooked Teeth displays the various sides of Papa Roach and illustrates why they’ve managed to remain relevant while other musical trends ebb and flow. [CD is available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a bonus disc of the band performing live at the Fillmore in Detroit.]
Chris Price – Stop Talking CD (Omnivore)
It’s been five years since Chris Price released his debut solo album, but there’s a few reasons it’s taken this long for a follow-up – he’s been a bit busy. But, even between producing critically acclaimed comebacks from Linda Perhacs and Emitt Rhodes, and opening for The Who with Tal Wilkenfeld’s band, he continued to write and record the material. Recorded from 2013-2016, Stop Talking contains 14 tracks produced, engineered, and arranged by Price, and feature a wide variety of sounds and styles. Acoustic tracks (“Once Was True”) meet electric tracks like the title cut. Others are peppered with string arrangements (“Man Down”), mellotron and tape loops (“Algebra In The Sky”). Chris was joined in the studio by a variety of top musicians, including Kyle Fredrickson, Ben Lacourt, Fernando Perdomo, Joe Seiders, and many more. Stop Talking is a perfect introduction to understanding why Chris Price is such an in-demand producer and musician.
Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else – Enjoy The Great Outdoors CD/LP+MP3 (Run For Cover)
Released last week on vinyl – now available on CD. With the backing of Everyone Else, Radcliffe’s songwriting is at its finest on Enjoy The Great Outdoors. These ten tracks blend slowed down indie rock with folk and a slight alt-country twang that recalls the slow-brewed sound of The Silver Jews, The Microphones and early Wilco. [Cassette edition due May 26.]
Rammstein – Rammstein Paris 2xCD/2xCD+DVD/2xCD+Blu-ray/4xLP+2xCD+Blu-ray (Spinefarm)
Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund shot two acclaimed Rammstein concerts at the Palais Omnisports arena in Paris in front of 17,000. Featuring 22 songs from the band’s entire repertoire, the resulting film is not only the most spectacular collection of imagery about the most successful German rock band, but also a masterpiece of music cinema, capturing Rammstein’s energy as a unique visual and sonic experience.
Rascal Flatts – Back To Us CD (Big Machine)
The best-selling country vocal group of the past decade returns with their tenth studio album. [Vinyl edition due July 28th.]
Bjørn Riis – Forever Comes To An End CD/LP (Karisma)
Forever Comes To An End feature seven songs, with inspiration from classic rock, prog and movie scores. Bjørn Riis’s unique guitar playing has a center role, with soaring leads, heavy riffs and beautiful textures.
Daniel Romano – Modern Pressure CD/LP+MP3 (New West)
Daniel Romano is an Ontario-based artist, poet, musician and performer of international acclaim. A genre-defying student of musical experimentation and a brilliant multi-instrumentalist, Romano is acutely well versed in the languages of melody, shape, lyric construction and song arrangement. Apt in its title, Modern Pressure picks up where Mosey left off, boldly asking, “What age is this? What blooming weight do we carry through these stolen streets?” Written in observational scrutiny beneath the overcast atmosphere of 2016, the record vigorously tackles the present-day heaviness we contain in the jotting bones of our guilty expressions. It pleads for the restoration of empathy and resonance, to fill the empty chamber once again.
She-Devils – She-Devils CD/LP+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)
Through primitive electronic gear, hypnotist vocals, and an “amusement park of sounds,” the duo of Audrey Ann Boucher and Kyle Jukka aka She-Devils construct a fun-house world of beautiful chaos. The music is built from original sonics inspired by everything from Iggy Pop to Madonna to T-Rex to Can, as well as the romantic longing of ‘60s ye-ye.
Frank Shiner – Lonely Town, Lonely Street CD/LP (Bakerson)
Popular performer Frank Shiner (winner of two L.A. Music Critic Awards) has demonstrated his finely-honed ability to put his own unique stamp on classic material previously recorded by others via his sophomore album, Lonely Town, Lonely Street. Turning in stellar performances on songs popularized by such artists as The Rascals, Brook Benton, Sam & Dave, Elton John and Bill Withers, Frank has created a tour-de-force collection of twelve songs from the songbooks of legendary writers such as Randy Newman, Doc Pomus, Isaac Hayes & David Porter and Tony Joe White among others.
Bria Skonberg – With A Twist CD (OKeh)
Fusing a modern-day pop sensibility with sleek and timeless jazz chops, singer, trumpeter and songwriter Bria Skonberg returns with a new record.
Soundtrack – Singles [OST/Reissue/1992] 2xCD/2xLP+CD (Sony Legacy)
The newly expanded, 25th Anniversary Edition of the Singles soundtrack features the album’s original 13 tracks, newly mastered, with a bonus CD of rarities and unreleased tracks. The new bonus CD (also included on the double-vinyl edition) features previously unreleased recordings by Mudhoney, Paul Westerberg, Mike McCready and Chris Cornell in addition to rarities such as Cornell’s 1992 EP Poncier (debuting an early rendition of “Spoonman”) and tracks from the film not included on the original soundtrack album. This expanded edition includes, for the first time on CD, “Touch Me I’m Dick,” the signature track from Singles performed by Citizen Dick (a fictional band created for the film featuring frontman Matt Dillon backed by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament).
The Steel Woods – Straw In The Wind CD/LP (Woods Music)
Straw In The Wind is the debut album from Nashville-based rock band The Steel Woods, a commanding musical force that blends an amalgam of influences with a Southern-infused foundation. The group’s sound is a hybrid of rock, blues, folk, gospel, heavy metal, Americana, soul and bluegrass.
Craig Taborn And Ikue Mori – Highsmith CD (Tzadik)
Two of the most creative, elusive and modest musicians in the Downtown scene in an intimate and freewheeling duo session. Mutual admirers for well over a decade, Ikue and Craig first performed as a duo at the Village Vanguard in December 2016 and now step into the recording studio for an astonishing session of duo improvisations. Inspiring and dynamic music for piano and electronics that explode every expectation.
The Terminals – Antiseptic CD/LP (Ba Da Bing)
“The Terminals are the best rock band New Zealand has ever produced. Period. There’s heavy competition, but believe it. No group has lasted over three decades and maintained such intensity, structure and mood better than the core team of Steven Cogle and Peter Stapleton. Cogle’s voice is a quavering incantation of deep spell-casting, throwing more dirt onto already gritty guitar squalls. Stapleton’s rhythm section propels songs through lightning charges of tempo and energy. Age has only embedded the band’s mastery of deep sonic realms. The ten years between their last album, Last Days Of The Sun, and the release of Antiseptic whip by in a flash when these records are played next to each other—they never disappoint, they never relent.”
Tiger’s Jaw – Spin CD (Black Cement/Atlantic)
Making yourself vulnerable isn’t easy but it often makes for lasting art and that is certainly true of Tigers Jaw’s fifth full-length, Spin. The album marks a new chapter for the Scranton, PA-based indie rock band for many reasons: Not only is it the first collection of songs that was completely written and recorded solely by Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins, but it was also the first time they had a full month in the studio without having to worry about outside responsibilities. Furthermore it’s the inaugural release on Atlantic’s new imprint Black Cement, a label spearheaded by longtime collaborator Will Yip who returned to the production helm for Spin. All of these factors converged to create an album that sounds more fully formed than anything Tigers Jaw have done in the past and simultaneously establishes them as a band whose appeal truly transcends genres. Over the course of twelve tracks, the album moves from the sweetly syncopated, fuzzed-out bliss of the opener “Follows” to the midtempo melodicism of “June” and liltingly lovely ballad “Bullet.” Profoundly personal and vibrantly textured, Spin exhibits Walsh and Collins’ remarkable ability to capture the sentiments and complexities of a moment through melody and introspection. [Vinyl edition due June 23rd.]
Toothless – The Pace Of The Passing CD/LP (Rostrum)
New band from the former Bombay Bicycle Club bassist. The Pace Of The Passing is more song cycle than a simple collection of tracks. It is marked by its sense of completeness – its themes and preoccupations extending from its lyrics and musical motifs right through to its artwork: thoughts of gathering time, of love and death and relationships past that draw on Greek myth, astronomy, and the work of Charles and Ray Eames, invite guest vocals from The Staves, Marika Hackman, Liz Lawrence, and Tom Fleming from Wild Beasts, and display a love for music that is fiercely melodic, multi-layered and fine-spun.
Vaiya – Remnant Light CD/LP (Bindrune)
Vaiya’s third album is an aggressive ritual banishment of the darkest aspects of the ego, and is a more straight forward black metal record than the two previous Vaiya releases, which were written specifically for live ritual performance, thus, there is more emphasis put on dense atmosphere and layered instrumentation.
Various Artists [Michael Mayer] – DJ Kicks CD/2xLP+MP3 (!K7)
Following 2016’s full-length LP, &, which saw him extensively collaborate with an impressive host of contemporaries and friends, including Joe Goddard, Prins Thomas and Agoria, Michael Mayer is pleased to contribute to the legendary DJ Kicks series.
Waters – Something More! CD/LP+MP3 (Vagrant)
Something More! is San Francisco by way of Los Angeles indie pop band Waters’ first release since 2015’s acclaimed What’s Real. Written and recorded throughout 2016 in L.A., following big-time touring runs with the likes of Weezer, Tegan And Sara, and Matt and Kim, the album came together after the five-piece band returned home and were forced to confront the day-to-day realities of everyday life. Frontman Van Pierszalowski sees Something More! as both a gut-punch and a wake-up call to his younger self.
Wavves – You’re Welcome CD/LP (Ghostramp)
The word “brat” has followed Nathan Williams around for almost a decade, but at the age of 30, with a fully-fledged business to his name, as well as the ongoing success of band Wavves, his rebellious streak has proven not just purposeful but pretty damn inspiring. You’re Welcome is the soundtrack to this new lease of freedom. It’s Williams’ tongue-in-cheek rebirth as a self-released, self-actualized, self-promoting punk kingpin, and despite putting his money where his uncensored mouth is, he’s emerged not just unscathed but with the upper hand. You’re Welcome is mostly comprised of Williams’ oddball, sample-led brainstorms: he came up with 40 tracks, now whittled down to twelve, fat-free punk zingers. A sample nerd, Williams delved into his obsession with 1950s doo-wop and – surprisingly – international folk, including Cambodian pop and ’70s psychedelia from South America. The results make for one of the most diverse and intricate Wavves records yet. “Come To The Valley” contains a Phil Spector meets Beach Boys ’60s high school dance vibe, whereas title track “You’re Welcome” riffs on sound effects that could almost originate from Bizarro World, never mind Cambodia. [Limited color vinyl pressing also available.]
Jane Weaver – Modern Kosmology CD/LP (Fire)
Modern Kosmology sees Jane Weaver’s melodic-protagonist channeling new depths of creative cosmic energy within. After the huge critical acclaim of 2012’s Fallen By Watchbird, followed by 2015’s exploratory Silver Globe LP winning her unanimous “record of the year” accolades and hefty measures of radio play, Jane Weaver’s conceptual trajectory has sent her neo-kosmische penchants to the point of no-return. Her yearning for psychoactive pop energy has reached a new level of magnetism.
White Hills – Stop Mute Defeat CD/LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
The dismal realities, political or otherwise, that are part of our modern world naturally influence our creative voices. It is in this context that White Hills re-evaluated their approach to creating a new album. Having continually refined their sound, pushing the boundaries of psychedelic music, White Hills flipped the script on Stop Mute Defeat. Dave W. and Ego Sensation have brazenly produced an industrially-charged record that pulsates unlike anything they’ve released before.
Thomas Wynn And The Believers – Wade Waist Deep CD/LP+MP3 (Mascot)
Meet Thomas Wynn and The Believers, an American band with a striking new organic rock record about building a better life, a life you really believe in. Wade Waist Deep is packed with the facts that make American music timeless – the deep Southern heat of the guitars, the complex, pulsing rhythms, and the male-female vocal harmonies that sound like only a brother and sister can.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Plasmatics – Rod Swenson’s Lost Tapes 1978-1981 DVD (Pandemonium)
The rare Wendy O. Williams/Plasmatics live footage in this DVD has, in the main, never been released before. During the early years Plasmatics creator Rod Swenson, who directed and shot all the Wendy O./Plasmatics conceptual videos (AKA known for his footage of the Ramones, Dead Boys, Blondie, and Motörhead among others) shot numerous Plasmatics shows the footage from which was never edited or released. Except for some short excerpts most of it until the discovery of this footage was thought to be lost or degraded (shot on tape which has been shown as with audio tape to degrade over time). Recently during the moving of WOW/Plasmatics archive material the footage here was found unlabeled in buried boxes. While much had degraded, producer/director Randy Shooter was able to discover, relabel, and with additional editing and restoration, salvage the rare and remarkable footage in this DVD. 63 minutes.
Frank Sinatra – The Timex Shows Vol. 1 (The Frank Sinatra Timex Show & An Afternoon With Frank Sinatra) DVD (Eagle Vision)
Frank Sinatra – The Timex Shows Vol. 2 (To The Ladies & Welcome Home Elvis) DVD (Eagle Vision)
The Frank Sinatra Collection brings together some of Frank Sinatra’s finest performances on television and in concert. These releases combine his four Timex TV shows from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Alvaro – Live In Brussels LP (Feeding Tube)
“Playing piano (and a little nose flute), Alvaro sings through a great program of faves (‘Valaparaiso,’ ‘Mum’s Milk,’ ‘She’s So Pretty,’ etc.) like the Bizzaro World cabaret star he has been since Drinkin My Own Sperm was released back in ’77. Playing in front of roomful of blasted Belgian artists (you can easily hear Dennis Tyfus singing and choking along to the proceedings) Alvaro sounds relaxed, assured and brilliant. For all of its inherent strangeness, this is music you could play for your mom without scaring the curlers out of her wig. The tunes are humane and funny and beautiful. His between-songs raps are revelatory. Just pour yourself a cocktail, sit back in a comfortable chair, and be prepared to have a beautiful goddamn day.” – Byron Coley
Gene Ammons – The Soulful Moods Of Gene Ammons [Reissue/1963] LP (Analogue Productions)
Audiophile 200gm vinyl repress. “One of the best efforts from Ammons’ extensive catalog. A fat, warm, rich sax tone — you know, the one you immediately identify as Jug — is on display in all its glory on this great Moodsville release. Feeling tired and stressed out? Give Uncle Gene a spin. Besides perfect pitch, Ammons’ other special gift was a melodic sense that allowed him to effectively convey feelings at slow tempos. Here is a great jazz ballad player given full scope to spin his charms.” — Stereophile, February 1995
Amon Amarth – The Crusher [Reissue/2001] LP (Metal Blade)
Amon Amarth – Versus The World [Reissue/2002] LP (Metal Blade)
180gm vinyl reissues. Formed amid the fertile Swedish metal scene in the mid ‘90s, these dedicated diehards brought a new sense of drama and destruction to the world of heavy music, propagating tales of Viking mythology and mortal combat over a devastating soundtrack of crushing rhythms, refined melody and rousing, rebellious refrains.
Ampütator – Deathcult Barbaric Hell LP (Greyhaze)
Floridian black/war metal.
Angelo Badalamenti – Blue Velvet [Reissue/1986] LP (Varese Sarabande)
For the first time in 30 years, the haunting soundtrack to David Lynch’s masterpiece Blue Velvet is back in-print on vinyl. The first of many collaborations between the director and composer Angelo Badalamenti, Blue Velvet‘s evocative score is juxtaposed with Lynch’s use of early pop tunes, creating an unsettling effect that complemented the movie perfectly. You’ll also find the first musical collaboration between Lynch, Badalamenti and Julee Cruise here.
Autopsy – The Tomb Within [Reissue/2010] 12” (Peaceville)
Autopsy triumphantly and officially returned from the grave after a 15-year hiatus with the 2010 EP The Tomb Within. Featuring the original trio of Chris Reifert, Danny Coralles and Eric Cutler joined by Joe Trevisano on bass, The Tomb Within consists of five tunes of ultimate gore and depravity, and features cover art by renowned fantasy/horror artist Matt Cavotta.
Basecamp – In Stone LP (Owsla)
Genre-bending Nashville electronic trio Basecamp release a new EP. The new release builds on their previous breakout Greater Than EP, which beautifully showcased their signature blend of lo-fi electronic and R&B. In Stone is a collection of intricately produced tracks featuring brooding vocals enveloped by an air of undeniable seduction.
Basement – Promise Everything [Deluxe Edition] LP+MP3 (Fueled By Ramen)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. This deluxe reissue of Basement’s critically adored album includes remixed/remastered versions of the original release’s ten songs and four bonus tracks: a cover of The Cardigan’s “My Favourite Game,” acoustic versions of “Aquasun,” “Blinded Bye,” and the acoustic track “Cloud,” which originally appeared on a limited run 7”. Limited color vinyl pressing.
Blood Feast – The Future State Of Wicked LP (Hell’s Headbangers)
At long last, Blood Feast is reborn into the metal underground with the release of their highly anticipated third full-length album. Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl.
Blown Out – Superior Venus LP+MP3 (Riot Season)
Blown Out return with two long, head-expanding psych outs.
Box Car Racer – Box Car Racer [Reissue/2002] LP (Geffen)
Reissued on vinyl to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Box Car Racer’s first and only album to date. Essentially a side project from Blink 182 members Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker with David Kennedy (guitarist of Angels & Airwaves) completing the band’s studio lineup, their eponymous 2002 debut was a conceptual effort about the end of the world and was inspired by post-hardcore influences like Jawbox, Quicksand, Fugazi and Refused.
Camp Lo – On The Way Uptown LP (Persia)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. From late 1994 to early 1996, the members of Camp Lo worked with producer Ski on a series of demos in Ski’s home studios in the Bronx and Harlem. These cassette demos were the foundation for the group’s debut album, as well as a collection of slick tracks that never made it to the public. Found in a basement nearly twenty years after they were recorded, these demos show Camp Lo at their finest, and represent that true 1990s hip-hop flavor.
The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 2 LP (History Always Favors The Winners)
Everywhere at the end of time’ is a new and finite series exploring dementia, its advance and its totality. Featuring the sounds from the journey The Caretaker as artist will make after being artistically diagnosed as having early onset dementia. Each stage will reveal new points of progression, loss and disintegration. Progressively falling further and further towards the abyss of complete memory loss and nothingness. Viewing dementia as a series of stages can be a useful way to understand the illness, but it is important to realize that this only provides a rough guide to the progress of the condition.
Rosanne Cash – Black Cadillac [2006] LP (Capitol)
Rosanne Cash’s Grammy-nominated 2006 album, Black Cadillac, served as the most acclaimed release of her career up to that point. In four-star reviews, Rolling Stone called it “Rosanne Cash’s best and darkest” and Newsweek honored the album as “not just the best album she’s made in a long time. This is her best album ever.” Appearing on vinyl for the first time, this standard weight pressing is being reissued in celebration of Capitol Records’ 75th anniversary.
Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love! 2xLP (Glassnote)
Released last December on CD – now available on vinyl. As Childish Gambino once again sheds his skin, Awaken, My Love! is a sonic evolution. It has been described as R&B meets Pink Floyd, by one journalist while others have cited an amalgam of rock, funk, and soul influences. It is a groundbreaking next step following the genre blending STN MTN / Kauai mixtape and the twice-Grammy nominated rap album, because the internet.
Control Freaks – Mindless Entertainment LP/Cassette (Slovenly)
This is snot-caked Bay Area slime by abusive maniacs with the teen-beat on lockdown, and they will C.O.N.T.R.O.L. your last remaining brain cells. Mindless Entertainment has all the obnoxious pop you can handle.
Crimpshrine – Duct Tape Soup [Reissue/1992] LP (Numero)
Crimpshrine – The Sound Of A New World Being Born [Reissue/1998] LP (Numero)
Before Green Day, Operation Ivy, and Lookout Records put the East Bay’s burgeoning punk scene on the map, a trio of Berkeley kids were reinventing the genre with music that was melodic but full of feedback, and a singer who sounded like he gargled glass. Crimpshrine’s debut EP was Lookout’s fourth release, followed by an album, a second EP, and a slew of split singles and compilation tracks before the band imploded in 1989 after a ridiculous two-and-a-half-month tour in a Ford Pinto hatchback.
Dire Wolves – Oceans Of Green LP (Feeding Tube)
The music on Ocean Of Green is full of pointillistic stonerist movement, but the individual elements hold together well enough that anyone who enjoys a single moment will soon find themselves pulled into the music’s midst. There are no sharp edges here. The Dire Wolves’ sound is as welcoming as any band that has ever been heard.
DS-13 – Vad Vet Vi Om Kriget? [Reissue/1999] LP (Derranged)
Vinyl repress of DS-13’s debut album from 1999, remastered and featuring new artwork. For the uninitiated, DS-13 were/are from Umea, Sweden and played/play raging hardcore.
Erik Nervous – Ice Cream b/w Children Stabbing Things 7” (Total Punk)
A fast paced bouncy minute and a half ode to stabbing someone in the face with an ice cream cone. Erik keeps the stabby theme up on the B-side with the jerky neck injury inducing hit “Children Stabbing Things.” Two songs, both about stabbing, both 100% Total Punk.
Erra – Drift 2xLP (Sumerian)
The progressive metalcore band originating in Birmingham, AL, adopted their name from Akkadian mythology, where Erra is the god of mayhem. Limited edition transparent blue color vinyl pressing.
Fink – Sunday Night Blues Club Vol. 1 LP (R’coup’d)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Fink is an artist who fails to sit in genre. His career has spanned a creative output of albums that have touched on, and been informed by, everything from soul and acid house to more orchestral expressions, like “Yesterday Was Hard On All Of Us” as used in the Selma soundtrack. His latest album once again shifts gear and arrives as a modern blues volume inspired by his love of artists like John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, and Chuck Berry, and was recorded in one day at his Berlin studio and co-produced with Flood (U2, PJ Harvey, Warpaint).
Samantha Fish – Chills & Fever LP (Ruf)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On Chills & Fever Samantha enlisted members of the punk blues band The Detroit Cobras along with producer Bobby Harlow (The GO/ Jack White) to record a futuristic set of songs and a chilling walk through memory lane. Samantha’s soulful sultry voice and hot rod guitar slinging is layered against a poly rhythmic horn entrenched background all mixed and mastered by Jim Kissling (The Crystal Method, Fat Boy Slim).
Grand Funk Railroad – We’re An American Band [Reissue/1973] LP (Capitol)
Todd Rundgren produced We’re An American Band, Grand Funk Railroad’s first with their new shorter name. The band sounds more focused and their playing is sonically sharper than their preceding releases. The title track went on to become a Gold selling #1 hit that detailed life on the road and eventually gained status as one of the most annoying songs ever recorded. This standard weight vinyl has been reissued in celebration of Capitol Records’ 75th anniversary.
Helium – The Dirt Of Luck [Reissue/1995] LP+MP3 (Matador)
Helium – The Magic City/No Guitars [Reissue/1997] 2xLP+MP3 (Matador)
Helium – Ends With And 2xLP+MP3 (Matador)
Led by Mary Timony (Ex Hex, Wild Flag, Autoclave), Helium was one of the most important rock bands of the ‘90s, and finally their influential output is being released on vinyl after a decade of being out of print courtesy of Matador Records. In addition to the reissues of breakthrough 1995 debut The Dirt Of Luck and revered 1997 swan song The Magic City (bundled on a double-LP with the No Guitars EP), Helium release a brand new collection of rarities, B-sides, and unreleased demos on a 19-track double LP entitled Ends With And.
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ (The Blues Of Lightnin’ Hopkins) [Reissue/1960] LP (Analogue Productions)
Audiophile 200gm vinyl repress. “Recorded for Prestige’s Bluesville subsidiary in 1960, Lightnin’ is among the rewarding acoustic dates Lightnin’ Hopkins delivered in the early ’60s. The session has an informal, relaxed quality, and this approach serves a 48-year-old Hopkins impressively well on both originals like ‘Thinkin’ ‘Bout An Old Friend’ and the familiar ‘Katie Mae’ and enjoyable interpretations of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee’s ‘Back To New Orleans’ and Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup’s ‘Mean Old Frisco.’ Hopkins’ only accompaniment consists of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Belton Evans, both of whom play in an understated fashion and do their part to make this intimate setting successful. From the remorseful ‘Come Back Baby’ to more lighthearted, fun numbers like ‘You Better Watch Yourself’ and ‘Automobile Blues,’ Lightnin’ is a lot like being in a small club with Hopkins as he shares his experiences, insights and humor with you.” — All Music Guide
Iron Maiden – The Complete Albums Collection 1990-2015 3xLP (Sanctuary)
Read the fine print: What you are getting is a box sized to house all 12 albums Iron Maiden released between 1990-2015. It only contains the first two albums of the reissue campaign: 1990’s No Prayer For The Dying 1992’s Fear Of The Dark, each of which are also sold separately. An additional spot is left open for their latest album, The Book Of Souls.
Iron Maiden – No Prayer For The Dying [Reissue/1990] 2xLP (Sanctuary)
Iron Maiden – Fear Of The Dark [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (Sanctuary)
Iron Maiden – The X Factor [Reissue/1995] 2xLP (Sanctuary)
Iron Maiden – Virtual XI [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Sanctuary)
Unlike the ’80s reissues which were cut from the original analogue master tapes, the vinyl audio for this reissue campaign of their ‘90s catalog has been cut from the high-resolution remasters of 2015 when the Maiden catalogue was digitally upgraded.
Jee Jee Band – Holy Yolk LP (Feeding Tube)
Holy Yolk is a unique balancing act between aesthetic poles. On one hand, there is the somewhat unhinged K-Pop snack-attack that marked the duo’s earliest recordings. On the other, there are the tracks that offer something more like a twisted take on Pioneer Valley bedroom creationism.
JX Riders – Hiccup 12” (Cherrytree)
In 2016, Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer, remixer and DJ Dave Audé and Grammy nominated songwriter, musician, producer and label head Martin Kierszenbaum decided to start a duo called JX Riders to create original dance music. They chose the name in homage to the first synth they both ever had, the first MIDI-equipped keyboard, the Roland JX-3P. In September 2016, JX Riders hit no. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart with their debut single “Sweet Dreams.”
The Knack – Get The Knack [Reissue/1979] LP (Capitol)
Originally released in 1979, Get The Knack went gold in 13 days and eventually sold five million copies, making it one of the most successful debuts in history. It included the massive hits “My Sharona” and “Good Girls Don’t.” This standard weight vinyl is being reissued in celebration of Capitol Records’ 75th anniversary.
Arto Lindsay – Cuidado Madame LP (Northern Spy)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “There is no mistaking that this is Arto Lindsay. His easygoing, Michael Franks vocal expression, Brazilian percussion, tactfully deployed synths and avant-garde twists headlined by that spiky, atonal guitar of his…it’s a formula that’s been his signature since his time in the Ambitious Lovers, an ‘80s duo he formed with keyboardist Peter Scherer. And if there was no more to Cuidado Madame than that, this would still qualify as a fine album.” – Something Else!
Louisiana Red – Sweet Blood Call [Reissue/1975] LP (Fat Possum)
Louisiana Red recorded numerous songs throughout the 1960s, though he might be best known for his Billboard singles hit “I’m Too Poor To Die” in 1964. His Louisiana Red Sings The Blues album released in 1972 on a ATCO Records subsidiary didn’t sell well, and Red was subsequently dropped by the label. After the death of his beloved first wife from cancer, Red recorded two highly-regarded acoustic albums for Blue Labor Records (commandeered by Kent Cooper and jazz arranger/composer Heiner Stadler), 1975’s Sweet Blood Call and 1976’s Dead Stray Dog, both receiving widespread critical acclaim for their introspective and intimate performances.
MC Hammer – Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em [Reissue/1990] LP (Capitol)
Still the biggest-selling rap album of all time at ten million copies, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em proved that rap music was no longer just a specialty niche genre, but had the crossover potential to be a commercial juggernaut. It also launched the worldwide massive hit “Can’t Touch This.” This standard weight vinyl is being reissued in celebration of Capitol Records’ 75th anniversary.
Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory Of Loss [2010] 2xLP (Rounder)
Before Nathaniel Rateliff was topping charts around the world with his hit song, “S.O.B.,” he was a solo singer-songwriter, who made his debut with 2010’s In Memory Of Loss. With deeply personal and introspective lyrics, critics drew comparisons to early Bob Dylan and drew high praise from The Telegraph (UK) who called it “highly promising.”
Linda Ronstadt – Heart Like A Wheel [Reissue/1974] LP (Capitol)
Ronstadt came into her own on this mix of oldies and contemporary classics. Backed by a fleet of all-star musicians, including Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Tim Schmit, Peter Asher and Emmylou Harris, she performs songs written by Paul Anka, JD Souther, Phil Everly and James Taylor. This standard weight vinyl is being reissued in celebration of Capitol Records’ 75th anniversary.
Rusalnaia – Time Takes Away LP (Feeding Tube)
Time Takes Away shares elements with its predecessor (2007’s eponymous Rusalnaia) in terms of song construction, vocal overlay and general mystery action, but certain tunes manifest a bit more of psychedelic rock aspect, bespeaking antecedents such as the Trees. A classic slab of UK folk invention.
State Champs – Around The World And Back LP+DVD (Pure Noise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Fresh off the heels of touring Australia with 5 Seconds Of Summer, State Champs release their sophomore record. The 5-piece continues to play captivating and addictive pop-rock. Includes a DVD featuring two new studio tracks, two live tracks and two acoustic tracks.
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Live From The Fox Oakland 3xLP+MP3 (Fantasy/Concord)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. In September of 2016, Tedeschi Trucks Band set out for the West Coast to make a live album. After 10 shows, there was no shortage of great music to choose from, but for everyone on the tour, one night stood out from the rest: September 9th at the Fox Theatre in Oakland. Live From The Fox Oakland is a live double album that David Fricke calls “a new peak in the continuing story of a great American rock & roll family band.” 180gm pressing with download.
Tehom – The Merciless Light LP (Blood Harvest)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Merciless Swedish death metal, blackened in a most barbaric manner.
Kurt Vile – Square Shells [Reissue/2010] 12”+MP3 (Matador)
Kurt Vile – So Outta Reach [Reissue/2011] 12”+MP3 (Matador)
Limited edition color vinyl reissues of a pair of Kurt Vile 12”s.
Voïvod – Rrröööaaarrr [Reissue/1986] LP (Noise/BMG)
Voïvod – Killing Technology [Reissue/1987] LP (Noise/BMG)
Voïvod – Dimension Hatröss [Reissue/1988] LP (Noise/BMG)
Voïvod is a heavy metal band from Quebec that originally formed in 1982 and became one of the first Canadian thrash acts to receive international acclaim. They began as a speed metal band, while adding a mix of progressive and thrash metal to create their own unique style. 180gm remastered vinyl reissues of their trio of classic studio albums released on the Noise Records label are now available.
Cassettes:
Control Freaks – Mindless Entertainment (Slovenly)
This is snot-caked Bay Area slime by abusive maniacs with the teen-beat on lockdown, and they will C.O.N.T.R.O.L. your last remaining brain cells. Mindless Entertainment has all the obnoxious pop you can handle.
Deeper Kenz – Deeper Kenz (100% Silk)
Wayfaring American producer / DJ Deeper Kenz named his project in homage to the “cinematically intense” Northeast Philly hood where he resided intermittently for nearly eight years. Surrounded by dive bars and decrepit lots, he turned inward and crafted a set of recordings “designed as tools to light up a small but intimate community of dancers and lovers.” The A-side skews lean and linear, crisp percussion laced with shaded bass and violet textures, while the flip goes more mirror ball delirium, sweat and heat and disco samples “chained up and grooving to the unceasing rhythms of the big city machine.”
Erasure – World Be Gone (Mute)
17th album from the electronic pop pioneers, their first album since 2014’s acclaimed The Violet Flame.
Land Of Talk – Life After Youth (Saddle Creek)
Life After Youth is the first Land Of Talk album since 2010’s Cloak And Cipher. After taking a few months off after Cloak And Cipher’s touring cycle, frontwoman Elizabeth Powell got back to work on a follow-up. Instead, a series of mishaps – post-tour fatigue, a crashed hard drive with new demos, and her father’s stroke in 2013 – turned “a few months” into “a few years.” While caring for her father, Elizabeth fell under the spell of classical, ambient, and Japanese tonkori music, whose meditative quality aided his recovery. Immersing herself in those sounds would change her entire approach to music making; she started writing songs without her trusty guitar, instead building tracks up from synth beds and programmed loops. Life After Youth’s centerpiece track, “Inner Lover,” presents the most radical results of those experiments. It’s an audio Rorschach test of a song: key in on the incessant synth pulse underpinning Elizabeth’s pleading vocal (“take care of me!”) and the track assumes an ominous intensity. But when you surrender to the relaxed drum counter-rhythm and subliminal harmonies, “Inner Lover” projects a graceful serenity. Even the songs built atop more traditional rock foundations exist in that liminal space between dreaming and waking life, confidence and doubt, raw feelings and soothing sounds.
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