CDs + Vinyl:
Eric Alexander – Song Of No Regrets CD (HighNote)
Hearing tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander is one of the great treats in jazz. There are few artists on stage today who combine chops, imagination and technique with a fluidity of ideas as he does. This imposing improviser is reunited here with pianist David Hazeltine and they’re joined by another jazz great, the always daring trumpeter Jon Faddis on a couple of the tracks. Add in the swing engendered by bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth and you have a formula for excellence.
Amp Fiddler – Amp Dog Nights CD/2xLP (Mahogani Music)
Amp Fiddler is a keyboardist, sound designer, singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. His musical styles include funk, soul, dance and electronica music. Amp Dog Nights is his fourth LP and features unreleased beats from J. Dilla.
Horace Andy – Good Vibes [Reissue/1997] CD (VP)
Ten tough disco mixes – vocal and dub – with Horace at the peak of his late ‘70s form. [CD edition contains bonus track not featured on original release. Vinyl due November 24.]
Audn – Farvegir Fyrndar CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
“Audn are a prime example of the power and atmosphere of Iceland’s booming black metal scene.”
Axis – Shift CD/LP+MP3 (Good Fight Music)
The Florida metalcore act follow-up their 2015 debut Show Your Greed with sophomore effort Shift. Ushered in by the bruising lead track “The Altruist,” Shift finds Axis retaining their metalcore ambitions but upping the ante on atmosphere to stunning effect. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys – Rot CD/LP (What’s Your Rupture?)
BWBB is the main project of Joe Sukit, guitarist for the much beloved Australian soul-punk band, Royal Headache, and Rot is the band’s sophomore album. Bold, passionate, ear-splitting rock and roll, performed with tremendous heart and determination. Inspired by ’80s and ’90s punk rock, Noisey calls lead cut “Plastic Tears” “a ragged piece of power pop glory.”
Andrew Bird – Echolocations: River CD/LP (Wegawam)
Recorded under the Hyperion bridge in Los Angeles, California’s Atwater Village, Echolocations: River is the second piece in a series of short films and recordings documenting site specific compositions. Performed by Andrew Bird and filmed by Tyler Manson in remote and acoustically interesting natural and urban environments, the first installment, Echolocations: Canyon, was originally released in 2015.
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band – Body And Shadow CD/LP (Blue Note)
The fifth album from the jazz drummer/composer/session musician is a succinct nine-track meditation on lightness/darkness that arrives like a balm for the soul, ebbing and flowing with grace, subtlety and no shortness of beauty.
Blue Pills – Lady In Gold: Live In Paris CD+Blu-ray/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
“A band that belongs to the Champions League of the current retro rock peak is Blues Pills, hailing from Sweden. Lady in Gold – Live in Paris captures all the highlights of this exciting rock outfit” — Markus’ Heavy Music Blog
The Tommy Bolin Band – Northern Lights CD/LP (Friday Music)
This recording, captured just months before blues-rock guitar hero Tommy Bolin’s untimely death from a drug overdose at just 25, is taken from WBCN-FM’s master radio broadcast tape of a promotional performance of the Tommy Bolin Band playing live at the Northern Lights Recording Studios on September 22, 1976.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Born In Chicago: The Best Of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band CD (Varese Sarabande)
New best-of collection. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was one of the most important American bands of the ‘60s, featuring Paul Butterfield (harmonica/lead vocalist), Mike Bloomfield, and Elvin Bishop. Unlike the British blues revivalists, the Butterfield band was schooled in the tough Chicago bars that housed Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and Howlin’ Wolf.
Cloak – To Venomous Depths CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Cloak captures the magic, mystique, and mystery of classic heavy metal with their long-awaited debut To Venomous Depths. Drawing from metal’s most impactful sub genre’s, the quartet distill their collective influences into an enthralling full-album experience that honors the spirit of the early classics while standing firmly in the now. Captivating tracks like “Beyond The Veil,” “Deep Red,” “Forever Burned” and the title cut are riveted with somber harmonies, driving rhythms, and dramatic builds in momentum and suspense. Cloak’s bold and blackened metal teems with dark energy, and To Venomous Depths is a testament to the genre’s primal power and magic.
Billy Cobham – Mirror’s Image CD/LP (Purple Pyramid)
World class fusion drummer, and one of the most celebrated modern jazz musicians of all-time, presents this phenomenal live album recorded in Tokyo 1992. (This is a repress of Cleopatra’s 2015 release).
Carmaig De Forest – I Shall Be Re-Released CD (Omnivore Music)
Expanded reissue of the garage rock/rockabilly guitarist’s 1987 album I Shall Be Released. Features Alex Chilton on harmonica and production.
Destruction – Thrash Anthems II CD/LP (Nucler Blast)
Second best-of collection from the German thrash legends.
Dillon – Kind CD/LP+MP3 (PIAS America)
Third studio album by the Brazilian singer. Kind deals with love and how to recuperate through as well as from it. Brass instruments are deployed with impact as Dillon creates her own musical symbol system, which, from a certain point onwards, defies all interpretation. It is about the intensity of her voice and words and about being captured by both.
Dirty Songs – Dirty Songs Play Dirty Songs CD/LP (Audika)
Directed and produced by David Toop, Dirty Songs Play Dirty Songs reacts against our poisonous present, inspired anti-nostalgically by similarly reactive records and live performances from the 20th century: The Soft Machine and Pink Floyd 1967-68, The MC5’s Kick Out the Jams, The Stooges, Sun Ra’s Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy and The Heat Is On by The Isley Brothers. It is the musical offshoot of a project conceived by artist Maxime Rossi, originating in (among other things) speculations on the (then unreleased) legendary Pink Floyd “John Latham” recordings (1967) and FBI investigations (1964) into subversive and obscene messages supposedly buried within the recorded lyrics of The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie”. Developed through conversations between Maxime Rossi and David Toop and through support from Fondation Fiminco & MRAC, these ideas metamorphosed into the band and recordings known as Dirty Songs, existing both as audio recordings and audio-visual elements of Maxime Rossi’s installation Christmas On Earth Continued, exhibited at MRAC in November 2017.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Fanfare: 1970 – 2010 18xCD+Blu-ray Audio+3xLP+3×7” (BMG Rights Management)
Includes: 11 remastered ELP albums (1970-94), on CD; a previously unreleased, gatefold, triple-vinyl LP album; several previously unreleased live albums on CD; A Blu-ray audio disc containing the stereo 5:1 and surround sound mixes of four albums; three remastered 7” singles with reproduced original sleeve artwork; a deluxe, hardback 12” book with band photos and extensive notes; a reprinted 1970 promo poster, a 1972 promo brochure, and 1974/1992 tour programs; and a metal & enamel ELP logo pin badge.
Entheos – Dark Future CD/LP (Spinefarm)
Second album from the California tech-metal band.
Escape-ism – Introduction to Escape-ism CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Introduction To Escape-ism is the first ‘solo’ record by Ian Svenonius – of groups The Make-Up, Chain & The Gang, The Nation of Ulysses, XYZ, Weird War, etc. and author of underground bestsellers such as The Psychic Soviet, Supernatural Strategies For Making A Rock ‘n’ Roll Group, and Censorship Now!! – and as such, it’s profound, prophetic, perverse, and poetic. It’s introverted glitter, violence against the state, obsessive desire; it stomps on convention, shreds constitutions, clobbers pre-conceived notions of what a record can be. Yes, that’s right: a single-person performance by I.F. Svenonius – recognized by Performer Magazine as the “greatest performer on the planet” – Introduction To Escape-ism is a bite into a one-banana bunch. A drum box, a guitar, a cassette player, and a single slobbering, sinful voice singing out…for a way out. Live, it’s a new paradigm of performance: raw, gestural, idiotic, sublime, revolutionary, poetic, faux naïf, unknowing, a drainage pipe that leads to who knows where.
Evanescence – Synthesis CD (BMG Rights Management)
Reworked versions of previous material with an orchestral arrangement and electronica music elements, in addition to two new songs. [Vinyl edition due December 8.]
Forgotten Tomb – We Owe You Nothing CD/LP (Agonia)
Italy’s Forgotten Tomb present their latest creation of uniquely conceived grim, yet angered metal that is both classic in the genres that bore them and avant-garde in their gloomy modernity.
The Foundations – The Very Best Of The Foundations CD (Varese Sarabande)
The Foundations were a British soul band led by Clem Curtis, whose hard soul vocals made the group sound unlike any other British band in the late ’60s.
Four Tet – New Energy CD/Cassette (Temporary Residence)
Four Tet expands on the new age meditations of his recent singles with a freshly focused New Energy. Fully formed within the endlessly possible creative confines of Ableton Live, New Energy follows on from 2015’s Morning / Evening and features contributions from Tom Baker and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Mixing his usual classic trip-hop leanings with a digitized melodic and at times melancholic edge, New Energy neatly pulls together the lighter ends of Beautiful Rewind’s house moves and Morning / Evening‘s lush atmospherics. [Vinyl edition due December 8.]
Aretha Franklin – A Brand New Me: Aretha Franklin With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra CD/2xLP (Atlantic)
The Queen of Soul sings some of her classic tunes over new arrangements performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Among the standout tracks are newly re-imagined versions of classics like the Billboard #1 R&B hits “Respect,” “Think,” “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied),” and “Angel.”
Girlschool – Glasgow 1982 CD/LP (Cleopatra)
Live archive release of a vintage concert by the outlaw females of British heavy metal.
Greta Van Fleet – From The Fires CD (Republic)
Debut 8-song mini-album from the emerging young Michigan rockers.
Guided By Voices – Live From Austin, TX CD+DVD/2xLP (New West)
From the vaults of the award-winning PBS Austin City Limits TV show, GBV live in 2004. Reissued on CD (includes DVD) and pressed on vinyl for the first time.
Mickey Hart – Ramu CD (Verve)
While most albums function as a snapshot of a place and time, Ramu is more like a photo album, containing samples and recordings from around the globe, originating between 1944 and 2017. Mickey’s life ambition has always been to record and preserve the music of the world using the most innovative and high-quality equipment possible. Through the making of the album, that goal has grown to be something more. It’s about creation through collaboration, through combination, and through inclusion. Ramu acts as a reunion of like-minds, of a musical family torn apart by time, expanding to include the sounds and influences of the modern era.
Nona Hendryx & Gary Lucas – The World Of Captain Beefheart CD (Knitting Factory)
A comprehensive overview of the man also known as Don Van Vlie’s towering legacy, re-imagined and infused with new blood by vocalist extraordinaire Nona Hendryx and avant-guitar legend Gary Lucas.
Hüsker Dü – Savage Young Dü 3xCD/4xLP (Numero)
Experience the punishing sonic origins of a punk icon. Collected here for the first time, and skillfully remastered from original board tapes, demos, and session masters, this collection is an authoritative chronicling of the wellspring and maturation of Grant Hart, Greg Norton and Bob Mould – three Minneapolis teenagers who’d go on to become one of the most heralded trios of the American punk underground. 47 of the 69 songs compiled here are previously unissued.
Impureza – Le Caida De Tonatiuh CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
For more than ten years, Franco-Spanish conquistadors Impureza have been pioneering their unique style, which combines Iberian soundscapes with brutal death metal
Shooter Jennings – Live At Billy Bob’s Texas CD/LP (Smith Music Group)
Shooter Jennings was the 48th artist recorded Live at Billy Bob’s Texas in November 2016. The show was part of the Billy Bob’s Texas 35th Anniversary celebration. [Stand-alone DVD version also available.]
Elton John – Diamonds CD/2xCD/3xCD/2xLP (Mercury)
Newly remastered versions of many of Elton’s greatest songs – available in an array of editions: 17-track single CD; 21-track double vinyl LP; 34-track double-CD; and 52-track Deluxe triple CD. Diamonds coincides the 50th anniversary of his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin.
Stacy Kent – I Know I Dream: The Orchestral Sessions CD/2xLP (Okeh)
I Know I Dream revisits the quintessence of jazz vocalist’s Stacy Kent’s repertoire and soul with three songs in French (Juliette Greco’s “Les Amours Perdues,” originally written by Serge Gainsbourg, Nino Ferrer’s “La Rua Madureira” and Léo Ferré’s “Avec le temps”), four new compositions and five covers of Brazilian timeless classics including Carlos Jobim’s “Photograph.”
Kindling – Hush CD (6131)
Started as the recording project of Stephen Pierce and Gretchen Williams in 2014, Kindling has evolved into a full-fledged band through a previous full-length and a prolific series of EPs that would hone their dreamy lo-fi beginnings into a muscular wall of sound. While much of Kindling’s work could be given the shoegaze tag, the band always hinted at something broader and more immediate amongst the fuzz. With new album Hush the band has achieved a unique blend of crushing guitars and undeniable melodies that is sure to appeal to shoegaze fans. [Vinyl edition due December 1.]
Gregg Kowalsky – L’Orange L’Orange CD/LP/Cassette (Mexican Summer)
Gregg Kowalsky came to prominence with his Tape Chants album and live performance, a piece utilizing the manipulation of various tape machines throughout a space, released on Kranky and performed at Marfa Myths 2015. With L’Orange L’Orange, Kowalsky has carved the droning meditations of Tape Chants into a gorgeous slice of ambiance, an album as engaging as it is calming, seven tracks crashing forward and rolling back into themselves.
Langhorne Slim – Lost At Last Vol. 1 CD/LP (Dualtone Music Group)
Langhorne Slim’s career been defined by reflective songwriting and a passionate delivery; his newest offering, Lost At Last Vol. 1, is a record that he wanted to do differently from the start. The songs challenge the idea of social rigidity: the attitude that there’s a “correct” way for us to live and a side we should be on. He urges the world to see through the idea that by following that path and focusing only on fitting the mold, one will have lived a good life. He re-interprets the sound of the free-spirited yet vulnerable everyman heard on 2015’s The Spirit Moves and brings forth anew the call for us to abandon “the fold” and re-connect with ourselves and each other. [Limited 180gm colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Tracy Lawrence – Good Ole Days CD (Lawrence Music Group)
Lawrance pairs up with 11 different singers on this album of duets. Features: Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, Brad Arnold & Big & Rich, Luke Combs, Dustin Lynch, Kellie Pickler, Chris Young, Easton Corbin, and Craig Morgan.
Lindstrøm – It’s Alright Between Us As It Is CD/LP (Feedelity Recordings)
“The Norwegian electronic producer’s first solo album in a half decade finds him replacing ‘space disco’ with cool, ’80s-influenced arrangements.” – Pop Matters
The Mary Onettes – The Mary Onettes [Reissue/2007] CD/LP (Labrador)
Starting out in the Swedish town of Jönköping in 2000, indie-rock/dream pop band The Mary Onettes came together due to their common interest for ’80s and ’90s music and bands like the Stone Roses, The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen. Propelled by the grandiose songwriting of Philip Ekström and the hooky synth laced tracks “Lost,” “Void” and “Explosions,” the band’s long awaited self-titled 2007 debut resonated with fans of their influences, sounding like a modern version of a-ha dressed in black and mixed with early The Jesus and Mary Chain.
George Martin/Berlin Music Ensemble and Craig Leon – The Film Scores and Original Orchestral Music of George Martin CD (Atlas Réalisations)
A recording that, for the first, time collects all of the iconic composer, arranger and producer George Martin’s original orchestral music. Features music from the films Yellow Submarine, Live and Let Die, Pulp, previously unrecorded choral and orchestral score for The Mission, and more.
Metallica – Master Of Puppets CD/3xCD/LP/10xCD+3xLP+2xDVD+Cassette/Cassette (Blackened)
Master Of Puppets was originally released on March 3rd,1986, on Elektra Records and went on to become the first Metallica album to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album has been certified 6x Platinum in the United States and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. In 2016, the album became the first metal album to be added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, an honor granted to works deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. This remastered reissue is available in several editions: Single disc CD and vinyl, and cassette; Triple-disc CD featuring previously unreleased demos, rough mixes, interviews and live tracks; and a limited deluxe box set edition featuring a 108-page hardcover book including never before seen photos, three LPs, ten CDs, a cassette, two DVDs, a lithograph, a folder with handwritten lyrics, and a set of six buttons.
Lorrie Morgan and Pam Tillis – Come See Me and Come Lonely CD (Goldenlane)
Two queens of contemporary country music join forces.
Nekrasov – Mirror Void CD/LP (Prosthetic)
Australian one-man band Nekrasov continues to orbit between the two poles of power electronics and black metal, but the singular focus on otherworldliness remains consistent, and while the experience is challenging to the utmost, it is also ultimately rewarding. [Limited translucent purple with black smoke colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Novo Amor/Ed Tullett – Heiress CD/2xLP (AllPoints)
This collaborative effort swings between delicate, poetic falsetto and vast walls of towering beauty – something single “Cavalry” does all on its own. “Silvery” is a vital, grandiose inauguration, and the magical “Terraform” a celebratory realization that you’re back on your own Earth again. Both are solo artists in their own right – Welsh alt-folk artist Novo Amor’s second EP Bathing Beach, was released in May after a string of stunning self-released singles, whilst Oxford-born and Brighton-bred songwriter and producer Ed Tullett’s 2016 album Fiancé precedes a flurry of
upcoming solo, collaborative and production work.
Angel Olsen – Phases CD/LP+MP3 (Jagjaguwar)
From the lo-fi, sparse folk-melancholy of her 2010 EP, Strange Cacti, to the electrified, polished rock ‘n’ roll bursting from 2016’s My Woman, Olsen has refused to succumb to a single genre, expectation, or vision. Impossible to pin down, Olsen navigates the world with her remarkable, symphonic voice and a propensity for narrative, her music growing into whatever shape best fits to tell the story. Phases is a collection of Olsen’s work culled from the past several years, including a number of never-before-released tracks. [Limited olive green colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Houston Person – Rain Or Shine CD (HighNote)
With his long-time friend and colleague, cornetist Warren Vaché and guitarist Rodney Jones, Person’s burnished sophistication, assured elegance and poise are again on display giving listeners an object lesson in unfussy, no-gimmicks music-making.
The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde [25th Anniversary Edition] 2xCD (Craft Recordings)
Listening to 1992’s Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde 25 years after its release, its sense of timeliness is unmistakable. Every song on the album inverts a hoary hip-hop cliché. With classics like “Oh Sh*t,” “Otha Fish,” “Ya’ Mama,” and the now-ubiquitous “Passin’ Me By,” Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde remains essential and enduringly unique – a rite of passage for any serious hip-hop fan. Featuring brand-new liner notes by leading music writer Jeff Weiss (Pitchfork, Passion Of The Weiss), this Deluxe 25th Anniversary of the gold-certified album features the original album in its entirety, plus an entire disc of bonus material featuring rare cuts, remixes, and a capellas. [Regular and Deluxe vinyl editions due November 17.]
Poppy – Poppy.Computer CD (Mad Decent)
Debut studio album by the American electropop singer and YouTube personality. [Vinyl edition due November 24.]
Princess Nokia – 1992 Deluxe CD/LP (Rough Trade)
Princess Nokia – aka New York rapper Destiny Frasqueri – has been releasing music via YouTube and Soundcloud since she was in High School. She is not only a brilliant rapper and lyricist but a feminist icon who is unapologetically herself, and aligns equally with the values of punk rock and riot grrl, ‘90s R&B, and the best of forward-thinking hip-hop. This is powerful, passionate, outspoken, vibrant modern music with deep roots in both NYC and rap history.
Project Mama Earth – Project Mama Earth CDEP (Provogue)
Debut EP from the all-star Mama Earth lineup of Joss Stone (vocals), Nitin Sawhney (guitar), Jonathan Joseph (drums), Étienne M’Bappé (bass/guitar) and Jonathan Shorten (keyboards). The project started when British soul singer Joss Stone and her former musical director Jonathan Joseph hit on the Mama Earth concept of an album driven by the dynamic rhythms of Africa. [Vinyl edition due November 17.]
Quicksand – Interiors CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Epitaph)
New York City post-hardcore legends Quicksand return with Interiors, their first album in 22 years. The 12-track collection features the band’s original (and only) lineup of drummer Alan Cage (New Idea Society), frontman/guitarist Walter Schreifels (Rival Schools), bassist Sergio Vega (Deftones), and guitarist Tom Capone (Instruction). Recorded at Studio 4 Recording in Conshohocken, PA, Interiors was produced and engineered by Will Yip (The Menzingers, Title Fight, Pianos Become the Teeth) and finds Quicksand embracing the cathartic, guitar-driven dynamic of their earlier work, while also taking on a wider spectrum of sound. “It was all just about being ourselves and who we were as well as who we are,” says Schreifels of the making of Interiors. “We did it for us completely.” [Limited clear with black smoke colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Live At Red Rocks CD/2xLP (Stax)
On August 21st, 2016, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nights Sweats marked the one-year anniversary of their debut album with a triumphant, sold-out homecoming show at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Honed by the extensive touring that took them around the world and back during the preceding 12 months, the mighty rock and soul band tore through a tight set.
Dan Reeder – Nobody Wants To Be You. CDEP (Oh Boy)
While Nobody Wants To Be You is the precursor to a full-length (set for a 2018 release), this EP isn’t lacking in tenacity and holds true to his distinct style: slightly quirky, painstakingly honest, and undeniably witty. Compared to its predecessors, Nobody Wants To Be You. delivers a brighter, more energized tone, full of what Reeder calls “easy piano.”
R.E.M. – Automatic For The People [25th Anniversary Edition] 2xCD/3xCD+Blu-ray/LP+MP3 (Craft Recordings)
25th Anniversary reissue featuring the original album remastered and expanded with a CD of previously unreleased material. 25 years ago, firmly ensconced as US rock royalty, R.E.M. unleashed the album many count as their defining moment in Autumn 1992. The legendary Automatic For The People stood alone at a time when many of the other great alternative acts had packed up, filling any void with the likes of “Drive” (referencing both David Essex’s “Rock On” and any of Queen’s stop-start stadium fillers), the Andy Kaufman homage “Man On The Moon,” the oblique “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” and the deliberately heavy angst of “Everybody Hurts,” a song that managed to appeal to woebegone adolescents and wannabe-young-again oldsters, with John Paul Jones’ orchestral arrangement increasing the emotional overload. Whatever the formula, it certainly worked: sales off the scale, constant airplay, non-stop five-star reviews, and bigger and bigger live shows. Not too shabby when one considers the album was conceived during a dark time, and dealt with genuinely traumatic reflections on suicide, mortality and the harsh fact that everyone is going to reach the finishing line at some point. [Deluxe box set featuring a live set and Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos mix and high-resolution master, all housed in 12” x 12” box with 60-page book also available.]
Buffy Sainte-Marie – Medicine Songs CD (True North)
The legendary folk singer-songwriter and tireless activist introduces new songs and revisits her classics. [Vinyl edition due January 19.]
Santa Cruz – Bad Blood Rising CD (M-Theory Audio)
The Helsinki hell-raisers – whose brash, Sunset Strip-inspired hard rock has been praised by Rolling Stone as “debaucherous and flamboyant” – unleash a new album. “Pure f**king adrenaline.” [Vinyl edition due December 1.]
Seal – Standards CD/LP (Republic)
Seal tackles timeless songs with a collection of versions of standards. Includes “Luck Be A Lady” and “It Was A Very Good Year.” [CD is available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds three bonus tracks.]
Miles Cooper Seaton – Phases In Exile CD/LP (Ascension Hall)
For over a decade Miles Cooper Seaton’s work has defied genre and discipline, spanning immersive ambient installations, intimate sets in sacred spaces and festival stages from Los Angeles to Tokyo – as a solo artist, with his own band Akron/Family and as a member of Michael Gira’s Angels of Light. Phases In Exile is his love letter to music and community. For fans of: Akron/Family, Do Make Say Think, Animal Collective, Loscil, Sparklehorse, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Mark Lanegan.
Jen Shyu – Song Of Silver Geese CD (Pi Recordings)
The latest release from the groundbreaking and experimental vocalist, composer, multi- instrumentalist, and dancer. Described by Shyu as “a multilingual, ritual music drama,” Song Of Silver Geese combines composed structures, new improvisational systems, and vocal techniques informed by her 14 years of immersive fieldwork of various languages and traditions, including: East Coast Shaman music of Korea; folkloric music and ceremonial texts from the Wehali Kingdom of West and East Timor; folk song from Hengchun, Taiwan; and Javanese “sindhenan” improvisational singing with gamelan, from Indonesia.
Sinsaenum – Ashes CDEP (earMUSIC)
“Premium-level French heavy metal.”
SNST – Turn Out The Lights CD/LP (Rhyme & Reason)
SNST is the new outfit from Chris Broach of Braid & The Firebird Band and Steve Znavor of The Firebird Band. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Will Yip (Tigers Jaw, Nothing, Circa Survive, Pity Sex), SNST’s first LP represents a new beginning for both Broach and Znavor a fresh body of work that seamlessly blends electronic and organic instrumentation into a unique amalgam of music that’s as apt to make you dance as it is to make you think.
Sparzanza – Announcing The End CD/2xLP (Despotz)
“A masterpiece of dark, melodic and foreboding metal.” – Rock n Load Mag
Spock’s Beard – Snow – Live 2xCD+2xDVD/2xCD+2xDVD+2xBlu-ray/3xLP/2xBlu-ray (Metal Blade)
The prog band played 2002’s Snow (their last album with Neil Morse) live in 2016 at the annual Morsefest in Nashville, TN. [Four formats available: double-CD plus double DVD; a Deluxe box edition featuring two CDs, two DVDs, and two Blu-ray discs; a stand-alone double-Blu-ray edition; and a limited snow-white colored vinyl pressing.]
Spook The Horses – People Used To Live Here CD (Pelagic)
An atmosphere of quiet desolation, raw and real, desperate and unsettling: the post-apocalyptic soundtrack to abandoned places, where people used to live, at one point in time, long ago. [Vinyl edition due December 15.]
Pauline Anna Strom – Trans-Millenia Music CD/2xLP+MP3 (RVNG International)
Otherworldly and anomalous, hushed and hallucinatory, Pauline Anna Strom’s unique style of inner space music reaches across time to futures and pasts far from our own. Trans-Millenia Music compiles 80 minutes of Strom’s most evocative work, composed and recorded between 1982 and 1988 across seven albums released in minimal vinyl and cassette editions. Strom’s heightened sensitivity to sound and spirited sensibility with the primal synthesizer tools of her trade elevates this music beyond the catch-all containers of new age and ambient music into a realm of its own.
Sweet & Lynch – Unified CD/2xLP (Frontiers/Vinyl Eck)
Sophomore album by this band featuring guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of Stryper, legendary guitarist George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), bassist James LoMenzo (Megadeth, White Lion, Black Label Society) and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, and Ozzy Osbourne, The Dead Dasies).
Taylor Swift – Reputation CD (Big Machine)
Sixth studio album from the pop singer/songwriter – the long-awaited follow-up to her 2014 album 1989.
Tears For Fears – Rule The World: The Greatest Hits CD (Mercury)
New 16-track best-of collection featuring two new tracks. [Vinyl edition due December 8.]
Dan Terminus – Automated Refrains CD/2xLP (Blood Music)
A a healthy mixture of the French phenom’s smooth early synthwave in conjunction with the unhinged distortion of his notorious breakthrough record; peppered throughout with a healthy dose of vocoder elegies, harpsichord flourishes, and subtle nods to classic video game soundtracks as well as Tangerine Dream.
Toothgrinder – Phantom Amour CD/2xLP (Spinefarm)
With their sophomore full-length effort, the New Jersey progressive metal outfit continues to push heavy metal into the future with their unusual song structures, torrents of riffs and scaled-the-bowels-of-hell vocal attack.
Tropidelic – Heavy Is The Head CD (LAW)
The six-piece band from Cleveland, Ohio may be far from any tropical islands but that doesn’t stop them from dishing out an interesting mix of reggae, hip-hop and high energy funk for audiences across the country. Tropidelic has a deep and widespread appreciation for music that can be heard in each note. Some of the members are hip-hop heads, while others are into metal, funk or reggae. For their new release, Heavy Is The Head, Tropidelic carefully vetted what songs made it to the record, and featured songwriting efforts from members James and Darrick. Sound engineer Cary Crichlow, who has worked on the last four releases from the band, returned to get the job done. “Our socio-political views vary as much as our musical tastes and always seep into the music,” says Roads. “There’s certainly a lot that needs said, but on this record, we tried to be well-rounded and touch on a broad scope of emotions.”
Various Artists – Jazz Love Disney 2: A Kind Of Magic CD (Verve)
A collection of jazz and world artists taking on classic Disney songs. Includes George Benson, Madeleine Peyroux, Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum and more. [Vinyl edition due December 1.]
Various Artists – Original Sound of Burkino Fasso CD/2xLP (Mr. Bongo)
A collection of songs that pay tribute to a truly golden age of music; touching on folk, funk, blues, highlife, disco, psyche, Latin, rock and soul.
Various Artists – Served Like A Girl CD+DVD (We Are Here)
The official soundtrack to the powerful documentary film includes a broad catalog of never-before-heard songs by some of today s greatest female musical artists in the world including Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, P!nk, Natasha Bedingfield, LION, Lykke Li, Dorothy, Willa Amai, and more. Includes a copy of the documentary on DVD (which is also available on stand-alone DVD).
Walk The Moon – What If Nothing CD/2xLP+ MP3 (Sony)
Hailing from Cincinnati, Walk The Moon consists of Nicholas Petricca (singer/keyboardist), Kevin Ray (bassist), Eli Maiman (guitarist), and Sean Waugaman (drummer). In 2015, the band catapulted to stardom when their hit single “Shut Up and Dance” became a multi-platinum global smash. Interview Magazine proclaimed, “There’s something about Walk The Moon that’s absolutely out of this world. Their music is addictive, energetic, and fun.” Rolling Stone also raved about the band, “The precocious Ohioans stack melodies upon melodies in new-wave-infected songs that attack the ear like a starving Mike Tyson.” The group’s third studio effort, What If Nothing, is ushered in by lead single, “One Foot” which Billboard calls a “bouncy track that mixes a disco-like groove with a tribal chant chorus custom-made for shouting along to at shows…the perfect distillation of the band’s signature foot-stomping sound.” [Limited edition purple and white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Music From Nine Postcards CD/LP (Empire Of Sign)
Despite his status as a key figure in the history of Japanese ambient music, Hiroshi Yoshimura remains tragically under-known outside of his home country.
Yung Lean – Stranger CD (Kobalt)
Swedish rapper Yung Lean shot to fame after a series of YouTube clips recorded with friends went viral, but since then he’s pursued his own devoutly independent path. Recently appearing on Frank Ocean’s Blonde, the Stockholm songwriter is perfectly poised to reach fresh heights. [Vinyl edition due February 2.]
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Shooter Jennings – Live At Billy Bob’s Texas (Smith Music Group)
Shooter Jennings was the 48th artist recorded Live at Billy Bob’s Texas in November 2016. The show was part of the Billy Bob’s Texas 35th Anniversary celebration.
Served Like A Girl – DVD (We Are Hear)
Director Lysa Heslov’s powerful documentary follows several American women who were wounded in action and are now transitioning from soldier to civilian after serving their country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Struggling with PTSD, homelessness, broken families, divorce, serious illness, and military sexual abuse, these remarkable women harness humor to adapt to the emotional, social and economic challenges they face, through the Ms. Veteran America competition. Balancing beauty and brawn, they are guided by event founder and veteran Major Jas Boothe, using the competition to regain their identities and way of life that they sacrificed in foreign wars. It is an engaging and honest look at an often-unseen veteran reality.
Spock’s Beard – Snow – Live 2xBlu-ray (Metal Blade)
The prog band played 2002’s Snow (their last album with Neil Morse) live in 2016 at the annual Morsefest in Nashville, TN.
Sting – Live At The Olympia Paris DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)
Recorded on his 57th & 9th world tour. Sting is joined by a four-piece band including his longtime guitarist, Dominic Miller, Josh Freese (drums), Rufus Miller (guitar) and Percy Cardona (accordion) with backing vocals from Joe Sumner plus Diego Navaira & Jerry Fuentes of The Last Bandoleros.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
a-ha – MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice 3xLP (UMe)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. As part of the MTV Unplugged shows, a-ha performed 17 of their songs with completely new arrangements as well as two new premieres and two cover versions on vintage acoustic instruments.
Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love! 2xLP (Glassnote)
Released last December on CD – now available on vinyl. In an interview with Billboard, 33-year-old rapper Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) explained that the overall feel of his latest album, Awaken, My Love!, was sourced from childhood memories of listening to his father’s favorite music. “I remember listening to songs my dad would play – albums by the Isleys or Funkadelic – and not understanding the feeling I was feeling,” Gambino says. “I remember hearing a Funkadelic scream and being like, ‘Wow, that’s sexual and it’s scary.’ Not having a name for that, though; just having a feeling. That’s what made it great.” Gambino went on to say he approached Awaken as “an exercise in just feeling and tone.” He also summarized how some people felt in the 1970s and compares it to what’s going on around the world today. “It felt like people were trying to get out of their minds, with all the things that were happening – and that are happening right now,” Gambino said. “How do you start a global revolution, really? Is that possible with the systems we’ve set up? There’s something about that ’70s black music that felt like they were trying to start a revolution.”
Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers – Native Heart LP (Emmajava Recordings)
Released last June on CD – now available on vinyl. Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers are musical beacons of the Southwest fueled by witty and insightful lyrics, crunching guitar riffs, and a dynamic rhythm section.
Copeland – Beneath Medicine Tree [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (srcvinyl)
180gm vinyl reissue of the emo rock band’s debut album. Virtuosic vocals from frontman Aaron Marsh, at times pay homage to tenor legend Jeff Buckley with belting confidence, or gleam with elegance and passion in the vein of Coldplay’s Chris Martin. The songwriting is splendid, blending pop sensible melodies, lush harmonies, and
moody lyrics with ambient guitar leads and clever arrangements encasing everything that is beautiful.
Bob Dylan – Hard Rain [Reissue/1976] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming [Reissue/1979] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Bob Dylan – Shot Of Love [Reissue/1980] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Bob Dylan – Good As I Been To You [Reissue/1992] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Limited 150gm vinyl LP pressings.
Billie Eilish – Don’t Smile At Me 12” (Darkroom/Interscope)
Debut EP from the girl W Magazine calls “pop’s terrifying 15-year-old prodigy”. [Limited edition opaque red vinyl pressing available.]
Charlie Feathers – Best of The Sun Records Sessions LP (ORG Music)
This newly compiled collection of recordings from rockabilly pioneer Charlie Feathers showcases the influential Memphis performer’s work at Sun Records (and related labels). Feathers started his musical career as a session musician at Sun Studios under Sam Phillips. His theatrical, hiccupping vocal style inspired a later generation of rock vocalists, including Lux Interior of The Cramps and Tav Falco, who contributed extensive liner notes and photos for the insert of this release.
Neil Finn – Out Of Silence LP (Lester Records Ltd./Kobalt)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “The multi-talented Crowded House frontman can make the most sophisticated pop music sound like the easiest thing in the world. Perhaps the first thing the listener needs to do with Out Of Silence is forget about the circumstances in which it was created. For four consecutive Fridays in August, Neil Finn has live-streamed the making of his fourth solo album via his Facebook page, releasing the singles ‘More Than One Of You’ and ‘Second Nature’ on the 11th and 18th respectively. The recording was completed in a final four-hour session on the 25th. Clearly, this approach excited Finn and his fans. But when the process is forgotten, all that is left behind is the music itself: piano-based orchestral pop, with a minimum of drums and percussion. The album is compact at 35 minutes, and complex in its instrumentation and arrangements, scored by composer Victoria Kelly. It is beautiful on the surface and yet seemingly bottomless: these songs are too subtle and densely textured to take in all at once. Piece by piece, Neil Finn’s Out Of Silence comes together in simplistic beauty.”
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn – Echo In The Valley LP (Rounder)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With one eye on using the banjo to showcase America’s rich heritage and the other pulling the noble instrument from its most familiar arena into new and unique realms, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn’s second album is simultaneously familiar and wildly innovative. The results are fascinating, especially considering their strict rules for recording: all sounds must be created by the two of them, the only instruments used are banjos (they have seven between them, ranging from a ukulele to an upright bass banjo), and they must be able to perform every recorded song live. With the exception of a few restyled traditional tunes, all tracks on Echo In The Valley are originals, and are largely co-written – a different creative approach from their first album, where songs were mostly his or hers. New original tunes range from “Over The Divide,” a song inspired by Hans Breuer, who worked to ferry Syrian refugees to safety, to “Blooming Rose,” inspired by Native American voices and lamenting a continual distancing from nature, and “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” is an emphatic mantra for hard times.
Ben Folds – Supersunnyspeedgraphic, The LP [2006] 2xLP (Analog Spark)
First-time vinyl edition of Ben Folds’ 1996 remix compilation album.
Wesley Fuller – Inner City Dream LP (PIAS America)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The debut album from the Melbourne-based power pop boy wonder. Inner City Dream features twelve tracks of swirling psych, jangly pop and punchy, crunchy glam that show off Fuller’s broadening sonic palette and his progression as a writer and producer. RIYL: Tame Impala, The Sunchymes, Temples, Surfer Blood.
The Golliwogs – Fight Fire: The Complete Recordings 1964-1967 LP (Fantasy/Craft)
This comprehensive collection offers fans a unique opportunity to hear the artistic progression and apprenticeship of John and Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford in the three years leading up to the band’s transformation into Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Davy Graham – Folk, Blues & Beyond… [Reissue/1965] 2xLP (Creature Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. David Michael Gordon “Davey” Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was born in Leicestershire, to a Guyanese mother and a Scottish father. He learnt to play the piano and harmonica as a child and then took up the classical guitar at the age of 12. As a teenager, he was strongly influenced by the folk guitar player Steve Benbow, who had travelled widely and played a guitar style influenced by Moroccan music. Graham was one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British Folk Revival.
Hanging Garden – I Am Become LP (Lifeforce)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Heavy, doom-oriented metal from Finland.
Earl Hines – Tour de Force [Reissue/1972] LP (ORG Music)
Influential jazz pianist Earl Hines is in top form on this brilliant solo set, recorded in November of 1972 in New York City. The recording fines Hines near the peak of his creativity, taking wild chances with time and coming up with fresh new variations on these veteran standards.
Hippo Campus – Warm Glow 12” (Grand Jury)
One-sided three-track 12″ vinyl EP with an etched B-side.
Hoops – Tapes #1-3 2xLP (Fat Possum)
“Charming and eminently listenable lo-fi guitar pop.” – Gorilla vs Bear
Niall Horan – Flicker LP (Capitol)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Debut solo album from the One Direction vocalist.
Eric Johnson – Live From Austin, TX 2xLP (New West)
The guitarist’s 1988 appearance on Austin City Limits – available for the first time on vinyl.
Kimock – Satellite City LP (MRI Associated)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Satellite City represents a remarkable evolution for Steve Kimock, long known as a brilliant psychedelic improvisational guitarist. Building on a realm of creativity unleashed by his recent solo album, Last Danger of Frost, he assembled Kimock the band featuring his son John Morgan Kimock on drums, his life-long bass-playing partner Bobby Vega, and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Leslie Mendelson. Together they have catalyzed an incandescent level of song composition that explores a variety of territories.
The Kinks – Sleepwalker [Reissue/1977] LP (Friday Music)
180gm audiophile colored vinyl pressing in a gatefold sleeve with poster.
Sondre Lerche – Pleasure LP+MP3 (Analog Spark)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. “For more than a decade, Norwegian-turned-New-Yorker Sondre Lerche explored confessional singer/songwriter reveries, Burt Bacharach-tinted chamber pop and the kitchen-sink gamut of country/blues/psych-folk, much of it with a jazzy undertone. With 2014’s Please, Lerche channeled his inner David Byrne and fully connected with his long simmering love of ’80s synth pop and Brazilian samba on a set of songs that addressed the end of his marriage. Pleasure finds Lerche similarly searching for danceable solutions, once again setting his irresistibly twisted lyric pretzels (“I’ve got so much love to give/So many graves to dig” or “I’m always watching/Call it voyeurism or masochism, a coward’s distance”) to drum machinery, Saturday-night fever sweats and twitchy ‘80s Frankie/Duran2/Soft Cell moves. The beauty of Pleasure’s vintage danceteria lies in its sharp 21st-century focus and Lerche’s consistently reliable songwriting skills, which have proven adaptable to every genre in which he’s dabbled.” – Magnet
Los Panky’s – Complete Recordings LP (Munster)
Los Panky’s were a short-lived group from the second wave of Mexican teen garage rock of the 1960s. All recordings gathered here were released circa 1966.
Mini Dresses – Mini Dresses LP (Joy Void)
Mini Dresses has been Boston’s best kept secret for years. Over a slew of EPs and singles mostly recorded at home on laptops, the band has quietly crafted an impressive catalog of dreamy indie pop songs. Limited colored vinyl pressing.
Monster Movie – Transistor [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Graveface)
Vinyl reissue of the 2003 album from the London-based shoegaze outfit. This pressing includes a bonus LP side of covers from Camera Shy, Stargazer Lilies, New Fumes and more.
Morphine – Live At The Warfield 1997 LP (Run Out Groove)
Archive live release includes unreleased recordings found in their vault from an incredible live performance at the Warfield in San Francisco, CA, during Morphine’s Like Swimming tour in 1997. Limited double 180gm vinyl LP pressing in a gatefold tip-on jacket.
Nickelback – Feed The Machine LP (BMG)
Released last June on CD – now available on vinyl. “The band that’s the butt of the music world’s jokes, Nickelback, recently dropped a new single called ‘Feed The Machine’, and ever since then the song has been feeding listeners’ insecurities about their own music tastes. ‘Feed The Machine’ is packing some metal-influenced guitar riffs and Muse-y lyrics, and while the band are still clearly trying to sound more like their beloved Metallica, they’ve captured the attention of people who wouldn’t normally be too keen on Nickelback music, and it’s led to some strong reactions: “Twitter confession: I listened to the new Nickelback, and, um… it’s good. Nickelback is good. I like the new Nickelback. I’m a monster;’ ‘New Nickelback is good, new James Blunt is good, I had a good run as a respectable music critic, I have no regrets;’ ‘Okay, I’ll concede – the new Nickelback track is really good.’”
No Doubt – No Doubt [Reissue/1992] LP (Interscope)
Limited 180gm vinyl reissue of the alt-rock/ska band’s debut album.
The Pack A.D. – Dollhouse LP (Cadence Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Pack A.D. aren’t ones to wait. When their songs kick off, you’re immediately met with a one-two punch of searing guitar riffs and pulverizing drums, a signature symbiosis of raucous garage-rock that singer/guitarist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller have perfected over the past decade. With their new release, Dollhouse, the band is eager to follow up last year’s critically-acclaimed Positive Thinking with urgent thoughts on the current climate of the world
Pearl Jam – Ten [Reissue/1991] LP (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Light Years b/w Soon Forget [Reissue/2000] 7” (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Binaural [Reissue/2000] 2xLP (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Nothing As It Seems b/w Insignificance [Reissue/2000] 7” (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Riot Act [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Save You b/w Other Side [Reissue/2002] 7” (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Bu$hleaguer b/w Love Boat Captain [Reissue/2002] 7” (Epic)
Pearl Jam – I Am Mine b/w Down [Reissue/2002] 7” (Epic)
Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam [Reissue/2006] 2xLP (Epic)
Pearl Jam – World Wide Suicide b/w Life Wasted [Reissue/2006] 7” (Epic)
Limited vinyl reissues of albums one and six through eight and their associated singles.
Petal – Comfort 7” (Run For Cover)
The latest release from Petal, the long-running project of Pennsylvania song-writer Kiley Lotz, is a succinct collection of some of the most intimate songs she’s ever written.
Power Trip – Nightmare Logic LP (Southern Lord)
Limited picture disc pressing. Nightmare Logic is the second crushing, soul mangling, neck bustin’ album from these Texas hardcore thrashers. Power Trip’s raw energy, musical proficiency, perfect song structure, rich tones, fierce riffs, persecution, and collective attitude have seeded them as one of the most prolific underground staples in the US metal, punk, and hardcore scenes.
Pharoah Sanders – Tauhid [Reissue/1969] LP (Anthology Recordings)
Pharoah Sanders – Jewels Of Thought [Reissue/1969] LP (Anthology Recordings)
Pharoah Sanders – Summun Bukmun Umyun – Deaf Dumb Blind Umyun [Reissue/1970] LP (Anthology Recordings)
A graduate of the mid-1960s ensembles of John Coltrane, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders has been described as “probably the best tenor player in the world” by Ornette Coleman and was a major figure in the development of free jazz.
Shark Move – Ghede Chokra’s [Reissue/1971] LP (Outer Battery)
A slab of raging psych straight out of early ‘70s Indonesia.
Slothrust – Show Me How You Want It To Be 12” (Dangerbird)
Blistering rock that shape-shifts and rises to any challenge. Slothrust, new transplants to the west coast, celebrate roots both old and new with their new EP, a collection of unexpected and inventive takes on classics by icons as diverse as Al Green and Britney Spears, Marcy Playground and Louis Armstrong.
Ebo Taylor and The Pelikans – Ebo Taylor and The Pelikans LP (Mr. Bongo)
Ebo Taylor is a legendary guitarist, composer, arranger and producer from Accra, Ghana. A leading light of Ghanaian music since the 1960’s, Taylor is still touring and recording, and at the age of 80. For this album (originally released in the ‘70s – exact year unknown), Ebo joined forces with 12-piece band ‘The Pelikans’ – from the Cape Coast region of Ghana – led by Bessa Simmona, with rhythm guitarist Fifi Orleans Lindsay. A genuine ‘holy-grail’ of Ghanaian music and one of Ebo’s most sought-after.
Tennis – We Can Die Happy 12” (Mutually Detrimental)
The Husband-and-wife pop-rock duo follow-up their critically-acclaimed 2017 album Yours Conditionally with a new 5-track EP.
Bryson Tiller – True To Self 2xLP+MP3 (RCA)
Released last summer on CD – now available on colored vinyl. Sophomore album from the R&B singer/songwriter.
Twink – Think Pink [Reissue/1970] LP (MRI Associated)
First ever vinyl release of the original 1969 mono mix of this psychedelic masterpiece by Twink (Tomorrow/Pretty Things/Pink Fairies etc), which was prepared before the more widely known stereo mix, and originally intended for release as part of Decca Records’ Nova series.
Vandenberg’s Moonkings – MKII LP+MP3 (Mascot)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Four years after Adrian Vandenberg made a spectacular comeback with Vandenberg’s Moonkings the band returns with a sophomore album. Once again the four-piece band manages to create a perfect mix of vintage ‘70s hard rock and current styles of heavy rock.
Various Artists – Tokyo Flashback [Reissue/1991] LP (Black Editions)
Vinyl reissue of the legendary 1991 compilation that defined the Tokyo psychedelic movement and first brought it to the outside world.
Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps – Blue Jean Bop [Reissue/1956] LP (Capitol)
Vinyl reissue of the debut album of Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, featuring rock ‘n’ roll music as well as covers of pop standards.
Jessie Ware – Glasshouse 2xLP (Interscope)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. The British neo-soul singer follows-up 2014’s critically acclaimed Tough Love and 2012’s Mercury Music Prize-nominated Devotion with her third studio album.
Warzone – Cause For Alarm [Reissue/1995] 12” (Victory)
Warzone – Lower East Side [Reissue/1996] LP (Victory)
Classic hardcore from Victory repressed on colored vinyl.
Muddy Waters – The Best Of Muddy Waters [Reissue/1957] LP (Geffen)
On vinyl for the first time in decades, this was Muddy’ Waters’ first, and Chess Records’ third, LP release, collecting his hit singles for the label to that point.
Lucinda Williams – This Sweet Old World 2xLP (Highway 20)
Standard black double-vinyl edition. Produced by Lucinda Williams and Tom Overby, This Sweet Old World – recorded to mark the 25th anniversary of the original 1992 album Sweet Old World – features all-new renditions of the record’s 12 songs, some of which have been dramatically rearranged and rewritten.
Yautja – Dead Soil 12” (Anticorp)
Etched vinyl pressing of an EP of out-of-print and unreleased recordings, remastered and remixed, by one of Nashville’s hardest working metal bands.
Chris Young – Losing Sleep LP (RCA)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Seventh studio release from the country music singer-songwriter.
Cassettes:
Casino Versus Japan – Whole Numbers Play The Basics [2002] (Carpark)
Casino Versus Japan’s last proper (in the traditional sense) album from 2002 is reissued on cassette. This edition features alternate artwork and the album’s vinyl-only track-sequence which includes the non-CD track “Echo Counting.”
Four Tet – New Energy (Temporary Residence)
Four Tet expands on the new age meditations of his recent singles with a freshly focused New Energy. Fully formed within the endlessly possible creative confines of Ableton Live, New Energy follows on from 2015’s Morning / Evening and features contributions from Tom Baker and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Mixing his usual classic trip-hop leanings with a digitized melodic and at times melancholic edge, New Energy neatly pulls together the lighter ends of Beautiful Rewind’s house moves and Morning / Evening‘s lush atmospherics.
Gregg Kowalsky – L’Orange L’Orange (Mexican Summer)
Gregg Kowalsky came to prominence with his Tape Chants album and live performance, a piece utilizing the manipulation of various tape machines throughout a space, released on Kranky and performed at Marfa Myths 2015. With L’Orange L’Orange, Kowalsky has carved the droning meditations of Tape Chants into a gorgeous slice of ambiance, an album as engaging as it is calming, seven tracks crashing forward and rolling back into themselves.
Mini Dresses – Mini Dresses (Joy Void)
Mini Dresses has been Boston’s best kept secret for years. Over a slew of EPs and singles mostly recorded at home on laptops, the band has quietly crafted an impressive catalog of dreamy indie pop songs.
Quicksand – Interiors (Epitaph)
New York City post-hardcore legends Quicksand return with Interiors, their first album in 22 years.
Holiday:
Fantasia – Christmas After Midnight LP (Concord)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. Fantasia’s first-ever Christmas recording.
Chris Isaak – Christmas Live On Soundstage CD+DVD (BMG)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Captured live at the Soundstage studios in Chicago, this collection of holiday standards features such jovial favorites as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “White Christmas,” “Chestnuts,” and “Mele Kalikimaka.” But that’s not all, because Isaac and the band also take the time to craft such original holiday gems as “Washington Square” and “Hey Santa.” In addition to being backed up by his long-time band, Isaac is also joined in the studio by such special guests as Brian McKnight, Michael Buble, and Stevie Nicks.
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