New Releases for January 5, 2018

CDs + Vinyl:

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs [Reissue/2010] CD (Sony)

Arcade Fire’s third album is back in-print on CD. [Arcade Fire’s first three albums have all been recently reissued on vinyl.]

Bola – D.E.G. CD/2xLP (Skam)

Released last May and quickly sold-out – repressed on CD and vinyl. Skam Records’ most elusive artist Bola returns with an enticing new album – the first movement from Darrell Fitton’s near mythical project since his Kroungrine LP a decade ago.

Diamond Ortiz – Tiz Zop Diz Zown CD (Needle To The Groove)

West Coast funkster Diamond Ortiz returns with a collection of unreleased songs. Thought to be just a Bandcamp release from the summer of 2017, Ortiz dug into the archives to share some of his laidback hip-hop and g-funk style tracks, but with his signature modern vocoder slap sound.

Lil Pump – Lil Pump CD (WB)

Debut album from the 16-year-old South Florida sonic fireplug. Features guest appearances by Smokepurpp, Lil Yachty, Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, 2 Chainz, and Rick Ross).

Shining – X – Varg Utan Flock CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

Shining, led by lightning rod frontman Niklas Kvarforth, enter their third decade with the epic new album X – Varg Utan Flock (“Wolf Without A Pack”). As is their wont, Shining use black metal as a foundation upon which to build epic and radical songs that smash all genre convention.

Summoning – With Doom We Come CD/LP (Napalm)

“Sagas and myths culled from J.R.R. Tolkien’s vast universe are the black blood that courses through Summoning’s veins, and With Doom We Come the ultimate soundtrack to a fantastic journey.”

Watain – Trident Wolf Eclipse CD/LP (Century Media)

Sixth studio album from one of Sweden’s greatest and most notorious black metal bands – another prime collection of wild, evil, lawless and relentless Satanic black metal. [Limited 180gm red colored vinyl pressing also available.]

This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:

Horace Andy – Good Vibes [Reissue/1997] LP (VP)

Recently reissued on CD – now available on vinyl. Ten tough disco mixes – vocal and dub – with Horace at the peak of his late ‘70s form.

Michael Banabila – Trespassing 2xLP (Séance Center)

Trespassing is a compilation focusing on Dutch electronic artist Michel Banabila’s incursions into otherworldly and imagined realms. LP One is a compilation of works spanning over 20 years that acts as a bridge between his earliest work and his contemporary practice. LP Two is a reissue of his early masterpiece Marilli, a highly sought-after album that acts as both an LSD inspired DIY tribute to Byrne and Eno’s My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts and a youthful exploration of Banabila’s personal background and his experience as a squatter in Amsterdam in the early 80s.

A Cat Called Fritz – Vertical Iris 2xLP (Hhv.De)

A Cat Called Fritz is back on another journey through space and sound. His sample-based trademark productions, using crispy samples and heavy drums, again lay the foundation for an all-star cast of feature guests on the mic including like-minded cats like Sach of The Nonce, Audessey, Glad2Mecha, Black Josh, Pete Flux, Pseudo Slang and others.

Marty Baller –Baller Nation LP (Omerta Inc.)

A$AP Mob affiliate Marty Baller, started his career out as A$AP Ferg’s hype man, before becoming a serious solo artistic his own right. Baller Nation is Marty’s second mixtape, following 2016’s ‘Marty G Raw.’ The concise 10 track tape sees Marty upping the stakes, with confident lyrics, big trap beats and an all start features list including A$AP FERG, Rich The Kid, Rob $tone and Smooky Margeilaa. Limited 180gm white vinyl LP pressing housed in a high-quality matte finish jacket with original artwork.

David Bowie – Beauty And The Beast b/w Blackout (Live) 7” (Rhino/Parlophone)

Limited edition 7” picture disc vinyl pressing featuring a previously unreleased live version of the Heroes album track “Blackout” recorded on the 16th May, 1978 at the Deutschlandhalle, Berlin. Originally released in the UK in January 1978 (and remastered in 2017), “Beauty And The Beast” was the second single to be taken from Heroes.

Chapel – Sunday Brunch LP+MP3 (Rise)

A thens, Georgia’s Chapel (featuring Carter Hardin of Nightmares and Kortney Grinwis of Favorite Weapon) may be a new name in the indie pop world, but they’re quickly creating a stir. The duo has already toured with the likes of Pierce The Veil, Sum 41 and Waterparks and their first three singles were met with universal acclaim. Now they’re ready to take the next step with their Rise Records debut EP Sunday Brunch which was recorded with Issues frontman Tyler Carter and features seven catchy and energetic tracks. Limited vinyl picture disc pressing.

Dissection – The Somberlain [Reissue/1993] LP (Black Lodge)

Vinyl reissue of the debut album by Swedish black metal band.

DJ Harrison – Rule The World & I’m From Virginia b/w Brown Water 7” (Stones Throw)

The son of a radio DJ who introduced him to the world of record collecting, DJ Harrison finds himself inspired by local musicians in the Richmond scene that’s as diverse and nonexclusive as they come. Among rappers, producers, punks and bluegrass bands, he falls within reach of an expansive pool of musicians to collaborate with. He lives and works in Jellowstone, a house turned recording compound occupied by his band mates in Butcher Brown, a “garage punk jazz funk” group.

Kim Byoung Duk – Experiment No. X LP (Daehan Electronics)

Growing up in the bustling port city of Busan and running his own record shop there from the late ’70s, Kim Byoung Duk had a front-row seat to the finest in foreign record imports and a taste for the psychedelic that naturally evolved into spiritual, ambient and avant-garde sounds. His growing interest in Tao philosophy and the meditative music that accompanied it provided a fertile environment for his audio imagination. Unhampered by limited access to musical gear, he made use of a wide assortment of self-sourced pots of various sizes and curvature, cymbals, wooden sculpted flutes and percussion tools-each chosen for its unique harmonic vibration-to create an entirely new and unique body of work. Experiment No. X retraces the oeuvre of Kim Byoung Duk, assembling tracks from Experiment No. 2, Pot Concerto and New Trilogy, illustrating a meditative journey from the freeness of the Tao sound, in the borders of ambient music and the avant-garde, to later groove-oriented jams which introduce rhythmic elements to the palate.

First Touch x Bybo Funk – Stardust LP (Omega Supreme)

Stardust is a magical collaboration of new music from Germany’s tiptop funk duo First Touch that combine forces with native master blaster Bybo Funk. This four-song up-tempo EP brings charismatic chord arrangements along with sophisticated and infectious basslines together for cosmic dance floor boogie.

Peter Hook / Ministry – Dancing Madly Backwards 12” (Cleopatra)

Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order) and industrial legends Ministry recreate a stone cold ’70s rock classic, Captain Beyond’s “Dancing Madly Backwards!” The original Captain Beyond version of the song is available on their self-titled1972 album. Limited colored vinyl pressing.

Hoops – Tapes #1-3 2xLP (Fat Possum)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Indiana’s Hoops was born in frontman Drew Auscherman’s teenage bedroom as a solo ambient and beat-driven project à la Oneohtrix Point Never’s Replica. Auscherman named the band after the hoop houses at the nursery where he worked. Eventually he corralled a few of his friends to flesh out his songs, and the music inevitably shifted toward something new: more melodic, more guitar-driven, more extroverted. Fast forward to 2014, Hoops became a fully formed quartet. Since then, Hoops have released three cassette tapes, a self-titled EP (2016) and full-length debut Routines (2017).

Kansas – Leftoverture Live & Beyond 4xLP+2xCD (Inside Out U.S.)

Recently released on CD – now available as a Deluxe vinyl edition. New live album from America’s legendary progressive rock band features nineteen songs selected from twelve shows recorded during Kansas’s spring 2017 Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour. The set list includes classic hits, deep cuts, new songs from 2016’s studio album The Prelude Implicit and culminates with the band’s sextuple-platinum breakthrough album, 1976’s Leftoverture, performed in its entirety. Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing also available.

Allan Kingdom – Lines LP (Omerta Inc.)

A unique young artist, taking a refreshing stance to the Hip-Hop genre in 2017, Allan’s sound is one that draws from early Kanye West and Kid Cudi. Limited 180gm blue colored vinyl pressing housed in a high-quality matte finish jacket.

Dave Matthews / Tim Reynolds – Live At Luther College [Reissue/1999] 4xLP+MP3 (RCA)

On February 6, 1996, Dave Matthews and guitarist Tim Reynolds played an intimate set at Iowa’s Luther College, wowing fans with acoustic arrangements of Dave Matthews Band songs. The two hour-plus set included songs that would appear on that year’s Crash, along with fan favorites “Granny” and “Deed Is Done” otherwise unreleased at the time of the 1999 debut of the Live At Luther College CD.

Suzanne Menzel – Goodbyes & Beginnings [Reissue/1981] LP (Frederiksberg)

This sought-after rarity presents a blend of ambient, new-age, ’60s-inspired folk music. The melancholic lyrics of singer/songwriter Suzanne Menzel are transformed by Danish new-age pioneer, Klaus Schønning’s, futuristic soundscape. Schønning not only produced Goodbyes and Beginnings, Menzel also credits him as giving her the artistic courage to self-release her first and only album.

Milo – Who Told You to Think??!!?!?!?! CD (Ruby Yacht)

Released last August on CD – now available on vinyl. Latest release from the iconoclastic East Coast rapper. Found in gardens of intricate tones and soulfully abstract beats, vortexes of unique meaning spiral from Milo’s pen. The production elevates the lyricism and is unique from track to track, supplied with the backdrop of varying samples, harp, flute, keys, guitar, electric bass, violin, synth, and many other instrumental elements.

Osage – Algorhythm 12” (Bastard Jazz)

Osage (pronounced Oh-Sage) is the electronic music making alter ego of DJ/producer Lil’ Dave, a veteran DJ on the Philadelphia nightclub scene, a member of the highly respected DJ crew Illvibe Collective and the co-host of the internationally known broadcast Eavesdrop Radio. The Osage sound is an amalgamation of musical influences such as deep house, samba, African rhythms, futuristic R&B, boogie, UK garage, salsa, broken beat, and soul.

Red Death – Formidable Darkness LP (Triple B.)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “Red Death has been heirs to the proudest of traditions in the heavy-music underground, and with Formidable Darkness they’ve fulfilled their immense promise — just in time for the world’s ignominious end.”

Yasuaki Shimizu – Kakashi [Reissue/1982] LP (Palto Flats)

Originally released in 1982, Kakashi is another high-water mark in the 1980’s Japanese underground. This album, which has gathered cult status in recent years, is the project of musical visionary Yasuaki Shimizu, and considered to be a highlight of his solo career. Shimizu was the bandleader of Mariah, who also saw their album Utakata No Hibi reissued by Palto Flats in 2015. Kakashi offers a similar blend of saxophone experimentations, jazz fusion and ambient dub excursions. Since the ’70s Yasuaki has collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Julee Cruise, and Van Dyke Parks among others.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Live In 1960 LP (ORG Music)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm & blues and rock & roll audiences, later being referred to as “the original soul sister” and “the godmother of rock & roll”. This live recording from 1960 has never been available on vinyl.

Subterranean Masquerade – Vagabond LP (ViciSolum Productions)

Released last September on CD – now available on vinyl. New release from the progressive metal band.

Triumph – Allied Forces [Reissue/1981] LP (Round Hill)

Limited gold colored vinyl reissue of the Canadian hard rock power trio’s fifth album.

Neil Young + Promise Of The Real – The Visitor 2xLP (Reprise)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. When Neil Young entered Shangri La Studio with the band Promise Of The Real a few months ago, there were a lot of images and feelings careening around his soul. The country was heading in a direction Young had never seen, even though up until then he thought he’d seen it all. But something different was happening, and it had gotten inside his music. . By the end of the recording sessions, he knew he’d made his most diverse album going all the way back to Harvest in 1972, when America was also in the throes of becoming unhinged. Neil Young didn’t blink then, and he is not blinking now.