April Listening Station & Social Media Titles Released This Week:
The Boomtown Rats – Citizens Of Boomtown CD/LP (BMG)
The Boomtown Rats – Bob Geldof on vocals, Pete Briquette on bass, Simon Crowe on drums and Garry Roberts on guitar – mark 2020 (The Year Of The Rat) with the release of Citizens Of Boomtown, their first new studio album since 1984. The record is ushered in by the beautifully sleazy rocker “Trash Glam Baby”. So why a new record? “Because that’s what bands do. They make records. Songwriters write songs. There’s so much to respond to in this new and different febrile atmosphere that we live in. People forget we took our name from Woody Guthrie, the great musical activist. I think The Boomtown Rats have always shown that rock ‘n’ roll is a form of musical activism. The music has intent and purpose even if that is just the sound, about boy/girl, nothing particularly at all, everything in general, or pointed polemical…. whatever.” Does the world need another Boomtown Rats record? “I couldn’t give a shite,” says Geldof. “We do, and that’s enough.”
Circles Around The Sun – Circles Around The Sun CD/2xLP (The Royal Potato Family)
Circles Around The Sun explore new horizons on the band’s new double album, Let It Wander, the first new music from the quartet since their acclaimed 2015 debut, Interludes For The Dead. Originally, the band – guitarist Neal Casal, keyboardist Adam MacDougall (his bandmate in the Chris Robinson Brotherhood), bassist Dan Horne and drummer Mark Levy – were only supposed to record some Grateful Dead-influenced instrumentals to be played during the set breaks at the Dead’s Fare Thee Well concerts. But the response was so positive, and they were having so much fun making music together, that they all agreed to keep it going. Let It Wander signals a new beginning for Circles Around The Sun as they move beyond their original musical mandate of evoking the spirit of the Dead and fully embrace their own personality.
Deap Lips – Deap Lips CD/LP (Cooking Vinyl)
Deap Lips is Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd from Oklahoma psych-heroes The Flaming Lips and Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards from the Los Angeles, California rock & roll duo Deap Vally. This special collaboration came together after a friendship formed between the two bands. Deap Vally have spent several years touring the world with the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Muse and Red Hot Chili Peppers and played festivals such as Glastonbury and Bonnaroo. Their last album FEMEJISM was released to much critical acclaim. The Flaming Lips, long considered one of the most important alternative rock bands of all time, winning multiple Grammys and selling millions worldwide, released their latest The Soft Bulletin: Live At Red Rocks (feat. The Colorado Symphony & André de Ridder) last November. [Limited indie store exclusive colored vinyl pressing available.]
The Districts – You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere CD/LP (Fat Possum)
While You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere builds on preceding albums, it takes an ambitious leap to a new level, exhibiting a widened sense of experimentation and expansiveness at its heart. There’s Rhodes, Mellotron, strings, samples, drum machines, tape loops, Wurlitzer, ambient swells, piano, synthesizers; bandleader Rob Grote lists 12 instruments next to his name alone. Pulling from the propulsive Popular Manipulations, the jagged indie rock of 2015’s A Flourish And A Spoil, and the rootsy vibe of their 2012 debut, Telephone, the band here followed their creative instincts every step of the way, resulting in their most sophisticated and adventurous record to date. [Limited indie store exclusive colored vinyl pressing available.]
Sam Doores – Sam Doores CD/LP (New West)
“Recording in a foreign environment like Berlin, I was inspired to experiment with more cinematic, psychedelic sounds,” says Sam Doores, “but my love for old-school New Orleans R&B, Memphis soul & rock ‘n’ roll, Detroit Motown & gospel, doo-wop, early blues & folk music will probably always bleed into whatever I do. Recording this album was an opportunity to explore the space between these worlds.” With his captivating self-titled debut, Doores has done precisely that. Written on-and-off over the course of several years, the collection is classic and contemporary all at once, blending traditional southern roots with adventurous sonic landscapes as it reckons with heartache and loss, love and gratitude, fresh starts and, ultimately, a whole lotta change. The performances are infectious in their ease, simple on the surface but built on foundations of deep emotional and harmonic complexity that belie their amiable exteriors.
The Garden – Kiss My Super Bowl Ring CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Though primarily self-produced by twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, The Garden’s fourth album Kiss My Super Bowl Ring includes tracks co-produced by Dylan Brady, and Wharfwit, along with tracks featuring Ariel Pink, Khalif Jones (aka Le1f) and even a snippet from Carrot Top. “The chaotic and experimental punk-ish duo aren’t afraid to throw genres and labels out the window on Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, but they’re also focused more on blatant honesty and a lack of sugarcoating than they ever have been before. “The new record is about establishing who we are a little bit more,” Wyatt said. “All of the songs that we wrote are based off of personal experiences and our mindset — hence the name Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, which is another way to say ‘kiss my ass’ because we just want to do what we want to do. We’ve always been doing what we want to do — and we’ve experimented a lot musically, so we’ve never just had one sound — but I think sometimes it’s hard to be completely and brutally honest with lyrics and stuff like that.”
Sam Gendel – Satin Doll CD/LP (Nonesuch)
Sam Gendel’s new album, Satin Doll, is a futuristic homage to historical jazz. It features three musicians – Gendel on saxophone, Gabe Noel on electric bass, and Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion – engaging in simultaneous synchronized sonic construction/deconstruction of jazz standards, including Miles Davis’ “Freddie Freeloader”, Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, and Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll”. Gendel is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes significant collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Blake Mills, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and Inc. No World. Gendel’s previous discography includes the critically praised Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar with bassist Sam Wilkes and 4444.
Grouplove – Healer CD/LP (Atlantic)
Grouplove kicked off 2020 with their anarchistic, high-energy new single “Deleter”, and show no signs of slowing down with their fourth studio album, Healer. The Los Angeles based five-piece has spent the past two years writing and recording their most visceral and cathartic songs to date, all while experiencing and bearing witness to a great deal of change, trauma, and growth. From recording in El Paso within eyeshot of the border during the height of the family separation crisis, to brain surgery for frontwoman Hannah Hooper, to immersing themselves in new creative spaces with producers Dave Sitek and Malay – their new album represents a re-birth and a full-circle return to their initial idealism. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Niall Horan – Heartbreak Weather CD (Capitol)
Irish singer/and songwriter and former One Direction member Niall Horan follows-up his 2017 Flicker with the highly-anticipated sophomore release, Heartbreak Weather. Featuring his new single “No Judgement” and uptempo number “Nice To Meet Ya”, this body of work showcases his unique musicianship and magnetic vocal range. “When I listen to albums, I like to listen to them start to finish. With Heartbreak Weather, I wanted to tell the story that was in my head, hopefully lead people down the storytelling lane of an album track listing versus just ‘I’m gonna skip to the next one,’” explains Horan. “I was trying to think how I could write a different album than the usual…I wanted to write songs from different sides or from someone else looking in.” [Vinyl edition due April 17.]
Early James – Singing For My Supper CD/LP (Nonesuch)
Early James, an Alabama native and the latest signing to Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound roster, releases his debut album, Singing For My Supper. The album spans hard-charging blues, wistful folk, and ages-old pop crooning, anchored by the singer’s voice that oscillates from gravel-gruff shout to a honey-smooth whisper. James’ inspirations run from Fiona Apple and Tom Waits to the Southern Gothic poets, as heard in the album’s darker themes and in the wry humor with which he writes about them. Early James’ debut features ten wide-ranging songs, co-produced by Auerbach and David “Fergie” Ferguson, is full of world-weary wisdom. “Blue Pill Blues” details a period when James, who was being treated for depression, quit his antipsychotic medication cold turkey. “High Horse” is a lament of the ways his adolescent excitement faded with the arrival of the vices of adulthood, while “Easter Eggs” finds the songwriter coming to terms with some of the darker sides of his heredity.
Joywave – Possession LP (Hollywood)
Weaving blissed-out synths and unstoppable dancefloor grooves with euphoric hooks, exuberant wit, and uncommon emotional depth, Rochester, NY-based band Joywave has spent much of the past decade holding an aural mirror to society, concocting a distinctively modern approach towards pop music that is both organic and synthetic, much like our own day-to-day lives. Continuing with the band’s creative use of noteworthy samples and field recordings, Possession is woven together with audio from Voyager’s Golden Record (launched by NASA in 1977).
Porches – Ricky Music CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
On 2016’s Pool, Porches’ Aaron Maine made a notable change in his musical outlook and practice. The collapsible guitars and home-recorded dynamics of his earlier work were replaced with some serious beat-making skills and a new groove was weaved through the atmosphere of his musical territory: a thought-filled, late night kind of place, one that maybe doesn’t host a party too often, but one that also knows how to put on a very real good time if pressed to do so. Since then, The House (2018) and, now, Ricky Music have added further layers of emotion and sophistication to his unique cracked-glass pop. Featuring contributions from Zsela, and Dev Hynes, and with co-production by Jacob Portrait, Ricky Music delivers 11 emotionally open, cracked-glass pop songs.
Rookie – Rookie CD/LP+MP3 (Bloodshot)
Rookie is six matching jumpsuit-clad, shaggy-haired friends from Chicago who play rock ‘n’ roll that’s more at home next to their parents’ battered LPs than on their friends’ streaming playlists. The band’s self-titled debut full-length album deftly reformats the classic rock landscape with blowtorch hooks, enthralling harmonies, evocative touches of cosmic country, and distinctively indie-minded songwriting. Rookie’s modern take on timeless American rock ‘n’ roll pulls from all corners of the sonic map; it’s familiar but fresh, lived-in but blown-out. It’s the ‘70s/’80s pop-rock sheen of recent tour-mates Cheap Trick; three-minute precision songwriting of Big Star; loose Neil Young Americana; and the hazy, psych-flavored boogie of The Allman Brothers and Thin Lizzy.
Shabaka and The Ancestors – We Are Sent Here By History CD (Impulse!/Verve)
Spiritual jazz pacesetters Shabaka & the Ancestors, led by Shabaka Hutchings, release their sophomore album, We Are Sent Here By History. It’s the follow-up to their 2016 breakout Wisdom Of Elders, which established them as leading lights in the contemporary jazz scene. Says Hutchings: “We Are Sent Here By History is a meditation on the fact of our coming extinction as a species. It is a reflection from the ruins, from the burning. A questioning of the steps to be taken in preparation for our transition individually and societally if the end is to be seen as anything but a tragic defeat. For those lives lost and cultures dismantled by centuries of western expansionism, capitalist thought and white supremacist structural hegemony the end days have long been heralded as present with this world experienced as an embodiment of a living purgatory.” [Vinyl edition due April 24.]
Caitlyn Smith – Supernova CD/LP (SME Nashville/Monument)
With the release of her 2018 debut, Starfire, Caitlyn Smith established herself as one of the brightest rising stars in Nashville, TN with finely etched songwriting and a soulful voice. Now, with the follow-up, Supernova, the singer-songwriter has upped the ante, delivering a set of songs that are bigger, bolder, and more powerful sonically and lyrically. “I had years to collect songs for the first album,” says Smith. “This time I was much more focused going in. I had a better idea of what I wanted to create.” Growing up in the small town of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Smith was drawn to music at a young age. After making three albums before she turned 19, she moved to Nashville, where she became one of the town’s most celebrated songwriters; her compositions were recorded by artists from James Bay to Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton to John Legend and Meghan Trainor. That journey, and her ultimate triumph, formed the backbone of Starfire. With Supernova, Smith advances the story, grappling with life as a touring artist, a wife, and a mother of two young children.
Ultraísta – Sister CD/LP (Partisan)
Sister, Ultraísta first new album since their 2012 debut Tin King, is a collection that defies easy categorization and is far more than just the sum of its remarkable parts with production from Grammy-winning producer/engineer/musician Nigel Godrich, best known for his two decades helming Radiohead’s groundbreaking studio output. The album also includes celebrated drummer Joey Waronker, who’s toured and recorded with everyone from R.E.M. and Beck to Roger Waters and Elliott Smith, and singer Bettinson, an acclaimed solo artist whose work combines synth-driven electropop and dreamy vocal looping.
CDs + Vinyl:
Afu-Ra – Urban Chemistry CD/LP (X-Ray Production)
Afu-Ra comes back with the project Urban Chemistry mixing hip-hop, reggae and soul, produced by Digital Cut with guest contributions from Sizzla, Jah Mason, Keny Arkana, Lord Kossity, Big Shug and more.
Aronious – Perspicacity CD/LP (The Artisan Era)
Formed in Green Bay in 2011, Aronious set out to play crushing progressive death metal. Perspicacity is there debut album.
Afterbirth – Four Dimensional Flesh CD/LP (Unique Leader)
Mind bending, nightmarish death metal at its brutal, ugly finest.
black tape for a blue girl – Ashes In The Brittle Air [Reissue/1989] 2xCD/LP (Projekt)
Ashes In The Brittle Air contains angst and trepidation in the lyrics yet also beauty and hopeful melancholia in the mood and music. It’s an album of existential, ethereal, and gothic musings. [CD contains 21 bonus tracks: demos, acapella, plus 6 never-before-released tracks. Vinyl LP contains the 11-track remastered album.]
Conny Bloom – Game! Set! Bloom! CD/LP (SPV)
One of the most charismatic frontman in Swedish rock music, Conny Bloom has an unmistakable and natural rock star swagger, yet at the same time he’s a salt of the earth kind of guy.
The Bombpops – Death In Venice Beach CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
New release from the San Diego-based punk band.
Bone Church – Acid Communion CD/LP (Ripple Music)
Bone Church is a heavy band influenced by the era when rock was transforming into the earliest forms of metal, but with feet still planted in the blues. New album Acid Communion is an intense proto-metal journey through a colonial era New England village, rife with the evils of witchcraft.
Brownout – Berlin Sessions CD/LP (Fat Beats)
Brownout’s legendary status as a Funk Powerhouse (Stereogum) is a reputation well deserved. The band of musicians have an impressive resume performing with Prince (RIP), GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Bernie Worrell (RIP), and accolades from Ozzy Osbourne for their Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath project.
Gena Rose Bruce – Can’t Make You Love Me CD/LP (Dot Dash)
Debut album from the Melbourne based singer-songwriter. Bruce’s vocals drive this album; a stirring force amidst the pulsing rhythms, echoes of Mazzy Star and Lynchian undertones.
Code Orange – Underneath CD (Roadrunner)
Rattling drum loops give way to bursts of rage as Underneath transforms into something colossal, daring, and resilient, setting the tone for one of the year’s most exhilarating heavy records. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Da Buze Bruvaz/Giallo Point – Adebesi Hat Recut CD/2xLP (Grilchy Party)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Rugged and raw unapologetic hip-hop.
Dark Fortress – Spectres From The Old World CD/2xLP (Century Media)
The venerated black metal specialists return with a new album.
Al Di Meola – Across The Universe CD/LP (earMUSIC)
Di Meola returns with his second Beatles covers collection, this time with a full band sound.
Dogleg – Melee CD/LP (Triple Crown)
Debut full-length from Detroit-based alt-rock quartet.
Ella Fitzgerald – The Complete Piano Duets 2xCD (Verve)
Many of the most beautiful recordings in Ella Fitzgerald’s catalog were her duets with pianists. The freedom afforded by this simple configuration resulted in some of her most sensitive, affecting and heartfelt work. This collection assembles every recording Ella made in the piano duo format for the Decca, Verve and Pablo labels.
The Exbats – Hits, Kicks, & Fits CD/LP/Cassette (Burger)
The Exbats write about things like homoerotic superhero sidekicks and television losers, rock and roll dreamers and existential angst, hexing the patriarchy and fighting the barman who’s carding you out of your own gig.
Fotocrime – South Of Heaven CD/LP (Profound Lore)
The new Fotocrime (the dark wave project of R. Patterson from acclaimed hardcore punk band Coliseum) full-length album South Of Heaven, the second full-length chapter in the project’s narrative, finds comfort on the fringe. This is the backlit highway slithering from 2018’s Principle Of Pain, which bowed at the altar of post-street punks Blitz while nodding at the megawatt gleam of Depeche Mode and churn of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. The stories comprising this latest are winding and boundless, unfolding with unexpected paths and hairpin turns.
Frights – Everything Seems Like Yesterday CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
New album from the surf punk band.
Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servant – Your Disobedient Servant CD/LP (Cleopatra)
Alvin Gibbs is the renowned long-serving bassist of punk legends U.K. Subs. Alvin has also served as a member of the Iggy Pop Band as well as Cheap N Nasty. Alvin has toured extensively worldwide with all the above bands, and has written a number of books, including one on his wild times with Iggy Pop. The Disobedient Servants is Alvin’s first solo project featuring many exciting collaborators. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing also available.]
God Damn – God Damn CD/LP (One Little Indian)
There are dullards out there who think that vicious punk-rock spite and nagging, sugar-crusted, pop smart songcraft make for strange bedfellows, and that’s fine, because it means smart folks will have a band as brilliant as God Damn all to themselves.
King Solomon Hicks – Harlem CD (Provogue)
King Solomon Hicks grew up in Harlem and was surrounded by a lot of great musicians. Those influences shine through on Hicks’ debut album, Harlem, which is an 11-song salute to those roots mixed with Hicks’ own distinctive style. Produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Kirk Yano (Miles Davis, Public Enemy, Mariah Carey), the album showcases Hicks as a writer, player and interpreter.
Human Impact – Human Impact CD/LP (Ipecac)
The story of Human Impact begins with the mutual respect and admiration shared by four noise rock pioneers whose paths circled for nearly three decades, yet finally converged in 2018. The quartet – vocalist and guitarist Chris Spencer (Unsane), bassist Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu), keyboardist Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop), and drummer Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans) – manifest the potential of this union on their self-titled debut.
Huntsmen – Mandala Of Fear CD/2xLP (Prosthetic)
Much like Dylan, Springsteen and Waits, Chicago’s Americana metal outfit, Huntsmen, continue the long-standing tradition of storytelling in their music. They just do it with a higher volume and more metallic grit. Huntsmen continue to evolve storytelling through metal dynamically melded with elements of folk and country. From bleak, soul crushing lows groaning a dirge of isolation and despair to sparkling, yearning highs speaking of vulnerability and hope, Mandala Of Fear follows a lone soldier in one of humanity’s last wars through a harrowing tale of survival, dread, brutal loss, and unquenchable resilience.
Invent, Animate – Greyview CD (Tragic Hero)
New album from the metalcore band.
JFDR – New Dreams CD/LP (Krunk)
New Dreams is the second record from Icelandic singer, songwriter multi-instrumentalist Jófríður Ákadóttir aka Jfdr. New Dreams deals variously in heartbreak, gratitude, habits, intuition, delusions, innocence, loneliness, meaning, empathy, vulnerability, security, identity, dependency, longing, beauty, love and, yes, dreams, old and new.
Jah9 – Note To Self CD/LP (Note To Self)
A true voice of the reggae renaissance, Jah9 is a powerful writer and inspiring performer primed to take her spot at center stage in the genre. The album blends productions from reggae veteran Clive Hunt with appearances from Pressure and Chronixx and presents a spectrum styles and perspectives.
Chaka Khan – Homecoming CD (BMG)
Ten-time Grammy Award winning artist Chaka Khan returns home to Chicago’s Harris Theatre to perform a selection of her greatest hits in front of an enthusiastic hometown audience. Homecoming features Chaka Khan and her 12-piece band performing hit songs from the span of her entire career. [Stand-alone DVD edition also available.]
King Iso – World War Me CD/LP (Strange Music)
This collection of personal tracks showcases his talents while addressing meaningful topics and bringing light to struggles with mental health. Features include label co-founder Tech N9ne and Mackenzie Nicole.
Kings Of Dust – Kings Of Dust CD (Vanity Music Group)
New release from the Phoenix-based retro rockers.
Haleek Maul – Errol CD/LP (Lex)
Haleek Maul is a 23yo rapper & singer born in Brooklyn and raised in Barbados, whose unique sound blends trap & Caribbean influences. His debut album ‘Errol’ is a dark and enigmatic journey filled with infectious beats that showcase Haleek’s sonic versatility. combines post-Yeezus rap with underground club music and a dancehall lilt FACT He’s been co-signed by Clams Casino, Flatbush Zombies, RZA, Mick Jenkins, Saul Williams, Wiley and Brockhampton’s Merlyn and Dom.
Monophonics – It’s Only Us CD/LP (Colemine)
With a timeless sound that blends heavy soul and psych-rock, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the best live bands in the country. Led by singer Kelly Finnigan, the band of has drawn on their colorful history – both their experiences as veteran touring performers and as individuals growing up in the Bay Area – to create It’s Only Us, their fourth release since 2012. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Matt Monro – Stranger In Paradise: The Lost New York Sessions 2xCD (UMe)
Archive collection from the British crooner.
Raul Midón – The Mirror CD (Artistry)
The Mirror finds Raul Midón breaking new ground for himself, including two entrancing solo spoken-word pieces. The album also features studio meetings with such veteran jazz colorists as vibraphonist Joe Locke, as well as a songwriting collaboration with top pianist Gerald Clayton. A highlight is the road weary jazz ballad “Cold Cuts And Coffee”, while title track “The Mirror” beguiles with it’s easy tropical groove, lyrical sophistication and Midón’s flowing electric guitar.
Motives – Death Throes CD/LP (Smart Punk)
New album from the rising Cleveland alternative rock band.
The Mr. T Experience – MTX Forever: A History Of The Concept Of The Mr. T Experience CD/LP (Sounds Rad)
MTX Forever: A History Of the Concept Of The Mr. T Experience is the definitive double-disc collection of the Mr. T Experience’s greatest hits. Band frontman, Dr. Frank, spent nearly a year polling fans on their opinion of what makes up this compilation.
Oath Of Damnation – Fury And Malevolence CD (Gore House Productions)
At times symphonic, at times progressive, Fury And Malevolence deliver seven new tracks of high-velocity battering ram of dark death and black metal. For fans of early Dimmu Borgir, Old Man’s Child, Graveworm, and more.
OXZ – Along Ago: 1981-1989 CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Contemporaries of Shonen Knife, OXZ were known for the intensity of their live performances. Starting with the release their first EP in 1984, their catalog belies their reputation for moody, dark post-punk ahead of it’s time.
Nick Oliveri – N.O. Hits At All Vol. 666 CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Sixth volume of tracks taken from the personal stash of the mighty Nick, featuring a lot of artists he played with during these last years, including The Dwarves, Nick Oliveri’s Uncontrollable, Nick Oliveri’s Death Acoustic, The Young Tuffs, Mondo Generator, Blag Dahlia, Virgin Lovers Die, Infected Organ Donors, and Stoner. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Porridge Radio – Every Bad CD/LP+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)
Porridge Radio grew out of Dana Margolin’s bedroom, where she started making music in private. Living in the seaside town of Brighton, she recorded songs and slowly started playing them at open mic nights to rooms of old men who stared at her quietly as she screamed in their faces. Though she eventually grew out of them, for Margolin these open mic nights unlocked a love of performing and songwriting, as well as a new way to express herself. She decided to form a band through which to channel it all, and be noisier while she was at it – so Porridge Radio was born.
Ruin Lust – Choir Of Babel CD/LP (20 Buck Spin)
New York’s Ruin Lust have spent the better part of the last decade spreading a drape of black violence across the dank basement corners of the deepest underground. .Thoroughly uncompromising and bestial, Choir Of Babel squanders no time on subtlety, laying waste with barbaric ferocity via a ruthless attack crafted not to disappear in a blur of forgettable noise but devastate with jagged menace and complexity.
Shires – Good Years CD/LP (Bear Family)
Fourth album from the UK’s best-selling country act.
Sicarius – God Of Dead Roots CD (M-Theory)
Sicarius – whose moniker means contract killer or assassin in Latin – draw influence from and pay homage to classic black metal bands, yet the quintet also injects a modern, high-velocity sense of immediacy into their bludgeoning and bloodthirsty extreme metal assault. With a sound that that nods to Hellhammer and Bathory and an attitude inspired by the likes of The Misfits, Motörhead and Midnight, the Southern California-based group embodies the dark danger that rages unabashed within the most memorable extreme metal. [Vinyl edition due April 10.]
Snarky Puppy – Live At Royal Albert Hall 2xCD (Ground Up Music)
Snarky Puppy is a Brooklyn, New York-based instrumental ensemble led by bassist Michael League. Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won three Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals.
Soraia – Dig Your Roots CD/LP (Wicked Cool)
New release from the Philadelphia rock quartet on Steven Van Zandt’s label Wicked Cool Records.
Spectres – Nostalgia CD/LP (Artoffact)
Spectres is a DIY death-rock outfit that mixes post-punk, the ethic of anarcho-punk, and an incredible knack for writing catchy songs.
Spoon – A Series Of Sneaks [Reissue/1998] CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Spoon – Kill The Moonlight [Reissue/2002] CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Spoon – Transference [Reissue/2009] CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Matador reissues three Spoon albums that were originally released by Merge.
Stitched Up Heart – Darkness CD (Stitched Up Heart)
Sophomore album from L.A. rockers. [Vinyl edition due April 3.]
Surfaces – Horizons CD (Ten Thousand Project)
Praised for their genre-bending, feel-good music that has been compared to the likes of Sugar Ray and Rex Orange County, Surfaces is based out of Texas and consists of the duo of Forrest Frank and Colin Padalecki. Cool jazzy sounds spiked with pop, hip-hop, reggae, soul, Calypso all in the service of positive vibes. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Sutrah – Dunes [Reissue/2017] CD/LP (The Artisan Era)
Sutrah – Aletheia CD/LP (The Artisan Era)
Sutrah’s sophomore release Aletheia picks up right where Dunes left off, which an otherworldly approach to technical death metal, using some not-so-common instrumentation and diverse song structures.
Turgonegro – Hot Cars & Contraceptives [Reissue/1992] CD/LP (Indie Recordings)
CD and vinyl reissue of the first full-length album by Norwegian deathpunk band.
Big Joe Turner – The Complete Boss Of The Blues 2xCD (Bear Family)
In 1951 Ahmet Ertegun signed Turner to his young Atlantic label. Over the next few years, Big Joe Turner recorded his most successful singles and became an Atlantic bestseller with a series of major hits in the R&B charts. In March 1956, however, history was written. Boss Of The Blues was one of the first blues concept albums (almost all other LPs of that day were compilations of previously released singles). Atlantic engaged musicians from the Count Basie community (plus their arranger). The music is anything but nostalgia. With exquisite musicians he created one of the best blues/jazz albums of all times with Big Joe Turner at the peak of his vocal expressiveness.
Various Artists – Putumayo Presents Celtic Women CD (Putumayo World Music)
A captivating collection featuring many of Ireland and Scotland’s most enchanting female voices. Featuring: Capercaillie Cara Dillon Éilís Kennedy Lasairfhíona Rose Laughlin Karen Matheson Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill Rebecca Pidgeon Cathie Ryan, and Emily Smith.
Vulcano – Eye In Hell CD/LP (SPV)
New Brazilian black/thrash metal masters.
Hilary Woods – Birthmarks CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
Field recordings, analogue bass synthesizers, hushed vocals, and the breath are underpinned with heavy noise processing, fierce and wide cello, rich percussion, sable saxophone, and electronics. Birthmarks is inspired and informed by ideas of inner transmutation in the face of anxiety, post-war Japanese and wet-plate photography, early music, the secret life of trees, wolves, drone, the drawings of Francis Bacon, the images of Francesca Woodman, the films of Chris Marker, the experiential collapse of community, and the power of the lone human voice. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Yumi Zouma – Truth Or Consequences CD/LP (Polyvinyl)
Truth or Consequences, Yumi Zouma’s third album was produced by the band and mixed by engineer Jake Aron (Solange, Grizzly Bear, Snail Mail). Christie Simpson’s voice gives weight to whispers of impressionistic poetry, shielding hard truths with soft tones, while Burgess’ vocals reveal a rarified dimension of raw and lucid romanticism, with lead single “Right Track / Wrong Man”, in particular, exhibiting a Balearic tempo and bass-heavy energy that belies its underlying tension. [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing also available.]
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Chaka Khan – Homecoming CD (BMG)
Ten-time Grammy Award winning artist Chaka Khan returns home to Chicago’s Harris Theatre to perform a selection of her greatest hits in front of an enthusiastic hometown audience. Homecoming features Chaka Khan and her 12-piece band performing hit songs from the span of her entire career.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
ABBA – Live At Wembley Arena 3xLP (Capitol)
When ABBA took the stage on November 10, 1979, their experience and professionalism showed. The backing musicians were Sweden’s best and most experienced. Although principally promoting their recent Voulez-Vous album, this set covered highlights throughout their career.
Bluestaeb S. Fidelity Underground Canopy – Bluestaeb S. Fidelity Underground Canopy LP (Menace)
Emerging from endless improvisation sessions and re-interpreting their heroes, Paris-based band Underground Canopy presents their first body of original work. he five-piece band’s neo soul- and jazz-infused instrumental hip-hop is heavily influenced by like-minded acts such as Yesterday’s New Quintet, BadBadNotGood and Butcher Brown. Underground Canopy officially formed in 2016 after jamming and playing covers of Flying Lotus, Madlib and J. Dilla for several years.
Moses Boyd – Dark Matter LP (Xodus Productions)
Dark Matter is an album by a young auteur, threading several thrilling musical traditions into a bold new tapestry: the raw energy of grime and Afrobeat and the rolling club rhythms of the London underground, combined with the freewheeling creativity and collaborative spirit of his jazz training. The project is deviating even more away from jazz, leaning towards electronica and relying on hip-hop production. [CD version due March 20.]
Brian Blade Fellowship – Brian Blade Fellowship [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Blue Note)
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band is one of the most distinctive bands in jazz this century. The Fellowship first formed in 1997, helmed by drummer Brian Blade and defined by the tight bond among the musicians: pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Chris Thomas, alto saxophonist Myron Walden and tenor saxophonist Melvin Butler. Their Blue Note debut introduced the band’s unique sound which blends elements of jazz, folk and gospel with an uplifting hymnal quality.
Victor Cavini – Japan [Reissue/1983] LP (Be With)
Rare and sought-after for many years now, this is one of those cult library LPs that never turn up.
Chubby And The Gang – Speed Kills LP (Static Shock)
Chubby And The Gang is a London rock band specializing in big, loud, churlish punk rock. Speed Kills is there debut album.
Stelvio Cipriani – Orgasmo Nero 12” (Four Flies)
Three tracks taken from one of the most obscure and fascinating scores by Stelvio Cipriani, recorded in 1980 for Joe D’Amato’s exotic-erotic classic Orgasmo Nero.
CocoRosie – Put The Shine On LP (Marathon Artists)
CocoRosie’s seventh album – the aptly titled Put The Shine On – is a study in extremes, balancing some of the most pristine and adroit pop songs the band has ever crafted, while simultaneously exploring the most extreme states of human feeling and being-the result being an album that is both pristine and, at times, harrowing. Put The Shine On is a record that luxuriates in extremes, reflecting the pain and confusion of mental and the anguish of unpacking trauma, while also gleefully celebrating the possibility of newness, of wildness, and the ever-present potential for transformation. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available. CD edition due March 20.]
Kate Davis – Trophy LP (Solitaire)
Most recently co-writing Sharon Van Etten’s hit single “Seventeen”, Kate Davis considers her debut indie rock album, Trophy, her hardest-earned accolade to date.
The Dip – The Dip LP (The Dip)
The Dip’s 2015 debut self-titled album available for the first time on vinyl. 12 tracks of vintage-inspired pop, rhythm & blues, rock, and soul. Limited quantities available in paint & primer colored vinyl.
Dungen – Dungen Live LP (Mexican Summer)
Live is Dungen in their own land saving up stunning solos and fiery interplay for their home team, elements of their most inspired moments assembled into one piece of continuous music by producer Matthias Glava. Live showcases what Dungen does best: create a vibe where none existed, build a mood out of circumstance, attack the music with a fan’s soul and a master’s virtuosity. It extends moments out of their seemingly explored catalog and breathes new life into them.
Early Day Miners – Placer Found [Reissue/2000] 2xLP (Secretly Canadian)
20th anniversary vinyl reissue. Placer Found is the 2000 debut full-length recording from Bloomington, IN musical cooperative Early Day Miners. Frontman Dan Burton delivers his songs in his slightly effected, though nonchalant, sing-song while drummer Rory Leitch keeps it all grounded as the storm brews on. Fans of seminal slow-core bands such as Codeine and Low will appreciate Early Day Miners for their tempered beauty and composure, while lovers of My Bloody Valentine and mid-period Giant Sand (not to mention the Neil Young they were nodding to) will love the gorgeous distorted landscape that guitarists Burton and Joe Brumley allow to take them over.
Eden – No Future 2xLP (Astralwerks)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Vocalist/producer/multi-instrumentalist Eden (Dublin-bred artist born Jonathon Ng) returns with No Future, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 full-length debut, Vertigo. As with all his music to date, lead single “Projector” was recorded and produced by Eden at his home studio. With its dreamlike textures and heady drum-machine rhythms, the song finds Eden’s graceful vocal work channeling a heavy-hearted surrender. “‘Projector’ is about appreciating all the ebbs and flows and accepting how things really are instead of wishing they were some other way,” Ng explains. “It started out as a very no-man’s-land kind of song, and then the lyrics ended up reflecting the concept of the death of the universe into a very personal space: this idea that no matter what’s going on in your life right now, everything eventually runs its course.”
Carla Geneve – Carla Geneve LP (Dot Dash)
Perth artist Carla Geneve announces the international release of her debut self-titled record. With a captivating live show and relatable lyricism, Geneve hails from the small coastal town of Albany, some 400 kilometers south of Western Australia’s capital city of Perth. She cut her teeth playing solo shows in and around regional centers as a 16-year old, bursting onto the WA scene in 2017. After being hailed by Pilerats as one of their 18 Artists to Watch in 2018, her debut single “Greg’s Discount Chemist” was released to overwhelming support.
Ground Zero – Revolutionary Pekinese Opera Ver. 1.28 [Reissue/1995] 2xLP (Le Le Narthécophore)
In 1984 the German free jazz duet of Alfred Harth and Heiner Goebbels released an album containing their interpretation of a Chinese opera from the ‘60s. Then in 1995, using extensive samples from that German recording alongside a free rock ensemble and traditional Asian instruments, Otomo Yoshihide and his Ground Zero band issued a terrific and definitive rendition of that opera, in the form of a noisy sound collage.
Terry Gruber – Herculean House Of Cards LP (Numero)
A tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years, Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st-century disconnect, an alphabet’s worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards.
Martha High/Italian Royal Family – Nothing’s Going Wrong LP (Blind Faith)
The super solid back beat and the lush horn arrangements evokes the golden era of the Italian movie soundtracks (inspired by Piero Piccioni, Ennio Morricone and Luis Bacalov). Lyrically, the album is very much inspired by the socially and politically conscious records made by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Gil Scott Heron and Curtis Mayfield in the mid ’70s.
Honey Cutt – Coasting LP (Kanine)
Honey Cutt’s fantastical surf pop hooks will reel you in with dreamy cooing and nostalgic melodies, but do not let these seemingly carefree tunes fool you. Young songwriter, Kaley Honeycutt has a knack for serving up some of her darkest moments with a breeziness you can’t help but sway along to.
House Lords – The Common Task LP (Northern Spy)
Horse Lords make music for the liberation of mind and body. Propulsive in a way that inspires movement and that’s felt in the gut, the Baltimore quartet’s new album The Common Task points to a utopian, modernist ideal. The group’s use of algorithmic composition techniques, microtonal harmonies, and plentifully deployed polyrhythm aren’t secondary to the music’s danceability and rhapsodic swirl, but integral to the party itself. The album’s mystifying density of ideas collide at each moment, recalling as diverse a cohort as The Ex and Glenn Branca to raucous Saharan guitar music, Albert Ayler, and James Tenney. [CD version due March 27.]
Jonathan Hultén – Chants From Another Place 2xLP (Kscope)
New release from the darkly enigmatic Swedish Grammy-winning songwriter, also known as guitarist in blackened-death metal vampires Tribulation. The musical inspiration for singer/songwriter Jonathan Hultén’s debut album is drawn from a capella folk and church choir compositions. Throughout the album, tales are weaved and musical influences collide as Hultén draws comparisons to artists including Nick Drake, Sufjan Stevens and Fleet Foxes, as well as traditional folk artists Bert Jansch and John Martyn right through to his contemporaries in Anna Ternheim, Chelsea Wolfe & Hexvessel. [CD edition due March 27.]
Itsoktocry – Destroy All Monsters! LP (Cleopatra)
Limited clear vinyl LP pressing of the 2019 album from the cutting-edge electronic/alt-rap superstar.
Calvin Johnson – What Was Me LP (K.)
The first of what promises to be many posthumous solo albums from Calvin Johnson, culled from the extensive archive of tapes left behind by the prolific songmaker and performer. Calvin Johnson made up songs about the feeling inside for over twenty years. What Was Me collects ten bits of lifeness and spreads them thickly with voice and acoustic guitar; a capella 40% of the time. There are patches that are worn and threadbare but the overall effect is gutty and moist.
Elvin Jones – Mr. Jones [Reissue/1973] LP (Blue Note)
In 1968, after six years with the seminal John Coltrane Quartet, the mighty drummer Elvin Jones signed with Blue Note Records, releasing 10 fantastic albums, including 1972’s Mr. Jones. Features saxophonists Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and Pepper Adams, Thad Jones on flugelhorn and bassist Gene Perla. The music delves into expansive post-bop with Latin influences and includes an impassioned version of Tadd Dameron’s ballad, Soultrane, in dedication to Coltrane.
Kanaan – Odense Sessions LP (El Paraiso)
Oslo based trio Kanaan quickly established themselves as one of the most important groups in the youngest generation of psychedelic impro-rockers. As accomplished players – all three educated in jazz – they marry fiery energy with musical intricacy, and possess a rare ability to balance power and delicateness.
Katatonia – Dance Of December Souls [Reissue/1993] LP (Peaceville)
Dance Of December Souls was the debut album from Katatonia, who have since risen to the forefront of the gothic metal genre. [New album, City Burials, due April 24.]
Kvelertak – Splid LP (Rise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New album from the Norwegian metal outfit. One hour of catchy riffs, punk rock, and heavy metal influenced by a world in discord.
Little Steven – Men Without Women [Reissue/1982] LP (UMe)
Little Steven – Born Again Savage [Reissue/1984] 2xLP (UMe)
Little Steven – Freedom No Compromise LP [Reissue/1987] LP (UMe)
Little Steven – Revolution [Reissue/1989] 2xLP (UMe)
Little Steven – Born Again Savage [Reissue/1999] 2xLP (UMe)
Vinyl reissues of the Bruce Springsteen/The E-Street band guitarist’s first five solo albums.
Loving – If I Am Only My Thoughts LP (Last Gang)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Loving is the collaboration of David Parry and brothers, Lucas and Jesse Henderson. The band came together several years ago as a result of their shared summers working in the capitalist ruins of western Canada’s forests. Their debut album, If I Am Only My Thoughts, offers listeners a space to ruminate on life’s uncertainties and acknowledge the often-strange journey of being alive.
Phil Madeira – Open Heart LP (Mercyland)
New album from the songwriter, producer, musician and vocalist. Madeira’s songs have been recorded by The Civil Wars, Buddy Miller, Alison Krauss, Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Hornsby, Keb’ Mo’, Garth Brooks, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Cindy Morgan, Shawn Mullins, The North Mississippi Allstars.
Maria McKee – La Vita Nuova LP (Afar)
Ardent, anglophilic, anachronistic, luddite/maximalist and baroque, La Vita Nuova was written as an elegy to desire. Upon its completion it became a conjuring. Candid and passionate, Maria McKee has quite simply, had a beatific awakening and in a crescendo of prose, La Vita Nuova unlocks this story, sketching out a momentous and transformative time in her life that started decades ago when she sang in her living room by the fire with her older brother, the late, great musical innovator Bryan MacLean, co-founder, (along with Arthur Lee), of the seminal L.A. band Love. Along the way she retooled punk and country as the lead singer of pioneering Americana band Lone Justice, released a string of evocative and eclectic solo records, wrote chart-topping hits and inspired the devotion of a loyal cultish fan base before seemingly disappearing… It’s been 13 years since her last studio album Late December which was released in 2007. [CD edition due March 27.]
Leslie Odom Jr. – Mr LP (S-Curve)
Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. New release from the Tony-winning singer/performer best known for his role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton.
Spice Girls – Spice World [Reissue/1997] LP (Virgin)
Spice Girls – Greatest Hits [Reissue/2007] LP (Virgin)
Standard black vinyl reissues.
Stephen O’Malley – Auflosung Der Zeit LP (Editions Mego)
Produced within the context of The Guidebook Of Church Burners publication release, this performance was recorded at visual arts institution LE BAL in Paris, May 4th 2018. Published by Païen in a limited edition, the book explores and transforms into an abstract narration the multiple facets of black metal iconography and history. Emerging from a dialogue between sound and image, the otherworldly piece created for that evening by Stephen O’Malley is a result of this collaboration.
Peter Bjorn & John – Endless Dream LP (PJB Musik AB)
New album from the Swedish trio. Endless Dream is their ninth full-length and is released to celebrate Peter, Bjorn and John’s 20th anniversary. It follows 2018’s Darker Days, which marked their first LP in three years.
Mike Posner – Keep Going LP (Island)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. As Grammy-nominated, worldwide multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter-producer Mike Posner (“I Took A Pill In Ibiza”, “Cooler Than Me”) continues on his walk across America, he commemorates crossing the California state line by dropping the new mixtape, Keep Going. It features an exciting mix of additional talent including Logic, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, and Talib Kweli, as well as ‘sage wisdom’ from Diddy, Steven Tyler, Bun B, and E-40.
Dave Simonett – Red Tail LP (Dancing Eagle)
Almost two decades into a prolific career, Dave Simonett still leans into a microphone like he’s counting on a stranger. Guitar slung at the ready, he’s comfortable but bemused. Whether he’s fronting beloved acoustic roots kings Trampled By Turtles or acclaimed side project Dead Man Winter, Simonett has an ideal songwriters voice – a beautiful but subtle workhorse that’s easy to take for granted.
Sun City Girls – Live At The Sky Church LP (Twenty One Eighty)
The first new Sun City Girls release since Funeral Mariachi (2010), Live At The Sky Church is a performance that melds their signature alien-jazz improv, Asian-tinged psychedelia, and Middle Eastern meditations together with their ranting psychodrama.
Sunn Trio – Electric Esoterica LP (Twenty One Eighty)
Sunn Trio is a punk band that is influenced by Middle Eastern psych, free jazz, and improvisation.
Supersuckers – Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll LP (Acetate)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Raw, immediate and often hilarious, Play That Rock ‘N’ Roll is the album a band makes after slugging it out on the road for thirty years (barring a one-year hiatus while Eddie battled throat cancer). No frills, no guest stars and no collaborations, the album earns the listener’s ear – The Supersuckers have lived this shit and you can feel it.
Art Taylor – A.T.’s Delight [Reissue/1960] LP (Blue Note)
Art Taylor was one of the greatest drummers in modern jazz who propelled the bands of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd and many more. Taylor only lead a handful of recorded albums including 1960’s A.T.’s Delight, which is a delightful and inventive set of hard bop that interprets the music of Coltrane, Monk, Davis, and more with a stellar band including trumpeter Dave Burns and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.
Tears For Fears – Songs From The Big Chair [Reissue/1985] LP (Island)
Limited picture disc vinyl LP pressing of Tears For Fears’ iconic album which features the hits “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, “Shout”, and “Head Over Heels”.
TSOL – Beneath The Shadows LP (Dink)
. Beneath The Shadows is the second studio album by the American hardcore punk band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), released in 1982 through Alternative Tentacles. This is the second in a series of classic vinyl reissues featuring original artwork painstakingly restored and hot-stamped with gold foiling.
Turbonegro – Hot Cars & Used Contraceptives [Reissue/1992] LP (Indie Recordings)
Turbonegro – Never Is Forever [Reissue/1994] LP (Indie Recordings)
Vinyl reissue of the first and third albums from the Norwegian rock deathpunk band. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Yacht Rock Revue – Hot Dads In Tight Jeans LP (Pleaserock)
Yacht Rock Revue’s first original record, Hot Dads In Tight Jeans, aptly embodies the band in both title and in essence. An album of ten songs inspired by the smoooth sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Hot Dads In Tight Jeans is as plush and shiny as Kenny Loggins’ beard. Produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Kaiser Chiefs, Gnarls Barkley), it returns Yacht Rock Revue to their roots in original music while paying homage to the genre that granted them esteem in a fresh, modern way.
Cassettes:
The Exbats – Hits, Kicks, & Fits (Burger)
The Exbats write about things like homoerotic superhero sidekicks and television losers, rock and roll dreamers and existential angst, hexing the patriarchy and fighting the barman who’s carding you out of your own gig.
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