Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:
Herb Alpert – Catch The Wind CD (Herb Alpert Presents)
In the 2010s, Herb Alpert released a prolific run of eight new studio albums. This year, the iconic leader of the Tijuana Brass shows no signs of slowing down with his latest effort, Catch The Wind. This new collection features nine original compositions, covers of beloved Beatles hits “Eleanor Rigby” and “Yesterday”, and American classics “Smile”, “America The Beautiful”, and “Summertime”.
Lindsey Buckingham – Lindsey Buckingham CD/LP (Rhino)
Lindsey Buckingham’s self-titled LP is his first solo release since 2011’s Seeds We Sow and follows his departure from Fleetwood Mac. As with the seven studio and three live albums he has released as a solo artist beginning with 1981’s Law And Order, the new project showcases Buckingham’s instinct for melody and his singular fingerpicking guitar style, reaffirming his status as one of the most inventive and electrifying musicians of his generation. “I wanted to make a pop album, but I also wanted to make stops along the way with songs that resemble art more than pop,” he says. “As you age, hopefully you keep getting a little more grounded in the craft of what you’re doing. For me, getting older has probably helped to reinforce the innocence and the idealism that hopefully was always there.”
The Count Basie Orchestra – Live At Birdland 2xCD (Candid)
In the history of jazz music, there is only one bandleader that has the distinction of having his orchestra still performing sold out concerts all over the world, with members personally chosen by him, for over 30 years after his passing. Pianist and bandleader William James “Count” Basie was and still is an American institution that personifies the grandeur and the excellence of jazz. The Count Basie Orchestra, today directed by Scotty Barnhart, has won every respected jazz poll in the world at least once, won 18 Grammy Awards, performed for Kings, Queens, and other world Royalty, appeared in several movies, television shows, at every major jazz festival and major concert hall in the world.
Charley Crockett – Music City USA CD/2xLP (Son Of Davy)
Charley Crockett has been a remarkable artist to follow. He’s got a sound. He’s got something to say. He has a look. And there’s a gauzy veil of mystery surrounding him suggesting he knows more than he’s letting on. All those records in such a short amount of time have come with a “no two alike” guarantee, particularly the last three releases: the darkly prescient Welcome To Hard Times; the semi-autobiographical, hard-core country-roots The Valley; and 10 For Slim, his tribute of songs by the obscure and wholly authentic Texas honky-tonk maestro James Hand.
And still, despite his penchant for pearl snaps and western hats, Charley Crockett has managed to elude being pigeon-holed. Call him neo country-western if you’d like. It’s true that few contemporaries present themselves as part of a lineage harkening back to Hank Williams and George Jones like Charley does, and even fewer can pull it off convincingly. Or call him a bluesman, if you prefer. Music City is sad, uplifting, hard, sweet, complex and delicate all at once. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Daughtry – Dearly Beloved CD (Dogtree)
“Chris Daughtry has maintained a chart-topping career for almost two decades, achieving Gold and Platinum status across multiple songs and albums. Though it could be argued that the singer’s most impressive achievement was breaking free of the curse of American Idol in the mid-2000s. Since then, Daughtry has established himself as a singer and songwriter on his own merit. With a string of hits and memorable anthems already behind him, Dearly Beloved, his sixth studio album, promises to add even more to the collection, hitting mainly the right notes.” – Metal Wani
The Felice Brothers – From Dreams To Dust CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
On From Dreams To Dust, their eighth and most recent studio album, the band’s exuberance to be together doing what they do so well is palpable. Characteristic of The Felice Brothers, the new tracks are a mixture of somber tunes with ones that are musically upbeat, all the while carrying messages that beg listeners to think deeply about the environment, humanity, legacy, and death. Many of the songs depict the passage of time, nostalgia, transience and getting older. “I want for my music to do what the best music in my life has done for me,” explains Ian Felice. “I want to do that for other people – to help them think through hard times or think through how to communicate something they didn’t know how to; to just make them happy.” [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
José González’s – Local Valley CD/LP+MP3 (Mute)
José González’s fourth studio effort Local Valley is a natural continuation of the styles that he has developed over the years both solo and with his band Junip. The album strikes a balance between stripped back arrangements – just Jose’s intimate vocal and exquisite nylon string guitar work – and tracks driven by groovy drum machine loops and other percussive elements. With songs sung in English, Spanish and Swedish, Local Valley invites us to look beyond our tribal instincts and join in a more harmonic state. The album explores our shared humanity and the scientific-based existential questions we face together on our quest to understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Stacey Kent – Songs From Other Places CD (Candid)
Stacey Kent is a jazz singer in the mold of the greats, with a legion of fans worldwide, a host of honors and awards including a Grammy nomination, album sales in excess of two million, Gold, Double-Gold and Platinum-selling albums that have reached a series of No. 1 chart positions during the span of her career. An interpreter of The Great American Song Book and beyond, Kent’s music and influences span multiple genres, a testament to her “wandering, restless spirit” as an artist. Her long-time songwriting collaborator is Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro.
Mild High Club – Going Going Gone CD/LP (Stones Throw)
While Alex Brettin, “bartender and resident selector” of the metaphysical listening lounge he calls the Mild High Club, could not have foreseen the numerous overlapping crises of these past years, his new album Going Going Gone feels especially apt for the moment. On the first single “Me Myself And Dollar Hell”, he explores themes of paranoia, individualism, kleptocracy, gun violence, faith, and climate change. Following his Mild High Club debut Timeline (2015), which examined the burgeoning social media age, and second album Skiptracing (2016), which questioned his identity as an artist and featured the massively popular single “Homage”, Brettin followed with the King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard collaboration Sketches From Brunswick East in 2017. After releasing three records in three years, he sought to hone his craft over the five-year process that would yield Going Going Gone.
Spiritbox – Eternal Blue CD/LP (BMG)
Having a hit song is one thing but backing up that success in a sustainable manner is something else entirely. Tales of bands eaten up and spat out by the music industry after failing to build on early promise are commonplace, and it’s that fear of failure, of not living up to the hype, that can crush artists and stifle their creativity before they’ve had the chance to truly blossom. But that’s not the case for Spiritbox. The release of the single “Holy Roller” by the Canadian metal three-piece in July of 2020 was a runaway success. Now, Spiritbox unleash their debut album Eternal Blue, a record that’s intelligent, ambitious and, most importantly, uniquely theirs. All the things that made “Holy Roller” and previous, well-received single “Blessed Be” so special – fierce intensity, unwavering emotion and technical splendor – are present across Eternal Blue, but the formula is never once repeated. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Additional Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:
No additional social media titles.
CDs + Vinyl:
2Cellos – Dedicated CD (Masterworks)
Dedicated showcases 2Cellos’ unique playing style on ten new arrangements that reinvent the music of multiple genres including recent pop/rock hits by One Republic (“Wherever I Go”), Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber (“I Don’t Care”), Billie Eilish (“bad guy”) and Imagine Dragons (“Demons”), stirring ballads originally performed by Lady Gaga (“Shallow”), Beyoncé (“Halo”) and Simon and Garfunkel (“The Sound Of Silence”), and iconic tracks by rock royalty Guns N’ Roses’ (“Sweet Child O’ Mine”) and Aerosmith (“Cryin’”).
Alien Weaponry – Tangaroa CD/2xLP (Napalm)
New album from the emerging metal band.
Herb Alpert – Catch The Wind CD (Herb Alpert Presents)
In the 2010s, Herb Alpert released a prolific run of eight new studio albums. This year, the iconic leader of the Tijuana Brass shows no signs of slowing down with his latest effort, Catch The Wind. This new collection features nine original compositions, covers of beloved Beatles hits “Eleanor Rigby” and “Yesterday”, and American classics “Smile”, “America The Beautiful”, and “Summertime”.
Assemblage 23 – Failure [Reissue/2001] CD (Metropolis)
20-year anniversary of Assemblage 23’s seminal album Failure remastered and expanded with remix versions. [Vinyl edition due December 10.]
Bad Bad Hats – Walkman CD/LP+MP3 (Don Giovanni)
Bad Bad Hats is an indie rock trio from Minneapolis. Known for bringing a joyful, exuberant presence to their live shows, touring with The Beths, Margaret Glaspy, The Front Bottoms, Hippo Campus, and Third Eye Blind, the group took specific care to bring their fun-loving spirit to their third LP, Walkman. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
The Beths – Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
The Beths’ Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 begins with crowd screeches and bellows. It’s a collective exhalation, in one of the few countries where live music is still possible. The album title, and film of the same name, deliberately include the date and location. In a mid-pandemic world, playing to a heaving, enraptured home crowd feels miraculous.
Blasphemous Putrefaction – Prelude To Perversion CD/LP (Dunkelheit Produktionen)
While some will instantly recognize the latter caveman guitar style from his work with the gasmask terrorists Goatblood, and while it’s true they share the same obsession for the most bestial form of extreme metal possible, Blasphemous Putrefaction truly remains a death metal beast of its own.
Bokassa – Molotav Rocktail CD/LP (Napalm)
The Trondheim, Norway, hard rock trio has made a name for themselves with their brand of hard-hitting, melodic, catchy punk and stoner rock.
Brahmastrika – Abhabaniyastral Samsarimplication CD/LP (Dunkelheit Produktionen)
28 minutes of borderline violence: ripping and raging, powerful and overpowering.
Lindsey Buckingham – Lindsey Buckingham CD/LP (Rhino)
Lindsey Buckingham’s self-titled LP is his first solo release since 2011’s Seeds We Sow and follows his departure from Fleetwood Mac. As with the seven studio and three live albums he has released as a solo artist beginning with 1981’s Law And Order, the new project showcases Buckingham’s instinct for melody and his singular fingerpicking guitar style, reaffirming his status as one of the most inventive and electrifying musicians of his generation. “I wanted to make a pop album, but I also wanted to make stops along the way with songs that resemble art more than pop,” he says. “As you age, hopefully you keep getting a little more grounded in the craft of what you’re doing. For me, getting older has probably helped to reinforce the innocence and the idealism that hopefully was always there.”
Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club (25th Anniversary Edition) 2xCD/2xLP+2xCD (World Circuit)
25th Anniversary edition featuring previously unheard tracks from the original 1996 recording sessions, previously unseen photos, and new liner notes. Buena Vista Social Club is both the name given to this extraordinary group of musicians and the album, recorded in just seven days in 1996 in Havana’s 1950s vintage EGREM studios.
Candlebox – Wolves CD/LP (Pavement Ent.)
Candlebox’s seventh album is the follow-up to 2016’s Disappearing In Airports, which had a fresh modernity, a vibe that is amplified and broadened on Wolves. Lead singer Kevin Martin says: “It comes from where we are as humans right now, and what we’ve become. Yes, there’s beauty in these wolves, but there’s the pack mentality, and that lone wolf mentality on the other side.”
Carcass – Torn Arteries CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Carcass’s ability to intricately dissect the innards of death metal and display them for us to sonically understand has been their point of excellence for over three decades. Most will find that the only real struggle when indulging in Torn Arteries is fighting the desire to start it over the second it finishes. It covers substantial new ground for a band with such a reputation, while still retaining that addictive, time honored Carcass sound that has come to represent the face of true death metal. [A limited-edition blood-splatter color vinyl pressing is also available.]
The Cocktail Slippers – Shout It Out Loud! CD (Wicked Cool)
Fifth album from the raucous five-piece all-woman rock band from Oslo, Norway. [Vinyl edition due October 8.]
The Count Basie Orchestra – Live At Birdland 2xCD (Candid)
In the history of jazz music, there is only one bandleader that has the distinction of having his orchestra still performing sold out concerts all over the world, with members personally chosen by him, for over 30 years after his passing. Pianist and bandleader William James “Count” Basie was and still is an American institution that personifies the grandeur and the excellence of jazz. The Count Basie Orchestra, today directed by Scotty Barnhart, has won every respected jazz poll in the world at least once, won 18 Grammy Awards, performed for Kings, Queens, and other world Royalty, appeared in several movies, television shows, at every major jazz festival and major concert hall in the world.
Charley Crockett – Music City USA CD/2xLP (Son Of Davy)
Charley Crockett has been a remarkable artist to follow. He’s got a sound. He’s got something to say. He has a look. And there’s a gauzy veil of mystery surrounding him suggesting he knows more than he’s letting on. All those records in such a short amount of time have come with a “no two alike” guarantee, particularly the last three releases: the darkly prescient Welcome To Hard Times; the semi-autobiographical, hard-core country-roots The Valley; and 10 For Slim, his tribute of songs by the obscure and wholly authentic Texas honky-tonk maestro James Hand.
And still, despite his penchant for pearl snaps and western hats, Charley Crockett has managed to elude being pigeon-holed. Call him neo country-western if you’d like. It’s true that few contemporaries present themselves as part of a lineage harkening back to Hank Williams and George Jones like Charley does, and even fewer can pull it off convincingly. Or call him a bluesman, if you prefer. Music City is sad, uplifting, hard, sweet, complex and delicate all at once. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Daughtry – Dearly Beloved CD (Dogtree)
“Chris Daughtry has maintained a chart-topping career for almost two decades, achieving Gold and Platinum status across multiple songs and albums. Though it could be argued that the singer’s most impressive achievement was breaking free of the curse of American Idol in the mid-2000s. Since then, Daughtry has established himself as a singer and songwriter on his own merit. With a string of hits and memorable anthems already behind him, Dearly Beloved, his sixth studio album, promises to add even more to the collection, hitting mainly the right notes.” – Metal Wani
Desmond Dekker – King Of Ska: The Beverley’s Records Singles Collection, 1963 – 1967 2xCD (Trojan)
To mark what would have been Desmond’s 80th birthday on 16th July 2021, this double-CD set showcases Dekker’s first 20 singles for Kong’s Beverley’s labels which established him as a true Jamaican superstar.
Della Mae – Family Reunion CD (Della Mae)
“This record is about independence, ownership, trust, and family. We relied on our instincts, skills and musicianship. It is also about catharsis – rising from the ashes of a global pandemic with new skills, songs, and outlook on life.” – Della Mae
Gord Downie – Coke Machine Glow (Songwriters’ Cabal) 3xCD (Arts & Crafts)
First released in 2001, Coke Machine Glow was Gord Downie’s first solo album away from The Tragically Hip. On the album’s 20th anniversary, this version features unreleased tracks, alternate takes, and kitchen table recordings, all with a rarely heard intimacy, unrefined and dripping in aura. Songwriters’ Cabal is a document of Gord at the precipice of his illustrious solo career, stepping to the mic voice twinkling like a chandelier with everything left to prove.
Dream Theater – Lost Not Forgotten Archives: Master Of Puppets – Live in Barcelona, 2002 2xCD (Inside Out U.S.)
The fourth installment in the Lost Not Forgotten Archives series from progressive rock titans, Dream Theater. Paying tribute to the legendary ensemble’s classic multi-Platinum album, this archival release is the only recorded version of Dream Theater’s stunning rendition of Metallica’s 1986 entry into heavy metal history, remastered. [Vinyl edition due December 24.]
Bob Dylan – Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (1980-1985) 2xCD/5xCD/2xLP (Columbia/Legacy)
The latest chapter in the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series shines fresh light on the provocative new musical directions Dylan was taking as a songwriter and a recording artist from 1980 through 1985. In the early 1980s, while the music industry was grappling with the arrival of new trends and technology, from MTV to compact discs to digital recording, Bob Dylan was writing and recording new songs for a new decade, creating new chapters in his studio catalog. Bob Dylan – Springtime In New York (1980-1985) celebrates the rich creative period surrounding Dylan’s classic albums Shot Of Love, Infidels, and Empire Burlesque with previously unreleased outtakes, alternate takes, rehearsal recordings, live performances and more. [The 5-CD boxset presents 57 rare Dylan recordings, 54 of them previously unreleased in any format, from 1980-1985.]
Edge Of Paradise – The Unknown CD/LP (Frontiers)
Gigantic hooks paired with monolithic guitar riffs in a spacious sea of symphonic sounds. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Employed To Serve – Conquering CD (Spinefarm)
Employed To Serve’s Conquering is a fully realized metamorphosis into the band they’ve always wanted to be. Drawing influence from the music of their youth and a new perspective on how to nurture the positive aspects of humanity and individual growth, Conquering is a celebration and acknowledgement of triumph in the face of a world that can be relentlessly adversarial.
Cynthia Erivo – Ch. 1, Vs. 1 CD (Verve)
Ch. 1, Vs. 1 is a record of what one writer calls “the unfolding of a self,” of what it means to do away with the pretense and masks we wear as a means of survival. It’s eclectic, but not in the nice-nasty way “eclectic” is often used to convey displeasure. Rather, it’s the perfect soundtrack to a still-unfolding talent ready to be seen in her fullness, beyond the stage and screen and high fashion red carpet gowns and extravagant nail art. [Vinyl edition due February 25.]
Melissa Etheridge – One Way Out CD (BMG)
Etheridge stumbled upon these decades old songs/demos years ago while gathering materials for a retrospective box set. As she went through the songs, it brought her back to the start of her career and how they just weren’t right for that particular time or album. Some of the tracks were written before she had even come out and never felt comfortable releasing them but knew they would be perfect for the box set. In 2013, the singer found herself back at Henson Studios in Los Angeles with her original band (Fritz Lewak, John Shanks, Kevin McCormick) and would give these songs a new life. Shortly after she finished the record, she would part ways with her label and the box set was shelved. Melissa would begin working on new material and once again, those songs were set aside. That is, until 2020 when she was sorting through old files to share with fans on Etheridge TV’s Friday Night Time Machine show. The time was finally right. [Vinyl edition due October 1.]
Ex Deo – The Thirteen Years Of Nero CD/LP (Napalm)
The Juno Award-nominated symphonic death metal band returns with more massive, brutal soundscapes.
Marianne Faithfull – Marianne Faithfull: The Montreux Years CD/2xLP (BMG)
Marianne Faithfull’s name is synonymous with the authenticity, artistry and individuality of the festival and this collection is a celebration of her unique talent. The Montreux Years collection brings together, for the first time, some of the finest moments from Marianne’s most celebrated performances.
The Felice Brothers – From Dreams To Dust CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
On From Dreams To Dust, their eighth and most recent studio album, the band’s exuberance to be together doing what they do so well is palpable. Characteristic of The Felice Brothers, the new tracks are a mixture of somber tunes with ones that are musically upbeat, all the while carrying messages that beg listeners to think deeply about the environment, humanity, legacy, and death. Many of the songs depict the passage of time, nostalgia, transience and getting older. “I want for my music to do what the best music in my life has done for me,” explains Ian Felice. “I want to do that for other people – to help them think through hard times or think through how to communicate something they didn’t know how to; to just make them happy.” [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Fierce Atmospheres – The Speed Of Dreams CD (Qumran)
Sophomore album from the Chicago progressive power metal band. [Vinyl edition due October 1.]
F**ked Up – Year Of The Horse CD (Tank Crimes)
Previously downloads only – now available on CD. “On this elaborate concept album, initially released in monthly installments, the hardcore collective reclaims its status as the most fearless prog-punk band of them all.”
Erroll Garner – Symphony Hall Concert CD/LP (Mack Avenue)
Erroll Garner – Liberation In Swing: Centennial Collection 12xCD+4xLP+5×7”+Cassette (Mack Avenue)
Previously unreleased nine-song compilation recorded live at Boston’s Symphony Hall in 1959. On January 17, 1959, jazz immortal Erroll Garner took the stage of Boston’s Symphony Hall for a historic performance to a sold-out crowd. Recorded eleven months prior to the Dreamstreet sessions, which heralded Garner’s return after a lengthy battle for control over his catalog, Symphony Hall Concert is a previously unreleased compilation capturing the unparalleled genius of Garner’s live performances at the beginning of one of the most defining years of his life. [The deluxe limited edition boxed set Liberation In Swing: Centennial Collection chronicles legendary pianist/composer Erroll Garner at the height of his creative freedom, telling the real story of the famed musician’s artist-owned label, Octave Records, and redefining his place in music history.]
Rod Gator – For Louisiana CD (Blue Élan)
Formerly known as Rod Melancon, Gator embraces his roots on the new album as he takes on the name originally given to him by his father. “‘For Louisiana’ is a song about self-doubt and the ups and downs of being a touring musician,” explains Gator. “It’s about missing the places you grew up and the people that shaped your childhood. Even though it’s far from perfect, it’ll always be my home.” Blending Louisiana soul with greasy country-rock, Texas blues and electrified funk, Gator’s music doesn’t just nod to the American South, it creates its own sonic geography.
José González’s – Local Valley CD/LP+MP3 (Mute)
José González’s fourth studio effort Local Valley is a natural continuation of the styles that he has developed over the years both solo and with his band Junip. The album strikes a balance between stripped back arrangements – just Jose’s intimate vocal and exquisite nylon string guitar work – and tracks driven by groovy drum machine loops and other percussive elements. With songs sung in English, Spanish and Swedish, Local Valley invites us to look beyond our tribal instincts and join in a more harmonic state. The album explores our shared humanity and the scientific-based existential questions we face together on our quest to understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Holy Death Trio – Introducing CD (Ripple Music)
“.. Breathing life back into that heavy blues/stoner rock style, Holy Death Trio fuses the likes of early Rush, Black Sabbath, and Fu Manchu in the heart of Texas.” – Metal Injection
Billy Idol – The Roadside EP CDEP/12” (BMG)
Decades after releasing his first 45, Billy Idol still makes gliding, thumping, cinematic songs about sin, redemption and the love of rock ‘n’ roll… and that’s what you will find on The Roadside EP, Billy Idol’s first release of original material in seven years.
Insomnium – Argent Moon CDEP (Century Media)
New EP from the Finish melodic death metal band. [Vinyl edition due March 18.]
Henry Kawahara – Cybernetic Defiance And Orgasm: The Essential Henry Kawahara CD/LP (Em)
Here is a portal to a vast and relatively unknown world, the Japanese cyber-occult underground media scene of the early 1990s; your guide is the late Henry Kawahara, a media artist and electronic music producer whose expansive and visionary conception of digital technology merged with a desire to break free of the constraints of mere rationality. This collection, the first-ever archival release of his work, is drawn from recordings released during the period 1991-1996, an exceptionally fertile time for Kawahara.
Stacey Kent – Songs From Other Places CD (Candid)
Stacey Kent is a jazz singer in the mold of the greats, with a legion of fans worldwide, a host of honors and awards including a Grammy nomination, album sales in excess of two million, Gold, Double-Gold and Platinum-selling albums that have reached a series of No. 1 chart positions during the span of her career. An interpreter of The Great American Song Book and beyond, Kent’s music and influences span multiple genres, a testament to her “wandering, restless spirit” as an artist. Her long-time songwriting collaborator is Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro.
Larkin Poe & Nu Deco Ensemble – Paint The Roses (Live In Concert) CD (Tricki-woo)
Innovative hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble brought their genre-bending orchestral music to fans around the world through their 2020-2021 virtual performance season including a collaborative concert with roots rock band Larkin Poe on December 12, 2020, streamed live from the Miami Beach Bandshell. [Vinyl edition due October 29.]
LilHuddy – Teenage Heartbreak CD (Geffen)
LilHuddy’s debut album includes the previously released songs “21st Century Vampire”, “The Eulogy Of You and Me”, “America’s Sweetheart”, and “Don’t Freak Out” feat. iann dior, Tyson Ritter and Travis Barker. Teenage Heartbreak is a perfect hybrid of pop, punk & alternative with an underlying message encouraging authenticity & self-acceptance.
Colin Linden – bLOW CD/LP (Highway 20)
bLOW is Colin Linden’s 14th solo album, following the first, Colin Linden Live, by 40 years. It is his first electric blues record. bLOW will bring you to the dance floor, or up your highway speed by ten or fifteen mph, but it’s also worth listening to in a more contemplative way.
Love-Songs, U. Schütte – [Spannende Musik] CD/LP (Bureau B)
This foursome’s nocturnal world tour begins (and ends) in a shamanistic factory hall with no clocks. Rigorous polyrhythms are accentuated by dexterously frayed edges. Radio wave rituals are revealed by flickering fluorescent lamps, a tribalistic screw box is in danger of falling from a conveyor belt. The dualism of minimalistic asceticism and long-distance free improvisations create that selfsame tension which lends the spacious music of Tony Conrad, Joshua Abrams or the kosmische, yet earthed music of Pulse Emitter et al, such an original voice and atmosphere.
MarthaGunn – Something Good Will Happen CD (Virgin)
Something Good Will Happen marks a defiant chapter for MarthaGunn, through honest and conscientious songwriting, partnered with pristine pop melodies that have caught the attention of tastemakers CLASH, Independent, Dork, The Line Of Best Fit, BBC Introducing Track of The Week, and John Kennedy (Radio X UK.) This is the sound of a band evolving their euphoric sound with nuanced production and kaleidoscopic samples, lifting them into the stratosphere.
Scotty McCreery – Same Truck CD (Triple Tigers)
New album from the Season 10 American Idol winner.
James Vincent McMorrow – Grapefruit Season CD/LP (RCA)
In an already-unpredictable career, Grapefruit Season sees James Vincent McMorrow push himself (and his sound) in all new ways. Produced by James alongside fellow genre-disruptors Paul Epworth, Kenny Beats, Lil Silva and Patrick Wimberly (Chairlift), McMorrow’s fifth album embraces the fact that life is chaos, and the idea of growing up, but feeling none the wiser. Each song is held together by McMorrow’s instantly identifiable voice, an untethered musical imagination, and (from dancehall to soul, country to R&B) purposefully little else in its pursuit of fear-free pop music.
Mild High Club – Going Going Gone CD/LP (Stones Throw)
While Alex Brettin, “bartender and resident selector” of the metaphysical listening lounge he calls the Mild High Club, could not have foreseen the numerous overlapping crises of these past years, his new album Going Going Gone feels especially apt for the moment. On the first single “Me Myself And Dollar Hell”, he explores themes of paranoia, individualism, kleptocracy, gun violence, faith, and climate change. Following his Mild High Club debut Timeline (2015), which examined the burgeoning social media age, and second album Skiptracing (2016), which questioned his identity as an artist and featured the massively popular single “Homage”, Brettin followed with the King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard collaboration Sketches From Brunswick East in 2017. After releasing three records in three years, he sought to hone his craft over the five-year process that would yield Going Going Gone.
Mini Trees – Always In Motion CD/LP (Run For Cover)
There’s a fundamental truth that Los Angeles musician and songwriter Lexi Vega embraces on Mini Trees’ debut album Always In Motion – time keeps moving forward, for better or worse. The consequences of this perpetual motion spark this latest collection of relatable indie-pop songs that acknowledge our collective anxiety about life’s improbability.
Roscoe Mitchell – Dots / Pieces For Percussion And Woodwinds CD (Wide Hive)
Recorded at home during the pandemic Roscoe Michell creates beautiful music that is simply at peace with itself. On 19 newly recorded compositions, Roscoe plays his own percussion array with articulate precision and creates hauntingly interesting atmospheres. He overdubbed saxophone on seven pieces thereafter. A wonderful release perfect to combat the tension of our times. [Vinyl edition due October 1.]
Mountain Movers – World What World CD/LP (Trouble In Mind)
Mountain Movers arguably are the perfect band for all the true heads out there. The New Haven quartet have been at it for 15 years, and the newest lineup (now at it for well over a decade; vocalist/guitarist Dan Greene, bassist Rick Omonte, guitarist Kryssi Battalene and drummer Ross Menze) have firmly grasped what it takes to fry brains; achingly beautiful melodies buoyed by a life raft of white-hot guitar scree and mind-melting feedback. [A limited-edition purple color vinyl pressing is also available.]
MP – Get It Now [Reissue/1987] CD/LP (Dying Victim Productions)
Now available on CD. Originally released in 1987, Get It Now was the second record by Germany’s MP. A year after their debut, the power-trio unleashed a more finessed follow-up. While the band hardly wavered in their approach between the two albums – still spanning the early hot-rockin’ throes of post-NWOBHM to the nascent rumblings of speed metal, MP here focused their songwriting into a more streamlined push.
NCT 127 – The 3rd Album ‘Sticker’ [Sticky Ver.] CD (SM Entertainment Co.)
NCT 127 – The 3rd Album ‘Sticker’ [Jewel Case General Ver.] CD (SM Entertainment Co.)
New release from the K-Pop boyband. [The Sticky Ver. includes a photo book, a folded poster, stickers, a photo cards, and a postcard.]
Carly Pearce – 29: Written In Stone CD (Big Machine)
Carly Pearce expands her critically acclaimed 29 into the full-blown album/song cycle 29: Written In Stone. In classic Carly style, she captures the kind of true Country that’s become the bellwether for the two-time ACM and CMA Awards winner, developing the straightforward emotions and classic sounds that have rapidly defined one of the genre’s most important voices. [Vinyl edition due January 28.]
The Picturebooks – The Major Minor Collective CD/LP+CD (Century Media)
Gritty blues-rock-duo The Picturebooks (vocalist/guitarist Fynn Grabke and drummer Philipp Mirtschink) follow-up 2019’s The Hands Of Time with the The Major Minor Collective featuring guest contributions from Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Dennis Lyxzen (Refused), Neil Fallon (Clutch) and Ryan Sinn (The Distillers).
The Plot In You – Swan Song CD (Fearless)
The Ohio quartet stare down years of negativity, soured friendships, disappointment, and mistakes and flush it all away in the wake of hammering distortion, towering melodies, cinematic production, and unapologetically cathartic lyrics. [Vinyl edition due January 28.]
Rage – Resurrection Day CD/2xLP (Steamhammer)
The German metallers present twelve new songs covering a stylistic range that could hardly be more characteristic of the band, from raw thrash metal tracks like “Virginity”, “The Age Of Reason” and “Extinction Overkill” through midtempo pieces such as “Arrogance And Ignorance” and “Monetary Gods” to the straightforward ballad “Black Room” which balances things out. [A limited color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Real Friends – Torn In Two CDEP (Pure Noise)
New EP from the Illinois-based pop-punk band. [Vinyl edition due March 4.]
Red Robin – Robin Red CD (Frontiers)
New album from the lead vocalist of Swedish melodic metallers Degreed.
Robledo – Wanted Man CD (Frontiers)
Debut album from the Chilean hard rock vocalist.
Jameson Rodgers – Bet You’re From A Small Town CD (SME Nashville)
Debut album from the country music singer/songwriter.
Alexa Rose – Headwaters CD/LP (Big Legal Mess)
Headwaters is the second album from Virginian indie folksinger Alexa Rose. A series of minutely observed vignettes that feel intimate and expansive at the same time, Headwaters captures the sweetness of life without avoiding any of the pain, with songs about time and its constraints, peppered with precise details pulled from Rose’s own life that make universal themes seem personal, inviting the listener to make each song their own.
Röyksopp – The Lost Tapes CD (Cooking Vinyl)
The Lost Tapes is a monthly release of rare B-sides, exclusives – and even some previously unreleased tracks. Now the first 10 tracks from the series are released on CD for the first time. [Vinyl edition due October 15.]
Rumer – Live From Lafayette CD/2xLP (Cooking Vinyl)
In the winter of 2020, Rumer and her band come together at London’s Lafayette to perform a full-length live stream concert. Here she performs songs from her most recent album Nashville Tears, and selections from her much esteemed catalogue. [A limited-edition purple color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Smoke Bellow – Open For Business CD/LP (Trouble In Mind)
Transcontinental, experimental duo Smoke Bellow has been at it since 2012, relocating from Australia to Baltimore, MD and back again and then back again (now firmly settled in Baltimore). They eventually recruited one of their favorite drummers and dear friend, Emmanuel Nicolaidis. With Open For Business, the three members set out to create a set of songs more immediate and barer than previous outings. Half of the songs were written in a room together and the second half via email (for obvious reasons). At the time they were listening to a lot of post punk and were struck with the partnership of drums and bass as propulsive instruments. The trio started writing songs around that idea – with the rhythm as a brace to hang their decorations.
Spiritbox – Eternal Blue CD/LP (BMG)
Having a hit song is one thing but backing up that success in a sustainable manner is something else entirely. Tales of bands eaten up and spat out by the music industry after failing to build on early promise are commonplace, and it’s that fear of failure, of not living up to the hype, that can crush artists and stifle their creativity before they’ve had the chance to truly blossom. But that’s not the case for Spiritbox. The release of the single “Holy Roller” by the Canadian metal three-piece in July of 2020 was a runaway success. Now, Spiritbox unleash their debut album Eternal Blue, a record that’s intelligent, ambitious and, most importantly, uniquely theirs. All the things that made “Holy Roller” and previous, well-received single “Blessed Be” so special – fierce intensity, unwavering emotion and technical splendor – are present across Eternal Blue, but the formula is never once repeated. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Wesley Stace – Late Style CD (Omnivore)
With Late Style, Wesley Stace, the artist formerly known as John Wesley Harding, has done things differently. Late Style is influenced by artists like Mose Allison, Carla Bley, Nina Simone, Bob Dorough, Steely Dan, Harry Nilsson, Gil Scott-Heron, The Bee Gees, Tom Lehrer, The Carpenters, and The Partridge Family, without imitating them. The songs feel modern and modern all at once.
Straylight Run – Live At The Patchogue Theatre CD/2xLP (Craft Recordings)
Live archive release. In 2005, Straylight Run (which features John Nolan and Shaun Cooper of Taking Back Sunday) recorded Live At The Patchogue Theater, but it was never released and the band would later go on indefinite hiatus. 15 years later, the album is now available for the first time. This is their only live recording and the set features all of the fan’s favorites including “Existentialism On Prom Night”, “The Tension” and “The Terror” and “Hands In The Sky”.
Kasim Sulton – Kasim 2021 CD (Deko Music)
The name of Kasim Sulton easily springs to mind if you were a Utopia fan back in the ’70s. Primarily a fluid lineup, Utopia enjoyed it’s proggy worldwide peak with Kasim Sulton at bass (Roger Powell at keys, John Wilcox at drums, Todd Rundgren at guitar) with five albums from 1977 through 1982.
Typhoon – Sympathetic Magic CD/LP (Roll Call)
Sympathetic Magic is the politically charged fifth studio album from the Portland, OR indie-rock outfit.
Vega – Anarchy And Unity CD/LP (Frontiers)
Seventh studio album from the UK rockers. [A limited-edition white color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Sonny Vincent – Snake Pit Therapy CD/LP (Svart)
Living legend Sonny Vincent (Testors, The Limit) celebrates raw incendiary rock, leaving pretenders in the shade with new album Snake Pit Therapy, a whirlwind of soulful punk with a badass backbone. Snake Pit Therapy is raw, real deal blazing protopunk with lashings of psychedelia and hard rock, all taken to the edge with Vincent’s secret weapons, the naked aggression in his passionate voice and his trademark caustic guitar.
Alicia Walter – I Am Alicia CD/LP/Cassette (Sooper)
The debut LP from the former leader of Chicago-based art-rock outfit Oshwa is a bold retelling of Walter’s self-discovery that encourages the listener’s own story to take root in its universal truths; a soundtrack to get you up and over life’s hurdles when feeling like you are your only cheerleader. Embracing influences spanning from jazz and the classic composition of American standards to hip-hop and new wave to build her own brand of eclectic pop, Walter paves a path toward actualization, acceptance and love that is fearless in its sound and lyrics. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is also available.]
Muddy Waters – Muddy Waters: The Montreux Years CD/2xLP (BMG)
The magnificent and incomparable Muddy Waters performed three legendary concerts at the Montreux Jazz Festival throughout the 1970s. Each of these historic concerts were recorded. Muddy Waters’ name is synonymous with the authenticity, excellence and individuality of the festival and this collection is a celebration of his unique talent. The Montreux Years collection brings together for the first time, some of the finest moments from Muddy’s celebrated performances alongside rare material, unheard since the original recording.
The Ronnie Wood Band – Mr. Luck – A Tribute To Jimmy Reed: Live At The Royal Albert Hall CD/2xLP (BMG)
The second installment of Ronnie Wood’s live album trilogy. Along with Mick Taylor, special guests include Bobby Womack, Mick Hucknall and Paul Weller.
Yvette – How The Garden Grows CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
Yvette conjures atmospheres that are both disturbing and familiar at once, pushing synthesizers, effects pedals, vocal processors, acoustic-electric drums, and midi guitar controllers to their extremes.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Catch Prichard – I Still Miss Theresa Benoit LP (Mr. Bongo)
“The Oakland band’s darkly psychedelic country folk suggests things on the verge of collapse. In March 2020, as singer Sawyer Gebauer unwittingly contracted COVID-19, that was truer than anyone knew.” – Pitchfork
Harry Connick Jr. – All Alone With My Faith 2xLP (Verve)
Now available on vinyl. Performing and tracking the vocals and instruments himself in his home studio, what started as a creative outlet and an intimate retreat from the uncertainty of the pandemic, quickly evolved into a vulnerably healing collection of inspiring music. Across the 13 tracks, he journeys through the range of human emotions with music that is anchored in his faith and brimming with universal hope.
Loren Connors – Unaccompanied Acoustic Guitar Improvisations Vol. 2 LP (Feeding Tube)
Here is the second volume of protean solo improvisations recorded by Loren Connors in his artist’s garret in New Haven, Connecticut. Like the first volume, it was committed to tape and pressed to vinyl in 1979. Never having seen a copy of this record and having pressed it before we discovered a master cassette exists, this is as good a transfer as can be had for the nonce. Loren’s chair creaks like rusty crow and the amount of random tapping and thumping during the original session just about drove Jim O’Rourke and Jeremy Lemos crazy when they were working on it.
Dehd – Flower Of Devotion Remixed LP (Fire Talk)
Pink color vinyl pressing. Dhed’s Flower Of Devotion was one of the most critically-heralded releases of the year, named Best New Music by Pitchfork who called the record “an effortless, elegantly rumpled strain of indie rock”, a triumphant statement crowning Dehd one of the most exciting voices in Indie today. Flower Of Devotion Remixed sees Dehd surrounded by a myriad of close collaborators (Lala Lala, Protomartyr, Freak Heat Waves, and more) and points a shining spotlight on the Chicago music scene the band still calls home, staying true to the trio’s earnest melodies while creating an amorphous blend of experimentations in mutated beats and danceable hooks that feels like a personal mixtape for the friends that know them best.
Drowning Pool – Sinner [Reissue/2001] LP (Wind-Up)
First-time vinyl pressing of the debut album from the American heavy metal band.
Enuff Z’nuff – Rarities & Demos 4xLP (Deadline Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on multi-color vinyl. From the vault of bassist Chip Z’nuff and vocalist Donnie Vie comes this long-buried treasure of early ’80s demos that chronicle the birth of melodic glam rockers.
- Vax – E. Vax LP (Because Music)
Limited white color vinyl pressing. E. Vax (aka Evan Mast, and one half of Brooklyn duo Ratatat) spent the last years writing and producing with the likes of Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, and Tayana Taylor. His new solo self-titled album is a collection of instrumental songs, dolloped with moments of exploratory dialogue -disembodied moments that are equally disorienting and moving. The songs are sincere, playful, inviting, curious, and contemplative – all characteristics of Mast himself.
Everything But The Girl – Eden [Reissue/1984] LP (Buzzin’ Fly)
Originally released in June 1984 on Blanco y Negro Records, Eden is British duo Everything But The Girl’s debut studio album, produced by Robin Millar (Sade, Fine Young Cannibals). This reissue, now coming out on the bands own Buzzin’ Fly label, has been remastered and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road. The album contains the single “Each And Every One”, which peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. The cover design was created by lead singer Tracey Thorn’s former bandmate in the Marine Girls, Jane Fox.
Macky Feary Band – Macky Feary Band [Reissue/1978] LP (Aloha Got Soul)
Vinyl reissue of a highly coveted Hawaiian jazz/soul album. [Several color variants are available.]
Orla Gartland – Woman On The Internet LP (New Friends Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Debut album from the fast-rising Dublin singer-songwriter-producer. For fans of Dodie, Sharon Van Etten and The Big Moon.
Terry Gibbs & Alice Coltrane – El Nutto [Reissue/1963] LP (Survival Research)
Before joining vibraphonist Terry Gibbs’ quartet in 1962, Detroit-born pianist Alice McLeod played intermissions at the Paris Blue Note and appeared on French TV with saxophonist Lucky Thompson, reaching Gibbs’ attention in a duo with vibraphonist Terry Pollard; in the quartet, she became the perfect foil for Gibbs, her understated piano making room for his intense improvisation, stepping up with her own expression when needed. El Nutto, their third LP, captures Alice at her best in this setting, as heard on the reveries of El Flippo and the title track, this solid set of Gibbs originals showing her virtuosity, composure, and curiousness, which would soon reach more cosmic highs, once she became Alice Coltrane.
Green Jellÿ – Garbage Band Kids LP (Cleopatra)
Deluxe green & yellow splatter color vinyl version of the newest album from hilarious punk rock pranksters. Includes guest musical performances by members of Trailer Park Boys, Suicidal Tendencies, Fishbone, The Dwarves, Piledriver, Hacksaw Jim Duggin, Kittie and other plus special cameos by Weird Al Yankovic and Wink Martindale.
Guided By Voices – Isolation Drills [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (TVT)
Originally released in 2001, Isolation Drills is the twelfth album by Guided by Voices. It was their second and final LP released under TVT Records and their second to feature producer in Rob Schnapf. The album notably features instrumental contributions from Elliott Smith and David Sulzer. This special 20th Anniversary Edition has been remastered and it is included on double gatefold vinyl for the first time.
Hexen – State Of Insurgency [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (M-Theory Audio)
L.A.’s Hexen doesn’t merely rely on the cloning of old thrash metal classics, but they take in a variety of influences to keep their sound fresh and relatively unique. [CD edition due October 15.]
Hurtwave – Night Therapy I LP (Spinefarm)
Translucent pink color vinyl pressing. As if refracting feeling from a mirror image, Hurtwave bounces bright sonic transmissions off dark emotions. The Orange County duo – Rory Rodriguez and Mike Karle, also of Dayseeker – integrate alternative energy and pop ambition into synthwave-spiked soundscapes perfect for a midnight drive.
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – Winterwood LP (The Royal Potato Family)
Winterwood is JFJO’s never released, final studio album with founding member and bassist Reed Mathis. Recorded at Winterwood Recording Studio in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas in 2008, Mathis left the band shortly after tracking the LP resulting in the record being left in the vaults. While there was a high level of friction among band members at the time, Mathis felt like the sessions captured JFJO at their creative and experimental peak. With time on his hands in 2020 following the cancelation of tour dates and session work due to the pandemic, Mathis dusted off the audio and remixed the album from scratch.
The Jazz Passengers featuring Deborah Harry – Individually Twisted [Reissue/1996] LP (Modern Harmonic)
Limited peach color vinyl pressing. Rock icons Deborah Harry and Elvis Costello join NYC avant garde collaboration The Jazz Passengers for a perfectly matched ’96 album. The Passengers’ always entertaining grooves pair with Harry and Costello’s unmistakable vocal textures for exquisite originals and fresh takes on jazz standards.
Joey Joesph – Nite Vibes LP (Lost In Ohio)
Blue color vinyl pressing. “Joey’s music is what God would play for Prince as he walked through Heaven’s gate…” – Cincinnati CityBeat. Joey Joesph’s sixth full-length LP in five years is darker than its predecessors. Nite Vibes began with a handful of disco-inspired vignettes conceived in downtime during serving shifts in back rooms of restaurants.
Izzy Johnson – Earth Tones LP (Driftless Recordings)
Debut record from folk artist Izzy Johnson. Johnson is a musician, artist, and producer born and based in Southeast Michigan — lands stewarded by the Anishinaabe peoples, who include the Odawa and Potawatomi. A self-taught guitarist, they started writing songs in their late teens as a way to process living with chronic illness. But since the beginning, guitar-playing for them expanded beyond a mechanism for coping or self-expression. It became a source of healing, freedom, and awareness: a practice by which they could both transcend and ease the ailments of their physical body; an embodied experience of music as an always already unfolding of nuanced continuities and disruptions. In their songs Izzy usually finds themself reflecting on the uncertainties and complexities of life, using guitar to translate the subtleties, pains, and pleasures of their growth.
Kanonenfieber – Menschenmühle LP (Avantgarde Music/Noisbringer)
Debut album from the one-man black/death metal project. With its mature songwriting and uncommon thematic approach, Menschenmühle is intended to commemorate the countless victims of World War I. Men were thrown into a differing reality where only survival would count. Death, fear and hunger as a steady companion in the waist-deep trenches filled with mud. One order transferred people into cannon fodder in the human mill – World War I. The lyrical background of Menschenmühle is based on factual reports, letters and other documents from the surviving and deceased soldiers.
Karate – In Place Of Real Insight [Reissue/1997] LP (Numero)
The Great Alternative Boom of the early ’90s had begun to wither on corporate FM barely halfway through the decade, but the ever-changing underground had almost entirely regenerated after two major-label thrifting trips. In the ever-in-flux city of Boston, Karate positioned themselves as a crucial tendril in a sprawling nationwide community. They did so largely by refusing to stick to any single formula from the myriad of styles at their root-slowcore, post-hardcore, and jazz. As if to make a point, Karate’s lineup went through its own shift too. In the lead up to 1997’s In Place of Real Insight, Eamonn Vitt took up the guitar, and Karate compatriot Jeff Goddard entered the fold to become the band’s bassist. Armed with two guitarists, the band got significantly louder, and they smeared punk fury all over their second LP.
Lee Konitz Plays With The Gerry Mulligan Quartet / Gerry Mulligan Quartet – Lee Konitz Plays With The Gerry Mulligan Quartet / Gerry Mulligan Quartet [Reissue/1953] LP (Blue Note)
Three giants of West Coast jazz came together in this swinging session recorded in 1953. Alto saxophone master Lee Konitz joins Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone and legendary trumpeter Chet Baker on a half-live/half-studio recording. They are supported by bassists Carson Smith and Joe Mondragon with Larry Bunker on drums for this spontaneous and inventive jazz treasure. Reissued as part of The Blue Note Tone Poet Series: all-analog, remastered 180gm vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Leprous – Aphelion 2xLP+CD (Inside Out U.S.)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New album from the creative Norwegian rock outfit. Although unmistakably the work of the same band that made Pitfalls in 2019, Aphelion immediately stands out as a radical statement: Veering from some of the most intense material of their career to some of the most delicate music in the Leprous career, Aphelion is an album of beautifully crafted and meticulously arranged mini masterworks.
Lightning Love – November Birthday [Reissue/2009] LP (Lost In Ohio)
Lightning Love, a band consisting of siblings Leah and Aaron Diehl and friend Ben Collins, delivers a cheery indie-pop sound flavored with sugary sweet keyboard- driven arrangements and underscored by heart-on-sleeve honesty. Their self-released debut album, November Birthday (2009), leveraged Leah’s compelling vocals and themes of tackling the challenges of newfound adulthood and is sure to appeal to fans of Mates Of State, Alvvays, Spoon, and Belle And Sebastian.
Lou Cifer and Lou Cifer & The Hellions – Hell In The Barn: Live LP+CD (Bear Family)
The ‘teddy boy’ rock ‘n’ roll band, live in Oberhausen, early 2020.
Nick Lowe – The Convincer [Reissue/2001] LP+7”+MP3 (Yep Roc)
Nick Lowe – Old Magic [Reissue/2011] LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
Limited color vinyl reissues of two of the British singer-songwriter’s albums. The Convincer established him as an elder statesman of rock and roll, far removed from the ironic power popper he was in the 1970s. The album arrived in a different world than the day before, releasing on September 11, 2001. 2011’s The Old Magic continued Lowe’s late-career evolution with arguably his best collection yet.
LTtheMonk – On The Wall LP (Sonic Unyon Metal)
New release from the UK-born and Canadian-raised rapper.
Lump – Animal LP (Partisan)
Recently released on CD – now available on turquoise & white swirl color vinyl. Lump began in 2018, with a collaboration between Mike Lindsay – a Mercury Prize-winning producer and co-founder of band Tunng – and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Laura Marling.
Mad Fables – Get Off [Reissue/1977] LP (Lion Productions)
Vinyl reissue of a rare album from the New Jersey jamming rock band, that grooves in a Grateful Dead (in their seventies garb, post Pig Pen), Allman Brothers (with Duane still alive), Little Feat vein.
Mayhem – Wolf’s Lair Abyss [Reissue/1997] 12” (Soulseller)
Clear vinyl pressing of the Norwegian black metal band’s first EP without Euronymous, who was killed in 1993.
The Moody Blues – In Search Of The Lost Chord [Reissue/1968] LP (Friday Music)
Limited audiophile 180gm translucent gold colored vinyl pressing of The Moody Blues’ third album.
The Neal Morse Band – Innocence & Danger 3xLP+2xCD (Inside Out U.S.)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With NMB’s previous two releases being concept albums, it’s perhaps remarkable that Innocence & Danger is a series of unrelated songs, but drummer Mike Portnoy says, “After two sprawling back-to-back double concept albums in a row, it was refreshing to get back to writing a collection of unrelated individual songs in the vein of our first album.”
Neon Christ – 1984 LP (Southern Lord)
Standard black vinyl pressing of the recentlyl released compilation album from the ‘80s hardcore punk band.
Ordo Caper – Aphorism Of Baneful Arts LP (Dunkelheit Produktionen)
Ordo Caper offer their unique take on death metal, sluggish at times, rotten and traditional, but at the same time innovative and bizarre.
Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears [Reissue/1991] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Considered one of his most successful and most popular albums, No More Tears is Ozzy Osbourne’s sixth solo studio album, originally a top 10 album upon its release in September 1991. Featuring some of Zakk Wylde’s best-ever guitar work, along with four songs co-written by Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister, No More Tears contains some of the biggest songs of Ozzy’s career.
Our Lady Peace – Clumsy [Reissue/1997] LP (Sony)
180gm opaque white color vinyl reissue of the Canadian alternative rock band’s second album.
Madeleine Peyroux – Careless Love [Reissue/2004] 3xLP (Craft Recordings)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Careless Love, first released in 2004, is a rich collection of covers, with tunes from Bob Dylan to James P. Johnson and including a milestone rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End Of Love”. This deluxe edition includes a previously unreleased 2005 live set recorded by Basque Public Radio for the Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.
Primus – Suck On This [Reissue/1989] LP (Prawn Song)
Vinyl reissue of Primus’s debut album, originally released in 1989. At the time of recording, the featured lineup of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander had only been playing together for about two months.
Rippikoulu – Musta Seremonia [Reissue/1993] LP (Svart)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Rippikoulu began their musical endeavors back in the late ‘80s, and like so many of their contemporaries, evolved from primitive punk noise to death metal. However, while many bands played death metal with groovy riffing and overall headbanging attitude, Rippikoulu’s choice of style was darker. Their down-tuned metal is bleak and nearly unbearably heavy in its execution, dark and soul-searching in its themes, intertwining faster bursts of chaos with slow, doomy passages.
The Rolling Stones – A Bigger Bang Live On Copacabana Beach 3xLP (Mercury Studios)
Limited triple multi-color vinyl pressing. In front of 1.5 million people, one of the biggest free concerts in history, The Rolling Stones’ performance on February 18, 2006, in Rio de Janeiro was a historic event. Fully restored and remastered from their A Bigger Bang World Tour, this includes four unreleased tracks: “Tumbling Dice”, “Oh No, Not You Again”, “This Place Is Empty”, and “Sympathy For The Devil”.
Jesse Royal – Royal LP (Easy Star)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Modern reggae featuring socially conscious lyricism and a classic style.
Wayne Shorter – The All Seeing Eye [Reissue/1966] LP (Blue Note)
The All Seeing Eye is Wayne Shorter’s brilliant and multi-layered album for Blue Note. His goal was to use a wider range of colors and textures while continuing his explorations of life and the universe and God. Joining Shorter are Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III, James Spaulding, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Joe Chambers, and Wayne’s brother Alan Shorter on flugelhorn. Reissued as part of The Blue Note Tone Poet Series: all-analog, remastered 180gm vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Silverfish – Fat Axl [Reissue/1990] LP (Beggars Banquet)
Limited red splattered vinyl pressing. Beggars Arkive is excited to announce a limited-edition reissue of Silverfish’s first full-length album, Fat Axl, originally released in 1990 by Beggars label Wiiija. Recorded in Sheffield by Steve Albini in just two days, the album’s nine songs are unrestrained and uncommercial.
Nancy Sinatra – Boots [Reissue/1966] LP (Light In The Attic)
Light in the Attic’s next installment in the Nancy Sinatra Archival Series is a deluxe reissue of her 1966 million-selling debut LP-and this vinyl edition is just as sassy and sexy as Nancy was when she first burst out with that blonde hair, those go-go boots and that walk all over you attitude. Produced by Lee Hazlewood and arranged and conducted by Billy Strange, Boots stomped all over the competition with Nancy’s arresting renditions of Hazlewood’s compositions and songs by the Beatles, Stones and Bob Dylan.
Skatune Network – Burn The Billboard LP (Counter Intuitive)
Limited purple colored vinyl pressing. Everybody’s favorite ska legend returns with a covers album of some of the biggest pop bangers of the last 20 years.
Sofa – Source Crossfire 2xLP+MP3 (Constellation)
A searing, brooding collection documenting the recorded output of one of Montreal’s most shadowy, notorious, captivating underground art-rock ensembles of the mid- ‘90s (and the first band to be released on renowned indie label Constellation).
Staind – It’s Been Awhile: Live From Foxwoods 2019 2xLP (BMG)
Recently released on CD and stand-alone DVD – now available on vinyl. In 2019 after a five-year hiatus, Staind reunited for some unforgettable festival performances, and a hometown reunion show at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, CT where their new album, Live: It’s Been Awhile was recorded. Featuring takes on the Top 5 singles “It’s Been Awhile”, “So Far Away”, “For You”, “Right Here”, and “Fade”, the 15-track set serves as the multi-platinum rockers’ first album in nine years. “These were the first grouping of shows we played together in 2019, when we were gearing up for what was to be a very busy 2020…that never happened,” says Staind frontman Aaron Lewis. “I’m glad we captured that energy here and can share it with those who couldn’t be at Foxwoods.”
SZA – Good Days 10” (RCA)
Color vinyl pressing. “Good Days” is the dreamy, platinum-certified 2020 single from SZA which served as the singer’s first solo song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard charts. Features Grammy-nominated London musician Jacob Collier on backing vocals.
Lewis Taylor – Lewis Taylor [Reissue/1996] LP (Be With)
An effortless blend of neo-soul, sophisticated pop, smart grooves and laid-back white funk, Lewis Taylor’s eponymous 1996 album enjoyed rapturous reviews from critics and music legends alike.
Toxic Ruin – Nightmare Eclipse LP (M-Theory Audio)
New album from the Wisconsin-based metal band.
Traumatomy – Extirpation Paradigms LP (Gore House Productions)
The Russian slam titans return with their third album.
Tuesday The Sky – The Blurred Horizon LP (Metal Blade)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Tuesday The Sky’s origins could almost be considered accidental. Guitarist Jim Matheos, famed for his work with progressive metal giants Fates Warning alongside projects such as OSI and his collaboration with John Arch, Arch/Matheos, penned a few songs that did not fit in with any of his established outlets, and intrigued by this, decided to write more and see where this took him. The result was 2017’s Drift, a record that drew influence from the likes of Brian Eno, Sigur Ros, Boards Of Canada and Explosions In The Sky, and now he returns with its successor, The Blurred Horizon. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Various Artists – Amerikinda: 20 Years Of Dualtone 2xLP (Dualtone)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Beloved Nashville-based indie label Dualtone Records celebrates their 20th Anniversary this year with the release of Amerikinda: 20 Years of Dualtone. The album features a slew of Dualtone artists and alumni including The Lumineers, Brett Dennen, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mt. Joy, Shovels & Rope, The Lone Bellow, Langhorne Slim, Shakey Graves, The Wild Reeds, and more all covering each other’s songs in celebration of the label’s landmark birthday. “The core of the label has stayed the same, in a lot of ways,” said label president Paul Roper. “Most of us have been here almost a decade together. We had to make a conscious decision to not change our signing philosophy and to not bring on fifteen new employees, and to maintain the hustle and that ethos of ‘don’t forget where you came from.’ Giving albums our full dedication, giving them their own appropriate time and space to find an audience, is something that has always been important to us.”
Various Artists – Mellow Music Group: Persona LP (Mellow Music Group)
The murderer’s row Mello roster circa 2015. Oddisee, Apollo Brown, yU, L’Orange, Red Pill, Open Mike Eagle, Rapper Big Pooh, Quelle Chris. Turn here if you want to find the best hip-hop artists of their generation in raw and unfiltered form.
Vous Atres – Champ Du Sang 2xLP (Season Of Mist)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. French post black metal band Vous Autres return with an album where a glimpse of light cracks into the gigantic wall of despair and melancholy they used to build. [A limited-edition red color vinyl pressing is also available.]
The Weather Station – All Of It Was Mine [Reissue/2011] LP (Fat Possum)
Incisive and insightful folk music by Tamara Lindeman. A beautifully sung depiction of the growing things, and the crawling things, and the loving and hurting things that move around, bewildered and dazzled. All Of It Was Mine is fast approaching legendary status. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
With Honor – Heart Means Everything [Reissue/2004] LP (Pure Noise)
Vinyl reissue of the Connecticut hardcore band’s debut album.
Will Young – Crying On The Bathroom Floor LP (Cooking Vinyl)
“I’ve always enjoyed singing other people’s songs. There is a liberation to it. It’s how I feel when I approach a script. I have reverence for the piece of art and the artist who created it,” says Will Young of his new album, Crying On The Bathroom Floor. “After 18 years of recording and performing a lot of original material, I loved the idea of creating an album that celebrates some of the modern female artists I so admire in pop.
Cassette:
Alicia Walter – I Am Alicia (Sooper)
The debut LP from the former leader of Chicago-based art-rock outfit Oshwa is a bold retelling of Walter’s self-discovery that encourages the listener’s own story to take root in its universal truths; a soundtrack to get you up and over life’s hurdles when feeling like you are your only cheerleader. Embracing influences spanning from jazz and the classic composition of American standards to hip-hop and new wave to build her own brand of eclectic pop, Walter paves a path toward actualization, acceptance and love that is fearless in its sound and lyrics.
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