AIMS Marketing Program/ Featured Titles Promoted This Week:
Christine and The Queens – Paranoia, Angels, True Love CD/3xCD/LP/3xLP (Because Music)
French singer/songwriter Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier aka Christine and The Queens presents his new album Paranoia, Angels, True Love which includes the single “To Be Honest” and guest appearances from Madonna and 070 Shake. Speaking about the album, Chris said: “This new record is the second part of an operatic gesture that also encompassed 2022’s Redcar les adorables étoiles. Taking inspiration from the glorious dramaturgy of Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels In America, Redcar felt colorful and absurd like Prior sent to his insane dream-space. The follow-up Paranoia, Angels, True Love is a key towards heart-opening transformation, a prayer towards the self – the one that breathes through all the loves it is made of. Prior’s real agony in Angels In America is a deep, painful becoming, a shedding of all waters and memories, that then allows angels to immerse deep too, and offer back profound, narrative-altering love – a rest in true love.” [Single disc CD and vinyl versions include 9 new songs. The deluxe triple-disc CD and vinyl edition feature 20 new songs.]
Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors – Strangers No More CD/LP (Magnolia Music)
There are no strangers at a Drew Holcomb show. For the better part of two decades, the award-winning songwriter has brought his audience together night after night, turning his shows into celebrations of community, collaboration, and contemporary American roots music. Strangers No More, the eighth album from Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, celebrates that sense of togetherness. Produced by Cason Cooley, it expands the band’s mix of timeless songwriting, modern-day Laurel Canyon folk, amplified Americana, and heartland rock & roll.
Niall Horan – The Show CD/LP (Capitol)
Throughout his third solo album The Show, chart-topping Irish artist Niall Horan matches the pure emotion of his globally beloved past work with a powerful new element of soul-searching reflection. Built on a lush and radiant form of alt-pop, the album draws much of its mesmerizing power from his use of harmonies – an element inspired by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, and other members of the ’60s/’70s music scene in Laurel Canyon. The collection is introduced by the yearning single “Heaven,” Horan’s first piece of solo material in nearly three years. [An indie store exclusive autographed CD version is available.]
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit – Weathervanes CD/2xLP (Thirty Tigers)
New album from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, tackling issues such as gun violence, the opioid crisis, and women’s rights all through Isbell’s signature songwriting lens. Weathervanes is a collection of grown-up songs: Songs about adult love, about change, about the danger of nostalgia and the interrogation of myths, about cruelty and regret and redemption. Life and death songs played for and by grown ass people. Some will make you cry alone in your car and others will make you sing along with thousands of strangers in a big summer pavilion, united in the great miracle of being alive. Weathervanes features the rolling thunder of Isbell’s fearsome 400 Unit, who’ve earned a place in the rock ‘n’ roll cosmos alongside the greatest backing ensembles, as powerful and essential to the storytelling as The E Street Band or The Wailers. [Indie store exclusive CD and vinyl versions are available.]
King Krule – Space Heavy CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Written from 2020 to 2022 in between London and Liverpool, Space Heavy took shape over the course of Archy Marshall’s commutes between the two cities where he was splitting his time. Befitting an album quite literally written on the commute between the two places he called home, Archy found himself fascinated by the notion of “the space between” – the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe. Space Heavy, indeed. The result is an album that inhabits the deepest reaches of the subterranean sonic world that Archy has constructed over the course of his career as King Krule. [An indie store exclusive clear vinyl pressing is available.]
Jenny Lewis – Joy’All CD/2xLP/Cassette (Blue Note)
Jenny Lewis’ fifth solo album Joy’All finds the singer-songwriter embarking on a new era, in a new town – and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note/Capitol Records. While Joy’All pulls from a bounty of sonic inspiration – from classic soul to ‘90s R&B, as well as country and classic singer-songwriter records – the album’s rich, intimate and warm live sound is the hallmark of eight-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, Joy’All includes the new single “Psychos” and the previously released single “Puppy And A Truck”. [An indie store exclusive green color vinyl pressing is available.]
Janelle Monáe – The Age Of Pleasure CD/LP (Atlantic)
A groundbreaking, genre-blurring singer, songwriter, producer, and performer, Janelle Monáe’s inventive style melds a refined pop sensibility with an extraordinary postmodern mash-up of soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll. The Grammy Award-winner follows-up 2018’s critically acclaimed Dirty Computers with the highly anticipated 2023 album The Age Of Pleasure, which comes introduced by the shimmering singles “Float” and “Lipstick Lover”. Monáe explained to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe that, “All the songs were written from such an honest space. So I hope that people feel that when they listen to the music, that they feel that when they come and, you know, counter with me when I’m around, I definitely have had an opportunity to evolve and grow and to tap into the things that bring me pleasure, the things that perhaps I should rethink and rework.” [An indie store exclusive orange color vinyl pressing is available.]
Squid – O Monolith CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
Teeming with melodic epiphanies and layered sounds, Squid’s second album O Monolith is a musical evocation of environment, domesticity, and self-made folklore. Like its predecessor, 2021’s critically acclaimed album Bright Green Field, it is dense and full of tricks – but also warmer and more characterful, with a meandering, questioning nature. A sense of open conversation is cultivated: this is unmistakably music made by friends, but it’s not exclusionary – they’re inviting you in to listen with them. Expansive, evocative and hugely varied, O Monolith retains Squid’s restless, enigmatic spirit, but it still holds surprises for those familiar with Bright Green Field. It’s a reflection of the outsized progression of a band always looking to the future. Like its namesake, O Monolith is vast and strange, alive with endless possible interpretations of its inner mysteries. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
TEKE::TEKE – Hagata CD/LP (Kill Rock Stars)
Blending past and present, from Canada to Japan, multiple lives lived at once, each track on Montreal-based psych-rock group TEKE::TEKE’s new album Hagata carries a sense of change, impact, of having been marked in an intimate way. And yet the force behind that marking is always just out of grasp, a wisp, a ghost, an energy, a spirit that compels you to keep reaching. From the tender-hearted “Jinzou Maria” to the rumbling and raucous “Yurei Zanmai”, the songs of Hagata bear an eerie yet somehow familiar sensation. Japanese pop tones, Serge Gainsbourg grandeur, folk whisper, and Brazilian surf rock all mix into the psychedelic stew. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
This Is The Kit – Careful Of Your Keepers CD/LP+MP3 (Rough Trade)
Singer-songwriter and composer, Kate Stables returns with a wondrous new This Is The Kit album, Careful Of Your Keepers, that chronicles a world of mistakes and mishaps, cruel circumstances, and universe-driven surprises. It’s a record that embraces the concept of “outrospection” – the idea that you get to know oneself by developing relationships and empathic thinking with others – and brings the Paris-based, UK born bandleader’s signature ability to move swiftly between cryptic poetry to honest inquisition to the fore. Guiding the ship through changing seas is producer Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), who deftly enhances the innate shared language that Stables has with her band, capturing beautiful instrumental performances while leaving the space required for her robust, silken voice to lead. The music here is daring and soft, cutting and warm, a wild feat of complexity and combined dispositions. [An indie store exclusive green color vinyl pressing is available.]
Youth Lagoon – Heaven Is A Junkyard CD/LP (Fat Possum)
With whispers of country, Heaven Is A Junkyard is mutant Americana in a world of love, drugs, storytelling, and miracles – held together by Trevor Powers’ voice and an upright piano. “If a lyric wasn’t right, a song wasn’t right,” says Powers, who scrapped two-and-a-half albums worth of material because it ‘wasn’t honest.’ Heaven Is A Junkyard is about all of us. It’s stories of brothers leaving for war, drunk fathers learning to hug, mothers falling in love, neighbors stealing mail, cowboys doing drugs, friends skipping school, me crying in the bathtub, dogs catching rabbits, and children playing in tall grass,” says Powers. Throughout the album, he stitches together a lyrical style that feels both punk and western. Recorded in six weeks with co-producer Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele, Gil Scott-Heron), Heaven Is a Junkyard is a work of absolute devotion. A portrait of the God-haunted American West. And a reminder that there is always love in the tall grass. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is available.]
Additional Social Media Program Titles:
Chayla Hope – Damn, Feelings LP (Misra)
Indie store exclusive clear w/ pink, white & red pressing. Damn, Feelings, the debut album from Chayla Hope, is a distillation of what makes pop such a potent force, conjuring images of everything from ‘80s arcades and present-day queer clubs to golden hour convertible rides and marathon dive bar karaoke sessions with friends you’d kill for.
My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 3: Bonnaroo 2004 2xLP (ATO)
My Morning Jacket, touring behind It Still Moves, took the stage at Bonnaroo on a scorching day in the summer of 2004. Ominous dark clouds rolled in early in the performance. “I’ll never forget it,” reflected Jim James, “We’re playing, and the sky just rips open and rain starts pouring down. People are losing their minds… Everybody is petrified that we’re going to get electrocuted, but it was such a transcendent moment that we just didn’t care.” It would become one of the festival’s most iconic sets. [Two limited-edition pressings are available: indie store exclusive “Thunderdome Edition” clear; and coke bottle green.]
CDs + Vinyl:
Alcest – Les Voyages De L’âme [Reissue/2012] CD/LP (Prophecy)
CD and picture-disc vinyl reissue of the blackgaze artist’s third album.
Vicente Archer – Short Stories CD (Cellar Live)
Short Stories, bassist Vicente Archer’s debut album, is a family affair. Vicente brings together long-time friends and collaborators Gerald Clayton on piano and Bill Stewart on drums to dive into stories and songs from his 25-year career making music with luminaries like Robert Glasper, John Scofield, Nicholas Payton and Norah Jones. More than a musical memory box, however, Short Stories is a look at life, and little moments, in sketches of sound.
Colby Acuff – Western White Pines CD (SME Nashville)
Working with acclaimed producer/engineer Eddie Spear (Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Cody Jinks), Acuff’s first major label project is in motion, recorded with a new team of top-flight talent at Nashville’s Sound Emporium. Another batch of gritty, solo-written songs – plus the first ever co-writes of a promising career – Western White Pines will help introduce a country talent as wild and free as the Idaho mountains themselves.
Art Nation – Inception CD (Frontiers)
The studio album from Swedish melodic hard rock/metal band Art Nation features a reunion of the band’s core lineup of vocalist Alexander Strandell, guitarist Christoffer Borg, bassist Richard Svärd, and drummer Alexander Lundgren.
Bell Witch – Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate 2xCD/2xLP (Profound Lore)
New album from the Pacific Northwestern doom metal monolith.
Matt Berry – Kill The Wolf [Reissue/2013] CD/2xLP (Acid Jazz)
Critically acclaimed, Kill The Wolf features progressive music,’70s pop and psychedelic experimentation that established him as a musician in his own right. The original release, a short run of 300 box sets, has since become a sought-after rarity. For the album’s tenth anniversary, this special edition deluxe versions compiles all the exclusive material. [The gatefold double LP features three additional bonus tracks (not on the CD) and mimic’s the original album’s blood-splatter appearance.]
Burial Hordes – Ruin CD (Transcending Obscurity)
Emerging after a gap of five years, Greece’s best kept secret Burial Hordes bring forth an outstanding slab of blackened death metal that harnesses both chaos and atmosphere in equal parts.
Laura Cantrell – Just Like A Rose: The Anniversary Sessions CD/LP (Propeller Sound)
After a nine-year hiatus, Laura Cantrell, a familiar presence in the international Americana and roots music scene, is back with her latest studio album. Over the years, she has won over loyal audiences both in her home country and the UK through her constant touring and numerous media appearances. Although the album was originally intended to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her debut album, the recording was delayed due to covid restrictions. This new collection was expertly crafted in studios located in both New York City and Nashville, with the help of renowned luminaries like Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, and Rosie Flores. [A limited-edition translucent green color vinyl pressing is available.]
Christine and The Queens – Paranoia, Angels, True Love CD/3xCD/LP/3xLP (Because Music)
French singer/songwriter Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier aka Christine and The Queens presents his new album Paranoia, Angels, True Love which includes the single “To Be Honest” and guest appearances from Madonna and 070 Shake. Speaking about the album, Chris said: “This new record is the second part of an operatic gesture that also encompassed 2022’s Redcar les adorables étoiles. Taking inspiration from the glorious dramaturgy of Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels In America, Redcar felt colorful and absurd like Prior sent to his insane dream-space. The follow-up Paranoia, Angels, True Love is a key towards heart-opening transformation, a prayer towards the self – the one that breathes through all the loves it is made of. Prior’s real agony in Angels In America is a deep, painful becoming, a shedding of all waters and memories, that then allows angels to immerse deep too, and offer back profound, narrative-altering love – a rest in true love.” [Single disc CD and vinyl versions include 9 new songs. The deluxe triple-disc CD and vinyl edition feature 20 new songs.]
Joanna Connor – Best Of Me CD (Sono Recording Group)
Looking more like a woman who could be your next-door neighbor rather than a scorching blues rock guitar goddess, Joanna Connor is an atypical and unassuming guitar heroine who absolutely shreds or tenderly caresses notes out of her Gibson Les Paul. Having her performances passed along on social media by heavy hitters Slash, Bootsy Collins, Vernon Reed, and others only gives credence to her immense and intriguing talents.
Alice Cooper – Killer [Reissue/1971] 2xCD/2xLP (Rhino)
Alice Cooper – School’s Out [Reissue/1972] 2xCD/2xLP (Rhino)
Deluxe double-disc CD and vinyl editions of the fourth and fifth studio albums recorded by the quintet of singer Alice Cooper, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. Bob Ezrin produced all four of Alice Cooper’s platinum albums from the 1970s, including Killer and School’s Out. These deluxe editions feature newly remastered versions of the original releases along with bonus material including unreleased live recordings.
Sienna Dahlen & Bill Coon – Balladextrous CD (Cellar Live)
Se balader: a French verb meaning to stroll, wander or roam. In other words, a slow and easy movement through time. Musically speaking, this is what Sienna Dahlen and Bill Coon set out to experience in early January of 2020 under a misty evening sky in Vancouver, BC. There was really no end goal, only the moment to honor, as living in a jazz ballad means remaining open and vulnerable while navigating silence and shaping time. [Vinyl version due July 7.]
Dee Daniels & Denzal Sinclaire – Let It Shine! Let It Shine! CD (Cellar Live)
The planning of this milestone project was a labor of love from a group of legendary artists that found comfort in African American hymns & spirituals during a time of deep trouble in our world. The direction for the music from the outset was to step away from the world of jazz & dig deeper into the roots of Black music.
The Dead Milkmen – Quaker City Quiet Pills CD/LP (The Giving Groove)
Brand new release from Philadelphia’s one and only The Dead Milkmen.
The Defiants – Drive CD (Frontiers)
The Defiants return with their third album, Drive. Formed by Paul Laine, Bruno Ravel, and Rob Marcello, who are all current or former members of beloved rockers Danger Danger, the album is a glorious return to the “in your face” melodic hard rock that enraptured millions of fans back in the ’80s and ’90s and is now influencing a new generation of hard rock lovin’ bands. Huge choruses & hooks and soaring guitars and vocals are the order of the day here.
Dream Wife – Social Lubrication CD/L (Lucky Number)
Following the menacing but heartfelt return single “Leech”, Dream Wife returns with their long awaited third album Social Lubrication. It’s a rock-heavy, call-to-arms for empathy, in a world still propped up by patriarchal systems and underhand codes of silence. [Two vinyl colorways are available: red and indie store exclusive red w/ black deluxe.]
Robert Ellis – Yesterday’s News CD/LP (Niles City)
Robert Ellis is redefining himself with Yesterday’s News – a record of unhurried meditations delivered by an artist learning to slow down and appreciate the tiny miracles that make life worth living. Hailed by NPR for his “musical daring and impeccable song craft,” and Rolling Stone for his “sharp eye for storytelling,” Ellis recorded Yesterday’s News to tape in just two days, embracing a raw minimalism that prizes patience and restraint above all else: “close your eyes and drift into a dream.” [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is available.]
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru – Jerusalem CD/LP (Mississippi)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. A revelatory new album of piano compositions by the renowned and beloved Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, unreleased or virtually inaccessible until now.
Extreme – Six CD/2xLP (earMUSIC)
The multi-million-selling hard rockers present 12 new tracks ranging from funk-tinged bangers to soaring ballads. [Two vinyl colorways are available: translucent red and red w/ black smoke.]
Fifty Fifty – The Beginning: Cupid (Black Ver.) CD (Attrakt)
Fifty Fifty – The Beginning: Cupid (Nerd Ver.) CD (Attrakt)
New album from the all-girl K-pop group.
Colt Ford – Must Be The Country CD (Average Joe’s Ent.)
Colt Ford returns with his new album Must Be The Country, a 24-track star-studded affair featuring appearances and co-writes with Brantley Gilbert, Dillon Carmichael, Kevin Gates, Tracy Lawrence, Tracy Byrd, Mitchell Tenpenny, Taylor Phillips, Josh Mirenda, etc.
Girls Under Glass – Backdraft CD/2xCDLP (Dependent)
New album from the German metal band. Backdraft easily shifts gears from catchy gothic rock to electronic dark wave and up to melodic post-punk. [A limited-edition double-CD version and a gold color vinyl pressing are available.]
Keaton Henson – House Party CD (Play It Again Sam)
Two years after Monument, Keaton Henson comes back with a new studio album, House Party. About the album, Keaton says: “I wanted to make an upbeat confident pop record about depression and being a performer, written from the viewpoint of an artist who has hollowed himself out over a long career in the name of success, an alternate universe version of me (the guy in the pink suit), who is left empty and lonely from climbing to the top, but is still only able to express these feelings in the language of confident, performative pop songs.” [Vinyl version due June 16.]
Heretoir – Wastelands CDEP/12” (AOP)
New three-track EP by the German post-black metal band.
Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors – Strangers No More CD/LP (Magnolia Music)
There are no strangers at a Drew Holcomb show. For the better part of two decades, the award-winning songwriter has brought his audience together night after night, turning his shows into celebrations of community, collaboration, and contemporary American roots music. Strangers No More, the eighth album from Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, celebrates that sense of togetherness. Produced by Cason Cooley, it expands the band’s mix of timeless songwriting, modern-day Laurel Canyon folk, amplified Americana, and heartland rock & roll.
Niall Horan – The Show CD/LP (Capitol)
Throughout his third solo album The Show, chart-topping Irish artist Niall Horan matches the pure emotion of his globally beloved past work with a powerful new element of soul-searching reflection. Built on a lush and radiant form of alt-pop, the album draws much of its mesmerizing power from his use of harmonies – an element inspired by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, and other members of the ’60s/’70s music scene in Laurel Canyon. The collection is introduced by the yearning single “Heaven,” Horan’s first piece of solo material in nearly three years. [An indie store exclusive autographed CD version is available.]
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit – Weathervanes CD/2xLP (Thirty Tigers)
New album from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, tackling issues such as gun violence, the opioid crisis, and women’s rights all through Isbell’s signature songwriting lens. Weathervanes is a collection of grown-up songs: Songs about adult love, about change, about the danger of nostalgia and the interrogation of myths, about cruelty and regret and redemption. Life and death songs played for and by grown ass people. Some will make you cry alone in your car and others will make you sing along with thousands of strangers in a big summer pavilion, united in the great miracle of being alive. Weathervanes features the rolling thunder of Isbell’s fearsome 400 Unit, who’ve earned a place in the rock ‘n’ roll cosmos alongside the greatest backing ensembles, as powerful and essential to the storytelling as The E Street Band or The Wailers. [Indie store exclusive CD and vinyl versions are available.]
Jayda G – Guy CD/LP+MP3 (Ninja Tune)
Jayda G, the Grammy-nominated writer, producer, DJ, environmental toxicologist, campaigner, and broadcaster, returns with her new full length album Guy. Co-produced with Jack Peñate (who has previously worked with the likes of SAULT, David Byrne and Adele), with contributions from Lisa-Kaindé Diaz (of Ibeyi), Ed Thomas (Stormzy, Nia Archives, Jorja Smith) and more. The album brings Jayda’s own voice and words more prominently into focus than ever before, across 13 tracks that draw on her house, disco, R&B and soul roots while emphasizing her pop songwriting sensibilities, interspersed with archival recordings of her late father, the eponymous William Richard Guy. [An eco-mix color vinyl pressing is available.]
King Krule – Space Heavy CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Written from 2020 to 2022 in between London and Liverpool, Space Heavy took shape over the course of Archy Marshall’s commutes between the two cities where he was splitting his time. Befitting an album quite literally written on the commute between the two places he called home, Archy found himself fascinated by the notion of “the space between” – the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe. Space Heavy, indeed. The result is an album that inhabits the deepest reaches of the subterranean sonic world that Archy has constructed over the course of his career as King Krule. [An indie store exclusive clear vinyl pressing is available.]
Legion Of The Damned – Poison Chalice 2xCD (Napalm)
Dutch thrash veterans Legion Of The Damned have once again entered into an alliance with the devouring depths of black and death metal and unleash another angry beast, The Poison Chalice.
Levelle – Promise To Love CD (Sono Recording Group)
Levelle’s debut album, My Journey Continues, has experienced rave reviews, constant radio airplay and millions of streams. The album established Levelle as one of the top voices in the traditional R&B revival. On his new album, Promise To Love, Levelle is back with that old school R&B sound. It features 12 new recordings, including collaborations with Raheem DeVaughn, Anthony Hamilton, and Zacardi Cortez.
Jenny Lewis – Joy’All CD/2xLP/Cassette (Blue Note)
Jenny Lewis’ fifth solo album Joy’All finds the singer-songwriter embarking on a new era, in a new town – and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note/Capitol Records. While Joy’All pulls from a bounty of sonic inspiration – from classic soul to ‘90s R&B, as well as country and classic singer-songwriter records – the album’s rich, intimate, and warm live sound is the hallmark of eight-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, Joy’All includes the new single “Psychos” and the previously released single “Puppy And A Truck”. [An indie store exclusive green color vinyl pressing is available.]
Lightning Dust – Nostalgia CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
Sticky with unresolved, living feelings, walls of synths and bass lines rise to chill-inducing heights, while maintaining space around Amber Webber’s singular voice as she sings of romantic warfare like some kind of cosmic Stevie Nicks, on an album that sounds arena-ready and devastatingly intimate all at once. [A limited-edition ‘cosmic amber’ color vinyl pressing is available.]
Lone Wolf – Haze Wave CD/LP (Stardumb)
With their unique brand of infectiously catchy indie meets post-pop punk, Lone Wolf has been building a name for themselves and recruiting fans everywhere they go in Europe and North America ever since forming back in 2016.
Milky Chance – Living In A Haze CD/LP (Muggelig)
Idiosyncratic and inventive alt-pop songs.
Roscoe Mitchell – At The Fault Zone Festival CD (Wide Hive)
Roscoe Mitchell Orchestra performs two masterpieces for the Fault Zone Festival April 21, 2022. “Distant Radio Transmission Fault Zone” and “Sustain And Run II” feature Roscoe on alto sax, James Fei on synth, vocalist Thomas Buckner, and a stellar 30-piece orchestra.
Janelle Monáe – The Age Of Pleasure CD/LP (Atlantic)
A groundbreaking, genre-blurring singer, songwriter, producer, and performer, Janelle Monáe’s inventive style melds a refined pop sensibility with an extraordinary postmodern mash-up of soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll. The Grammy Award-winner follows-up 2018’s critically acclaimed Dirty Computers with the highly anticipated 2023 album The Age Of Pleasure, which comes introduced by the shimmering singles “Float” and “Lipstick Lover”. Monáe explained to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe that, “All the songs were written from such an honest space. So I hope that people feel that when they listen to the music, that they feel that when they come and, you know, counter with me when I’m around, I definitely have had an opportunity to evolve and grow and to tap into the things that bring me pleasure, the things that perhaps I should rethink and rework.” [An indie store exclusive orange color vinyl pressing is available.]
Emile Mosseri – Heaven Hunters CD/LP (Greedy Heart)
On Heaven Hunters, Mosseri looks inwards, using his distinctive sound and gift for musical storytelling for his most personal work. Produced by The Haxan Cloak, Heaven Hunters explores the weight of choosing one path in life, putting to death every other possible future, and finding comfort in redefining happiness. For Mosseri, the search for Heaven – a concept of perpetual happiness void of suffering – is a fruitless effort that blocks us from finding peace and balance in life as it really is. Driven by Mosseri’s poignant lyrics and intimate singing, Heaven Hunters is a celebration of the highs and lows that create that equilibrium, built around songs of longing, love, heartbreak, familial struggle, and domestic bliss. [A bone white color vinyl pressing is available.]
Tracy Nelson – Life Don’t Miss Nobody CD (BMG)
Iconic roots singer Tracy Nelson, who burst onto the rock ‘n’ roll scene in the mid- ‘60s as lead singer in the San Francisco-based group Mother Earth and her legendary vocals on the classic, “Down So Low”, release her first album in over 10 years. Joining Tracy on Life Don’t Miss Nobody are some of her favorite musical friends, including Willie Nelson, Charlie Musselwhite, Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, Jontavious Willis, Mickey Raphael, and Terry Hanck.
Oceans Ate Alaska – Disparity CD/LP (Fearless)
After amassing over 40 million streams, Oceans Ate Alaska was ready to share their new album, Disparity. Inspired by a mutual love for the likes of Bonobo and Alina Baraz, collaborator Clem Cherry enhanced the production with airy beat-craft and immersive sonic accents. “For us, it’s about uplifting listeners,” Harrison says. “We want them to feel empowered to realize they can be the change they want. It’s still what we’re doing. It’s been a long time since we put out an album, but we’re here.”
Oh No / Roy Ayers – Good Vibes / Bad Vibes CD/LP (Nature Sounds)
Following in the footsteps of his famed brother Madlib, Oh No has become one of the most celebrated independent hip-hop artists of the 21st century. His storied career has included not only rap success but an impressive resume behind the boards, with production credits for Mos Def, Freddie Gibbs, de la Soul, Action Bronson, Talib Kweli, Ab-Soul, and more. An innovator in the art of sampling with a history of exploring diverse source material, Oh No is now back with Good Vibes / Bad Vibes, a new instrumental album deconstructing the work of iconic vibraphonist Roy Ayers. A split collection with two thematically distinct halves, the album is entirely constructed from the early, jazz-centric realm of the Ayers archive.
Outlaw – Reaching Beyond Assiah CD/LP (AOP)
Founded in 2015 in São Paulo, Brazil, Outlaw play a very aggressive yet melodic black metal.
Sara Petite – The Empress CD/LP (Forty Below)
An outlaw country headliner whose music reaches far beyond the genre’s borders, Sara Petite has built an award-winning career with songs that owe as much to the rock & roll roadhouse as they do the honky-tonk. The five-time International Songwriting Competition finalist returns once again to the intersection of country twang and roots-rock bang with The Empress.
Rainbows Are Free – Heavy Pedal Music CD/LP (Ripple Music)
Heavy Petal Music is a live retrospective of the heavy psychedelic band’s fifteen-year discography, featuring a comprehensive sampling from their three previous studio albums, as well as a few rarities performed from their eponymous self-released demo EP.
Ratt – The Atlantic Years 1984 – 1990 5xCD/6xLP (BMG)
This box set collects five albums from the glam rock band during their successful tenure on Atlantic. All albums feature the classic line up of Stephen Pearcy (vocals), Warren DeMartini (guitars), Robbin Crosby (guitars), Juan Croucier (bass/vocals), and Bobby Blotzer (drums).
Simply Red – Time CD/LP (Int’l Repertoire)
Four years since the triumphant Blue Eyed Soul, one of the UK’s most treasured bands return with brand new studio album Time. The record’s debut offering comes in the form of the sensational pop masterclass “Better With’ You” Over 12 vivid, heartfelt, life-giving tracks that mix soul, funk, R&B and blues, Time demonstrates an unerring ear for, feel for and passion for songs that move the emotion and the imagination.
Skinher – Heartstruck CD/LP (Aural Music)
Skinher’s debut album Heartstruck is fueled with driving rhythms, compelling riffs, and a vintage analogue sound.
The Spirit – Sounds From The Vortex [Reissue/2017] CD/LP (AOP)
Re-release of the debut with original cover artwork. German black-death metallers The Spirit once again delve into the vast nothingness of the universe, while capturing the fear of the unknown and humanity’s insignificance within our cosmos in their sound.
Squid – O Monolith CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
Teeming with melodic epiphanies and layered sounds, Squid’s second album O Monolith is a musical evocation of environment, domesticity, and self-made folklore. Like its predecessor, 2021’s critically acclaimed album Bright Green Field, it is dense and full of tricks – but also warmer and more characterful, with a meandering, questioning nature. A sense of open conversation is cultivated: this is unmistakably music made by friends, but it’s not exclusionary – they’re inviting you in to listen with them. Expansive, evocative, and hugely varied, O Monolith retains Squid’s restless, enigmatic spirit, but it still holds surprises for those familiar with Bright Green Field. It’s a reflection of the outsized progression of a band always looking to the future. Like its namesake, O Monolith is vast and strange, alive with endless possible interpretations of its inner mysteries. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
Stellar Circuits – Sight To Sound CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Formed in 2015, Stellar Circuits emerged to combine the conceptual polarities of groove-oriented music with progressive-minded technicality. Over the quartet’s lifespan, they’ve managed to fulfill their own prophecy, formulating a core sound that is complex and layered, while providing a listenability that extends well beyond the rock genre. [A limited-edition red w/ black splatter color vinyl pressing is available.]
Susanne Sundfør – Blomi CD/LP (Bella Union)
Blomi is the sixth solo album from the Norwegian singer-songwriter, and finds Sundfør strengthening her roots as she digs deeper into familial connections from her past, present, and future.
Taeyang – Down To Earth CD (Interscope)
New release from the K-pop singer, songwriter, and dancer. Includes 24-page booklet with credits and lyrics, folded poster, and random photocard (1 of 3).
Dudu Tassa / Jonny Greenwood – Jarak Qaribak CD/LP (World Circuit)
Celebrated singer, musician and producer Dudu Tassa teams up with award-winning composer and guitarist Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile) for a new album Jarak Qaribak (Arabic for ‘Your Friend Is Your Neighbour’), bringing together vocalists and musicians from throughout the Middle East for a very special album of cross-border collaborations.
TEKE::TEKE – Hagata CD/LP (Kill Rock Stars)
Blending past and present, from Canada to Japan, multiple lives lived at once, each track on Montreal-based psych-rock group TEKE::TEKE’s new album Hagata carries a sense of change, impact, of having been marked in an intimate way. And yet the force behind that marking is always just out of grasp, a wisp, a ghost, an energy, a spirit that compels you to keep reaching. From the tender-hearted “Jinzou Maria” to the rumbling and raucous “Yurei Zanmai”, the songs of Hagata bear an eerie yet somehow familiar sensation. Japanese pop tones, Serge Gainsbourg grandeur, folk whisper, and Brazilian surf rock all mix into the psychedelic stew. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
Tenhi – Valkama CD/2xCD/2xLP (Prophecy)
New album from the dark progressive neofolk band. On their sixth album, Valkama, which translates as ‘harbor’ or ‘shelter’ among other meanings, the Finns originally began telling of a journey that was meant as a fairy tale in a burning, war-torn village, and the crossing over dark waters to an island of the dead. The island is called Verisurma (‘the place for those who have suffered blood-death’) in Finnish folklore, where those dwell that died in war or were killed with a blade, and who shed blood on its shore forever. [A limited-edition white color vinyl pressing is available.]
This Is The Kit – Careful Of Your Keepers CD/LP+MP3 (Rough Trade)
Singer-songwriter and composer, Kate Stables returns with a wondrous new This Is The Kit album, Careful Of Your Keepers, that chronicles a world of mistakes and mishaps, cruel circumstances, and universe-driven surprises. It’s a record that embraces the concept of “outrospection” – the idea that you get to know oneself by developing relationships and empathic thinking with others – and brings the Paris-based, UK born bandleader’s signature ability to move swiftly between cryptic poetry to honest inquisition to the fore. Guiding the ship through changing seas is producer Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), who deftly enhances the innate shared language that Stables has with her band, capturing beautiful instrumental performances while leaving the space required for her robust, silken voice to lead. The music here is daring and soft, cutting, and warm, a wild feat of complexity and combined dispositions. [An indie store exclusive green color vinyl pressing is available.]
Tightwire – Head Full Of Snakes CD/LP (Red Scare)
New album from the pop-punk band. Tightwire came storming out of Minneapolis in 2018 with a catchy/crusty/spooky debut and toured with Dillinger Four, Chixdiggit!, Off With Their Heads, and more.
Torture Rack – Primeval Onslaught CD/LP (20 Buck Spin)
Torture Rack exists for one reason, to pulverize skulls and grind bones through bludgeoning gore-soaked death metal depravity. New album Primeval Onslaught continues that bloodstained legacy, witnessed previously on Barbaric Persecution and Malefic Humiliation, with a barrage of meat-torn-from-bone riffs and greased-flesh savagery. [A limited-edition purple w/ hot pink splatter color vinyl pressing is available.]
Ultra Q – My Guardian Angel CD/LP (Royal Mountain)
Jakob Armstrong (youngest son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe) began playing guitar at age 7 and honed his craft privately until he met friends with like-minded tastes in music and Ultraman action figures. Produced by Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House), Ultra Q’s My Guardian Angel offers a deep sonic palette that varies between pop-punk and synth-pop, displaying Armstrong’s songwriting talents with the musicianship of Kevin Judd and brothers Chris and Enzo Malaspina.
Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental CD/LP+MP3 (Mexican Summer)
Time Ain’t Accidental is the sound of a woman running into life and art head-on, on her own terms, for the first time in a while. Blending the vocal power and emotional immediacy of mainstream country with the honest transmissions of writers like Townes Van Zandt and Terry Allen, the album’s reckoning with loss, isolation and personal reclamation signals a tectonic shift for Williamson: from someone who once made herself small to a woman emboldened by her power as an individual. [An indie store exclusive pink color vinyl pressing is available.]
Y&T – Yesterday & Today Live 2xCD/2xLP (Metal Blade)
Hard rock/melodic metal pioneers Y&T have always been a live metal machine and Yesterday & Today Live is the bedrock Y&T’s legendary live shows are built upon. Recorded during what-was-then billed as the final date from Y&T’s emotional farewell tour before the hometown crowd in San Francisco, the inspired and energetic live set is a high octane set of the very best from the band’s early catalog. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
Youth Lagoon – Heaven Is A Junkyard CD/LP (Fat Possum)
With whispers of country, Heaven Is A Junkyard is mutant Americana in a world of love, drugs, storytelling, and miracles – held together by Trevor Powers’ voice and an upright piano. “If a lyric wasn’t right, a song wasn’t right,” says Powers, who scrapped two-and-a-half albums worth of material because it ‘wasn’t honest.’ Heaven Is A Junkyard is about all of us. It’s stories of brothers leaving for war, drunk fathers learning to hug, mothers falling in love, neighbors stealing mail, cowboys doing drugs, friends skipping school, me crying in the bathtub, dogs catching rabbits, and children playing in tall grass,” says Powers. Throughout the album, he stitches together a lyrical style that feels both punk and western. Recorded in six weeks with co-producer Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele, Gil Scott-Heron), Heaven Is a Junkyard is a work of absolute devotion. A portrait of the God-haunted American West. And a reminder that there is always love in the tall grass. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is available.]
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Alkaline Trio – Good Mourning [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Vagrant)
Alkaline Trio – Crimson [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Vagrant)
Vinyl reissue of the Chicago alt-punk band’s fourth and fifth albums.
Anadol – Hatıralar [Reissue/2017] LP (Pingipung)
Hatıralar is Anadol’s second album, originally composed between Berlin and Istanbul around 2012 and released years later only in digital form on the Ankara based label Inverted Spectrum. The title Hatıralar (‘Memories’) is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anadol recalled and revisited the music in 2023, gently editing and mixing the compositions for the newly mastered LP format in which they now see the light of day. Hatıralar represents an early version of the melodic, instrumental synth-pop that Anadol refined on her album Uzun Havalar (2019) before exploring the freer, Krautrock-inspired musique concrète of her last album Felicita (2021).
Arkells – Blink Twice 2xLP (Virgin)
Blink Twice is the eighth studio album by Canadian pop rock band Arkells, originally released in 2022. It is a companion album to their 2021 record Blink Once and sports a similar cover design.
Bala Desejo – Sim Sim Sim LP (Mr Bongo)
Sim Sim Sim is the Latin Grammy award-winning debut album from Bala Desejo. A band who are at the forefront of Rio de Janeiro’s artistic renaissance, they channel influences of Brazilian ‘60s Tropicália, ‘70s psychedelia and MPB to create a nostalgic, yet joyfully, avant-garde sound. The band is comprised of four distinct characters, each one an incredible talent and each with impressive credentials in the Brazilian Independent music scene. Central to the resurgent Rio de Janeiro musical community, the quartet of Dora Morelenbaum, Julia Mestre, Lucas Nunes and Zé Ibarra thrive in a group dynamic. They formed Bala Desejo to play collaboratively for a festival date in 2021, but when that show became a victim of pandemic shutdowns the idea for an album project materialized. [A limited-edition red color vinyl pressing is available.]
Behemoth – Antichristian Phenomenon [Reissue/2000] LP (Peaceville)
Originally released in 2000, Antichristian Phenomenon contains a series of tracks recorded during the Thelema.6 sessions, self-produced at Hendrix Studios in Poland, including new material, reworked material, and cover songs from Sarcofago and – in the face of convention – David Bowie. Additionally, the release also contained covers of the Morbid Angel classic “Day Of Suffering” and the timeless “Carnage” by Norwegian black metal legends, Mayhem.
The Beths – Jump Rope Gazers [Reissue/2020] LP+MP3 (Carpark)
Limited green color vinyl pressing. Everything changed for Auckland, New Zealand’s The Beths when they released their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. They quit their jobs, said goodbye to their hometown, and devoted themselves entirely to performing across the globe. Songwriter/lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes worked on The Beths’ second LP, Jump Rope Gazers, in between these intense periods of touring. Like their earlier music, the album tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends.
Big Blood – First Aid Kit LP (Feeding Tube)
“She can be a real pain in the ass,” is how Big Blood’s Caleb Mulkerin and Colleen Kinsella describe having their daughter as a member of the band they formed in the wake of Cerberus Shoal’s dissolution. A band made up of family seems like an ideal situation. You get to play with those you love, and practicing/recording is always just a matter of going into the next room.
Selwyn Birchwood – Exorcist LP (Alligator)
Purple color pressing. On Exorcist, Birchwood delivers the most far-reaching, musically adventurous album of his career. Exorcist was recorded in Florida and produced by Grammy Award-winner Tom Hambridge, with each of the 13 vividly detailed songs written and arranged by Birchwood. The soul-baring tracks all hit with lasting rhymes and unexpected rhythms. Each twists its own tale.
Bun B & Statik Selektah – Trillstatik 2 LP (RRC Music)
Following their first collaboration on the first Trillstatik, Bun B and Statik Selektah are right back at it with the second instalment, once again creating an album from scratch in one session, with surprise guests popping up throughout the night. This time the location is Sweet Chick in New York City, and the line-up of guests features the likes of Big K.R.I.T., Dave East, Styles P, Smoke DZA, Boldy James and Paul Wall among several others.
Hayes Carll – Alone Together Sessions [Reissue/2021] LP (EMI Nashville)
For nearly two decades, Hayes Carll has been making consistently great singer-songwriter records, influenced by the back-porch songcraft of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. While off the road in Nashville for his longest stretch in years, Carll had the chance to revisit some of his best material – which he reimagines on a new acoustic album, Alone Together Sessions.
Celldweller – Satellites LP (Fixt)
Spin into the void with Celldweller’s fifth studio album Satellites, now available on limited-edition opaque red vinyl. The album features eight genre-defying tracks across soundscapes of metal and industrial, with aggressive EDM synths and heavy guitars with brutal, melodic, and infectious vocal hooks.
Eric Church – Mr. Misunderstood [Reissue/2015] LP (EMI Nashville)
Limited 180gm blue color vinyl LP pressing of the is the fifth studio album from country music artist Eric Church, originally released in 2015. Church worked with long-time music producer Jay Joyce to produce the album.
Citizen – Youth [Reissue/2013] LP (Run For Cover)
Blue color vinyl pressing. Since its initial release in 2013, the songs that make up Youth have been staples in mixtapes, playlists and record collections for listeners chasing what felt like a long-lost feeling in alternative music. Youth takes notes from the headbanging tempo of grunge, the hazy reverb of shoegaze, and the catharsis of emo together to make something deeply personal and profound.
Curren$y – The Drive In Theatre Part 2 2xLP (Jet Life)
Smokey clear vinyl pressing. the next installment in the cult fan favorite series features appearances from Rob49, Fendi P, Dash, URA, Blü, I’sis, Premo Rice, and Jade Angelle, and sees production from Kino Beats, Trauma Tone, Harry Fraud, Cookin Soul, and more. In traditional form, Curren$y skates over smooth, jazz-infused beats and delivers a perfect album to put on and let play out while relaxing or working.
Blossom Dearie – Blossom Dearie [Reissue/1957] LP (Verve)
In her first recording for Verve, Blossom Dearie showcased her first-class piano playing and sense of swing on this self-titled 1957 gem. Dearie surveys the Great American Songbook on standouts like “Deed I Do,” “Thou Swell,” and three songs sung in French.
Death Cab For Cutie – Asphalt Meadows (Acoustic) LP (Barsuk)
Death Cab For Cutie went back into the studio in December 2022 with the goal of reinterpreting their latest record Asphalt Meadows with the most minimal arrangements possible and presenting the songs in their rawest, most intimate forms. Now, they’re proud to announce that the acoustic album version of Asphalt Meadows. The album also includes one of the band’s favorite songs “The Plan” by Low as a tribute to the late amazingly talented Mimi Parker.
Envy Of None – That Was Then This Is Now 12” (Kscope)
Returning after their breakout 2022 self-titled debut, Envy Of None drops a new EP, That Was Then, This Is Now. The all-star lineup of Alex Lifeson, Andy Curran, Maiah Wynne, and Alf Annibalini continue their exponential growth of their trippy, edgy atmospheric sound that took the world by surprise.
Mark Fry – Dreaming With Alice [Reissue/1971] LP (Now Again)
The definitive reissue of one of rock’s rarest and most sought-after albums – “acid-folk” – equal parts pastoral folk and contemplative psychedelic. The first time since 1971 that this album has been pressed from the original master tapes, recently discovered in Italy.
Freddie Gibbs – $oul $old $eparately LP/Cassette (WB)
A lot of people don’t realize that Freddie has been in the game for over a decade and came in on the same Freshman XXL cover as Meek Mill, Nipsey Hussle etc… Yet he was the only one with no major label backing or artist affiliation and his partnership with Warner is his very first solo major label deal. With that being said, he feels as if he has made it thus far in his career without compromising his morals, creative integrity and principals as a Man all while resisting temptations… Hence the title $oul $old $eparately or $$$. [An indie store exclusive yellow color vinyl pressing is available.]
Debbie Gibson – Electric Youth [Reissue/1989] LP (Friday Music)
Two 180gm audiophile colorways are available: red and gold. Electric Youth was the second studio album by singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson, originally released in 1989. It is the highest-charting album of Gibson’s career.
Bendik Giske – Bendik Giske LP (Smalltown Supersound)
Norwegian saxophonist Bendik Giske knows himself well. With his new, self-titled record, he is in his prime as an artist: confident in his voice and abilities, buoyed by critical acclaim from all corners – including two Norwegian Grammy nominations – and a surge in audiences everywhere. With the intriguing choice of Beatrice Dillon as album producer – clearly the British electronic musician is a fellow traveler in the practice of original aesthetic expression – her influence is immediate and keenly felt. Together, they strip away a layer of melodicism, honing in on pattern and rhythm to bring out a different dimension of his mesmerizing sound.
Rob Grant – Lost At Sea LP (Interscope)
The debut album by Rob Grant. An accidental recording artist, Grant has never had a lesson on any instrument in his life, but when he sits down at a piano, something magical happens. Father of international icon Lana Del Rey, he enlisted an array of talent to contribute to the making of the album. Features and writing credits include Lana Del Rey, while production credits include Jack Antonoff, Luke Howard, Laura Sisk, and Zach Dawes.
The Groovie Ghoulies – Travels With My Amp [Reissue/2000] LP (Pirate Press)
Vinyl reissue of the garage/punk-rock band’s sixth album.
Hank III – Lovesick Broke & Driftin’ [Reissue/2002] LP (Curb)
Limited colored vinyl pressing. Lovesick, Broke & Driftin’ is the second studio album by country music artist Hank Williams III. Hank III has stated that he considers this album as his real solo debut and despises his previous album, Risin’ Outlaw.
Holy Motors – Slow Down [Reissue/2018] LP (Wharf Cat)
Red color vinyl pressing. Slow Sundown, Holy Motors’ debut full length release, finds the Estonian dreamcatchers utilizing a sonic palette ranging from dark psychedelic pop to shoegaze-infected western music.
Toshiyuki Honda – Burnin’ Waves [Reissue/1978] LP (Holy Basil)
Vinyl reissue of a killer jazz-funk release, saxophonist Toshiyuki Honda’s Burnin’ Waves, originally released in 1978. Son of jazz critic Toshiyuki Honda, the Japanese composer was a skillful flute and saxophone player, and in the ‘70s he worked with George Otsuka and the Burning Waves ensemble. In the 1980s he worked with Chick Corea, Tatsuya Takahashi, and Kazumi Watanabe, lead his own ensemble, Super Quartet as well as being a member of the ensemble Native Son. His 1978 debut album Burnin’ Waves boasts hectic saxophone explorations over funky bass and happy keyboards, making it one of the grooviest releases of the Electric Bird catalog.
Chayla Hope – Damn, Feelings LP (Misra)
Indie store exclusive clear w/ pink, white & red pressing. Damn, Feelings, the debut album from Chayla Hope, is a distillation of what makes pop such a potent force, conjuring images of everything from ‘80s arcades and present-day queer clubs to golden hour convertible rides and marathon dive bar karaoke sessions with friends you’d kill for.
Hot Tuna – Yellow Fever [Reissue/1975] LP (Friday Music)
180gm yellow color vinyl pressing. Upon achieving massive success as founding members of the Jefferson Airplane, longtime friends Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady would soon look for other ways to expand their love of traditional blues and rock, evolving into the inventive and successful Hot Tuna. One of the first jam bands of its kind, the duo has continued either acoustically or as full-tilt rockers for over five decades now, and their importance is measured by their amazing run of chart albums and concerts going back to the late ‘60s. Their sixth album, Yellow Fever, would be released in 1975, and it also was their second power trio outing following their hit America’s Choice.
Howlin’ Wolf – You Got More Blues Here: The Wolf’s West Memphis Blues Vol. 2 10” (Bear Family)
Second volume of great recordings from the earliest sessions (1951 and 1952) featuring Chester Burnett aka The Howlin’ Wolf. The recordings were made by Sam Phillips at his Memphis Recording Service.
Humazapas – Sara Mama LP (Aya)
The concept of “getting back to your roots” rarely has such a literal meaning, or at the same time such an ancestral meaning, as in the case of the Ecuadorian group Humazapas. Usually in the music industry this concept is used when an artist returns to a past sound, going back to that moment of newness, exploration, and ingenuity, perhaps. But not Humazapas. These natives of the Kichwa communities of the Ecuadorian Andes, who have been working on this project for a decade, see “getting back to your roots” as a profound connection with their cultures, language, dance, the rituals that connect them to their deities and, of course, music.
James – Be Opened By The Wonderful 2xLP (Virgin)
Recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester in celebration of their 40th Anniversary, Be Opened By The Wonderful is a celebration of James’ most loved and rare tracks, reimagined with a 22-piece orchestra and 8-piece choir and including one brand-new track, “Love Make A Fool”. [An indie store exclusive white colorway is available. CD version due July 21.]
Rim Ji Hun – Organ Orgasm LP (Beatball)
Organist Lim Ji Hoon, player of the Hammond B3, teamed up with Beatball Records in 2012 to record this solo album after having scored a couple of hits as a member of the funk outfit Asoto Union. After Asoto Union disbanded, Lim broadened his funk sound with greater complexity by incorporating jazz and reggae elements in his new outfit, Funkafric Booster. Thereafter, Lim conceived of his solo debut album as a sort of homage to the great composers/works that shaped his musical world.
Jaws Of Love. – Second Life LP (Jaws Of Love)
180gm eco-mix color vinyl. Second Life is the new album from Colombian American artist Kelcey Ayer (Local Natives). Second Life marks a huge leap forward for Ayer, elevating his solo project into so much more. Influenced by the work of BJ Burton (Low/ Charli XCX), Iosonouncane’s IRA, and Mark Pritchard’s Under The Sun, Ayer and co-producer Danny Reisch (Sun June, Other Lives) drew from these wells of distortion, subtlety and beauty to find their way.
JFA – Last Ride LP (DC-Jam)
JFA is back with their first studio album in way too long and you don’t even have to be a hardcore skateboarder or old school punk aficionado to pick up the heavy sound they’re putting down.
Noah Kahan – Stick Season 2xLP (Mercury)
Stick Season is Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan’s thirrd studio album. After five years of critical acclaim, global touring and numerous collaborations, Noah returned to his Vermont roots and sought a more organic style of writing and arrangement, a challenge from within to convey a vivid representation of what he loves, fears, and struggles with most passionately. [An indie store exclusive brown colorway is available.]
Kill Lincoln – You Were There [Reissue/2011] LP (Bad Time)
Kill Lincoln – That’s Cool… In A Totally Negative And Destructive Way [Reissue/2013] LP (Bad Time)
Vinyl reissues of the Washington D.C. ska-punk band’s first two albums. [You Were There is available on blue color vinyl.]
Eartha Kitt – Bad But Beautiful [Reissue/1962] LP (Verve)
Kitt is in excellent form on this never-before-reissued 1962 album, swinging her way through Billy May arrangements on classics like “Love For Sale” and “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.”
Chris Knight – The Jealous Kind [Reissue/2003] LP (Dualtone Music Group)
The Jealous Kind is an album about a remarkable artist at the peak of his creative gifts, a place where labels don’t matter as much as the extraordinary power of his songs. “Knight seems like the last of a dying breed,” wrote Rob Tannenbaum in The New York Times, “a hard-nosed iconoclast, a taciturn loner who hunts on his own land, a grownup Huck Finn with an acoustic guitar as well as a college degree. Chris Knight writes songs that place him in the company of Johnny Cash.”
La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair [Reissue/2008] LP (Better Living)
Brown vinyl colorway of the debut album by La Dispute. Supported by three release shows, it was released on November 11, 2008, simultaneously along with Here, Hear II. The album’s title is derived from an Asian folktale, which the album’s lyrics loosely follow. The release received positive reviews from notable critics and maintains a legacy in the post-hardcore scene.
Byard Lancaster – It’s Not Up To us [Reissue/1968] LP (Superior Viaduct)
It’s Not Up To Us is the debut album by saxophonist/flautist Byard Lancaster released in 1968 on the Vortex label, an Atlantic subsidiary.
Ravyn Lenae – Hypnos LP (Atlantic)
Chicago-born and Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Ravyn Lenae releases her debut album, Hypnos. The album features producers and artists Kaytranada, Steve Lacy, Luke Titus, Monte Booker, Smino, Foushee, Phoelix, Mereba, Teo Halm and IAMNOBODI.
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (Republic)
Lil Wayne’s classic 8x platinum album, Tha Carter III, is celebrating its 15th anniversary with this double-LP standard black vinyl reissue. Released in 2008, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 selling over 1 million copies in its first week. It features the multiplatinum singles “Lollipop (feat. Static Major)”, “A Milli”, “Got Money (feat. T-Pain)”, and “Mrs. Officer (feat. Bobby Valentino & Kidd Kidd)”.
Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon – Beautifully Black LP (RRC Music)
Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon levels up again on the album Beautifully Black, entirely produced by fellow underground legend Navy Blue. Navy would be a premier choice for collaboration for anyone who knows their rap music, but with someone as talented as Jah-Monte on the mic the results outclass any expectations with ease. Elsesser’s production is smooth and luxurious, a perfect fit for someone of Jah-Monte’s rapping caliber.
Love And Rockets – Hot Trip To Heaven [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Beggars Banquet)
Love And Rockets – Sweet F.A. [Reissue/1996] 2xLP (Beggars Banquet)
Love And Rockets is the seminal, groundbreaking trio of Daniel Ash (vocals and guitar), David J (vocals and bass) and Kevin Haskins (drums). They formed in 1985 after the first split of their band Bauhaus. Love and Rockets provided a clean slate and an opportunity to plumb the depths of imagination and influences. The band’s fifth album Hot Trip To Heaven was strikingly different from anything previous, and has a diverse range of influences from twisted lounge jazz to ambient trance. Rick Rubin guided Love and Rockets to a return to more guitar- based songs for 1996’s Sweet F.A.
The Lowest Of The Low – Shakespeare My Butt… [Reissue/1991] 2xLP (Sonic Envy)
The Lowest Of The Low – Hallucigenia [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Sonic Envy)
Vinyl reissues of the Canadian alt-rock group’s first two albums.
Madlib – Channel 85 Presents Nittyville Season 1 2xLP (Madlib Invazion)
Madlib skipped from #8 to #10 and then kept moving. What happened to #9? It was upstate doing a little time behind bars. Madlib Medicine Show is a music series consisting of experimental hip-hop, jazz fusion, electronic music, and DJ mixes spanning the genres. Originally launched as a one-per-month, year-long series, Madlib Medicine Show #9: Channel 85 Presents Nittyville, a full-length hip-hop album featuring Detroit’s Frank Nitt, is the first to break the chronology.
Madness – Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Union Square)
Double vinyl pressing of the 2012 album by the iconic British band.
John Mayall – The Turning Point [Reissue/1969] LP (Friday Music)
180gm blue color pressing. 1969 was a “turning point” year for John Mayall as yet another change was in the works as Mick Taylor left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to pursue his tenure with The Rolling Stones, a revolving pattern that John was very familiar with as many future stars like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jack Bruce, etc. Would find earlier homes with past Mayall line-ups. While moving to California and becoming very entrenched with his new surroundings, he soon became very popular on rock, college, and underground radio stations. John Mayall felt the inner need to expand with another set of accomplished musicians who could help him take his artistry to the next level, which brings us to his 1969 smash blues rocker The Turning Point.
Monday Night – I’m Mad Hol’on LP (RRC Music)
Through his affiliations with Mutant Academy and Scheme Team, from Pitchfork writeups to co-signs from Alchemist, Evidence and Earl Sweatshirt, Richmond native Monday Night has been making mad waves in the underground, cementing himself as one of the most interesting names out there right now. RRC Music is proud to present his first ever vinyl release for one of his latest offerings I’m Mad Hol’on.
Aja Monet – When The Poems Do What They Do 2xLP (Drink Sum WTR)
Aja Monet’s poems are a work of gravity. They are a fundamental for which all things are attracted, considered upon, and enacted towards. Her work moves, constantly, between origin and outcome, allowing them to exist in converse. In her debut album when the poems do what they do, we glimpse her indefatigable commitment to speak. The thematic origins of this album at times center around Black resistance, love and the inexhaustible quest for joy. In when the poems do what they do Aja Monet appears as a woman of letters and storm, her poems do not roar in pentameter – but rather in storm surge because, “Who’s got time for poems when the world is on fire?!.”
Mono – My Story, The Buraku Story (Original Soundtrack) LP+MP3 (Temporary Residence)
Following their recent experiments with electronic textures infused into their trademark dynamic rock compositions, My Story, The Buraku Story finds Mono at their most understated and elegiac. The songs that make up My Story, The Buraku Story are largely built around piano, strings, synths, and choral vocal loops. As one might expect from Mono, the arrangements are masterworks of understated execution with oversized emotional resonance. By far Mono’s most delicate album, it is a fitting document of the band’s first-ever full-length film soundtrack. [A limited-edition red color pressing is available.]
My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 3: Bonnaroo 2004 2xLP (ATO)
My Morning Jacket, touring behind It Still Moves, took the stage at Bonnaroo on a scorching day in the summer of 2004. Ominous dark clouds rolled in early in the performance. “I’ll never forget it,” reflected Jim James, “We’re playing, and the sky just rips open and rain starts pouring down. People are losing their minds… Everybody is petrified that we’re going to get electrocuted, but it was such a transcendent moment that we just didn’t care.” It would become one of the festival’s most iconic sets. [Two limited-edition pressings are available: indie store exclusive “Thunderdome Edition” clear; and coke bottle green.]
Paul Oakenfold -Bunkka [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (New State Ent.)
Double 180gm LP pressing. The first-time vinyl pressing of Paul Oakenfold’s 1 million-selling classic debut Bunkka. The original vinyl release from 2002 featured remixes, whereas this version contains the original album mixes.
Prince – The Gold Experience [Reissue/1995] LP (Sony Legacy)
Prince – The Truth [Reissue/1997] LP (Sony Legacy)
The Gold Experience, released in 1995, was the first full-length Prince album to be credited to his unpronounceable symbol and was released at the most public, heated stage of his battle with the major label industrial complex. The Truth is widely regarded as one of Prince’s most underappreciated hidden gems. The album was originally released as an accompaniment to the 1998 triple album Crystal Ball, which marked the first time that Prince released an album totally independently.
Prince London and The Royal Rasses – God Sent Dub [Reissue/1980] LP (Burning Sounds)
God Sent Dub proved to be a masterclass in dub mixing aimed directly at the roots market. It went back to the roots of dub and echoed the stark style of some of the very first dub albums from the mid- ‘70s.
Public Body – Big Mess LP (Fat Cat)
Formed in Brighton with a clear aim to write the perfect soundtrack to whatever you do whilst procrastinating at your day job, Public Body pick apart the mundanity of daily life and all its annoyances in irresistible fashion.
Charlie Puth – Nine Track Mind [Reissue/2016] LP (Atlantic)
Charlie Puth’s Nine Track Mind album is pressed on a single clear LP and is a one-time pressing. This vinyl is a part of Atlantic Records’ 75th Anniversary vinyl collection. Puth gained popularity virally by posting his work to YouTube – ultimately becoming widely known for writing and performing the song “See You Again”, a collaboration with fellow rapper Wiz Khalifa.
Otis Redding – Otis Forever: The Albums & Singles (1968-1970) 6xLP (Atlantic)
Four original stereo albums and a new compilation of all the original mono singles by Otis Redding were released posthumously between 1968 and 1970. This six-LP box set contains the posthumous studio albums The Dock Of The Bay (1968); The Immortal Otis Redding (1968); Love Man (1969); and Tell The Truth (1970). Also included is a double LP compilation of Redding’s ATCO singles released between 1968 and 1970. Available on standard black vinyl.
Paul Rodgers – Cut Loose [Reissue/1983] LP (Friday Music)
Two 180gm colorways: white and blue. Cut Loose is the 1983 debut solo album by Paul Rodgers, of Free and Bad Company fame. Unlike his other work, Rodgers plays all the instruments on this album.
The Rolling Stones – Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) [UK Version] [Reissue/1966] LP (Abkco)
Originally released in 1966, Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) was the first hits compilation from the Rolling Stones. The UK Edition contains four #1 singles, including “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, and “Get Off Of My Cloud”. The original “fisheye” artwork has been restored for this version and is pressed on 180gm vinyl in a gatefold jacket.
Sonny Sharrock – Black Woman [Reissue/1969] LP (Superior Viaduct)
Originally released on the Vortex label in 1969, Black Woman may be the universe’s first true statement of guitar skronk majesty. It also represents Mr. Sharrock’s first date as a leader and stands as the sole documentation of a band that well understood the essentials of energy. Besides Sharrock’s explosive guitar, the band features the omni-directional percussion mastery of Milford Graves (then during recording Love Cry with Albert Ayler), the gorgeous post-tongue vocalizing of Sonny’s then-wife Linda Sharrock, the sinuous bass presence of Norris Jones (later known as Sirone) and some of the most explicitly abstract piano work ever recorded by Dave Burrell.
Sianspheric – There’s Always Someplace You’d Rather Be [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Noyes)
White color vinyl reissue of the Canadian indie-shoegaze band’s sophomore album.
Smoke M2D6 – Quarantine Heart Throb LP (K. Records)
Smoke M2D6’s boundary-pushing musical production and Jedi-like audio engineering have earned him wide and enthusiastic artistic acclaim, as well as a host of awards. As an MC, Smoke M2D6 has toured the country, performing in all the lower 48 states, and was one of the original founding members of Northwest super-crew OLDOMINION. Though Smoke M2D6 has not released an album since the 2006 opus Bleed, he has been super-busy creating beats and producing other artists including many of his Oldominion crew mates Onry Ozzborn, Nyqwil, IAME and JFK.
Deem Spencer – Adultsw!m LP (Drink Sum WTR)
Navy blue color vinyl pressing of the new album from the New Orleans rap/hip-hop artist. “Being an artist has allowed me, in a sense, to take my time growing up. Artistic process allows me to take as much time as I need thinking and processing life and releasing. The validation I feel from having an attentive audience encourages me to be more and more vulnerable with each release. On my last project I reached into my childhood for inspiration and my stories were received warmly. On this album I felt enabled to be vulnerable to this compounded feeling of uncertainty brought on by having to grow up and live through unprecedented times. I contemplated long about the life and legacy I’m building and the future of the world, ultimately accepting that it’s all at the mercy of fate. The album art by Beatriz Whitehill symbolizes that very poetically.”
Surf Curse – Magic Hour LP (Atlantic)
Standard black vinyl pressing of the indie rock band’s fourth album, which was originally released last year.
Tears For Fears – The Hurting [Reissue/1983] LP (Mercury)
Tears For Fears debut album The Hurting was released on March 7, 1983, and peaked at #1 on the UK albums chart in its second week of release. It reached platinum status in January 1985 and contains three Top 5 U.K. singles – “Mad World”, “Change”, and “Pale Shelter”. This LP has been mastered at Abbey Road Studios and cut at half-speed for superior quality.
Tenhi – Collected Works 2023 14xLP (Prophecy)
The Finnish dark folk progenies make all their recordings from 1997 to 2023 available on 14 vinyl LPs in a limited hardcover slipcase box. [A limited-edition clear pressing is available.]
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Live In 1960 LP (Org Music)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll audiences, later being referred to as “the original soul sister” and “the godmother of rock and roll”. This live recording from 1960 had never been on vinyl, until now.
Masahiko Togashi – Story Of Wind Behind Left [Reissue/1975] LP (Cinedelic)
Recorded in September 1975 at Columbia Studio, Story Of Wind Behind Left is a symphonic poem in the shape of a suite. In the album, Masahiko Togashi uses music to communicate the same feelings evoked by nature. The drummer demonstrates unique composition and performance skills in the way he imitates the sounds of nature or takes inspiration from nature itself to make music. With Story Of Wind Behind Left. Masahiko Togashi revolutionized the Japanese jazz scene.
Ultramagnetic MC’s – Ced G X Kool Keith LP (Ruffnation)
Coming off Ced Gee’s Delta five tracker, Ced Gee & Kool Keith regroup for a new Ultramagnetic MC’s record. Both were members of the legendary Ultramagnetic MC’s. Kool Keith is established as one of hip hop’s best MC writers in the stream-of-consciousness style that spawned rappers like MF Doom and Sadat X.
Various Artists – Luke Una Presents: É Soul Cultura Vol. 2 2xLP (Mr Bongo)
For many listeners, Manchester based DJ Luke Una’s intriguingly woven pattern of new, old, rare and under-discovered music from around the world became the soundtrack to rejuvenated positivity. The selection is eclectic, global, and plucked from different times and spaces. In theory, perhaps they shouldn’t work together, but there is a mysterious link that makes them gel. That’s what Luke does best. He creates a sort of musical alchemy, unifying the diverse. This isn’t a compilation focused purely on the rare, even though many tracks featured do fall into that camp. It is best described by Luke himself, “It’s not about showing off, collector rarity, or ego-strutting, it’s all about telling stories.”
Various Artists – Where We Come From, Vol. 1 LP (Empire)
Light blue colorway. A 15-track compilation featuring Afrobeat royalty Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage and Olamide as well as Tanzanian duo Navy Kenzo, Cape Verde’s June Freedom, and a host of other stars across Nigeria and Ghana – KiDi, Fireboy DML, Kizz Daniel, Tolani and more. The sounds on Where We Come From, Vol. 1 traverse East, West and South of the continent, incorporating drill, amapiano, trap and Afrobeats in fashioning an album that at once sandwiches luxury between lust and love while also being a flag post to hedonism.
Donovan Woods – Both Ways [Reissue/2018] LP (Meant Well, Inc.)
Donovan Woods – The Other Way [Reissue/2019] LP (Meant Well, Inc.)
Donovan Woods – Without People [Reissue/2020] LP (Meant Well, Inc.)
Donovan Woods is a Canadian folk and country singer-songwriter. He has released several albums of folk and roots music, including the Juno Award-winning Both Ways. His most recent three albums are now available on vinyl – two of which (Both Ways and Without People) are color pressings. Love’s Lessons is a brilliant record that delivers an unending stream of warm electric shocks.
Yellow Ostrich – The Mistress [Reissue/2011] LP+MP3 (Barsuk)
Since songwriter and band-leader Alex Schaaf first uploaded The Mistress (at age 22) to Bandcamp as a free download at the beginning of the last decade, it has captivated listeners. [The accompanying digital download includes 18 bonus tracks.]
Zeke – Ride Hard Ride Free 7” (Hound Gawd!)
Seattle punk legends Zeke returns with the first new recordings in over four years. “Ride Hard Ride Free” contains two tracks laced with Zeke’s signature mix of turbo-charged thrash-punk and Motörhead possessed rock ‘n’ roll and provides the first taste of their new album to be released later this year.
Zomes – Love’s Lessons LP (Feeding Tube)
Fifth vinyl album (there have been four cassettes as well) by this Baltimore-based duo with international roots. Zomes began as a solo project by Asa Osbourne (ex-Lungfish, The Pupils), and recorded mostly solo drone-based instrumentals for several years.
Cassettes:
Freddie Gibbs – $oul $old $eparately LP/Cassette (WB)
A lot of people don’t realize that Freddie has been in the game for over a decade and came in on the same Freshman XXL cover as Meek Mill, Nipsey Hussle etc… Yet he was the only one with no major label backing or artist affiliation and his partnership with Warner is his very first solo major label deal. With that being said, he feels as if he has made it thus far in his career without compromising his morals, creative integrity and principals as a Man all while resisting temptations… Hence the title $oul $old $eparately or $$$.
King Tee – Thy Kingdom Come [Reissue/2002] (RMV)
Thy Kingdom Come is the fifth studio album by West Coast hip-hop artist King T. The album is primarily produced by Dr. Dre, with guest contributions by Bud’da, DJ Battlecat, Ant Banks, DJ Quik, Stu-B-Doo and Mike Dean. Guests include Ice T, Baby S, Dawn Robinson, Dr. Dre, Too Short, DJ Quik, El DeBarge, Kid Frost, Playa Hamm, Sharief, MC Ren, Shaquille O’Neal, Crystal, Ruben “RC” Cruz, Kool G. Rap and Tray Deee.
Jenny Lewis – Joy’All (Blue Note)
Jenny Lewis’ fifth solo album Joy’All finds the singer-songwriter embarking on a new era, in a new town – and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note/Capitol Records. While Joy’All pulls from a bounty of sonic inspiration – from classic soul to ‘90s R&B, as well as country and classic singer-songwriter records – the album’s rich, intimate and warm live sound is the hallmark of eight-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, Joy’All includes the new single “Psychos” and the previously released single “Puppy And A Truck”.
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