CDs:

Fred Anderson – Birdhouse CD (OkkaDisk)

With Jim Backer, Harrison Bankhead and Hamid Drake. “The best tenor player you’ve never heard.” — Down Beat

The Antlers – Familiars CD/LP+CD (Anti)

Familiars, the highly anticipated new album from The Antlers is their fourth studio album and follows 2011’s critically lauded Burst Apart. Familiars was recorded, engineered and produced by the band in their Brooklyn studio and mixed by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio, Beach House) at DNA Downtown Studios.

Elisabeth Ahlander – Om VI Ska Borja Om CD (Dikotomi Produktion)

Elisabeth Ahlander was one of the founding members of New Quidesty Blaise (later NQB) in 1968 and she kept the band touring until 1978. She kept her guitars but didn’t do much in public during the years. In 2012 she suddenly was contacted by Dikotomi Produktions Dick Lundberg who heard a demo recording from some years earlier and he suggested that a solo album should be recorded. Elisabeth was now writing new songs and Birgitta Pincott (Nursery Rhymes) who toured with NQB 1976-1977 came along and joined the project.

Big Freedia – Just Be Free CD/LP (Queen Diva Music)

As the first openly gay rapper to gain mainstream success, Big Freedia is the undisputed Queen of Bounce.

Mary J. Blige – Think Like A Man [OST] CD (Epic)

Original soundtrack to the new motion picture written and performed by R&B great Mary J. Blige. Features musical collaborations and production by Pharrell Williams and The-Dream.

Boris – Noise CD/2xLP+MP3 (Sargent House)

Boris has always demolished expectations of what a band can do musically and aesthetically. In keeping with that tradition, they again flip the script for the band’s first official release in three years buy serving up their most all-encompassing effort to date. Noise is an amplification of Boris’ endless pursuit of musical extremes while moving aggressive, intense rock into new territories.

Jaki Byard – The Late Show: An Evening With Jaki Byard CD (Highnote)

Jaki Byard always personified the past, present and future of jazz, wherever or whenever one might have been fortunate enough to experience his challenging ideas. An icon in the history of jazz, Jaki was Art Tatum, Earl Hines, Bud Powell, Ran Blake, Cecil Taylor and Bill Evans, all in one. Yet, like these fellow icons, he was his own uncompromising, unique, living entity. He isn’t a household name, but most likely his low profile is the result of an irresistible need to constantly reinvent himself, the sure sign of the consummate artist.

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 17, 2014

CDs: 

Anathema – Distant Satellites CD/CD+DVD/2xLP (K-Scope)

Distant Satellites was recorded at Cederberg Studios andOslo with favored producer Christer-Andre Cederberg.  Alongside additional mixing by Steve Wilson, Anathema also brought in the legendary services of Dave Stewart (Porcupine Tree) to create the new album’s extraordinary orchestral arrangements. For fans of Radiohead, Pink Floyd & Sigur Ros. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds 2013’s stunning concert film Universal directed by Lasse Hoile.

Arch Enemy – War Eternal CD/LP (Century Media)

Ninth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band.

The Atlas Moth – The Old Believer CD (Profound Lore)

Chicago, Illinois’s The Atlas Moth has always been hard to categorize. Drawing from myriad influences and styles, their sound is one of the most unique and unusual in today’s American underground—progressive psychedelic metal both crushingly heavy and sublimely beautiful.

Tomas Barfod – Love Me CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)

Love Me is an album that takes Tomas Barfod’s spirit of adventurousness and raises the stakes. Utilizing a supporting cast that includes a string and brass section, and musicians like Here We Go Magic’s Luke Temple and long-term collaborator Nina K. on vocal duties, it’s a multi-layered album that effortlessly pushes and pulls dance and electronic music into a myriad different shapes.

Selwyn Birchwood – Don’t Call No Ambulance CD (Alligator)

The 2013 winner of the International Blues Challenge is an exciting young hotshot singer/songwriter/guitarist from Tampa, FL, and his debut is packed with infectious, original songs that herald the arrival of a dynamic new blues talent.

Andrew Bird – Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of… CD (Virtual Label)

The latest self-released album by Andrew Bird consists of his versions of songs by a band he has loved for many years, The Handsome Family.

Bite – Cliff Diving CD (Hella Mad)

Bite is the perfect name for this group of veterans of the San Francisco underground scene. Their unique style of punk & roll has its roots in old-school punk acts that range from the Cramps to The New York Dolls.

Blacklist Royals – Die Young With Me CD (Varese Sarabande)

Vinyl version due July 8. “Blacklist Royals have been through some tough shit in the past few years, including band member Rob Rufus’ battle with cancer. The band’s new record, Die Young With Me, reflects all that struggle. The record is ragged, raw, and rocking, with tracks like ‘Out In The Dark’ and ‘26 And Gone’ examining the impermanence of life through the eyes of Rob and twin brother Nat Rufus.” – A.V. Club

Bloody Hammers – Under The Sun CD/LP (Napalm)

Dark Occult Rock with a pinch of H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury, Under The Sun is a multilayered album that resembles a classic horror flick from the ‘70s.

Body Count – Manslaughter CD (Sumerian)

Ice-T and cofounder/lead guitarist Ernie C have perfected their mix of thrash, punk and bottom heavy doom across five albums, hitting a zenith with their new album Manslaughter. They embody the monumental SoCal tradition of street born punk bands like Suicidal Tendencies combined with the aggressive aural napalm of Slayer.

Anthony Braxton/Thomas Fujiwara/Tom Rainey – Trio (New Haven) 2013 4xCD (New Braxton House)

Legendary composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton’s first trio recording with two drummers. The group includes Tomas Fujiwara and Tom Rainey, two of New York’s most in-demand drummers.

Clifford Brown – Brownie Speaks: The Complete Blue Note Recordings 3xCD (Blue Note)

Documenting when trumpeter Clifford Brown was on the rise, this new collection covers Brown’s three 10” albums from 1953, recorded with J.J. Johnson (Jay Jay Johnson With Clifford Brown), Lou Donaldson (New Faces New Sounds) and his own sextet (New Star On The Horizon), plus legendary live Birdland recordings headlined by Art Blakey, in which Brown is featured along with Donaldson and pianist Horace Silver.

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 10, 2014 

CDs:

The 5^th Dimenson – Earthbound [Reissue/1975] CD (Real Gone Music)

The Soul City and Bell recordings of the original line-up of the 5th Dimension have been amply reissued in the digital age, with reissues of all their albums and collections too numerous to name. But Earthbound, the final album they recorded together after moving to the ABC label in 1975, had, due to some contractual confusion, been lost in limbo for almost four decades.

50 Cent – Animal Ambition: An Untamed Desire To Win CD/CD+DVD (G-Unit)

Fifth album from the rapper features guest appearances from Yo Gotti, Trey Songz, Kidd Kidd, Jadakiss, Mr. Probz, Guordan Banks, Prodigy, Schoolboy Q and Styles P. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a bonus DVD.

Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin – Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy CD/LP+CD (Yep Roc)

The Alvin brothers, who founded seminal early L.A. punk roots band The Blasters in 1979, have shared a fascination with Broonzy since childhood. After an illness nearly took Phil’s life in 2012, they resolved to return to the studio and pay tribute to the blues legend. Common Ground includes 12 songs that capture a 30-year cross section of Broonzy’s canon, performed by the Alvins’ in their signature style of rollicking roots and stomping country blues.

Big Mucci (Dat 71 North Boi) – Shuffle Step Slide: The Line Dance Movement CD (71 North Entertainment)

Big Mucci and his 71 North Boyz phenomenon has taken over clubs with line dances and infectious lyrics that keeps dances floors rocking.

Big Smo – Kuntry Livin’ CD (Elektra)

The “hick-hop” duo of Hick Ross and Boss Of The Stix release their debut album, which is aimed squarely at the knuckle-dragging mouth-breathing redneck hordes.

Birdy – Fire Within [2013] CD (Atlantic)

US edition of the second album from the British singer/songwriter. Fire Within sees Birdy come to the forefront as a songwriter in her own right, having written/co-written all of the 11 tracks on the album. Collaborating with some of the biggest names in the business including Ryan Tedder (Beyonce), Dan Wilson (co-wrote and produced “Someone Like You” for Adele), Rich Costey (Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Sigur Ros) and Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons, whom she’s collaborated with in the past.

Blackbird Blackbird – Tangerine Sky CD (Om)

This is futuristic electronic-pop that doesn’t look back for inspiration, instead tying together elements of forward thinking hip-hop/R&B, space-age folk, and the meditative grooves of house and techno.

Shy Blakeman – Live At Billy Bob’s Texas CD+DVD (Smith Music Group)

New live release from the Texas-based country singer/songwriter. Shy Blakeman won the second annual Live At Billy Bob’s Texas Recording Contest. Shy, a Kilgore, TX native, received the most votes after two rounds of voting. He is the 43rd artist to record a Live at Billy Bob’s Texas album and joins the ranks of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Pat Green, Jason Boland, Kevin Fowler, Stoney LaRue, Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, Brandon Rhyder, Cory Morrow and last year’s winner, Josh Grider.

Alice Boman – EP II CD/LP (The Control Group)

Alice Boman’s voice hits with the emotional force and haunting fragility of Nina Simone. Timeless and direct, the Swedish singer returns with a wistful collection of songs on EP II, which is expanded with a special bonus edition of the stunning debut EP, Skisser.

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 3, 2014