CDs:

Abramis Brama – Enkel Biljett CD (Record Heaven)

Throughout the last 15 years, Abramis Brama has released heavy, ecstatic, riff-oriented hard rock with Swedish lyrics. On Enkel Biljett, the band continues their journey with newfound energy.

Acoustic Alchemy – Live In London 2xCD (Onside)

Double-CD live release from the British instrumental/smooth jazz band.

Aleister X – Keepin’ It Real CD (Nod And Smile)

Aleister X’s massive new album, the follow up to his critically acclaimed Half Speed Mastered!, Keepin’ It Real is Shepard’s pie of psychedelic pop with dirty funk grooves and cult pop lyrical gymnastics.

Lily Allen – Sheezus CD/2xCD (WB)

Lily Allen’s third studio album was produced by Greg Kurstin, Shellback and Dj Dahl, and features the singles “Hard Out Here” and “Air Balloon.” Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a five-track bonus disc. Vinyl version due May 27.

Andrew Jackson Jihad – Christmas Island CD/LP (Side One Dummy)

Christmas Island, the 5th album proper from Andrew Jackson Jihad, is a little bit silly, a little bit serious. It’s a record that’s irreverent yet somber, full of humor and full of pathos, its twelve songs combining the two to create a record that truly cuts right to the bone of the human condition. Whether it’s life, love, death, loss or Linda Ronstadt, this record has it all, delving into the most profound of emotions, reaching deep into the heart of humanity, unveiling universal truths through the most unlikely of scenarios.

Arkona – Yav CD/CD+DVD (Napalm)

This Russian pagan folk metal band interweaves brutal metal riffs, pounding drums and folk melodies, the latter played mostly on authentic and medieval instruments. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a bonus DVD.

Atmosphere – Southsiders CD/LP (Rhymesayers)

While Southsiders is a celebration of the group’s fortitude, it is also a deeply introspective, and sometimes conflicted, work. “It’s a natural progression from the last record, The Family Sign, which was about growing my family,” says Slug, now a father to three, who finds himself contemplating mortality. “I’m starting to think, ‘What is post family man? What am I supposed to rap about now?’ I’m sticking to my roots, rapping about what I’m doing, what I think about. This record is much like the other ones a very detailed look at my life.”

Badbadnotgood – III CD/LP (Innovative Leisure)

Badbadnotgood is a young talented trio of musicians made up of Matthew Tavares on keys, Chester Hansen on bass, and Alex Sowinski on drums. Since their inception at Humber College’s Music Performance program in 2011, the three have challenged the rulebook on improvised instrumental music and taken jazz tradition into the future. With early champions including acclaimed BBC broadcaster Gilles Peterson and Tyler The Creator (who helped fuel their discovery), the inseparable friends release their biggest project to date with III.

Being As An Ocean – How We Both Wondrously Perish CD (Invogue)

How We Both Wondrously Perish represents fine melodic hardcore, from the passionate screams, catchy choruses, and intense music. For fans of Underoath, mewithoutYou, Sigur Rós, and Brand New.

Black Stone Cherry – Magic Mountain CD (Roadrunner)

Black Stone Cherry’s fourth studio album, Magic Mountain sees the band continuing to master their sound that has earned them legions of fans around the world.

Paul Bley – Play Blue: The Oslo Concert CD (ECM)

A rare solo performance by one of jazz s great originals, Canadian pianist Paul Bley, recorded live at the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2008 by Jan Erik Kongshaug and Manfred Eicher.

Blood Red Shoes – Blood Red Shoes CD/LP (Jazz Life)

Brighton, England’s Blood Red Shoes feature Laura-Mary Carter (vocals/guitar) and Steven Ansell (drums/vocals), two enthusiastic punk-inspired brawlers who channel the clamor of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Duke Spirit, and Huggy Bear.

Luka Bloom – Head & Heart CD (Compass)

With a poet’s heart and a rocker’s soul, Luka Bloom is regarded as one of Ireland’s most respected contemporary folk artists. On Head & Heart, Bloom continues to shake up the folk genre with clever new arrangements and reinterpretations of ten well known classics alongside a pair of self-penned gems, accompanied by a jazz trio.

Brigades – Crocodile Tears CDEP/12” (Pure Noise)

Brigades is South Carolina’s best kept secret. Their debut EP, Crocodile Tears was recorded in Baltimore with producer Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Dangerous Summer) and blends pop punk with more aggressive skate punk riffs.

David Byrne And Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love O.C.R. 2xCD (Nonesuch)

Features music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim as performed by the original 2013 Public Theater cast of the Here Lies Love musical starring Ruthie Ann Miles and Jose Llana as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos.

[Read more…] about New Releases for May 6, 2014

CDs:

3108 – 3108 CD/LP+MP3 (Trouble In Mind)

Hailing from London, England, Tyler Zypreska has been building up an impressive backlog of tunes that hit all the sweet spots from O.M.D. to La Dusseldorf, to Trio and the pining ennui of the teenage angst-anthems littering your Pretty In Pink and Breakfast Club soundtracks. Although his influences may lie in the discarded neon bones of the ‘80s and ‘90s there’s an infectious spark of melodic tune-smithing permeating the album’s ten tunes. Limited quantities also available on mixed color vinyl.

Aborted – Necrotic Manifesto CD (Century Media)

Aborted steadfastly honor a legacy of brutal death metal and grind core while progressing toward something slightly more disturbing and foul.

Adestria – Gilded Hearts CD (Razor & Tied)

Gilded Hearts manages to capture the intensity of Adestria’s live show with technical guitar lines, pulsing drums and thunderous breakdowns. 

Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots CD/2xLP (WB)

Everyday Robots, the first fully-realized Damon Albarn solo album, features twelve songs that invite the listener into Albarn s world for a genuine “one-to-one.” They are the most soul-searching and autobiographical since his musical journey began. Albarn is first to admit he’s a restless soul when it comes to music. What’s certain is that all of the projects of his career thus far – from Blur to Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Mali Music, Monkey: Journey To The West or Dr Dee – help form this singular artist’s musical DNA. F featuring appearances by Brian Eno and Bat For Lashes.

Annihilator – Feast 2xCD+DVD (UDR)
Contains the new album Feast in a CD-sized book with extra pages in the booklet, the 15-song bonus CD Re-Kill with newly recorded Annihilator classics, plus a never-seen-before live DVD filmed at last year’s Wacken Open Air festival.

Anti-Mortem – New Southern CD (Nuclear Blast America)

Debut album by the Oklahoma natives and saviors of Southern-infused hard rock.

Archspire – Lucid Collective CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

New album from the technical death metal force.

[Read more…] about New Releases for April 29, 2014

CDs:

J.D. Allen – Bloom CD (Savant)

Every new recording by tenor saxophonist JD Allen serves to solidify his reputation as one of the finest, most adventurous young musicians playing today. With a gently swinging, very personal vibrato he weaves his way into territory that he has charted for himself. With pianist Orrin Evans, J.D. takes us on an intensely personal journey through an ever-changing landscape of jazz as he sees it with playing that earned Allen a blaze of critical attention signaling his ascension to the upper ranks of the contemporary jazz world. 

Amida – Boring Birth CD (Jigsaw)

Sounding like a mix between The Wolfhounds, The Monochrome Set and even a little Big Flame (and similarly noisy bands on the ”other” side of C86), Amida’s speedy/jangly guitars seem to be

fighting the propelling bass guitar for control, giving us some very compelling music in the process. 

The Apache Relay – The Apache Relay CD (So Recordings)

“Nashville band The Apache Relay has come a long way since their humble beginnings in vocalist Michael Ford, Jr.’s Belmont dorm room. They impressed on their 2009 debut 1988, but the real momentum picked up with 2011’s American Nomad, which won the band slots opening for Mumford & Sons and appearing at renowned festivals like Newport Folk” – Paste. Vinyl version due May 19.

Army Of The Pharaohs – In Death Reborn CD/2xLP (Enemy Soil)

Initiated in 1998 by Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz as homage to the incredible rap crews of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, The Army Of The Pharoahs has, from its outset, been an ever-evolving collective of celebrated emcees from the indie hip-hop scene. Founding members Vinnie Paz and Esoteric were featured on the crew’s original 12” single, Five Perfect Exertions, in 1998 and remain with the crew today. With the release of their debut studio album, The Torture Papers in 2006, the Pharoah clique expanded to include accomplished solo emcees Apathy, Celph Titled, King Syze, Reef The Lost Cauze, and the Philly hip-hop duo and frequent Jedi Mind Tricks collaborators, Outerspace. In Death Reborn also features appearances from Blacastan, Zilla, Block McCloud, Demoz, Doap Nixon, King Magnetic and Lawrence Arnell. 

Augustana – Life Imitating Life CD (Washington Square Music)

From the first song, the melodic, piano-driven “Ash And Ember,” to the beautiful vocals on the album’s closer, “Remember Me,” Life Imitating Life is a shimmering blend of rock, folk, and country, all of which manage to sound both modern and timeless together.

Iggy Azalea – The New Classic CD (Def-Jam)

Debut album by the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. She would be the first to admit that she’s something of an outsider in the world of rap. As a white girl from rural Australia, raised in the small New South Wales town of Mullumbimby (population: 3,000), how could she not be? It’s appropriate that she’s risen to the status of one of the most promising new MCs in an era when hip-hop has never been more open to artists from a diversity of backgrounds. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe includes bonus tracks.

Sebastian Bach – Give ‘Em Hell CD (Frontiers)

The former Skid Row frontman returns with a fist in your face, hard rock and heavy metal record which sees his now signature sound and vocal style in top form. Produced again by Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Shinedown, Atreyu, Filter), Give ‘Em Hell sees some very special guests joining Sebastian on the songwriting and playing front: Steve Stevens (Billy Idol); John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, David Lee Roth) and Duff McKagan (Guns ‘N Roses, Velvet Revolver).

Bastille – All This Bad Blood 2xCD (Virgin)

Deluxe double-CD edition of the UK quartet’s 2013 debut features a bonus disc containing 13 additional tracks including the single, ”Of The Night” plus various new recordings, rare B-sides and tracks from the band’s fabled Other People’s Heartache mixtapes.

Drake Bell – Ready Steady Go CD (Surfdog)

Drake Bell is the most popular TV star in Nickelodeon’s history, but his talent goes way beyond acting. With music being his first love, Drake has just made “the most rockin’ and exciting album of his career.” Produced by the legendary Peter Collins. Vinyl version due May 13.

Jerry Bergonzi – Intersecting Lines CD (Savant)

The title says it all. Intersecting Lines is about the interplay between saxophonists Jerry Bergonzi and Dick Oatts. This is an old-school blowing session in the context of hard bop and bebop, and the focus is squarely on the two horns. Bass and drum solos are few and far between — and brief.

Black Prairie – Fortune CD (Sugar Hill)

This group of seasoned musicians from Portland, Oregon – each steeped in traditional American acoustic music – has become hell-bent on taking one imaginative leap after another. In a way, Fortune is Black Prairie’s most conventional record – thirteen, polished vocal tunes with (mostly) conventional pop song structures. On the other hand, there’s a glaring eccentricity to the album that hits you right away: here is a band of accomplished acoustic musicians playing what are essentially rock songs, and sometimes with a pretty hard edge – it’s a record, band members say, that’s trying to channel not the spirit of Earl Scruggs or Jerry Douglas, but Led Zeppelin.

[Read more…] about New Releases for April 22, 2014