CDs:

Backtrack – Lost In Life CD/LP (Bridge 9)

For their second LP, Lost In Life, Backtrack has created a fist pumping, ground stomping hardcore record that holds true to their New York hardcore roots.

Lee Bannon – Alternate/Endings CD/2xLP (Ninja Tune)

Bannon has moved away from hip-hop, and into drum n’ bass and jungle. Inspired by both his youth in Sacramento — where d’n’b was huge — and the backdrop of 2013’s jungle renaissance, via albums by Machinedrum and Congo Natty, Bannon too, has reinvigorated the form. This is drum n’ bass in its most contemporary permutation — a furnace-hot future-blast of immersive atmospherics, deep bass and funk-ridden drums.

Blackie And The Rodeo Kings – South CD (File Under Music)

South represents a fresh creative step for Blackie And The Rodeo Kings, while embodying the qualities of rootsy musical uplift and quirky lyrical depth that have long distinguished the ensembles varied output. The albums largely acoustic yet reliably punchy arrangements showcase the three songwriters multiple strengths, while their organically energetic performances maintain the vibrant chemistry that has kept Blackie a consistently vital and distinctive musical force.

Black Knights – Medieval Chamber CD/LP (Record Collection)

New album from the Wu-Tang related hip-hop group produced by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. Medieval Chamber is the first full-length album that Frusciante has produced outside of his own solo material. The Black Knights consist of Crisis Tha Sharpshooter and Rugged Monk.

Blank Realm – Grassed Inn CD/LP (Fire)

Blank Realm veer towards songs in the manner of late period Big Star, Zombies, or the Bunnymen, all refracted through a grimy lens.

Dave Brubeck – The Dave Brubeck Quartet In Europe CD (American Jazz Classics)

Recorded live in Copenhagen, this album contains Brubeck’s only known version of Frank Loesser’s “Wonderful Copenhagen,” as well as the only performance of his own composition “My One Bad Habit Is Falling in Love.”

Harold Budd – Avalon Sutra/As Long As I Can Hold My Breath [Reissue/2004] 2xCD (Darla)

Remastered reissue of Budd’s 2004 double-album, which was originally released on David Sylvian’s SamadhiSound label.

[Read more…] about New Releases for January 14, 2014

CDs: 

Ariel Pink – Early Live Recordings: Gorilla/Appleasians 2xCD (Human Ear Music)

A double-disc collection of early live recordings from late ’90s/early ’00s.

Auris & Gino – Rub CD (Public Eyesore)

Exploring electroacoustic sound as an organic art of time and space, Auris is a trio comprised of Christopher Preissing, Eric Leonardson and Julia A. Miller. On Rub they are paired with Gino Robair, who has created music for dance, theater, radio, television, silent film, and gamelan orchestra.

Banks – London CDEP (Harvest)

Four new tracks from the buzzy up and coming songstress, Banks. Videos in the works for two of the four tracks leading into her support tour this Fall for The Weeknd.

Blut Aus Nord – What Once Was – Liber Ill CD (Debemur Morti)

The time is nigh for Liber III, the third chapter in Blut Aus Nord’s open-ended, existential What Once Was… odyssey. Although clearly analogous to the band’s core body of work, this series of works subsists in a parallel plane, presenting the messenger in a more stripped-down and organic state, exposing an aspect of Blut Aus Nord that would otherwise have remained hidden from the world.

Cannabis Corpse/Ghoul – Splatterhash CD (Tankcrimes)

New split release from pot-obsessed death metallers Cannabis Corpse and hooded cannibalistic splatterthrashers Ghoul.

Peter Gabriel – And I’ll Scratch Yours CD (Real World)

Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back And I’ll Scratch Yours 2xCD (Real World)

And I’ll Scratch Yours is the concluding part of a series of song exchanges in which Gabriel and other leading artists reinterpret each other’s songs. Features covers by David Byrne, Bon Iver, Regina Spektor, Stephin Merritt, Joseph Arthur, Randy Newman, Arcade Fire, Elbow, Brian Eno, Feist, Lou Reed, and Paul Simon. Vinyl version due February 25.

[Read more…] about New Releases for January 7, 2014

CDs:

Akron/Family – ATL <2> ELP 2xCD (Family Tree)

A special limited-edition live release recorded at the Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta (Disc One), and Sonic Ranch, El Paso (Disc Two).

Akron/Family – Live Sound Fields CD (Family Tree)

Live Sound Fields was re-constructed by the band from live Akron/Family improv recordings treated in the Akron/Familystyle. Recorded live in 2009 and 2010 in Oakland, CA and Montreal, Quebec.  Limited, hand made run of 1,000.

John Cage – Solo For Piano CD (Wergo)

In the 1950s, John Cage tried to make the genesis of his compositions dependent on random processes. Several years later this randomness of the compositional process was reflected in the indeterminacy of the performance, with the aim of separating the compositional design from the interpretive result. Solo For Piano comprises 63 pages with 84 different types of graphical structures, which, due to their shape, are reminiscent of musical notation, but on the other hand, represent no clearly reproducible notes. Here, the notation is modified into a kind of ‘proposal’ for the performer; thus, all kinds of implementation of the score are infinitely possible. On this disc from Wergo, pianist Sabine Liebner presents her own unique interpretation of Cage’s musical proposal.

Debadembra – Souleymane CD (World Village)

Debademba is a group formed from the magical encounter of two fellow musicians: guitarist and inventive beat master Abdoulaye Traoré from Burkina Faso and Malian singer Mohamed Diaby, a charismatic griot. These colorful characters are, like the other members of the group, Parisian Africans who are very prominent on the capital’s cosmopolitan live music scene. The kind of music they make is modern and explosive, drawing from afrobeat, highlife, and mbalax styles, with hints of Mandinka music mixed in, all combined with strong blues elements and the occasional nod to rock.

Rufus Hurley – Re-Creation Of The Gods [1972] CD (Transparency)

First time on CD for this legendary funk/jazz/old school Bagpipe-lead-over-hot-band album from 1972. Rufus was a saxophone player who also picked up the bagpipes for a few excellent ’60s albums for Atlantic Records, and although those albums are great, this 1972 independent album is a real mind blower. The original LP lists on eBay for $150, and this CD adds a 10-minute track not even on that album.

Sparks – New Music For Amnesiacs: The Essential Collection 2xCD (Lil’ Beethoven)

One of the most influential bands in pop, Sparks have been at the forefront of music for more than four decades, beginning with the glam rock of the early ’70s, through their reinvention as an electronic pop duo collaborating with Giorgio Moroder, to the startling baroque rock / pop of the last decade. Their frequently changing styles and visual presentations have kept them on the cutting edge of modern artful pop music. Following the release of their box set New Music For Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection, Sparks present this condensed, career-spanning double-CD selection.

Vox Populi! – Cut Chemist Presents Funk Off: Vox Populi!/Pacific 231 CD (A Stable Sound)

Vox Populi!, a 1980s French post-punk/industrial/minimal collective known for circulating cassette-only releases, gets the reissue treatment lovingly curated by turntablist/producer DJ Cut Chemist.

Yes – The Studio Albums 1969-1987 12xCD (Atlantic)

The most successful and influential progressive rock band in the world, Yes celebrates their prolific tenure at Atlantic Records with a new boxed set that contains all 12 of the band’s studio albums recorded for the label. Each one features the remastered audio and bonus tracks that originally appeared in 2003 and 2004, when Rhino reissued the band’s catalog.

Vinyl:

Annabelle’s Garden – Time’s No Measure 1987-1993 (Volume 1) 2xLP (Dais)

Double LP retrospective of late ’80s gothic folk collective, Annabelle’s Garden. Annabelle’s Garden were a radically underground goth-wave/neo-folk band founded in Hamburg, Germany by members of local acts La Lisa and Beyond Despair, most active between 1987 and 1997. Often compared to contemporaries like Death in June, Sol Invictus, or Current 93 (they toured extensively with 6Comm), they managed to create music that existed both in that realm and beyond, labeled as psychedelic, punk, new wave, and goth.

Basic Cable – I’m Good To Drive LP (Permanent Records)

“Channeling bad vibes, worse hangovers and a general life-keeps-shitting-on-us attitude, Chicago’s Basic Cable find a way to have fun as they commiserate with each other, and their listeners. Fairly new to the scene, their blown out guitars, shouted, monotone vocals and punishing rhythms make for a noisy, punk-as-fuck attack that tingles our dingles in ways we can barely comprehend.” — Empty Bottle 

Robert DeLong – Just Movement LP (Glassnote)

A one-man futuristic dance party with beats as cerebral as Orbital and club-ready as Calvin Harris, DeLong is also a profoundly gifted singer/songwriter who raises questions about identity and spirituality. CD version due February 5.

Brigitte Fontaine – Brigitte Est…Folle [Reissue/1970] LP (Superior Viaduct)

Brigitte Fontaine – Comme à La Radio [Reissue/1971] LP (Superior Viaduct)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. French poet and chameleonic vocalist Brigitte Fontaine’s career spans over four decades. Only a few years before her 1968 debut, Brigitte Fontaine Est…Folle, she moved to Paris to become an actress and took her prodigiously mature voice into the studio. Rich in the drama she brought to theater, Fontaine synthesized chanson (French pop song) and world music, which eventually won her international acclaim as a performer and collaborator with a variety of artists from around the world (Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Sonic Youth and Stereolab, to name just a few).

Glaxo Babies – Put Me On The Guest List LP (Superior Viaduct)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Glaxo Babies are the greatest UK post-punk band you’ve never heard, formed in Bristol in late 1977 and named after the British pharmaceutical giant who allegedly inoculated thousands with a toxic vaccine. Put Me On The Guest List collects the band’s propulsive demos, mostly performed live in the studio with no overdubs and not originally intended for release.

Guerilla Toss – Gay Disco LP (NNA Tapes)

Birthed from the depths of the sweaty basements of Boston, Massachusetts, deranged rock outfit Guerilla Toss is nowadays considered to be a New England underground staple by the freaks and weirdos that inhabit the region. Their newest record, Gay Disco, is an album that draws influence from new wave and no wave dance music, extreme dementia, drug problems, and absurdist humor.

Heatsick – Re-Engineering LP (Pan)

Re-Engineering is the bold new album from Heatsick, aka Berlin-based British artist Steven Warwick. Well-known for his epic multi-hour live club sets and acerbic wit, he characterizes this collection of new material as a “cybernetic poem” that both indulges us in the mores of hypnotic dance music while holding a critical, and at times satirical, lens toward the culture writ large.

Luis Perez – Ipan in Xiktli Metztli LP (Sacred Summits)

An amazing LP first released by Luis Perez in 1981, originally within his native country of Mexico only. A kind of cosmic ethnography combining pre-Columbian percussion and wind instruments together with guitar, tape delay units, and analog synthesizers: a mystical weft of giddily deep grooves and experimentation. A limited edition beautifully presented in numbered, silk-screened sleeves, with notes.

Dan Pitre – Feel Free: Live At Café OTO LP (Important)

Beautiful ensemble performance of Duane Pitre’s Feel Free, including James Blackshaw on hammered dulcimer. Shortly after the release of Pitre’s Feel Free, the composer set out for a 2012 solo tour in select European cities. To start off this tour he staged an ensemble performance of the album at London’s renowned Cafe OTO.

Pitreleh – Pitreleh LP (Important)

Full-length collaboration from Duane Pitre and Eleh. Pitreleh use high-resolution analog and digital tools to create music utilizing natural vibrations and harmonics as rhythm and melody. Inspiration is drawn directly from vibrational waves (sound, gravity, water). The electronics, of which both pieces are constructed, are tuned using pure intonation, which utilizes prime numbers: 1-3-5-7. The debut live performance of Pitreleh was recently presented at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn as well as the Museum Of Contemporary Art in Cleveland.

Alasdair Roberts & Robin Robertson – Hirta Songs LP (Stone Tape)

A collaboration with Scottish poet Robin Robertson (who provided the words that Roberts set to music), Hirta Songs is a concept album of sorts, inspired by the people, landscape, and history of the remote Scottish archipelago of St. Kilda. Several of the album’s 10 songs are informed by Roberts’ recent explorations into Scottish Gaelic music, a natural progression from his collaboration with Gaelic singer Mairi Morrison, Urstan (Drag City, 2012).

Slayer – Live: Decade Of Aggression [Reissue/1991] 2xLP (American)

Vinyl reissue of Slayer’s 1991 live album. Disc One was recorded live at Lakeland Coliseum, Lakeland, FL on July 13, 1991. Disc Two was recorded live at Wembley Arena, London on October 14, 1990, and at Orange Pavilion, San Bernardino, CA, March 8, 1991.

Somaticae – Catharsis LP (In Paradisum)

Catharsis is a terrifying affair experimenting throughout ten disciplined and often brutal noise abstractions – primitive techno lost between petrifying epileptic atmospheres as well as intricately-layered drones – rumbling sonic investigations, wielding barbarous kick drums and rusted percussion to lacerate weakening flesh – blind lamentations of bone chilling voices and abrupt sounds – a sort of black mass supported by punishing percussion – alarming levels of feedback and distortions – a steep emotional breakdown turning in an emotional renewal.

Linval Thompson – Jah Jah Is The Conqueror LP (Kingston Sounds)

Linval Thompson is one of the great roots vocalists that ruled the dancefloors of Jamaica in the mid-’70s. With his distinctive vocal style and roots lyrics, he spoke of the struggles that faced the Rastas, which touched a chord with the people of Jamaica. This in turn would set a tone that he carried on through his music career and future production work. Even though he achieved a lot of success as a producer, it is his singing career that is the focus here.