April Program Titles Released This Week:

Dido – Still On My Mind CD/LP (BMG)

Dido is back with her first new album in five years. Still On My Mind encapsulates a variety of styles and genres, ranging from her love of hip-hop to her folk roots, but ultimately the entire record carries a dance and electronic music sensibility, even on the tracks with no beats. At the core, it’s about the songs which capture the beautiful essence of Dido personally and emotionally. The first taste of the album is “Hurricanes”. From the first few notes of this powerful track, Dido’s voice has never sounded bigger and better, making you realize how much we’ve missed that sound. Dido describes the making of Still On My Mind as “an absolutely magical experience. I wanted to capture the feeling I still get from listening to music, just that rush like you don’t need anything more than this.” [Exclusive indie-store vinyl pressing also available.]

Flight Of The Conchords – Live In London CD/3xLP+MP3 (Sub Pop)

In October of 2018, ten years after the launch of their hit HBO series, Flight Of The Conchords, New Zealand musical comedians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement returned to HBO for an all-new comedy special. Live In London was taped before a live audience at the Eventim Apollo – located in the Hammersmith, London – and featured the Conchords performing songs from the sold-out UK and Ireland edition of Flight Of The Conchords Sing Flight Of The Conchords Tour. The Live In London album features seven new songs including “Iain and Deanna”, “Father And Son”, “Summer Of 1353”, “Stana”, “Seagull”, “Back On The Road”, and “Bus Driver”. The album also features performances of fan favorites “Inner City Pressure”, “Bowie”, “Foux du Fafa”, “Mutha’uckas – Hurt Feelings”, “Robots”, “Carol Brown” and “The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)” (the latter two bonus tracks edited out of the broadcast due to time constraints). [Vinyl edition features an etching on Side 6.]

Foals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part 1 CD/LP (WB)

Foals return with two new albums in 2019: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 and Part 2, a pair of releases, separate but related. Part 1 is now available, with Part 2 following in the Autumn. Eager to break the traditional pop song structure which they felt they were becoming increasingly tapered to, the 20 tracks defy expectation. There are exploratory, progressive-tinged songs which occasionally break the 10-minute mark alongside atmospheric segues which make the music an experience rather than a mere collection of songs. Yet the band’s renowned ability to wield relentless grooves with striking power also reaches new heights. Part 1’s lead single “Exits” is a case in point, featuring frontman Yannis Philippakis conjuring the image of a disorienting world via a contagious vocal melody. It’s a fresh anthem for Foals’ formidable arsenal, but also an ominous forecast. “Exits” signposts what to expect thematically from Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost. The title is a warning that anything – from the tiniest fleeting moment of inspiration through to the planet’s own biological diversity – can be under threat of being irrevocably erased.

[Read more…] about New Releases for March 8, 2019

March Program Titles Released This Week:

Citizen Cope – Heroin And Helicopters CD/LP (Rainwater Recordings)

Comprised of eleven new, original songs all written and produced by Citizen Cope, Heroin And Helicopters serves as his first album in seven years and marks a return to a grassroots approach to musicianship, one that’s colored by hard work, hustle and heart, irrespective of the obstacles he’s encountered throughout 25 years as a career artist. Cope came up with the title after an encounter with Carlos Santana: “stay away from the two H’s – heroin and helicopters,” Santana told him. The LP tackles Cope’s personal struggles with religion, political manipulation, hollowness in the entertainment world, and spiritual enlightenment, as he contends with his own role in those societal institutions. It opens with “Duck Confit”, a poetic spoken word piece backed by 808 kicks and an ominous organ. “The River” is a slow-burning reflection on tyrannical systems that betray and oppress. Quiet stand-out “On My Love” is a stark, heart-wrenching tribute to Cope’s daughter Lula, and an attempt on Cope’s part to pass his life’s lessons on to her.

Criminal Hygiene – Run It Again CD/LP (Dangerbird)

Formed in 2011, Criminal Hygiene is a Los Angeles-based quartet comprised of founding member Michael Fiore (vocals, guitars, keys), Michael Hiller (vocals, bass, guitars) and Sean “Birdman” Erickson (drums, percussion) and bassist Cameron Ward. Their second album, Run It Again is a 10-song set that shines a fresh light on a raw sort of garage rock, full of melody, smart lyrics and hooks for days. When it comes to influences, the band cites everything from Johnny Thunders to The New York Dolls, The Clash and Wire. Television and Richard Hell. Minneapolis stuff like The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, The Suicide Commandos and The Suburbs. Big Star. Guided By Voices. Fleetwood Mac. Fugazi. The Pixies. Nirvana. Pavement. The Shins. Wilco. Marshall Crenshaw. Tommy Keene. Not to mention the classic rock they all heard via their parents.

Delicate Steve – Till I Burn Up CD/LP (ANTI-)

Some of the first people to recognize Delicate Steve’s (aka Steve Marion) unique musical talents were renowned artists such as David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, tUnE-yArDs, Mac DeMarco, Dr. Dog, and elder statesmen like Lee Ranaldo and Built to Spill. Steve is likely the only guitarist who has cut records with Sondre Lerche and Death Grip’s Zach Hill, been handpicked to open a sold out North American tour for Tame Impala and then provided guitar for a Paul Simon record. Now the acclaimed guitarist is back with his fifth solo studio album, Till I Burn Up. “On the (mostly) instrumental albums he’s released as Delicate Steve, Marion’s guitar playing is always in the spotlight, but never hogging it – rather, his luminous leads form the emotional undercurrent around which everything else flows. What makes Marion a guitar hero isn’t just his technical wizardry, but his music’s mission to help you through dark times.” – Pitchfork

Frankie and The Witch Fingers – ZAM CD/2xLP (Greenway)

Frankie and The Witch Fingers’ fifth LP, ZAM, bleeds beyond borders and boundaries. Its opening preternatural sounds bubble up out of the primordial soup, spilling into our world, invading the inner recesses of the listener’s mind. Like a two-headed snake wrapped around the skull, the album pendulates between winding instrumentals and dancey riffs that pop like supernovas out of the black void. Just when a song goes one way, it propels another through long stretches of a cosmic inferno. Bringing glimmers of krautrock and funk, its eleven tracks unleash a versatile and tenacious weight, slithering between the sexy, the aggressive, the vivacious, and the disorienting – until the living invasion is felt – ZAM, a supernatural entity summoned by four madmen obsessed with tearing open a gateway to dark space. After being pulled apart atom-by-atom, the listener is reconfigured on the other side, born unto starry wasteland. [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl edition also available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for March 1, 2019