March Program Titles Released This Week:

The Claypool Lennon Delirium – South Of Reality CD/2xLP+MP3 (ATO)

South Of Reality, The Claypool Lennon Delirium’s epic sophomore album might be just the antidote this sick world needs. Music so potent it could repel an asteroid impact from space, these seasoned warriors of psychedelia have crafted timeless songs that may as well be chiseled in stone. The monolithic dream team’s new record was produced by Les Claypool and Sean Lennon themselves, and engineered and mixed by Claypool at his own Rancho Relaxo studio in Sonoma County, California. Claypool and Lennon told Rolling Stone that South Of Reality “feels like an organic extension of Monolith Of Phobos, blending the wildly surreal and psychedelic with satirical social commentary.” Additionally, Rolling Stone called new track “Blood And Rockets”, “a sprawling epic that finds Lennon and Claypool crooning and snarling, respectively, over spacey synths and chiming guitars.” [Limited half pink/half purple splatter colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Martin Frawley – Undone At 31 CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

Whether one seeks it out or it simply presents itself, change is an inevitability. Should one embrace it? Grapple with it? Fight it? These are the questions Martin Frawley unpacks as he steps into the spotlight for Undone At 31, his first album as a solo artist and the start of a new chapter for the Melbourne songwriter. Those familiar with Frawley’s time as co-leader of Twerps will take comfort in hearing his deceptively simple songwriting is still intact, but the big reveal on Undone At 31 is how new instrumentation and influences seamlessly expand his playground. It might take several listens for one to realize Frawley is singing “Something About Me” over just violin, Moog, and a Graceland-esque bassline, or to appreciate the PB+J pairing of Fender Rhodes and lap steel on “Where The Heart Is”, which serves as the album’s twist ending. [Exclusive indie-store vinyl pressing also available.]

Lily & Madeleine – Canterbury Girls CD/LP (New West)

Lily & Madeleine Jurkiewicz create candid music with deep emotional and personal resonance. The sisters, who record under the moniker Lily & Madeleine, boldly explore what it means to be women in the 21^st century and aren’t afraid to use their music to call out injustice or double standards. This fearless approach has permeated their three albums, which are full of insightful lyrics and thoughtful indie-pop. But with their fourth studio album, Canterbury Girls – named after Canterbury Park, located in their hometown of Indianapolis – the sisters are coming into their own as women and musicians as the explore new sonic vistas. “Supernatural Sadness” is an irresistible slice of bubbly, easy-going disco-pop; the urgent “Pachinko Song” hews toward interstellar synth-pop with driving rhythms, and “Can’t Help The Way I Feel” is an effervescent, Motown-inflected number. Vocally, the sisters also take giant leaps forward. The dreamy waltz “Self Care” is a rich, piano-heavy track on which their voices intertwine for soulful harmonies, while the meticulous “Just Do It” has a throwback, ‘70s R&B vibe.

Overkill – The Wings Of War CD/LP (Nuclear Blast America)

It’s with over 30 years under their leather belts that New Jersey natives Overkill unveil their latest offering, The Wings Of War. With 10 tracks clocking in at fifty-one minutes, their nineteenth full length slab is the ultimate combination of sickening brutality and addictive melody. Album opener “Last Man Standing” is Overkill kicking the door in with a hard and loud tune that’s rooted in some of the best angst that thrash possesses. The album’s second single, “Head Of A Pin”, is a lyrical journey about disappointment and trust. Musically, the song comes across as “Black Sabbath on meth” proclaims frontman Bobby Blitz. [Limited digipak edition includes a bonus track.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for February 22, 2019

March Program Titles Released This Week:

Ryan Bingham – American Love Songs CD/2xLP (Axster Bingham)

Ryan Bingham’s sixth studio album, American Love Song, finds the South Texas bred singer/songwriter honing his creativity on two distinct levels, the personal and the cultural. He co-produced it with Charlie Sexton, the superb Austin guitarist who has played for years in Bob Dylan’s touring band. From the opening track – the spry “Jingle And Go”, which recounts his early years as an itinerant open-mic performer working, like the great Texas bluesmen before him, for tips – to the closer, “Blues Lady”, a tribute to Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bingham’s own late mother, and all the other strong women this country has produced, the album combines autobiographical reflection with a bittersweet celebration of our collective spirit in the face of enduring difficulties.

Hayes Carll – What It Is CD/LP (Dualtone)

On What It Is, Houston, TX troubadour Hayes Carll is leaving the past behind. “I want to dig in so this life doesn’t just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work,” Carll says. What It Is continues the artistic risk-taking initiated by 2016’s Lovers And Leavers; his voice is strong and assured, and his songwriting as truthful as ever. On the rambunctious, fiddle-punctuated, “Times Like These”, he laments political division in America while delivering a rapid-fire plea to “do my labor, love my girl, and help my neighbor, while keeping all my joie de vivre.” Carll’s signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever. The stark, “Fragile Men”, co-written with singer-songwriter Lolo, uses humor and dripping sarcasm to examine his gender’s resistance to change in less than three minutes of string-laden, almost Jacques Brel invoking drama. It’s new musical territory for Carll, and the result is powerful. His voice is strong and resonant on these songs, and it’s thrilling to hear him use it with a new authority. He is alternately commanding and tender, yet always soulful.

Copeland – Blushing CD (Tooth & Nail)

While they began as a rock band, Copeland’s music has explored multiple genres and pulled in various stylistic influences like electronic and symphonic. In the past the musicians have aptly melded these styles, creating a unique amalgam of sounds. This time they wanted to take each sound and style and push it to its logical extreme. “We wanted to take all of the elements that made up our sound in the past and push those elements farther,” Aaron Marsh says. “So, rock becomes more rock than we’ve been in the past. If we’ve taken elements of symphonic tones, let’s now be very symphonic. When we’re being electronic, be very electronic. We wanted to emphasize each element of sound harder, like an exaggerated version of Copeland’s sound. We could be each thing individually by pushing each facet of our art in a more focused way.” “On Your Worst Day” best exemplifies the band’s sonic goals for Blushing, opening as a perfectly orchestrated song led by Aaron’s voice and strings before transforming into a melancholy electronic number. “Night Figures” is an intimate love song, a theme that threads through the album. [Vinyl edition due March 22.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for February 15, 2019

March Program Titles Released This Week:

Galactic – Already Ready Already CD (Tchoup-Zilla Records)

Galactic’s first new studio album in more than three years, Already Ready Already sees the renowned New Orleans-based instrumental outfit taking a distinctly contemporary approach towards their own progressive sound, interpolating modern rhythms and electronic instrumentation within the house-shaking framework of Crescent City funk pop ‘n’ roll. Produced by the band’s Robert Mercurio and Ben Ellman, the new LP finds Galactic once again enlisting a diverse array of vocal collaborators to assist in their musical exploration, each of whom lend lyrical flavor and individualistic personality to the band’s multi-faceted sonic grooves. Bookended by a high-powered pair of trademark Galactic instrumentals that give the album its title. The album is a short, sharp blast of undeniable creative muscle, from the stripped-down kick/snap verses of “Going Straight Crazy”, featuring New Orleans singer (and YouTube sensation) Princess Shaw, to punk cabaret artist Boyfriend’s quirky speed-rap on the breakneck “Dance At My Funeral”. As ever, Galactic’s omnivorous musical interests make easy classification difficult – Already Ready Already is as all-encompassing and universal as the band’s moniker established long ago.

Eric Gales – The Bookends CD/LP+MP3 (Provogue/Mascot Label Group)

Eric Gales returns with his brand-new album, The Bookends. The challenge of making The Bookends was for Gales to challenge himself. “As a guitar player it’s been established that I can play a little bit, just a little bit,” he says. But for this album he not only wanted to push himself as a musician, but also as a vocalist, to build up his vocal discography. “What spearheaded that was the artists that I have on the record,” he adds which includes B. Slade, Doyle Bramhall II and Beth Hart. If his previous album Middle Of The Road was the rebirth of Eric Gales, then The Bookends is him blurring boundaries and taking flight on a voyage of self-discovery.

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