June Program Titles Released This Week:
Amyl and The Sniffers – Amyl and The Sniffers CD/LP (ATO)
Melbourne, Australia’s Amyl and The Sniffers’ self-titled debut album was produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A) and comes with 11 blistering tracks boasting ‘70s throwback anthemic guitars and breakneck drumming with human firecracker Amy Taylor leading the 29-minute auditory assault. The Fader says that, “the Australian band recall the heady days of punk: spiky, wild, provocative, and a little dangerous with a fierce live reputation.” Taylor explains that lead single “Got You” is “about that feeling you get when you first start seeing someone and you’re excited to see them, no matter what sh!t they got. You just see them at the pub and it feels like the most exciting thing in the world, like you’re so lucky they’re even there. It’s definitely one of the ‘sweetest’ songs on the album, and less punky. It was kind of inspired by Split Enz.’”
Justin Townes Earle – The Saint Of Lost Causes CD/2xLP (New West)
The Saint Of Lost Causes is the eighth album from American roots troubadour, Justin Townes Earle. Earle’s latest album finds a songwriter and artist who is unflinching and unequivocal in his truth. When writing this collection, Earle focused on a different America – the disenfranchised and the downtrodden, the oppressed and the oppressors, the hopeful and the hopeless. There’s the drugstore-cowboy-turned-cop-killer praying for forgiveness (“Appalachian Nightmare”) and the common Michiganders persevering through economic and industrial devastation (“Flint City Shake It”); the stuck mother dreaming of a better life on the right side of the California tracks (“Over Alameda”) and the Cuban man in New York City weighed down by a world of regret (“Ahi Esta Mi Nina”); the “used up” soul desperate to get to New Orleans (“Ain’t Got No Money”) and the “sons of bitches” in West Virginia poisoning the land and sea (“Don’t Drink The Water”). These are individuals and communities in every corner of the country, struggling through the ordinary – and sometimes extraordinary – circumstances of everyday life. [Double-LP vinyl edition features and etched D-Side.]
Fleshgod Apocalypse – Veleno CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Italian grandmasters of orchestral death metal Fleshgod Apocalypse find spontaneity rewarding on their new album, Veleno. Over the past four records – including previous album, King (2016) – the Francesco Paoli-led trio have planned every step, discussed every note, and ensured every salutation to Paganini, Bach, and Mozart was met with an equally brutal death metal equivalent. On Veleno, which is Italian for “Venom”, Fleshgod Apocalypse distanced themselves from distraction, unboxed the songwriting process, and let the inspiration flow freely. They’ve matured, blended more efficiently their musical vision, and walked away with 11 songs that sound like a new band with an insatiable prey drive. “Veleno is an interesting creature. It tries to accomplish a lot while at the same time making valiant attempts to avoid the usual Fleshgod Apocalypse tropes. To say that that the crew manning the good ship Fleshgod have developed a comfort zone in their branch of opera-infused death metal would be to put it politely, and it seems on Veleno that the group are aware of that, and tried to move outside those boundaries as much as possible.” – No Clean Singing [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
