CDs + Vinyl:

Against Me! – Shape Shift With Me CD/2xLP+MP3 (Total Treble)

Seventh full-length studio album from punk rock band, dropping right before lead singer Laura Jane Grace’s memoir titled Tranny: Confessions Of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout (due mid-November.) [Limited white color vinyl edition also available.]

Alex G – DSU CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Run For Cover)

Two years after its initial release on boutique Brooklyn label Orchid Tapes, Alex G’s fourth LP DSU is back in print across all formats. Considered by many to be the record that shone a spotlight onto the longtime lo-fi Bandcamp-favorite, DSU is an indie rock record empowered and enlightened by Alex Giannascoli’s bedroom-pop sensibilities.

Joey Alexander – Countdown CD (Motema)

New release from the 13-year-old jazz pianist. Joey Alexander’s jaw-dropping ability and beyond-his-years artistry brought him to some of the grandest stages, from performing at the Grammys and the White House, to appearing on The Today Show and 60 Minutes.

Devon Allman – Ride Or Die CD (Ruf)

Son of Greg Allman, Devon Allman’s new album Ride Or Die contains twelve soulful and powerful tracks that showcase Allman’s maturity as a songwriter.

Dorothy Ashby – The Fantastic Jazz Harp Of Dorothy Ashby CD/LP (Spellbound Music)

A reissue of Dorothy Ashby’s sixth album, originally released in 1965. Ashby was a Detroit born jazz harpist who passed away in her early ‘50s in 1986. She left a rich legacy of music with The Fantastic Jazz Harp Of Dorothy Ashby being one of her milestones. It is an utterly progressive effort and the pop sensibility of many tracks make it a great joy to spin.

Albert Ayler – Ghosts [Reissue/1965] CD (Skokiaan)

Ayler and his mates — Don Cherry on trumpet, Sonny Murray on drums and Gary Peacock on bass guitar — are definitely on par with the other free jazz gods like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman on this 1965 release.

Bad Suns – Disappear Here CD/LP+MP3 (Vagrant)

Sophomore record from Los Angeles’ Bad Suns. “The band’s first new music in over two years does not disappoint, picking up right where they left off with a stadium-sized chorus tucked neatly into a song that screams Bad Suns. From lead singer Christo Bowman’s booming tenor to Gavin Bennett’s resilient bass, ‘Disappear Here’ marks a resounding return. Bad Suns’ arrangements tend to be a warm and equal blend of instruments that work together as a whole, rather than individually. “Disappear Here” is exactly such an arrangement: A strong bass line coupled with a frisky drum beat drives the rhythm forward as Bad Suns go about reintroducing themselves. Lead guitar and a light keyboard support Bowman’s voice as he carries the melody through short, sinusoidal phrasings. Bowman goes for the jugular when he jumps into a melting falsetto in the chorus, but the stunning impact of such a move would be lost without the instrumental backup around him.” – Atwood Magazine

Dave Ball – Photosynthesis CD (Cold Spring)

Dave Ball (Soft Cell, The Grid) and Jon Savage present Photosynthesis. They explain how Photosynthesis developed: “We started composing some quasi pop/classical pieces that gradually morphed and evolved into one, hour-long piece. Via digital recording and processing of vintage analog sound sources (i.e. mini Moog, Sequential Circuits, Prophet 5 synthesizers etc.) the piece gradually took shape. The title Photosynthesis was re-appropriated from the botanical process. Sitting in the garden surrounded by trees and plants on a sunny day, the idea of organisms using sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water became an inspiration to us.”

Barishi – Blood From The Lion’s Mouth CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

Gritty progressive metal quartet Barisi release their adventurous new album Blood From The Lion’s Mouth. More than simply “progressive,” Barishi strikes a deft and unique balance between elegance and aggression. Tracks such as “Grave Of The Creator,” “Bonesetter,” and the title track are ruthlessly heavy and oddly beautiful, and delivered with purpose and poise that belies the quartet’s young age. “…Willfully avant-garde prog-metal… which mixes melodic and psychedelic tendencies with hardcore bite and bitterness and the same sort of autistic-savant creativity of Ihsahn’s solo output. Magic, in a word.” – No Clean Singing

Matt Berry – The Small Hours CD/LP+MP3 (PIAS America)

The Small Hours is the new long player from the swooning, hysterical and critically acclaimed Matt Berry. Following on from Witchazel And Kill The Wolf through to 2014’s Music For Insomniacs (which saw the musician, writer and celebrated actor explore the effects of sleeplessness through a range of modular equipment) The Small Hours explores themes of death, religion, loneliness and the changing of the seasons.

Beware Of Darkness – Are You Real? CD/LP+MP3 (Bright Antenna)

Beware Of Darkness is a hard rock band with an old soul, pissed at life in the modern age. Where the band’s earlier material may have fallen more on the side of leather and metal, Are You Real? hearkens to the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood, The Struts, Wolf Alice, Cage The Elephant, Skaters, and Nirvana.

Bitori – Legend Of Funaná: Forbidden Music Of The Capes CD/LP (Analog Africa)

A masterpiece that many Cabo Verdean consider the recording of Funaná (a frenetic, soca-style dance music made by and for the working classes). Despite its roots in colonial oppression, here is the sound of absolute joy.

Mykki Blanco – Mykki CD/LP+MP3 (!K7)

A singular artist who has made an indelible mark on the pop music landscape with a string of street-level releases and mixtapes, Mykki Blanco releases his debut album.

Blue States – Restless Spheres CD/LP (Memphis Industries)

Blue States’ fifth album, Restless Spheres, doffs its cap to the soundtracks of Budd and Morricone, to ‘60s Greek bands such as The Forminx, to German electronic pioneers Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother and to American minimalist composers Steve Reich and Phillip Glass.

Richard Bona & Mandekan Cubano – Heritage CD (Membran)

Originally from Cameroon, Richard Bona remains true to his roots on Heritage, his 8th album as a leader and the first one with his Afro-Cuban band Mandekan Cubano. An energetic, life affirming and truly fantastic album, it explores the alchemy of African rhythms in Cuba.

Matt Brewer – Unspoken CD (Criss Cross)

Upright bassist Matt Brewer presents an inspired quintet recording, convening tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel, pianist Aaron Parks, guitarist Charles Altura, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, all top-of-the-pyramid under 40 improvisers and consequential composers in their own right, to perform a nine tune program that includes seven Brewer originals and reimagined versions of Bill Frisell’s “Twenty Years” and Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl.”

Thomas Brinkmann – Certain Degree Of Stasis CD (Frozen Reeds)

Thomas Brinkmann – A 1000 Keys CD/LP (Frozen Reeds)

Often associated with sparse electronic music, A Certain Degree Of Stasis sees Thomas Brinkmann in command of a maximalist’s palette. A sonic counterpart to Agnes Lux’s visual work, featured on the sleeve, the piece explores both fiercely distorted textures and sustained crystalline calm. He takes his seductive reductionism to the next level with A 1000 Keys, a harsh meditation on the expressive qualities of digital sound production.

Peter Brötzmann/Steve Noble/John Edwards – …The Worse The Better CD (Otoroku)

Originally released on vinyl in 2012 – now available on CD. Café OTO is a concert venue operating in Dalston, East London, specializing in various strains of avant-music: free-jazz, song, electronics, etc. OTO have been professionally recording various shows on and off since the venue opened in 2008. The Worse the Better is a recording of the stunning first set performed by the trio of Peter Brötzmann, Steve Noble and John Edwards at Café OTO in January 2010 during Brötzmann’s first residency at the venue. It was also the first time this trio had played together.

Brujeria – Pocho Aztlan CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)

First new album in 16 years from the death metal/grindcore band.

Michael Bundt – Electri City [Reissue/1980] CD/LP (Bureau B)

Having played his way through the 1970s in various rock combos (Medusa, Nine Days’ Wonder), Michael Bundt embarked on a solo career in the latter part of the decade, releasing three albums which saw him explore the vast potential of electronic music. Delightfully varied and typical of his willingness to experiment, his music orbits around krautrock, Berlin School electronica, space-futurism and synth pop.

[Read more…] about New Releases for September 16, 2016

CDs + Vinyl:

The 7^th Plain – Chronicles I CD/2xLP (A-Ton)

A-Ton is a new edition and platform of Berghain’s in-house imprint Ostgut Ton, focusing on ambient, archive and alternative music, differing from the club-focused records on the main label. Chronicles I marks the start of a series from Luke Slater’s The 7th Plain moniker, with remastered, previously released and unheard archive material. First published on General Production Recordings between 1993 and 1996, Slater’s The 7th Plain pushed the further burgeoning genre of ambient music towards its boundaries by not limiting itself to mostly beat-less synth pads, but by including propulsive beat progressions, nuanced rhythms and subtle melodies.

Peter Adriaansz – Enclosures CD (Ergodos)

Written between 2008 and 2013, Enclosures is a treasury of chamber music highlighting Netherlands-based composer Peter Adriaansz’s fastidious artistic mind. “His work is abstract music of a high order, reanimating the medieval idea of music as applied number, but the questions it asks are defiantly of the twenty-first century, questions about musical perception, about the nature of sound and the passage of time.” — Bob Gilmore

Ausmuteants – Band Of The Future CD/LP (Aarght)

“Ausmuteants are just a band. Not punk, new wave, hardcore, boogie, darkwave, Oi, hyphenate-rock or pet rock. Not sharpies. Not chavs. Not drug users and not straight edge. Ausmuteants are regular dudes practicing the sound of things falling apart.”

Automatic City – One Batch Of Blues CD/LP (Stag-O-Lee)

Recorded in simple live takes with a handful of microphones, covers album Automatic City stays true to the founding fathers of the blues while adding very “non-blues” sounds of Theremin, sitar, berimbau and melodica.

Beady Belle – On My Own CD (Jazzland)

Recorded in New York City, On My Own features a strong — but not overpowering — undercurrent of ’70s soul and vocal jazz, mixtures of intimacy and exuberance, and pulsations both urban and urbane. Melodically gripping, harmonically intricate, lyrically intelligent (without pretentiousness) and underpinned by solid grooves.

Till Brönner – The Good Life CD (Sony Masterworks)

New album from renowned German jazz trumpeter. The Good Life is conceived for relaxed moments and draws inspiration form the great American jazz songbook, including new arrangements of works made famous by Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and many more.

[Read more…] about New Releases for September 2, 2016

CDs + Vinyl:

Æthenor – Hazel CD/LP (VHF)

Fifth album from the group of eclectic travelers that includes Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), KTL), Daniel O’Sullivan (Ulver, This Is Not This Heat, Grumbling Fur, etc.), Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver), and Steve Noble (Brötzmann Trio, N.E.W.). Atmospheric and layered, Hazel features bits and pieces of identifiable rock-moves peeking out from under a thick blanket of hard-to-identify drift.

The Album Leaf – Between Waves CD/LP (Relapse)

Nearly twenty years into a career that has seen Jimmy LaValle exercising his creativity across the realms of film scoring, sound collage, and electronic/rock music, via instrumental and vocal-driven compositions alike, LaValle and The Album Leaf deliver yet another sonic triumph with Between Waves. Born out of a thorough reinvention of LaValle’s creative process and approach, Between Waves is The Album Leaf’s first proper full-length record in over six years and the first to be recorded and produced as a complete band, and was written with greater emphasis on the group dynamic. From the moody evolution of “Glimmering Lights” to the wistful trip-hop stylings of “New Soul” and beyond, Between Waves is a gorgeous collection of euphoric melodies and emotionally charged multi-instrumental soundscapes.

David Anthony – The Powerful Now CD (Shanachie)

The Powerful Now delivers Anthony’s trademark acoustic soul melded with elements of hip-hop, rock and dance music.

Apocalypse Blues Revue – Apocalypse Blues Revue CD/LP (Provogue)

Swampy soul/blues filtered through rockabilly.

Loren Auerbach with Bert Jansch – Colours Are Fading Fast 3xCD (Earth Recordings)

Released last April on vinyl – now available on CD. There’s an idea in Japanese culture which suggests that true beauty can only be achieved through imperfection, as its opposite is unattainable. Colors Are Fading Fast is a case in point. Though Auerbach’s voice is sure, it has a tenderness about it that is truly endearing — to listen to her sing is almost an invitation — close your eyes and you could be sitting with her in her living room, a hot cup of tea by your side. Her two albums (Playing The Game and After The Long Night) are included here, alongside In Moonlight’s Grace — a third disc of previously unheard and unreleased material, transferred and remastered from original tapes.

The Bad Plus – It’s Hard CD (Masterworks)

The Bad Plus’ eleventh studio recording sees the leaderless trio of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King returning to the distinctive deconstruction of pop forms that first drew them international attention almost two decades ago. Recorded this past April at NYC’s Brooklyn Recording with longtime engineer Pete Rende (Joshua Redman, Bill McHenry), It’s Hard spans both era and inspiration as The Bad Plus offer new perspectives on this collection of covers (Crowded House, Kraftwerk, Prince, Johnny Cash, Cindi Lauper, Peter Gabriel, Barry Manilow, Maroon 5, etc.). [Vinyl edition due October 7.]

Banks & Steelz – Anything But Words CD/2xLP (WB)

“Interpol’s music … it’s like if RZA had been born in the rock world”—RZA. Banks & Steelz is the ongoing collaboration between Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Interpol’s Paul Banks. “While the cross-pollination of hip-hop luminary RZA and Banks, an artist known for moody early-2000s indie rock, suggests experiment for experiment’s sake, their chemistry on record is palpable, blending Interpol’s icy remove with RZA’s disjointed flow. ‘We’re both hard workers in the studio,’ explains RZA, who was first tipped off to Banks’ work when his manager suggested they duet. They clocked more than 200 sessions and crafted ideas for around 40 songs, meticulously landscaping the sonic terrain. ‘If I was to say I met someone who works as hard as me in the studio, it would be this young man right here,’ RZA continues. ‘He’ll do it over 30 times. To me, that’s cool, because that’s how some of the best records are made, some of the best films are made that way. I respect him as an entity.’ Antyhing But Words features guest appearances from Kool Keith, Florence Welch, Method Man, Masta Killa and Ghostface Killah, the latter of whom appears on lead single ‘Love + War.’” — SPIN

The Beach Boys – Becoming The Beach Boys: The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions 2xCD (Omnivore)

In September of 1961 Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Mike Love stepped up to a microphone together for the first time at the home of Hite and Dorinda Morgan to demo The Beach Boys’ first three songs. Between that September date and March 1962, before signing a seven-year contract with Capitol Records on May 24, 1962, they committed nine songs to tape under the direction of Hite and Dorinda Morgan. Some iconic, others obscure—“Surfin’,” “Luau,” “Lavender,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfer Girl,” “Judy,” “Beach Boy Stomp” (aka “Karate”), “Barbie,” and “What Is A Young Girl Made Of”— Every complete take, false start, master take, and every second of studio banter during these historic recordings is gathered on this collection.

Lurrie Bell – Can’t Shake This Feeling CD (Delmark)

The blues guitarist showcases all the passion, depth, rawness and uniqueness that keeps him at the top of many ‘Real Deal Chicago Blues’ lists.

Brother Moses – Legends CD/LP (Missing Piece)

Sophomore album from the Fayetteville, Arkansas-based indie rock band.

[Read more…] about New Releases for August 26, 2016