CDs:

Backstreet Boys – In A World Like This CD (K-Bahn LLC)

Eighth studio album from the teen boy-band turned vocal harmony group.

Alpha Blondy – Mystic Power CD (VP)

New album from the reggae veteran. Alpha Blondy, who is from the Ivory Coast, sings mostly in his native language of Dioula, French, English, sometimes Arabic or Hebrew. His lyrics convey serious political attitudes and a sense of humor.

Ken Camden – Space Mirror CD/LP (Kranky)

Ken Camden (Implodes) travels to space while still grounded on terra firma. His vessel of choice is a guitar and some effects with which he journeys on fantastical expeditions and surveys the biggest territory of all, the one between your ears. The album forms a gravity-free environment in which the listener is suspended, enhancing an aural excursion to the outer reaches of the musical Kosmos.

Chimaira – Crown Of Phantoms CD (E1)

“After what was a rather massive lineup change, Chimaira is back with their latest effort Crown Of Phantoms. This pounding album is in many ways a revival for the band, yet doesn’t stray away from the sound people have come to know and love over the past decade.” – Mindequalsblown.com

Alela Diane – About Farewell CD (Rusted Blue)

Alela Diane’s fourth album serves as an eloquent goodbye to lovers from years past, coupled with some poignant last walks down memory lane. While the lyrics deal most directly with Alela’s recent divorce, About Farewell explores her entire last decade of relationships with tremendous honesty and nuanced insight. The entirety of the album was built around her voice and simple guitar arrangements.

[Read more…] about New Releases for July 30, 2013

CDs:

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. – In Search Of The Lost Divine Arc CD/2xLP (Important Records)

Acid Mothers Temple’s new album heads in a completely different direction from 2012’s Son Of A Bitches Brew. Harder, faster, and more riff-rock oriented, In Search Of The Lost Divine Arc is here to slay. AMT skews their vibe between Zeppelin and Beefheart, coming out with another classic ripper in the process.

Acid Mothers Temple – Absolutely Freak Out (Zap Your Mind!) [2001] 2xCD (Staticresonance)

Reissue of the 2001 album (previously vinyl-only), plus 40 minutes of exclusive bonus material. 

All Pigs Must Die – Nothing Violates This Nature CD (Southern Lord)

Although the band’s members hail from Hope Conspiracy and Converge, they turn their more crust punk/d-beat-driven aggression outward with APMD.

Marc Anthony – 3.0 CD (Sony Latin)

New album from the Latin superstar, his first original tropical music recording in nearly a decade.

Armed For Apocalypse – The Road Will End CD (MRI)

The sludgy four-piece from the small Northern California college town of Chico have worked relentlessly to leave their imprint on metal.

[Read more…] about New Releases for July 23, 2013

CDs:

Anarbor – Burnout CD (Hopeless)

Sophomore album from the Phoenix pop-punk act.

Barenaked Ladies – Grinning Streak CD (Vanguard)

Barenaked Ladies deliver another batch of sunny pop/rock on their new album Grinning Streak, which features the single “Boomerang.”

George Benson – Inspiration: A Tribute To Nat King Cole CD (Concord)

Benson’s heartfelt renditions of some of Cole’s greatest songs with Nelson Riddle arrangements and the 42-piece Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra are complemented by duets with Tony Award winner Idina Menzel and rising star Judith Hill, along with a special collaboration with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

Big Black Delta – Big Black Delta CD/2xLP (Master Of Bates)

“If Jonathan Bates’ output as the founder and frontman of Mellowdrone constituted an experimental seven-part anthology, then his self-titled LP as Big Black Delta is a sonic prequel highlighting the many sources of inspiration for his earlier lo-fi project. Free of lyrics, guitars, and percussion, ‘PB3’ is an assortment of mellow synthesizer drones that evoke imagery of isolated exploration à la past-collaborator M83’s cinematic scores.” – Consequence Of Sound

Big Deal – June Gloom CD/LP (Mute)

Big Deal is a boy/girl indie pop duo comprised of Kacey Underwood (from California) and Alice Costelloe (from the UK). Their debut, Lights Out, was an understated one, centered around just two guitars (one electric, one acoustic) and their two voices. Quite understandably, especially for anyone who has seen Big Deal’s intimate, if almost coy, stage act, or listened to the band’s pining songs, audiences frequently mistake their working relationship for a romantic one.

Broncho – Can’t Get Past The Lips CD (Fairfax)

With echoes of The Replacements, Iggy and the Stooges and The Ramones, Broncho’s exuberant ten song debut Can’t Get Past The Lips is a blisteringly cathartic 20 minute flash of gritty, crunching guitar work supported by an assaultive rhythm section and made whole by songwriter Ryan Lindsey’s aggressive, yelping vocal work. Vinyl version due June 18.

Harold Budd – Jane 1-11 CD (Darla)

“Jane 1-11 is at least among Harold’s very best work and may be his all-time best. Start to finish, this is Harold at his most inspired and most tapped in to his unique gift. There is no other Harold Budd record on which he so strongly expresses his singular avant sensibility.”

Buika – La Noche Mas Larga CD (Warner Music Latina)

La Noche Mas Larga captures the fusion of jazz, Afro-Cuban and many more international music styles over eleven recordings comprised of new songs and also some classics, reworked and arranged to blend in with one of the most soulful voices in the globe. Recorded and mastered throughout Europe, Buika brought in some of the greatest musicians from the region as well as from Cuba.

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 4, 2013