AIMS Marketing Program/ Featured Titles Promoted This Week:

100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs CD/LP (Atlantic)

100 Gecs, the duo comprised of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, return with their sophomore album, 10,000 Gecs. Following their breakout debut album 1,000 Gecs, the anticipation of their next body of work has been high and the band’s teases have been plentiful. The new album includes previously released singles “Mememe” which has been described as “an ebullient carnival of ska-inflected verses that bounce off a chorus of thrash guitars and a squiggling synth line” along with the ‘90s alt rock-inspired “Doritos & Fritos”, which The Fader noted is “unlike any other Gecs track before it”. [An indie store exclusive white color vinyl pressing is available.]

All Time Low – Tell Me I’m Alive CD (Fueled By Ramen)

All Time Low has undeniably carved out their own corner of popular culture. The multi-platinum Maryland pop-punk quartet topped charts, sold out arenas worldwide, and served up a series of instantly irresistible anthems in the process. Their influence remains pervasive: 5 Seconds Of Summer have covered their tunes, Cheat Codes and Pierce The Veil have jumped at the chance to collaborate, and they’ve contributed music to films by visionaries such as Tim Burton and Diablo Cody. Speaking of their impact, Rolling Stone even named So Wrong, It’s Right among its 50 greatest pop punk albums. Tell Me I’m Alive is their ninth album and is preceded by the title track.

Invent Animate – Heavener CD/LP (UNFD)

“Invent Animate has always occupied a strange niche in the metalcore scene in that they are nearly universally praised as royalty in the underground, particularly amongst those who like the djent-y and progressive side of the genre but have been seemingly confined to this box since their inception. Many praised the group’s 2021 EP The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was as the perfect culmination of their sounds and hoped it would be an indication of what would follow; in hindsight, this hope was an underestimate of what the group is capable of, as Heavener is even a sufficient step-up from its already stunning three-track predecessor. The technical prowess is equally impressive and tasteful, the signature ambient textures are lush and beautiful, the songwriting is unpredictable yet digestible and varied, and most importantly, the emotion is absolutely unhinged.” Matt Jones, Boolin Tunes [A limited-edition transparent cream color vinyl pressing is available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for March 17, 2023

AIMS Marketing Program/ Featured Titles Promoted This Week:

Matt Andersen – The Big Bottle Of Joy CD/2xLP (Sonic)

The Big Bottle Of Joy is about celebration – hard-won, overflowing, exuberant celebration. Matt Andersen’s latest long-player lives up to the grand title from its opening song, “Let It Slide”; a muscular, organ-drenched urge for people to chill out and be good to each other – to its understated, romantic curtain-closer, “Shoes”. Andersen finds reason to sustain this celebration of the life we share together everywhere – on the road, missing a lover; between the sheets in a southern Ontario motel room; from Montreal “all the way to New Orleans”; in a “little kitchen ballroom” on a quiet night at home. Over a dozen songs infused with raw blues-rock, rollicking Americana, thoughtful folk, and ecstatic gospel, he testifies to something we could all do well to remember: the time we have together is special, so let’s spend it the right way.

Jane Bunett and Maqueque – Playing With Fire CD (Linus Entertainment)

By now the international jazz community knows the story that Maqueque came out of a jam session at the Cohiba Hotel in Havana that introduced renowned jazz musician Jane Bunnett with young women musicians and composers who had recently graduated from the Cuban conservatory. Over ten years the band has created opportunities for composing and performing extraordinary jazz that has taken this all-female ensemble around the world and has expanded to include not only women players from Cuba, but also brilliant vocalist Joanna Majoko (from Zimbabwe) and has had musicians from the Dominican Republic, Latin America, Spain and Lebanon.

Shana Cleveland – Manzanita CD/LP/Cassette (Hardly Art)

Manzanita is the common name for a kind of small evergreen tree endemic to California which has strong medicinal properties. It’s also the name of the brand-new full length by songwriter, musician, visual artist, and writer Shana Cleveland. Subtle, powerful, and unafraid, it’s her strongest and most personal album to date. These songs are as strong as the bricks in the Brill building and seem destined to be covered by others in years to come. Where her previous record, 2019’s Night Of The Worm Moon functions as a collection of speculative fictions equally inspired by Afro-futurist pioneers Herman “Sun Ra” Blount and Octavia Butler, Manzanita concerns the love that loves to love. “This is a supernatural love album set in the California wilderness,” Cleveland explains. [A limited-edition maroon color vinyl pressing is available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for March 10, 2023

AIMS Marketing Program/ Featured Titles Promoted This Week:

ALO – Silver Saturdays CD/LP (Brushfire/Republic)

Marking a full circle moment and kicking off a very special 25th anniversary, California rock band ALO return with their first full-length studio LP in eight years and ninth overall. Silver Saturdays isn’t just another album, it’s the rock ‘n’ roll dream made reality. ALO show what happens when a band doesn’t break up and instead enjoys the fruition of their lifelong camaraderie and brotherhood. As such, the music hinges on the near-telepathic cohesion of four master collaborators at the peak of their craft individually and collectively after all this time. The result is ten new original songs, recorded mostly live, that pay direct homage to the journey and the artistic process and further refine ALO’s singular and self-ascribed “jam-pop” genre. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is available.]

Can’t Swim – Thanks But No Thanks CD/LP (Pure Noise)

“East coast emo rockers Can’t Swim return with their fourth full length Thanks But No Thanks, a well-produced masterclass in storytelling through song. Combining an early 2000s scene ethos and modern values, Can’t Swim spent years jumping between genres from post-hardcore to alt-pop before finding their niche with slightly retro feeling, emo-tinged pop-punk. Evoking bands like Jimmy Eat World, Hawthorne Heights and early Thrice, Can’t Swim’s latest, Thanks But No Thanks, is a refreshingly straightforward and honest album with some unique sonic elements and authentic, relatable lyrics. With a solid combination of playful bangers and powerful, emotional songwriting, Thanks But No Thanks is the culmination of almost a decade of work for Can’t Swim and points towards a bright future for the band.” – Tom Bruce, Noizze [An indie store exclusive black w/ red & white swirl color vinyl pressing is available.]

Drayton Farley – Twenty On High CD/LP (Hargrove/Thirty Tigers)

Alabama native Drayton Farley has as honest a voice as you’re likely to hear in this burgeoning scene of country, folk, roots, and Americana music we’re all wrapped up in. With songs and lyrics pulled from real life experience, there’s a grounded feeling to his stories, a confessional quality that rings true to those who know. His voice fills the room like cigarette smoke, curling into every corner of you, with a fine grit rasp that smooths out every rough edge. It lingers hours, days, after you’ve left the bar – turns of phrase that tumble around your mind, bittersweet and familiar. He sings as deeply about the love he holds as the love he’s lost and there’s something so broken-in and comfortable about that Southern inflection that every song feels like coming home. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for March 3, 2023