Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:

Anika – Change CD/LP/Cassette (Sacred Bones)

When asked to describe the circumstances that influenced her beautifully fraught new work, Berlin-based musician Annika Henderson – better known simply as Anika – quickly articulates a set of feelings and unpredictable circumstances that are familiar to anyone who tried to make art – or simply tried to live through – the recent global pandemic. “It’s a moment caught in time,” she says of Change, her much-anticipated new record. Given that it has been 11 years since the release of her last solo album, 2010 cult-favorite Anika, the artist suddenly found herself with a lot to say. The intimacy of its creation and a palpable sense of global anxiety are seemingly baked into the DNA of Change. Spread across nine tracks, the central feeling of the record is one of heightened frustration buoyed by guarded optimism. The songs offer skittering, austere electronic backdrops reminiscent of classic Broadcast records or High Scores-era Boards Of Canada, playing them against Anika’s remarkable voice – Nico-esque, beautifully plaintive, and – in regards to the record’s subject matter – totally resolute. [An indie-store exclusive red & silver ‘galaxy’ color vinyl pressing is available.]

Molly Burch – Romantic Images CD/LP (Captured Tracks)

Romantic Images marks a distinct evolution for Molly Burch, both emotionally and sonically. Recorded in Denver with Tennis’ Alaina Moore and Pat Riley producing, the collection celebrates the timeless delights of a well-crafted pop song, flirting with Blondie, Madonna, and even Mariah Carey as it forges a joyful soundtrack to liberation and self-discovery. Burch deliberately worked with more women collaborators than ever before on the album, and the results are transcendent, reveling in the passion and the power of the divine feminine. Written with the live show in mind, the collection prioritizes ecstasy and escape, and it’s easy to hear Burch’s commitment to collective catharsis in her lifted, airy delivery, which manages to exude both thoughtful introspection and carefree abandon all at once. [An indie-store exclusive color vinyl pressing is available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for July 23, 2021

Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:

Black Pumas – Capitol Cuts: Live From Studio A CD/LP (ATO)

Recorded direct to acetate – all live, no overdubs – Capitol Cuts: Live From Studio A captures a powerful moment in time. After months of cancelled shows Black Pumas went to Los Angeles in Fall 2020 and laid down eight explosive tracks at the famed Capitol Studio A. The recording brims with pent up energy, nearly bursting through the grooves on the expansive and mind-blowing seven-minute rendition of “Colors”. A few weeks later the song would receive a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]

Guccihighwaters – Joke’s On You CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)

Joke’s On You is the sophomore album from singer/producer Guccihighwaters (aka Morgan Murphy) which features the poignant new single “Hold Somebody” alongside his previously released singles “Straight Jacket”, “Rope”, “Expectations”, and “Needle & Thread”. With Jokes On You, Murphy says, “basically my goal was to make it sound like me.” Members of the cloud rap community, like Powfu and Nothing, Nowhere, feature on the album, adding their voices to Murphy’s signature sound. [A limited-edition ‘merlot wave’ color vinyl pressing is also available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for July 16, 2021

Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:

Clipping. – Wriggle (Expanded) CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)

The original, digital-only Wriggle was six tracks that weren’t finished in time to make it onto the group’s 2014 Sub Pop debut, CLPPNG. The EP’s title track, “Wriggle”, was built around a sample of the influential power-electronics song “Wriggle Like A F**king Eel” by Whitehouse, transforming William Bennett’s torturous imperative into a instructional dance-floor banger. The 2021 edition features new artwork, guests, and previously unreleased remixes. Included are the original versions of the title track, “Shooter”, “Hot F**k No Love” (feat. Cakes Da Killa & Maxi Wild), “Our Time” (feat. Nailah Middleton), along with “Back Up 2021” feat. SB The Moor and a new verse from industrial-rap experimentalist Debby Friday. Wriggle also features remixes of the title track from drum ‘n’ bass/breakbeat act Homemade Weapons and Classicworks label co-founder Cardopusher, a rework of “Back Up” by Fade To Mind producer Dave Quam (formerly Massacooramaan), and Chicago footwork producer Jana Rush delivers both the “Hot F**k No Love (Naughty Bitch Remix)” for the vinyl version, and “Shooter (Face Rearranged Remix)” for the digital release.

Oliver Wood – Always Smilin’ CD/LP (Honey Jar)

Oliver Wood is a mainstay of modern-day American roots music. The frontman of the Wood Brothers since 2004, he’s spent the 21st century blurring the boundaries between folk, gospel, country-soul, and Americana, earning an international audience and a Grammy Award-nomination along the way. Always Smilin’, his debut as a solo artist, continues that tradition while also shining new light on Oliver’s sharp songwriting, savvy guitar chops, and a voice that evokes the swagger of a Saturday evening picking party one moment and the solemnity of a Sunday morning gospel service the next. It is an album of bridges, mixing a wide range of collaborations with a uniquely personal touch. Guests include bandmates from Oliver’s musical past and present, from mentor and co-writer Chris Long (who performed alongside Oliver in King Johnson, the roots-rock band that dominated Atlanta’s music scene around the turn of the millennium) to percussionist Jano Rix (Oliver’s partner in The Wood Brothers). Blues heroine Susan Tedeschi, Hiss Golden Messenger’s Phil Cook, Medeski Martin & Wood’s John Medeski, Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Tyler Greenwell, Nashville staple Phil Madeira, and singer/songwriter Carsie Blanton also make appearances, with Rebecca Wood – Oliver’s wife – handling the album’s handmade linocut cover art. [An indie store exclusive clear vinyl pressing is available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for July 9, 2021