Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:

Atmosphere – The Day Before Halloween LP (Rhymesayers)

For over two decades, Atmosphere has maintained a course of rigorous output, releasing over two dozen studio albums, EP’s and collaborative side projects in as many years. In that time, the venerated duo have built a legacy out of bringing honesty, humility and vulnerability to the forefront of their music, continually challenging themselves to evolve without straying too far from their Minneapolis hip-hop roots. Atmosphere’s new album, The Day Before Halloween, is something of a detour. Cutting loose and eschewing their established norms, Slug and Ant have delivered the anti-pop answer to the content and compositions of previous albums. Over razor-sharp drums and distorted synths, The Day Before Halloween explores the life of a visual artist living in an antiquated surveillance state. [CD edition due November 13.]

November Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:

Elvis Costello – Hey Clockface CD (Concord)

Recorded in Helsinki, Paris and New York, Hey Clockface is the latest Elvis Costello and Sebastian Krys production, following their collaboration on Elvis Costello and The Imposters’ Grammy-winning album Look Now. Hey Clockface also features contributions from Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Steve Nieve. “I wanted the record to be vivid, whether the songs demanded playing that was loud and jagged or intimate and beautiful,” Costello said of the project’s emotional and dynamic range.” [Vinyl edition due November 13.]

Keith Jarrett – Budapest Concert 2xCD (Verve)

The second complete show to be issued from Keith Jarrett’s 2016 European tour, following the acclaimed Munich 2016 concert. This double album documents the pianist’s solo performance at Budapest’s Bela Bart¢k National Concert Hall. Jarrett, whose roots go back to Hungary, saw it as a homecoming; the context inspired much creative improvisation. His later concerts are comprised of independent movements, each a marvel of spontaneous resourcefulness and creative energy.

[Read more…] about New Releases for October 30, 2020

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Jeremy Ivey – Waiting Out The Storm LP+MP3 (ANTI-)

Nashville-based performer Jeremy Ivey has operated in the background for years as a songwriter/guitarist with his wife, celebrated country-rock luminary Margo Price. Ivey is back in the spotlight with his sophomore solo album Waiting Out The Storm. Produced by Price, the ten-song album finds Jeremy Ivey expanding his sound with his band The Extraterrestrials. On Waiting Out The Storm, an album with electricity coursing through its veins, Ivey zooms out to take a widescreen look at the world around us—the landscape, the people that populate it, and the ways in which we help each other survive against all odds. Ivey, who writes prolifically and cites Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan as influences, evokes “Mutations-era Beck along with classic country” (Rolling Stone). His solo material travels through a wide spectrum of classic folk, gently frayed psychedelia, pop, and a bit of Southern rock.

Sasha Sloan – Only Child CD/LP (RCA)

On her full-length debut album, Only Child, Sasha Sloan steps into her own as a profoundly affecting artist and one of music’s most gifted lyricists. Only Child showcases Sasha’s bravery and willingness to put her vulnerabilities on display, with tracks like “Lie” and “House With No Mirrors.” Sasha continues to deliver music that weaves her powerful words and beautifully crafted melodies. “This album is a very mature version of me,” Sasha says. “It’s the most honest I’ve been. And there’s even a twinge of hope in there, which is new for me!” The album, which Sasha has been working on since 2019 and finished in quarantine, is bold, confessional, funny and real.

November Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:

Autechre – Sign CD/2xLP+MP3 (Warp)

Practically pocket-sized in comparison to their sprawling torrent of live material and radio recordings in recent years, Sign is a return to the sort of concision found circa Exai and their earlier albums. Effectively they’ve gotten better to grips with their live set-up, and the hyper ideas found in their work-in-progress demonstrations on the five volume Elseq and eight hours of NTS Sessions have been refined into moments of crystalline ambient baroque beauty and liquid-limbed swag on Sign. After their music has undergone what could be called a growth spurt in recent years, the acrid plasma of their complex, hyper-inorganic systems feels to congeal, create more intricate snaps across the album.

[Read more…] about New Releases for October 16, 2020

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North Americans – Roped In LP (Third Man)

Los Angeles-based musician collective with a rotating cast featuring Mary Lattimore and William Tyler, playing instrumental, psychedelic folk music. Pedal steel and nylon string guitar intertwine to create ethereal crystalline drones and twinkling hypnotic moods in the American Primitive style.

November Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:

Bahamas – Sad Hunk CD (Republic)

The fifth album from Bahamas, Sad Hunk takes its title from a nickname bestowed upon the artist by his wife in reaction to how he was being portrayed in the media, “Something like ten years ago I did a photo shoot, and in all the pictures they sent back I was lit half in shadow, looking all brooding and mysterious,” says the award-winning singer/songwriter otherwise known as Afie Jurvanen. “When my wife saw the photos the first thing she said was, ‘Whoa—sad hunk,’ and after that it became sort of a joke among our friends.” It’s a fitting backstory for an album that embodies an undaunted self-awareness, each track graced with Bahamas’s wry wit and unabashed heart. In sketching Sad Hunk’s delicately composed batch of songs, Jurvanen drew much inspiration from his home life and all the joy and struggle that comes with building a family together. [Vinyl edition due October 23.]

Black Pumas – Black Pumas 2xCD/2xLP+7” (ATO)

Black Pumas unveil a deluxe edition of their Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album. This expanded set is available as a double CD and double LP + 7” and includes the original album plus 11 bonus tracks, including three new original songs, four cover tracks, and unreleased live material. The package is updated with new artwork and contains unpublished in-studio and live photographs.

[Read more…] about New Releases for October 9, 2020