June Program Titles Released This Week:

Apex Manor – Heartbreak City CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

Requiring less than two weeks of studio time to complete, it’s accurate to say that Apex Manor’s Heartbreak City was captured more than it was recorded due to the “everybody in the same room” live sessions featuring songwriter Ross Flournoy on guitar and vocals, Dan Allaire (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) on drums, and Rob Barbato on bass and production duties. The raucous result is a sonic spectacle that cleverly balances aggressive Dinosaur Jr-esque guitars with dreamy synth work that’s reminiscent of The Cure, all mixed together with spirited instrumental performances, nuanced melodicism, and lyrics that swing wildly between being cryptic and being profound. In short, it’s everything there is to love about early ‘90s pre-commercialized alternative rock but with a refreshingly modern absence of pretense or nostalgia. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Kishi Bashi – Omoiyari CD/LP (Joyful Noise)

Imagine being forced from your home. Imagine being sent to a prison camp with no trial, and no promise of release. Imagine all this happened simply because of the language you speak, the shade of your skin, or the roots of your family tree. For over 120,000 Japanese Americans, this was a reality during World War II. It’s a reality that Kishi Bashi seeks to reckon with on his latest release, Omoiyari. The strong conceptual elements of Omoiyari are driven by Kishi Bashi’s captivating musical score. Stepping away from his past loop-based production model, he embraced a more collaborative approach when recording, and for the first time included contributions from other musicians, such as Mike Savino (aka Tall Tall Trees) on banjo and bass, and Nick Ogawa (aka Takenobu) on cello. Kishi Bashi’s spectacular trademark violin soundscapes are still an essential component of his sound, but the focus of Omoiyari is centered squarely on its songs. [Exclusive indie-store-only colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Pip Blom – Boat CD/LP (Heavenly/PIAS America)

Dutch artist Pip Blom’s debut album Boat is as energetic as it is infectious. Recorded in a shipping container on the banks of the Thames in East London, its ten songs, alluding to the album’s title, ferry you through Pip’s headspace via expertly crafted compositions gelled together through their unassuming depth. There’s the kinetic combination of guitars from Pip herself and brother Tender Blom, the effortlessly captivating vocal range which can be authoritative and intent like in the driving album opener “Daddy Issues”, or soothing and warm as heard in melodic middle track “Bedhead”. Then there are the choruses that seem to stop songs in their tracks and lift them into a different stratosphere. Boat is an open book of Pip Blom, delivered via her undeniable knack for writing hook-laden, three to four-minute songs.

[Read more…] about New Releases for May 31, 2019

June Program Titles Released This Week:

Amyl and The Sniffers – Amyl and The Sniffers CD/LP (ATO)

Melbourne, Australia’s Amyl and The Sniffers’ self-titled debut album was produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A) and comes with 11 blistering tracks boasting ‘70s throwback anthemic guitars and breakneck drumming with human firecracker Amy Taylor leading the 29-minute auditory assault. The Fader says that, “the Australian band recall the heady days of punk: spiky, wild, provocative, and a little dangerous with a fierce live reputation.” Taylor explains that lead single “Got You” is “about that feeling you get when you first start seeing someone and you’re excited to see them, no matter what sh!t they got. You just see them at the pub and it feels like the most exciting thing in the world, like you’re so lucky they’re even there. It’s definitely one of the ‘sweetest’ songs on the album, and less punky. It was kind of inspired by Split Enz.’”

Justin Townes Earle – The Saint Of Lost Causes CD/2xLP (New West)

The Saint Of Lost Causes is the eighth album from American roots troubadour, Justin Townes Earle. Earle’s latest album finds a songwriter and artist who is unflinching and unequivocal in his truth. When writing this collection, Earle focused on a different America – the disenfranchised and the downtrodden, the oppressed and the oppressors, the hopeful and the hopeless. There’s the drugstore-cowboy-turned-cop-killer praying for forgiveness (“Appalachian Nightmare”) and the common Michiganders persevering through economic and industrial devastation (“Flint City Shake It”); the stuck mother dreaming of a better life on the right side of the California tracks (“Over Alameda”) and the Cuban man in New York City weighed down by a world of regret (“Ahi Esta Mi Nina”); the “used up” soul desperate to get to New Orleans (“Ain’t Got No Money”) and the “sons of bitches” in West Virginia poisoning the land and sea (“Don’t Drink The Water”). These are individuals and communities in every corner of the country, struggling through the ordinary – and sometimes extraordinary – circumstances of everyday life. [Double-LP vinyl edition features and etched D-Side.]

Fleshgod Apocalypse – Veleno CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)

Italian grandmasters of orchestral death metal Fleshgod Apocalypse find spontaneity rewarding on their new album, Veleno. Over the past four records – including previous album, King (2016) – the Francesco Paoli-led trio have planned every step, discussed every note, and ensured every salutation to Paganini, Bach, and Mozart was met with an equally brutal death metal equivalent. On Veleno, which is Italian for “Venom”, Fleshgod Apocalypse distanced themselves from distraction, unboxed the songwriting process, and let the inspiration flow freely. They’ve matured, blended more efficiently their musical vision, and walked away with 11 songs that sound like a new band with an insatiable prey drive. “Veleno is an interesting creature. It tries to accomplish a lot while at the same time making valiant attempts to avoid the usual Fleshgod Apocalypse tropes. To say that that the crew manning the good ship Fleshgod have developed a comfort zone in their branch of opera-infused death metal would be to put it politely, and it seems on Veleno that the group are aware of that, and tried to move outside those boundaries as much as possible.” – No Clean Singing [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for May 24, 2019

May Program Titles Released This Week:

Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent CD/LP (Capitol)

Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is 22-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi’s debut album. Recorded over an 18-month period in London, New York and Los Angeles, Capaldi co-wrote each of the 12 songs, working with Malay who also produced, (Frank Ocean, Lorde) Jamie Hartman (Calvin Harris, Rag N Bone Man) and TMS. Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is an ironically titled, but charismatically defining album that’s lyrically candid and a realistic snapshot of the ups and downs of growing up. Lewis’ stunningly identifiable voice, coupled with its turbulent themes of love, loss and heartache, make it a debut album that is both poignant and unequivocally relatable. TIME proclaims, “Lewis Capaldi has the kind of deep, textured voice that you could listen to for hours. He finds expressive rough edges, then smooths them out into the sweetest of notes.”

Full Of Hell – Weeping Choir CD/LP (Relapse)

Dynamic, pissed, and wholly urgent, Weeping Choir is a definitive statement of intent by one of the underground’s most dynamic and virulent entities. Full Of Hell has once again culled the extreme elements from hardcore, metal, and power electronics to redefine darkness and sheer brutality. Distorted guitars, and ominous, disparate electronics grind and gnash against rapid-fire drumming, as the band take themes of religion, loss, hatred, and set them ablaze.

The Head And The Heart – Living Mirage CD/LP (WB)

Living Mirage is the fourth studio album from five-piece indie-folk act The Head And The Heart and follow-up to 2016’s Signs Of Light. After the release of their third LP, co-founder Josiah Johnson amicably left the group, with the band replacing the guitarist/vocalist with Charity Rose Thielen‘s husband, Matt Gervais. In the time since, longtime keyboardist Kenny Hensley has also returned to the fold. Appropriately, Living Mirage touches on these major changes, with bassist Chris Zasche describing the collection as a “rebirth, a spirit quest of sorts.” For lead single, “Missed Connection”, the group focuses in on the “anxiety that reasoned that growth spurt” following their recent lineup changes. Initially created as a tribute to Russell’s girlfriend and how they met, the song shifted to a reflection on the group’s history, meeting for an open-mic in Seattle ten years ago. Musically, the song infuses tastes of hip-hop and pop production. Elaborated drummer Tyler Williams, “A lot of the beats on this song are quicker, and there are high hats that were never in our music before.” [Limited indie-store exclusive vinyl pressing also available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for May 17, 2019