CDs + Vinyl:

Allman Brothers Band – Filmore East, February 1970 CD (Allman Brothers Recording Company)

On Valentine’s weekend 1970, the Allman’s shared the stage with the Grateful Dead and Love at The Fillmore East along with Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac who’d showed up as they’d been sharing the bill with the Dead the previous week.

As It Is – The Great Depression CD/LP (Fearless)

As It Is take the listener on a journey which delves into every aspect of arguably the most prevalent social ill of our time across their third studio album, The Great Depression. From public perception, to internal war, the quartet unflinchingly confront the most difficult questions around depression, the value of life over death, and whether the rhetoric around ‘reaching out to talk’ is ostensibly hollow, if no one is prepared to hear those words. But if the four-piece have delved into brave new territory conceptually on The Great Depression then the sonic leap forward that runs in tandem with it signals this record as not just a landmark release for the band, but for the scene as a whole. The album, produced by legendary producer Machine (Lamb Of God, Every Time I Die), is comfortably As It Is’ most layered, technically accomplished and certainly most aggressive record to date. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

David Axelrod – Songs Of Experience [Reissue/1969] CD/LP (Now-Again)

Songs Of Experience (1969) is visionary composer/arranger/producer David Axelrod’s second album; it was recorded after the death of his beloved son Scott. Experience is an ominous affair, an album concerned with mortality and spirituality – the solitary, pastoral musings of William Blake set to the urban bombast of a full Los Angeles orchestra, with Wrecking Crew vets grounding the proceedings with dark funk.

Count Basie – At Carnegie Hall CD (Rockbeat)

Count Basie, undeniably one of Jazz music’s greatest legends, delivers a spectacular show live from Carnegie Hall, recorded on March 20, 1981 in one of his last televised performances.

The Beths – Future Me Hates Me CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)

The Beths occupy a warm, energetic sonic space between joyful hooks, sun-soaked harmonies, and acerbic lyrics. Their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, delivers an astonishment of roadtrip-ready pleasures, each song hitting your ears with an exhilarating endorphin rush like the first time you heard Pavement’s Slanted And Enchanted or The Breeders’ “Cannonball”. Front and center on these 10 infectious tracks is lead singer and primary songwriter Elizabeth Stokes. Stokes has previously worked in other genres within Auckland’s rich and varied music scene, recently playing in a folk outfit, but it was in exploring the angst-ridden sounds of her youth that she found her place. From the irresistible title track to future singles “Happy Unhappy” and “You Wouldn’t Like Me”, Stokes commands a vocal range that spans from the brash confidence of Joan Jett to the disarming vulnerability of Jenny Lewis. Further honeying Future Me Hates Me’s dark lyrics that explore complex topics like being newly alone and the self-defeating anticipation of impending regret, ecstatic vocal harmonies bubble up like in the greatest pop and R&B of the ‘60s, while inverting the trope of the “sad dude singer accompanied by a homogenous girl-sound.”

[Read more…] about New Releases for August 10, 2018

CDs + Vinyl:

MC Paul Barman – (((Echo Chamber))) CD/LP+7”+MP3 (Mello Music Group)

Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. “MC Paul Barman is the most ambitious type of rapper. He is rhyming art. If your ears are open, MCPM is gonna plug your brain in at voltages to which you are unaccustomed. He’s a social critic with a searing conscience that makes your comfortable bourgeois house of lies tremble with each jagged line on the PB Richter scale. His rhymes are original in the sense of ‘no one has ever used that word like that before…but we will now.’ Not that (((Echo Chamber))) is hard work. It is perfectly pleasurable to bop your head along to great tracks laid down by ?uestlove (six tracks), James Poyser, Mark Ronson, Prince Paul, Kenny Segal, Memory Man, and MF Doom. Not to mention scratches by DJ Yoda and features from Masta Ace and Open Mike Eagle to boot.”

Big Big Train – Merchants Of Light 2xCD/3xLP (Plane Groovy)

New live release from the acclaimed modern prog rock outfit.

Apollo Brown & Locksmith – No Question CD/LP+MP3 (Mello Music Group)

Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. West Coast Berkeley grad, battle rapper and musician Locksmith has hammered out a reputation as one of hip-hop’s most enlightened no punch pulling emcees, always bringing cutting lyricism that not only questions the status quo but offers deep truths for reflection. Meanwhile Detroit’s Apollo Brown has built his illustrious career on emotive productions that draw the best out of already legendary mic kings. From his work with Ras Kass and OC, Skyzoo to Ghostface Killah, Apollo repeatedly creates eyes shut, head nodding, soul stirring perfection for our greatest storytellers to lay their truth bare.

Kev Brown – Homework CD/LP+7” (Redefinition)

Hailing from Palmer Park in Landover, Maryland specifically, after a 13-year hiatus, the producer/MC has finally prepared the sophomore sequel to 2005’s influential cult classic, I Do What I Do. Though Brown is known as one of hip-hop’s elite producers from heavyweights like Diamond D, Pete Rock, Busta Rhymes, Peter Rosenberg, 9th Wonder and Jazzy Jeff, he is a man of many hats. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Peabo Bryson – Stand For Love CD (Caroline)

Stand For Love showcases legendary recording artist, Peabo Bryson’s broad vocal range and musical skill. Counted among the world’s most dynamic and gifted vocal talents, Peabo is a world-renowned balladeer with a career that includes two Grammys, two Oscars, multiple gold albums, multiple No. 1 songs and chart-topping singles in R&B, pop and contemporary jazz. [Vinyl edition due September 14.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for August 3, 2018

CDs + Vinyl:

The Aces – When My Heart Feels Volcanic CD/LP (Red Bull)

Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Hailing from Orem, Utah the quartet has been playing together for over a decade despite the oldest member being the young age of 22.”Across 13 tracks, The Aces’ sound positively sparkles. Drawing from both past and present Top 40 proclivities, the record captures moments with clarity and detail. The breezy album opener ‘Volcanic Love’ glistens as Ramirez draws out her syllables, articulating an overwhelming, all-consuming lust that lingers. Anchored by stable, unshakeable synths, the anthemic ‘Just Like That’ details the demise of what once was with a slow build to its cathartic, kiss-off chorus. Closer ‘Waiting for You’ slinks and slithers, waiting for impulses to be acted on, before its soaring crescendo.” – NPR

AGF & Various – Dissidentova CD (AGF Produktion)

The Dissidentova audio collection is another edition of feminist language exploration by the artist, music producer and poet Antye Greie-Ripatti, aka AGF. This time her work focuses on poetry, sound art, and the her-story in Russia from the mid-18th century to the present day. AGF chooses 15 iconic figures in Russian culture and creates fragmented tributes, placing them in chronological order. She invited Russian musicians and sound artists to collaborate with her as a reflection of the musical landscape of Russia today.

Tohru Aizawa Quartet – Tachibana Vol. 1 [Reissue/1975] CD/2xLP (BBE)

The Tohru Aizawa Quartet was a group made up of Japanese student musicians who never played a gig together and recorded only one album, Tachibana, in 1975 — one of the rarest albums in the history of Japanese jazz.

Astronauts, etc. – Living In Symbol CD/LP+MP3 (Company)

Living In Symbol is an ode to ambiguity, the future, and saying ‘so long’ to the known. A member of the last generation to experience life before total interconnectedness, Anthony Ferraro (digitally known as Tony Peppers) aims to be a bridge between two very different realities. The spirit of change is especially pronounced in California’s bay area, where technologies dawn and disruption is the noblest goal. Critics and advocates of all stripes write columns and fill talk radio hours with their analyses of the times. Sonically, Living In Symbol weaves its influences into an alien drapery. “The Border” introduces Latin psychedelia to a groove à la David Axelrod, setting the stage for a vocal performance that manages to be equal parts Lee Hazlewood and HAL 9000. On “The Room”, a Borgesian story gets dressed up in an eerily graceful string arrangement reminiscent of Les Baxter. And “Who I Talk To” nods to George Harrison in a soft rocking arrangement that supports Ferraro’s ghostly croon. Living In Symbol is a series of rooms, a choose-your-own-tomorrow story.

Daniel Bachman – The Morning Star CD/2xLP+MP3 (Three Lobed)

The Morning Star is the product of various change elements directing themselves at Daniel Bachman. First, the months following the recording and mixing of his 2016 self-titled album saw him physically move from his multi-year residence in the North Carolina Triangle area back to his native Virginia. Next was the 2016 American presidential election. While not an overtly political album, The Morning Star is truly an artist’s personal reflection on the chaotic days and nights in America following the revelation of that election’s results. Lastly, a focused period of listening, reflection, and space to come down off of a heavy few years of touring created a few changes in Bachman’s writing style that took him a period of time to truly feel comfortable with.

[Read more…] about New Releases for July 27, 2018