CDs + Vinyl:
The Atlas Moth – Coma Noir CD/LP (Prosthetic)
While 2014’s The Old Believer saw The Atlas Moth gaze off into psychedelic realms throughout the album, new album Coma Noir is packed tightly with riffs and hooks. It’s the bands most rocking album by far, though it’s far from being a rock album.
Wade Bowen – Solid Ground CD (Thirty Tigers)
Waco native Wade Bowen began recording Solid Ground intent on making the artistic statement of his career – a high bar considering the twenty years of success he’s enjoyed – but as his personal odometer rolled over into his fourth decade, his focus is more on legacy than next Saturday night. Solid Ground is personal but not necessarily autobiographical, peppered with distinct south-of-the-border imagery and good-time revelry.
BOYO – Me, Again CD/LP (Danger Collective)
BOYO is the pseudonym of 20-year-old singer-songwriter Robert Tilden. Tilden’s been kicking around the L.A. DIY scene since he was 16 years old, spending the better part of it fronting the garage band Bobby T. and the Slackers. Me, Again, the follow up to his debut Control, taps into his sense of vulnerability, taking on themes of isolation, addiction, and regret. The album is a jagged collection of garage rock and soft DIY indie and noisey pop music, channeling everyone from Ty Segall to Elliot Smith to Deerhunter.
Calibro 35 – Decade CD/LP (Record Kicks)
The sixth studio album form Italian super cult combo. Decade marks 10 years of Calibro 35’s first release and it’s the very first album recorded by Calibro with an orchestral-inspired enlarged line-up that features horns, strings and various percussion instruments.
Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows CD/LP+MP3 (Fueled By Ramen)
The first album in over eight years from the alt-rock band. Crooked Shadows was produced by band leader Chris Carrabba alongside Jonathan Clark and co-producer Colin Brittain. Includes the single “We Fight.” Carrabba says, “When I wrote ‘We Fight’ I thought it was just about the music scene that I came up in – a place where people who’d never quite fit in anywhere felt they actually belonged. When we began playing the song live on our summer tour, I realized that ‘We Fight’ held a much broader meaning. It’s a song for people who, in spite of their differences, can find common ground in their convictions and foster those into something bigger than themselves. That, to me is something worth fighting for.”
Mark Deutrom – The Silent Treatment [Reissue/2000] CD/2xLP (Season Of Mist)
CD and first-time vinyl (re)issue of the solo debut from the renowned ex-Melvins member Mark Deutrom. The album’s wild and quirky rock grooves tread the slow ‘n’ low ground Deutrom helped break with the eccentric trio, loosing hot and heavy ear worms that feel like old friends.
Alela Diane – Cusp CD/LP (Alela Diane)
Cusp was written in January 2016 in a small cabin deep within snowy woods where Alela resided during a three-week artist residency at Caldera, Oregan, alone for the first time since becoming a mother. A broken thumbnail resulted in Alela’s signature finger-plucking being replaced by songwriting on a grand piano, resulting in the most piano driven album of her career, fueled by that energy that only comes with facing and falling in love with something new. Cusp explores the weight and beauty of creating life, with Alela refusing to stray from her perspective as a mother and woman.
The Dwarves – Take Back The Night CD/LP/Cassette (Burger)
Teen pop whiz kid Andy Now mans the boards for the Take Back The Night LP as the Dwarves embrace their ‘turd in the punchbowl of punk’ legacy. Old school vets like Vadge Moore and Saltpeter, studio pros like Nick Oliveri and Josh Freese and flat out demented scallywags like the Fresh Prince of Darkness join Hewhocannotbenamed for a spectacular and genuinely creepy record.
Erdve – Vaitojimas CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
The Lithuanian quartet mine the veins of the genre-smashing metallic noisecore of the late ‘90s, and filter those influences through an especially hostile attack. Dense slabs of noise-laden riffs churn feelings of unease, while hostile vocals punctuate their score to the dystopian world crashing down. A dark and virulent strain of negative hardcore.
Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers CD/LPxLP (Island)
Sophomore solo album from the singer and guitarist of The Gaslight Anthem and The Horrible Crowes.
Fight The Fight – Fight The Fight CD/LP (Metal Blade)
Fight The Fight’s debut record is young, fresh and bursting with energy. Just as you would expect from a debut record of a band that has been buzzing around the Norwegian underground for several years. It is a mature, well-composed rock/metal grenade with immediately memorable hooks, catchphrases and choruses.
Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
Franz Ferdinand’s new album shows the Scottish quintet broadening their palate, as exuberant as it is euphoric, creating a sound that singer, Alex Kapranos, refers to as “simultaneously futuristic and naturalistic.” These are the louche tales of the Parisian night, the exhilaration of an Italian car racing down the autobahn; a feeling of euphoria so pure it could only exist on a knife’s edge. As such, best to press play expecting nothing more than a good time. “I hope that when you listen to it you feel exhilarated,” Kapranos adds, “Until you fully absorb the lyrics.” [Limited deluxe pink colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus CD/LP (Bella Union)
Transangelic Exodus is a new landmark for singer-songwriter Ezra Furman. “Not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. “A personal companion for a paranoid road trip. A queer outlaw saga.” The music is as much of an intense, dramatic event, full of brilliant hooks, with an equally evolved approach to recorded sound to match Furman’s narrative vision. “The narrative thread,” Furman declares, “is I’m in love with an angel, and a government is after us, and we have to leave home because angels are illegal, as is harboring angels. The term ‘transangelic’ refers to the fact people become angels because they grow wings. The have an operation, and they’re transformed. And it causes panic because some people think it’s contagious, or it should just be outlawed. The album still works without the back story, though. What’s essential is the mood – paranoid, authoritarian, the way certain people are stigmatized. It’s a theme in American life right now, and other so-called democracies.”
Melody Gardot – Live In Europe 2xCD/3xLP (Verve)
After a serious car accident when she was 19, Melody Gardot used the experience as a springboard to musical success she might never have achieved otherwise. Gardot had played the piano before the accident, and a doctor suggested that she use music as a kind of recovery therapy. Since she couldn’t sit comfortably at the piano, she picked up a guitar and now after several albums she is celebrating the international tour success of her career so far by brings us her first ever album of live recorded music. Live In Europe presents live versions of her greatest hits recorded at concerts worldwide between 2012 & 2016.
Good Tiger – We Will All Be Gone CD/LP (Metal Blade)
Sophomore album from the band comprised of ex-Tesseract vocalist Elliot Coleman, ex-The Safety Fire guitarists Derya Nagle and Joaquin Ardiles, ex-The Faceless drummer Alex Rüdinger, and bassist Morgan Sinclair (who previously was the touring guitarist for Architects). Every track has a definitive character of its own, and none stay in a single gear, all of them dynamic and textured as they evoke various tones and moods. “Salt Of The Earth,” for instance, crashes to life with a chunky, timeless rock riff against a widescreen chorus of almost impossibly vast scale, which stylistically different and explores different feelings to those found on “Grip Shoes,” which mixes post-hardcore influence and the dreamiest of pop, or “Such A Kind Stranger,” which is as edgy as it is seductive. [Limited grey marbled colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}] CD (Nonesuch)
“Greenwood is a student who revels in homework. Like [Paul Thomas] Anderson during the early conception of a film, there is allowance for open channels of influence from sources of curiosity. For this tale, Anderson studied the lives, if not the styles, of famous fashion designers Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Dior and the obscure gothic fairytales of M. R. James and Beatrix Potter’s The Tailor of Gloucester. In coordination close and far, Greenwood absorbed the musical trends of the 1950s, gleaning from Nelson Riddle and the full string-section jazz arrangements of Ben Webster, as well as Glenn Gould’s Bach recordings. The outcome rolls though accentuation of the haunting, beguiling and exhilarating, the delicate and intensifying, the fanciful and ominous, sewn with the discretion of a tailor to accompany the precise tone of every scene.” – Under The Radar [Vinyl edition due April 20.]
Harms Way – Posthuman CD/LP (Metal Blade)
Harms Way’s metallic hardcore has won them fans on four continents with their reputation for delivering blistering sets. [Limited white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Chris Hillman – The Asylum Years CD (Omnivore)
Chris Hillman co-founded some of the most classic, seminal, groundbreaking acts of the ’60s and ’70s including The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, and The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. But, in the mid- 1970s, Hillman decided it was time to try things on his own. 1976 brought Slippin’ Away, the musical journeyman’s first solo release. It was a star-studded affair, featuring members of Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, The Turtles, and ace studio musicians. Hillman took his place as front-man, and the results were the epitome of the classic ’70s L.A. sound. He returned the following year with Clear Sailin’, which saw him dial back the flashy supporting cast for a more traditional release—much like the iconic music he had created in his early years with The Byrds and Burritos. The Asylum Years presents both of these ’70s albums on one compact disc, featuring a new interview with Hillman.
Hockey Dad – Blend Inn CD/LP (Kanine)
Australian surf-rock duo Hockey Dad return with their sophomore record. Where their 2016 debut Boronia celebrated the long days of summers past, of mates, the ocean and the sublime naivety of youth, Blend Inn is Billy Fleming and Zach Stephenson coming to us with more perspective following a year of relentless touring which took them far from the streets and waves of their hometown. The fast-paced, punk style of Billy’s drums is executed in perfect synchronicity with Zach’s jangly guitar, anthemic choruses and ever confident vocals to give life to their unmistakable and infectious brand of rock-pop.
Holy Motors – Slow Sundown CD/LP (Wharf Cat)
2017’s equal parts somnambulant and sultry Sleeprydr 7″ was aptly described as “psychedelic rock that hits like a dream despite undoubtedly seeking to soundtrack nightmares” (Stereogum). Thankfully, Slow Sundown, Holy Motors’ debut full length release, finds the Estonian dreamcatchers utilizing a similar sonic palette ranging from dark psychedelic pop to shoegaze-inflected western music.
Hovvdy – Cranberry CD (Double Double Whammy)
Based in Austin, Texas, Hovvdy (pronounced “howdy”) is the writing and recording project of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor. The duo, both primarily drummers, first met in the fall of 2014 and quickly bonded over a love for quiet music. Hovvdy has found a unique identity in rhythmic, down-tempo pop songs that are hopeful, yet melancholy; relatable, yet distinguishable.
Joan As Police Woman – Damned Devotion CD/LP (PIAS America)
Already acknowledged as a thrilling live performer and starkly honest lyricist, Damned Devotion finds Joan Wasser at her rawest. While her 2014 album The Classic was a soulful celebration of life and her 2011 album The Deep Field a lush moody expansion, this new release sees her stripping her compositions back to the core, the bare-all lyricism and timeless melodies harking back to her accolade-winning album To Survive (2008) and her universally acclaimed debut Real Life (2006). “My maxim is: if it feels scary to say it, it’s the thing you must say,” Joan says. On Damned Devotion the thoughtful lyricism is married to Joan As Police Woman’s most accessible music to date.
Last Of The Easy Riders – Unto Earth CD (Agitated)
From high in the Rocky Mountains, Last Of The Easy Riders descend with a new psych-infused country-rock long-player. While the Easy Riders’ first outing, a self-titled EP from 2016, exhibited the band’s kaleidoscope of trippy guitar sounds and production techniques, this debut full length unveils the band’s earnest songwriting chops and knack for genuine Bakersfield-Sound country. The band certainly didn’t abandon its lysergic-leanings, however: note the mind-warping title track, which also serves as the lead single. [Vinyl edition due February 23.]
Legend Of The Seagullmen – Legend Of The Seagullmen CD (Dine Alone)
Legend Of The Seagullmen is a genre-destroying supergroup featuring Danny Carey of Tool, Brent Hinds of Mastodon, director Jimmy Hayward (Jonah Hex, Horton Hears A Who) on guitar, and Pete Griffin of Zappa Plays Zappa and Dethklok on bass, and a few other rippers. Joining forces to make cinematic psychedelic rock, The Seagullmen sing of shipwrecks and giant mutant squid, crafting conceptual rock ‘n’ roll hymns of epic proportions on their self-titled full-length debut. Engineered by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business) and mastered by Gavin Lurssen (Queens Of The Stone Age), Legend Of The Seagullmen sees the band unveil massive sonically pulverizing slabs that decimate expectations since Rolling Stone excitedly leaked two demos back in 2015. [Vinyl edition due March 2.]
MGMT – Little Dark Age CD/2xLP+MP3 (Sony)
Little Dark Age is the long awaited new album from MGMT. The album is produced by MGMT, Patrick Wimberly (Chairlift, Kelela, Blood Orange), and long-time collaborator Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Spoon, Tame Impala). MGMT recorded Little Dark Age at Tarbox Road Studios in Cassadaga, NY. The new album includes the previously released title song “Little Dark Age,” and the tracks “When You Die” and “Hand It Over.”
The Monochrome Set – 1979-1985: Complete Recordings 6xCD/6xLP+6xCD (Tapete)
The Monochrome Set – Maisieworld CD/LP+CD (Tapete)
Emerging at the end of punk era, The Monochrome Set’s estrangement from society came from a artier angle. This boxset is the full account of their frantically productive early period, the perfect document of an under-appreciated chapter of British pop history. Though widely unknown, they are one of the most influential British bands of the last 40 years, with the early Morrissey and Marr, Blur’s Graham Coxon, and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos among their admirers. Though Ganesh Seshadri, aka Bid, never went to college, The Monochrome Set are often seen as an archetypal art school band. In 1979 they released a string of snappy, now highly collectible singles on Rough Trade, followed by early masterpieces Strange Boutique (1980) and Love Zombies (1980). In 1982 they released their third LP Eligible Bachelors on Cherry Red Records. Their major label effort The Lost Weekend (1985) contained their biggest hit “Jacob’s Ladder”. Maisieworld is the group’s new album, “distilled from the pungent flowers of artistic mischief and represents the acme of sonic consummation.”
Mythic Sunship – Upheaval CD/LP (El Paraiso)
On their third album, Mythic Sunship take their deepest dive yet. Their own brand of wobbly boogie doom reaches new dimension of pure Sabbath-like proportions. It’s a culmination and refinement of their idea: the ethos of free jazz in a doom setting.
Old Tower – Stellary Wisdom CD (Profound Lore)
Old Tower is the creation of a mysterious entity from The Netherlands known as The Specter who, through the vessel of this moniker, creates alluring yet meditative otherworldly synth music that transports the listener to a long-forgotten age of memory’s past.
Palm – Rock Island CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
On their second LP, Palm produces evidence of a distinct musical language, developed over time, in isolation, and out of necessity. On the island, melodies are struck on what might be shells or spines. Rhythms are scratched out, swept over, scratched again. Individual instruments, and sometimes entire sections, skip and stutter. There is the sense of a music box with wonky tension or a warped transmission in which all the noise is taken for signal. Despite appearing behind the instruments typical of rock music, Palm trades in sounds of their own making. The percussion is sometimes augmented to suggest a multiplication of limbs. The strings are manipulated to choke, crack, and hum like other instruments, or other bodies, might. This is music with dimensionality. Sonic objects are deployed, developed, and dissected in various states of mutation. The listener flits about between the field and the lab. The tone is warm in a way only the sun could make, the pace as forceful and as variable as a gale. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Ben Paterson – That Old Feeling CD (Cellar Live)
Pianist/vocalist Ben Paterson continues the tradition of bouncy, infectious swing established by the drummerless trios of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Oscar Peterson, drawing upon his musical experiences in both Chicago and New York to deliver a soulful and engaging recording. Joined by longtime Benny Goodman guitarist Chris Flory and powerhouse bassist George Delancey, Ben’s trio mixes sophisticated improvisation with heavy doses of the blues, ranging from well-known Jazz standards to more recent popular songs.
Richard Pinhas – Rhizosphere [Reissue/1977] CD/LP (Bureau B)
Richard Pinhas is one of the most important French electronic space rock musicians. Following five albums with his band Heldon, he released his first solo record in 1977. Backed by Heldon’s congenial drummer François Auger but no longer bound by the group dynamic, he explores his freshly purchased Moog modular system in search of new sounds.
Brigid Mae Power – The Two Worlds CD/LP (Tompkins Square)
Second album by Irish singer-songwriter. Her self-titled debut, released in 2016, received wide praise from Uncut (9/10, “Masterpiece”), Mojo (4 stars), The Guardian (4 stars), Irish Times (4 stars) and was featured on NPR World Cafe, as well as several BBC programs.
Psychic TV – Kondole/Dead Cat 2xCD+DVD (Cold Spring)
A double CD and DVD collection. The rare film features: Derek Jarman, Andrew Tiernan – The Pianist (2002), 300 (2006), The Bunker (2001), Derek Jarman’s Edward II (1991) – and Genesis P-Orridge (Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle). The CD reissue of 1989’s Kondole features the complete, long version of “Dead Cat”. The second CD contains three tracks.
Ramones – Live In Australia 80 CD (Rox Vox)
The Ramones, live at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia on July 8th, 1980. The Ramones paid their first visit to Australia in mid- 1980, during their tour in support of the Phil Spector-produced End Of The Century album (1979). This typically raucous, high-energy show at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney captures them on peak form as they tear through a selection of classics. Originally broadcast on JJJ-FM radio, the full broadcast is presented here, together with background notes and images.
Refrigerator – High Desert Lows CD/LP (Shrimper)
Refrigerator’s eleventh full length record was recorded over a week in Omaha, Nebraska. Produced by Simon Joyner (who plays and sings on many of the songs on the record, along with members of his Ghosts band), High Desert Lows calls out to the more pastoral sounds of their Comedy Minus One album, with viola, cello, vibes, slide guitar and Wurlitzer dotting the edges of nearly every song, a stark contrast to the loud squall of preceding record Temple City.
Max Richter – Hostiles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD (Deutsche Grammophon)
The latest film score by the award-winning composer evokes with beauty and restraint the wild landscapes of a world in which individuals collide with forces beyond their control. Hostiles is set in the American West of the early 1890s, when the Second Industrial Revolution was fast changing society and the native population had finally been defeated after decades of war with the US Army. Echoing the compelling human drama of the film, the score for this period Western, performed by the Air Lyndhurst Orchestra, combines the haunting stillness and elegiac beauty of Richter’s Waltz with Bashir score with the noir-like intensity of his recent soundtrack for the BBC TV series Taboo. [Vinyl edition due March 23.]
Curtis Roush – Cosmic Campfire Music CD/LP (Modern Outsider)
Fusing bedroom soul with the ambient expanses of shoegaze, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Curtis Roush explores love and loss away from the purview of his psych-rock band The Bright Light Social Hour.
Ruby Boots – Don’t Talk About It CD/LP+MP3 (Bloodshot)
Don’t Talk About It charts a drifter’s odyssey, tattered passport in hand. Behind her commanding and versatile voice, sharp guitar playing, and adept songwriting, Ruby Boots confidently maneuvers past the whirlwinds life has tossed on her occasionally lost highway. It’s an album of hope, breakthrough, and handling the unknown challenges around the next bend. Echoes of first wave UK power pop and jangly punk intersect with the every (wo)man indie and pop-inflected muscle of Best Coast. Classic rock touchstones from T. Rex to the girl-group-wall-of-sound to personal hero Tom Petty meld with a weary poet’s eye recalling Hope Sandoval.
Rumahoy – Triumph Of Piracy CD (Napalm)
New album from the pirate metal band. Bustling pagan metal-riffing mixed with exotic ancient instrumentation.
Nina Simone – Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles CD/LP+7” (Bethlehem)
A carefully curated collection that gathers remastered editions of twelve of Simone’s classic early Bethlehem singles. [Vinyl edition includes a bonus 7″ vinyl replica of her 1959 hit “I Loves You, Porgy” b/w “Love Me or Leave Me.”
Social Club Misfits – Into The Night CD (Social Club)
With 13 tracks, and several special features from artists such as Danny Gokey, Jordin Sparks and Tauren Wells, Into The Night picks up right where the hip-hop duo’s last release, The Misadventures Of Fern And Marty, left off. Fans can expect the innovative beats and witty rhymes that the Misfits have become known for.
The Soft Moon – Criminal CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
The Soft Moon’s fourth studio album, is a confessional work. Through the stark lens of shame and guilt that has followed Luis Vasquez since a violent childhood growing up within the humming ambient sprawl of ‘80s Mojave Desert, here he documents the gut-wrenching sound of going to war with himself. Battling with his own sanity, self-hatred, insecurity, self-entitlement and grappling with the risk of these things transforming him into a person he despises, Vasquez has laid his feelings bare on Criminal: his confessional and most self-reflective work to date. Working with producer Maurizio Baggio at La Distilleria in Bassano Del Grappa, Italy, Criminal sees Vasquez putting his lyrics at the forefront and letting his raw emotions flow. The album begins with a confrontation with his true self through the torrid bass lines and searing vocals of “Burn,” a song evoking a loss of control akin to demonic possession, stating: “Eyes, reflecting the person that I am, and it burns.” In this track, Vasquez’s guilt bores deeper and deeper into a condemnation that ultimately is: “Fire, hell is where I’ll go to live, so I burn.”
Susanna Sonata – Go Dig My Grave CD/LP (Susanna Sonata)
A unique project between Susanna Sonata, Swiss baroque harp player Giovanna Pessi, accordion player Ida Hidle and fiddle player and folk singer Tuva Syvertsen. The quartet have reworked ten eclectic songs from seemingly disparate worlds and brought them together on this album of sympathetic and beautiful interpretations. They lend their talents to traditional English and American folk songs – numbers by Purcell, Elizabeth Cotten, Joy Division and Lou Reed, as well a new composition by Susanna written to a poem from Charles Baudelaire’s once banned Flowers of Evil.
Soundtrack – 50 Shades Freed [OST] CD (Republic)
Original soundtrack to third and final installment of the Fifty Shades trilogy.
Soundtrack – Black Panther: The Album CD (Interscope)
Soundtrack for the 18th movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Features tracks by Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz & Saudi, Khalid & Swae Lee, Vince Staples & Yugen Blackrock, Jorja Smith, SOB x RBE, Soul, Anderson .Paak & James Blake, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake, Zacari, Zacari & Babes Wodumo, Mozzy, Sjava & Reason, Kendrick Lamar & Travis Scott, and The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar.
John Tejada – Dead Start Program CD/2xLP+MP3 (Kompakt)
The Los Angeles based house and techno producer returns to Cologne-based imprint Kompakt with his thirteenth full-length – an eleven-track journey spanning a prismatic array of styles and patterns, from John’s signature soulful techno tunes to the further mazy, hypnotic motifs of his trancey electro hybrids.
Toto – 40 Trips Around The Sun CD/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
This 17-track best-of album from the AOR rock maestros features three previously unreleased recordings – “Spanish Sea”, “Alone”, and “Struck By Lightning” – alongside newly remastered classic tracks worked on by Elliot Scheiner and Gavin Lurssen and his team. The core Toto members – Steve Lukather, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Joseph Williams – re-entered the studio earlier this year to work on this release.
Trés Oui – Poised To Flourish CD/LP (Shrimper)
On their debut record, Trés Oui further defines their brand of stately pop music that wouldn’t be out of place on Postcard or Factory Records—that doesn’t make them a backward-looking nostalgia act. Check out the envelopes of noise that peer out from the corners of “Song 4 U,” the King Tubby-dub underlining “Alex To The Right,” and the horns that accentuate the ennui of “One Track” to hear the band pushing the boundaries of dream pop.
Steve Tyrell – A Song For You CD (Arts Music)
New release from the acclaimed vocalist. A Song For You knits together classic songwriting of the rock era with classic songwriting of the standards era.
Various Artists – Tani Disco: Rumba & Flamenco Boogie 1976-1979 CD/LP (Pharaway Sounds)
Various Artists – Rumbita Buena: Rumba Funk & Flamenco Pop CD/LP (Pharaway Sounds)
Tani Disco: Rumba & Flamenco Boogie 1976-1979 features 12 disco-rumba-flamenco-boogie
bombs, a time machine to the Spanish boîtes and discotheques of the late ’70s and the perfect soundtrack to an imaginary “Kinki” cinema soundtrack. From the archives of the legendary Belter and Discophon labels, essential to understand the birth of the Catalan rumba and flamenco-pop genre in Spain, Rumba Funk & Flamenco Pop features 14 dance-friendly tracks taken from overlooked LPs and 45s.
Various Artists – Stax Singles Volume 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest 6xCD (Craft)
The newest edition to the Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles collection of box sets, Volume 4 delves deep into the Stax archives, offering rare singles and B-sides, spanning the heyday of the Memphis label, from the early ‘60s through the mid- ‘70s. Includes a cross-section of music from all of Stax’s associated imprints, including: Truth, Chalice, Enterprise, Hip and Ardent, offering not just soul tracks, but also gospel, country, rock and blues.
Various Artists – We Out Here CD/2xLP (Brownswood)
Of a few of the songs on this compilation: Nodding to spiritual jazz influences, Maisha’s “Inside The Acorn” is a wandering, explorative rumination, balancing delicate washes of piano and percussion with sharp interplay between flute and bass clarinet. In contrast, Nubya Garcia’s “Once” is taut and carefully-poised, her tenor sax guiding a carefully-built energy to an explosive conclusion. And finally, Triforce’s “Walls” is a performance in two parts: starting with Mansur Brown’s languorous, lyrical guitar, the second half switches up to a low-slung, g-funk-tipped groove.
Will Varley – Spirit Of Minnie CD/LP (Xtra Mile)
Following 2016’s much praised Kingsdown Sundown and a sold-out show at London’s Union Chapel, Spirit Of Minnie marks a distinct change of direction for the singer/songwriter, being the first time he has recorded with a full backing band. Counting the likes of Billy Bragg, Valerie June and Frank Turner as his fans, and with tours scheduled across Europe and America, the young songwriter from Deal seems poised for a huge 2018.
Visigoth – Conqueror’s Oath CD (Metal Blade)
Standing in staunch opposition to any presumptuous notion of ‘reinventing the wheel’ or ‘redefining the genre’, Visigoth instead dedicate themselves to worshipping at the ageless altars of heavy metal with a singular focus on writing music inspired by their favorite records. Whether whipped into a frenzy ignited by classic USPM or NWOBHM anthems, or pensively meditating on traditional epic heavy metal or weighty doom-inspired moments, these Salt City hessians wear their influences proudly on their sleeves. [Vinyl edition due March 9.]
Voodoo Circle – Raised On Rock CD/LP (AFM)
If you consider the songs on Voodoo Circle’s album Raised On Rock to be an indicator of the current emotional condition their most important protagonists find themselves in, there seems to be no reason to worry about band founder, guitarist and main composer Alex Beyrodt in particular. Thanks to Beyrodt’s excellent songwriting – as usual inspired by renowned sources such as Whitesnake, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix – and his outstanding guitar performance which brings to mind icons from Ritchie Blackmore through Jimmy Page to John Sykes, this recording oozes pure, unadulterated fervor. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Doc Watson – Live At Club 47 CD (Yep Roc)
“This performance predates Watson’s breakthrough gig at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival and occurred before his debut solo album on Vanguard Records in 1964. Watson talks to the crowd and seems willing to change his set to please individual requests, but one suspects he’s a professional doing what he wants and just pretends to be amenable to get the audience’s applause. He has a lively conversational style that charms. His between-song patter and introductions to the material reveal he’s not above telling tall tales mixed with the truth to keep listeners attentive. [Live At Club 47] is a welcome addition to the musician’s legacy.” – PopMatters [Vinyl edition due April 27.]
Wild Child – Expectations CD/LP (Dualtone)
Wild Child stretched their songwriting abilities on Expectations to both reflect and expand further upon their unique sound, and the album expertly rides the wave of genres that flows between beautifully sentimental acoustic to loud, distorted rock and back again. The band enlisted the help of several heavy-hitting producers including Chris Walla (formerly of Death Cab for Cutie), Matthew Logan Vasquez (Delta Spirit), Chris Boosahda (Shakey Graves), Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog), Adrian Quesada (Grupo Fantasma), and Max Frost.
Wishbone Ash – Two Barrels Burning [Reissue/1982] CD/LP (Cherry Red)
Wishbone Ash – Raw To The Bone [Reissue/1985] CD/LP (Cherry Red)
Reissues of the 12th and 13th albums by the veteran British rockers. [Limited edition vinyl picture disc pressings also available.]
The Wombats – Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life CD/LP (The Wombats)
Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life sees The Wombats continuing to assert themselves as currently one of the bigger and best guitar pop bands. Written from three corners of the globe – drummer Dan Haggis in London, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen nursing his new family in Oslo and frontman Murph in Los Angeles – the album was created over long distance writing sessions, supplemented by intense two-week in-person sessions in Oslo. With the addition of producers Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag’n’Bone Man) and Catherine Marks (Wolf Alice), Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life finds The Wombats pushing the boundaries of alt-pop innovation with a lush, ultramodern indie soundscape wrapped in Blade Runner synths, future grooves, celestial solos and space age melodies. [Limited clear vinyl pressing also available.]
James Zabiela – Balance 029 CD (Balance)
James Zabiela enters the fold of Balance’s compilation selectors. His unfeasibly intricate approach to DJing shines through on this sprawling two-parter, created through a back-and-forth process between his Pioneer DDJ-RZ and Ableton and featuring two exclusive new productions from the man himself.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters – Live At David Lynch’s Festival Of Disruption DVD (Eagle Vision)
Robert Plant has always introduced music from many cultures into his work and the Sensational Space Shifters blend of African rhythms and melodies, rock music, and folk roots is his latest incarnation. In October 2016 they took part in David Lynch’s inaugural Festival of Disruption at the Ace Hotel Theater in Los Angeles, an event that raised funds for The David Lynch Foundation. The set featured tracks from the band’s 2014 album Lullaby and…The Ceaseless Roar alongside fascinating Space Shifters re-workings of Led Zeppelin classics.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
The Acid – The Bomb: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP (Infectious Music)
Hailed by critics, The Bomb is an experimental, music-driven film that looks at the strange and compelling world of nuclear weapons. The film had its UK premiere at the Shangri-La area of 2017’s Glastonbury Festival and was shown as an installation on massive 360-degree screens that completely surrounded the audience, while The Acid played the soundtrack live. In the absence of a traditional narrative, the soundtrack plays a central role in the film, helping to provide an emotional response that rises and falls like a great DJ set. Despite the somber subject matter, the music composed by The Acid has moments of haunting beauty.
Aetherian – The Untamed Wilderness LP (Lifeforce)
Listening to melodic death act Aetherian for the first time makes you think the band would come from Finland or Sweden, but the trio in fact is from the sunny shores of Greece. Even with a Southern heritage and much more Vitamin D in their veins the band from Athens share the same melancholic genes as their “competitors” from the upper North.
Alessandro Alessandroni – Romance & Drama LP (Transversales Disque)
Vinyl reissue of an essential LP by Italian pioneer and Ennio Morricone cohort, originally released on Munich based experimental, progressive library label Coloursound. Romance & Drama showcases Alessandroni at his best: very refined Italian cinematic sound, tense 12-string guitar themes, synth sequences, beautiful sound of chamber classical music mixed with psych choir.
The And Band – Outhern LP (Spacecase)
The And Band was the continuation of Wellington, New Zealand’s late ‘70s DIY pioneers The Spies, who received a posthumous release (The Battle of Bosworth Terrace) on Siltbreeze in 2014. Renamed The And Band after moving to Christchurch, the group wound down sometime around 1982, but not before influencing local musicians and releasing an incredibly rare split 7” EP (with the Perfect Strangers) and this LP—originally available on cassette only. Outhern features George D. Henderson, who would later go on to form the Puddle (Flying Nun), and should appeal to fans of early Red Krayola and The Godz.
Arcade Fire – Creature Comfort 12” (Sony)
Limited 180gm white 12” vinyl pressing of this single taken from the album Everything Now. Includes “Comfort My Sleng Teng” (Geoff Barrow Mix/12″ Vinyl Version).
Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings [Reissue/1954] LP (Wax Love)
Vinyl reissue of a landmark of west coast cool jazz.
The Beach Boys – Surfin’ Safari [Reissue/1961] LP (Wax Love)
Vinyl reissue of The Beach Boys’ 1962 debut.
Jaap Blonk & Terrie Ex – Thirsty Ears LP (Terp)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Jaap Blonk is a Dutch avant-garde composer and sound poet. He is primarily self-taught, both as a sound artist and as a visual/stage performer. One of his early influences was Kurt Schwitters, whose Ursonate he first heard in 1979; he memorized the entire work, and it became one of the cornerstones of his repertory; he has recited portions of the piece hundreds of times in various public places. His performances of sound poetry are unique and world renowned, making use of words and phonetic snippets as well as clicks, hisses, and other vocal manipulations. He hooked up with The Ex guitarist Terrie Ex in 2006 and they did several gigs after that. In 2012 The Ex brought Blonk over to Ethiopia for a special sound poetry project. This combination, Thirsty Ears, is an adventure in improvising sound and poetry; electronics, guitar and vocals.
Victor Assis Brasil – Esperanto [Reissue/1976] LP (Far Out)
A singular gem in Brazilian music, difficult to categorize, yet compellingly beautiful.
Bronze Radio Return – Shake! Shake! Shake! [2016] LP (DigSin)
Bronze Radio Return are a 6-piece band from Hartford, CT. Their second album, Shake! Shake! Shake!, is now available for the first time on vinyl.
Bruce Brubaker – Codex LP (Infine)
On Codex, American pianist Bruce Brubaker sets up a clash (or a discussion) between Terry Rileys Keyboard Study No. 2 (1965) and the Codex Faenza, a 15th century manuscript considered to be one of the very first collections of keyboard music. By putting forth the work of the performer/creator above that of the composer, this back-and forth takes the listener on a journey that is at once timeless and eminently current.
Jimmy Buffett – Buried Treasure: Volume 1 2xLP (Mailboat)
When legendary Nashville producer Buzz Cason sold his recording studio to John and Martina McBride, they found a sizable collection of ¼-inch tapes that were the demos of songs Jimmy had written and recorded for Buzz when he was writing for his publishing company. It turned out that there were over 125 songs in that pile of tape boxes. Also discovered were the original first recordings Travis Turk had engineered in Mobile, and that is where the whole story of Buried Treasure starts – with – a very special collection of unreleased songs recorded in 1969.
Johnny Cash – With His Blue Guitar [Reissue/1957] LP (Wax Love)
Vinyl reissue of Johnny Cash’s debut album.
Ray Charles – Ray Charles [Reissue/1957] LP (Wax Love)
Vinyl reissue of vinyl of Ray Charles’ debut album.
Eddie Cochran – Early & Rare Eddie LP (Wax Love)
This compilation includes some of his biggest hits as well as numerous B-side rarities, showcasing the breadth and depth of this legendary early rock and roller.
Dr. John – Professor Bizarre’s Funknology 2xLP (Run Out Groove Vinyl)
Deluxe individually numbered double 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a gatefold tip-on Stoughton sleeve. This collection includes an LP of the best Atco tracks and an additional LP of unreleased demos recorded by Dr. John between the years 1968-1974, all previously unavailable on any format.
Bill Evans Trio – Bill Evans At Town Hall Volume One [Reissue/1966] LP (Audio Fidelity)
180gm vinyl reissue of a beautifully-crafted live trio classic that showcases the jazz pianist at the peak of his powers.
David Fair – Ballets (Dance Like This) 3xLP (Feeding Tube)
The long-lost solo debut by David Fair (half of the original Half Japanese). Made up of six side-long loops, the record is hypnotic and beautiful.
Mark Fox – Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth [OST] LP (Pure Destruction)
Limited colored vinyl LP pressing. The album features the original soundtrack from The Shocking Truth documentary and a few selected songs from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 motion picture. This is the closest we can get to an OST of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre because there are no masters for the tracks composed and recorded by Tobe Hooper and Wayne Bell.
Gary War – Gaz Forth LP (Feeding Tube)
High bore post-garage freakery of the largest available gauge.
John Lee Hooker – The Great John Lee Hooker [Reissue/1963] LP (Wax Love)
This classic LP collects some of his finest singles from 1948-1954, raw and powerful stuff that is as important as any from Hooker’s entire career.
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ Hopkins [Reissue/1959] LP (Wax Love)
Vinyl reissue of a quintessential acoustic blues album.
In This Moment – Blood [Reissue/2012] LP (Century Media)
Limited colored vinyl LP pressing of the heavy metal band’s fourth studio album.
Insects vs Robots – Theyllkillyaa LP (ORG Music)
Genre-mashing, convention-defying band Insects vs Robots once again sails over its own high bar with an album that defies convention and demands attention. TheyllKillYaa takes seemingly incompatible elements, from bitter social commentary to neo-slapstick humor to smatterings of ancient Danish folk music, crams it all into the blender built from their collective imagination, hits go and pours out a stiff shot of music.
Jóhann Jóhannsson – The Mercy 2xLP (Deutsche Grammophon)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. From Academy Award-winning director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Man of Wire) comes The Mercy, a tale of yachtsman Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth)’s disastrous attempt to win the 1968 Golden Globe Race that results in his outrageous account of traveling the world alone by sea. The soundtrack for The Mercy features music by veteran Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Konami Kukeiha Club – Kid Dracula [OST] 10” (Ship To Shore)
Second release in the Konami Kukeiha Club Museum Series is the soundtrack to the 1990 Famicom release Kid Dracula. Limited ten inch colored vinyl pressing.
Lacuna Coil – Karmacode [Reissue/2006] LP (Century Media)
Limited vinyl reissue of the fourth studio album from Italian gothic metal band.
Eric Neveux – Zombillenium [OST] LP (Silva Screen)
Based on the French graphic novel of the same name, Zombillenium is an animated film by Arthur de Pins and Alexis Ducord released in October 2017 after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in the year. French composer Eric Neveux has scored over 55 and put out an album under the name Mr. Neveux.
Plan B (Joe McPhee/James Keepnews/David Berger) – From Outer Space LP+MP3 (Roaratorio)
At age 78, Joe McPhee shows no sign of slowing down. Plan B is the master improviser’s new trio, with James Keepnews on guitar and laptop and David Berger on drums. A soundtrack to a science fiction movie existing only in their heads, From Outer Space finds McPhee and company envisioning the first encounter between alien life and a delegation of earthlings (while giving a nod to jazz’s original man from another planet, Sun Ra, with a side-long suite dedicated to him). It’s quite unlike anything else in McPhee’s vast discography.
Joe Meek – Hits From 304 Holloway Road LP (Wax Love)
A collection of 18 of Meek’s finest early ’60s pop productions.
The Offspring – The Offspring [Reissue/1989] LP (Craft Recordings)
Vinyl reissue of the debut studio album by the punk rock band.
Plus – The Seven Deadly Sins [Reissue/1969] LP (Sagara)
A true lost gem of the ’60s, The Seven Deadly Sins could be viewed as a simple cash-in on the success of Jesus Christ Superstar if it weren’t for the fact that this LP is deeper and rocks harder. With wild fuzz guitar, string interludes, an entire choir, piano, organ, and a song cycle structured like a Catholic mass, the group Plus made this one overlooked classic (with the assistance of ex-Yardbirds bassist/producer, Simon Napier-Bell) and then disappeared into the night. Essential for any fan of ’60s psych/prog and concept albums in general. Die-cut gatefold LP.
Ramones – Leave Home [Reissue/1976] LP (Rhino)
Ramones – Leave Home [Reissue/1977] LP (Rhino)
Ramones – Rocket To Russia [Reissue/1977] LP (Rhino)
Ramones – Live At The Roxy August 12, 1976 [Reissue/1978] LP (Rhino)
Limited 180gm vinyl reissues of the Ramones first three LPs and a live album recorded in ’76.
Hama Sankaré – Ballébé – Calling All Africans LP (Clermont Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Alpha Ousmane “Hama” Sankaré (aka Pedro) is a legend. He has anchored the bands of many great artists of Mali: Ali Farka Toure, Afel Bocoum, le Troupe Regionale de Niafunké, l’Orchestre de Gao, Songhoy Allstars, and Mamadou Kelly’s BanKaiNa, and he can be heard on many of the seminal recordings of Mali’s music. He is the master of contemporary calabash percussion and defined it’s the playing style.
Shovels & Rope – Busted Jukebox Volume 2 LP (New West)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The second installment of the collaborative effort between the critically acclaimed duo and some of their favorite musicians and friends. Busted Jukebox: Volume 2 again finds the band covering well-known songs or tracks they have either performed or arranged with other artists in the past. Features collaborations with Brandi Carlile, John Moreland, Hayes Carll, Nicole Atkins, Rhett Miller and more. 180gm colored vinyl pressing.
Slow – Against The Glass [Reissue/1985] LP (Artoffact)
It is almost impossible to over-estimate the effect of Slow on Canadian music. Formed in the mid-‘80s in Vancouver, and releasing only one album and one 7” on Zulu Records, the band has consistently been called one of the most influential punk rock bands in Canada and forerunners of the Seattle grunge scene. Not bad for a band that recorded only eight songs. Second pressing on red vinyl.
Social Unrest – Rat In A Maze [Reissue/1982] LP (New Red Archives)
Special limited white vinyl LP pressing of the classic 1982 EP from the Bay Area hardcore/thrash legends.
Ringo Starr – Ringo [Reissue/1973] 2xLP (Capitol)
Ringo Starr – Goodnight Vienna [Reissue/1974] LP (Capitol)
Vinyl reissue of the third and fourth solo albums by the former Beatles drummer. Ringo has been expanded with three bonus tracks. Goodnight Vienna followed the commercially successful predecessor Ringo, and Starr used many of the same players, including Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, Robbie Robertson, Harry Nilsson, and producer Richard Perry.
Suicide Silence – No Time To Bleed [Reissue/2009] LP (Century Media)
Suicide Silence – The Black Crown [Reissue/2011] LP (Century Media)
Red colored vinyl reissues of the deathcore band’s second and third albums.
Sun Ra – Sun Embassy LP+MP3 (Roaratorio)
Consisting of recordings from Sun Studios (aka Ra’s house in Philadelphia) from 1968-1969, Sun Embassy features nine tracks: six compositions which have never been heard before in any form, plus fresh coats of paint on such 1950s classics as “Sunology” and “Ancient Aiethiopia”, and an early rendition of “Why Go To The Moon”.
Terror Universal – Make Them Bleed LP (Minus Head)
Recently released on CD – now available on limited white with red splatter colored vinyl. Like the musical equivalent of a slasher film, Terror Universal snap from moments of intense sonic bloodletting into menacing melodic mayhem before creeping back into the shadows to do it all over again.
This Kind Of Punishment – This Kind Of Punishment [Reissue/1983] LP (Superior Viaduct)
This Kind Of Punishment – A Beard Of Bees [Reissue/1984] LP (Superior Viaduct)
In the fertile terrain of New Zealand’s 1980s post-punk scene, few figures loom as large as the Jefferies brothers. Graeme Jefferies and Peter Jefferies-the primary forces behind This Kind Of Punishment-wrote some of the best music to come out on Flying Nun, Xpressway or elsewhere. A dizzying mix of pastoral ballads and DIY experimentation, TKP’s songwriting was at once classic and acutely raw.
Twin Peaks – Sweet ’17 Singles 12” (Grand Jury)
Throughout the second half of 2017, Chicago’s Twin Peaks released a run of a half dozen limited-edition 7” singles the band affectionately dubbed Sweet ’17. Only 300 copies of each 7” were made, and subscriptions sold out almost immediately. Due to popular demand, TwinPeaks have compiled all of the songs from the series onto this new 12”.
Unwound – New Plastic Ideas [Reissue/1994] LP (Numero)
An album Maximum Rock ‘N’ Roll deemed not punk enough to review, Unwound’s 1994 sophomore effort was a lethal depth charge aimed at major label grunge and independent hardcore alike. From the off-kilter, vertiginous rhythm of “Entirely Different Matters” to the neck-snapping velocity of “What Was Wound” to the relentless pounding at the end of “All Souls Day,” New Plastic Ideas is the Sonic Youth-loving older sister to Fake Train’s post-punk-obsessed little brother.
Various Artists – America’s Hardcore Compilation: Volume 4 LP (Triple B)
17 new and exclusive tracks from hardcore/punk/metal’s best bands. Each band also designed and submitted their own pages for a 20 page 12×12” insert booklet included with each record.
Waterparks – Entertainment LP (Equal Vision)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Sophomore album from Houston, Texas-based pop-rock trio. Lead single “Blonde” features incredibly catchy verses and a chorus that will have you singing along. Limited colored vinyl pressing.
Wetware – Automatic Drawing LP (Dais)
New York City has had a long history of dance music fused with confrontational performance. Whether it came from within the late ‘70s no wave canon projected through venues like the Mudd Club or the downtown avant-garde galleries such as The Kitchen, the feeling that influences and infects Brooklyn-based duo Wetware’s overall being as a cohesive and confrontational unit is as much enigmatic as it is familiar.
John Williams – Jaws [Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [Reissue/1975] 2xLP (Mondo)
Limited edition 180gm double colored vinyl pressing. John Williams’ score to Jaws is essential for soundtrack collectors.
Chelsea Wolfe – Live At Roadburn [Reissue/2012] LP (Outer Battery)
First time available in North America. This is an extremely limited edition repress. Featuring eight tracks from L.A.’s enigmatic folk doom-weaver, Chelsea Wolfe’s appearance at Roadburn was the buzzed about set of the festival. Limited edition pressing on blue vinyl.
Cassettes:
The Dwarves – Take Back The Night (Burger)
Teen pop whiz kid Andy Now mans the boards for the Take Back The Night LP as the Dwarves embrace their ‘turd in the punchbowl of punk’ legacy. Old school vets like Vadge Moore and Saltpeter, studio pros like Nick Oliveri and Josh Freese and flat out demented scallywags like the Fresh Prince of Darkness join Hewhocannotbenamed for a spectacular and genuinely creepy record.
Various Artists – Silk To Dry The Tears (100% Silk)
Sorrow’s only silver lining is the selflessness it inspires in others. The nightmare of last year’s fire in Oakland left so many of us shredded, shattered, and speechless. But a communal compassion surged up in response, with artists, allies, and acquaintances from all over the globe re-connecting and re-committing to the power and potential of independent music as a healing, unifying force. So many Silk friends and family reached out expressing the desire to contribute creatively to a relief effort that it was obvious the emotion needed an outlet. Silk To Dry The Tears collects 31 such songs from a spectrum of 100% Silk alumni and affiliates, threaded across four sides of fogged house, fantasy acid, nocturnal electronics, sleepwalker pop, and rhythmic reveries of varied internal states. Totaling nearly 170 minutes, it’s a sprawl and a statement, shared in the spirit of inclusion, endurance, and empathy. 50% the profits will be donated to Safer DIY Spaces, an Oakland-based coalition offering guidance, financial assistance, and labor to non-traditional creative community spaces.
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