Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:
Various Artists – The Devil All The Time (Music From The Netflix Film) LP (Abkco)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Devil All The Time, directed by Antonio Campos (Christine, Simon Killer), is set in Ohio and West Virginia during the period between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. In an explosive Midwestern Gothic tale spanning two decades, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and everything he loves. Celebrated Americana music artist Pokey LaFarge is also in the cast and is heard on the soundtrack performing “Banks Of The Ohio” as well as “Washed In Blood” with fellow cast member Harry Melling. Numerous classic country recordings are also on the soundtrack: traditional folk song “Little Bessie” by bluegrass legends The Stanley Brothers, Billy Walker’s original 1961 country hit version of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” and the 1946 King Records recording of “Hillbilly Boogie” by the Delmore Brothers, and more.
Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises CD/LP (Luaka Bop)
British musician/producer Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd), legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra join supreme forces for Promises, an album of nine movements for the ears, heart and soul. The first album Sanders has recorded in over a decade, the simply stunning 46-minute collection floats and melts and is as beautiful as it is mesmerizing.
Flock Of Dimes – Head Of Roses CD (Sub Pop)
On her second full-length record, Head Of Roses, Jenn Wasner follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting. The result is a combination of Wasner’s ability to embrace new levels of vulnerability, honesty and openness, with the self-assuredness that comes with a decade-plus career as a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific collaborator. Showcasing the depth of Wasner’s songwriting capabilities and the complexity of her vision, Head Of Roses calls upon her singular ability to create a fully-formed sonic universe via genre-bending amalgamation of songs and her poetic and gut punch lyrics. It’s the soundtrack of Wasner letting go – of control, of heartbreak, and of hiding who she is. [Vinyl edition due April 30.]
The Fratellis – Half Drunk Under A Full Moon CD/LP (Cooking Vinyl)
“If you thought you knew The Fratellis, think again. Half Drunk Under A Full Moon, the Glasgow band’s sixth album, is a kaleidoscopic delight full of surprises, from its flamboyant title track and lush songs steeped in brass and strings to twists on the stomping sing-alongs with which the trio first found fame. Following the UK Top 5 success of 2018’s critically-lauded In Your Own Sweet Time, which contained the Radio 2 playlisted single “Starcrossed Losers”, The Fratellis began work on its audacious follow-up in buoyant form. Recorded in L.A. with producer and long-time collaborator Tony Hoffer (Beck, Phoenix, Supergrass), Half Drunk Under A Full Moon boasts several firsts for a band that released their landmark debut, Costello Music, back in 2006. It is the first album where backing singers were brought in to bolster the huge choruses, and where the same characters from the last record return to stalk a lot of the lyrics. The most significant change though is in the style of the album, the result of a new approach to writing where the desired sound was decided upon first, which in turn dictated the songs.” – OriginalRock.net
Allen Ginsberg – At Reed College: The First Recorded Reading Of Howl & Other Poems CD/LP (Omnivore)
Allen Ginsberg’s first public reading of his epic poem Howl took place in October of 1955 at the famous Six Gallery in San Francisco. In attendance that night were Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Kenneth Rexroth, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. It was long thought that the first recorded reading of Howl was the March 1956 reading in Berkeley, California; however, prior to that evening, Ginsberg travelled to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, with Gary Snyder for a series of readings. Reed College, a small liberal arts college founded in 1908 and known for its academic excellence had been attended by the likes of Steve Jobs, Barry Hansen (Dr. Demento), Barbara Ehrenreich, Ry Cooder, Max Gordon (founder of The Village Vanguard), and poet Gary Snyder. Snyder and Ginsberg read at Reed on the nights of February 13 and 14, 1956. The Valentine Day’s performance was recorded and then forgotten about until John Suiter, researching Snyder at Reed’s Hauser Memorial Library, found it in a box in 2007. Having gotten the material required for his research, Suiter returned the tape to the box in the library and there it remained for another decade plus and is finally released: the first known recording of Ginsberg’s classic poem.
Haunted Shed – Faltering Light CD/LP (Strolling Bones)
From start to finish, Haunted Shed’s gorgeous debut album Faltering Light overflows with this complicated beauty – not just the glowing and radiant grace of their home in Athens, GA, but also its darker charms that occasionally bloom from the inherent shadows. Fronted by lifelong musician and songwriter Etienne de Rocher, Haunted Shed sometimes sounds like it evolved from the West Coast’s lineage of late 20th century indie rock. Etienne was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama but came up in the San Francisco, Bay Area’s vibrant 1990s music scene before relocating to Athens. His eponymous 2006 album has garnered a cult following. Etienne’s songs have always blended the avant-sonicity of indie rock with the elegance of 1960s baroque pop. But with Haunted Shed, many of his lyrics conjure the specters of Southern Gothic tomes. He explains, “These themes are definitely a big part of how I saw the South growing up. And it was something I missed during my West Coast years. You can’t escape it in Athens. It’s steeped in the soil, trees, and buildings.” [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Hey, King! – Hey, King! CD/LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Natalie London and her partner, vocalist and percussionist Taylor Plecity, approach music with a childlike curiosity and adventurous spirit – fitting for a band whose name comes from a Where The Wild Things Are line. The duo’s self-titled debut album as Hey, King! was produced by 4x Grammy winner Ben Harper. The record is a dazzling 11-track collection that matches the overwhelming emotional intensity of the band’s live show, a concert experience that Vancouver Weekly called “a powerhouse” and “quite possibly the music world’s best kept secret.” The arrangements on Hey, King! are muscular, driving, and anthemic, recalling the most fist-raising Arcade Fire offerings and the most ornate songs by Sufjan Stevens.
Elizabeth King – Living In The Last Days CD/LP (Bible & Tire Recording Co.)
Memphis soul gospel queen Elizabeth King recorded her first single in 1970, and if all had gone as planned, she would have made her first album a few years later. Instead, it took another half century, but Living In The Last Days captures King at the height of her powers, with the intervening decades only serving to stoke the flames of one of the most memorable voices in modern gospel music. Living In The Last Days is a triumph from the very first intimate vocal notes of the arresting opening track, “No Ways Tired”, to the similarly moving closer, “You’ve Got To Move”, dual studies in intensity that each build to a burning climax, bookending a searing selection of songs burnished by the down-home grooves of the Sacred Soul Sound Section. Additionally, the Sensational Barnes Brothers are on board for harmony vocals as are King’s old D-Vine Spirituals label mates the Vaughn Sisters and the D-Vine Spiritualettes. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Lost Horizons – In Quiet Moments CD/2xLP+MP3 (Bella Union)
Lost Horizons is a collaboration between Simon Raymonde, former bassist of the Cocteau Twins, and drummer Richard Thomas, whose past resume includes Dif Juz and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Their haunting, low-key indie pop combines elements of dance-rock and Bowie-esque singer songwriter folk. In Quiet Moments features a distinguished cast of guest singers and a handful of supporting instrumentalists embellishing the core duo’s gorgeously free-flowing and loose-limbed blueprint. While the album has its pockets of loss, they are aligned to the concept of hope, and the end result is more about rebirth than death. [A limited-edition deluxe vinyl pressing is also available.]
Shakey Graves – Roll The Bones X 2xCD/2xLP (Dualtone Music Group)
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Roll The Bones, Shakey Graves presents Roll The Bones X. This reissue includes the original album paired with 15 Odds + Ends, a full second disc of never before heard songs, demos, and deep cuts. Shakey Graves brainchild Rose-Garcia released Roll The Bones on Bandcamp in 2011 without any promotion and little to no information about Shakey Graves. That year, Bandcamp made it a featured album for a month and from there it has stayed among the website’s top selling records. [A limited-edition gold and black color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions CD/LP (High Top Mountain)
Sturgill Simpson returns with the next installment of his bluegrass series, Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions. The genre-defying singer/songwriter reconvened an A-Team of acoustic players (now dubbed “The Hillbilly Avengers”) for another round of reinterpretations of his catalogue, this time largely focusing on 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, which won the Grammy for Country Album of the Year and was nominated for Album of the Year. This volume also includes “Jesus Boogie”, originally performed by Simpson’s first band, Sunday Valley, and two previously unreleased songs, “Tennessee” and “Hobo Cartoon”, the latter of which was co-written with the incomparable Merle Haggard – who once said that Simpson was “about the only thing I’ve heard that was worth listening to in a long time.” [A limited indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is also available.]
CDs + Vinyl:
The Beat Farmers – Tales Of The New West [Reissue/1985] 2xCD (Extra Term Audio)
A deluxe double-CD reissue of the 1985 debut album from the roots rock/American band. Includes a bonus disc containing rare live recordings. [Vinyl edition due May 7.]
Jello Biafra and The Guantanamo School Of Medicine – Tea Party Revenge Porn CD/LP (Alternative Tentacles)
Hear the inimitable Mr. Biafra skewer the place the country has put itself in like no one else would-or could-as he and The Guantanamo School Of Medicine capture the full power of their live shows on disc as never before.
Jakob Bro/Arve Henriksen/Jorge Rossy – Uma Elmo CD (ECM)
With his fifth album, Uma Elmo, Danish guitarist Jakob Bro presents a new trio featuring Arve Henriksen and Jorge Rossy. Astonishingly, given the trio’s musical synergy, the first time these three musicians ever performed together was for the album’s sessions at the Swiss Radio studio in Lugano, with ECM founder Manfred Eicher producing.
Mark Bryan – Midlife Priceless CD/LP (Slow Start)
Midlife Priceless is how Mark Bryan, lead guitarist and co-founder of Hootie & The Blowfish, is living. Collaborators and contributors include Wyatt Durrette (Luke Combs, Zac Brown Band), Steven Fiore (Young Mister), and Tim Neilsen (Drivin’ N’ Cryin’).
Cactus – Tightrope CD/LP (Purple Pyramid)
‘70s classic rock legends return with a new album that balances powerful, driving rockers with more complex and heady album tracks. Cactus is still led by iconic drummer Carmine Appice alongside founding vocalist Jimmy Kunes with special guest appearances from original guitarist Jim McCarty and bassist Pete Bremy. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Causa Sui – Szabodelico CD/2xLP (El Paraiso)
While Causa Sui has always had one foot in heavy psychedelic rock, they’ve had the other one deep in a wide variety of esoteric styles. On this new double-LP set, that other dimension of the band is being explored full-scale. Szabodelico paints with a colorful palette, both compositionally and sonically – digging deep into an assortment of cultures, eras and sounds with a true crate-digger mindset.
Cha Wa – My People CD/LP (Single Lock)
The future of New Orleans music is Cha Wa, a Mardi Gras Indian funk band that takes the music of the streets into the 21st century [A limited-edition ‘Mardi Gras splatter’ color vinyl pressing is also available.]
The Damned – Punk Oddities & Rare Tracks 1977-1982 CD/LP (Cleopatra)
A compilation of rare singles, demos and live performances from the oddball punk legends. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
DJ Scheme – Family 2xLP (Scheme)
Limited white & blue splatter color vinyl pressing. An ambitious debut for the multi-talented DJ/Producer/Artist, Family establishes DJ Scheme as a tastemaker with a distinct aesthetic and a wide musical range. Featuring additional appearances from Skrillex, Zacari, Lil Gnar, Shakewell, TheHxliday, Tes-X, and more.
Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg CD/LP+MP3 (4AD)
Dry Cleaning – the South London indie rock/post-punk group of Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) – release their debut album New Long Leg. The 10-track long-player, which includes “Strong Feelings” and “Scratchcard Lanyard”, was recorded over two weeks last summer at Rockfield Studios in rural Wales with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding). Following on from their thrillingly taut 2019 EPs Boundary Road Snacks And Drinks and Sweet Princess, New Long Leg is more ambitious and complex, with Shaw’s spoken vocals tightly intertwined with the band’s restless instrumentals. With lyrics preoccupied by themes like dissociation, escapism, daydreaming, complicated feelings of love, anger, revenge, anxiety, the kitchen, lethargy, forgetfulness, and survival, Shaw says, “the title is ambiguous; a new long leg could be an expensive present or a growth or a table repair.”
Exek – Biased Advice CD/LP (Castleface)
“Wasteland funk. Dub from the depths. Punk from the pit. Even the instrumentation is worth mentioning: saxophone, drums (and cut-up drums), guitar, synthesizer, vocals (poetry) and general f**kery all combine to make this a very interesting and worthwhile escape from the average. And thank the Gods for that right now. Inspired and desired by the active mind. A job well done by Exek, and there’s new stuff brewing too… For fans of BEAK, Phantom Band, PIL and general Jah Wobbleness, Magazine, short-wave radio, ESG and underground Kraut.” – John Dwyer
Ex Norwegian & Friends – Sing Jimmy Campbell CD/LP (Beyond Before)
An inspired and eclectic tribute to the songs of Liverpool’s Jimmy Campbell by indie rockers Ex Norwegian. Features an array of guest artists to help create these amazing renditions of some of Jimmy’s best known work.
Christiano Fillipini’s Flames Of Heaven – The Force Within CD (Limb Music)
This project brings together the most talented group of Italian metal musicians to deliver a creative powerhouse album.
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises CD/LP (Luaka Bop)
British musician/producer Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd), legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra join supreme forces for Promises, an album of nine movements for the ears, heart and soul. The first album Sanders has recorded in over a decade, the simply stunning 46-minute collection floats and melts and is as beautiful as it is mesmerizing.
Flock Of Dimes – Head Of Roses CD (Sub Pop)
On her second full-length record, Head Of Roses, Jenn Wasner follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting. The result is a combination of Wasner’s ability to embrace new levels of vulnerability, honesty and openness, with the self-assuredness that comes with a decade-plus career as a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific collaborator. Showcasing the depth of Wasner’s songwriting capabilities and the complexity of her vision, Head Of Roses calls upon her singular ability to create a fully-formed sonic universe via genre-bending amalgamation of songs and her poetic and gut punch lyrics. It’s the soundtrack of Wasner letting go – of control, of heartbreak, and of hiding who she is. [Vinyl edition due April 30.]
The Fratellis – Half Drunk Under A Full Moon CD/LP (Cooking Vinyl)
“If you thought you knew The Fratellis, think again. Half Drunk Under A Full Moon, the Glasgow band’s sixth album, is a kaleidoscopic delight full of surprises, from its flamboyant title track and lush songs steeped in brass and strings to twists on the stomping sing-alongs with which the trio first found fame. Following the UK Top 5 success of 2018’s critically-lauded In Your Own Sweet Time, which contained the Radio 2 playlisted single “Starcrossed Losers”, The Fratellis began work on its audacious follow-up in buoyant form. Recorded in L.A. with producer and long-time collaborator Tony Hoffer (Beck, Phoenix, Supergrass), Half Drunk Under A Full Moon boasts several firsts for a band that released their landmark debut, Costello Music, back in 2006. It is the first album where backing singers were brought in to bolster the huge choruses, and where the same characters from the last record return to stalk a lot of the lyrics. The most significant change though is in the style of the album, the result of a new approach to writing where the desired sound was decided upon first, which in turn dictated the songs.” – OriginalRock.net
Fuoco Fatuo – Obsidian Katabasis CD (Profound Lore)
With their latest opus Obsidian Katabasis, Italian doom metal cult Fuoco Fatuo has implemented their most towering, suffocating, darkest and most abstract work yet. Elements of a dreadful nature which find cohesion for a rich and thick sound manifest into a visionary descent though multi-layered guitars, skull-crushing low-tuned chords and sepulchral tremolos filtered through analog sounds for wider landscapes marred with obsessive drumming and infernal growls. [Vinyl edition due April 16.]
Allen Ginsberg – At Reed College: The First Recorded Reading Of Howl & Other Poems CD/LP (Omnivore)
Allen Ginsberg’s first public reading of his epic poem Howl took place in October of 1955 at the famous Six Gallery in San Francisco. In attendance that night were Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Kenneth Rexroth, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. It was long thought that the first recorded reading of Howl was the March 1956 reading in Berkeley, California; however, prior to that evening, Ginsberg travelled to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, with Gary Snyder for a series of readings. Reed College, a small liberal arts college founded in 1908 and known for its academic excellence had been attended by the likes of Steve Jobs, Barry Hansen (Dr. Demento), Barbara Ehrenreich, Ry Cooder, Max Gordon (founder of The Village Vanguard), and poet Gary Snyder. Snyder and Ginsberg read at Reed on the nights of February 13 and 14, 1956. The Valentine Day’s performance was recorded and then forgotten about until John Suiter, researching Snyder at Reed’s Hauser Memorial Library, found it in a box in 2007. Having gotten the material required for his research, Suiter returned the tape to the box in the library and there it remained for another decade plus and is finally released: the first known recording of Ginsberg’s classic poem.
The Glitch Mob – Drink The Sea [Reissue/2010] CD/2xLP (Shoot To Kill)
Music can be both armor and ammunition. It can help surmount obstacles, heal wounds, or offer invincibility. On rare occasions, records can encompass all these distinct ideas. That’s where the supergroup trio of instrumentalist/producers – Justin Boreta (aka Boreta), Ed Ma (aka edIT) and Joshua Mayer (aka Ooah) – in LA’s The Glitch Mob exist, in that timeless space where infectious anthems elicit maximum emotion. Their 2010 debut full-length Drink The Sea which Ma calls, “a personal, introspective, headphone-listening experience,” was put out completely independently on the group’s own Glass Air imprint and proved to be the group’s breakout, spending numerous weeks atop the iTunes’ Electronic chart and remaining in its top 10 nearly three years after its release. [A limited-edition silver & purple color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Haunted Shed – Faltering Light CD/LP (Strolling Bones)
From start to finish, Haunted Shed’s gorgeous debut album Faltering Light overflows with this complicated beauty – not just the glowing and radiant grace of their home in Athens, GA, but also its darker charms that occasionally bloom from the inherent shadows. Fronted by lifelong musician and songwriter Etienne de Rocher, Haunted Shed sometimes sounds like it evolved from the West Coast’s lineage of late 20th century indie rock. Etienne was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama but came up in the San Francisco, Bay Area’s vibrant 1990s music scene before relocating to Athens. His eponymous 2006 album has garnered a cult following. Etienne’s songs have always blended the avant-sonicity of indie rock with the elegance of 1960s baroque pop. But with Haunted Shed, many of his lyrics conjure the specters of Southern Gothic tomes. He explains, “These themes are definitely a big part of how I saw the South growing up. And it was something I missed during my West Coast years. You can’t escape it in Athens. It’s steeped in the soil, trees, and buildings.” [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Helloween – Skyfall CDEP/12” (Nuclear Blast)
New release from the veteran German metal band. [Two color vinyl pressings – translucent orange and translucent violet – are also available.]
Hey, King! – Hey, King! CD/LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Natalie London and her partner, vocalist and percussionist Taylor Plecity, approach music with a childlike curiosity and adventurous spirit – fitting for a band whose name comes from a Where The Wild Things Are line. The duo’s self-titled debut album as Hey, King! was produced by 4x Grammy winner Ben Harper. The record is a dazzling 11-track collection that matches the overwhelming emotional intensity of the band’s live show, a concert experience that Vancouver Weekly called “a powerhouse” and “quite possibly the music world’s best kept secret.” The arrangements on Hey, King! are muscular, driving, and anthemic, recalling the most fist-raising Arcade Fire offerings and the most ornate songs by Sufjan Stevens.
Elizabeth King – Living In The Last Days CD/LP (Bible & Tire Recording Co.)
Memphis soul gospel queen Elizabeth King recorded her first single in 1970, and if all had gone as planned, she would have made her first album a few years later. Instead, it took another half century, but Living In The Last Days captures King at the height of her powers, with the intervening decades only serving to stoke the flames of one of the most memorable voices in modern gospel music. Living In The Last Days is a triumph from the very first intimate vocal notes of the arresting opening track, “No Ways Tired”, to the similarly moving closer, “You’ve Got To Move”, dual studies in intensity that each build to a burning climax, bookending a searing selection of songs burnished by the down-home grooves of the Sacred Soul Sound Section. Additionally, the Sensational Barnes Brothers are on board for harmony vocals as are King’s old D-Vine Spirituals label mates the Vaughn Sisters and the D-Vine Spiritualettes. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
La Femme – Paradigmes CD/LP (Disque Pointu)
Within this album of beautifully-curated electropop you will hear everything from coldwave to yéyé, Kraftwerk to the Velvet Underground, all distilled and sequenced and psychedelicized so that it sounds uniquely La Femme.
La Morte Viene Dallo Spazio – Trivial Visions CD/LP (Svart)
La Morte Viene Dallo Spazio’s (Death Comes From Space) name is taken from a late ‘50s Italian sci-fi B-movie, and this ensemble’s cinematic odyssey of sound is like Argento, Fulci and Bava taking acid with Magma and Jodorowsky. Composed of an open gathering of players, the Italian quintet combines flavors of Middle Eastern scales, droning theremin and guitars. Their flute-player’s frantic, progressive and abstract elements tear open the cosmic gates like Jethro Tull in a Giallo nightmare.
Sook-Yin Lee and Adam Litovitz – Jooj Two CD (Mint)
An iconic Canadian media figure, Sook-Yin Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, actor, visual artist and broadcaster who has immersed herself in myriad creative collaborations. Many of them were made with her life partner and frequent co-creator Adam Litovitz, including their 2015 ethereal electroacoustic album Jooj. Though Litovitz passed away in 2019, his work with Lee lives on with Jooj Two, an unapologetic dive into playful art-pop and a document of a lost language between lovers [Vinyl edition due April 16.]
Lost Horizons – In Quiet Moments CD/2xLP+MP3 (Bella Union)
Lost Horizons is a collaboration between Simon Raymonde, former bassist of the Cocteau Twins, and drummer Richard Thomas, whose past resume includes Dif Juz and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Their haunting, low-key indie pop combines elements of dance-rock and Bowie-esque singer songwriter folk. In Quiet Moments features a distinguished cast of guest singers and a handful of supporting instrumentalists embellishing the core duo’s gorgeously free-flowing and loose-limbed blueprint. While the album has its pockets of loss, they are aligned to the concept of hope, and the end result is more about rebirth than death. [A limited-edition deluxe vinyl pressing is also available.]
Major Murphy – Access CD/LP (Winspear)
Access, the second album by Major Murphy, is an album born out of being at a crossroads. It’s also, without question, an album to blast at an unruly volume to soundtrack an experience one might have standing at that crossroads. It’s remarkably cohesive – a striking relic in an age where ardent and true “album-making” is a fading art form – full of heavy rock ‘n’ roll sounds and textured atmospheres fused with pro-idea, hyper-creative jittery warmth. In nine songs, it somehow takes a listener backwards and forwards at once, reckoning with intrinsic anxieties while conceptualizing a fantastical and vibrant happening, soothing in its familiar, occasionally childlike tone.
Mimikry – Splitter CD/2xLP (Krypton)
New album from the Swedish punk band.
Mork – Katedralen CD/LP (Peaceville)
Following on mercilessly from 2020’s aptly titled Pesta EP, Norwegian act Mork resumes its ascension through the ranks of the Scandinavian black metal scene with the fifth chapter, Katedralen, venturing ever further from the more primal early Darkthrone-based foundations, while still fundamentally keeping the grim flame of the old school in its DNA.
Mythic Sunship – Wildfire CD/LP (Tee Pee)
With their new album Wildfire, renowned Copenhagen-quintet Mythic Sunship begins a new chapter of the free-form rock journey that has seen them put out a critically acclaimed album annually for the last five years and made them one of Europe’s most interesting new psychedelic bands. Wildfire is a set of raw, kinetic outbursts that take the listener from the groovy fuzz rock and cosmic jams that the band is known and loved for into new territories of crunched melodies, uncanny harmonies, turbulent rhythms and even more ecstatic walls of guitar insanity.
No-No Boy – 1975 CD/LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
No-No Boy is the musical project of Vietnamese American singer and scholar Julian Saporiti. On his Smithsonian Folkways debut 1975, named after the year Saigon fell, Saporiti investigates his own family heritage as well as life in WWII Japanese internment camps, immigrant detention centers and refugee camps in 2020, and other stories of immigration that illustrate the complexities of becoming American. His songs are the epitome of folk storytelling in the modern era, as he interweaves histories with field recordings from the sites of collective trauma and fragments of Asian American musical tradition, from jazz to rock, to choral music). With his plaintive, direct voice, he takes listeners on a deeply human journey through the Asian American experience in the US.
Helen Reddy – I Am Woman CD/LP (Cleopatra)
Includes alternate versions of Reddy’s classic songs “Delta Dawn”, “I Am Woman”, “Angie
Baby”, “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)” and many. Reddy’s death in September of 2020 reminded the world what a warm and tender voice she had and that, in addition to being a multi-platinum selling recording artist, she also appeared in numerous films, television shows and Broadway productions. [A limited-edition pink color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Ruff Endz – Rebirth CD (Sono Recording Group)
R&B duo Ruff Endz celebrate their 20th anniversary with the release of their new album Rebirth. After splitting up in 2004, original members Dante Jordan and David Chance reunited after the social unrest in their hometown in 2017.
Gene Russell – New Direction [Reissue/1971] CD/LP (Real Gone Music)
Oft bootlegged, with original copies commanding princely sums, New Direction, while a fairly straight-ahead piano trio outing, set the tone for the Black Jazz label with its modal and soul jazz flourishes, and features such sidemen as double bassist Henry The Skipper Franklin and drummer Steve Clover.
Sacred Oath – Return Of The Dragon CD (Sono Recording Group)
New album from album from the power-thrashers.
Shakey Graves – Roll The Bones X 2xCD/2xLP (Dualtone Music Group)
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Roll The Bones, Shakey Graves presents Roll The Bones X. This reissue includes the original album paired with 15 Odds + Ends, a full second disc of never before heard songs, demos, and deep cuts. Shakey Graves brainchild Rose-Garcia released Roll The Bones on Bandcamp in 2011 without any promotion and little to no information about Shakey Graves. That year, Bandcamp made it a featured album for a month and from there it has stayed among the website’s top selling records. [A limited-edition gold and black color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Ferenc Snétberger/Keller Quartett – Hallgató CD (ECM)
On Hallgató, recorded live in the Grand Hall of Budapest’s Liszt Academy, Ferenc Snetberger and the Keller Quartett are heard in a moving and organically unfolding program.
Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions CD/LP (High Top Mountain)
Sturgill Simpson returns with the next installment of his bluegrass series, Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions. The genre-defying singer/songwriter reconvened an A-Team of acoustic players (now dubbed “The Hillbilly Avengers”) for another round of reinterpretations of his catalogue, this time largely focusing on 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, which won the Grammy for Country Album of the Year and was nominated for Album of the Year. This volume also includes “Jesus Boogie”, originally performed by Simpson’s first band, Sunday Valley, and two previously unreleased songs, “Tennessee” and “Hobo Cartoon”, the latter of which was co-written with the incomparable Merle Haggard – who once said that Simpson was “about the only thing I’ve heard that was worth listening to in a long time.” [A limited indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is also available.]
Various Artists [Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge] – Jazz Is Dead 6: Gary Bartz CD (Jazz Is Dead)
There’s early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus’ Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There’s his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early ‘70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. That’s not to mention appearances on beloved albums by Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, Norman Connors, Roy Ayers, Gene Ammons, Phyllis Hyman, Jackie McLean and many others. This is what Gary Bartz brings to the Jazz Is Dead project and as can be expected, his questing spirit fits the JID style like a glove and has produced an album that’s a cutting-edge addition to his immense canon as he effortlessly interfaces with a new generation. [Vinyl edition due April 16.]
Wode – Burn In Many Mirrors CD/LP (20 Buck Spin)
England’s Wode return with their third scathing blast of profane black/death metal. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Luca Yupanqui – Sounds Of The Unborn CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
Luca Yupanqui was not yet born when she recorded her debut album. The music on the aptly titled Sounds Of The Unborn is the expression of life in its cosmic state – pre-mind, pre-speculation, pre-influence, and pre-human. It is the first album created by a person while they were still inside the womb, the expression of a soul that hasn’t yet seen the light of day nor taken a single breath of air. It is a message that comes from a different realm, a sublayer of our existence. Sounds Of The Unborn was made with biosonic MIDI technology, which translated Luca’s in utero movements into sound. With the help of her parents, Psychic Ills bassist Elizabeth Hart and Lee Scratch Perry collaborator Iván Diaz Mathé, Luca’s prenatal essence was captured in audio.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
The Album Leaf – Synchronic 2xLP (Eastern Glow Recordings)
Double-vinyl pressing includes an etched D-side.The Album Leaf’s Synchronic soundtrack features original music from the critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller by filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. The 26-track record etches an immersive soundscape underpinned by synth transmissions, organic strings, artful experimentation, and moments of cathartic energy. It runs the gamut of everything from sonic euphoria to mania as turbulent as the action on-screen.
All-American Rejects – Move Along [Reissue/2005] LP (Doghouse)
With their 2005 album Move Along, Oklahoma’s All-American Rejects unleashed the much-awaited follow-up to their now Platinum self-titled debut. Produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Hoobastank), Move Along vaulted the band’s finely crafted mix of rock/pop/mayhem to the next level.
Amulets – Blooming LP (The Flenser)
The prolific, Portland-based Randall Taylor is an audio/visual artist best known for his musical project, Amulets. Taylor’s work uses analog tape and its imperfections to explore themes like degradation and nostalgia and their relationship to technology and to the self. By constructing and modifying tape loops and repurposing antiquated cassette players, Taylor creates dense, never-ending, looping soundscapes for both his live performances and sculptural sound art installations.
The Bangles – Doll Revolution [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Real Gone Music)
The Bangles – Sweetheart Of The Sun [Reissue/2011] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited white (Doll Revolution) and teal (Sweetheart Of The Sun) color vinyl reissues of the last two records by the pop rock band who peaked in popularity in the mid-late ‘80s with the hits “Walk Like An Egyptian”, “Manic Monday”, “In Your Room” and “Eternal Flame”. The band officially broke-up in 1989 but almost ten years later, in 1998, started drifting back together. In 1999, they officially re-formed to record a song for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The reunion continued with a tour in 2000 and in 2003 they released, Doll Revolution, their first album since 1988’s Everything.
Michael Beach – Dream Violence LP (Goner)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Dream Violence, Michael Beach’s fourth full-length, is an epic album that explores the duality of the human condition. Or, as Beach himself puts it, the album is about “human futility, passion, desire, anger, frustration, and the struggle to maintain hope in a somewhat hopeless time.” Dream Violence, then, addresses the existential crisis of being an artist in 2020 (and 2021). Known for his work touring with the Australian guitar pop band Thigh Master and the late, brilliantly eccentric Israeli guitarist Charlie Megira, Beach is the architect of a sound that is both well-built and ramshackle, straightforward and indeterminably complex, out of the norm yet familiar in all the best ways. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Black Twig Pickers – Friend’s Peace LP (VHF)
On their new album Friend’s Peace, Black Twig Pickers continue their charming and original take on old time and Appalachian-inspired string band sounds.
Brasstracks – Golden Ticket 2xLP (Capitol)
Deluxe expanded vinyl edition of the debut album by Grammy Award-winning duo Brasstracks (multi-instrumentalist Ivan Jackson and percussionist Conor Rayne). Golden Ticket reinforces the duo’s free-thinking approach to songcraft with an unprecedented charm. An eclectic mix of collaborators are featured on almost every track – including modern rap and R&B titans such as Common, Masego, Tank of Tank & The Bangas, Robert Glasper and more. This deluxe edition includes three bonus tracks; two alternate versions of the lead single, “Golden Ticket” and a fan favorite, “Swerve” featuring rapper Pell.
Crass – Normal Never Was IV 12” 12” (One Little Independent Records)
As part of their ambitious The Feeding Of The Five Thousand Remix Project, punk pioneers Crass return with another exclusive coloured 12 single featuring remixes by industrialists Test Dept and L.A.-based artist Maral.
Willie Dunn – Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology 2xLP (Light In The Attic)
A definitive overview of one of Canada’s unsung musical heroes, including rare/previously unreleased recordings, photos, and interviews. Willie Dunn shared truth through song and celluloid. His original composition, “I Pity The Country”, is an unparalleled statement on the greed and hate created by humankind, recorded in 1971 and still unfortunately needed today. [Deluxe opaque red color vinyl pressing, and a limited translucent red color vinyl pressing are also available.]
John Dwyer, Ted Byrnes, Brad Caulkins, Greg Coates, Tom Dolas – Endless Garbage LP (Castleface)
“A cacophonous and glorious sketch of ourselves. For fans of Albert Ayler, ECM records, Gong, improvisation, sustainability and consumption.” – John Dwyer
Eagles – Eagles Live [Reissue/1980] 2xLP (Elektra)
Eagles – The Millennium Concert 2xLP (Elektra)
Eagles – Long Road Out Of Eden [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Elektra)
Eagles Live provides a balanced document of the band’s musical history, recorded in two phases. Five of the tracks were recorded in October 1976, during three performances at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The other 10 tracks were recorded in July 1980, from three shows at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and one at the Long Beach Arena in California. The Millenium Concert was recorded Jan. 31, 1999 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA and is, for the first time, available as a stand-alone vinyl edition. Long Road Out Of Eden is the band’s final album, originally released in 2007.
The Fall – Live At St. Helens Technical College LP (Castleface)
“Nothing but the hits here folks and as raw as you dig it. This one really is exceptional in terms of live sound for The Fall. All the stars were aligned over St. Helens that eve.” – John Dwyer
Fat Mattress – Fat Mattress [Reissue/1969] LP (Trading Places)
Vinyl reissue of the debut self-titled studio album by English folk rock band.
Flux Pavilion – .wav 2xLP (Circus)
New album from the renowned British DJ/producer/singer-songwriter. After celebrating a decade at the forefront of bass music along with Circus Records, it’s time for the artist to take another step forward into fresh and exciting terrain. .wav showcases Flux Pavilion in his element with this melodic, synth, and electric guitar-driven 16-track masterpiece. Features bespoke artwork throughout, including illustrations by graphic novelist Jack T Cole.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! LP+10” (Constellation)
The inimitable GYBE returns with another soundtrack for our times. As the heretical anarcho-punk spirit of the title implies, Godspeed harnesses some particularly raw power, spittle and grit across two riveting 20-minute side-length trajectories of noise-drenched widescreen post-rock: inexorable chug blossoms into blown-out twang, as some of the band’s most soaring, searing melodies ricochet and converge amidst violin and bassline counterpoint. Field recordings and roiling semi-improvised passages frame these fervent epics, and two shorter self-contained 6-minute pieces find the band at its most devastatingly beautiful, haunting and elegiac.
Grand Funk – Live Album [Reissue/1970] 2xLP (Friday Music)
Audiophile 180gm translucent red color 50th anniversary edition. At the onset of the ’70s, Grand Funk Railroad was the pinnacle of American rock ‘n’ roll, selling out arenas of ecstatic fans all over the US and beyond. This no-nonsense band from Michigan defined the sound of early working class hard rock groups with their over-the-top sound: Mark Farner’s heavy riffing, Mel Schacher’s hard-hitting bass lines and Don Brewer’s intricate and funky drums. This essential 1970 smash showcases the band at the height of their live glory.
Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel – The Best Years Of Our Lives [Reissue/1975] 2xLP (Chrysalis)
45th Anniversary 180gm blue and orange color vinyl pressing. The Best Years Of Our Lives was Steve Harley’s third album and the first under Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. Featuring the million selling worldwide timeless classic “Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)”, the album also includes “Mr. Raffles” and “The Mad, Mad Moonlight”. Recorded in December 1974, co-produced by Alan Parsons (Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney) and released in March 1975, it reached Top 5 in the UK Album Charts and remained in the Top 50 for 20 weeks.
Hatebreed – Weight Of The False Self LP (Nuclear Blast)
Bone with blood splatter color vinyl. Hatebreed’s eighth studio album Weight Of The False Self is stocked with twelve pit-stirring anthems.
KAS:ST – A Magic World 2xLP (Afterlife)
Joined for the first time by multiple singers, KAS:ST show throughout A Magic World their desire to break boundaries and thus increasingly develop their vision by mixing even more musical universes: techno, rap, classical music, ambient, or pop. Each track of the album takes you in very different directions and emotions, and the title A Magic World is in this sense a tribute to differences and diversity, whether you’re speaking of life or music. [A limited white & red color vinyl pressing is also available.]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Teenage Gizzard LP (ORG Music)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s rarities retrospective Teenage Gizzard consists of early recordings from the prolific Australian garage-psych innovators captured from 2010-2011. Tracks 1-8 were recorded some time in 2010 in Angelsea, Victoria, Australia while tracks 9 and 10 were recorded some time in 2011 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia. [A limited transparent yellow with pink splatter color vinyl pressing is also available.]
The Koreatown Oddity – Little Dominiques Nosebleed LP (Stone’s Throw)
Double transparent green color vinyl pressing. Little Dominiques Nosebleed is a new cult record by rapper and producer The Koreatown Oddity. With a distinct lo-fi and experimental sound, the album documents a true-to-life story about growing up Black in Koreatown, Los Angeles. It was released on Juneteenth of 2020. Through nostalgic vignettes, Little Dominiques Nosebleed details The Koreatown Oddity’s supernatural powers and spiritual awakening, triggered by two childhood car accidents that left him impaired with frequent nosebleeds and a broken leg. The Koreatown Oddity takes us through this journey with an eclectic array of samples, comedy and hard truths, often featuring the people of his family and community.
Charlotte Lawrence – Charlotte 12” (Atlantic)
Breakout singer/songwriter Charlotte Lawrence’s new six-song EP, Charlotte, is led by the single “Talk You Down”, an addictive percussion-driven electronic pop number about her anxiety, which she’s remarkably open about. On Charlotte, she explores fear and struggle through a relationship on “Sin x Secret”, a sense of feeling lost on “Cowboys”, aching heartbreak on “Slow Motion”, the perils of love on “You”, and addiction and dependence on “RX”.
Lil Tecca – Virgo World LP (Galactic/Republic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Virgo World features an all-star cast of collaborators such as Lil Uzi Vert, NAV, Lil Durk, Polo G, Guwop Reign, Skrillex and DJ Scheme. This blockbuster concludes with the inclusion of his Internet Money collaboration “Out Of Love”. With bold bars, magnetic melodies and one anthem after another, Lil Tecca welcomes you to Virgo World.
Barry Morgan And Ray Cooper – Percussion Spectrum [Reissue/1979] LP (Be With)
Originally released in 1979, Percussion Spectrum was produced by legendary percussionists Barry Morgan and Ray Cooper. With dope beats taking in diverse styles, from funk and soul and jazz through to Latin, Brazilian, samba and Afro-Cuban, this is an amazing sample source filled with killer drum-breaks and percussion flares.
Natvral – Tethers LP (Kanine)
Limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing. As the frontman of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Kip Berman wrote songs about the thrills and ills of young adult life with the care and concern of a cool older sibling. The long-standing New York City indie pop group disbanded soon after releasing their final record in 2017, and Berman found himself at a creative crossroads. He wanted to keep making music, but the themes and sounds he was interested in had shifted; it felt time for a course correction. Enter Tethers, Berman’s first solo record as The Natvral.
The New Regime – Heart Mind Body & Soul 2xLP (Elitist Enterprises)
The New Regime – the innovative solo project of acclaimed songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ilan Rubin (who is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Lostprophets, Nine Inch Nails, Angels & Airwaves and Paramore) – has announced a newly expanded deluxe edition of his new album. The New Regime’s third full-length and new LP, Heart Mind Body & Soul was recorded in two epic sessions at El Paso, TX’s world-famous Sonic Ranch, with all songs entirely written and performed by Rubin. Both sessions were co-produced, engineered, and mixed by Rubin’s brother (and manager) Aaron Rubin.
No Use For A Name – Rarities Vol. 2: The Originals LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. 15 tracks rarities and previously unreleased demos.
Pompeii – The Secret Sessions LP (Rouge)
Pompeii, the biggest super group that never was, recorded The Secret Sessions during the late ‘70s (between 1976 and 1978). It features a laundry list of legends including Corky Laing (Mountian), Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople), Mick Ronson (David Bowie), Felix Pappalardi (Mountain and Cream producer), Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers), Leslie West (Mountain), Todd Rundgren, John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful) and Eric Clapton (Cream, Derek and The
Dominos). [A limited-edition yellow color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Porcupine Tree – Up The Downstair [Reissue/1993] 2xLP (Transmission/Snapper Classics)
1993’s Up The Downstair was Porcupine Tree’s second full album and the first to feature bassist Colin Edwin and (Japan) keyboardist Richard Barbieri. Forceful and emotive, it was an album that took British psychedelic and progressive rock into the modern era.
Porridge Radio – Rice, Pasta And Other Fillers [Reissue/2016] LP (Memorials Of Distinction)
Porridge Radio started as Dana Margolin’s bedroom project but are now a Brighton-based five-piece who make “a perfect blend between cool lo-fi rock and strange, morbid sadcore” (Wake The Deaf), inelegantly knotting together beautiful melodic pop songs with vicious and furious emotional outpour. After a series of home-recorded solo demos, a split EP with West America, and the growing legend of their live shows, they released their first full band LP in 2016. Originally released on cassette, Rice, Pasta And Other Fillers is now reissued on red color vinyl.
Royal Headache – Royal Headache [Reissue/2011] LP (What’s Your Rupture)
Royal Headache – High [Reissue/2015] LP (What’s Your Rupture)
Limited-edition color vinyl reissues. People have dubbed Royal Headache “Motown-inspired garage” or even “rock ‘n’ soul” but fear not this isn’t your blatant ’60s revivalism or festival friendly gimmick rock. Royal Headache was a punk band.
Justin Rutledge – Islands LP (Oustide Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on white color vinyl. A youth hostel in London, a dim lit bar in Toronto, the back of the van rolling through the prairies. These are the places that Justin Rutledge penned many of his songs, isolated, him and a guitar. Over the years, those songs have graced records that have won awards, soundtracked weddings, TV shows and film, and gained fans in Gordon Lightfoot, Ron Sexsmith and Dolly Parton. On Islands, Justin revisits those songs, in the manner which they were conceived, sparse accompaniment, just JR and his guitar.
Saigon Kick – Saigon Kick [Reissue/1991] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited-edition white color vinyl reissue. The gleefully raucous 1991 self-titled debut from this Miami band covered all the alternative and heavy metal bases, and while it didn’t score a commercial home run, it was still a prodigious clout (kick?) courtesy of guitarist/songwriter Jason Bieler.
Travis – Good Feeling [Reissue/1997] LP (Craft Recordings)
Vinyl reissue of the Scottish rock band’s debut album.
Various Artists – The Devil All The Time (Music From The Netflix Film) LP (Abkco)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Devil All The Time, directed by Antonio Campos (Christine, Simon Killer), is set in Ohio and West Virginia during the period between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. In an explosive Midwestern Gothic tale spanning two decades, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and everything he loves. Celebrated Americana music artist Pokey LaFarge is also in the cast and is heard on the soundtrack performing “Banks Of The Ohio” as well as “Washed In Blood” with fellow cast member Harry Melling. Numerous classic country recordings are also on the soundtrack: traditional folk song “Little Bessie” by bluegrass legends The Stanley Brothers, Billy Walker’s original 1961 country hit version of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” and the 1946 King Records recording of “Hillbilly Boogie” by the Delmore Brothers, and more.
Warfare – Metal Anarchy [Reissue/1985] LP (Back On Black)
Warfare – Mayhem F**kin’ Mayhem (Hardcore 87) [Reissue/1986] LP (Back On Black)
Warfare – A Conflict Of Hatred [Reissue/1988] LP (Back On Black)
Warfare was a heavy metal band from Newcastle, formed in 1982 and disbanded in 1993. Their second, third, and fourth albums – reissued on vinyl – are in the speed/thrash metal style.
Woods – Reflections Vol. 1 (Bumble Bee Crown King) LP (Woodsist)
With no touring this year, and possibly next, Woods decided to take a deep dive into their archives and put together the first volume of their much-discussed archival series, Reflections. Featuring rare and unreleased recordings from 2009-2013, including a ghost town desert jam off the side of the highway, the band’s first live performance in Big Sur, the first recorded version of “Bend Beyond” and some shelved diamonds in the rough that were finished up during quarantine. The hope is that it plays like a “lost record” from an extremely strange and fruitful period in Woods’s history.
Leave a Reply