CDs + Vinyl:
Lee Aaron – Diamond Baby CD (Big Sister)
An extraordinary blend of hard-blues, rock ‘n’ roll and hard-rock that pays homage to the giants of the late ‘60s and ‘70s.
Aera – The Sound Path CD/2xLP+MP3 (Permanent Vacation)
Born in the high north of Germany and now a Berlin resident, Ralf Schmidt, aka Aera, first appeared on the electronic music map when he established his own Aleph Music label back in 2010. With only a handful of releases, Aera was able to lay out his very own musically topography on the cutting edges between house, psychedelia, and breakbeats.
Anne-Marie – Speak Your Mind CD (WB)
On her debut offering, Anne-Marie’s playfully infectious pop spirit entwines with her celebrated humor, charisma and idiosyncratic storytelling – attributes that have set her apart from her peers and seen her become one of the UK’s most-loved female breakthrough stars of recent years.
Answer Code Request – Gens CD (Ostgut Ton)
In a sense, Gens (Latin for “tribe” or “lineage”) reverses the notion of the hardcore continuum as proposed by music journalist Simon Reynolds; embedded in a tradition of US and continental European techno, Patrick Gräser seeks its disruption through hardcore outgrowths, from ambient jungle to later variations of British bass music and IDM.
Antarte – Isole CD (Megaphone UK)
Isole is the second album by Sicilian band Antarte.Italian post-rock — half sung in Italian, half instrumental — reminiscent of Slowdive, The Durutti Column, or A Silver Mt. Zion.
Atlas – Breeze [Reissue/1987] CD (Studio Mule)
CD reissue of one of the best and most complex Japanese jazz fusion albums.
Aisha Badru – Pendulum CD/LP (Nettwerk)
Critically acclaimed New York folk-pop singer/songwriter Aisha Badru uses airy vocals and vivid lyrics to draw listeners into her soulfully emotive world on her debut album.
Duck Baker – Les Blues Du Richmond: Demos and Outtakes, 1973-1979 CD (Tompkins Square)
Duck Baker is an internationally acclaimed American acoustic finger-style guitarist who plays in a variety of styles: jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk, and Irish and Scottish music. He has written many instruction books for guitar, famously released several albums on Stefan Grossman’s Kicking Mule label in the ‘70s, and later recorded for Windham Hill and Shanachie among others. Les Blues Du Richmond is a collection of previously unreleased early demos recorded for Grossman in the ‘70s.
Bart & The Bedazzled – Blue Motel CD/LP (Lovemonk)
An amalgam of ’80s UK pop and West Coast yacht rock jams sprinkled with cinematic flourishes.
Bestia Arcana – Holókauston CD/LP (Dark Descent)
Four aphotic hymns to the End-of-Days spoken in sepulchral tongues. Fever-dream oracles of howling gods. Dissonant paeans to mankind’s ruin and the final triumph of death.
Boy Harsher – Lesser Man [2014] CD/LP+MP3 (Nude Club)
Boy Harsher – Yr Body Is Nothing [2016] CD/LP+MP3 (Nude Club)
Boy Harsher is a pop electronic duo that produces gritty dance beats infused with ethereal vocals, creating a sound that is eerie, intense and incredibly danceable. Augustus Muller develops the underbelly of sound with minimal beats and grinding synths, where Jae Matthews whispers, screams and chants on top. Together, the music created is somewhere between electro dance, drone and confessional storytelling.
Liz Brasher – Outcast CDEP (Fat Possum)
Produced by Brasher, Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys, and Bruce Watson in her new hometown of Memphis, the Outcast EP draws as much from garage rock, classic soul and funk, and ‘60s girl group pop sounds as from the music she grew up singing in church. Often starting her songwriting with a beat, Brasher wrote several of the songs under the influence of her recent move to Memphis, including the hard-grooving “Come My Way,” the dark “Feel Something,” and the title track.
Buzzy Lee – Facepaint 12” (Caroline)
Buzzy Lee is the new artist project of Los Angeles performer, writer, and actress Sasha Spielberg. Sasha is a storyteller by nature, and as Buzzy Lee, she demonstrates a rare ability to detail a dark scene in just a few words – the novels within the margins, the stark, vivid characters she portrays. She’s also a humorist, a writer and singer capable of depicting poignant scenes awash with sorrow and sarcasm, phrased savagely and delicately, her voice at times plaintive, at other times soaring. Buzzy Lee’s debut EP Facepaint, produced by acclaimed electronic artist and frequent collaborator Nicolas Jaar, is a graceful five track collection built on haunting melodies and dramatic flare.
Juri Camisasca – Evoluzione Interiore CD/2xLP (Black Sweat)
Four long and vaporous unreleased tracks that document the Juri Camisasca’s first mystical afflatus, bringing to light the moments of “collective meditation” of some events in 1978, including the recordings drawn from the exhibition “L’evoluzione interiore dell’Uomo”, which took place at the Villa Reale in Monza.
Dylan Carlson – Conquistador CD/LP+MP3 (Sargent House)
Known first and foremost as the lynchpin of instrumental band Earth, Dylan Carlson has become one of alternative music’s most ambitious pathfinders. It seems beyond appropriate, then, that Carlson’s new solo endeavor is titled Conquistador. The five-track LP channels the indulgent drone of Earth while traversing uncharted sonic terrain.
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Kings: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD (Milan)
In recent years Cave and Ellis have become a force to be reckoned with in the world of soundtracks, thanks to their impressive work on films like Hell Or High Water, Wind River, and the National Geographic series Mars. Cave and Ellis pull from their rich history in the music world to deliver an unexpected score that immediately transports the listener to the hot, angry streets of Los Angeles in the summer of 1992. [ Vinyl edition due June 15.]
Ceramic Dog – YRU Still Here? CD/LP (Northern Spy)
New album from veteran guitarist Marc Ribot’s trio Ceramic Dog. YRU Still Here? careens from punk to funk to flamenco to surf to rock ‘n roll – all turned on their heads and smudged, allowing us to imagine an alternate history where punk icons Jello Biafra and Ian MacKaye fronted no-wave lounge bands on alternate Tuesdays at the Teaneck New Jersey Holiday Inn.
Cicada Rhythm – Everywhere I Go CD/LP (New West)
Cicada Rhythm is Andrea DeMarcus and Dave Kirslis. Following their 2015 self-titled debut, the band consciously decided to build upon their homespun, stripped-down folk sound by bringing in more musicians and multiple producers to their latest effort, Everywhere I Go. The “patchwork album” features roots-rock tunes, slow waltzes, front-porch folk songs and backwoods ballads.
Elysia Crampton – Elysia Crampton CD/LP+MP3 (Break World Records)
Elysia Crampton’s self-titled album marks her fourth official release. The Amerindian musician draws on various Andean styles such as kullawada, huayño, tarqueada, quirqui / tundique, khantus, and morenada, together with genres like metal, psychedelic, and jazz fusion, to tell a story of her movement in the world – performing her history, both sonically and corporeally, as a means to gain economic access and agency.
Deadbeat – Wax Poetic For This For Our Great Resolve CD/2xLP (Blkrtz)
Ranging from the overtly political to the tenderly inspirational and many points in between, Wax Poetic For This Our Great Resolve provides verbal expressions of hope as diverse and rich as the experiences of the people who so generously delivered them. Musically the album sees Scott Monteith aka Deadbeat taking his well-honed sound design abilities and widescreen arrangements to new heights, and exploring a deep interest in traditional analog recording methods to mesmerizing effect. Every sound on the record, whether generated from his tried-and-tested array of software-based tools, or from the enormous collection of guitars, organs, pianos, and percussion instruments found in the Berlin-based studio he now calls home, was recorded via microphone.
DMA’s – For Now CD/LP (BMG)
Raise a glass and prime your ears – not to mention your heart – for Sydney, Australia trio DMA’s gloriously uplifting second album, For Now, a 12-track collection of beautifully honed, passionately emotive rock ‘n’ roll songs. Recorded above their local Sydney pub The Lady Hampshire with Kim Noyes (The Presets) producing, euphoric and uplifting lead single and live favorite “Dawning” is a case in point, while follow-up “In The Air” is a beautiful ballad with sweeping production and daydream-inducing lyrics that shine a light on the band’s much-loved talent for pop songwriting. Then there’s the surging, psych-pop title track which opens the album. “For Now” is the perfect, energizing start to the record, just as the psychedelic-tinged “Emily Whyte” is the blissed-out closer.
Dr. Dog – Critical Equation CD/LP (We Buy Gold)
“The guiding principle on Dr. Dog’s upcoming tenth album, Critical Equation, singer and guitarist Scott McMicken tells NPR, was a blunt one: ‘F*** Dr. Dog.’ ‘I say that with as much love as you can have for anything,’ he says. ‘We’re different people now than we were 10 years ago, and we’ve grown so much as a band, but in certain areas we were stuck … we needed to blow it up and we needed some help doing that.’ This means going dark, without providing the sense of relief you might have in the past. This means subverting people’s expectations for your subverted expectations. “Listening In,” from Critical Equation, seems to say that the only way around paranoia, anxiety — around roadblocks — is to confront your fears and obstacles head on, to listen closely and decide your next move. The song, which opens the album, sneaks and creeps to a bobbing minor-key melody from bassist Toby Leaman, a slow kick-snare beat from drummer Eric Slick, and an anxious guitar chord progression by Frank McElroy. McMicken enters on barely a whisper, singing of hearing voices from pets and voices from the night sky. His nerves seem frayed, but he isn’t quite ready to admit why.” – NPR
Elohim – Elohim CD/LP (BMG Rights Management)
The Los Angeles based synth-pop artist returns with her new self-titled album.
Factor Chandelier – Wisdom Teeth CD/LP+MP3 (Fake Four Inc.)
Known for his timeless track record of underground rap collaborations, Saskatoon-based producer Graham Murawsky aka Factor Chandelier follows-up his critically acclaimed 2016 album Factoria with Wisdom Teeth. The new collection combines live instrumentation, huge horn sections and lush synthesizers, meticulously chopped drums, and captivating features from underground rap’s nest players including Astronautalis, Ceschi, 3.0 (Living Legends), Myka 9 (Freestyle Fellowship), Paranoid Castle, Kay The Aquanaut, D-Sisive, and Taylor Jade.
Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra – Black Sun CD/LP (Far Out Recordings)
100% original, unadulterated disco sophistication, featuring all three original members of pioneering Brazilian jazz-funk trio Azymuth.
Fluxion – Ripple Effect CD/2×12” (Vibrant Music)
Fluxion’s Ripple Effect is the film score for a non-existing motion picture. This nine-track album is the result of experimentation and the combination of the producer’s two most cherished art forms: electronic music and score music.
Foreigner – Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony & Chorus CD/2xLP+DVD/2xLP+CD+DVD (earMUSIC)
Foreigner presents all their hits (including “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Cold As Ice,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Hot Blooded” and “Juke Box Hero”) with transcendent backing from a 58-piece orchestra and 60-piece choir. In May 2017, the band performed two sold-out shows in Lucerne, Switzerland, together with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, conducted by Ernst van Tiel. Foreigner With the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus represents this year-long collaboration between band founder/lead guitarist Mick Jones and Grammy nominated composing/arranging team, Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer. Jones: “I could never have imagined when I set out to create Foreigner 40 years ago, that we’d still be touring around the world and performing the music we love all these years later. Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer’s orchestral arrangements have shown us a new symphonic dimension of our music, which I hope our fans will enjoy.” [Deluxe box set edition also available.]
Forth Wanderers – Forth Wanderers CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
“Longtime Stereogum favorites Forth Wanderers signed to Sub Pop for their upcoming self-titled album. Lead single ‘Not For Me’ suggested the wait for new music since 2016’s Slop EP has been worth it; we named it one of the week’s best songs when it dropped last month. Well, if you liked that one, I’m here to tell you the second single is even better — one of the best indie-rock songs of the year, in fact.” – Stereogum
God Is An Astronaut – Epitaph CD/LP (Napalm)
Ever since forming 16 years ago, Irish quartet God Is An Astronaut has reigned as one of the premier instrumental groups with their fusion of intense rock instrumentation, ethereal and emotional soundscapes, awe-inspiring dynamics, and transfixing melodies. The band’s ninth emotive opus, Epitaph, is a record that both sees a progression in their sound while still remaining true to their ethos that helped define them. The opening title track, “Epitaph”, sets the mood. There is pain and loss at work here, but not pain and loss that are given in to. Sparse piano motifs face energetic rhythms, shimmering guitar coatings, and eruptions of dense fury breathe life into a journey of melancholic longing. There is the release experienced when a troubled existence ends in “Mortal Coil” coupled with the somber foreshadowing that is “Winter Dusk.” The album changes direction slightly with “Seánce Room” and the music on this highway is taking you someplace meaningful and special – someplace where near and far blur and stars weep over tragedies.
Godsmack – When Legends Rise CD/LP (BMG Rights)
First new album in four years. Lead single “Bulletproof” finds Godsmack doubling down on their combination of tightly wound riffs, rhythmic fury, naked emotions and pushed-to-the-edge vocals, all fired up with melodic precision and tight songcraft.
Jean Grae x Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine CD/2xLP (Mello Music Group)
A jagged, acerbic odyssey that brilliantly riffs on this dystopian zeitgeist.
Grouper – Grid Of Points CD/LP (Kranky)
Not long after recording her tenth album Ruins, Liz Harris traveled to Wyoming to work on art and record music. She found herself drawn towards the pairing of skeletal piano phrasing with spare, rich bursts of vocal harmony. A series of stark songs emerged, minimal and vulnerable, woven with emotive silences. Inspired by “the idea that something is missing or cold,” the pieces float and fade like vignettes, implying as much as they reveal. She describes them as “small texts hanging in space,” impressions of mortality, melody, and the unseen—fleeting beauty, interrupted. Grid Of Points stands as a concise and potently poetic addition to the Grouper catalog.
Half Waif – Lavender CD/LP+MP3 (Cascine)
“Nandi Rose Plunkett is a seeker. As frontwoman of synth-pop outfit Half Waif, Plunkett writes songs that travel profoundly inward — asking questions about who we are and how we relate to each other — over beds of electronic instrumentation that expand and recede like ocean tides. There is a darkness that cuts through Half Waif’s songs, hinting at a searching that is often born of loss and struggle. Lavender, the group’s latest album, centers on questions of loneliness and isolation, of the consequences of hard-fought wisdom and self-knowledge.” — NPR
Allan Harris – The Genius Of Eddie Jefferson CD (Resilience Music)
With his gruff, gravelly voice, his penchant for hep cat diction, and the serpentine bebop turns of his vocalese creations, the late Eddie Jefferson might not seem the ideal match for a classic romantic crooner like Allan Harris. The Brooklyn-born singer has previously paid homage to the songs of Billy Strayhorn and Nat King Cole, repertoire that seems like a more ideal fit. Until embarking on the project that became The Genius of Eddie Jefferson, Harris would have agreed wholeheartedly with that assessment. “In my wildest dreams I never imagined I’d tackle Eddie Jefferson’s material,” he admits. “But once I started to sit down with his material and delve into what he was singing, it blew all of my stereotypes and prejudices out the window. How wrong I had been over the years not to give this incredible genius credit.”
Hawthorne Heights – Bad Frequencies CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Dayton, OH natives, Hawthorne Heights are back with their first full-length album since 2013. After 14 years, the band is still delivering monumental tunes and maintaining their DIY mentality.
Homewrecker – Hell Is Here Now CD/LP (Good Fight Music)
The punishing and merciless Hell Is Here Now is the third full-length effort from the Ohio hardcore crew.
Ingested – Level Above Human CD (Unique Leader)
The Manchester, UK based kings unleash their highly anticipated fourth album.
Jóhann Jóhannsson – Englabörn & Variations CD/2xLP (Deutsche Grammophon)
Deutsche Grammophon releases a newly-remastered version of the late composer’s
critically-acclaimed debut album, Englabörn (2002), combined with a complete album of brand new reworks. Variations features reworks by artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Theater of Voices, Alex Somers and Viking Olafsson.
John Paul Keith – Heart Shaped Shadow CD/LP (Last Chance)
With a timeless sound that bridges the best of Memphis and Nashville and a mix that traverses honk-tonk, heartbreakers and bluesy belters, Heart Shaped Shadow is poised to be an Americana/roots rock breakout album of 2018.
King Tubby – Never Run Away/Dub Plate Specials CD/LP (Jamaican Recordings)
This collection brings together sixteen B-sides and dubplates cut by Tubby, largely over rhythms built by Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee.
Kobra And The Lotus – Prevail II CD/LP (Napalm)
Kobra Paige and her motley crew Lotus kept their word and deliver the second part of their magnum opus one year after the release of Prevail I. Prevail II is the proverbial yang to the yin and continues right where Kobra And The Lotus left off in 2017.
Life In Vacuum – All You Can Quit CD/LP (New Damage)
Toronto-based trio Life In Vacuum which Dying Scene describes as “…what would happen if Comadre met At The Drive In met The Mars Volta, their energy is f**king astounding…” release their third full-length album.
Halie Loren – From The Wild Sky CD (Justin Time)
Produced in London and Brooklyn by Troy Miller (Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter, Amy Winehouse), From The Wild Sky is the brand new album from the Oregon based jazz artist.
Maceo Plex – Fabric 98 CD (Fabric)
Maceo Plex provides the 98th installment of the world’s leading house and techno mix series from London’s renowned Fabric nightclub. 80 minutes of deep evolving bass lines and lush soundscapes.
Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer CD (Bad Boy)
New album and follow up to The ArchAndroid (2010) and The Electric Lady (2013). Includes the singles “Make Me Feel” and “Django Jane”. “It was obvious as soon as Janelle Monáe dropped the video for her new song ‘Make Me Feel’ that Prince was a major influence on Dirty Computer. The future soul singer had a close relationship with the late icon, so his having an impact on her music is far from surprising. It looks like Prince’s contributions to Monáe’s new LP were more than inspirational, however, as he reportedly contributed to the production of Dirty Computer.” – Consequence Of Sound
Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco – You’re Driving Me Crazy CD (Sony Legacy)
A new studio collaboration between Van Morrison and legendary Hammond organist Joey DeFrancesco, You’re Driving Me Crazy features interpretations of jazz and blues standards as well as selections from Van Morrison’s songbook.
Willie Nelson – Last Man Standing CD/LP (Sony Legacy)
First album of all Willie Nelson originals in 22 years. Arriving just in time for his 85th birthday, Last Man Standing, comprised entirely of songs newly-penned by Willie (and longtime collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon), is the worthy successor to 2017’s God’s Problem Child, which showcased seven Nelson-Cannon compositions. An album that acknowledges the transience of time while marveling at the joy, beauty and surprise the world has to offer, Last Man Standing finds Willie Nelson rolling at a creative peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.
Nolatet – No Revenge Necessary CD/LP (The Royal Potato Family)
Everybody knows about New Orleans’ rich musical tradition – but an even more deeply rooted tradition in the Crescent City is one of perpetual reinvention. It’s a city that’s been reborn countless times over the course of its multi-cultural history, a legacy vibrantly reflected in its music. With the release of their debut, Dogs, in 2016, Nolatet added their own new twist to the New Orleans tradition. Now the quartet returns with their much-anticipated follow-up, No Revenge Necessary, which takes the music through as many winding turns and colorful pathways as a Second Line parade route. It finds the band getting alternately (and often simultaneously) funky and ferocious, playful and profound, high-spirited and movingly solemn, irreverent, iconoclastic, and tapping into the bloodline that flows through the veins of every New Orleans musician.
Okkervil River – In The Rainbow Rain CD/LP (ATO)
On Okkervil River’s new album, In The Rainbow, bandleader Will Sheff makes a startling left turn from their critically-lauded and inward-looking 2016 album Away, crafting an exuberant declaration of hope. In place of Away’s somber strings and acoustic textures, In The Rainbow Rain is full of dazzling color, spattered with starbursts of electric guitar, big blooms of synth, and a chorus of backing vocals. It’s a buoyant and playful record, but also open and emotionally vulnerable. Sheff says, “I wanted to make a record where a sense of kindness felt encoded into the music.” Akin to a modern secular gospel record, highlights include driving, melodic anthems “Love Somebody” and “Pulled Up The Ribbon,” and “Famous Tracheotomies,” which chronicles notable figures who’ve endured the titular procedure, including Gary Coleman, Dylan Thomas, Ray Davies, and Sheff himself. “In places, the record deals with heavy things like trauma and betrayal and shame, but, actually, it’s supposed to be a good time,” says Sheff. “I hope it’s something fun, that makes people feel happier.” [Limited edition white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Pharaoh Overlord – Zero CD/LP (Hydrahead)
Pharaoh Overlord steer an exceedingly singular course on Zero. Augmented by Antti Boman (Demilich) and Hans Joachim Irmler (Faust), the psychedelic supergroup (consisting of members from Circle) have taken their oeuvre to a whole new psychiatric plateau on their ninth studio album. Libido-driven arithmetics do not apply on these aberrant tracks. Zero provides an offbeat rock and roll implosion, with its sonic realm contorting inwards like a sapient voice muffled by the gentle void of cyberspace. What the album really has to offer more than anything is exposure to genuine ingenuity.
Red Wanting Blue – The Wanting CD/LP (Blue Elan)
Hailed as “Midwestern rock heroes” by American Songwriter, Red Wanting Blue has spent the last 20 years establishing themselves as one of the indie world’s most enduring and self-sufficient acts. Recorded in Nashville, TN, The Wanting draws on many of the group’s traditional strengths-indelible melodies, infectious hooks, explosive performances-even as the making of it pushed them far outside their comfort zone and forced them to take an unprecedented, nearly year-long break from touring.
Riot V – Armor Of Light CD/LP (Nuclear Blast)
New album from the power metal pioneers.
Tom Rush – Voices CD/LP (Appleseed)
Ten relaxed, tenderhearted, amused and sometimes thoughtful songs that perfectly reflect Tom’s wry persona. His compositions are shorn of elaborate metaphors, usually evocative story-songs in everyday settings, and his warm baritone, tanned by experience, humor and melancholy, shines right through the lyrics, warming them from within.
Scream – NMC17 CD (Southern Lord)
Members of Scream went on to form countless other influential acts, including Nirvana, Wool, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Goatsnake and The Suspects. Southern Lord is proud to reissue Scream’s everlasting 1988 album, No More Censorship. The band found the original multi-track tapes and Southern Lord had them prepped for a remix at Grohl’s 606 studio. The new mix sounds vital and intense: the entire packaging, layout and design is completely different from the original, with the inclusion of photos, lyrics, poetry and other personal writings from the band during that era.
Shorelights – Ancient Lights CD/2×12” (Subwax BCN)
Shorelights is a collaborative ambient techno project featuring Rod Modell (Deepchord, Echospace, Waveform Transmission, Transformations), and Walter Wasacz and Christopher McNamara of the Detroit-based audio-visual collective nospectacle. Ancient Lights expands the vision and the range of the Shorelights aesthetic, heading into deeper territories of inner and outer space. It’s ambient for body and spirit, sound designed to make the human heart dance.
Skindred – Big Tings CD/LP (Napalm)
Seventh album from the Welsh ragga rock/metal pioneers.
Speedy Ortiz – Twerp Verse CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Carpark)
“Necessary brattiness” is the motto for Speedy Ortiz’s dauntless new collection of songs, Twerp Verse. The follow-up to 2015’s Foil Deer, the band’s latest indie rock missive is prompted by a tidal wave of voices, no longer silent on the hurt they’ve endured from society’s margins. But like many of these truth-tellers, songwriter, guitarist and singer Sadie Dupuis scales the careful line between what she calls being “outrageous and practical” in order to be heard at all. “You need to employ a self-preservationist sense of humor to speak truth in an increasingly baffling world,” says Dupuis. “I call it a ‘twerp verse’ when a musician guests on a track and says something totally outlandish – like a Lil Wayne verse – but it becomes the most crucial part. This record is our own twerp verse, for those instances when you desperately need to stand up and show your teeth.” The record pulls from the most elastic pop moments in Squeeze’s Argybargy and the seesawing synth-rock of Deerhoof and the Rentals. Tuned smartly to the political opacity of the present, Twerp Verse rings clear as a bell. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Stimulator Jones – Exotic Worlds & Masterful Treasures CD/LP+MP3 (Stones Throw)
The music of Roanoke, VA’s Stimulator Jones never draws on just one place or time, instead dipping into a range of styles and periods from the ’70s and ’80s to the present day. “American music is the result of a variety of humans from diverse cultural backgrounds combining and sharing their expressions and being free of restrictions,” he says, “Any categorical borders or boundaries are illusions. I was raised in a household where soul, rock, folk, country, jazz, blues, funk, reggae, rap, opera and classical music were all played side by side. To me, the appreciation of such a wide mix of sounds is perfectly natural.”
Alex Stolze – Outermost Edge CD/LP (Nonostar)
With his new album, Alex Stolze moves effortlessly between the modern classical and electronic worlds. Performing with his unique, custom-made five-string electro-acoustic violin, Alex works in musical distinctions, merging violin-based-textures with electronic beat and noise production.
Take 6 – Iconic CD (The SoNo Recording Group)
Produced and arranged by the group, Iconic is a tribute to the songs and artists that have inspired the band since their inception. With roots in gospel, doo wop, and sophisticated jazz-influenced singing groups of mid-century America, the a cappella group Take 6 are a throwback to an earlier era of American music, and they were a precursor for a number of black male pop groups of the ’90s, most notably Boyz II Men.
Tankard – Thirst [Reissue/2008] CD/LP (AFM)
Reissue of the 2008 album from the German thrash metal band. [Limited clear red and clear blue vinyl pressings also available.]
Thantifaxath – Void Masquerading As Matter CD/LP (Dark Descent)
Enigmatic Canadian trio Thantifaxath return with their first release since 2014’s highly acclaimed debut full-length Sacred White Noise. Void Masquerading as Matter is a four-track, 35-minute EP which showcases the band’s brand of dissonant and bleak black metal.
Dillyn Troy – Tru Story CD (Twenty Two Music)
After the success of performing from state to state with his original group DiamondZ with Lucas Coly, and WillGotTheJuice. Dillyn has returned to the industry as a solo performer with his debut Tru Story which details his journey facing many difficulties in life while remaining humble.
Twin Shadow – Caer CD/LP (WB)
Twin Shadow, the project of George Lewis Jr., is back with his fourth album Caer (pronounced: ka-air). Falling is a theme that surfaces throughout the record, which is why Lewis called it Caer – the Spanish word for “to fall.” The album serves as a powerful lens through which he explores his own personal sense of falling, as well as what he has observed about a world that feels as if it’s declining. On a larger scale, Caer feels extraordinarily current, given what’s going on culturally and politically right now. “The patriarchy is falling apart,” Lewis says. “Our perceptions of who we are as human beings, because of technology and machines, are falling apart. We’re living at a breaking point, and a lot of the themes on the album are talking about these fault lines.” Lewis refers to such fissures on “Saturdays” (which features Haim). “It’s a love song,” he says. “‘Saturdays’ is the heaven place you go to when you’re in love or even with friends, feeling your youth. But it’s also about my feeling that the world is starting to tear itself apart and maybe we’re falling through the cracks. But when you’re lying in bed next to someone you care about, none of that seems real.”
Keith Urban – Graffiti U CD (Capitol Nashville)
New release from the country music superstar. Includes collaborations with Julia Michaels, Kassi Ashton, Lindsay Ell and Shy Carter.
Various Artists – Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock And Electronic Musik 1972-83 [Reissue/2010] 2xCD/2xLP (Soul Jazz)
Soul Jazz Records’ new 2018 edition of their long out-of-print classic first Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock And Electronic Music 1972-83 is “a near-definitive guide to some of the world’s most extraordinary music” (The Guardian). The album features a stunning line up of groups including Cluster, Can, Faust, Popol Vuh, Neu!, Amon Düül, Harmonia, La Düsseldorf and Tangerine Dream, as well as a host of lesser known groups such as Kollectiv, Ibliss, Between and many more. This new edition is fully remastered and features all the original artwork and tracks. [Vinyl edition spread across two double-disc volumes.]
Various Artists – This Is Trojan Boss Reggae 2xCD (Trojan)
50 of the most popular and sought-after reggae tracks, including many making their digital debut.
Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics – State Of All Things CD/LP+MP3 (Soulphonics LLC)
Sophomore album from Billboard-charting Southern soul artist. Deep, raw funk. Stax-style Southern soul. Uplifting Motown-channeling anthems. Atlanta’s Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics are the heirs to the thrones of the old-school masters.
Voices – Frightened CD/LP (Spinefarm)
Voices was born out of the embers of Akercocke in 2014. Frightened is an altogether different beast from the satanic blackened death that Akercocke is known for, although not particularly more optimistic.
Wolf King – Loyal To The Soil CD/LP (Prosthetic)
Bay Area blackened hardcore outfit, Wolf King, showcase eleven tracks of grim, chaotic, hardcore on their full-length debut album. [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing also available.]
WorldService Project – Serve CD/LP (RareNoise)
Showcasing their signature blend of discipline and chaos, the edgy London-based avant-funk quintet combines throbbing grooves, huge backbeats, grinding fuzz-bass onslaughts and ferocious free blowing on eight potent tracks, with just a dash of Monty Pythonesque’s irreverence thrown into the mix.
Steve Wynn – Kerosene Man [Reissue/1990] CD (Omnivore)
Steve Wynn – Dazzling Display [Reissue/1992] CD (Omnivore)
After nearly a decade fronting The Dream Syndicate, Steve Wynn struck out on his own with a debut solo album. With Wynn originals and help from friends including Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), D.J. Bonebrake (X), Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), and even Mark Walton from The Dream Syndicate, 1990’s Kerosene Man showed a new side to Steve, while retaining everything that attracted music lovers to him in the first place. “Tears Won’t Help” became a radio staple, and “Carolyn” found its way to MTV. Kerosene Man returns nearly two decades later, remastered and expanded. The 11 tracks from the original release are now joined by six live recordings from the rare, promo only vinyl Straight To The Swapmeet: Legendary Authorized Bootleg. His second solo album, Dazzling Display, has also been remastered and expanded with 6 bonus tracks. That album was another star-studded affair, featuring contributions from Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Vicki Peterson (The Bangles), Flo & Eddie, and many more.
Neil Young – Roxy: Tonight’s The Night Live CD/2xLP (Reprise)
Neil Young’s Archives Series has yielded a number of unforgettable treasures, yet none prove superior to the performances, emotions, and setlist present on Roxy: Tonight’s The Night Live. A long-awaited document of the first public appearance of many of the songs that would see release nearly two years later on the Canadian native’s seminal 1975 Tonight’s The Night studio album, Roxy: Tonight’s the Night Live is a holy grail for any Young aficionado or music fan.
Recorded over the span of three nights – from September 20-22, 1973 – Roxy: Tonight’s The Night Live is produced by Young and his late collaborator David Briggs. “We had finished recording Tonight’s The Night and decided to celebrate with a gig at a new club opening on the Sunset Strip, the Roxy,” Young explains. “We really knew the Tonight’s The Night songs after playing them for a month [in the studio]. So, we just played them again, the album, top to bottom, without the added songs, two sets a night, for a few days. We had a great time.”
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Anthrax – Kings Among Scotland DVD (Megaforce)
Captured last February 15 at the band’s sold-out concert at Glasgow’s historic venue Barrowland Ballroom, the two-hour Kings Among Scotland incorporates the band’s entire live show along with interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and other B-roll shot on the band’s tour bus, backstage, in hotels and elsewhere. Also include a “gear rundown” from each of the band members.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Maurizio Abate – Standing Waters LP (Black Sweat)
Abate always condenses multiple ranges of different emotional spectra evoked by profound naturalistic references. The airy openings of the strings, the distant whispers of the harmonica, cascades of phrasings calmer or more torrential can lead into the magnificent climax of nostalgia. The string arrangement for violin and cello by Lucia Gasti introduces in a dimension of idyll, in elegiac passages of touching poetry almost of chamber music but at the same time wet by the pastoral and bucolic moods of autumn landscapes; they are paintings imbued with different flavors and colors that recall the light and the candor of the Venetian tones or the moving paintings full of meaning.
Shlomi Aber – Linear Equation 2xLP (Be As One)
Through carefully crafted EPs on NonPlus, Figure, Be As One, and more recently Odd Even and Drumcode Ltd, Shlomi’s sound has continued to evolve and refine with his Linear Equation album. The album opens with “Interior”, setting the tone for an introspective journey that will take you from the dub-infused techno of “Echo Mission” and “Fractions” to the acidic trip of “Midnight Spooks” and “Mod3333”. Hypnotic techno on “Eimeon” and “Fall Into Wonder” flirts with broken beats on “Installer” and climax with the floating percussions and anthemic pads of “State Of Sorrow”.
David August – DCXXXIX A.C. 2xLP (99CHANTS)
A proudly nonconformist and multifaceted electronic artist, David August went on hiatus for a year. Taking time to reflect and discover unknown paths in both, musically and personally, August connected to his Italian roots, drawing inspiration from its history, rich culture, and diverse landscape. The result is a new language of sound and space that until now has remained hidden inside of him. Ready to come back, August emerges with a new label, 99CHANTS, a finite project limited to 99 releases. Offering an openminded platform for a diverse range of artists, the label aims to contribute to culture and society in a positive way. The first release comes from August himself. Ambient in form, DCXXXIX A.C. marks the first step that will lead to a bigger picture.
Azymuth – Azimüth [Reissue/1975] LP (Far Out)
Having never seen a vinyl release outside of Brazil, Azimüth is considered a milestone in Brazilian music.
Gacha Bakradze – Word Color LP (Lapsus)
A nine-song mini-LP in which Gacha Bakradze gives free rein to his most introspective electronica. Word Color is a cinematic arrangement of captivating melodies, rhythmic experimentation, textured landscapes, and micro-vocal samples.
Beta Blockers – Stiff Prescription LP+MP3 (Static Shock)
Debut album from Beta Blockers. “What do they sound like? They sound like Die Kreuzen f**king about with the Screamers, or maybe Black Flag smashing gurners with Neubauten, or how about Stooges getting punished by the Gallagher brothers, maybe even all of those at the same time.” White vinyl.
Blueboy – The Bank Of England [1998] LP (A Colourful Storm)
First-time vinyl issue of Blueboy’s The Bank Of England, originally released in 1998. The group of Paul Stewart, Keith Girdler, Cath Close, Ian Gardner, and James Neville are Sarah Records royalty alongside The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Wake, and The Orchids, and this is the final recording from arguably the most beautiful, afflicted band of ’90s indie-pop and DIY. One of the true treasures of modern pop music.
Bruxa Maria/Casual Nun – Split Album LP+MP3 (Hominid Sounds)
At the first gig Bruxa Maria and Casual Nun played together in London, an idea was formed to share a record, and two years later the product of that conversation is being released here. Bruxa Maria contribute three tracks to the split LP that pick up where Human Condition (2016) left off; heavy, powerful, and dynamic sounds await within. Casual Nun are following up two successful LPs, 2016’s Super Fancy Skeleton and 2017’s Psychometric Testing By… Their sound has matured and distilled into a pulsing repetition, more focused and rhythmic, and totally hypnotic.
Solomon Burke – Best Of Atlantic Soul 1962-1965 LP (Run Out Groove)
Brand new retrospective of Burke’s critically-acclaimed, recorded material for Atlantic Records from 1962-1965.
Chicago – September 13, 1969 LP (Purple Pyramid)
Recorded live at the Toronto Rock N’ Roll Revival, this outstanding concert performance finds Chicago at the top of their game, ripping through “25 Or 6 To 4,” “I’m A Man” and more.
Milano Constantine – The Way We Were LP (Slice Of Spice/Different Worlds Music Group)
Boom-bap hip-hop with guests from Conway, Big Twins and Fame (M.O.P.).
Marie Davidson – Marie Davidson [2012] LP (Holodeck)
Recently released on cassette – now available on vinyl. Montréal native Marie Davidson’s unique form of synth pop has become an undeniable force in modern music.
Dead Moon – Dead Moon: The Book 2xLP+Book (Mississippi)
Double vinyl LP housed in 12.5 x 12.5-inch cloth and leather-bound hardcover 300-page full color art book weighing around seven pounds. Complete illustrated discography of everything Dead Moon released, including song lyrics, tons of band photos, flyers, and weird ephemeral stuff.
The package also includes the double-LP “best of” Dead Moon – lovingly remastered from the original tapes.
Deuter – Princess Of Dawn/Soundtrack LP (Black Sweat)
Private press library recordings of the early ’70s. Together with Florian Fricke and Peter Michael Hamel, Deuter is certainly mainly responsible for the fruitful encounters between European sensibility and Eastern aesthetics in the German music of the 1970s. Soundtrack was originally produced by Kuckuck in 1973 not for an official and public release, but as a “library” recording to be used for films, TV, and radio.
Disco Inferno – D.I. Go Pop [Reissue/1994] LP (One Little Indian)
“A deft mix of creative sampling, tender, sinewy melodies, and caustic, intelligent lyrics, Disco Inferno were one of the era’s most restlessly creative bands, but drowned in the slipstream of Britpop-fueled nostalgia. At a time when Beatles worship and consensus-forming was usurping UK rock’s post-Acid House surge of creativity, Disco Inferno understood that technology needn’t be the enemy of guitar-rock and that songcraft and progression aren’t oppositional forces.” – Pitchfork
Ben Frost – All That You Love Will Be Eviscerated 12” (Mute)
Limited edition 12” single. The title track comes from The Centre Cannot Hold, recorded over ten days by Steve Albini in Chicago. The music exists not in space, but in a space; it is a document of an event, of a room, and of the composer within it. It is music that is not fully controlled and appears to be anxiously, often violently competing against its creator. It is an attempt to materialize a kind of liquid music.
Gabriel Garzón-Montano – Golden Wings 7” (Stones Throw)
“At this point, Gabriel Garzón Montano is someone you might be more familiar with for who he’s been sampled by – Drake used his song ‘Six Eight’ in If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late highlight ‘Jungle’ – than for his own music. However, ‘Golden Wings’ could go about changing that. It’s more of the sultry neo-soul/R&B that stocked his 2017 debut LP Jardin, and in the right hands it might become absolutely massive.” – Norman Records
GBH – No Survivors LP (Cleopatra)
Limited translucent red vinyl LP repressing of the classic 1982 live recording from British punk band.
Gozu – Equilibrium LP (Metal Blade)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With roots in ’60s psychedelia and classic rock, the fuzzy stoner riffs of the ’70s, the grit of ’90s grunge and the winning dirty rock ‘n’ roll that has in recent years made a resurgence, Boston, MA’s Gozu have been churning out killer records since 2009. [Limited edition pink colored pressing also available.]
Hey Colossus – RRR [Reissue/2011] 2xLP (Riot Season)
RRR was Hey Colossus’s seventh album, originally released back in 2011. The band had a weekend booked in at The Dropout Studio, Camberwell, in the winter of 2010. They were going to do “some recording”. The Friday of the weekend the six-piece played a show at The Windmill in Brixton. The show was a typical (of the time) debauched affair, in the post-show glow the band asked Jon (Notorious Hi-Fi Killers) and Leon (Shit And Shine) to come down to the session the following day: Bring guitars, what can go wrong? By noon they hadn’t shown up so they got called: Where are you? Neither believed the offer to be true, by 1 PM they showed up with guitar and synth in tow. An hour later RRR was being recorded by the now eight-piece band, lights down, volume up. Over 48 hours it was done.
J.I.D. – The Never Story LP (J. Cole/Dreamville)
Dreamville is proud to present the impressive debut project from their latest signee, Atlanta rapper and Spillage Village member J.I.D. Label head, J. Cole produces two of the tracks while additional production comes from Hollywood JB, Childish Major and The Imaginary Kids. The 12- track collection also boasts guest appearances from 6LACK, EarthGang and Mereba. Limited orange colored vinyl pressing.
John’s Children – Desdemona 7” (Munster)
“Marc Bolan was only a member of John’s Children for a few short months, but the experience would have an indelible impact on the future trajectory of his music. The group’s first single for Track would be a Bolan composition, ‘Desdemona’. The next single, ‘Midsummer Night’s Scene’, was scheduled for release in July but was cancelled at the last minute. Bolan departed […] but John’s Children recorded one more of his songs, ‘Mustang Ford’, which they repurposed as ‘Go-Go Girl’.” — Mike Stax, Ugly Things
Kid Koala – Floor Kids: Original Video Game Soundtrack 2xLP+MP3 (Arts & Crafts)
Floor Kids – the breakthrough breakdance battle video game with original music by Kid Koala – is being celebrated for defining a new intersection of hip-hop and gaming culture. Now, the legendary scratch DJ/producer/composer/novelist releases the award-winning game audio, featuring 42 tracks and 71 minutes of all original instrumental hip-hop and breaks music.
Massive Attack – Heligoland [Reissue/2010] 2xLP (Virgin)
Vinyl reissue of the fifth studio album by British trip-hop duo. The record features the singing of Horace Andy plus invited vocalists: Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, and many others.
Sam Morrow – Concrete And Mud LP (Forty Below)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A confident album from the L.A. country singer-songwriter, rooted in Texas twang, southern stomp, and old-school funky-tonk.
My Indigo – My Indigo CD/LP (BMG)
My Indigo is the solo project by Within Temptation singer-songwriter Sharon den Adel. The eponymous album is the beautiful and raw result of two years of retreat, healing and exploration. It was her opportunity to get out of the limelight and come to terms with hardships in her personal life and take a break from the strain of touring the world with Within Temptation.
Cucina Povera – Hilja LP (Night School)
An ethereal, unresolved presence fading into the stereo field, Hilja breathes into life with a haunted synth line and self-sampling vocal hook that instantly creates an enchanted space.
Leroy Powell and Leroy Powell & Messengers – The Overlords Of The Cosmic Revelation LP (Cleopatra)
Vinyl reissue of the 2015 studio album from Shooter Jennings’ guitarist and cast member of A&E’s Crazy Hearts: Nashville. Full blown space truckin’ rock with hints of classic ’60s psychedelic fuzz.
Ras G And The Afrikan Space Program – Stargate Music LP (Leaving)
“The womb is The Stargate of Humanity,” says Ras G, relating to the concept of his latest proper full-length – an astral ode to woman. “Stargate Music is a record that I livicated to the Womb-man…to the Vagina, The Stargate from which beings emanate life on this planet. I gathered these sound pieces and presented it as a reflection of the life cycle of beings on this planet.”
Pau Riba – Taxista! [Reissue/1967] 7” (Munster)
Pau Riba: “I must have been seventeen, eighteen. I was at the peak of adolescence, and I had found out that, besides pop and rock, there was folk music and that, intimately linked to folk, there was this thing called protest song. I had also found out that, even without trying, my manner of expression was prone to surrealism. I don’t think — or remember — the process being as conscious and thoughtful as what I’m describing now, but I guess that, in the back of my mind, my ideas must have taken shape in a similar manner.”
Soundtrack – Bright: The Album 2xLP+MP3 (Atlantic)
Released last December on CD – now available on vinyl. The soundtrack to the 2017 Netflix film features a track listing of original music from a genre-defying collection of artists: A$AP Rocky, alt-J, Bastille, Bebe Rexha, Camila Cabello, DRAM, Future, Grey, Kiiara, Lil Uzi Vert, Logic, Machine Gun Kelly, Marshmello, Meek Mill, Migos, Neil Young, Portugal. The Man, Rag’n’Bone Man, Sam Hunt, Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, Tom Morello, Ty Dolla $ign, X Ambassadors and YG.
Spiders – Killer Machine LP (Spinefarm)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Spiders weave a wild web of reckless and rip-roaring riffs, spellbinding vocals, seductive rhythms, sticky hooks, and punk soul.
Doc Watson – Live At Club 47 LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
Released last February on CD – now available on vinyl. “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
Donovan Woods – Both Ways LP (Fontana North)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Donovan Woods is a singer/songwriter from Sarnia, Canada, now also based in Nashville. As well as being a recording artist he is also a notable songwriter with credits by Billy Currington, Charles Kelley (Lady Antebellum), Tim McGraw and Charlie Worsham.
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