September Program Titles Released This Week:
Ceremony – In The Spirit World Now CD/LP (Relapse)
In The Spirit World Now sees Cermenoy at the height of their creative output, as the always-evolving Rohnert Park quintet take various influences from post punk and rock to create one of 2019’s most compelling and infectious records. The album is full of layered sonic fury and anxiety, each song building up to a point and then descending through a militant, catchy hook. “Turn Away The Bad Thing” sets the tone, guitars climbing around the driving bass line, as Ross Farrar sings, “It’s getting harder for me to be alright/Eyes adjusting to the dark/The momentum of all these last resorts built inside of me.” Songs like “Presaging The End” and “Calming Water” feel romantic and distressed, while “Further I Was” and “Years Of Love” are driven by Farrar’s rebellious energy as he repeats the hook with a deadpan realness. “Years of love can be forgotten/In the hatred of a day.” But the true stand-out is the title track, “In The Spirit World Now”, a haunting pop gem with a sticky chorus and lead synth riff that plants itself in your head as Farrar chants the track’s name over and over like a mantra. Overall, In the Spirit World Now marks a milestone for this Northern California punk outfit who have stayed true to themselves as songwriters throughout massive sonic growth and a storied career. [Limited indie store exclusive colored vinyl pressing available.]
Crobot – Motherbrain CD/LP (Mascot Label Group)
Like food of the gods, rock ‘n’ roll nourishes the soul. Offering holy communion, Crobot proudly personify a trinity of “meat, strings, and emotion” within their music and during the raucous and raging gigs they remain known for. Striking a delicate balance between hard-charging riffs, ass-shaking funk, and out-of-this-world reflective stage attire, the Pennsylvania quartet satisfy starvation for sonic sustenance on their fourth full-length, Motherbrain. Blending funk, blues, metal and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll into a howling vortex of Brandon Yeagley’s vocals and Chris Bishop’s guitar, Crobot has crafted an album of endless good time rock hooks that sound as inspired today as they would have on AOR radio in 1974. Or as Crobot describes it: “Dirty. Groove. Rock.” [Two colored vinyl pressings are available: regular dark purple and limited marble pink and purple.]
Noah Gunderson – Lover CD/2xLP (Cooking Vinyl)
Acclaimed Seattle singer-songwriter Noah Gundersen releases his extraordinary and highly personal new album, Lover. Recorded over two years at Seattle’s The Crumb studio with longtime collaborator, producer/engineer Andy D. Park (Death Cab For Cutie, K. Flay, Pedro The Lion), Lover sees Gundersen continuing to veer towards an increasingly intimate and intense creative approach, wedding intricate beats and warm natural instrumentation to a series of stark, almost dreamlike, new songs. Rich with patience and grace, songs like “Older” and “Out Of Time” reveal a remarkably gifted songwriter-artist during confrontation with life’s toughest truths, somehow emerging with even greater self-awareness and understanding. “This record is deeply personal,” says Gundersen. “It’s about love, it’s about failure, it’s about drugs, it’s about sex, it’s about age, it’s about regret, it’s about itself (very meta, I know) and it’s about finding peace. I think it’s the most I’ve ever put of myself into something. It’s been cathartic. I’ve cried a lot.”
Arlo Guthrie – Alice’s Restaurant: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (50th Anniversary Edition) CD/2xLP (Omnivore)
Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant LP became a counter-culture touchstone when it was released in 1967. Two years later, director Arthur Penn followed up his 1967 classic film, Bonnie And Clyde, by bringing Alice to the big screen, starring none other than Arlo himself. Penn received an Oscar nomination for his direction. The soundtrack from the film featured a new recording of “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” as well other songs and music cues from the movie. That soundtrack was expanded on CD in 1998 with even more material. For the 50th anniversary of the movie, Alice’s Restaurant: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (50th Anniversary Edition) contains all of the material from the 1969 and 1998 editions (while retaining the 1969 sequence), but also adds a previously unissued, live, 24-minute version of “Alice’s Restaurant: Multi-Color Rainbow Roach Affair” from 1968. Packaging contains photos, images from the film, and liner notes by writer, Lee Zimmerman (author of Americana Music: Voices, Visionaries & Pioneers Of An Honest Sound), and features a new interview with Arlo.
Joyero – Release The Dogs CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Andy Stack has rightfully earned a reputation as a generous collaborator and musical polymath, both as half of the beloved duo Wye Oak and on the road and in the studio with Lambchop, Helado Negro, and EL VY. As a multi-instrumentalist and producer, Andy has an uncanny ability to construct the precise musical architecture to frame and support unique and compelling voices. With his debut solo record as Joyero, Andy puts his own voice front and center. Written and recorded primarily in Marfa, TX, during a transitional moment between records, cities, and relationships, Release The Dogs occupies its own liminal space between the natural and the man-made, between the structures we create to keep ourselves safe and the terrifying enormity that exists beyond them. Throughout the record, organic and electronic elements are seamlessly woven together into a single fabric that can be both intimate and explosive. As with Wye Oak’s best records, Release The Dogs finds its own unique voice by holding opposing ideas and aesthetics in tension with each other, and inviting the listener to find their own answer.
Lala Lala – Sleepyhead CD/LP (Hardly Art)
Originally released in October 2016 as a long-since sold-out self-released cassette, the debut full-length from celebrated Chicago band Lala Lala, Sleepyhead is available on CD vinyl for the first time. Recorded in a basement over the course of five days during a typically-inhospitable Midwestern winter, Sleepyhead is an auspicious – if, at the time, criminally overlooked – debut effort from the young songwriter Lillie West and her then-lineup of supporting players (Abby Black on drums and Karl Bernasconi on bass). Unlike 2018’s critically-acclaimed The Lamb, Sleepyhead is a rawer, more punked-up album with fewer lyrical metaphors obfuscating it’s intimate, direct emotionality. Committed to tape in an urgent outburst of creative energy, the self-produced record eschews overdubs and takes unfussy aim at the listener’s ears, heart, and the lump in their throat. Album standout “F**k With Your Friends” was a breakthrough moment for West – it was the first song she ever wrote, one that tumbled out of her fully-formed, setting her on the path that’s led to her recent successes. [Limited cloud colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Shannon Lay – August CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
There is an entire sub-genre of poetry devoted to rivers and their persistent, meditative flow. Emily Dickinson’s “My River Runs To Thee” compares them to the cycle of life, while Alfred Tennyson’s “The Brook” deems them eternal and Kathleen Raine’s “The River” muses on the dream-state they evoke. For transcendent folk-pop artist Shannon Lay, the river is all the above: It’s the metaphor driving her latest album, the exquisitely uplifting August – which doubles as an aural baptism renewing her purpose for making music. August was recorded with her longtime friend, musician Ty Segall at his home studio on the East Side. The album’s opener, the mantra-like “Death Up Close” is also its centerpiece. What starts as an Eastern-influenced song morphs into an avant-garde sound bath. The title track is a mystical, folk-psych expression that builds into a gentle gallop. “Nowhere”, a wistful kindred spirit to “August”, evokes Nick Drake. The simple, soprano narrative “Shuffling Stoned”, for instance, serves no grander purpose than to capture a snapshot of the time Lay walked into a cool record store in New York City and watched the guy working there buy some weed off his dealer, as “this tiny, little spider crawled up on the records – it was such a cool, weird moment.” And “Sea Came To Shore”, in which Lay’s guitar finds its foil in a slightly askew violin, immediately teleports you, alone, to a breezy shore. “The ocean,” adds Lay, “is a good reminder of how small we are.”
Robert Randolph & The Family Band – Brighter Days CD/LP (Mascot Label Group)
Robert Randolph grew up playing sacred steel music – basically gospel played on pedal steel guitar – in the House Of God church in Orange, NJ, and proceeded to take his joyous, gospel-infused music out to the clubs and into the world. When it was time to record Brighter Days, after releasing the Grammy-nominated album Got Soul, Robert chose to work with producer Dave Cobb. Cobb is best-known for his work with new country stars like Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile, and Jason Isbell. Looking beyond anyone’s expectations or his own preconceptions helped Randolph circle back to where it all began for him: church music. Brighter Days is a full dive back to Randolph’s gospel roots, mixing it up with blues, soul, funk, and the unmistaken sound of the pedal steel guitar. Highly recommended for fans of furious slide guitarists, like Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks and the almighty Duane Allman. [Limited purple colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Redd Kross – Beyond The Door CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Redd Kross invite you to explore Beyond The Door, an album inspired by the band’s “total commitment to having the best f**king time we can have while we’re all still here” (what they like to call “the Party”). It’s a rock and roll record and a celebration of everything brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald love, from cultures both high and low. Musically, it’s guitars, bass, and drums topped with a generous portion of sweet vocal melodies often delivered with an ambiguous edge. Steven said this is the group’s most collaborative album in ages, maybe ever: “Jeff is still very much the driving force behind the compositions, but with more help from me than ever. Jeff and I haven’t shared this much of the writing and singing since Born Innocent in 1981.” This record is also the first time longtime live members Jason Shapiro and Dale Crover (Melvins, OFF!) have played on a Redd Kross album. The first single is the title track, and is a typically super-catchy, glam-punk riff-rocker.
Seratones – Power CD/LP (New West)
Seratones aptly named sophomore release Power is described by poet and author Hannif Abdurraquib as “a glorious, swelling album, [a] sonic monument, and precise lyrical tapestry.” AJ Haynes bends her gloriously malleable voice seamlessly around the temples of rock, and soul, and funk. All of them, unfurling in waves of keys, staccato percussion and wailing curves of guitar. Based in Shreveport, Louisiana, Haynes and founding members, drummer Jesse Gabriel and bassist Adam Davis, form the kind of laser-focused rhythm section that you only get from bandmates who’ve been playing together since they were teenagers. New members Tyran Coker (keys) and Travis Stewart (guitar) bring a fresh dynamic to the band with interstellar soundscapes and entrancing melodies, all while maintaining the emotional edge and intensity from their acclaimed proto-punk debut record Get Gone. Power exemplifies a true strength in vulnerability, a kaleidoscopic view into Haynes passions, hopes, and worries: from her love of poetry to her advocacy for reproductive justice and racial equity. Hard-learned lessons from lovers and intimate friends. The struggles to adapt and overcome. Power is as much a statement as it is a question, a semiotic exploration of sound and soul.
Tanya Tucker – While I’m Livin’ CD/LP (Fantasy)
Produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings, While I’m Livin’ marks Tanya Tucker’s first release of all new material since 2002’s Tanya. While I’m Livin’ is largely comprised of songs written by Carlile, Tim and Phil Hanseroth and Tucker. “It’s a musical biography of sorts,” said Carlile, “about Tanya’s real life and the places she’s seen, and it’s narrated by the greatest country and western singer this side of Johnny Cash.” “The Day My Heart Goes Still” is a reflection of Tucker’s enduring love for her late father, while “Mustang Ridge” recalls her hardscrabble childhood in central Texas. While I’m Livin’ also contains some well-chosen covers including “High Ridin’ Heroes,” a 1987 song Shooter selected that featured David Lynn Jones and his dad, Waylon Jennings, “The House That Built Me”, a track made famous by Miranda Lambert and “Hard Luck”, the 1979 chestnut by country-rockers, Josefus. In many ways, the album’s cornerstone is “Bring My Flowers Now”, the only tune that was co-written by Tucker, Carlile and the twins. The album closer, told through Carlile’s solo piano and Tucker’s plaintive vocal, speaks to the importance of showing appreciation to those we love, before it’s too late.
CDs + Vinyl:
The 40 Acre Mule – Goodnight & Good Luck CD/LP (State Fair)
Rhythm & blues outfit The 40 Acre Mule is a powerhouse of vintage revival with a reputation for seamlessly blurring the lines between country, soul and rock audiences with songwriting that borders between blues drenched heartbreak and an old school riot in the streets.
Aureole – Alunar [Reissue/2014] CD/LP (Prophecy)
Aureole is Markov Soroka’s abstract and ambient exploration of the universe around him. Being also the mastermind behind Tchornobog and Drown, these three projects all take place within the same narrative world, with Aureole exploring the depths of space. Fuzzed out and distinctly atmospheric, 2014’s Alunar is Aureole’s debut album and drips with Cascadian black metal sounds yet emerges from a completely different locale. [Limited silver colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Judy Blank – Morning Sun CD/LP (Munich)
If blue-eyed songstress Judy Blank would tell you she grew up in some one-horse-town in Louisiana, you’d probably believe her. But nothing could be further from the truth. Hailing from The Netherlands, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter is not afraid to fuse musical genres, influenced by several pilgrimages across the southern United States. On her LP Morning Sun, a ‘70s inspired coming-of-age confessional that she recorded with Chris Taylor (Rival Sons, Dylan LeBlanc, The Wood Brothers), she effortlessly mixes traditional folk and groovy Americana.
Cornell Campbell – I Man A The Stal-A-Watt 2xCD/LP (VP)
A roots reggae journey driven by the production skills of Bunny Lee.
David Wax Museum – Line Of Light CD/LP+MP3 (Nine Mile)
The duo of David Wax and Suz Slezak, better known as David Wax Museum, return for their first full-length album in four years with Line Of Light. The record was produced by Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket, who takes the band’s folk-pop underpinnings and outfits them with serious sonic force.
Dawn Brothers – Stain’ Out Late [Reissue/2017] CD/LP (V2 Benelux)
Dawn Brothers – Classic [Reissue/2018] CD/LP (V2 Benelux)
Who said roots can only ever be retro? Although it may seem as if The Dawn Brothers arrived from the past through a time machine, these players are focused firmly on the present – and the future. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
The Dead Daisies – Locked And Loaded: The Covers Album CD/LP (Steamhammer)
“All out of love for rock: That’s really what this collection of covers has brought together. These are some of our favorite songs, some wonderful classics – or just songs that made us all smile, sweat and scream at a show, band or audience.”
DJ Snake – Carte Blanche CD (Geffen)
Carte Blanche is the second studio album by French record producer DJ Snake. The album includes the singles “Magenta Riddim”, “Taki Taki” (featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B), “Try Me” (with Plastic Toy), “SouthSide” (with Eptic), “Enzo” (with Sheck Wes featuring Offset, 21 Savage and Gucci Mane) and “Loco Contigo” (with J Balvin featuring Tyga), as well as other collaborations with Zhu, Anitta, Gashi, Majid Jordan, Bryson Tiller, Zomboy, Tchami, Malaa, and Mercer.
Dalton Domino – Songs From The Exile CD (Lightning Rod)
Texas singer and songwriter Dalton Domino has emerged from a tumultuous time with a new set of tunes.
The Doors – London Fog 1966 CD (Elektra)
Originally only available via a limited-edition box set and on vinyl for Record Store Day 2019. London Fog 1966 contains a previously unreleased live performance at the London Fog in Los Angeles in May 1966. It was recorded by spectator Nettie Pena before the band released their highly successful debut album on January 4, 1967. Considered the earliest known live recording of The Doors, London Fog 1966 includes versions of eventual album tracks and covers of blues standards.
Drown – Unsleep [Reissue/2014] CD/LP (Prophecy)
Drown is, alongside Aureole and Tchornobog, a centerpiece in the work of Ukrainian born mastermind Markov Soroka. The singular album Unsleep is a five-part doom metal masterpiece which was originally released in 2014 under the moniker of Slow. The record follows the story of a man who commits suicide by drowning, and the journey of his body and spirit forever spiraling into the depths of the ocean. Melodic and infinitely creepy, it set the stage for Soroka’s later releases of Aureole and Tchornobog, all of which explore the same narrative world. [Limited blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Freedom Call – M.E.T.A.L. CD/2xLP+CD (Steamhammer)
Led by vocalist/songwriter, Chris Bay, heavy metal/power metal flagship act Freedom Call celebrate their 20th anniversary with their tenth album, M.E.T.A.L. Since their 1999 debut Stairway To Fairyland, the group from southern Germany has been synonymous with anthemic melodic metal, driving grooves and atmospheric messages as well as optimistic lyrics.
Ghost Funk Orchestra – A Song For Paul CD/LP (Colemine)
Dirty, soulful production, verbed and fuzzed out guitars, mysterious vocals that feel like a lost score to a Quentin Tarantino film. The brainchild of one-man producer/musician/arranger Seth Applebaum, GFO is forging new territory and blurring the line between soul and psychedelic. [Limited gold colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Vince Gill – Okie CD/LP (MCA Nashville)
With the album’s title and varied themes, Gill helps Merle Haggard and other inspirations reclaim Okie, a term used in the past to disparage Oklahoma natives living on the West Coast during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression years. For Gill, a proud Oklahoman, it now applies to common folks with specific fears and triumphs that are broadly relatable to listeners well beyond the Sooner State.
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Chernobyl (Music From The Original TV Series) CD (Deutsche Grammophone)
Original soundtrack to the HBO miniseries based on an untold true story of Chernobyl. Writer, creator and executive producer Craig Mazin began researching the Chernobyl disaster in 2014, using a wide variety of materials, including several books, government reports from inside and outside of the Soviet Union and first-person accounts. The haunting score is by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Icelandic composer, cello player, and singer, who has composed several film scores for films.
Jason Hawk Harris – Love & The Dark CD/LP (Bloodshot)
Jason Hawk Harris hit rock bottom during the writing and recording of his debut full-length Love & the Dark. In the last few years, the Houston-born-and-raised, Los Angeles-based musician endured life-altering hardships-illness, death, familial strife, and addiction-yet from these trials, a luxuriant and confident vision of art country emerged. With an unlikely background, Harris is a singer/guitarist/songwriter who walks his own line, one that touches on Lyle Lovett’s lyrical frankness, John Moreland’s punk cerebralism and Judee Sill’s mysticism and orchestral sensibility.
Ty Herndon – Got It Covered CD (BFD)
A compilation album featuring reimagined hits and covers of some of Herndon’s most favorite songs.
Hickoids – All The World’s A Dressing Room: Live in L.A. 08.24.2018 CD/LP (Saustex Media)
First-ever live album by Texas corn-punk kings; 75 minutes of pure raunch ‘n’ roll from the band’s back catalog and a couple of previously unrecorded audience favorites captured at Cafe NELA last year. More an official bootleg than a tightly conceived money grab it was downloaded from an unauthorized file-sharing site. In that spirit it is the entire show with only dead air edited out to accommodate the CD and LP formats.
Hide – Hell Is Here CD/LP (Dais)
2018’s Castration Anxiety, the debut full-length from Chicago’s Hide, presented an adept evolution in the journey of interdisciplinary artists Heather Gabel and Seth Sher. Trading in concrete and traditional songwriting and compositional structure for more challenging, stripped back, and cathartic arrangement, the duo ventured to reconfigure industrial music for a contemporary age. Hell Is Here, Hide’s 2019 sophomore full-length, sees this evolution progress even further. Using their previously established blueprint, Gabel and Sher poke and prod at the perception of musical context, and remind the listener that feelings of anxiety, pain, and discomfort are equally as important as those of resolution. Perhaps the strongest tool utilized here is the material’s dichotomy between the abrasive and the sterile. Beneath the crushing noisy exterior, sparks the familiar human voice.
Jazzmeia Horn – Love And Liberation CD (Concord)
Jazzmeia’s 2017 album A Social Call, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination in 2018, was a bold, political statement – a call for change. Love And Liberation is a call to action, starting with the self. Since her first release, she’s been busy on the road, honing her vocal skills to a finely tuned level, writing songs of personal relevance and social message, and perfecting a fearless approach to improvisation. [Vinyl edition due September 6.]
Hugar – Varda CD/LP (Masterworks)
Icelandic duo Hugar (Bergur Thorisson and Petur Josson) envisioned such a trek on their second full-length album, they appropriately titled Varda. A tectonic shift between classical orchestration, alternative ambience, and post-rock spirit, the 14 tracks string together an epic expedition awash in stark piano chords, gusts of lyrical brass, high-powered strings, off-kilter guitar, and brushstrokes of electronic swells.
Iris – Six CD/LP (Dependent)
On their sixth full-length album, the North American duo consisting of Reagan jones (vocals), and Andrew Sega (keyboards, production) prove once more that they are able to slowly evolve, yet still rely on their natural strengths – without repeating themselves or boring their audiences. This starts with the amazing vocals of Reagan Jones that always impress with their natural yet almost ethereal ability to convey all the emotion embedded within Iris’ music. His talents work on both worlds, on record and live – a satellite broadcasting a delicate message from far away. It is this kind of quality that almost makes Iris shoegazers in a synthpop community. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Jay Som – Anak Ko Orange CD/Cassette (Polyvinyl)
Translating to “my child” in English, Anak Ko, features sweeping, shoegazey guitars (“Superbike”), delicate string & pedal steel arrangements (“Nighttime Drive”, “Get Well”), and incredible production that showcases songwriter, producer, and creative force Melina Duterte’s evolving skills in the studio (“Anak Ko”). Anak Ko presents an exciting glimpse into Duterte’s creative process and solidifies her undeniable progression as one of 2019’s strongest and gifted songwriters. [Vinyl edition due August 30.]
Knocked Loose – A Different Shade Of Blue CD/LP (Pure Noise)
New release from the Kentucky-based hardcore band.
Legendary Pink Dots – Angel In The Detail CD/LP (Metropolis)
The veteran Anglo-Dutch experimental apocalyptic folk outfit returns with a new album.
Machine Gun Kelly – Hotel Diablo CD (Interscope)
The new album from the Cleveland rapper includes features from Trippie Redd, Blink 182’s Travis Barker, Yungblud, Naomi Wild, Lil Skies, Madison Love and Phem. [Vinyl edition due October 4.]
Massive Attack – Mezzanine [Reissue/1999] 2xCD (Virgin)
Digitally remastered and expanded 20th anniversary reissue of Mezzanine featuring the original album plus an album of previously unreleased dub remixes by the Mad Professor. Widely hailed as their masterpiece and voted #15 in Q Magazine’s 100 Greatest British Albums Ever (2000), Mezzanine saw the band move away from the ‘rip-hop sound they had helped define to embrace rock and electronica.
Meth. – Mother Of Red Light CD/LP (Prosthetic)
The mind-altering outpourings of Chicago, IL experimental noise collective Meth. first blossomed as the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Seb Alvarez. Mother Of Red Light is the anticipated full-length continuance of the unnerving narrative introduced in I Love You. Each song is a direct portal into the psyche of the plebeian-turned-Davidian leader who now wrestles with his tortured spirit and incestuous infatuation with The Choir Of Red Light’s evil matriarch. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Midland – Let It Roll CD/LP (Big Machine)
A retro-inspired brand of classic country in the same vein of juke joint-friendly honky tonk music.
Miss Velvet & The Blue Wolf featuring George Clinton – Feed The Wolf CD (Isotopia)
Miss Velvet & The Blue Wolf is a dynamic 8-piece New York-based band that brings a vital and original dimension to the contemporary indie rock/funk scene. Fronted by the genre defying powerhouse lead vocalist Miss Velvet and featuring a rhythm and brass section comprised of some of America’s leading studio musicians, the band has been garnering rave reviews for their highly accomplished musicianship and on-stage flair. [Vinyl edition due September 6.]
Modern Nature – How To Live CD/LP (Bella Union)
Modern Nature is a project from Jack Cooper (Ultimate Painting, Mazes) and Will Young (BEAK, Moon Gangs). On their debut recording, How To Live, urban and rural intertwine. Throughout this continuous work, where no song ever really seems to end, there’s a feeling of constant forward motion. It’s as if the band is laying down train tracks and riding them simultaneously. [Limited translucent aqua blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Gene Moore – Tunnel Vision CD (Motown)
Stellar Award-nominated recording artist Gene Moore makes a bold return with his album Tunnel Vision. This nine-track project seamlessly blends influences from soul legend Stevie Wonder to gospel legend Marvin Winans, and delivers powerful, feel-good sounds that make a declaration of faith acting as a beacon of light in times of darkness.
Nemesia – White Flag CD (Napalm)
The Dutch female fronted band famous for combining rock with electronica stir up a dark and strangely addictive brew on their fifth album, White Flag.
Becky Ninkovic – Woe CD (Paper Bag)
Becky Ninkovic’s band You Say Party! We Say Die! made critically acclaimed records, toured the world, and were long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize before the tragic loss of their drummer, Devon Clifford, in 2010. From this devastating moment, Becky found herself in the deep end of mental illness, heavily triggered by trauma and grief. Wordless melodies and beats gestated through these years, though they were never intended for public release. Finally, Becky began to develop a sense of resiliency, hope for her artistic process-and for life itself-through the process of recording her debut solo album, Woe.
Off With Their Heads – Be Good CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Released last week on vinyl – now available on CD. Off With Their Heads are back with their new album, Be Good. The band has been relatively quiet over the last two years, largely because frontman Ryan Young was tending to an ill family member who ultimately passed away in 2018. While all Off With Their Heads’ previous work shares a common thread of being rooted in Young’s fatalistic view of the world, Be Good at least allows a tiny glimmer of hope to peek through.
Lee Scratch Perry & Mr. Green – Open Door CD (Tuff Gong)
brand new collaboration between Jamaican legend Lee Scratch Perry and New Jersey producer Mr. Green. The two artists have created a unique chemistry, delivering 18 tracks of music that Mr. Green has put together using original stems from Lee Scratch Perry. Mixed with his own unique style, Green managed to merge literally 20 different genres of music together on one record, bringing some memorable guests to the project such as HR of Bad Brains, Sheek Louch (The Lox), Daniel Son and an intro from Eric “Scratch” Andre.
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys – Toil, Tears & Trouble CD/LP (Rounder)
After winning The International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2018 Emerging Artist of the year Award, the Po’ Ramblin Boys release their third album, Toil, Tears & Trouble.
Esther Rose – You Made It This Far CD/LP+MP3 (Father/Daughter)
Sophomore album from the New Orleans songwriter. Inspired by the honest writing and timeless melodies of American greats such as Hank Williams Sr. And Joni Mitchell, Esther Rose’s songwriting has been called the happiest saddest music.
The Rubinoos – From Home CD/LP (Yep Roc)
Power pop legends The Rubinoos are known for turning bubblegum into gold with ridiculously catchy tunes like “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”, their cover of Tommy James & The Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now”, and the theme song to Revenge Of The Nerds. They were the backing band when Jonathan Richman recorded the alternate version of “Roadrunner” and they opened 56 shows for Elvis Costello on his Armed Forces tour. But what’s most impressive is that The Rubinoos are approaching their 50th anniversary and penning some of their finest songs to date. [Limited yellow and black splatter colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Raphael Saadiq – Jimmy Lee CD/2xLP (Sony)
Jimmy Lee is a deeply personal, musically ambitious work inspired by Saadiq’s brother’s struggles with addiction that explores the razor’s edge people walk as they pursue pleasure that leads to pain – a brilliantly incisive and empathetic work. The album takes the listener from Saadiq’s native Oakland to Rikers Island as he traces the everyday struggles of addiction and incarceration, taking in both the thrills and pitfalls he witnessed throughout his brother’s life. Comprising narcotic funk, steely gospel affirmations, and quaking protest soul, Jimmy Lee is a resonant examination of modern life, in all its exuberance, destruction and consequence.
Sacred Reich – Awakening CD/LP (Metal Blade)
23 years after dropping their last full-length, Sacred Reich return in force with the towering Awakening, effortlessly demonstrating that they remain a formidable force in metal. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
The Scientists – Not For Sale: Live 1978/79 CD/LP (Grown Up Wrong!)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. The Scientists’ pre-Swampland days in Perth are brilliantly encapsulated on this collection of mostly unreleased live material from ’78 and ’79. These were the days when former Victims and future Hoodoo Gurus drummer James Baker led the band alongside guitarist/singer Kim Salmon, and when their poster read “rock ‘n’ roll in the tradition of The Groovies and The Heartbreakers.”
Silver Snakes – Death And The Moon CD/LP (Evil Ink)
Inside a nondescript industrial building, just outside of Los Angeles’ Chinatown neighborhood, Silver Snakes’ singer, songwriter and producer, Alex Estrada, sits at the helm of his Pale Moon Audio Studios, putting the finishing touches on the bands fourth proper full length, Death And The Moon. The new album follows 2017’s Scathe EP which saw the band leaning in a more electronic direction and featuring covers of acts who’d helped shape their current direction, such as Garbage and Ministry. Death And The Moon expands upon that path, finding the band as much in the industrial space, as in the dark rock roots of previous full length, [Smoked colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Leslie Stevens – Sinner CD/LP (Lyricland)
Awarded Best Country Singer in the L.A. Weekly’s 2018 Best Of, you can feel Leslie Stevens voice reach the nails in the doorframe. She spins a high craft, with songs about donkeys and drinking and driving in heaven and just when you thought she might light your living room on fire with a giggle, she’ll blast you through the skylight into outer space. The L.A. Times calls her one of the city’s best and Chris Ziegler (L.A. Record) explains that Leslie has the kind of voice you’ll realize you’ve been waiting to hear since forever. She’s sung on records by Jim James, Father John Misty, Jonathan Wilson, and live with Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, and John Fogerty, as well as other musicians not beginning with the letter J. Brave lyrically and vulnerable in spirit: Leslie never shies away from laying down what s what, if only to leave a mark on the most golden part of your soul.
Taylor Swift – Lover CD (Republic)
The seventh studio album by the singer-songwriter includes the singles “Me!” (featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco) and “You Need to Calm Down” plus “The Archer”.
Tchornobog – Tchornobog [Reissue/2017] CD/2xLP (Prophecy)
Tchornobog is Ukrainian for black god’, a Slavic mythological figure often associated with darkness, death and evil. The project comes from the mind of Markov Soroka, the Ukrainian born Portland transplant who is also the creator of Aureole and Drown. Tchornobog reflects its namesake’s unholy origins but does not worship him, instead exploring the chaos of our Earth, but focused on the atmospheric self-meditations of Soroka himself through death and black metal narratives. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Tropical F**k Storm – Briaindrops CD/LP (Joyful Noise)
“I’ve invented fake news as a genre of music”, Gareth Liddiard observes with a laugh. Heʼs talking about “Maria 63”, the closing track on Tropical F**k Stormʼs sophomore LP Braindrops. The song takes aim at the once-marginalized alt-right conspiracy theories that now seem to be a driving force behind the rise of fascism in global politics. It may be the most stupid song ever written, Liddiard jokes. Heʼs wrong, “Maria 63” is emblematic of Tropical F**k Stormʼs keen ability to mine the extreme edge of pop culture’s periphery for potent musical and conceptual spice.
Alexander Tucker – The Guild Of The Asbestos Weaver CD/LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
On Guild Of The Asbestos Weaver, London’s Alexander Tucker (Grumbling Fur, Imbogodom) lets his love of sci-fi and cosmic horror loose. Tucker is a composer focused on synthesis and with this, his creative manipulation shines. Known for his cello and six-string guitar playing, he manipulates these source sounds by layering looping and processing with a Roland 404 creating something that bears little resemblance to its source.
Tanya Tucker – While I’m Livin’ CD/LP (Fantasy)
First album in 17 years from the legendary country icon. While I’m Livin’ was produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings.
Lina Tullgren – Free Cell CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Lina Tullgren’s Free Cell is masterfully arranged with strings, brass and sculpted synths throughout.
Tyler, The Creator – Igor CD/Cassette (Sony)
Produced entirely by Tyler, Igor features guest appearances from Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Solange, Kanye West, and Jerrod Carmichael, along with backing vocals from Santigold, Jessy Wilson, La Roux, CeeLo Green, Charlie Wilson, Slowthai, and Pharrell, among others. [Vinyl edition due September 27.]
Various Artists – Back Against The Wall CD/LP (Cleopatra)
Reissue of the monumental tribute to Roger Waters’ art-rock opera, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, performed by the biggest stars of progressive rock music. Features performances by members of King Crimson (Adrian Belew, Tony Levin), ELP (Keith Emerson), The Doors (Robby Krieger), Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson), Yes (Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Alan White, Tony Kaye) Deep Purple (Glenn Hughes, Steve Morse), Styx (Tommy Shaw) & Toto (Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro), PLUS award-winning actor Malcolm McDowell and many more. [Limited silver colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Charlie Wooton Project – Blue Basso CD (Wild Heart)
Blue Basso by The Charlie Wooton Project establishes the New Orleans bassist as a master of his craft. Fans of Royal Southern Brotherhood and the New Orleans Suspects already recognize Wooton as a world class instrumentalist, but Blue Basso shows that Wooton has much more to offer.
Zion80 – The Book Beri’ah Vol. 8: Hod CD (Tzadik)
The brainchild of guitarist Jon Madof, Zion80 is a dynamic 10-piece ensemble that explores the Jewish tradition through the lenses of afro-beat, funk, rock and jazz. Hod is a dynamic highpoint to the Beri’ah series – Masada meets Afrobeat.
John Zorn – Encomia CD (Tzadik)
Featuring the fabulous virtuoso pianist Stephen Gosling, Encomia is a collection of tributes to many of Zorn’s musical heroes. The first Book Of Preludes consists of three impressionistic pieces in the tradition of Debussy and Ravel that pay tribute to the legendary ballet dancer Nijinsky, the author Novalis who is credited with inventing the prose poem, and the Hellenistic 3rd century poet Nossis.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
311 – Voyager LP (BMG Rights Management)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. 311 is back with their 13th studio album Voyager, which features 13 new songs, four of which were recorded with Grammy-nominated producer John Feldmann (Blink-182, Panic! At the Disco) and nine of which were recorded with longtime collaborator/live engineer Scotch Ralston, who produced 311 albums Transistor, Soundsystem and Stereolithic. As with every 311 album, Voyager features 311’s unique hybrid sound of rock, reggae, pop, hip-hop and funk that the band have come to blend so seamlessly.
The Allman Brothers Band – Where It All Begins [Reissue/1994] LP (Friday Music)
Two limited 180gm colored vinyl pressings available: black and blue and gold. After breaking up in 1981, the Allman Brothers’ four surviving original members – Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe – reunited for a 20th anniversary tour in 1989. 1994’s Where It All Begins marked the band’s fourth post-reunion release and second to last studio effort to date. It would also serve as the band’s last with Betts.
The Art Institute Of Chicago – We Are On The Edge (A 50th Anniversary Celebration) 4xLP (Erased Tapes)
We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration is not only a commemoration of a half-century of magical music making, but also a loving tribute to the band’s three original members who have passed: Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, and most recently, Joseph Jarman. The group converged in Ann Arbor in October 16-20, 2018 for five days of rehearsals and recording. The sheer breadth of the ensemble’s collective expression is staggering, ranging from Mitchell’s art songs and through-composed pieces, Moye’s percussion workouts, and, of course, collective improvisation.
Andrew Bird – My Finest Work Yet 2xLP (Loma Vista)
Limited double gold colored vinyl pressing including four exclusive string quartet bonus tracks and a hardcover photo + lyric book. My Finest Work Yet finds Andrew Bird grappling with themes of current day dichotomies and how to identify a moral compass amidst such divisive times. “I’m interested in the idea that our enemies are what make us whole – there’s an intimacy one shares with their opponent when locked in such a struggle. If we were to just walk away would our enemies miss us? How did we get to this point and how can we, through awareness of it, maybe pull ourselves out of this death spiral,” says Bird. He tackles these topics with a more direct songwriting approach than his previous releases, taking greater risks both lyrically and in recording. Bird and the band taped all the songs live without headphones or separation attempting to create a sound where all instruments bled into each other’s microphones. Of the new music, Bird reflects, “There is a certain optimism to this record…it’s pretty up musically though it doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the lyrics.”
The Black Tones – Cobain & Cornbread LP (Reptar)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Cobain & Cornbread is the debut full-length record from Seattle twin duo, Eva and Cedric Walker. Together, they form the band, The Black Tones. From “womb-mates” to studio mates, the Walker twins have produced an eclectic mix of songs bound together by their unbreakable familial love and appreciation for energetic, resonant sounds. Recorded by the legendary Grunge engineer, Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden), Cobain & Cornbread’s songs range from the guttural “Ghetto Spaceship”, to the heartbreaking “The Key of Black (They Want us Dead)”, to the narrative “Mama! There’s a Spider In My Room”, to the traditional “Rivers of Jordan”, and schizophrenic “Welcome Mr. Pink”. Each showcases Eva’s powerful, at times-lilting vocals as well as her versatility as a guitar, banjo and harmonica player.
Boogie Down Productions – Criminal Minded [Reissue/1986] 2xLP (Traffic Ent.)
When listing the greatest albums in hip-hop history, one title never seems to stray from the upper echelons, no matter how many years pass: Boogie Down Productions’ undisputed classic from 1986, Criminal Minded. Released amidst a battle between BDP and MC Shan that would redefine the New York rap landscape, the album, which features the iconic songs “South Bronx”, “Criminal Minded” and “The Bridge Is Over”, captures the excitement, urgency and raw power that embodies hip-hop culture as we know it, with KRS-One’s aggressive yet intelligent lyricism backed by Scott La Rock’s hard-hitting, stripped-down beats. Criminal Minded simultaneously set the template for gangsta rap and conscious hip-hop. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Bullet For My Valentine – Gravity b/w Radioactive 10” (Spinefarm)
Two tracks: a never before heard remix of “Gravity” by Gunship and their Imagine Dragons cover of “Radioactive”.
Eric Burdon & The Animals – The Twain Shall Meet [Reissue/1968] LP (Sundazed)
Burdon and the group returned in April 1968 with The Twain Shall Meet, continuing their psychedelic journey. “Monterey” chronicled the previous summer’s seminal festival while “Sky Pilot” reflected the growing anti-war sentiment as the Vietnam Conflict escalated. Steeped in a dense, layered sound full of electric guitars, sitars, strings, brass and washes of phased vocals, the album served notice that Burdon and company were totally in-step with America’s youth movement. Pressed on gold colored vinyl.
Nicholas Carras – Date Bait [OST] LP (Modern Harmonic)
Nicholas Carras – High School Caesar [OST] LP (Modern Harmonic)
A jazz & rock rumble; Nicholas Carras’ powerhouse score for angst-filled flick Date Bait is a tapestry of sounds from fast, jazzy pieces, dark and suspenseful moments, breezy traveling music, and the optimistic ending. With bongo jazz stylings and reprehensible ruffians, the true starring role in High School Caesar is the dark and tense compositions and wild bongo-driven percussion of his score.
Chase Atlantic – Phases LP (BMG)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Chase Atlantic’s new album Phrases is fueled by their obsession with creation, songwriting, and beat-making and refusing to conform to any one sound as their spotlight only continues to grow.
Alex Chilton – It Isn’t Always That Easy 7” (Be With)
Two of Alex Chilton’s staggeringly beautiful demos, on vinyl for the first time. “It Isn’t Always That Easy” and “If You Would Marry Me” both sound like templates for some of Alex’s best-known Big Star numbers. These demos come from the transitional recording sessions he made with Terry Manning at the Ardent Studio in 1969 but were missing from the vinyl version of the wonderful Free Again compilation that was released in 2012.
de la Noche – Blue Days, Black Nights LP (Get Loud)
Ivan Howard has been releasing records for years now as the principle songwriter of The Rosebuds (Merge), Gayngs (Jagjaguwar) and his soul alter ego Howard Ivans (Spacebomb). He’s back with some long-time musical cohorts and production duo Rogan & Weeks to form the group de la Noche. Traversing slivers of light caught in a quiet storm of synths and some ripping sax melodies from Matt Douglas of the Mountain Goats. The nostalgic dance of depression and hope will always be a human struggle. de la Noche protects one of their own with these stunning tracks and holds up a toast to what has been described as essentially the sweat from John Oates’ mustache-pure awesomeness.
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein – Native Son [OST] LP (Milan)
Native Son is an American drama film, directed by Rashid Johnson, based upon the famous novel of the same name by Richard Wright. Adapted for the 21st Century, the film tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, an African American youth living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago’s South Side. The score was composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, best known for their score to Stranger Things and as members of the electronic band S U R V I V E.
Electric Funeral – The Wild Performance 2xLP (Sommor)
Ear-splitting hard-rock/proto-doom-metal from the early ’70s, . First released in 1991 as a limited LP, this is an expanded edition with newly remastered sound and four bonus tracks taken from reels and tapes recently found in the band’s archives.
Enslaved – RIITIIR [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Back On Black)
Vinyl reissue of the twelfth studio album from the Norwegian extreme metal band.
Cheikh Tidiane Fall/Bobby Few/Jo Maka – Diom Futa [Reissue/1979] LP (Kosmos)
Parisian Afro Jazz session from 1979, originally on the cult Free Lance label. Senegalese master percussionist Cheikh Tidiane Fall meets Bobby Few (Steve Lacy, Albert Ayler) and Jo Maka (Bonga) in a Strata East style. Support from le Mellotron and Gilles Peterson.
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook [Reissue/1956] 2xLP (Verve)
Nothing less than one of the great vocal jazz albums, this Grammy-winning 1956 collection showcased a large orchestra arranged by Buddy Bregman and famous versions of “Miss Otis Regrets”, “I Get A Kick Out Of You”, “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, “Night And And Day”, “Love For Sale”, and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”.
Frozen Crown – Crowned In Frost LP (Scarlet)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Crowned In Frost sees Frozen Crown amplifying the classic heavy and power metal components of its sound and toning down the symphonic influences, resulting in an aggressive and monolithic album with tasteful riffs and guitar leads of mastermind and songwriter Federico Mondelli.
Future Islands – In Evening Air [Reissue/2010] LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
Limited blue vinyl colored vinyl pressing of the synthpop band’s second album and first for Thrill Jockey. They are currently signed to 4AD.
Dizzy Gillespie – Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac [Reissue/1967] LP (Impulse!)
A perennially popular 1967 live album from the bebop trumpet pioneer, an effervescent, electrifying quintet recording also featuring his great friend and fellow bebop legend James Moody on various saxophones and flute.
Emmylou Harris – Roses In The Snow [Reissue/1980] LP (WB)
Emmylou Harris – Evangeline [Reissue/1981] LP (WB)
Emmylou Harris – Cimarron [Reissue/1981] LP (WB)
Emmylou Harris – Last Date [Reissue/1982] LP (WB)
Emmylou Harris – White Shoes [Reissue/1983] LP (WB)
Five early ‘80s albums from the country/folk singer/songwriter are back in-print on vinyl.
Roy Haynes Quartet – Out Of The Afternoon [Reissue/1962] LP (Impulse!)
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in May 1962, this classic quartet album features Roland Kirk on saxophones and several famous Haynes drum solos, most notably on his own composition “Snap Crackle”.
Infinity Shred – Forever, A Fast Life LP (E1)
Forever, A Fast Life showcases the elements that have drawn the instrumental outfit such high praise over the past several years, combining dreamy, layered, post-rock soundscapes and retro analogue synth textures with a modern progressive metal backbone.
Insane Clown Posse – Fearless Fred Fury 12” (Psychopathic)
Fifteenth studio album by hip-hop duo and their fourth Joker Card in the second Deck of the Dark Carnival Saga.
Waylon Jennings – Greatest Hits [Reissue/1979] LP+MP3 (RCA)
Waylon Jennings’ Greatest Hits documents his outlaw country years for RCA and includes several of his most well-known signature songs, the most recent of which had been the title track of I’ve Always Been Crazy, released the year before. Not counting the Mackintosh & T.J. soundtrack album and the White Mansions concept album, Greatest Hits became Jennings’ eighth consecutive release to reach #1 on the charts.
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser – Wanted! The Outlaws [Reisue/1976] LP+MP3 (RCA)
Released to capitalize on the new outlaw country movement, Wanted! The Outlaws earned its place in music history by becoming the first country album to be platinum-certified, reaching sales of one million.
Elton John & Taron Egerton – Rocketman – Music From The Motion Picture 2xLP (Interscope)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Directed by Dexter Fletcher (Bohemian Rhapsody) and produced by Matthew Vaughn (KickAss) Rocketman is a musical fantasy charting Elton John’s breakthrough years and stars Taron Egerton (Kingsman) as Elton John, Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) as songwriter Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden (Game Of Thrones) as manager John Reid plus Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) as Elton’s mother Sheila Eileen.
Kansas – Monolith [Reissue/1979] LP (Friday Music)
Limited 180gm blue and gold colored vinyl pressing in gatefold jacket. Includes poster. Monolith is the sixth studio album by progressive rock band Kansas, released in 1979. This was Kansas’ third straight studio album to hit the Billboard Top 10. The title refers to the meaning of the Siouan word Kansa, the Indian tribe for which the state of Kansas was named.
Lightning Bolt – Wonderful Rainbow [Reissue/2003] LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
Legendary band Lightning Bolt’s Wonderful Rainbow is one of the most quintessential albums to come from the underground in the last 20 years. Included in lists like Pitchfork’s “200 top albums of the 2000s” and the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Lightning Bolt’s seminal record solidified their place as pillars of the underground community.
Alan Lorber Orchestra – The Lotus Palace [Reissue/1967] LP (Modern Harmonic)
Gold colored vinyl pressing. Orchestrated by legendary producer Alan Lorber, this talented cast of musicians weave their way through Eastern-influenced and psychedelic interpretations of pop gems and some way-out-there originals, on an album touted as the first in the fusion of raga and jazz. Brimming with the sounds of sitar, tabla, and Gamelan percussion, this eccentric blend of Eastern and Western music includes four originally unissued bonus tracks.
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Soul Rebel [Reissue/1970] LP (Cleopatra)
Faithful replication of the original 1970 Upsetter pressing of this classic album, produced by the legendary Lee Scratch Perry. Limited edition green vinyl pressing in a reverse board jacket.
McCoy Tyner Trio – Inception [Reissue/1962] LP (Impulse!)
The piano pioneer’s 1962 debut solo album was a groundbreaking trio date featuring Art Davis on bass and his John Coltrane Quartet bandmate Elvin Jones on drums. Concentrating mainly on original compositions, Inception also featured inspired takes on “Speak Low” and “There Is No Greater Love”.
Mingus – The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady [Reissue/1963] LP (Impulse!)
Mingus – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus [Reissue/1963] LP (Impulse!)
There’s nothing else in jazz quite like The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady, recorded, astonishingly, in just one session on 20th January 1963. With liner notes written by Mingus’s psychotherapist, the album uses ornate ensemble orchestration to produce a sound somewhere between jazz and folk. Mingus’s second Impulse! album released in 1963, Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus was another large-ensemble masterpiece featuring two of the bassist/bandleader’s greatest compositions – “Celia” and “Better Get Hit In Yo’ Soul” – plus a famous version of Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo”.
My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade Is Dead! [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (Reprise)
The Black Parade Is Dead! Is MCR’s final performance as their onstage characters, the Black Parade. The Black Parade centers around a dying character called The Patient, who reflects on events in his life while he is confronted by Death in the form of his fondest memory, that of his father bringing him to see a marching band. This is based on frontman Gerard Way’s belief that death comes to a person in the form of their fondest memory.
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger [Ressue/1975] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissue of 18th studio album by outlaw country singer. After the wide success of his recordings with Atlantic Records, coupled with the negotiating skills of his manager, Neil Reshen, Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, a label that gave him total creative control over his works. A concept album, Red Headed Stranger is about a fugitive on the run from the law after killing his wife and her lover.
Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind [Reissue/1982] LP (Friday Music)
Limited 180gm translucent red vinyl pressing of the 27th studio album by the legendary country singer.
David Newman – Heathers – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Reissue/1989] LP (Varèse Sarabande)
30th anniversary release of the cult classic film comes pressed on very neon green vinyl and housed in a full color inner sleeve covered in original photos and new notes.
Dolly Parton – Jolene [Reissue/1974] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissue of the 13th solo studio album by Dolly Parton. The title track tells the tale of a housewife confronting a beautiful seductress who she believes is having an affair with her husband. It became Parton’s second solo number-one country single; it also was a moderate pop hit for her.
Purple Pilgrims – Perfumed Earth LP (Flying Nun)
New Zealand dreamscape artists Purple Pilgrims release their long-awaited, sophomore record. Perfumed Earth features support input from Gary War (bass and synth from various motel rooms in the USA), Jimmy Mac (lush live drums), Joshua Kennedy (additional guitar jangle and fuzz), veteran improvisational experimentalist Jeff Henderson (saxophone on “Delphiniums In Harmony / Two Worlds Away”) and a special guest appearance from six-string expressionist Roy Montgomery on “Ruinous Splendour”.
Anthony Reynolds – A Painter’s Life LP (Rocket Girl)
Anthony Reynolds’ orchestral second solo album. Featuring Robert Dean (Japan), Carl Bevan (60ft Dolls), Richard Glover, (Dub War), Fiona Brice, (Midlake, John Grant), Gary Le Strange, Kirk Lake and a cast of many others. Features a specially commissioned cover illustration by legendary 2000AD artist David Roach.
Sonny Rollins – On Impulse! LP (Impulse!)
The tenor sax master attacks five standards and in the process produces some of his most intense performances on record. Taped at the Van Gelder Studio in one marathon session on July 8th, 1965, this electrifying Impulse! Records debut also featured Ray Bryant on piano and Mickey Roker on drums.
The Sea And Cake – The Biz [Reissue/1995] LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
Limited white colored vinyl reissue of the Sea And Cake’s third record in just over one calendar year (1994-1995). The Biz continued to showcase the band’s ability to mesh together their unusual blend of pop, soul and jazz into one seamless output.
Sheer Mag – A Distant Call LP (Wilsuns RC)
Philadelphia’s Sheer Mag return with their sophomore album A Distant Call – an instant classic charged with hard rock, punk rock, and yacht rock influences-they forgot the disco this time around to embrace more of a mid-80s heavy metal sound, which results in Saxon meets Fleetwood Mac protest and love songs.
Archie Shepp – Fire Music [Reissue/1965] LP (Impulse!)
The tenor firebrand and avant-garde hero’s second Impulse! Album, released in 1965, was an ensemble masterpiece featuring an original tune dedicated to Malcolm X (“Malcom, Malcolm Semper Malcolm”) plus unique takes on Antonio Carlos Jobim (“The Girl From Ipanema”) and Duke Ellington (“Prelude To A Kiss”).
Skyphone – Hildur [Reissue/2014] LP (Lost Tribe Sound)
Skyphone – Marsh Drones [Reissue/2014] LP (Lost Tribe Sound)
Electronic trio Skyphone is masterful at combining a multitude of instruments and genres that could easily go wrong in lesser hands, where rogue electronic rhythms, half-drunken synths, and slow burning jazz and dub fueled progressions give way to velvet-coated layers of guitar. It’s the kind of music where anything seems possible.
SNFU – …And Yet, Another Pair Of Lost Suspenders LP (Artoffact)
Canadian hardcore punk legends SNFU recorded this unparalleled concert shortly after their reformation and during their ascendancy to prominence in the early ‘90s, which culminated in their signing to Epitaph. Uncounted world tours, including support slots for Green Day, Bad Religion, Korn, and Tool followed, but arguably nothing beats the raw energy of the band in the early days.
Soundtrack – It’s A Revolution Mother LP+DVD (Modern Harmonic)
Freaked-out hippies & surly bikers – what happens when someone who sounds like your local newscaster frantically rifling through a slang dictionary narrates a documentary depicting hippie protest, life inside a motorcycle gang, and myriad more sights from the turbulent ’60s scene? Tons of campy biker craziness, anti-establishment antics, and one stellar one-liner after the other, all set to a hard rock musical score full of driving guitars. This is the first ever reissue of this platter of stoner strangeness. Pressed on cannabis green vinyl in a replica of the original record jacket. Includes a DVD of the entire freaked out film.
Caroline Spence – Spades & Roses [Reissue/2017] LP (Rounder)
Born into an exceptionally music-loving family, Charlottesville, VA native Caroline Spence started writing her own songs at age six and playing out in her hometown at 15. In 2015 she made her full-length debut with Somehow, a self-released effort featuring appearances by Anderson East, Erin Rae, and Andrew Combs. With her debut winning the attention of Miranda Lambert, Spence went on to deliver the deft and delicate Spades And Roses in 2017 and gain acclaim from outlets like NPR who noted that the album “occupies that Nashville sound equally at home in honky-tonks and bedrooms” and American Songwriter who hailed it as “an album of stunning beauty and lasting impact.”
Sunn O))) – Life Metal 2xLP (Southern Lord)
Standard black double vinyl LP pressing. “Playing minimal metal at maximum volume, sound wave masseurs Sunn O))) are now entering their 21st year as the ne plus ultra of suffocating drone. Still searching for the most accurate representation of their famed, body-vibrating live performances, their eighth album, Life Metal, was recorded to tape with famed engineer Steve Albini. The result is an enveloping LP that trades their doomier inclinations for something a little more triumphant. Hildur Guðnadóttir of Icelandic art-rock staples Múm lends breathy coo, penetrating cello drone, and the esoteric halldorophone; composer Anthony Pateras accompanies the band on a Stuttgart pipe organ; and Silkworm co-founder Tim Midyett provides support on bass and baritone guitar. At the same time as they made Life Metal, the band and Albini recorded a parallel album: ‘a second more meditative LP titled Pyroclasts … which will be revealed in the autumn 2019.’” – Stereogum
Sunny War – Shell Of A Girl LP (ORG Music)
Released on the heels of her critically acclaimed 2018 album, With The Sun, Sunny War’s new album finds her a little bit older, a little bit more mature, but looking back on the rocky roads of her past with a surprising amount of nostalgia. Sunny moves freely between musical genres, anchored by her virtuosic, self-taught fingerstyle guitar work.
Toots And The Maytals – Pressure Drop – The Golden Tracks [Reissue/2011] LP (Purple Pyramid)
Legendary reggae master Frank Toots Hibbert recorded fresh versions of his best loved songs and covers. Features the all-time classics “Pressure Drop”, “54-46 Was My Number”, “Funky Kingston” and covers of John Denver and Stevie Wonder plus bonus ska, dub and instrumental versions.
ZZ Top – El Loco [Reissue/1981] LP (WB)
Vinyl LP repressing of the seventh studio album by ZZ Top, originally released in 1981. The title means “The Crazy On”e in Spanish. The band’s guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons has said that the recording of this album was the first time the three members of the band were isolated from one another in the studio, rather than recording simultaneously in the same room.
Cassettes:
Tyler, The Creator – Igor (Sony)
Produced entirely by Tyler, Igor features guest appearances from Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Solange, Kanye West, and Jerrod Carmichael, along with backing vocals from Santigold, Jessy Wilson, La Roux, CeeLo Green, Charlie Wilson, Slowthai, and Pharrell, among others.
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