CDs:
Allman Brothers Band – Macon City Auditorium, Macon, GA 2/11/72 2xCD (Allman Brothers Band)
Allman Brothers Band – Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 5/1/73 2xCD (Allman Brothers Band)
Allman Brothers Band’s 2/11/72 set at Macon City Auditorium featured the unified front that was the five-man version of the band as it gamely carried on following the loss of Duane Allman. Their 5/1/73 show at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY marked a much different line-up for the Allman Brothers Band. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell (who would later go on to The Rolling Stones) had joined the group in mid-1972 just before founding bassist Berry Oakley’s untimely death. Jaimoe’s childhood friend Lamar Williams was chosen to replace Berry Oakley six months prior to the Nassau recording.
Black Tape For A Blue Girl – Tenderotics CD (Projekt)
A new re-imagination of BTFABG’s 2009 album 10 Neurotics, featuring fourteen newly reworked tracks and remix contributions from the likes of Android Lust, Steve Roach and Attrition.
Bullet For My Valentine – Temper Temper CD/LP (RCA)
New album from the Welsh metal band – heavy and hypnotic. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds two bonus tracks. Free patch with purchase – while supplies last!
Matt Costa – Matt Costa CD (Brushfire)
Costa’s new album was recorded in Scotland and produced by long-time Belle & Sebastian/Mogwai collaborator Tony Doogan at his Castle of Doom studio. Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson, Chris Geddes and Bobby Kildea are also featured throughout.
Crispy Ambulance – The Plateau Phase [1982] CD (Factory Benelux)
Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the 1982 debut album by Manchester post-punk group Crispy Ambulance. Bonus tracks include extended 12” single “The Presence” and “Concorde Square,” produced by the legendary Martin Hannett, and farewell single “Sexus.”
The Creole Choir Of Cuba – Santiman CD (Real World)
Freedom songs passed down through generations of Haitian emigrants in Cuba are brought to life with vibrant harmonies, lilting melodies and rich, deep Caribbean rhythms.
C2C – Tetra CD (Universal Republic)
New album from the French turntable group (formerly known as Coups2Cross). C2C is not yet a household name for electro/urban music enthusiasts, but the three-letter name is nonetheless legendary in the world of turntablism.
Nataly Dawn – How I Knew Her CD/LP+CD (Nonesuch)
How I Knew Her, comprising 12 autobiographical, introspective songs by Dawn, was produced by her longtime partner Jack Conte. The album was recorded at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, CA with a group of accomplished musicians including Ryan Lerman (Ben Folds, A Fine Frenzy) on electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, and acoustic guitar; David Piltch (k.d. lang, Bill Frisell, Bonnie Raitt) on upright bass; Louis Cole (Louis and Genevieve, Pomplamoose); and Matt Chamberlain (Brad Mehldau, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Jon Brion) on drums.
Day Joy – Got To Sleep, Mess CD/LP (Small Plates)
Beautiful lush dream folk landscapes caressed with crooning and heartfelt melodies and deep poetic lyricism.
The Deer Tracks – The Archer Trilogy Pt. 3 CD/LP (The Control Group)
The Deer Tracks are an electronica duo, David Lehnberg and Elin Lindfors, who call Gavle, Sweden their home. These two versatile multi-instrumentalists and singers, handle every aspect of their music from writing to recording to production. On The Archer Trilogy Pt. 3; the band exhibits their signature sounds, Elin sings breathlessly over an anxious synthesizer melody and suddenly a hard-edged guitar riff snaps the song in two, only to fall away as strings and bass sweeps in for a soaring chorus.
Dva Damas – Nightshade CD (Downwards America)
This L.A. duo mixes the western sounds of Ennio Morricone, the processed mechanics of late-’70s industrialists, and the heavy heartbeat and conceptual production of dub, exploring a territory somewhere between the spacious vistas of a Sergio Leone film and the claustrophobic, menace-filled spaces defined by masters like Stanley Kubrick.
Fear Of Men – Early Fragments CD/LP+MP3 (Kanine)
Early Fragments is a compilation of singles and B-sides set out in reverse chronological order and packaged on marbled vinyl. Born of an art school project, Fear Of Men has turned into one of the most promising bands of 2013. Drawing their inspiration from art and philosophy, they deliberately juxtapose iconic museum imagery and lyrical themes of loneliness and fragmentation with buoyant pop melodies.
The Bryan Ferry Orchestra – The Jazz Age CD/LP (BMG)
The Jazz Age is a step back to the classic jazz era of the 1920s. By re-recording hits with top jazz musicians, Ferry has given a new sound to his back catalog and the album includes hits such as “Don’t Stop The Dance” and “Slave To Love.”
Foals – Holy Fire CD (WB)
Detroit. Willesden. Olympos, on the Greek island of Karpathos. The inside of our skulls. These are the places that make up Foals third album Holy Fire. Foals have stepped up from, as Yannis puts it, “songs for indie clubs” to something much, much bigger. Their third album might not sound like Depeche Mode or Nine Inch Nails, but it has much of the same ambitious spirit and grandiose aesthetic that led to those groups touching the lives of millions.
Frontier Ruckus – Eternity Of Dimming 2xCD/2xLP+MP3 (Quite Scientific)
The 20 song strong Eternity Of Dimming is the closing chapter of Frontier Ruckus’ suburban memory landscape series, and is the embodiment of real things — not of the world that now contains paper-thin computers and full length records clocking in at 25 minutes. This is the gorgeous and inevitable disintegration of all that we once knew ourselves by, blurring into the graininess of gradual dusk.
Jacco Gardner – Cabinet Of Curiosities CD/LP (Trouble In Mind)
Debut album from the Dutch multi-instrumentalist and producer. Cabinet Of Curiosities deftly explores the loss of innocence in a far more accomplished and mature way than you would expect from a 24 year-old, fulfilling the promises made by his first two singles. His melodic palette colors music with a more UK-sensibility, where minor chords and plush harmonies brush up against strings, mellotrons, harpsichords and an occasional squeezebox. The overall feel is more Zombies than Left Banke and more Nirvana and Billy Nicholls than Beach Boys and Van Dyke Parks.
Lisa Germano – No Elephants CD (Badman)
“No Elephants is a gorgeous album, but maybe the most interesting thing about it is the way it bites through the beauty. Unsettling lyrics and ominous noises pierce right through the surface loveliness, leaving it still lovely, but more dangerous than you thought.” — Dusted
Wanda Jackson – The Best Of The Capitol Singles CD (Omnivore)
The world can’t get enough of that rockabilly wild woman these days. These singles Jackson cut for Capitol Records represent her best rockers and torch songs released between 1956 and 1963.
Roger Knox & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts – Stranger In My Land CD/LP (Bloodshot)
Stranger In My Land is a collection of songs originally written by Aborigine artists who were Knox’s peers and predecessors; some tunes previously recorded but difficult to find as well as several unrecorded, handed-down folk songs (which without this recording, could have been lost forever). It is powerful and moving material, heartbreaking and hilarious, downtrodden and uplifting, suffused with longing, alienation, resilience and hope; universal themes arising out of largely unexplored context.
Maston – Shadows CD/LP+MP3 (Trouble In Mind)
Imagine if David Lynch had set Twin Peaks in Malibu instead of the Northwest, and you’ll start to peek inside the world of Maston. Brass, woodwinds, organs and piano mix with haunting melodies and eerie guitar lines that seem to spring forth from the very fingers of Alessandro Alessandroni himself. Maston plays all the instruments himself herein (save the harp, played by Ana Caravelle). This is a man who appreciates the historical musical tradition of the 1960s Los Angeles, and he succeeds without iron or pastiche.
Mazes – Ores & Minerals CD (Fat Cat)
An eccentric, ambitious return that finds the band melding their scuzzy indie rock to primitive electronics.
Pat Metheny – The Orchestrion Project 2xCD (Nonesuch)
The Orchestrion itself is an assemblage of computer-operated acoustic instruments, all controlled by Metheny’s guitar. The full instrumental array includes several pianos, drum kits, marimbas, “guitar-bots,” dozens of percussion instruments and even cabinets of carefully tuned bottles. Through Metheny’s guitar, the instruments are struck, plucked, and otherwise played via the technology of solenoid switches and pneumatics. Metheny worked for months with a brilliant team of scientists and engineers to develop and assemble the Orchestrion.
Joni Mitchell – Studio Albums 1968-1979 10xCD (Rhino)
Contains 10 of Mitchell’s studio albums from 1968 to 1979 and includes her critically and commercially acclaimed albums Blue and Court And Spark.
The Names – Swimming [Reissue/1982] CD/2xLP (Factory Benelux)
Between 1979 and 1982 The Names recorded a string of excellent records for Factory, Factory Benelux and Les Disques du Crepuscule, all helmed by legendary producer Martin Hannett. Recorded at Strawberry Studios in Manchester, Swimming has come to be regarded as a European cold wave classic, combining strong songwriting from Michel Sordinia and poised, tasteful delivery by guitarist Marc Deprez and keyboards player Christophe Den Tandt.
Thenewno2 – Beautiful Creatures OST (Water Tower)
Beautiful Creatures: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the companion to the film directed by Oscar nominee Richard LaGravenese. It also includes two unreleased songs in the film from Thenewno2, including “Run To Me” with Ben Harper and Liela Moss (The Duke Spirit) and “Never Too Late” also featuring Liela Moss.
Pissed Jeans – Honeys CD/LP (Sub Pop)
On Honeys, Pissed Jeans trucks in menacing songs about insecurity. The album is an ode to the misery and shackles of being a responsible adult, and the shame of one’s own narcissism. Refined, but no less intense. Catchiness at Black Flag velocity.
Placebo – Once More With Feeling: Singles 1995-2004 CD (UMe)
While Oasis and Blur may have been grabbing all the headlines at the height of the Britpop craze, Placebo were releasing hit singles and gaining a huge following that continues to this day. Once More With Feeling features the best of their singles from 1996 to 2004, including 13 Top 30 hits.
Psychic Friend – My Rocks Are Dreams CD (Dangerbird)
With My Rocks Are Dreams, the debut album by his new group Psychic Friend, Will Schwartz updates California chamber or piano pop, aided by drummers Patty Schemel and Tripp Beam and instrumentalist/co-producer Bo Boddie. The result is the freshest and most personal chapter in Schwartz’s musical story, one that has ranged from the guitar pop of Imperial Teen to the D.I.Y. dance music of Hey Willpower.
PVT – Homosapien CD/LP+MP3 (Felte/PVT)
The fourth album from PVT is a seamless collage of instruments, electronics, old keyboards, and machines, and sounds like pop music from some distant future where song craft is as important as glitz and glamour.
The Rouge – Blurry CD (The Rouge)
After The Rouge moved to Nashville and started working with producers Adam Landry and Justin Collins (Deer Tick, k.d lang), they began using a very stripped-down approach, eschewing ProTools and other modern recording conveniences for an old-school, lets-do-it-in-one-take recording session. The songs took on a more organic feel, with warmer hues and an acoustic base.
Ulrich Schnauss – A Long Way To Fall CD (Domino)
A Long Way To Fall marks German-born electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss’ first solo album in six years and fourth studio album. It’s a return to the punchier rhythms and pronounced lead work of his landmark 2003 album, A Strangely Isolated Place, while incorporating some new textures and sounds from his earlier sonic explorations. Vinyl version due March 19.
Al Scorch & The Couthry Soul Ensemble – Tired Ghostly Town CD/LP (Orange Twin)
Tired Ghostly Town touches on the agile musicianship of country/bluegrass greats like Flatt & Scruggs & Bill Monroe while also incorporating the storytelling of such great artists as Woody Guthrie & Bob Dylan. Features Laura Carter (Elf Power/Neutral Milk Hotel).
Stone Foxes – Small Fires CD/LP (INgrooves)
The core of any rock band worth their salt is a deep respect for the fundamentals a feel that’s redolent of the scare-the-parents, back country, wild juke joint origins and an abiding drive to carve out one’s own unique territory. The friction between these impulses is where good things happen, and it’s the place San Francisco’s The Stone Foxes have resided since their 2008 debut, young men dedicated to keeping rock engaged and succulently alive.
S.U.N. – Something Unto Nothing CD (Waterfront)
S.U.N. is what you might refer to as a super group, with each member having been a part of several other bands that any music fan would know. Both guitarist Brian Tichy and bassist Michael Devin have played with Whitesnake (Tichy actually played drums), along with many other notables. Drummer Tommy Stewart has played with Godsmack and Fuel, and vocalist Sass Jordan is a multi-platinum selling Canadian artist and Juno Award winner.
Texas Is The Reason – Do You Know Who You Are? The Complete Collection CD (Revelation)
Complete recorded discography featuring the Do You Know Who You Are? LP and the s/t EP, as well as two B-sides never before on CD and two previously unreleased tracks. Vinyl version due March 12.
Various Artists [Ben UFO] – FabricLive 67 CD (Fabric)
Born in London in 1986, Ben UFO is among a handful of specialist DJs who possess the talent, care and breadth of taste required to project their personality solely through other people’s records. Previously having released a well-received mix CD for Rinse FM, Ben used FabricLive 67 as an opportunity to represent Hessle Audio as a label, the nights that they run at Fabric, and the music that they stand for.
Various Artists – Ultra Dance 14 2xCD (Ultra)
This double-disc package includes all the biggest dance/pop hits blowing up the charts now and impacting through 2012 from a collection of gold and platinum artists.
Veronica Falls – Waiting For Something To Happen CD/LP (Slumberland)
The quartet easily throw off the tongue in cheek references to ghostly romances and suicides to elegantly distill the essence of an aimless twenty-something existence — the collective anxieties, tensions and confusion of moving from adolescence into full-fledged adulthood — into a set of immaculately conceived and perfectly wrought pop songs.
The Virginmarys – King Of Conflict CD (Wind-Up)
British band The Virginmarys are a powerhouse trio who’ve spent the past two years tearing through Europe with a sound the BBC hailed as “raw, intoxicating rock and roll in the finest traditions of the genre.” Kerrang! hailed the group with a four-star review, praising them for “channeling the pure rock grooves of Zeppelin; tight, explosive and wired.”
The Wonder Years – Sleeping On Trash: A Collection Of Songs Recorded 2005-2010 CD/LP (No Sleep)
An 18 track epic featuring various rarities, original demos, cover songs and more from the Philadelphia pop punkers.
Vinyl:
Steve Adamyk Band – Third LP+MP3 (Dirtnap)
You could call this aptly titled third LP from Canada’s Steve Adamyk Band aggressive pop/punk, keeping it tight and far from over-produced. The formula is simple — no one is trying to reinvent the wheel. With that said they’re staying clear of cheese and cliches.
Battalion Of Saints – Second Coming [Reissue/1984] LP (Taang!)
Vinyl reissue of the masterful San Diego hardcore/punk/metal band’s 1984 release.
Blurt – Live In Berlin 10”+7” (Factory Benelux)
Vinyl reissue of the debut album by frenetic post-punk outfit Blurt, originally issued in 1981.
D.Y.S. – Brotherhood [Reissue/1983] LP (Taang!)
Brotherhood, the Boston hardcore classic debut album produced by legendary punk producer Lou Giordano, is back in print on vinyl.
Goodly Thousands – Honest b/w I Wish 7” (Shelflife)
Goodly Thousands draw inspiration from many of the beloved UK guitar pop groups of the mid-‘80s.
Green Day – ¡Tre!.LP (Reprise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Third and final installment in their album trilogy ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tre!.
La Big Vic – Cold War LP (Underwater Peoples)
Cold War hones in on the power of a soulful hook without forfeiting the cosmopolitanism that made its predecessor so unique. The arrangements are lusher and crisper than ever. More grounded in hip-hop beats and melodic synth leads than its predecessor.
Led Zeppelin – Celebration Day 3xLP (Atlantic)
Now available on vinyl! On December 10, 2007, Led Zeppelin took the stage at London’s O2
Arena to headline a tribute concert for dear friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.
What followed was a two-hour-plus tour de force of the band’s signature blues-infused rock ’n’ roll
that instantly became part of the legend of Led Zeppelin.
Pantha Du Prince/The Bell Laboratory – Elements Of Light LP (Rough Trade/Matador)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Elements Of Light is a logical continuation of
Pantha Du Prince’s previous work, but the music does in no way constitute a walk down beaten
paths. The result of this unusual project is an original piece, crafted in the intersection between
electronic elements and classical composition.
Quitapenas – Mas Tropical b/w Que Te Pasa 7” (White Iris)
“My first live Quitapenas show was when they opened up for Fool’s Gold at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park in downtown Los Angeles. They jammed backstage for hours before their set, jammed in the parking lot during the post-show load out, and then crashed my friend’s party at midnight – set up in his living room and supplied the music for an all-night dance party! These are exactly the type of musicians I love to have in the White Iris studio…” – Lewis Pesacov
Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup [Reissue/1996] 2xLP (1972)
Stereolab – Dots And Loops [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (1972)
Emperor Tomato Ketchup mines the music of the ’60s & early ’70s, as the band employs Farfisas
and Moogs, melodies from Bacharach and Hardy, soft-rock, bubblegum, dub and hip-hop sounds
to augment their core influences of krautrock, punk, jazz and space rock. Dots And Loops is
Stereolab’s fifth studio album and the first to completely ditch the motorik drone that had been a
trademark since their inception; predominated by lush lounge and jazz textures, it showcases the
band’s most complex set of rhythms yet.
tUnE-yArDs – tUnE-yArDs As Yoko 10” (Chimera Music)
tUnE-yArDs cover Yoko Ono’s “We’re All Water” and remix “Warrior Woman”, with all proceeds to benefit charity. One-sided with etching on flip side.
Uncle Kracker – Midnight Special LP (Sugarhill)
2012 album – now available on vinyl. New album from the singer/songwriter who has made a comfortable transition from rock/hip-hop to roots/country over the course of his career.
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