July Program Titles Released This Week:
Abbath – Outstrider CD/LP/Cassette (Season Of Mist)
Abbath, the solo project of former Immortal frontman Abbath (real name Olve Eikemo), releases its second album, Outstrider. Consisting of eight tracks, Outstrider promises to raise the bar even higher in contemporary Norwegian black metal. Abbath’s debut album came off with huge appreciation following his departure from Immortal, with excruciatingly ravaging riffs, much of which can be related to black ‘n’ roll, a black metal sub-genre that includes hard rock elements. Outstrider contains a cover of Bathory’s “Pace Till Death”.
Turilli / Lione Rhapsody – Zero Gravity (Rebirth and Evolution) CD (Nuclear Blast)
About ten years ago, the band Rhapsody Of Fire split into two. Guitarist and songwriter Luca Turilli went on to form Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody while vocalist Fabio Lione carried on under the name Rhapsody Of Fire moniker. Now, both previous members – as well as former Rhapsody members Dominique Leurquin, Patrice Guers, and Alex Holzwarth – have come together to form Turilli / Lione Rhapsody. Their new album Zero Gravity (Rebirth And Evolution) is a collection of ten incredible tracks that maintain the band’s theatrical and symphonic metal roots while bringing the genre to new plateaus.
CDs + Vinyl:
1782 – 1782 CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sound)
On their debut album, 1782 deal with macabre themes: from spells to ruthless torture, from the pleasure of sex to the most perfidious revenge. Seven tracks of pure doom metal sound with mega-riff stoner doom intervals, accompanied by a rhythm section of powerful drums, intense bass, and super-fuzzy guitars. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
3teeth – Metawar CD/LP (Century Media)
Third album from the industrial death band.
75 Dollar Bill – I Was Real CD (Thin Wrist)
75 Dollar Bill is one of the essential groups at the heart of NYC’s underground. Driven by the telepathic union of Che Chen’s microtonal electric guitar and Rick Brown’s odd metered percussion their long-form sound is unmistakable and compelling. On their third album I Was Real, the group expands in bold new directions, embracing brilliant fuller orchestrations, joyous rockers and entrancing new textures.
The Acacia Strain – Wormwood [Reissue/2010] CD/LP (Prosthetic)
Massachusetts’ long running chuggernauts, The Acacia Strain, truly embody anger and it has never been more evident than it was on their 2010 full-length album.
Oren Ambarchi – Simian Angel CD/LP (Editions Mego)
After a trilogy of spectacular explorations of relentlessly driving rhythms – Sagittarian Domain (2012), Quixotism (2014), and Hubris (2016) – Simian Angel finds Oren Ambarchi renewing his focus on his singular approach to the electric guitar, returning in part to the spacious canvases of classic releases like Grapes From The Estate (2004) while also following his muse down previously unexplored byways.
Brand Of Sacrifice – Godhand CD (Unique Leader)
The Interstice, Toronto, ON/Manhattan, NY based brutal death/hardcore group has established themselves as one of the most uniquely thrilling and compositionally adventurous extreme metal acts in the scene today.
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore [Reissue/1992] CD/LP (Southern Lord)
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – Koksofen [Reissue/1993] CD/2xLP (Southern Lord)
Southern Lord presents the next Caspar Brotzmann Massaker reissues in the ongoing series, continuing with Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore and Koksofen. Caspar Brötzmann is one of the most unique and innovative guitarists of the last 40 years. With his Berlin-based trio Massaker, he evolved a whole new autonomous approach to writing rock songs, starting from sounds that were widely considered ornamental if not detrimental sonic waste, such as shrieking feedback and droning overtones. This plethora of sounds was arranged into tracks to sound like breaking concrete, grinding metal, or bursting glass, at once monumental and threatening, impenetrable, and hermetic, yet also archaically tender and loving.
Jackson Browne – Running On Empty [Reissue/1977] CD (Elektra)
Digitally remastered edition of Jackson Browne’s classic album comprised of 10 live performances recorded in 1977 between August 17th and September 18th by Browne and his band.
BTS – Lights/Boy With Luv CDEP (UMe)
BTS – Lights/Boy With Luv [Music Videos] CDEP+DVD (UMe)
BTS – Lights/Boy With Luv [Making Of Videos] CDEP+DVD (UMe)
This EP features the brand-new Japanese-original song “Lights” as well as Japanese versions of “Boy With Luv” and “IDOL”.
Bullet – Live CD/2xLP (Steamhammer)
Bullet combines classic and contemporary heavy metal arrangements with the true values of their genre and a passion that is hard to find elsewhere.
Joey Cape – Let Me Know When You Give Up CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
Joey Cape (Bad Astronaut, Lagwagon, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes) doesn’t want to call it an epiphany, but in recent years he’s come to a realization about life – specifically, the best way to live it. It’s a simple philosophy: even though we’re living in very troubled times, it’s important to not get bogged down by it all. That doesn’t mean you have to disengage with everything, but one’s survival and, by proxy, happiness both depend on being able to let go of everything a little bit. As he incorporated that mindset into his day-to-day life, it also got absorbed into the music he was making and serves as the crux of Cape’s new solo album, Let Me Know When You Give Up.
CFM – Soundtrack To An Empty Room CD (In The Red)
Charles Moothart is releasing his third album under the moniker CFM. Moothart is a frequent contributor on many of Ty Segall’s solo ventures but also as a co-conspirator in bands like the blazing jam unit Fuzz, and a fantastic monster of a group called GØGGS, which throws Segall and Moothart in with Chris Shaw of Ex-Cult. Something that’s immediately apparent on Soundtrack To An Empty Room is that it’s a harder record than its predecessors. [Vinyl edition due July 19.]
Deep Purple – Live In Newcastle 2001 CD/LP (earMUSIC)
15 songs Deep Purple performed live at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on March 14, 2001.
DJ Vadim & Jman – Likkle More CD/LP (X-Ray Productions)
Working under the title J&V, the duo of DJ Vadim and Jman has been in the studio to focus their combined talents into one solid project, which acts as the perfect showcase for their respective skills on the mic and behind the boards.
Duel – Valley Of Shadows CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Texas occult rockers Duel conjure up another heavy dose of tripped-out old school doom metal with their third full-length, Valley Of Shadows.
Elephant9 – Psychedelic Backfire I CD/2xLP+CD (Rune Grammophon)
Elephant9 with Reine Fiske – Psychedelic Backfire II CD/2xLP+CD (Rune Grammophon)
Elephant9 was already established as a vital live favorite on the Norwegian scene – due to several energetic and enthusiastically received concerts – before their highly acclaimed debut album Dodovoodoo was released in May 2008. 11 years later, and after another four studio albums, it was about time to properly document this live force in the form of not only one album, but two double albums.
Flipp – The Best Of The Worst Of Flipp CD/LP (EMP)
The bastard sons of Minnesota are back with a collection of their greatest hits (and misses), spanning their extensive three album catalog. [Limited edition vinyl picture disc also available.]
Robert Forster – Evangelist [Reissue/2008] CD/LP (Tapete)
A remastered reissue of Robert Forster’s album The Evangelist, originally released in 2008. Following the 1989 break-up of the Go-Betweens, the band he had formed at college in 1978 with his friend Grant McLennan, Robert Forster embarked on a solo career.
Nick Garrie – The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas [Reissue/1968] CD/2xLP (Tapete)
A reissue of Nick Garrie’s The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas, originally released in 1968. Includes numerous bonus tracks, rare photograph, and extensive liner notes. The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas feels unmistakably English, and yet never ventures near the childlike tropes of British psychedelia, never hints at prog or flirts with the pastoral folk stylings coming out of the UK in the late 1960s.
Manuel Göttsching – Dream & Desire [Reissue/1977] CD (MG.AART/Spalax Music)
A newly remastered and carefully re-edited version of the legendary 1977 studio recording. These compositions of slowly evolving soundscapes relating to the Minimal Music concept inspire a meditative mood. At the time, this was new; a classic example of the Berliner Schule (Berlin school).
Keiji Haino + Sumac – Keep Charging This Expiation Plug In Making Better CD (Trost)
Post-metal power force Sumac based around Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom) follow up their collaboration with Keiji Haino on Thrill Jockey, American Dollar Bill – Keep Facing Sideways, You Are Too Hideous To Look At Face On (2018), with another monolith – heavy and experimental at the same time.
Yutaka Hirose – Nova +4 [Reissue/1986] 2xCD/2xLP (We Release Whatever The F**k We Want)
An expanded reissue of one of the most fascinating Japanese ambient/environmental albums ever made. Includes the 1986 album Soundscape 2: Nova, sourced from its original masters, as well as four rare recordings.
Jesca Hoop – Stonechild CD/LP+MP3 (Memphis Industries)
A culmination of life and musical experience, uncompromising in its vision, Stonechild, the new studio album from Jesca Hoop is a self-described compassion project. The 11-track collection is Hoop refined and defined; beautiful, subtle and stark.
Immortal Bird – Thrive On Neglect CD/LP (20 Buck Spin)
With a multi-layered sound running the gamut from pummeling grind and death metal to dissonant blackened metal, angular noise and complex hardcore, Immortal Bird defy simple categorization. The band’s compositions fuse into strikingly savage songs, vast in their scope and more than the sum of their disparate parts, merging the progressive and destructive into a maelstrom of raging fire.
Indubious – From Zero [Reissue/2017] CD/LP (Righteous Sound)
Reggae from Oregon glorifies the genre’s roots to gild ’em and blind the Babylon system.
Members – Version CD/LP (Cleopatra)
UK punk legends The Members play the hits of Buzzcocks, The Lurkers, The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, The Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Grandmaster Flash, Dillinger and many more. These tracks reflect the many and varied influences of the band – from punk to pop to reggae and dub – but arranged and performed with an intense artistry all their own.
Rod Modell – Captagon CD (Tresor)
Rod Modell needs no introduction; his various projects render him a master of techno. In repetition and barely noticeable change, Modell re-sculptures perceptions. His sound-design echoes cinematic ethereality, where ferric artifacts slam against percussion, rusty delays filter observation – the resulting web is a complex, radiating ambience that etches a natural ebb-and-flow.
Nebula – Holy Sh*t CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
22 years after their first release To The Center (1999) and ten years after their last album Heavy Psych (2008), psychedelic/stoner rock band Nebula is back. [Limited edition transparent splatter black and pink fluorescent vinyl also available.]
Heather Newman – Rise From The Flames CD (VizzTone)
Sophomore solo album from red-hot singer/songwriter/bassist. Heather has been nominated for a 2019 Blues Music Award for Best Emerging Artist.
Dona Onete – Rebujo CD/LP (Mais Um Discos)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On the eve of her 80th birthday, Dona Onete, the grande dame of Amazonian song, returns with her third album Rebujo, a love letter to her hometown of Belém, situated deep in the Amazon. Rebujo brims with two music styles born in Belém: carimbós, influenced by African grooves, and bangues, a ska-type rhythm. Plus, there’s a cumbia, brega (romantic music) and samba.
Pattern-Seeking Animals – Pattern-Seeking Animals CD/LP (Inside Out U.S.)
New album from this prog quartet featuring the talents of current and former Spock’s Beard members Ted Leonard, Jimmy Keegan and Dave Meros as well as longtime contributing songwriter-producer John Boegehold.
Prettiest Eyes – Volume 3 CD/LP (Castleface)
New album from the L.A. post-industrial trio. Volume 3 bursts at the seams with chrome-dipped timbres and surprise sharp edges, alien klaxon-calls and wailing dissonance offsetting the ziplock’d grease of their insistent drum and bass grooves.
Sacri Monti – Waiting Room For The Magic Hour CD/LP (Tee Pee)
California psychedelic heavy rock champions Sacri Monti return with a vengeance on their sophomore LP Waiting Room For The Magic Hour. Blues rock, prog rock, proto metal, fusion; it’s all masterfully represented, as brash as it is beautiful. Heaps of fuzzed vocals, waves of keyboards, boogie rhythms, and sick, spiraling leads merge with focus, energy and drive to send Sacri Monti soaring to a next level, riff-filled land.
Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun – A Good Beginning [Reissue/1999] 4xCD/2xLP+MP3 (Krunk)
Limited 20th Anniversary Edition. The band expand their breakthrough album with demo and archive versions of all songs on the album, plus never-before heard newly unearthed material from the time, rare B-sides and the full 95-minute concert played in Reykjavík on the day the record was released in 1999. [Double-LP vinyl edition includes a download code for the bonus material included in the four-CD set.]
The Soft Cavalry – The Soft Cavalry CD/LP (Bella Union)
For Steve Clarke, The Soft Cavalry’s self-titled debut album is equally a labor of love, and the first record he’s masterminded from start to finish, with invaluable contributions from his wife, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, on co-vocals and spiritual/practical guidance, and Steve’s brother Michael, who produced the record. The band’s music is a particularly British brand of intense cinematic drama. Melodic and timeless, the album lands in the atmospheric dimensions between Pink Floyd, Talk Talk and Mansun.
Nad Sylvan – The Regal Bastard CD (Inside Out U.S.)
The third and final part of the Steve Hackett vocalist’s Vampire trilogy which began with 2015’s Courting The Widow. [Vinyl edition due July 12.]
Gianluigi Trovesi & Gianni Coscia – La Misteriosa Musica Della Regina Loana CD (Em)
This hugely enjoyable and highly inventive album is dedicated to the late Umberto Eco, a lifelong friend of accordionist Gianna Coscia and an ardent champion of this duo. As ever, the Italians cast a wide net, playing songs associated with Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller and George Formby, paraphrasing Janá ek, dipping into movie music, and improvising most creatively while keeping their dedicatee in view.
Twink – Think Pink IV: Return TO Deep Space CD/LP (Noiseagonymayhem)
The gorgeous and adventurous, Think Pink IV: Return To Deep Space is worthy of the legacy of Twink’s legendary first solo album Think Pink (1970). Think Pink IV features Canadian krautrock royalty Moths & Locusts, with Sir Ian Blurton (Change of Heart, C’Mon, Public Animal), Barnaby Bennett, Jay Ferguson (Sloan), Gregory Macdonald (Sloan), Arlen Thompson (Wolf Parade), and Rob The Viking (Swollen Members). [Limited clored vinyl pressing also available.]
Marcos Valle – Sempre CD/LP+MP3 (Far Out Recordings)
The original Rio beach boy returns in style, with a new record of unabashedly feel-good Brazilian party music. Updating Marcos Valle’s seminal boogie-era sound, Sempre spans ecstatic disco, cosmic samba, and late-night jazz-funk, drawing obvious comparisons to some of Valle’s late-seventies and early-eighties output.
Various Artists – Stranger Things: Soundtrack From The Netflix Original Series, Season 3 CD (Sony)
This soundtrack of the series’ Season 3 features 15 classic tracks and the debut of an original cast recording. [Vinyl edition due July 26.]
Donnie Vie – Beautiful Things CD/LP (Deko)
Donnie Vie is one of rock’s biggest secrets who has been crafting melodic power pop and rock songs for over 30 years. For fans of Enuff Z’Nuff, Beatles and classic rock in general. “This collection of songs is a wonderful addition to the legacy Vie has constructed over the last four decades, but not just that, these are songs we’ll remember for years to come. These are songs to keep in your heart and let out when you need to get back from the blue.” – The Rockpit
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Ages And Ages – Me You They We LP (Needle & Thread)
Recently released on CD – now available on pink colored vinyl. “Art is supposed to help get at the root of the human experience and what it’s like to be alive,” Tim Perry says. “And the challenge is how do you make music that confronts these complicated, important and sometimes very dark questions and do so in a way that still bounces around and maintains some level of optimism?” It’s a thin needle to thread but Perry’s band Ages And Ages has done just that on their fourth album, Me You They We.
American Pleasure Club – F**king Bliss LP (Run For Cover)
Limited blue and white swirl colored vinyl pressing. American Pleasure Club is a pop band from Baltimore, MD. Singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist/composer Sam Ray has called the album a “deconstructed pop record” – and “music deconstructed and broken down” – citing the works of French author, photographer, and essayist Eduoard Levé, in particular his posthumous book Suicide, as well as Jacques Derrida’s difference and its application well beyond literature as big influences on the album’s theme and concept.
Anderson .Paak – Ventura LP (12 Tone)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. While he was working on Oxnard, the ever-ambitious Anderson .Paak was recording Ventura at the same time. As he explains it, both albums showcase the duality that has inspired the Grammy-award winning artist throughout his career. “Growing up in Oxnard gave me the grit and the church to find this voice of mine. One town over I went further and found my depth. [I] held one [album] back because that would have been too many songs to perform live.” Now with a more soulful sound representative of the beautiful, scenic Ventura, Anderson .Paak gives us “King James”, “Make It Better”, and more – with features including Smokey Robinson, André 3000, Nate Dogg among others.
Astrological – Private World 12” (Bastard Jazz)
With a long list of collaborations outside of the group ranging from Pomo, Phife Dogg, Illa J and Chin Injeti – Astro’s new EP Private World resides somewhere in between jazz, soul, ambient and future electronic vibes with its lush keys, chunky breaks, and deep musicality.
Breed & Shuko – Dippin’ LP (For The Love Of It)
The collaboration between producers Shuko and The Breed was love at first sight. Thanks to their preference for classic West Coast sound, they immediately found a common denominator and harmonized excellently during the production. The result is the album Dippin’, based on the song with the same name by West Coast legend King Tee, who besides MC Eiht and Benny Sings is also the only rap feature on the instrumental hip-hop album.
Bronski Beat – The Age Of Consent [Reissue/1984] LP (London)
This era-defining, pop classic includes debut single “Small Town Boy”, a huge global hit, which continues to resonate with today’s LGBT+ generation and remains a dancefloor staple. To celebrate the 35-year anniversary of Bronski Beat’s forming, The Age Of Consent is presented here on picture disc. Limited edition, 2019 picture disc in clear sleeve.
Curren$y/LNDN DRGS – Umbrella Symphony LP (GDF)
Velvet smooth production and lyrics that will put any square up on game; Umbrella Symphony is for the real low riders and oldies lovers.
Delia Derbyshire – The Dreams LP (Fantôme Phonographique)
Delia Derbyshire is one of the most innovative electronic musicians of the 20th century. She is best known for her pioneering work for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and for composing the classic theme song for the original Doctor Who, believed to be the earliest electronic theme song in television history. A brilliant composer and one of the few women operating in the early era of electronic music. In the early ’60s, she collaborated with the British artist and playwright Barry Bermange for the BBC’s Third Programme to produce four Inventions For Radio, a collage of people describing their dreams, set to a background of electronic sound. This is the first, simply titled The Dreams, an attempt to represent, in sound, the sensation of dreaming.
Derivatives – Unlimited Risk 7” (Medical Records)
Just as a challenging equation stimulates the mind, these four cuts will carry you through the provocative landscapes and exercise your analytical cogs with precision and grace. Waveforms and beats are the currency of trade and from the speculations on these dubbed out honing missiles, good times are ahead.
Dreamers – Launch Fly Land LP (Fairfax/Hollywood)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Founded in Brooklyn, Dreamers deliver infectious indie rock in the vein of Surfer Blood and the Vaccines, the latter of whom they joined on tour soon after their inception. The trio of Nick Wold (lead vocals, guitar), Nelson (bass, backing vocals), and Chris Bagamery (drums, backing vocals) self-released the rousing, synth-kissed single “Wolves (You Got Me)” and an eponymous EP in 2014. It garnered attention from the mainstream and indie music press, and led to support spots on the road for Walk The Moon, Stone Temple Pilots, and Bear Hands. Jackob Wick later joined the band as drummer in place of Bagamery. February 2016 brought their second EP, You Are Here, which featured “Wolves (You Got Me)” as well as four new tunes. Their debut LP This Album Does Not Exist arrived that summer. 2017 saw the band share bills with Weezer, Catfish and The Bottlemen, and the Maine. Following last year’s EP, The Launch, Dreamers release their sophomore album Launch Fly Land.
Luc Estang Pierre Henry’s Saint-Exupéry – Saint-Exupéry [Reissue/1959] LP (Fantôme Phonographique)
During his long and illustrious career, the French composer and musique concrète pioneer Pierre Henry created a large amount of incidental music to accompany literary texts, both on record and for the stage, from Jules Verne to Victor Hugo, from Lautréamont to Antonin Artaud. This incredibly rare LP from 1959 is a radio play about the life of French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, based on the 1956 book by Luc Estang on the subject.
Terry Funk – Tougher Than Shoe Leather LP (Flannel Graph)
40 minutes of national treasure Terry Funk speaking about his entire incredible life – growing up in Amarillo, winning the world heavyweight championship, becoming a true Japanese hero, retiring and returning dozens of times – all while having the endless support of a loving family.
Serge Gainsbourg – Avant Gainsbarre LP (Vinyl Passion)
Standard black vinyl pressing. No matter how provocative, edgy and anti-hero the guy was, every French person of every age loved and still loves Serge. He isn’t like anyone else. For many French people, Gainsbourg belongs to their national heritage such as wine, the Tour de France, gastronomy and the Eiffel Tower. His influence in pop music is therefore enormous.
Grupo Pilon – Leite Quente Funaná De Cabo Verde LP (Ostinato)
[CD version due July 19.]
Grupo Pilon combined searing estilo Krioulu drumming and the hybrid ColaZouk style with blissful synth work and rugged guitar licks, creating a stripped-down, addictive sound that masterfully straddled two worlds, a seductive electro-Funaná carnival born from the first few sips of hot milk.
Oskar Hahn & Beamic – Stratosphäre I LP (Vinyl Digital)
Oskar Hahn is the man for collaborations. After an album with his father on sax, he now teams up with Beamic from Hamburg. The fundamentals are the same: An organic hip-hop sound and drums with just the right amount of jazz.
Keiji Haino – A Loss Permitted To Open It’s Eyes For But Three Hours And There Glimpsed, Finally In Focus A Mystery That Begs Earnestly, Ask Me Nothing Now, Once More The Problem Is Yours Alone LP (ThirtyThree ThirtyThree)
Experimental music pioneer Keiji Haino, one of the most mysterious and influential figures to emerge from the Japanese psychedelic underground, teams up with Charles Hayward, British drummer and founding member of This Heat and Camberwell Now, on a new live album.
Wendell Harrison – Dreams Of A Love Supreme [Reissue/1980] LP (Tidal Waves Music)
Dreams Of A Love Supreme is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin (Freddie Hubbard, Solomon Burke, Mulatu Astakte) on trombone, Harold McKinney (Tribe) on keyboards and Roy Brooks (Yusef Lateef, Chet Baker, Mingus) on percussion. Although you can hear the ‘80s creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record.
Harry Crotch – Do’s And Donuts LP (Vinyl Digital)
New 16 track instrumental debut album of beatmaker and bedroom producer Harry Crotch. Creamy downtempo and lo-fi delicacies, some analogue synth atmospheres, warm Rhodes riffs, and drums to break your neck to.
Hate – Auric Gates Of Veles LP (Metal Blade)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Since 1991, Hate has lived up to their name, responsible for some of the angriest and most ruthless death metal. With 2017’s Tremendum, they took a step toward a darker, more atmospheric, black metal-oriented style and began exploring Slavonic mysticism, and new album Auric Gates Of Veles boldly continues in that direction.
Hoodoo Gurus – Electric Soup – The Singles Collection [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (Big Time Phonograph)
Hoodoo Gurus – Gorilla Biscuit [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (Big Time Phonograph)
Vinyl reissues of the 1992 singles collection Electric Soup and B-sides & rarities collection Gorilla Biscuit from the Australian rock group. Limited colored vinyl pressings.
William Hooker – … Is Eternal Life [Reissue/1977] 2xLP (Superior Viaduct)
Drummer, composer and poet William Hooker has been a tireless force in free improvised music for over 40 years. He emerged from New York’s loft jazz scene in the mid-’70s, part of a generation of artists fueled by the social, political and cultural frustrations of their era. This second wave of American free jazz would push relentlessly into new territories-collaborating in a variety of non-traditional settings, establishing their own labels, venues, etc.-all in an effort at creative self-determination. While William Hooker’s output extends past 70 albums as leader, it all began with the double LP… Is Eternal Life.
Hotel Books – I’ll Leave The Light On Just In Case LP (Invogue)
Hotel Books is the project of spoken word poet Cameron Smith. Delivering his intense, cathartic poetry over a musical blend of ambient, post-hardcore, and emo, Smith was drawn to both the fringe aspect of spoken word poetry and to the chance to focus on writing lyrics unhindered by melody.
Weldon Irvine – Liberated Brother [Reissue/1972] LP (Pure Pleasure)
Weldon Irvine’s debut as a leader remains one of the most fiercely idiosyncratic electric jazz outings of the early ’70s. Innovative not only for it’s moody, nuanced jazz-funk sensibility, Liberated Brother also translates the uncommonly strong passion of Irvine’s political and philosophical views into its grooves, creating music of rare sincerity and ambition.
Joan As Policewoman – Live At The BBC LP (PIAS America)
Culled from Joan as Police Woman’s first ever career retrospective, Joanthology, which spans the first 15 years of Joan’s remarkable musical output and includes new, rare and unreleased material alongside more than thirty of her most loved songs, Live At The BBC is a 12-track collection of songs recorded in session for BBC 6Music.
Umm Kulthum – Twinkling Star [Reissue/1961] LP (Fantôme Phonographique)
Kalthoum is a legendary Egyptian vocalist and one of the biggest celebrities of the 20th century Arab world. She was dubbed the voice of Egypt and Egypt’s fourth pyramid, and is considered a national treasure. This 1961 album is one of the finest examples of her vocal ability and a beautiful example of mid-20th century Egyptian popular music.
Let’s Eat Grandma – I, Gemini [Reissue/2016] LP (PIAS America)
Vinyl reissue of the debut album from Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth aka Let’s Eat Grandma. As thick as thieves, as sharp as knives, as likeminded as twins, wildly imaginative multi-instrumentalists and talented putative pop stars Rosa and Jenny, met aged four in their local infant school in Norwich and have been inseparable ever since.
Linekraft/Alberich – Shock Industrialization 10” (Hospital Productions)
The two modern masters of industrial noise and cacophony, Linekraft and Alberich, collide on this crushing 10” intersecting at the little known and largely forgotten Cold War crossroads of the Cambodian Civil War and which some could argue, it’s deep predecessor of the Korean War. Two decayed and corrupted tracks from each artist spreading rotten wind
Lipphead – Lipphead 7” (Young Heavy Souls)
Lipphead is the new collaborative release from New York producers Blockhead and Eliot Lipp. Both songs on this single hit the sweet spot between Blockhead’s groovy, sample based hip-hop and Eliot Lipp’s upbeat electronic funk.
Locust – Green 7” (Medical Records)
The second in a series of EPs by Mark Van Hoen’s Locust project. Continuing in the vein of Mark’s signature interpretation of techno, Green also has a few other surprises in store for us including an only slightly glossier vibe this time around without compromising the heavy-hitting dance floor anthems.
The Loire Valley Calypsos – VS The Great Pink Flamingo LP (MaAuLa)
[CD version due July 12.]
The Loire Valley Calypsos perform popular Caribbean music from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Mac Dre – Tha Best Of Mac Dre Part I [Reissue/2002] LP (Sumo/Thizz Ent.)
Vallejo’s Mac Dre was already a living legend by the time he was slain under mysterious circumstances after a show in Kansas City in 2004. His murder remains unsolved and while Dre is gone his legacy has been cemented and his music lives on. With a discography that spans back into the ’80s, his catalog is as vast and expansive as any other rapper in history.
Majesty – Legends LP (Napalm)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. New album from the German heavy metal band. Legends mixes Majesty’s trademarks such as soaring guitar solos and anthemic choirs with modern soundscapes and a massive, crystal-clear production.
Clint Mansell – Out Of The Blue [OST] LP+MP3 (Invada)
Limited black and blue colored vinyl pressing. Requiem For A Dream and Black Mirror composer Clint Mansell scores British film director Carol Morley’s neo-noir thriller, “Out Of Blue”. In Out Of Blue, Mansell’s dark and hypnotic score enhances the moody and menacing moments in the neo-noir murder mystery based on the novel “Night Train” by Martin Amis.
Kevin Richard Martin – Sirens LP (Room40)
Solo album from Kevin Richard Martin aka The Bug. “There is a dreadful sense of anticipation throughout Sirens, mixed with a sound design that obscures and distorts as if the music occurs behind closed doors and thick walls. Sirens is a remarkably passive album, preoccupied foremost with events beyond the control of the protagonist whose mindset Martin’s music approximates here. This music is about waiting, waiting, waiting—and not knowing.” – Pop Matters
The Mekons – The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen [Reissue/1979] LP (Superior Viaduct)
After two singles for Fast Product, Leeds art-punk collective The Mekons signed with Virgin Records in 1979. The band would have to borrow gear from their mates Gang Of Four to record their major label debut. In classic Mekons style, the album’s back cover featured a photo of Gang Of Four instead of themselves. As Simon Reynolds writes, “The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen got a mixed reception at the time. Listening to it now, though, the first LP sounds more of a piece with the band’s early punk singles.
Charles Mingus – Rarest On Debut [Reissue/1987] LP (Down At Down)
Created in 1952 by bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach, the Debut label was a first attempt by jazz musicians to get their music recorded and released under their own control. It was a short-lived experiment (1952-1957) that produced some memorable works. The vibrant spirit of Mingus lives through this great selection of rare Debut recordings with himself as leader of two different line up (quintet/octet) and as bassist of the Hank Jones Trio and the Thad Jones Quintet.
Muslimgauze – Babylon Is Iraq LP (Staalplaat)
A fascinating expansion on one of Muslimgauze’s strongest stand-alone moments, as well as a fitting tribute to an artist who would never give you a track if an album would do. Such strong powers of suggestion.
Tony Newton – Mysticism & Romance [Reissue/1978] LP (Tidal Waves Music)
Tony Newton (born 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI who began his professional career at the age of thirteen, playing bass guitar with blues legends like John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Discovered by Motown executive Hank Cosby while playing the Detroit blues circuit at the age of 18, he became the touring bassist with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the famed 1965 European ‘Motown Review’ tour. Within two years, Newton became the Miracles’ musical director. Tony Newton also toured and recorded with other Motown artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5… and countless others. Tony Newton’s first solo album Mysticism & Romance (1978) has both elements of his impressive musical past and his vision for the future. The P-Funk-esque bass grooves and fusion jazz-rock vibes, combined with spacious synths, unusual instruments and an all-round cosmic approach make this a unique and very intriguing album.
Janko Nilovic – Rythmes Contemporarians [Reissue/1974] LP (Broc)
Digitally remastered edition of one of the most ambitious and costly records to come out of ’70s library music, the legendary Rythmes Contemporains from the brilliant Janko Nilovic. This complex and protean work shines out particularly from the rich discography of this Yugoslavian composer, and according to his many fans across the world, is one of his greatest achievements.
Os Novos Bahianos – É Ferro Na Boneca! [Reissue/1970] LP (Mr. Bongo)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Originally released by RGE in 1970 in Brazil, É Ferro Na Boneca! features 13 songs composed by Luiz Galvão and Moraes Moreira. The record shows the roots of the group, moving through psychedelics, edgy pop, rock and Tropicália. After writing É Ferro Na Boneca! their music began to move towards MPB due to the influence of João Gilberto, who began working with the group. In 1972 they released their incredible Acabou Chorare LP, which came top of Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Brazilian Records (published in 2007).
Kassa Overall – Go Get Ice Cream And Listen To Jazz LP (Kassa Overall)
In the words of the New York Times, Kassa Overall’s new album – the irreverently titled Go Get Ice Cream And Listen to Jazz – attests to the diverse musical identity of this drummer, producer and rapper. It’s one of the few genuine-sounding, full-scope amalgams of contemporary hip-hop and jazz to surface in recent years.
Pusha T – Fear Of God II – Let Us Pray LP (Mass Appeal)
Hailing from Virginia Beach, VA, Pusha T got his start as one half of the legendary duo, Clipse. More than a decade later, he has ascended to hip-hop royalty both as an artist and a record executive.
Max Richter – My Brilliant Friend LP (Deutsche Grammophon)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Max Richter’s soundtrack for the HBO show My Brilliant Friend a woman’s recounting of her lifelong friendship and conflicts with a girl she met at primary school in Naples during the early 1950s.
Sabah – Best Of LP (Right Track)
Sabah was a Lebanese singer and actress. Considered a Diva of Music in the Arab world, (the same title often given to Oum Kalthoum, Warda Al-Jazairia and Fairuz), she released over 50 albums and acted in 98 movies as well as over 20 Lebanese stage plays. She had a reported more than 3,500 songs in her repertoire. She was among the first Arabic singers to perform at the Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Sydney Opera House. She was considered one of the four Lebanese icons along with Fairuz, Wadih El Safi and Nasri Shamseddine and was nicknamed Empress of the Lebanese Song.
Sagittarius – The Blue Marble [Reissue/1969] LP (Sundazed)
Limited white colored vinyl LP pressing. The shimmering follow-up to Present Tense, 1968’s pop-psych cult classic by producers Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher’s studio-only project Sagittarius, 1969’s The Blue Marble once again finds Usher crafting still more sunshiney, Beach Boys-esque dreamscapes.
Gil Scott-Heron – Spirits [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (TVT)
From his first well-known album Pieces Of A Man (1971, including the iconic The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) to his final album I’m New Here (2010), singer-poet Gil Scott-Heron released more than 20 albums and hundreds of compelling compositions that addressed profound social issues as well as the love, happiness and pain of the human condition – with turns of phrases, humor and a depth of understanding solely his own.
Will Sellenraad, Eric McPherson & Rene Hart – Greene Street 1 LP (Deko)
For fans of Peter Bernstein, Pat Metheny and jazz. Will Sellenraad has earned a growing reputation of being at the forefront of creative musicians working in New York City. Known for his brilliant improvisations and his compelling, melodic compositions, Sellenraad is a mainstay on the NYC scene, and beyond, appearing at storied jazz venues such as The 55 Bar, Smalls, Mezzrow, The Blue Note, Birdland, The Iridium, the former Sweet Basil and many others.
Six Organs Of Admittance – For Octavio Paz [Reissue/2003] LP (Hermit Hut)
Octavio Paz is considered by many to be a high point in the early Six Organs of Admittance catalog. Almost wholly instrumental, it is the only Six Organs record that sounds fully dedicated to touching the edges of an acoustic finger-style world that was still quite underground back in the first few years of the new century. The songs here utilize a variety of approaches to the acoustic guitar, both steel string and nylon, solo and overdubbed, but always in the service of atmosphere.
Special Request – Bedroom Tapes 2xLP (Houndstooth)
Bedroom Tapes is comprised solely of lost material from a recently discovered box of cassettes that emerged in the process of a house move. These tracks capture some of Paul Woolford’s most wide-eyed and naïve creative impulses at a tender age. Seemingly lost forever, some were part of sessions that led to him being signed to now-defunct UK techno imprint Blue Basique.
Gloria Ann Taylor – Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing [Reissue/2015] LP (Ubiquity)
Originally released in 2015 as a deluxe double LP that included her Deep Inside You EP, this updated version is a single 180gm LP package with the 10 tracks compiled from her 7” singles on Selector Sound and comes with a booklet of photos and extensive liner notes. Soul singer Gloria Ann Taylor has no rags to riches tale to tell. Her story is one of personal sacrifice, failed relationships, and missed opportunity.
UFO – A Conspiracy Of Stars 2xLP+CD (Steamhammer)
2015’s A Conspiracy Of Stars found UFO proving that the past and present could be blended into a homogeneous whole. The album’s the eleven strong songs combine everything that the legendary British group surrounding frontman Phil Mogg stands for: meaty riffs, distinctive hooks, diverse songwriting, intelligent lyrics and that generally laid-back attitude which we have associated with UFO from their start nearly 50 years ago.
Various Artists – Mello Music Group Presents: Helpless Dreamer 2xLP (Mello Music Group)
Helpless Dreamer is the follow up to Mental Liberation, a compilation executive produced by MMG, featuring production filled with moody piano, dramatic horns, ill bass lines, and ridiculous drums. The bulk of production is handled by MMG producers Oddisee & Apollo Brown, who provide perfect sonic backdrops for Finale, Kenn Starr, yU, and Diamond District. New MMG signees for 2011, Stik Figa, Tranqill, and Has-Lo also grace the mic. The sound created is an emotive, passionate, and dirty view from the streets of Detroit, the DMV, London, New York, and Philadelphia. Add Roc Marciano, Invincible, and Black Milk to the mix, and Helpless Dreamer commands respect.
Various Artists – Spectra Ex Machina : A Sound Anthology Of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Vol. 1 LP (Sub Rosa)
The anthology Spectra Ex Machina brings together rare documents pertaining to so-called occult phenomena, most of them taken from little-known archives. In the course of three volumes, this series traces an audio history of parapsychology through the exploration of spiritualism and haunted houses (Vol. 1); musician mediums (Vol. 2); experiences of extrasensory perceptions (clairvoyance, psychokinesis, etc.) and electronic voice phenomena (Vol. 3). The documents gathered here are, by their extravagance and far-fetched aspects, more than the mere objects of belief one would be tempted to reduce them to. They are vestiges of aberrant phenomena, fossils of an unknown civilization buried in the depths of the unconscious that are revived, in a way, when we listen to them.
Cassettes:
Abbath – Outstrider (Season Of Mist)
Abbath, the solo project of former Immortal frontman Abbath (real name Olve Eikemo), releases its second album, Outstrider. Consisting of eight tracks, Outstrider promises to raise the bar even higher in contemporary Norwegian black metal. Abbath’s debut album came off with huge appreciation following his departure from Immortal, with excruciatingly ravaging riffs, much of which can be related to black ‘n’ roll, a black metal sub-genre that includes hard rock elements. Outstrider contains a cover of Bathory’s “Pace Till Death”.
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