CDs + Vinyl:
Shantel Acda & Bill Frisell – Live At Jazz Middelheim CD (Glitterhouse)
Dutch/Belgian chanteuse Chantal Acda in a duo-setting with Grammy award winning guitarist extraordinaire Bill Frisell.
Alien Weaponry – Tū CD/LP+7” (Napalm)
This trio of teenagers from a tiny town in New Zealand serve a unique blend of thrash metal in their native language of Te Reo Māori.
Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore – Downey To Lubbock CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
A collection that takes on a diverse range of American music spanning nearly one hundred years. Along with ten covers, Alvin wrote two originals for the record: the autobiographical title cut and the fantastical “Billy The Kid and Geronimo.” The latter sees the duo trade verses as their folk heroes have a prescient bar room debate on morality, oppression and injustice. Elsewhere, they explore the musical pipeline between their home states, taking on the work of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Brownie McGhee and Johnny “Guitar” Watson.
me – Dream House CD/2xLP (Innervisions)
In the world of electronic dance music, me stand apart. Since 2003, the duo of Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer have cut a singular path through techno, house, minimal, ambient, and more with their anthemic singles and mixes. Features Matthew Herbert, Gudrun Gut, Planningtorock, Jens Kuross (ex-drummer for RyX), and Roedelius.
American Aquarium – Things Change CD/LP (New West)
In the lush tobacco fields of North Carolina where BJ Barham was raised, people work hard. Families stay nearby, toiling and growing together. BJ loves those farms and his tiny Reidsville hometown, but he had to spread his wings. He couldn’t stay, but he couldn’t really leave, either: he’s still singing about the lessons, stories, and lives that define rural America. Recorded at 3CG Records in Tulsa, OK, American Aquarium’s seventh album, Things Change was produced by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter John Fullbright and features cameos from John Moreland and Jamie Lin Wilson. Stacked with BJ’s signature storytelling – always deeply personal but also instantly relatable, it questions and curses current events, shares one man’s intimate evolution, and leaves listeners with a priceless gift: hope.
Stef Animal – Top Gear CD (Occultation)
Even if you didn’t grow up with Atari video games and have no idea either what Acorn and Commodore computers are or what acronyms like PCM and MIDI stand for, you’ll still appreciate Top Gear‘s intricate universe of sound, full of adventure, wonder, human emotion, and melancholic heft. Yet there’s a playfulness here too, and not just in the title. An electronic duck caller is hacked to produce one track and elsewhere children’s Casio keyboards and entry-level MIDI synth modules deliver darkly sophisticated, progressively experimental dream-pop mini-symphonies.
Areski – Un Beau Matin [Reissue/1970] CD/LP (Souffle Continu)
Only those who read all the credits on record liner notes will know the full details: Areski is of course Brigitte Fontaine’s partner in life, but also her creative alter ego, and the composer of the music of most of her songs. Even though it was his wife Brigitte and not him who wrote the lyrics, Areski is a poet in his own right. Furthermore, he is polyvalent: composing, arranging, singing, improvising, playing every possible instrument, and even acting. Areski, to sum up, is the perfect mix of the tradition of Munir Bashir with the European “sophistication” of someone like Jean-Claude Vannier, one foot permanently in Versailles (where he was born) and the maghreb. Areski, is left bank French songs without the stylistic effects, revised and updated through contact with Arab-Andalusian music. He is a Living Theatre style happening with a dose of cosmic free jazz; surrealist poetry viewed through the prism of Kabyle culture.
The Beginning Of The End – Funky Nassau: The Complete Recordings CD (Strut)
The Beginning Of The End – Funky Nassau [Reissue/1971] LP (Strut)
The Beginning Of The End – Beginning Of The End [Reissue/1976] LP (Strut)
Definitive reissues of two all-time classic Caribbean soul and funk albums: Funky Nassau (1971) and Beginning Of The End (1976).
The Black Dog – Post-Truth CD/LP (Dust Science)
The Black Dog – Black Daisy Wheel CD/LP (Dust Science)
The Black Dog’s two new albums translate their growing horror into some of their most accessible and impactful music, translating our manufactured reality into high-energy dancefloor constructions on Post-Truth, and reflective ambient excursions on Black Daisy Wheel.
Nicki Bluhm – To Rise You Gotta Fall CD/LP (Compass)
After nearly a decade spent with the Gramblers, recent high-profile collaborations (Phil Lesh, Infamous StringDusters, Ryan Adams), and a split from her husband and musical mentor, vocalist and songwriter Nicki Bluhm is stepping out on her own with her new album. Recorded in Memphis, TN at legendary Sam Phillips Recording, Bluhm brought in producer Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, Jason Isbell), for these live band, analog sessions.
Blutengel – Live Im Wasserschloss Klaffenbach 2xCD (Out Of Line)
The German goth-pop band performs a 2-hour-plus set comprised of hits and fan-favorites. [Stand-alone Blu-ray edition also available.]
The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Something Else CD/LP (A. Recordings)
Something Else is the first full-length offering from The Brian Jonestown Massacre in 2018. A self-titled full-length album is to follow in the fall of 2018. The style is less experimental and returns to a more traditional sound of the band. [White colored vinyl pressing also available.]
James Brown – You’ve Got The Power: Federal & King Hits 1956-1962 3xCD/LP (New Continent)
Early singles – both A & B sides – James Brown made for the Federal and King labels between 1956 and 1962.
Neko Case – Hell-On CD/2xLP (ANTI-)
An indelible collection of colorful, enigmatic storytelling that features some of her most daring, through-composed arrangements to date, Hell-On is rife with withering self-critique, muted reflection, anthemic affirmation and the beloved singer/songwriter’s unique poetic sensibility. Neko enlisted Bjorn Yttling of (Peter Bjorn & John) to co-produce six tracks with her in Stockholm, Sweden where she mixed the twelve-track album with Lasse Mårtén. Hell-On features performances by Beth Ditto, Mark Lanegan, k.d. Lang, AC Newman, Eric Bachmann, Kelly Hogan, Doug Gillard, Laura Veirs, Joey Burns and many more. “Neko Case’s eighth solo album is her most conceptually diverse… The Lynchian atmospherics are at an all-time high, as is her creative ambition. Following a tragic house fire and some deeply disturbing personal legal dramas, Case’s first self-produced album is one of her finest.” – The Line Of Best Fit
Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick: The Epic Archive Vol. 2 1980-1983 CD (Real Gone Music)
16 more lost tracks from Rockford, Illinois’ finest.
Luke Combs – This One’s For You Too CD (Sony)
Deluxe expanded edition of the Asheville, NC country musician’s 2017 album featuring five new tracks. With gritty, grizzled vocals, brazen songwriting talent and one hell of a live show, Combs stormed onto the country music scene with his debut single “Hurricane” quickly became a staple anthem for country fans.
Phil Cook – People Are My Drug CD (Southland Sounds)
Transforming pain and injustice into love and compassion is a rendering that has been universal to poets and prophets for centuries. In present times, choosing to amplify community and positivity through art can seem like a radical act. With the arrival of People Are My Drug, Phil Cook is taking the spark from lights left on by musical heroes and offering a torch for listeners as they navigate their own dark corners. [Vinyl edition due June 22.]
Cowboy – Boyer & Talton [Reissue/1974] CD (Real Gone Music)
Cowboy – Cowboy [Reissue/1977] CD (Real Gone Music)
Cowboy was a country/southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida who released four albums through legendary Capricorn Records label in 1970s. They are probably best remembered from the song “Please Be With Me” which Eric Clapton covered in his 461 Ocean Boulevard album. With the recent passing of producer Johnny Sandlin and the even more recent passing of Scott Boyer himself, now is a good time to circle back to the last two Cowboy records.
Cuasares – Afro-Progresivo [Reissue/1973] CD/LP+MP3 (Pharaway Sounds)
A wild, esoteric mix of psychedelic funk, Afro-Latin grooves, jazz, and Italian/French-styled library sounds courtesy of Cuasares, an enigmatic studio project created by pianist/arranger/visionary Waldo Belloso. Acid fuzz guitar, cosmic synth splashes, distorted organ, flute, vibraphone, and trippy studio effects.
Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Ragas Abhogi & Vardhani CD/2xLP (Ideologic Organ)
Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Ragas Yaman CD/2xLP (Ideologic Organ)
“Around ten years ago, deep into a cozy and hazy night following a concert with my sound brothers Daniel O’Sullivan and Kristoffer Rygg in London (as Æthenor), they graciously introduced me to a recording of rudra veena (a kind of noble deeper bass relative to the sitar, in a way) as performed by dhrupad master Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. Dhrupad, for those who do not know, is a branch of Hindustani classical music said to ‘show the raga in its clearest and purest form.’ It’s pacing concentrates heavily on the slow, contemplative alap section and works with specific microtonal gestures and deep characteristics of resonance…” – Stephen O’Malley
Roger Daltrey – As Long As I Have You CD (Republic)
New release from the legendary front man of The Who — Roger Daltrey’s first solo album since 1992. As Long As I Have You features new tracks and covers of songs originally by Steve Stills, Parliament, Nick Cave, Stevie Wonder and Dusty Springfield. Additionally, Pete Townshend makes a cameo on guitar.
Eddie Daniels – Heart Of Brazil CD (Resonance)
Clarinet icon Eddie Daniels pays tribute to the world-renowned Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist, Egberto Gismonti. Heart Of Brazil features Daniels with the top-shelf trio of pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, plus the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet. Includes new arrangements by Ted Nash, Kuno Schmidt and Josh Nelson.
David Davis & The Warrior River Boys – Didn’t He Ramble: Songs Of Charlie Poole CD (Rounder)
There is a rich and varied Charlie Poole legacy, and David Davis and the Warrior River Boys are taking that legacy another step further. Didn’t He Ramble is eagerly anticipated in traditional bluegrass circles, but also more widely among fans of folk and acoustic music.
Death And The Maiden – Wisteria CD/LP (Occulation)
Dunedin trio Death And The Maiden return with a second album of hypnotic post-punk dream-pop.
Def Leppard – CD Collection Volume One 7xCD/8xLP+7” (Caroline)
This initial volume of the band’s complete recorded output comes features Def Leppard’s first four studio albums along with some choice bonus live and studio material. [The vinyl box set includes a replica 7” of the The Def Leppard E.P.]
Detroit Swindle – High Life CD/2xLP (Heist Recordings)
This Amsterdam duo’s sound merges references from multiple decades into one smooth aesthetic — quickly rose to popularity for its careful blend of soul and rhythm, taking cues from their passion for obscure records, with influences ranging from house and funk to Afrobeat and soul.
DJ Sprinkles & Hardrock Striker – Skylax House Explosion 2xCD (Skylax)
New mix from DJ Sprinkles and Hardrock Striker – a 28-track double-CD comprised of productions released on Skylax Records and its associated sub-labels, which Hardrock Striker founded in 2004. Artists such as Lady Blacktronika, Octo Octa and Chez Damier feature alongside a suite of soon-to-be-released productions curated by DJ Sprinkles and Hardrock Striker under the alias S.H.E., a reference to Sprinkles’s K-S.H.E. alias.
Richard Edwards – Verdugo CD/LP (Joyful Noise)
Richard Edwards felt almost human when he returned to Los Angeles to record songs for what became Verdugo. It’s the follow-up to the Indiana singer’s 2017 album Lemon Cotton Candy Sunset, a beautiful, personal release that was deeply unpleasant to make. Not only was he afflicted at the time by an intestinal ailment that often left him unable to stand, let alone sing, his marriage fell apart midway through making the album. If Lemon Cotton Candy Sunset ended up being a record about letting go, Verdugo is the album where Edwards pulls himself up. Also, it showcases his new way of singing: Edwards’ chronic pain meant finding a vocal approach that didn’t make him feel sick. His new style deepens the air of melancholy on the atmospheric “Strange,” takes on a wistful cast on “Beekeeper” over subtle drums and distinctive guitar and is lifted aloft on a soaring blend of guitars, drums and backing vocals on “Minefield.” “They kind of disappear in this weird sky sonically now, because of this range,” he says. “They don’t feel rooted anymore, they fly all over, and that falsetto – if you’re looking at it as a picture, it goes higher up in the room than it used to.”
Sam Evian – You, Forever CD/LP+MP3 (Saddle Creek)
You, Forever is the second studio album from Sam Evian, the project of New York-based musician, songwriter, and producer Sam Owens. Fueled by a desire to escape from the glow of screens and to embrace a sense of limitation, Owens developed a new set of instrumental songs written and recorded on a four-track cassette recorder in his parents’ house in North Carolina. Inspired by these limiting techniques, Owens borrowed an eight-track reel-to-reel tape recorder from a friend, rented a house in Upstate New York, and took his band there to record the new album in July of 2017. That sensibility is both practice and theory on You, Forever. Dreamy album opener “IDGAF” provides suitable exposition with its notion of embracing one’s passions and pursuing one’s goals no matter the impositions in their path. “Health Machine” is a crunchy, slow-burning but deliberate stomper glowing with warm electric guitar noodling, saxophone wailing, and Owens’ reverb-laden lyrics that he says detail an abstract version of how he relates to his own physical form. The song was the last recorded in the summer session, with Owens playing acoustic guitar through a heavily distorted microphone.
Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Written largely in New York between the summer of 2016 and winter of 2017, Josh Tillman’s fourth Father John Misty LP, God’s Favorite Customer reflects on the experience of being caught between the vertigo of heartbreak and the manic throes of freedom. The album reveals a bittersweetness and directness in Tillman’s songwriting, without sacrificing any of his wit or taste for the absurd. From “Mr. Tillman,” where he trains his lens on his own misadventure, to the cavernous pain of estrangement in “Please Don’t Die,” Tillman plays with perspective throughout to alternatingly hilarious and devastating effect. “We’re Only People (And There’s Not Much Anyone Can Do About That)” is a meditation on our inner lives and the limitations we experience in our attempts to give and receive love. It stands in solidarity with the title track, which examines the ironic relationship between forgiveness and sin. Together, these are songs that demand to know either real love or what comes after, and as the album progresses, that entreaty leads to discovering the latter’s true stakes.
Faze Action – Under the Influence Volume Six: A Collection of Rare Soul and Disco CD/2xLP (Z Records)
Robin and Simon Lee, aka Faze Action, were championing disco and all its Afro off-shoots back in the mid- ’90s when it certainly wasn’t the latest trend to do so.
Marcus Fischer & Simon Scott – Shape Of Memory CD (12k)
Shape Memory is the first full-length recording made through a collaboration between 12k label mates and friends Marcus Fischer and Simon Scott. In the fall of 2017, on a free day between US tour dates for Slowdive (for which Simon is the drummer), the pair managed to conceptualize and record an album at S1/Synth Library in Portland, OR. Shape Memory unfolds as a 36-minute piece (divided into three movements) rich in texture and deep connections. Fans of both artists’ solo works will recognize shadows of their unique aesthetics, but the beauty lies in the new direction they chose to take it together.
The Flaming Lips – Greatest Hits 1 3xCD (WB)
This is the first time The Lips have presented singles from Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993), Clouds Taste Metallic (1995), The Soft Bulletin (1999), Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002), At War With The Mystics (2006), Embryonic (2009) and their current album Oczy Mlody (2017). [Single-disc vinyl edition is comprised of eleven tracks. The triple-CD version significantly expands the concept of their “hits” and gathers some of their best-loved album tracks from the aforementioned albums plus deep cuts from their WBR album debut, Hit To Death In The Future Head (1992), along with music from, Zaireeka (1997), The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends (2012) and The Terror (2013). Also includes a generous hatful of international single B-sides, studio outtakes and several previously unreleased tracks.]
Ryo Fukui – Scenery [Reissue/1976] CD (We Release Jazz)
Ryo Fukui – Mellow Dream [Reissue/1977] CD (We Release Jazz)
Unquestionably one of the most important Japanese jazz albums ever recorded, Scenery reveals Ryo Fukui as a miraculously brilliant self-taught pianist fusing modal, bop, and cool jazz influences for a very personal, dexterous, and game-changing take on classic standards made famous by Bing Crosby and John Coltrane among others. As its title suggests, 1977 follow-up Mellow Dream ventures into slightly mellower, more soulful, and sometimes more contemplative territories.
Gatherers – We Are Alive Beyond Repair CD (Equal Vision)
Gatherers’ third studio album is a bleak, brutal, nihilistic record that’s shrouded in despair and anguish. “We wanted this album to be as ugly and as horribly truthful as possible,” explains vocalist Rich Weinberger. “It has this very human but flawed connotation to it. It’s very pessimistic. I was reading a lot of Sylvia Plath at the time we were writing this record and I just like that the fabric of our existence is very meek and it’s dull and, no matter what, nothing will ever get better. That was the angle I wanted to explore with this record. It’s the idea of just being completely unfulfilled, that no matter how much time we put into this band it’ll never be self-fulfilling.”
Ghost – Prequelle CD/LP/LP+7” (Loma Vista/Concord)
Grammy Award-winning rock band Ghost unleash their highly anticipated fourth sacred psalm, Prequelle. Previous efforts have dealt with broad themes like impending doom (Opus Eponymous, 2010), the antichrist and the Inquisition (Infesstimum, 2013), humanism and avarice (Meliora, 2015), Prequelle delves into the plague, the apocalypse, and dark ages. It’s a snapshot of the world in which we currently live, brought to life through an emotive, enlightening, and riveting body of songs. In an interesting twist in the Ghost saga, Cardinal Copia takes over vocal duties here, introduced by the epic lead single “Rats.” [CD is available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe includes lenticular cover and two bonus tracks. Limited clear vinyl pressing with a bonus 7” featuring covers of the Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s A Sin” and Leonard Cohen’s “Avalanche” also available.]
Golden Dawn Orchestra – Children Of The Sun CD/LP+MP3 (Nine Mile)
“Ever wish Sun Ra, Sergio Mendes, Os Mutantes, Sly Stone, Sweden’s GOAT, and Up With People were all in a band together? Texas collective Golden Dawn Arkestra fill that niche pretty well.” – Brooklyn Vegan
Goodnight Moonshine – I’m The Only One Will Tell You, You’re Bad CD/LP (Keep The Spark)
On Goodnight Moonshine’s I’m The Only One Who Will Tell You, You’re Bad, the duo delivers a funny, smart, explicit, raw, honest, mature, witty collection of folk-pop songs that reflect the messiness of ‘partnership’ (in its many forms), parenthood and growing up, while evoking the emotionally resonant aesthetic of Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffin.
Grateful Dead – Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 2: April Fools’ ’88 [Reissue/2011] 3xCD (Real Gone Music)
Recorded live at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ March 31st and April 1st, 1988. Originally released in 2011 as part of Grateful Dead’s Road Trips four-volume series (which 17 live archival releases total). Unlike Dick’s Picks, which mostly featured complete or near-complete single concerts, Road Trips was billed as a series in which two-CD releases would each survey tours or periods in the band’s performing career that had not been previously well-represented in archival releases.
Gruesome – Twisted Prayers CD/LP (Relapse)
Less than four short years into their career, death metal defenders of the old Gruesome (featuring current and former members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation) return with their second full-length sermon, Twisted Prayers – eight songs and 40+ minutes of unholy hymns with lurid melodies and vulgar atmospheres. The album follows Death’s paradigm shift during the Spiritual Healing era, incorporating more cerebral, melodic instrumentation with elements of thrash and thought-provoking, socially conscious lyrics. The band once again teamed up with the legendary Ed Repka (Death, Atheist, Massacre) for Twisted Prayers’ blasphemous cover art, in addition to legendary Death guitarist James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Testament) for a pair of special guest guitar solos.
David Hillyard and The Rocksteady 7 – The Giver CD/LP (ORG Music)
Based out of New York but relying on a global cast of musicians, David has been directing The Rocksteady 7’s mix of Jamaican roots music with American jazz, soul, and R&B since 1997. [Limited edition white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Ben Howard – Noonday Dreams CD (Republic)
New album from British singer-songwriter. Thus far in his career, Howard has earned an Ivor Novello Award nomination, the UK’s most prestigious songwriting accolade, in addition to two Brit Awards in 2012 for British Breakthrough and British Solo Male Artist.
Jethro Tull – 50 For 50 3xCD (Rhino/Parlophone)
Jethro Tull – 50th Anniversary Collection CD (Rhino/Parlophone)
50 For 50 is a triple-CD career-spanning set that features 50 songs – chosen by Ian Anderson – from all 21 of the band’s studio albums. 50th Anniversary Collection is a pared-down, 21-track single-disc version that gathers key tracks from all 21 albums. [Vinyl edition of 50th Anniversary Collection due August 31.]
Karen Jonas – Butter CD/LP (Yellow Brick)
As rich as its name suggests, Butter mixes the textured twang of Karen Jonas’s folk and country roots with the diverse influences of ragtime, blues, jazz and barroom soul.
JPattersson – Folks & Fanfare CD/LP (Acker)
It’s been around three years since JPattersson opened up a whole new horizon of formerly unheard possibilities between the worlds of dub and techno with PROGaDUB (2015). A lot has been happening ever since, and that’s very noticeable on his second album, Folks & Fanfare. It still has all the signature elements of JPattersson: There’s his dreamy, virtuous trumpet play and his witty vocals, there’s his dubby delays and heavyweight beats which often line up in a downbeat rhythm.
Kataklysm – Meditations CD+DVD/LP/Cassette (Nuclear Blast)
13th album from the Montréal based melodic death metallers. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Inigo Kennedy – Strata CD/2xLP+CD (Token)
The new album from the techno pioneer delves into a thoughtful series of classically-inspired electronica suites. His classic rock style is apparent not only in his delivery, but his songwriting and self-taught musicianship.
Jesse Kinch – I’m Not Like Everybody Else CD/LP (Curb)
At just 23, Jesse claims as influences unique vocal stylists the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl.
Joan Of Arc – 1984 CD/LP (Joyful Noise)
Remarkably, so much of the cluttered sound of earlier Joan of Arc LPs has largely fallen away on 1984, as has Tim Kinsella’s voice. At first it’s genuinely shocking. But the songs here are a revelation, as profound and plainspoken as parables. (Just caught your eyeroll.)
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Polygondwanaland (Fuzz Club Version) CD (Fuzz Club)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Features alternate cover art.
Lump – Lump CD (Dead Oceans)
Lump was born of good timing and predestined compatibility. It began one night in mid-June 2016, when Mike Lindsay – founding member of Tunng and Throws, and a prolific, Mercury prize-winning producer – was introduced to Grammy-nominated, Brit award-winning singer-songwriter Laura Marling. On meeting, Lindsay and Marling discovered they had long been admirers of each other’s work. Lindsay had been busy for some months composing an intricate, ambitious new sound cycle. His compositional style had evolved over the course of years of musical experimentation with Tunng, and during his time spent producing other people’s records while living in Iceland. He had arrived at a remarkably visual, colorful sound – a heady blend of wonked-out guitars, Moog synths and pattering drums, set against droning, coiling clouds of flutes and voices. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Maps and Atlases – Lightlessness Is Nothing New CD/LP (Barsuk)
The title of Maps and Atlases’ new album serves to foreshadow an emotionally and musically dynamic collection of songs that contemplates the jolt of loss and the strain of longing to music that, against our better judgment, makes us want to dance. In the brooding yet playful vein of The Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel, Maps and Atlases embrace the paradox of what it is to be human – constantly searching and, forever un-satiated, returning again and again with everlasting hope to the ever-darkening fray.
Albin Lee Meldau – About You CD/LP (Astralwerks)
When you distill the 13 songs on Albin Lee Meldau’s debut About You down to their essence, you’ll arrive at the Swedish singer/songwriter’s motivation: “Storytelling,” he says. His voice connects a rich history of rhythm and blues – Al Green, Van Morrison – to contemporary innovators like James Blake, Sam Smith and Hozier. The music does that too, swelling from spare guitar or piano-backed ballads, to Ronson-like mashups of hip-hop beats and sweeping strings, to hands-in-the-air soul-soaked dance-pop.
Morcheeba – Blaze Away CD/LP (Fly Agaric)
The British trip-hop pioneers return with their first new album in over five years.
Near Future – Ideal Home CD/LP (Blanc Check)
Near Future is the collaboration between Blancmange’s Neil Arthur and solo electronic artist Bernholz. Files were swapped, sounds, and lyrics re-wired, and Ideal Home is the gloriously minimal result. The album is icy and detached; beautiful and otherworldly; Bernholz’s spoken word monolog on “Dawn” sounding like a warning signal from the subconscious, while digitized electronics usher in some of Neil Arthur’s most intimate vocals.
The Nectars – Sci-Fi Television CD/LP (7hz Productions)
Born in the shadow of New York City in late 2016, New Jersey alternative-rockers The Nectars release their debut album – a ferocious, euphoric, sarcastic, brilliant slice of sleazy pop genius. A nine-song collection of short, sharp bangers, each with their own individual sound delving into art-rock debauchery.
Tami Neilson – Sassafrass! CD/LP+MP3 (Outside Music)
For the past decade, Canadian-born, New Zealand-based singer/songwriter Tami Neilson has been the queen of her adopted homeland’s country and roots music scenes. On this 11-track knock-out, she places a heavier emphasis on soul music without abandoning her country and rockabilly roots. Neilson conjures up a wonderfully retro style that sounds like it could be a lost gem from the late ’50s or early ’60s; however, beneath the classic veneer are frank, highly relevant lyrics. [Colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Nervosa – Downfall Of Mankind CD/LP (Napalm)
Brazilian all-female thrash commando unit Nervosa is synonymous with raw aggression and untamed power!
Pieter Nooten – Stem CD/LP+MP3 (Rocket Girl)
Rumored to be one of the most intriguing collaborations of 2018, Rocket Girl presents Pieter Nooten’s fourth solo album Stem as Nooten teams up with legendary producer/mixer/sound-artist Stephen W. Tayler (Kate Bush, Underworld) at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios
Nurse With Wound – Sinister Whimsey For The Wretched 2xCD (Dirter Promotions)
Sinister Whimsy For The Wretched contains the long out-of-print albums, Sugar Fish Drink (1992) and Large Ladies With Cake In The Oven (1993). Both discs are remastered by Andrew Liles.
Oneohtrix Point Never – Age Of CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
A tapestry of disparate musical histories – early music, country and folk balladry, melodic pop, computer music and much, much more.
Oiseaux-Tempête And The Bunny Tylers – The True History Of The Tortoise & The Hare According To Lord Dunsany CD (Ruptured)
The Bunny Tylers is a duo from Lebanon whose core consists of two prominent musicians from the Beirut scene: singer-songwriter and guitarist Charbel Haber and multi-instrumentalist and producer Fadi Tabbal. The music of French free-rock collective Oiseaux-Tempête is bred from places in turmoil. Embracing the freedom of improvisation, theirs is a secular music that crosses boundaries and cultures, embodying an intersection where post-rock, jazz, Arabic music, punk, and experimental electronic music find common ground and refuge.
Petyr – Smoyk CD/LP (Outer Battery)
Coming hot the heels of last year’s debut LP, Smolyk continues the band’s mash up of heavy psych and skate sensibilities.
Michelle Phillips – Victim Of Romance [Reissue/1977] CD (Real Gone Music)
During the 1960s as an original member of The Mamas & The Papas, the lovely Michelle Phillips enjoyed singing lead vocal on that supergroup’s smash rendition of “Dedicated to The One I Love.” In 1976 Michelle took a brief break from her rising acting career (Dillinger, Valentino, Knots Landing, and a beloved Manwich commercial) to return to the recording studio as a solo performer following a pair of singles produced by her ex-husband and Mamas & Papas leader John Philips and A&M Records co-owner Jerry Moss. Working with legendary producer-arranger Jack Nitzsche (Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, and many others), Michelle enjoyed collaborating on an album that evoked the Phil Spector sound which Nitzsche helped to invent while also creating a modern ’70s pop sound.
Natalie Prass – The Future And The Past CD (ATO)
Natalie Prass had her new album written, her band ready, the recording studio booked. Then the 2016 election happened, and out of her despair and disappointment in those results came an impulse she could not ignore: she rewrote the album to reflect these swirling emotions. The result is The Future And The Past, a stunning snapshot of a musician in a state of personal rediscovery and surging femininity. The celebratory and defiant collection also signals a significant artistic leap for Prass on the heels of her 2015 breakthrough debut. It finds Prass tapping into deep, dancey grooves that glisten with ‘80s pop and ‘90s R&B, nestled alongside quivering, lushly orchestrated ballads. “Short Court Style” dials the tempo into the aforementioned ‘90s R&B territory, punctuated by handclaps, sampled “woos,” and a Dr. Dre-esque whistling synth line. Lyrically she wields a sharp knife as well on the love torn “Lost” and the empowering feminist anthem “Sisters”. [Vinyl edition due July 8.]
Purgatory – Cold Side Of Reality CD/LP (Unbeaten)
The metallic hardcore wrecking crew deliver one of the year’s heaviest beatdowns.
Pyramid – Pyramid CD/LP+MP3 (Mental Experience)
33 minutes of pure, unadulterated, psychedelic krautrock courtesy of Pyramid, an obscure studio project produced by Toby Robinson, aka The Mad Twiddler, recorded circa 1975-76 in Cologne for the underground Pyramid label.
The Quick – Mondo Deco [Reissue/1976] CD (Real Gone Music)
The Quick were the crucial link between the glam and punk eras in Los Angeles. Like The Runaways, they were brought to the Mercury label by local impresario Kim Fowley, but The Quick proved much less pliant than their distaff peers, resisting Fowley’s demands for “more boogie” on their 1976 debut album and instead pursuing a power pop sound influenced by Sparks (ex-Sparks guitarist Earle Mankey engineered). The Quick’s intricate harmonies, heavy guitar solos, sophisticated/sardonic lyrics and hooky melodies (both courtesy of songwriter Steven Hufsteter) deserved a much wider audience than they got
Michael Ray – Amos CD (Warner Music Nashville)
New album from the country music singer-songwriter. Amos is named after Ray’s grandfather, Amos, who was a huge influence on him not just musically – also in fueling his love for country music. In fact, Ray first began singing and performing in his grandfather’s band when he was only nine years old. To this day he still plays Amos’ hand-me-down guitar, a 1978 Les Paul, as a reminder of the time they spent together sharing stories, learning songs and making memories.
Steve Roach – Molecules Of Motion CD (Projekt)
On his first studio album since his recent Grammy nomination, Roach calls upon an expansive 35-year legacy at the forefront of electronic music creation. Molecules Of Motion is a masterful album with roots in the Berlin School and a foot in the transcendent unknown of the future flowing into now.
Ruen Brothers – All My Shades Of Blue CD (Ramseur)
Whether it’s their collaboration with the legendary producer Rick Rubin, kudos from the likes of Zane Lowe and the BBC, or a string of memorable performances from the hills of Glastonbury to the deserts of Coachella, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter siblings Henry and Rupert Stansall, known by their amalgam-created moniker Ruen Brothers, are making a mark with throwback rock and roll sound that intersects the early days of the genre with a dynamic present-day act. [Vinyl edition due June 22.]
Craig Safan – Sirens (Music Inspired By Homer’s Odyssey) CD (Varese Sarabande)
Acclaimed composer Craig Safan’s newest album was inspired by the classic tales of Homer’s The Odyssey. The tracks that make up Sirens were enhanced by live players as well as sonic elements Safan recorded while exploring the mythical landmarks of Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, and environs.
Pharoah Sanders – Juan Les Pin Jazz Festival ’68 CD (Hi Hat)
Live radio broadcast from the Juan Les Pins Jazz Festival, Antibes, France on July 20th, 1968. Having made his name playing with John Coltrane as of 1965, Pharoah Sanders soon came to be recognized as one of the most innovative jazz players of his generation.
Pierre Sandwidi – Le Troubadour De La Savane – 1978/1982 CD/LP (Born Bad)
Nicknamed “the troubadour from the bush”, Pierre Sandwidi stands as one of the finest Voltaic artists from the 1970s. He belonged to an unsung elite of Francophone artists such as Francis Bebey, G.G. Vickey, André-Marie Tala, or Mamo Lagbema. His entire released output consists of less than ten 7″s, two LPs, and a bunch of cassettes. Along with his friends Jean-Bernard Samboué, Abdoulaye Cissé, Oger Kaboré, Joseph Salambéré, or Richard Seydou Traoré, he was part of the “vedettes en herbe” movement.
The Saxophones – Songs Of The Saxophones CD/LP (Full Time Hobby)
The Saxophones’ debut album was inspired by 1950s exotica and Hawaiian albums (Edhen Abhez, Buddy Fo, and Martin Denny), 1970s Italian songwriter Vittorio Impiglia, and a host of third-stream and West coast jazz records.
Kyriakos Sfetsas – Greek Fusion Orchestra Vol. 1 CD/LP+MP3 (Teranga Beat)
A progressive-jazz fusion masterpiece comprising complex and intriguing compositions, and performed by Athens’s best musicians of the day.
Paul Simon – Graceland: The Remixes CD/LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Paul Simon’s iconic 1986 album receives a reworking from the likes of MK, Richy Ahmed, Paul Oakenfold, and Groove Armada, all spinning their own unique interpretations across the release – the first time a classic album has been reimagined in its entirety.
Slapshot – Make America Hate Again CD/LP (Bridge Nine)
The Boston hardcore veterans Slapshot return with a new album. [Vinyl reissue of Digital Warfare also released this week.]
Keely Smith – Sings The John Lennon – Paul McCartney Songbook [Reissue/1964] CD (Real Gone Music)
Lots of pop vocalists have tackled the vaunted Lennon-McCartney songbook, but this 1964 release from the late, great Keely Smith was the first album by an artist of her ilk devoted to the lads from Liverpool. with sparkling arrangements by Ernie Freeman and Benny Carter, and production from Keely’s soon-to-be husband Jimmy Bowen, the record alternately seduces and swings, and Keely’s voice-with its bluesy phrasing and lilt patented on The Strip-is the perfect instrument to interpret these Fab tunes.
Strafe F.R. – The Bird Was Stolen CD (Touch)
Based in Düsseldorf, Germany, Strafe Für Rebellion, or Strafe F.R., is a long-term collaboration between the artists Bernd Kastner and Siegfried M. Syniuga, which started in 1979. After a long period of hibernation, The Bird Was Stolen marks their return to Touch following four previous releases in the ’80s and early ’90s. From their early connection with the local scene, centered around the Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf, Strafe went on to develop a unique and influential form of sound sculpture that pioneered the use of field recordings alongside home-made instruments and the use of the studio as a performance space.
Surgeon – Luminosity Device CD/2xLP (Dynamic Tension)
Surgeon’s new full-length takes Bardo Thödol — the Tibetan Book of the Dead — as a starting point for a rhythmic journey into those interstitial spaces where body, mind, and soul no longer seem like distinct categories.
Foster Sylvers – Foster Sylvers [Reissue/1973] CD/LP (Mr. Bongo)
The Sylvers – II [Reissue/1973] CD/LP (Mr. Bongo)
The Sylvers were a family from Los Angeles who were very successful during the ’70s and into the early ’80s with chart hits – deep into pop-disco territory by then.
Samba Touré – Wande CD/LP (Glitterbeat)
Wande is just as direct and powerful as Touré’s previous work, but everything moves with a bright, danceable sensibility. Gone are the intense guitar and ngoni duels, replaced with short, incisive guitar solos and a solid, laid-back groove.
Tower Of Power – Soul Side Of Town CD/LP (Artistry Music)
One of the most dynamic and distinctive bands in soul music roars into its 50th anniversary with an LP of all new material.
TWINS – That Which Is Not Said CD/LP (2MR)
TWINS (the acronym from which the album derives its title, if one’s curious about the order of origin) is the mutant machine-pop project of Atlanta producer, label operator, and all-around aesthete-visionary Matt Weiner. Having spent the better part of a decade reveling in a moody murk that intersects seductive synth-pop with Featureless Ghost and grotesque industrial-dance grooves in his own right as TWINS, Weiner has more than proved his sincerely sinister and auspiciously artful finesse of synth-based music.
Conway Twitty – Icon LP (MCA Nashville)
11 hits from the country singer.
Various Artists – African Screams Contest CD/2xLP (Analog Africa)
Gut-busting yelps, lethal horn sections, and irresistibly insistent rhythms add up to a record that takes you into its own space with the same electrifying sureness of your favorite blues, soul, funk or punk samplers.
Various Artists – Chébran- Volume 2: French Boogie CD/2xLP (Born Bad)
The French in the ’80s were not faint-hearted: as some threw themselves heart and soul into music or business, others wouldn’t mind going bottomless to get themselves noticed. While Bernard Tapie soon realized his own fortune was rather to be found in business, many music-loving dreamers already imagined themselves in the sun, in an enchanting world made of funky rhythms and synthesizers. Features Phil Barney, JM Black, Ettika, Sammy Massamba, Shams Dinn, Alfio Scandurra,Philippe Chany, Nordine Staiffi, Brigitte Et Michot, Alec Mansion, Marie Jose Fa, Hamidou, Ganawa, Creole Star, Manu, Ethnie, and Joel Ferrati.
Various Artists – Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris 3xCD+DVD+Book (Dust-To-Digital)
This watershed release represents the life’s work of William Ferris, an audio recordist, filmmaker, folklorist, and teacher with an unwavering commitment to establish and to expand the study of the American South. It includes a 120-page hardcover book in full color edited by William Ferris Writings by Scott Barretta, David Evans, and Tom Rankin; three CDs — two of the CDs feature blues and gospel recordings (1966-1978), and the final CD features interviews and storytelling (1968-1994); and one DVD featuring documentary films (1972-1980). Transcriptions and annotations are provided for each track. Comes in a cigar box.
Wheel – The Divide CDEP (7hz Productions)
Second EP release from Finnish Prog rockers.
Kamaal Williams – The Return CD/LP (Black Focus)
Whether re-defining experimental fusion sounds with the hugely acclaimed Yussef Kamaal, or his catalogue of 12”s for imprints such as MCDE, Eglo, and Rhythm Section as Henry Wu, South London’s Kamaal Williams has been a key figure in his thriving international scene for the past few years. The Return is a natural evolution from the Yussef Kamaal project, mining the influence of visionary jazz but blended with all kinds of texture, sounds and signals from the over-saturated London streets. At times the keyboard work evokes the classic 70s fusion work of Lonnie Liston Smith or Roy Ayers, but underpinned by rhythms more reminiscent of blunted hip-hop and arrangements subliminally laced with the cut-ups of pirate radio. Progressive, funky, cosmic, exploratory and effortlessly musical, this is the sound of a musician honing their craft into thrilling new shapes.
Witchskull – Coven’s Will CD/LP (Rise Above)
Channeling the spirit of the metal gods and injecting every last moment of their rampaging anthems with a jolting dose of lysergic menace, Witchskull is the unstoppable real deal.
XXXTentacion – ? CD (Caroline)
Controversial rapper Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy (aka XXXTentacion) plays fast and loose when it comes to genres, often incorporating elements of punk rock, hip-hop, R&B, and heavy metal. His sophomore album, XXX, includes guest appearances from PnB Rock, Travis Barker and Joey Badass, among others. [Vinyl edition due July 20.]
Pete Yorn/Scarlett Johansson – Apart CDEP/12” (Capitol)
The Apart EP marks the duo of Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson’s first collaboration since their 2009 album, Break Up. Ushered in by the shimmering lead single “Bad Dreams,” the EP features four brand new recordings and a new version of “Tomorrow,” a song that originally appeared on Yorn’s last album, 2016’s Arranging Time.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Blutengel – Live Im Wasserschloss Klaffenbach Blu-ray (Out Of Line)
The German goth-pop band performs a 2-hour-plus set comprised of hits and fan-favorites.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
The Album Leaf – Torey’s Distraction: Original Soundtrack [Reissue/2012] LP (Eastern Glow)
Vinyl release of The Album Leaf’s original score to the 2009 documentary, performed by Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf). Filmmaker Tisha Blood follows three girls with a rare craniofacial anomaly called Apert Syndrome over the course of 10 years providing an intimate glimpse into the transforming powers of science, family, humor, hope and compassion. Standard weight “starburst cream & burnt orange” marbled vinyl in a custom die-cut jacket.
Amorphous – Silent Waters [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Vinyl reissue of the prog metal band’s 2007 album.
Azambuja & Cia – Azambuja & Cia [Reissue/1975] LP (Far Out)
A reissue of Azambuja & Cia’s self-titled album, originally released in 1975. In 1975. Azambuja & Cia was the prolific and multi-talented Brazilian comedians Chico Anysio and Arnaud Rodrigues. Each side ends with a comedy monolog, complete with live audience laughter, but before that you get seven tracks of weird and wonderfully emotive Brazilian groove music.
Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos – Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos [Reissue/1974] LP (Far Out)
Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos was a band formed by prolific and multi-talented Brazilian comedians Chico Anysio and Arnaud Rodrigues. Satirizing Brazil’s tropicalia movement in the 1970s, the duo took a friendly crack at the likes of Caetano Veloso and psychedelic rockers Novos Baianos, with their righteous tropicalista alter-egos “Baiano” and “Paulinho Boca de Profeta” poetically denouncing the dictatorship while simultaneously mocking those who took themselves too seriously.
Beach Skulls – Las Dunas LP (Pnkslm Recordings)
Manchester trio Beach Skulls are back with their second album, the follow-up to their acclaimed 2016 debut Slow Grind. Summery garage pop mixed with psych and dream pop influences.
The Beat – Here We Go Love! LP (Here We Go)
The English Beat starring Dave Wakeling return with their first studio album since 1982. Wakeling’s ability to create a nagging pop hook is undimmed, as too is his political edge. Blending wit and wisdom, and of course ska, punk, soul, reggae, pop and anything else that came to hand in the melting pot that was late ‘70s Birmingham, The English Beat were ahead of the time and creating a hybrid sound that came in part to define their times. [CD version due June 15.]
Behemoth – Messe Noire 2xLP (Metal Blade)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New live collection from the Polish black/death metal overlords recorded at Progresja in Warsaw, Poland on August 8, 2016.
Biffy Clyro – MTV Unplugged Live At Roundhouse, London 2xLP+CD+DVD (WB)
Deluxe heavyweight black vinyl edition. Includes a 12” double-sided art print featuring setlist, signed by the band, a DVD featuring the MTV Unplugged set, a CD album of the set, an LP-size 6-panel booklet, all packaged in a custom gatefold sleeve. Although their live shows are best known for their electrifying and explosive energy, Biffy Clyro have often demonstrated that their songs possess an added poignancy when stripped back to their essence.
Blind Melon – Nico [1995] LP (Analog Sparks)
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a gatefold jacket. Blind Melon’s third album, Nico, was released after lead singer Shannon Hoon’s cocaine overdose that resulted in his death in 1995. This marks the firs-time the release has been available on vinyl. [Limited clear pressing also available.]
Mary Chapin Carpenter – Sometimes Just The Sky LP (Lambent Light)
Released last March on CD – now available on vinyl. Sometimes Just The Sky is not a greatest hits endeavor or a remastered compilation. It’s not a celebration or a souvenir. It is a reimagining of a most unusual nature. It is a collection of songs written across the decades, recorded in bucolic western England at Real World Studios with the great producer Ethan Johns. Carpenter sat with new and old friends who circled together in a wooden room and made music, in real time. What we hear is precisely what was played and sung, all at once. There’s a song originally recorded for each of Carpenter’s original studio records, and then there’s a new song, which was aided and abetted by hillside contemplation and a punk poet’s advice.
Catch Up – Vol. 1 [Reissue/1975] LP (Sommor)
Vinyl reissue of one of the best jazz-funk-fusion albums from the ’70s Euro scene
Guigou Chenevier and Sophie Jausserand – A l’Abri Des Micro-Climats [Reissue/1984] LP (Megaphone/Knock ‘Em Dead)
Vinyl reissue of a concept-album based on a series of non-conventional “songs”, composed by Guigou Chenevier (drummer for French prog-rock band Etron Fou Leloublan) and his wife Sophie Jausserand.
Ché-SHIZU – A Journey [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Black Editions)
Ché-SHIZU is one of the most original and mystifying groups to ever emerge from the Tokyo underground. Founded by master improviser Chie Mukai in 1981 the group has been guided by her singular vision for nearly 40 years. Throughout its history Ché-SHIZU has challenged traditional notions of song structure and improvisation.
The Coathangers – Live LP (Suicide Squeeze)
In their thirteen years of existence, Atlanta, GA’s garage punks The Coathangers have cranked out five full-lengths and over a dozen singles, splits, and EPs. And while every Coathangers record has captured their buoyant turbulence and jagged euphoria, there’s always some degree of magic that gets lost when bands go into the studio. Whatever the source of that magic, The Coathangers have always wrangled a replication of that sweaty and sticky live feeling, but the time had come to properly document it. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Control Denied – The Fragile Sound Of Existence [Reissue/1999] 2xLP (Relapse)
Control Denied was started by Chuck Schuldiner to create a European-style power metal/progressive metal band mixed with elements of death metal recognizable in his earlier band, Death, but combined with a slightly more melodic style. Schuldiner died in 2001.
Digable Planets – Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) [Reissue/1993] 2xLP (Modern Classics)
At a time when hip-hop was determined to snap your neck, a young, hip trio from Brooklyn (by way of Seattle, Philly, and Brazil) conspired on an uncommonly smooth new sound and freaky way of speak, a titanically chill expression of Black bohemia loaded with jazz idiom and a subversive Marxist bent-and pushed it worldwide via an undeniable crossover hit. Digable Planets’ 1993 debut, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), unexpected to all involved, produced a massive radio hit in “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”.
Dissection – The Past Is Alive: The Early Mischief [Reissue/1997] LP (Hammerheart)
Vinyl reissue of the esteemed Swedish melodic black metal band’s first two demos, Into Infinite Obscurity and The Grief Prophecy, along with other rare tracks.
Luc Ferrari – Atelier de Libération de la Musique LP (Alpha Marghen)
Improvisations recorded in February and March 1975 during the rehearsals for the Concerts Électrovisuels at Cesi Pont F and Musée Galiera in Paris.
Five Finger Death Punch – A Decade Of Destruction 2xLP (Prospect Park)
Released last December on CD – now available on vinyl. A compilation of the band’s biggest radio singles from the past ten years along with two newly recorded songs.
Miguel Flores – Primitivo LP (Buh)
Miguel Flores is a self-made musician, composer and producer born in 1951 in Lima, Perú.
He began by playing drums at 13 in a school band: The Loop’s (1965-1968). He moved onto Thee Image (1968-1970) and then jumped to fame as drummer for PAX (1971-1975).
Then he founded Ave Acústica (1975-1978) and La Orquesta Integral del Sol (1979) to fuse Peruvian folk music and modern concepts. He has composed music for theatre, dance, ballet and movies.
Foom & Foam – Foom & Foam LP (Feeding Tube)
“By using previously recorded sounds as source, the artists eradicate both the ability and the necessity of trying to identify the instruments or objects producing the noise here. These are just sounds, freed from their original sonic context by the initial act of recording, now existing as naught-but-signals, to be interpreted by our brains as they see fit to interpret them. And it allows them to manipulate the surface representations of previously-captured events in ways that recall Dennis Duck Goes Disco (1977), Steve Fisk’s 448 Deathless Days (1987) and even Orchid Spangiafora’s Flee Past’s Ape Elf (1979).” — Byron Coley
Jerry Garcia – Run For The Roses [Reissue/1982] LP (ATO)
Recently released as a limited pressing for RSD 2018 – now available as a standard vinyl reissue. Originally released in 1982, Run For The Roses is Garcia’s fourth and final solo studio album.
Margaret Glaspy – Born Yesterday 12” (ATO)
Written on the road, in her hotel, on the plane and at soundcheck, these songs were the product of the little time she had to herself – three songs about different sides of love: love gone wrong, love gone right, and love at a distance.
Johnny Griffin – The Man I Love [Reissue/1967] LP (ORG Music)
Teamed up with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath for a club date at Copenhagen’s Montmartre in 1967, the great tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin really stretches out on The Man I Love. Remastered for vinyl from original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany. [Limited white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Mickey Hart – Ramu LP (Verve)
Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. While most albums function as a snapshot of a place and time, Ramu is more like a photo album, containing samples and recordings from around the globe, originating between 1944 and 2017. Mickey’s life ambition has always been to record and preserve the music of the world using the most innovative and high-quality equipment possible. Through the making of the album, that goal has grown to be something more. It’s about creation through collaboration, through combination, and through inclusion. Ramu acts as a reunion of like-minds, of a musical family torn apart by time, expanding to include the sounds and influences of the modern era.
Mel Henke – 77 Sunset Strip-per [Reissue/1977] LP (Modern Harmonic)
Mel Henke was a guerrilla in the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Think Ward Cleaver meets Hugh Hefner: an upstanding, tax-paying, white collar, tie-and-sports coat-wearing middle class, middle aged guy with the heart and mind of a horny 17-year-old.
Vance Joy – Nation Of Two LP+MP3 (Atlantic)
Released last February on CD – now available on vinyl. Nation Of Two is the keenly awaited second album from Melbourne-turned global folk-pop superstar, Vance Joy (James Gabriel Wanderson Keogh). Following on from his ARIA #1 debut Dream Your Life Away, Nation Of Two carries the listener on an exquisite 13 track journey across new terrain.
Jeffrey Lee/Cypress Groove Pierce – Anarchic Blues 2xLP (Bang!)
Extended version of vinyl edition of this magnificent recording from Jeffrey Lee Pierce & Cypress Grove, all pure acoustic blues, recorded in Slovenia in 1994 for a radio show. Here Jeffrey Lee Pierce took a break from The Gun Club in order to focus on his passion for traditional blues.
Living Colour – Stain [Reissue/1993] LP (Megaforce)
Like it’s predecessors (platinum 1988 debut Vivid and gold 1990 sophomore effort Time’s Up), Stain exhibits Living Colour’s high-temperature mix of hard rock energy and funkinflected rhythm, social conscience and unfettered emotion.
Seán Mac Erlaine – Music For Empty Ears LP (Ergodos)
Seán Mac Erlaine is a Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist, composer and music producer, recognized as one of Ireland’s most forward-thinking creative musicians. Mac Erlaine works in a variety of settings from free improvisation, contemporary jazz, folk music and experimental theatre.
Dave Matthews – Under The Table And Dreaming [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (RCA)
Dave Matthews Band’s 1994 major label debut Under The Table And Dreaming introduced the Virginia-based quintet to a national audience with an alternative, folk-tinged approach to pop/rock music that resonated in a post-grunge world. Back in-print on vinyl.
Mazozma – Stark Joy LP (Feeding Tube/Mystra)
New project from Kentucky ex-pat Mike Turner aka Mikey T. (Warmer Milks). “There is something very special about the sound of a bummed-out smart person alone in a room somewhere (studio or not) with just their guitar for solace. Many killer examples of the form exist — Skip Spence’s Oar (1969), Pip Proud’s Adrenaline And Richard (1968), Roy Montgomery’s 324 E. 13th Street #7 (1999), and so on. All of these records shine with very special darkness. To this list, I submit the new Mazozma LP, Stark Joy.” — Byron Coley
Mazzy Star – Still 12” (Rhymes Of An Hour)
Mazzy Star, the ethereal co-writing duopoly of guitarist David Roback and husky-voiced Hope Sandoval, returns with a new EP, their first release since 2013’s Seasons of Your Day and the death of longtime drummer Keith Mitchell.
Mette Rasmussen/Tashi Dorji – Mette Rasmussen/Tashi Dorji LP (Feeding Tube)
Mette Rasmussen is a Danish saxophonist, based in Norway, who has recorded with Chris Corsano, Alan Silva, Mats Gustafsson, Ace Farren Ford, etc. Here she performs with Asheville-based guitarist, Tashi Dorji.
Mobb Deep – Murda Muzik [Reissue/1999] 2xLP+MP3 (Sony)
Mobb Deep – Infamy [Reissue/2001] 2xLP+MP3 (Sony)
Vinyl reissue of the hip-hop duo’s fourth and fifth albums. Infamy was released after Jay-Z dissed Prodigy and Nas on his song “Takeover,” from Jay-Z’s 2001 album, The Blueprint, which caused Prodigy to strike back on the track “Crawlin”.
Modeselektor – Modeselektion Vol. 4 #1 12” (Monkeytown)
Modeselektor – Modeselektion Vol. 4 #2 12” (Monkeytown)
Modeselektor – Modeselektion Vol. 4 #3 12” (Monkeytown)
Modeselektor – Modeselektion Vol. 4 #4 12” (Monkeytown)
A collection of free-thinking and boundary-pushing tracks from exciting upstarts such as rRoxymore, Skee Mask and Sarah Farina to exalted visionaries Peder Mannerfelt, Vatican Shadow and Modeselektor themselves who present their first new track since 2015. (Total artists/tracks spread across four EPs.)
The Neighborhood – The Neighborhood 2xLP+MP3 (Sony)
Released last March on CD – now available on vinyl. Eponymous third album from the critically acclaimed L.A. based alternative rock band.
New Parents – Transient Response LP (Feeding Tube)
Debut album by this Turners Falls-based quartet led by Adam Langellotti of Sore Eros and widely hailed for his engineering work. The sound on Transient Response is languid ruralist prog-pop, with help from Gary War, Ma Turner, Shannon & Beverly Ketch, and other Valley travelers.
Now, Now – Saved LP (Trans)
Minneapolis duo Now, Now return with their long awaited follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2012 album Threads. Boasting the most direct songwriting and transparent lyrics the band have ever written by a mile, the record comes preceded by a pair of well received singles including “SGL”, which landed at No. 1 and No. 7 on “Best Songs of 2017” lists for Idolator and NPR Music respectively, and “Yours”, on which Pitchfork say Now, Now accomplished “a hallmark of a great pop song,” on account of “its ability to inflate the most unassuming feelings into towering sound.”
The O’Jays – Ship Ahoy [Reissue/1973] LP (Sony Legacy)
Conceived as a theme album built around the title track, Ship Ahoy includes socially relevant tracks and love songs under a cover that is itself notable for its serious subject matter. Ship Ahoy was the highest selling R&B album on the Billboard Year-End chart for 1974.
Augustus Pablo – Live At The Greek Theatre, Berkley, 1984 LP (Radiation Roots)
Standard vinyl pressing of the 2018 RSD release. Electrifyingly atmospheric live recording of the melodic maverick.
PMS & The Mood Swings – PMS & The Mood Swings LP+MP3/Cassette (Burger)
“Hold on to your rumps, chumps! It’s time for PMS and the Moodswings! The new gang on the block serve up sticky pop candy with a classic Bowery punk beat, Coney Island surf guitars, and that uptown sax sound!”
Damien Rice – O [2002] 2xLP (WB)
An expanded double-LP version of Damien Rice’s 2002 album. This is the first time O will be available on vinyl and this extended 16-track edition includes four additional recordings: “The Professor & La Fille Danse” and “Moody Mooday,” which were both originally B-sides to the “The Blower’s Daughter”; “Lonelily,” which appeared also appeared alongside the track “Moody Mooday” as a limited edition 7″ single in 2004; and “Woman Like A Man,” which was recorded live in a session at Galway Bay FM and was the lead track for the song’s single release.
Günter Schickert – Labyrinth LP (Marmo)
Günter Schickert, four decades of multi-instrumental cosmic explorations, under Berlin’s sky, above genres, and compromises. Marmo present on his seventh album to date.
Silverstein – When Broken Is Easily Fixed [Reissue/2003] LP (Victory)
Vinyl reissue of the debut studio album by Canadian post-hardcore band.
Slapshot – Digital Warfare [Reissue/2003] LP (I Scream)
Digital Warfare served as the first full-length release in over seven years from Boston, MA’s longest running hardcore band.
Spacemen 3 – Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To [Reissue/1990] 2xLP (Superior Viaduct)
Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To casts Spacemen 3 alongside the mid-80s cadre of UK front-line rockers, contributing a distinct variation of high pop shining through layered noisy guitars. Ultimately, this collection serves to exalt the strength of Spacemen 3’s songwriting over the atmospherics and production assemblage that would permeate their later efforts.
t.e.s.o. – Construzione 04 LP (Aperature)
Italian duo t.e.s.o. present their second full-length album. As the title suggests, Construzione 04 centers around an underlying theme of construction, inspired by radical architecture, brutalism, and collages from Superstudio. The concept and title evolved from the nature of the album and the process of building up tracks from a number of separate samples, much like the singular elemental materials used to assemble a structure.
Jacques Thollot – More Intra Musique 2xLP (Alga Marghen)
Produced in collaboration with the legendary Jac Berrocal’s label d’Avantage, More Intra Musique is the second LP in Alga Marghen’s series dedicated to previously unreleased recording by the drummer and experimentalist Jacques Thollot.
Various Artists – Kerrang Legends 2xLP (Rhino)
Bringing together some of the most legendary Kerrang! bands from all ends of the rock spectrum, Kerrang! Legends features 40 tracks: from the pop punk of Fall Out Boy and Sum 41, to emotional anthems from My Chemical Romance and Funeral For A Friend, to the heaviness of Slipknot and Machine Head, together with the chart smashing crossover hits of Nickelback and Biffy Clyro.
The Word Alive – Violent Noise LP (Fearless)
Limited clear vinyl LP pressing. Violent Noise is The Word Alive’s fifth studio album and the follow up to 2016’s Dark Matter, hitting #1 on the iTunes Metal Chart, and 2013’s REAL., debuting at #4 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart.
ZZ Top – Cinco No. 2: The Second Five LPs 5xLP (Rhino)
Five studio albums pressed on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl, presented in a box the design of which has been inspired by the custom suits made for guitarist Billy F Gibbons’ by Hollywood’s Jaime Castaneda AKA “Jaime The Tailor.”
Cassettes:
Kataklysm – Meditations (Nuclear Blast)
13th album from the Montréal based melodic death metallers.
PMS & The Mood Swings – PMS & The Mood Swings (Burger)
“Hold on to your rumps, chumps! It’s time for PMS and the Moodswings! The new gang on the block serve up sticky pop candy with a classic Bowery punk beat, Coney Island surf guitars, and that uptown sax sound!”
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