CDs:
Alias – Pitch Black Prism CD/LP (Anticon)
Every year requires winter records—those sounds one reaches for when cyclical freeze triggers a craving for icy synthesizers and sinister drums. This is where one finds Alias’s Pitch Black Prism, an alternately bleak and beautiful album built for headphones and hailstorms. Few places boast a more severe climate than Maine, the artist’s home state, with its ominous forests and jagged coastlines. Listeners can feel the climate and geography exerting brutal force to the contours of Pitch Black Prism. It’s little wonder Alias’s closest stylistic peers are Burial, Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin—all of whom hail from England, land of the cadaver-colored sky.
Allegaeon – Elements Of The Infinite CD (Metal Blade)
Allegaeon was formed in 2008 by founding member and guitar player Ryan Glisan. Soon thereafter, classically trained guitarist Greg Burgess joined, followed by vocalist Ezra Haynes and bassist Corey Archuleta to round out and form what people have come to know now as the Colorado kings of melodic metal.
Alraune – The Process Of Self-Immolation CD (Profound Lore)
Alraune is a new black metal band based out of Nashville, TN. Complex and twisted, Alraune’s vicious yet progressive style puts them alongside such American black metal bands as Ash Borer, Fell Voices, Negative Plane, Wolves In The Throne Room, Leviathan, Avichi and Krallice.
Arc – Umbra CD (DiN)
Arc is Ian Boddy (also DiN label boss) and Mark Shreeve, two veterans of the UK electronic music scene. Their music is deeply routed in the traditions of the German synthesizer music of the ‘70s and as such they employ a vast range of vintage analogue equipment not the least of which is Shreeve’s massive Moog IIIC modular system.
Auroch – Taman Shud CD (Profound Lore)
Formed in 2008, Vancouver, BC’s Auroch are poised to bear the flag of Canadian death metal chaos alongside likeminded bands of the new generation Mitochondrion (vocalist/guitarist Shawn Haché and live-lineup bassist Sebastian Montesi both play in Auroch), Antediluvian and Chthe’ilist. It’s a tradition stretching from the legendary and still-active Gorguts back to the mid-’90s heydays of Cryptopsy and Kataklysm.
The Babys – I’ll Have Some Of That! CD (Something Music)
The first album from The Babys in 30 years. The band’s line-up features original members Wally Stocker and Tony Brock as well as newcomers John Bisaha (vocals/bass) and Joey Sykes (guitars). With a string of late ’70s and early ’80s classic rock radio hits, The Babys created some of the most memorable arena anthems of that era.
Ginger Baker – Why? CD (Motema)
Best known as the fiery, game-changing drummer from the 1960’s British supergroup Cream, Ginger Baker is a true music pioneer. Now, on the heels of the 2012 documentary Beware Of Mr. Baker, which brought him and his fascinating life to a wider public, Ginger Baker takes the influences that helped shape him and puts them front and center with his powerhouse jazz confusion quartet on Why?, his first new album in 16 years.
Bassnectar – Noise vs. Beauty CD (Amorphous Music)
Noise vs Beauty: a 15-song journey that spans the spectrum of music from hardcore noise hysteria to lush, ethereal beauty and many points in between. Said Bassnectar, “I collaborated with over 50 different human beings on this collection, and it is without a doubt my favorite album to date.” Vinyl version due July 8.
Peter Mathew Bauer – Liberation! CD/LP (Mexican Summer)
The debut solo album from former Walkmen member is a poignant and anthemic blend of soulful balladry, folk-tinged meditations, and full-bore rock & roll, crafted with an oblique nod towards the explosion of art, rock, and attitude that emerged from NYC in the ’70s.
Bernhoft – Islander CD (Big Picnic)
Norway’s number-one-selling artist and soulful one-man-band sensation Bernhoft has sparked the interest of all types of music enthusiasts and pleased the toughest of critics with his stunning and complex looping live performances.
Black Bananas – Electric Brick Wall CD/LP/Cassette (Drag City)
Black Bananas work with their machines to play rock that’s progressive, experimenting and never less than super-exciting, f**kingly awesome, and amazing. They do it because it’s fun and it sounds rad. Electric Brick Wall is solidly composed of time-tested elements — the beat, the groove, licks, builds and bridges, fused together for projection as a new musical shred-spress to the stars.
Donovan Blanc – Donovan Blanc CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Donovan Blanc is the realization of a purified version of the duo’s work, fit for consumption by disciples of Technicolor baroque and singer/songwriter pop music. The record’s aim isn’t to evoke nostalgia, but rather to re-contextualize the familiar and foreign to create new moments; some that are bold and exuberant, and others that are reserved and melancholic. Donovan Blanc delivers a glimpse of the lush textures and vivid colors of pop’s golden age through a modern lens.
Blut Aus Nort/P.H.O.B.O.S. – Triunity CD (Debemur Morti)
A metaphysical alliance of legendary unorthodox black metal and industrial dark drone.
Kenny Brown – Goin’ Back To Mississippi CD (Big Legal Mess)
This first solo release showcases not only the origins of his musical education, tracks learned from his neighbor and mentor, Joe Callicott, growing up in Nesbit, Mississippi, but also others he’s apprenticed with and learned more from over the years, such as R.L. and the late Junior Kimbrough.
Buckshot & P-Money – Backpack Travels CD (Duck Down Music)
Brooklyn MC Buckshot teams up with platinum selling producer P-Money for this new collaboration, which also features Joey Badass, CJ Fly, T’Nah Apex, Steele of Smif N Wessun, David Dallas and Raz Fresco. Vinyl version due August 5.
Jonathan Butler – Living My Dream CD (Artistry)
Pursuing his multifarious musical muses ranging from contemporary jazz to slick upscale and soul and soul-stirring gospel, Jonathan’s dream is both prolific and wildly entertaining. This release is equally populated with his supple six-string stylings and trademark engaging sinuous vocals.
Cannabis Corpse – From Wisdom To Baked CD (Season Of Mist)
New album from the weed-obsessed death metal band. The trio, including Municipal Waste bassist/Iron Reagan guitarist Landphil and former Gwar guitarist Brent Legion, fuse influences from the halcyon days Florida death metal into a brutal, modern US death metal attack. Vinyl version due July 8.
Channel Zero – Kill All Kings CD (Metal Blade)
Channel Zero’s sixth studio album shows a band combining technical workmanship with raw energy and groove. Kill All Kings is a thundering musical pinball game between Teutonic trash, snarling groove metal, and elusive melodies.
Jerome Chassagnard – Inner Dialog CD (Hymen)
Supported by his wife Pei Yun Yu and French sound artist Jeremie Mathes, Chassagnard has created an album that is simultaneously dense and introspective. Inner Dialog displays a balanced bridging between IDM, electronica, chilling ambient and krautrock, creating impressive tempers of both brilliance and deepness. It is a feast for the aural senses featuring lush atmospheric synth pads, melodic piano lines, precisely set voice samples and field recordings alternately carried by a plethora of drum patterns and beatless hypnotic sequences.
Circulatory System – Mosaics Within Mosaics CD (Secretly Canadian)
Culled together in the style in which Will Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control) has always worked, using recordings from his copious back catalog of home recordings spanning from 12 years ago to now. Masterfully assembled by Derek Almstead (Faster Circuits) with overdubs by John Fernandes (OTC), Heather McIntosh (The Instruments), AJ Griffin (Laminated Cat), Peter Erchick (OTC), Jeff Mangum abd Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel). Vinyl version due July 15.
Claire – The Great Escape CD (Astralwerks)
Driven by laser tight production and carried by the undeniable voice of front-woman Josie Claire Bürkle, Claire’s sound is a child of the internet, its music a pulsating meditation on the modern sonic palate.
Clutch – Earth Rocker [Deluxe] 2xCD+DVD (Weathermaker Music)
This triple disc deluxe edition of Clutch’s 2013 album includes: the full record and brand new songs “Night Hag” and “Scavengers;” Earth Rocker Live, a CD audio version of the album performed live; and the DVD Live In Denver recorded with seven cameras in 1080i on November 14 at the sold-out Ogden Theatre show in Denver, and featuring two videos shot, directed and edited by actress Aisha Tyler: “Gone Cold” (unreleased) and “Crucial Velocity.”
Coldrain – The Revelation CD (Hopeless)
New from the heavy/melodic Japanese band.
Casey Crescenzo – A Symphony In Four Movements CD (Equal Vision)
Casey Crescenzo is the mastermind behind experimental indie rock group The Dear Hunter. An incredibly talented musician and prolific songwriter, Crescenzo wanted to push himself further as a composer by crafting an original symphony. The completed work was performed by the Brno Orchestra in the Czech Republic for this recording. Vinyl version due July 8.
deadmau5 – while(1<2) 2xCD (Astralwerks)
Globally acclaimed electronic music producer and musician deadmau5 returns with his biggest and most ambitious album project yet — one he feels to truly be his first proper body of work: a double album that takes the listener on an epic journey of sound.
Death Of An Era – Bllack Bagged CD (Razor & Tie)
Death Of an Era brings a refined sound to the death metal world with their blend of unique technical guitar work with a pile driving hardcore barrage.
Deathstars – Perfect Cult CD (Nuclear Blast)
New from the The Swedish industrial rock band.
Devangelic – Resurrection Denied CD (Comatose Music)
Debut album of brutal and blasphemic death metal from Rome.
The Duhks – Beyond The Blue CD (Compass)
Rejuvenated by a two-year hiatus and energized by the return of vocalist Jessee Havey and the addition of new members, fiddler Rosie Newton, drummer/percussionist Kevin Garcia, and guitarist/bouzouki player Colin Savoie-Levac, The Duhks founder Leonard Podolak found an amazing pallet of inspiration for Beyond The Blue. Musically, the album is reminiscent of 2006’s Grammy-nominated Migrations, but with a sound that is even more dense and grittier than 2008’s Fast Paced World.
Jad Fair And Danielson – Solid Gold Heart CD/LP (Sounds Familyre)
New collaboration between Jad Fair (Half Japanese) and Daniel Smith is full of gleaming tunes of sincere sing-speak, resplendent with sparkling back-up vocals and warmly melodic, inventive instrumentation.
For All Those Sleeping – Incomplete Me CD (Fearless)
Formed in St. Cloud, Minnesota in 2007, For All Those Sleeping combines bouncy, heartache-filled pop punk with metalcore to create their own dynamic, hybrid sound.
Fossil Aerosol Mining Project – 17 Tears In Ektachrome CD (Hand-Held)
17 Years in Ektachrome is a sublime, 51-minute, six-track adventure: like stowing away on an aging freight train as it winds its way from the balmy American South to an unnamed permafrosted north. Fossil Aerosol Mining Project journeys through a dense audio fog filled with distant, indiscernible shapes and punctuated by the sudden appearances of artifacts from another time.
Peter Frampton – Hummingbird In A Box CD (Phenix Phonograph)
Frampton’s new album was inspired by the Cincinnati Ballet, featuring seven original guitar pieces in Frampton’s virtuosic stylings. Vinyl version due August 5.
G-Eazy – These Things Happen CD/2xLP (Blueprint/G-Eazy)
Dubbed “The James Dean of Hip-Hop,” G-Eazy is a rapper, songwriter and producer raised in Oakland, CA. His album features guest appearances by A$AP Ferg, E-40, Jay Ant, Remo and many more.
M. Geddes Gengras – Ishi CD (Stones Throw)
M. Geddes Gengras has inhabited the Los Angeles experimental music scene for the last 7 years, bouncing through various bands, monikers, and a critically acclaimed collaboration with Sun Araw and The Congos. Ishi finds Gengras diving headlong into beautiful, sprawling ambient explorations and deep, mystical drone; it is a lushly nuanced sound world generated directly from the deeply personal relationship between one man and his meticulously cultivated machines. Vinyl version due July 8.
Godflesh – Decline & Fall CD/LP (Virtual Label)
Justin K. Broadrick’s most recognized band, the influential and innovative Godflesh, formed in 1998 with bassist Ben Green, disbanded in 2002, and reformed in 2010. Decline & Fall is a 23-minute EP containing four brand new tracks, their first original recordings since 2001’s Hymns.
Danny Gokey – Hope In Front Of Me CD (BMG Rights Management)
Milwaukee native, Danny Gokey became a favorite of millions of fans as a Top 3 finalist on Season Eight of American Idol. During his tenure on the show, Gokey impressed the judges with his versatility and a voice that could sing any style of music and turn any song into a compelling moment.
Robert Gordon – I’m Coming Home CD (Lanark)
I’m Coming Home reunites Robert Gordon with longtime band member Rob Stoner (bass and Bob Dylan musical director). Guitarist Marshall Crenshaw co-wrote the second track, “Walk Hard,” and appears on the album
Steve Gunn & Mike Cooper – Cantos de Lisba FRKWYS Vol. 11 CD/LP (RVNG Intl.)
For the the eleventh volume of FRKWYS, an unrestricted series pairing contemporary artists with their influential predecessors, gifted guitar squire Steve Gunn meets roving, radiating legend Mike Cooper in Lisbon, Portugal. Sharing their vision over lengthy living room guitar sessions and evenings of cold wine in Fado taverns, Gunn and Cooper created Cantos de Lisboa, an album with variable vernacular shades and musical forms from Portugal’s antiquity.
Paul Haig – Rhythm Of Life [Reissue/1983] CD (Les Disques du Crepuscule)
Remastered edition of the debut solo album by the enigmatic pop moodist who first made his name with Postcard label art-punk legends Josef K. Rhythm Of Life is a collection of nine polished club pop tracks, the sessions featured a stellar case of guest musicians including Berni Worrell (Parliament/Funkadelic), Jack Waldman (Robert Palmer), Anton Fier (Feelies/Golden Palominos) and Tom Bailey (Thompson Twins).
History Of Colour TV – When Shapes Of Spilt Blood Spelt Love CD (Saint Marie)
Unabashedly dramatic, sweeping rock songs with a raw edge, fusing strategically sparse layers of guitars and reverb over cymbal-less drums and bass-heavy riffs. The vocals are clear-cut and advance solitarily through the flowing sound, creating a sonic language that is as upfront as it is dreamy, and an album that aesthetically falls somewhere between the epic M83-esque soundscapes of their debut and sequences of pop-sensitive songwriting, playing more like a Wild Nothings record from a misshapen parallel dimension.
Steve Hogarth + Richard Barbieri – Arc Light CD (K-scope)
Steve Hogarth is best known as the frontman of Marillion, the progressive rock legends that he joined in 1989, following spells in The Europeans and How We Live. In recent years Richard Barbieri has been a core member of Porcupine Tree playing keyboards on all the band’s albums since 1993 as well as releasing two solo albums.
How To Dress Well – What Is This Heart? CD/2xLP+MP3 (Domino)
More confident, daring and open than any How To Dress Well release thus far, What Is This Heart? is at once Krell’s most deeply personal work and also his most universal in resonance. It is a record that delves into the core of the psyche and touches on themes of isolation, loss and existential anguish, but in the end finds redemption in the infinite possibilities of love. The songs tackle ideas of anxiety, fear, lack of control, nightmare, death, pain, pleasure, pride and shame, trust and commitment with an honesty and intimacy that is rare in the modern age.
Hutcherson/Sanborn/DeFrancesco – Enjoy The View CD/2xLP (Blue Note)
This vibrant session was produced by Blue Note president Don Was. Recorded by an all-star collective of saxophonist David Sanborn and organist Joey DeFrancesco, and featuring drummer Billy Hart, the Bobby Hutcherson-sparked group plays seven original compositions that range from cool, gentle grooves to fiery outbursts of exuberance.
Incantation – Dirges Of Elysium CD (Listenable)
“Incantation is the very embodiment of death metal.” – MetalSucks
Incubus – Incubus [Reissue/1987] CDEP (Vic)
Digitally remastered reissue of the 1987 demo from the Death Metal band (not to be confused with the ’90s nu-metal outfit).
Joe – Bridges CD (BMG Rights Management)
Having put out more than ten albums in twenty years, Joe has become one of R&B’s most accomplished and popular singers with seven Grammy nods along the span of his career.
Eric Johnson – Europe Live CD/LP (Provogue/Mascot)
Europe Live was recorded in venues across Johnson’s tour of the continent, with the majority of the album capturing his appearance at Amsterdam’s Melkweg along with selections from two dates in Germany at Die Kantine in Köln and Bochum Zeche and the Paris show at New Morning. Each appearance featured a unique set list, offering Johnson the opportunity to cull this track listing from a wealth of repertoire captured.
Kenrick Lamar – Coast 2 Coast CD (Oarfin Distribution)
2014 mix. This set features the hot Kendrick Lamar with appearances from up and coming stars Natalac, Doc T, Pacman, Genuwin, J.Dot, Ray Keller, Doc T, Teddy Smith. Along with some new cuts done with T.I., Andre 3000, Big Boi, and Ludacris.
Machinefabriek – Stillness Soundtracks CD (Glacial Movements)
Stillness Soundtracks is music for films shot in Greenland and Antarctica by director Esther Kokmeijer, and it finds Machinefabriek – aka Rotterdam’s Rutger Zuydervelt – working with both acoustic and digital means, as though he were using analogue and digital cameras. The music has the required glacial chill that keenly evokes the remote locations, and by using suspended chords that move ever so slowly Zuydervelt creates an unusual kind of tension.
Jean-Louis Matinier/Marco Ambrosini – Inventio CD (ECM)
Marco Ambrosini is one of very few musicians playing nyckelharpa outside the Swedish folk tradition, and Jean-Louis Matinier has similarly taken the accordion beyond any folkloric frame of reference. On the Inventio, the French-Italian duo plays a program inspired by the baroque sonatas of Bach and Biber but also by the lyrical cadences of Pergolesi.
Mastodon – One More ‘Round The Sun CD/2xLP (Reprise)
The hard rock juggernaut orbits around themes of loss and rebirth, twirling a sonic spiral of its signature robust riffing, hypnotically haunting soundscapes, triage of dynamic voices, and thundering seismic grooves.
Me And The Bees – Mundo Fatal CD/LP (La Castanya)
Mundo Fatal is a pop explosion in which rhythm, melody and noise collide in a whirl searching for the perfect song. Me And The Bees’ sound perfectly combines the accessibility of their always-catchy melodies (and those harmonies that elevate every chorus) with the complex and even shrill twists of Carlos Leoz’s guitar, now more prominent, and the acid keyboards of Caballero, who collaborates on vocals too.
Melchior und das Menace– Hunger CD (Castle Face)
What we have here is a fabulous collection of classic Melchior und das Menace. We asked, he let us dig through the archive, and lo and behold: Hunger, a grip of unreleased Melchior gold. It will take less than ten seconds for the high to kick in after the rush of greasy guitars consume you at the get-go of “A Wizard Doesn’t Need A Computer.” And yes, he’s taking the piss. Vinyl version due July 8.
Sebastian Mikael – Speechless CD (Slip N Slide)
Sebastian Mikael is a 24-year-old classically trained singer/songwriter and musician.
Mogwai – Come On Die Young [Reissue/1999] 2xCD/4xLP (Chemikal Underground)
Deluxe edition of Mogwai’s 1999 album expanded with over two hours of bonus material. “Mogwai’s second album, released in 1999, gets a reissue with a bounty of bonus material that includes demos and the Travels In Constants EP. On Come On Die Young, Mogwai went about becoming the most sullen, brooding post-rock band they could possibly be.” [BNR 8.3] – Pitchfork
Mokhov – Future Hope CD (Sun Sea Sky Prod)
Fourth full-length album from the Russian-American electronic music producer — a mobile musician who makes all of his music on a laptop. Those who prefer the smoother, relaxing, and more nostalgic side of electronic music will find comfort in each of the albums 10 chilled tracks. Lush, uplifting and highly effectual electronica.
Mournful Congregation – Concrescence Of The Sophia CD (20 Buck Spin)
Concrescence Of The Sophia find Mournful Congregation advancing their unrivaled and painstaking style of extreme doom, from soaring, majestic beauty straight down into the lowliest somber depths of hell.
Ronny Munroe – Electric Wake CD (Rat Pak)
The third solo album from the Metal Church frontman. Electric Wake also features collaborations with guitar legend George Lynch, Tesla guitarist Dave Rude, Pamela Moore, Paul Kleff (ex Firewolfe), Dan Donigian, Sean Baker and Tony Rossi. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds two bonus tracks and a 12-page book.
Wolfgang Muthspiel/Larry Grenadier/Brian Blade – Driftwood CD (ECM)
Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel makes his ECM leader debut with Driftwood, a trio album of subtlety and depth featuring renowned US jazz players Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade.
Northscape – Glasshouse CDEP (Sun Sea Sky Prod)
Six tracks of deliberately uncomplicated downtempo electronica with an analog-inspired melodic sound. The focus is on detailed, atmospheric leads, deep underlying bass, and gently textured distortion.
No Sinner – Boo Hoo Hoo CD (Provogue/Mascot)
“Vancouver’s No Sinner is a whiskey-soaked blues explosion with all the
trappings of rock from the muddy banks of the Mississippi.” — CBC Music
Nothing More – Nothing More CD/LP (Eleven Seven)
Soaring vocal melodies, meticulous atypical rhythmic structures, huge anthemic choruses and lyrical content.
NunSlaughter – Angelic Dread 2xCD (Hell’s Headbangers)
The death metal returns with their first studio full-length in seven years. Vinyl version due August 5.
Else Marie Pade – Electronic Works 1958-1995 CD/3xLP (Important)
Else Marie Pade, born in 1924 in Denmark, is a precious golden gem in the world of contemporary electro-acoustic music. She is a true pioneer of electronic music and musique concrète. “The sounds outside became concrète music, and in the evening I could imagine that the stars and the moon and the sky uttered sounds and those turned into electronic music.” — Else Marie Pade
People Get Ready – Physiques CD (Brassland)
People Get Ready’s second album Physiques ramps up the band’s fierce, joyful, heedless interplay; its love of big pop and trancelike slow jams and songs that fall somewhere in-between; and, above all, its devotion to pleasure.
Phish – Fuego CD/2xLP (ATO)
Phish recorded Fuego with legendary producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel) last fall, as the band’s 30th anniversary approached. The songs shape during a series of visits to Phish’s longtime creative hub, The Barn, a rustic, reconstructed barn-turned-rehearsal/recording studio located outside Burlington, VT. There they explored dozens of ideas, which led to a notable shift in the band’s songwriting approach. While Fuego includes tracks that individual members brought to the table in usual Phish fashion, the bulk of the material was written by all four, working together at The Barn. (Limited orange vinyl copies available.)
Phox – PhoxCD/LP (Partisan)
Phox is a bunch of friends from the Midwestern circus hamlet, Baraboo, WI, a place where kids often drink poisoned groundwater and become endowed mutants.
Rebirth Brass Band – Move Your Body CD/LP (Basin Street)
Following the Grammy-winning Rebirth Of New Orleans, Rebirth Brass Band is at it again with this infectious, groove-laden collection of hip-shakers sure to saturate the dance floor, boasting a mastery of Rebirth’s signature heavy funk sound.
Riff Raff – Neon Icon CD (Mad Decent)
Neon Icon is Riff Raff’s long awaited 2014 debut album through Diplo’s label, Mad Decent. He’s been setting it up for two years. The album features collaborations with Mac Miller, Childish Gambino, Wiz Khalifa and many others.
Roll The Dice – Until Silence CD (Leaf)
Until Silence marks a monumental shift for Roll The Dice. The characteristic framework of piano and synthesizer is reinforced with a newly conscripted string section: dramatic arrangements grind against furnace blasts of static, and phases of unrelenting rhythmic intensity collapse into moments of frayed, fragile beauty. Vinyl version due July 8.
Röyksopp & Robyn – Do It Again CD (Interscope)
“This summer we’ll be teaming up with the amazing Robyn to partake in a series of concerts throughout the world. Performing together is something we’ve occasionally done in the past – all to such merriment and exuberance, that we’ve decided to reunite and “Do It Again” in 2014. Each of these events will consist of a Robyn-part, a Röyksopp-part and of course a joined Robyn & Röyksopp-part – all wrapped up in lights ‘n smoke and tons of joy. To say we’re excited, is an understatement.” – Röyksopp
Dino Saluzzi/José María Saluzzi/Nicolás Colacho Brizuela/Félix Cuchara Saluzzi/Matías Saluzzi – El Valle De La Infancia CD (ECM)
Recorded in Buenos Aires, El Valle De La Infancia is the first of Saluzzi’s discs to feature his family band since 2005’s Juan Condori. Here Dino is heard with his brother Felix on tenor sax and clarinet, his son José María on guitars and nephew Matías on basses. Friends joining the party are 7-string guitarist Nicolás Colacho Brizuela, known internationally for his long association with singer Mercedes Sosa, and drummer Quintino Cinalli, brought in by Dino to gently expand the sense of freedom that informs his music.
Scale – Tale CD (Offshoot)
New release from Scales aka beatboxer Sergei Galunenko, who originates from Kubinka, 40 miles west of Moscow. Tales showcases the artist’s apt skills of cutting up vocals that he combines with the broken beats of dubstep and the speeded up rhythms of drum n bass and hardcore.
Sense – Still Life CD (Psychonavigation)
Less dark in sound perhaps but like its predecessor, Dreams, Still Life has dark undertones throughout its seven tracks. Adam Raisbeck showcases a glimpse of a disadvantaged families struggle and the disturbing human reality that they face on the track “Claymore.” Throughout the album, Raisbeck provides a bed of gentle rolling ambient synths and choice spoken words which tells us the story of Still Life.
Septic Flesh – Titan CD/2xCD (Prosthetic)
New album from the Greek giants of dark symphonic metal. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds the orchestral version of the album.
Ed Sheeran – X CD/LP (Atlantic)
X finds Sheeran collaborating with a stellar list of producers, including multiple Grammy-winners Rick Rubin and Jeff Bhasker, multiple Grammy-nominee Benny Blanco, Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, and BRIT-Award nominee and collaborator Jake Gosling. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks.
Shivers – Shivers CD/LP (Miasmah)
Shivers is the trio of Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek), Gareth Davis and Leo Fabriek, who join forces to conjure up a surreal album of parasitic intimacy and intensity. Though the three have played and recorded together in various combinations, this Miasmah release marks their first output as Shivers and manages to pull out quite a few surprises. Named after David Cronenberg’s first film, Shivers the album readily adopts this concept of body horror, the fear of bodily transformation and infection — a theory and technique that Cronenberg brilliantly captures with his first film and many thereafter.
Erik Skodvin – Flame CD (Sonic Pieces)
The new album from Deaf Center member — film-noir backdrops frame both psychedelic and melancholic drift.
Slaves – Through Art We Are All Equals CD (Atery Recordings)
This Sacramento-based band features Jonny Craig (Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa). Vinyl version due August 5.
Slavve – Slavve CD/LP (Bloodmoss)
From ripping guitars reminiscent of No Age and early Poison the Well to the melodic heaviness of acts like Deftones and Autolux, Slavve started out as a home project by vocalist/guitarist Chuka Chukuma. He then recruited bassist Alex Goldstein and childhood friend Marcos Marchesani, a former member of Surfer Blood and Weird Wives, to turn Slavve into a fully-formed beast. Recorded in just two days, their self-titled debut EP is a glimpse into the powerful, gripping force of what they call “working class music.”
Slint – Spiderland [Reissue/1991] CD+DVD/LP+DVD+MP3 (Touch & Go)
Reissue of Slint’s 1991 album remastered from the original analog master tapes by Bob Weston. Includes Breadcrumb Trail, a brand new, never-before-seen, 90-minute DVD documentary about the band and the making of Spiderland, directed by Lance Bangs. Booklet includes foreword by Will Oldham. Both formats include a download for the full album plus 14 bonus tracks outtakes and demos, all mastered by Bob Weston.
SomeKindaWonderful – SomeKindaWonderful CD/LP (Downtown)
Debut album from the Cleveland alt rock group.
Camilla Sparksss – For You The Wild CD (Africantape)
Sure the style might remind of Crystal Castles and Atari Teenage Riot’s Nik Endo every now and then, but Camilla Sparksss definitely does not copy anyone. She creates her very own style and sound that is convincing and mind blowing from the first to the last second.
Bubba Sparxxx – Made On McCosh Mill Road CD (E1)
A continuation of Sparxxx’s musical journey returning to his country roots, Made On McCosh Mill Road reveals a nostalgic look back at where it all began in Sparxxx’s backyard – Legrange, Georgia.
Speak – Pedals CD (Playing In Traffic)
Pedals is Speak’s second, self-produced album, which continues to mine the vein between modern hip-hop production, traditional song structure and melody with the grittiness of rock & roll.
Strand Of Oaks – Heal CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
From the first bars of Heal, the exhilarating melodic stomp of “Goshen ’97” puts you right into Tim Showalter’s fervent teenage mindset. We find him in his family’s basement den in Goshen, IN, feeling alienated but even at 15 years old, believing in the alchemy and power of music to heal your troubles. “The record is called Heal, but it’s not a soft, gentle healing, it’s like scream therapy, a command, because I ripped out my subconscious, looked through it, and saw the worst parts. And that’s how I got better.”
A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Sea When Absent CD/LP (Lefse)
Recorded over a year and half with Jeff Zeigler (War On Drugs, Kurt Vile) at his Uniform Recording Studios in Eraserhood Philadelphia, Sea When Absent is a conscious move away from the bright-dark, ambient maximalism of the band’s acclaimed double LP, Ashes Grammar, and a move towards a post-millennial, up-front pop sound. It is simultaneously A Sunny Day In Glasgow at their most accessible, most insane, and most rock.
Vacationer – Relief CD/LP (Downtown)
Describing their sound is like a journey in itself: starting in the band’s melodic hometown of Philly, stopping off for a few days in Canada for a dose of epic pop, swinging by Malibu to soak up those gauzy ’60s harmonies then jetting to Tahiti to settle in with some island tinged rhythms.
Various Artists – Eccentric Soul: Capitol City Soul CD/2xLP (Numero)
Filling in, around, and on top of Numero’s original The Capsoul Label collection, Capitol City Soul is a trove of completely unissued and under-issued treasures from Moss and company. Features otherwise unreleased songs from the Kool Blues, The Four Mints, Jupiter’s Release, and Love Maximum, alongside rare sides by Dean Francis & The Soul Rockers, The Chandlers, Associated Press, The Soul Partners, and the Vondors. All from the vaults under the basements under the garages of one of the nation’s most unsung music scenes.
Xeno & Oaklander – Par Avion CD (Ghostly International)
Brooklyn duo Xeno and Oaklander are a minimal electronics girl/boy duo from Brooklyn. Vinyl version due July 15.
Young Liars – Tidal Wave CD (Nettwerk)
Vancouver indie pop-rock quartet Young Liars release their debut album. Formed serendipitously, bassist Andrew Beck, drummer Ty Badali, keyboardist Wesley Nickel and guitarist/singer Jordan Raine forged an album of effervescent melodies and synth textures laid over infectiously danceable beats.
Zebras – Siesta CD/LP (Jigsaw)
Siesta is full of the same catchy, jangly pop songs that endeared them to fans in the first place. Except now, they’ve embellished their sound with markedly better production and more lead/backing vocals, giving us an elegant pop sound that sounds like it could’ve been on any of the best releases on Labrador or Shelflife Records.
Zig-Zags – Zig-Zags CD/LP (In The Red)
The Zig-Zags’ self-titled debut LP was recorded and produced by Ty Segall. In twelve songs, they chainsaw through weirdo film and caveman rock and space noise and make smart sound so dumb it turns inside-out and becomes brilliant. The songs are postcards of love for a cold age — shimmering moments from the present, romantic messages from the past, and love mementos for the future. Together, they make up an album of contrasts — the songs move from upbeat to downbeat, slow to fast, light to dark.
John Zorn – Myth And Mythopoeia CD (Tzadik)
This is a fabulous collection of five of Zorn’s most exciting and dynamic recent compositions performed by a variety of new music superstars. Pandora’s Box features the acclaimed Arditti Quartet and the brilliant soprano Sarah Sun in one of Zorn’s most colorful and dramatic compositions. “Babel” is a hard driving fantasia on one note for solo cello and is performed here by the incredible cellist Jeff Zeigler. “Hexentarot” and “Zeitgehöft” are two complex finger busters performed by Zorn regulars Otto, Campbell and Gosling, and rounding out the CD is the stunning instrumental “Requiem Missa Sine Voces,” performed by the renowned Talea Ensemble.
DVD + Blu-ray:
Peter Gabriel – Back to Front: Live in London DVD/Blu-ray/2xDVD+2xCD/Blu-ray+2xCD (Eagle Vision)
This live concert, filmed at London s O2 using the latest Ultra High Definition 4K technology, captures Peter Gabriel’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of his landmark album So. To mark the event Gabriel reunited his original So touring band from 1986/87 and for the very first time fans saw them play the multi-platinum selling album in its entirety. 142 minutes. (Also available in a Deluxe edition expanded with bonus material and featuring a 60-page book and audio CDs.)
Vinyl:
Anomalys – Deadline Blues b/w No More! 7” (Slovenly)
This is the darkest effort yet from from the negative tequila sex beat bringers, Amsterdam’s Anomalys. The A-side is a tough assed mid-tempo threat, with “No More!” on the flip picking up the pace a dog’s hair for another dancefloor killer from our favorite behemoth Dutch demons.
Bloodpheasant – Traum LP (Tor Johnson)
Bloodpheasant create a soundscape comprised of doom, ghostly folk, layered vocals, and dynamic riff assaults resulting in a record that is sure to bring listeners to the darkest parts of their deeply buried memories. Traum is an eerie culmination of dimly lit rooms, lost friends, and f**ked up dreams.
David Bowie – Diamond Dogs [40th Anniversary Picture Disc] 7” (Parlophone)
Originally released in June 1974, “Diamond Dogs” was the second single to be taken from the album of the same name with “Rebel Rebel” being the first. The groundbreaking six-minute track was originally backed by the re-recording of “Holy Holy.” For its 40th anniversary it has been reissued as a double A-side, now paired with the “Diamond Dogs (David Live – 2005 Mix)” by Tony Visconti making its vinyl debut.
Bremen – Second Launch 2xLP (Blackest Ever Black)
Mind-shattering double LP of dysphoric space-rock minimalism from two luminaries of the Swedish punk underground. Second Launch follows Bremen’s self-titled debut of 2013 and comprises 11 controlled improvisations, reinforced with overdubs, that take clear inspiration from the dark side of Kraut and progressive rock, early electronic and drone music, while also owing something to the fathomlessly bleak interior landscapes conjured by Nico/Cale on The Marble Index and Desertshore.
June Carter Cash – Wildwood Flower [2003] LP (Dualtone)
Wildwood Flower is the last release from June Carter Cash. Originally released in 2003, this is the first time the album is released on vinyl. The album won two Grammy’s – Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Cretins – Cretins 7” (Vinyl Conflict)
Ah, Cretins, the runts of the litter. One of Richmond VA’s remaining hardcore punk bands in 2014. After unleashing a pummeling demo tape, they return with this six-song EP, which is a barrage of rough, uncompromising HC punk drawing from the no-frills approach and raw power of golden era American hardcore.
Earth – Hex; Or Imprinting The Infernal Method [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (Southern Lord)
New vinyl reissue beautifully packaged with a 20 page booklet painstakingly designed by Stephen O’ Malley.
Earth – The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (Southern Lord)
This version of The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull comes packaged in a brown faux leather cover-gatefold jacket that emulates a old bible. Inside this book is another Stoughton gatefold jacket.
Fleetwood Mac – Greatest Hits [Reissue/1988] LP (Rhino)
Vinyl reissue of Fleetwood Mac’s 1988 compilation album, which covers the period of their greatest commercial success from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. The track listing for the US release differs slightly from that of other territories. It includes the 1975 track “Over My Head” but omits the 1987 track “Seven Wonders.”
The Fresh & Onlys – House Of Spirits LP (Mexican Summer)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With surreal nightmares, glistening pop tempered by sinister undertones and even unsettling experimentalism, The Fresh & Onlys’ fifth album is the San Francisco quartet’s most focused and most experimental yet. The material gestated during vocalist Tim Cohen’s isolated stay on an Arizonan horse ranch where he documented dreams in a bedside notebook. The resultant songs are by turns pristine, feverish, and bizarre, as they returned to Lucky Cat Studios in San Francisco with Phil Manley to recast the textures, leaps of logic and evocative character of Cohen’s dreams into songs.
Ben Frost – A U R O R A LP (Mute)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Frost’s fifth album features Greg Fox (ex-Liturgy), Shahzad Ismaily and Thor Harris (Swans), and was largely written in Eastern DR Congo. A U R O R A aims directly, through its monolithic construction, at blinding luminescent alchemy — not with benign heavenly beauty but through decimating magnetic force.
Godflesh – Pure [Reissue/1991] LP (Earache)
Limited edition reissue of 500 copies with fold-out poster.
Dexter Gordon – Go! [Reissue/1962] LP (Blue Note)
Latest in Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign. Recorded and released in 1962, Go! is Dexter Gordon’s tenth studio album, and features Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass, Billy Higgins on drums and Gordon himself on tenor sax.
Neil Michel Hagerty & The Howling Hex – Fool’s Watch b/w Lord Gloves 10” (Drag City)
The Howling Hex continue to patrol the borders of our shared musical culture, reflecting on the strange things a man might see out there in the wilderness – and more to the point, the details a man might miss. Their latest release is a 10” single with two long tracks that push beyond previous entries in The Howling Hex’s catalog. Comes in limited edition silkscreened (by NMH himself) jackets.
Ezekiel Honig – Paragraphs 12” (Other People)
Using the loop as more of a tool than a rule, Honig paints outside the lines, nestling into a comfortable, shared space between muted techno, melodic, event-driven ambient, textural downtempo and slow-motion house.
Bobbie Hutcherson – Total Eclipse [Reissue/1968] LP (Blue Note)
Latest in Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign. This 1968 album from the jazz vibraphonist features Chick Corea on piano, Harold Land on tenor sax and flute, Reggie Johnson on bass and Joe Chambers on drums.
Island Boy – Basic Instincts LP (Rita)
Island Boy is the ongoing project of San Diego-based, Puerto Rican musician/producer Richard Hunter-Rivera. Incorporating elements of French house, reggaeton, latin freestyle, and new wave with crooning vocals, his music pays clear homage to the art of modern songwriting but utilizes unorthodox recording processes that result in dense, cinematic, and surreal soundscapes.
Jefferson Airplane – Live At The Fillmore Auditorium 10/16/66: Grace’s Debut LP (Relayer Friday Records)
Bootlegged for decades, Relayer Friday presenst another installment in their Jefferson Airplane Original Masters Series. CD version due July 29.
Leyland Kirby – Intrigue & Stuff Vo. 4 12” (HistoryAlwaysFavoursTheWinners)
The fourth and final volume in Kirby’s series of previously unreleased retro-futuristic recordings.
Kitten – Kitten CD/LP (Elektra)
Fronted by the extraordinary Chloe Chaidez, Kitten has drawn ecstatic praise for their rejuvenation of classic post punk and new wave pop. While most hyper-young artists are working at the bleeding edges of dance music, Kitten’s rich and atmospheric rock is surprisingly ageless, applauded the Los Angeles Times in a recent live review.
Lewis – L’Amour [Reissue/1983] LP+MP3 (Light In The Attic)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded an album named L’Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W. And that’s about all we know. The ingredients are simple: smooth synthesizers, feather-light piano, ethereal, occasionally inaudible vocals and the gentle plucking of acoustic guitars. But the effects are arresting: a spine-tingling, sombre album that echoes Springsteen’s Nebraska or Angelo Badalamenti’s atmospheric soundtracks. Later, Arthur Russell would grasp for something similar on the epochal World Of Echo LP.
Edvard Graham Lewis – All Over LP (Editions Mego)
Edvard Graham Lewis – All Under LP (Editions Mego)
Having made his name in legendary punk/experimental outfits Wire, Dome and He Said, Lewis has developed an exceptional voice with ceaseless exploration of a wide variety of musical forms. All Over is a song-based album that resides amongst the cracks between narrative and song, sound and music. Cloaked in an atmosphere of beauty and paranoia, the album conjures the spirit of Wire’s experimental pop trajectory while simultaneously exploring a multitude of sonic possibilities. All Under, the companion release to All Over compiles soundtracks to films, installations and a self-penned short story.
Medeski Martin & Wood – Combustication [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Blue Note)
Remastered and reissued as part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign. Combustication is the fifth major album by the experimental jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood. Recorded at The Magic Shop in New York City, this is the first MMW album to include a turntablist – DJ Logic.
Mirah – Changing Light LP (Absolute Magnitude/K Records)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On her fifth solo album, Mirah breaks it down and builds it back up again with the street smarts that only years behind the wheel of love can inspire. Ready with the maps and driven to the rhythms on the radio dial, Changing Light‘s ten songs carry us from heartbreak to wholeness and all the places in between.
Lee Morgan – Corn Bread [Reissue/1965] LP (Blue Note)
Remastered and reissued as part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign.
Recorded in 1965, Cornbread by Lee Morgan features Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock, Larry Ridley and Billy Higgins. Morgan was one of hard bop’s greatest trumpeters who also performed with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
Gram Parsons – GP [Reissue/1973] LP (Rhino)
Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel [Reissue/1974] LP (Rhino)
New vinyl reissues now available. Gram Parsons’ debut solo album GP allowed audiences to appreciate his incredible vocals and lyrical delivery. Released in 1973, GP featured Elvis Presley’s lead guitarist James Burton, and contained new songs from a creatively revitalized Parsons such as “Big Mouth Blues” and “Kiss the Children,” as well as a cover of Tompall Glaser’s “Streets Of Baltimore.” Compiled from 1973 studio sessions Grievous Angel was originally released in 1974, four months after the songwriters death. It was his second solo album and is viewed as a successful example of the hybrid between country and rock.
Gram Parsons – The Early Years Vol. 1 & 2 2xLP (Music On Vinyl)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The first ten songs were taken from a demo Parsons recorded in 1965 at a radio station with the Shilos, a Kingston Trio-type folk group he sang with for a few years. Originals like “Big Country” and “Zah’s Blues” show he was already making his mark as a songwriter. Next are eight living-room recordings from late 1965 of Parsons performing solo with his guitar in a friend’s apartment in New York City. The performances are thoughtful and full of soul, and the songs show Parsons was strongly developing his creative talent.
Noam Pikelny – Noam Pikely Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe [2013] LP (Compass)
Noam Pikely Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe is the Grammy nominated banjoist’s third recording for Compass Records. It follows on the heels of 2011’s Grammy-nominated Beat The Devil And Carry A Rail. Upon release, the album hit both the Billboard Top Heatseekers and Bluegrass album charts and was the focus of a Funny Or Die parody video starring Pikelny with appearances from Steve Martin, Ed Helms, Earl Scruggs, Chris Thile, Gillian Welch, and others.
Public Enemy – Yo! Bum Rush The Show LP (Def Jam)
Yo! Bum Rush the Show is the debut album from Public Enemy. Each track is comprised of kicking heavy guitars toward the front, honing the loops, rhythms, and samples into a roar with as much in common with rock as rap.
Puff! – Identitatsverlust 7” (Slovenly)
If Sean & Erin from The Spits were raised in ‘80s Germany by freaky parents with a kraut-rock collection, their band might have sounded a lot like Puff! Three tracks of spastic and aggressive synth heavy rave-ups, sung entirely in German, from some of the heaviest pranksters around.
Pusswhip Banggang – Jambalaya LP (Drag City)
Pusswhip Banggang first debuted on Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! in 2006. The package for this single is ultra-deluxe: gatefold jacket with reverse-side printing on the boards, direct-metal mastered full color picture-disc with custom shape and insert with recipe included. There isn’t an inch of this edition that isn’t remarkable.
RIngo Deathstarr – God’s Dream 12” (Noyes Records/Neon Sigh)
Warm guitars and pulsing drums combine to form an aggressively atmospheric bubble, encompassing the listener in an infectious cohesive which blends the sounds of an era when Sonic Youth and Jesus and Mary Chain walked the Earth with a forward thinking and creatively stubborn indie darling. Transparent red vinyl.
Shallow Sanction – EP 12” (Hospital Productions)
A refreshing but authentic take on the lineage referencing bands such as early Christian Death, Amebix, and Conflict, Shallow Sanction rejects the otherwise in the red and overly distorted approach of recent years for a more honest, stripped down and raw gothic punk sorely missing from many of their contemporaries.
Jimmy Smith – Back At The Chicken Shack [Reissue/1963] LP (Blue Note)
Remastered and reissued as part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign.
Sufjan Stevens – Enjoy Your Rabbit [2002] 2xLP (Asthmatic Kitty)
First time on vinyl. Departing from the singer/songwriter format of his debut Asthmatic Kitty Records album, A Sun Came, Enjoy Your Rabbit is a collection of fourteen colorful instrumental compositions combining Sufjan’s noted gift for melody with electronic sounds to create an unusually playful and human — not to mention humane — electronic experience.
Useless Eaters – Desperate Living 7” (Slovenly)
Hand picked by Jay Reatard as the opening band on his last ever tour, Useless Eaters careen back on the scene. These three snotty blasts of weirdo pogo bring the attack with droning Buzzcocks licks and tribal, ritualistic beats.
White Hex – Gold Nights CD/LP (Felte)
Recorded after shows in Paris, Berlin, New York and Melbourne, Gold Nights explores Italo disco, minimalist techno and the more primitive end of 1980’s German underground. They embrace their love of high fashion, 1980’s New York vogue techno and the mutant explorations of Whitehouse, Arthur Russell, Craig Leon and Gianni Rossi.
Zath – Black Goat Razor b/w Pain Reaper 7” (God? Records)
Zath (pronounced “Zoth”) is comprised of three men; Zack Weil (Oozing Wound, Cacaw), Seth Sher (Syne, Psychic Steel, Ga’an) and Dan Browning (Cave). Zath’s songs are a bottomless well of incalculable feeling and influence (among which, Judas Priest, ‘70s proto-metal, Kreator, Magma, Yes and Sodom are just a few), rendered with thrusting ability and immaculate precision. The writing process involves extensive use of Zath’s riff log, compiled for years leading back into the mists of time.
Zig-Zags – Brainded Warrior b/w So Stoned 7” (In The Red)
Just in time for the release of their self-titled debut, Zig-Zags unload this vinyl-only single featuring one track from the album backed by a non-LP ripper. Grab it before it’s gone forever.
Cassettes:
Black Bananas – Electric Brick Wall CD/LP/Cassette (Drag City)
Black Bananas work with their machines to play rock that’s progressive, experimenting and never less than super-exciting, f**kingly awesome, and amazing. They do it because it’s fun and it sounds rad. Electric Brick Wall is solidly composed of time-tested elements — the beat, the groove, licks, builds and bridges, fused together for projection as a new musical shred-spress to the stars.
Leave a Reply