CDs + Vinyl:
Gboyega Adelaja – Colourful Environment [Reissue/1979] CD/LP (Livingstone Studio)
Fresh from touring with Hugh Masekela — The Boy’s Doin’ It (1975) — Gboyega Adelaja went into the lab to drop heavy keyboard science on his Moog and Fender Rhodes. It’s Joe Sample meets the Afro funk of BLO. With names like Jake Sollo on guitars, Mike Odumusu (BLO, Osibisa) on bass guitar, and Gasper Lawal on percussion, this is a top quality, Afro funk — an all-stars affair that shines from the inspired interventions, masterly arrangements to the sublime production.
The Alarm – Equals CD/2xLP (Twenty First Century Recording Company)
Equals is The Alarm’s first mainstream album release since 2010’s Direct Action, a barnstorming collection of 11 songs that act as a retrenchment of old values and a poignant reflection of the tough times Mike Peters and his wife Jules have been through in recent years. Having recovered from lymph cancer in 1996, Mike was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia in 2005 and, after an initial recovery, he suffered a relapse in 2015. To compound an already terrifying situation, Jules, who plays piano and sings backing vocals, was diagnosed with breast cancer just after. All band activity was put on hold as the pair underwent treatment and it is only now, with both in remission, that The Alarm are firing on all cylinders again.
Dave Alvin – King Of California [Reissue/1994] CD (Craft Recordings)
CD reissue of the best-selling critically acclaimed solo album from Dave Alvin of The Blasters.
America – Live On Soundstage CD+DVD (BMG)
A unique and intimate performance from the legendary group who defined the early ‘70s folk sound and ruled the Top-10 charts with their evocative harmonies and acoustic-styled musicianship.
Bernice – Puff: In The Air Without A Shape CD/LP (Arts & Crafts)
Following the release of 2017’s maximalist Puff EP produced by Grammy Award-winner Shawn Everett, Toronto-based experimental pop group Bernice present its minimalist follow up, Puff: In The Air Without A Shape, with which the band continues its enigmatic exploration of pop, jazz, R&B, and more. Sitting between Enya, Julia Holter, and Deerhoof where clear vocal melodies fly kites over spare arrangements, Bernice’s new album attempts to mimic the playful intimacy of the band’s live show.
David Bowie – Welcome To The Blackout (Live London ’78) 2xCD (Rhino/Parlophone)
Released on RSD 2018 on vinyl – now available on CD. Live performances recorded at Earl’s Court in London on June 30th and July 1st, 1978 during Bowie’s Isolar II Tour.
Buffalo Springfield – What’s That Sound? Complete Albums Collection 5xCD/5xLP (Atlantic)
Digitally remastered set that contains stereo mixes of all three albums plus mono mixes of the first two albums. May 5th, 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of Buffalo Springfield’s final show, a performance which capped a two-year period which saw the band releasing three studio albums: their debut album Buffalo Springfield, their sophomore effort, Buffalo Springfield Again, and their swan song, Last Time Around. These three albums have been newly remastered from the original analog tapes under the watchful ears of Neil Young for this set.
Bullet For My Valentine – Gravity CD/LP (Spinefarm)
Sixth album from the Welsh heavy metal band.
Chicago – Chicago II: Live On Soundstage CD/CD+DVD (Rhino)
Chicago II: Live On Soundstage underscores the enduring popularity of Chicago’s second album with an energized performance of the entire album in front of a live audience. [Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a DVD of the performance.]
Tyler Childers – Live On Red Barn Radio I & II CD/LP (Hickman Holler)
Tyler Childers is the finest songwriter to emerge from the Bluegrass State since Chris Knight and should be mentioned in the same breath as Fifth On the Floor, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapelton, and others who are currently leading the most notable renaissance of Kentucky music since Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs took Music City by storm 30 years ago. Previously released as two separate EPs, Live On Red Barn Radio I & II is now available on a single LP for the first time.
Stanley Clarke Band – The Message CD (Mack Avenue)
45 years after his album debut, four-time Grammy-winning bassist Stanley Clarke shows he is still unapproachable on both the electric and acoustic, wielding a vision of fusion and funk, breakbeats and bass-interpreted cello suites with a little help from friends like rapper/beatboxer Doug E. Fresh and trumpeter Mark Isham. Backed by a young versatile band and a collection of tunes written in the midst of a tumultuous tour of Europe, The Message swells with an abundance of strength, soul and astounding musicianship.
John Coltrane – Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album CD/2xCD/LP/2xLP (Verve)
Unknown until 2004 and unheard until now, these recordings by the John Coltrane Quartet are, as Sonny Rollins says in the liner notes, like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid. Featuring the Classic Quartet – John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones – and recorded at the end of a two-week run at Birdland, the music on this album represents one of the most influential groups in music history both performing in a musical style it had perfected and reaching in new, exploratory directions that were to affect the trajectory of jazz from that point forward. The standard version (available in CD and LP formats) incorporates 7 tracks, 2 of which are two completely unheard, brand new original compositions as well as Coltrane classics like Impressions and Vilia. The deluxe version (also available in CD and LP formats) incorporates 7 alternate takes of some of the tracks from the standard version.
Coroner – Mental Vortex [Reissue/1991] CD/LP (Noise)
Coroner – Grin [Reissue/1993] CD/LP (Noise)
Reissues of the last two albums by the Swiss technical thrash metal band. [Limited colored vinyl pressings – purple and green, respectively, are also available.]
Cowboy Troy – Laugh With Me CD (The ILS Group)
The country singer brings his unique blend of traditional, Texas country, and hick-hop sounds to his new album.
Current 93 – The Stars On Their Horsies CD (The Spheres)
Textually based around two nightmares David Tibet had recently, of which he recorded accounts of as soon as he woke from them in the middle of the night road, the single-track, 39-minute The Stars On Their Horsies may be seen as a sideshow peek, or perhaps a gas station carnival, and a slide into the new Current 93 album due later this year.
Ray Davies – Our Country: Americana Act II CD/2xLP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
The continuing story of The Kinks co-founder’s journeys through America, as depicted in his 2013 memoir Americana and 2017’s album of the same name, Our Country: Americana Act II is a concept album borne from Davies’ vision of America – how it shaped him and evolved through the years. Like its predecessor, the album was recorded at the legendary Konk Studios in London with guitarist Bill Shanley and The Jayhawks once again serving as Davies’ backing band.
Bruce Dickinson – Scream For Me Sarajevo: Music From The Motion Picture CD/2xLP (Sanctuary)
Sarajevo in 1994 was a city under siege. Mortars and grenades rained down on the city, killing indiscriminately every day. Amongst the madness, would it be possible to persuade a rock star to come and play a show for local fans? Scream For Me Sarajevo is the soundtrack to the amazing and astonishing documentary film (available now on DVD and Blu-ray) – the story of the most unlikely of rock concerts, performed by Bruce Dickinson and his band Skunkworks in 1994, in the midst of the Siege of Sarajevo.
Doro – Warrior Soul [Reissue/2006] CD/2xLP (Rare Diamonds/AFM)
Doro – Fear No Evil [Reissue/2009] CD/2xLP (Rare Diamonds/AFM)
CD and vinyl reissues of the ninth and tenth studio albums by German female hard rock singer Doro Pesch.
Dual – Live At The Electric Church CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
You can almost smell the weed, the blood, and the sweat as Duel takes you on a tripped-out stoner metal journey inside an old abandoned Spanish church turned DIY rock venue in East Austin, Texas. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Elle Belle – No Signal CD/LP+MP3 (Little Record Company)
The brilliance of the songs on Elle Belle’s No Signal is that each one is evocative of a multitude of 80’s and 90’s artists from Prince to Bruce Springsteen without ever succumbing to nostalgia in any way shape or form. Rather, by creating a breakup album about the disintegration of his relationship with America and its politics, songwriter Christopher Pappas has done something entirely new. Elle Belle has given us a collection of American anthems as beautiful as anything on Thunder Road, but with melodies and lyrics that are completely fresh and exciting.
The End – Svårmod Och Vemod Ar Vardesinnen CD/2xLP (Rare Noise)
A collaboration between Norwegian baritone saxophonist Kjetil Moster, Swedish baritone sax burner Mats Gustafson, Norwegian noise jazz guitarist Anders Hana (MoHa!, Ultralyd, Noxagt), power-house drummer Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) and the extraordinary Ethiopian born experimental singer Sofia Jernberg. This uncompromising debut is delivered with sledgehammer authority.
The Essex Green – Hardly Electronic CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Fans will recognize The Essex Green’s signature sound on their first new album in 12 years: stacks of harmonies, upbeat melodies telling melancholy tales, layers of keys and sparkling Telecasters. Their time-honored custom of fusing obsession with spontaneity has been refined through experience and wisdom. Hardly Electronic explores the evolution of old friendships, the sadness of losing touch, the inadequacies of technology, and finally, the desire for reconnection with songs like “Bye Bye Crow” and “Slanted by Six”. Themes of connectivity for the online generation are on display in the war cry chorus of “Don’t Leave It In Our Hands,” while songs like “Bristol Sky” and “January Says” hint at how the same technology-connected culture can create division and distance, even in the most personal of relationships. The result is classic Essex Green sonic diversity.
Etran De L’Aïr – No. 1 CD/LP (Sahelsounds)
Outside of their hometown, Etran De L’Aïr is one of the hardest working bands on the wedding circuit, playing on ramshackle equipment in true DIY aesthetic. They play a style that captures the contemporary sound of Agadez, incorporating vastly different musics into their repertoire. While Tuareg guitar follows a predictable format, Etran breaks convention and throws a third guitar into the mix. The two lead guitars solo on top of one another, in constant dialogue, with a crashing response from the drum. There is a bubbly underwater warble that emerges from reverb and crackly amps. It’s electric party music, surf rock, from a place that is all beach.
Hugo Fattoruso – Hugo Fattoruso Y Barrio Opa CD/LP (Far Out Recordings)
After a twenty-year search for the man behind the cult ’70s jazz-funk group Opa, Far Out Recordings present a new work from fusion legend Hugo Fattoruso and his team of world-class musicians.
The Feeling – Twelve Stops And Home [Reissue/2006] 3xCD+DVD/2xLP (Cherry Red)
Ivor Novello award-winning, Brit Award-nominated band The Feeling burst onto the pop scene following a limited release of their first single “Fill My Little World” in late 2005, having signed to Island Records, and shot to fame in early 2006 with the Top 10 UK hit “Sewn”. Their debut album, Twelve Stops And Home, followed in June 2006, the title referring to the twelve stops on the Piccadilly line from Leicester Square to Bounds Green, where singer Dan Gillespie Sells lived. [Limited yellow colored vinyl pressing also available.]
The Fires Of Ork – The Fires Of Ork 2x (Biophon)
Biophon present a double reissue of The Fires Of Ork’s The Fires Of Ork (1993) and The Fires Of Ork 2 (2000). The Fires Of Ork was a collaboration project between the late Pete Namlook (1960-2012) and Geir Jenssen (aka Biosphere). The only two albums they recorded together are presented on this reissue.
The Flaming Lips – Seeing The Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings Of The Flaming Lips 1986-1990 6xCD (Rhino/Ryko)
Collects all four studio albums The Flaming Lips released on Restless Records between 1984 and 1990: Hear It Is (1986), Oh My Gawd!!!…The Flaming Lips (1987), Telepathic Surgery (1989) and In A Priest Driven Ambulance (1990). The set is also packed with rare recordings originally released as B-sides, flexi discs, and compilation tracks.
Floex, Tom Hodge, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – A Portrait of John Doe CD/LP (Mercury KX)
British composer, pianist and clarinetist Tom Hodge’s collaborative relationship with Czech producer Tomas Dvorak aka Floex began with a chance meeting in Berlin. After a series of initial experiments in making music together, in 2016 Hodge completed a remix for Floex’s Samorost 3 Pre-remixes EP. Now they join forces once again for the A Portrait Of John Doe project, which finds the duo blending orchestral music from the Prague Radio Symphonic Orchestra with the industrial and electronic, creating its own unique and organic universe.
Florence + The Machine – High As Hope CD/LP (Republic)
Florence + The Machine’s fourth studio album is the sound of an artist who appears more certain than ever of herself. “It’s always a work in progress, and I definitely don’t have everything figured out,” bandleader Florence Welch notes. “But this feels like quite a pure expression of who I am now, as an artist, and an honest one. I’m just more comfortable with who I am.” Florence writes about her teens and twenties with a renewed, more mature perspective: of growing up in South London, of family, relationships and art itself. “There’s a lot of love in this record, loneliness too, but a lot of love,” she adds. Collaborators on High As Hope include Kamasi Washington, Sampha, Tobias Jesso Jr, Kelsey Lu and Jamie xx.
Garbage – Version 2.0 [Reissue/1998] 2xCD/2xLP+MP3/3xLP+MP3 (Play It Again Sam)
Digitally remastered 20th Anniversary edition of the second studio album by Garbage. Expanded double-CD edition includes ten bonus tracks. Double-disc orange colored vinyl pressing with digital download and limited deluxe triple 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed inside a rigid box with magnet closure are both also available.
Gorillaz – The Now Now CD/LP+MP3/2xLP+MP3 (WB)
In contrast to the cast of characters that joined the apocalyptic party thrown by Damon Albarn and his cartoon crew on 2017’s multiple-Grammy-nominated Humanz, The Now Now sees the band largely eschewing guest stars (save George Benson, Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle), taking it back to the core Gorillaz crew: blue-haired, sweet-natured dreamer 2D on vocals; whip-smart Japanese badass Noodle on guitar; Brooklyn-born philosopher and the meat – behind-the-beat Russel Hobbs on drums. Vibrant lead single “Humility” features legendary jazz guitarist George Benson. [Deluxe blue colored vinyl box set also available.]
Anthony Green – Would You Still Be In Love CD/LP (Memory Music)
Since his 2008 release Avalon and before that with bands like Circa Survive and Saosin, Green has captivated audiences worldwide with his distinct high tenor crooning over a number of different genres. His second release for esteemed producer Will Yip’s record label Memory Music and fifth solo effort overall follows-up 2016’s acclaimed Pixie Queen and features nine new heartbreaking songs including a cover of “Love” from the 1973 Disney film Robin Hood.
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Sicario: Day Of The Soldado CD (Varese Sarabande)
Score to the sequel to the globally successful film, Sicario, which earned composer, Johann Johannson an Oscar nomination. Day Of The Soldado was composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir, a collaborator on Johannson’s score, and a well-respected classically trained cello player who has recorded as a solo artist and collaborated with The Knife, Animal Collective, Hauschka, and Fever Ray.
Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction [Reissue/1987] CD/2xCD/4xCD+Blu-ray/2xLP+MP3 (Geffen)
Digitally remastered edition of the debut studio album from the legendary hard rockers – available in a variety of editions. Double-CD includes selections of B-sides and EP tracks, as well as seven unreleased recordings from the 1986 Sound City Session. The Super Deluxe edition is comprised of 73 tracks total – 49 of which are previously unreleased, a Blu-ray audio disc featuring new 96kHz 24-bit 5.1 Surround Sound mixes from the original analog multi-tracks, four music videos in 5.1, five band member lithos, and more. The vinyl pressing features a “hologroove hologram” of the GNR logo on the D-side.
Hana Vu – How Many Times Have You Driven By CD/LP (Luminelle Recordings)
“How Many Times Have You Driven By is the sound of a young songwriter fearlessly doing her own thing, without regard for genre or the latest trend. It’s rare these days to encounter a collection of bedroom pop songs this ambitious and eclectic, from soulful torch songs (‘Crying On The Subway’) and breezy west coast hip-hop-influenced summer jams (‘Cool’), to emotional indie rock rippers (‘Shallow’) and beautiful, swaying dream-pop (‘426’). And that’s just the first four tracks.” – Gorilla Vs Bear
Happy Rhodes – Ectotrophia CD/2xLP (Numero)
The first authoritative compilation of American dream pop artist Happy Rhodes, whose singular songwriting and four-octave vocal range emanated from the pastoral confines of upstate New York in the ’80s. Her melding of classical music influences with synthesizer and acoustic guitar, and her enchanting and idiosyncratic singing, are favorably compared to heralded English chanteuse Kate Bush.
Heart – Live On Sounstage CD+DVD (BMG)
The revolutionary Canadian rock band fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson bring passion and energy to an explosive 23-song set.
Heldon – Third “It’s Always Rock’n’Roll” [Reissue/1976] CD/LP (Bureau B)
Heldon – Heldon IV “Agneta Nilsson” [Reissue/1976] CD/LP (Bureau B)
Heldon was a French prog/space rock band formed in 1974 by Richard Pinhas.
Homesafe – One CD/LP (Pure Noise)
On their new album, the Illinois pop-punk band digs deep into their 1990s rock influences, marrying high-octane guitar riffs with buoyant choruses and threadbare attitude.
Hound – Settle Your Scores CD/LP (Metalville)
The band from Hannover/Hildesheim, Germany deliver their debut – 12 anthems of energetic old-school hard rock.
Indigo Girls – Live With The University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra 2xCD (Rounder)
Recorded in front of a sold-out audience in Boulder, CO – a mix of reimagined classics and fan favorites. [Vinyl edition due July 13.]
The Innocence Mission – Sun On The Square CD/LP (Badman)
Spearheaded by Karen Peris’ heartbreaking and breathtaking voice, with husband, the guitarist Don Peris and upright bassist Mike Bitts, The Innocence Mission has spent ten records speaking to our collective memory and awe at life’s mysteries. Their dreamy, orchestral songs are full of sensory imagery
The Interrupters – Fight The Good Fight CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
The Interrupters is an L.A. based four-piece bound by their rebel spirit and deep love of punk, rock, ska and 2 Tone. They make super high-energy rock-n-roll that’s equal parts catchy and confrontational. Their third album, Fight The Good Fight, was produced by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong.
Jim James – Uniform Distortion CD/LP+MP3 (ATO)
The My Morning Jacket frontman releases his third studio album and follow-up to 2016’s Eternally Even. “My head feels like it is exploding with the amount of information we are forced to consume on a daily basis, and how that information is so distorted there is almost no longer any tangible truth,” says James. “The name of my new record is Uniform Distortion because I feel like there is this blanket distortion on society/media and the way we gather our ‘news’ and important information. More and more of us are feeling lost and looking for new ways out of this distortion and back to the truth…and finding hope in places like the desert where I write this now…finding hope in the land and in the water and in old books offering new ideas and most importantly in each other and love.” [Limited clear vinyl pressing also available.]
Jaye Jayle – No Trail And Other Unholy Paths CD/LP+MP3 (Sargent House)
Beginning as a flurry of 7″ singles housed in bare-bones dust jackets, Jaye Jayle has evolved into a captivating persona alterna for the Louisville-based singer-guitarist Evan Patterson. Imbuing negative space with hallucinatory mantras, Patterson has embraced his strengths as a storyteller while trekking into thickets of unmarked sonic terrain. With his cohorts Todd Cook on bass, Neal Argabright on drums, and Corey Smith on auxiliary instrumentation, Jaye Jayle unfurls a tapestry of neo-folk economy, krautrock-esque repetition, skid row’s darkest blues, Midwestern indie rock’s nihilism, and Tangerine Dream’s analog oscillations.
Jazzanova – The Pool CD/LP (Sonar Kollectiv)
Jazzanova’s first new album in ten years welcomes a host of talented collaborators including Jamie Cullum, Ben Westbeech, Pete Josef, Rachel Sermanni, Olivier St Louis, Paul Randolph and many more. The Pool retains a real sense of Jazzanova’s own musical identity – something that combines neo-soul, jazz, indie and pop songwriting with their unique knack for sampling and serious skills on everything from synth to piano, vibes to trombone, flugelhorn to guitar. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Jupiter & Okwess – Kin Sonic CD/LP+MP3 (Everloving)
With their second album Kin Sonic, Jupiter and Okwess transcend the Congo’s unexplored musical heritage and dive into a pool of modernity. Includes contributions from Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, violinist Warren Ellis of Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds and Robert del Naja, aka ‘3D’, of Massive Attack.
Late Bloomer – Waiting CD/LP (6131)
On Late Bloomer’s third full length, Waiting, the band have truly come into their own with an achingly human record that explores the crushing uncertainty of adulthood through a mix of hook-driven guitar rock and punk urgency. The album centers on ever-changing perspectives, with all three members (drummer Scott Wishart, bassist Josh Robbins, and guitarist Neil Mauney – who fittingly all met in Wishart’s own shop, Lunchbox Records) contributing to the writing process to utilize their personal narratives, as well as points-of-view completely outside their own. While much of Waiting’s core revolves around the anxiety and confusion of everyday life, sonically the album finds the Charlotte, NC-based band more confident and focused than ever. Tracks like “Sleeve” and “January” take aim at toxic male behavior and call for less posturing and more listening, while elsewhere the band dissects the outdated idea of a “rock and roll lifestyle” being a guise for darker problems. Album closer “Life Is Weird” sums up Waiting’s existential melancholy but also reiterates the album’s underlying sense: there’s something worthwhile in the strangeness.
Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears CD/LP (PIAS America)
Experimental pop act Let’s Eat Grandma follow-up on the cult success of their debut album I, Gemini (2016) with the game-changing I’m All Ears. The British duo, comprised of teenage vocalists, multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, pole-vault expectations and preconceptions here delivering something fresh, fun and meaningful. I’m All Ears is alive with furious pop, unapologetic grandeur and intimate ballads. Featuring loops, outrageous ‘80s drum solos, as well as production from David Wrench (The xx, Frank Ocean, Caribou), Sophie (famed for her own material and work with Madonna, Charli XCX and Vince Staples) and Faris Badwan (The Horrors), I’m All Ears is one of the more infectious and innovative records you’ll hear this year.
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels + Lucinda Williams – Vanished Gardens CD/2xLP (Blue Note)
A transcendent new album that presents the fascinating collaboration between NEA Jazz Master saxophonist/composer Charles Lloyd and acclaimed Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams. Together they weave several threads of American music (jazz, blues, Americana, country, and rock) into a thrilling and uplifting musical hybrid. The Marvels are Bill Frisell on guitar, Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar and dobro, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Eric Harland on drums.
Ryan Martin – Gimme Some Light CD/LP+MP3 (High Moon)
Ryan Martin’s debut, Gimme Some Light, is the sound of catharsis and renewal, regret and reinvention. Drawing from the same well of timeless American music that informs artists like Neil Young, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch and Bruce Springsteen, Martin’s themes can get dark – self-doubt, longing, heartbreak, addiction – but the music is full of bold melodies, energy, humor and hope.
The Milk Carton Kids – All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do CD/2xLP+MP3 (Epitaph)
The Milk Carton Kids once again opted to push the envelope of their distinctive sound, this time crafting their first-ever LP to feature backing by other musicians. All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do sees Ryan and Pattengale joined in the studio by a truly stellar lineup of top session players, including Russ Pahl (Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton) on pedal steel and other guitars, bassists Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers) and Dennis Crouch (Gregg Allman, Johnny Cash), Wilco’s Pat Sansone on piano, mellotron, and Hammond organ, drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Elton John, Willie Nelson), cellist Nathaniel Smith (Sarah Jarosz, Abigail Washburn), Levon Henry (Blake Mills, Nico Muhly) on clarinet and saxophone, Live From Here with Chris Thile favorite Brittany Haas on fiddle and mandolin as well as Lindsay Lou and Logan Ledger lending additional vocals.
MKWAJU Ensemble (Midori Takada) – KI-Motion [Reissue/1981] CD/LP (WRWTFWW)
A highly creative and transcendental fusion of marimba, vibraphone, bamboo percussion, and synthesizers, KI-Motion was recorded in 1981 and captures the birth of Midori Takada’s exploration of minimalism, African rhythmic tradition, and ambient music.
Graham Nash – Over The Years… 2xCD (Atlantic)
Over The Years… highlights songs from the iconic CSN 1969 debut and its successor, 1970’s Déjà Vu, for which Neil Young joined the group. Also includes 15 demo recordings, 12 of which have never been released.
The Night Flight Orchestra – Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Featuring members of Soilwork and Arch Enemy, The Night Flight Orchestra is melody-driven, AOR/classic rock outfit based out of Helsingborg, Sweden.
Night Verses – From the Gallery Of Sleep CD/2xLP (Equal Vision)
Everybody is familiar with the feeling of chaos in dreaming; where everything simultaneous moves counter to logic but somehow still makes sense in the moment. In this notion, the members of Los Angeles-based instrumental rock outfit, Night Verses, found the core concept of their sophomore full-length. The result is 13 songs that explore a wide array of influences that wouldn’t seem to fit naturally together; from classical music (i.e. – the extended lack of drums in several moments of the album) to the abstract vocal samples that serve as additional instrumentation they borrowed from ‘90s trip-hop.
The Posies – Dear 23 [Reissue/1990] 2xCD/2xLP (Omnivore)
The major-label debut from alternative/power popsters, who celebrate their 30th anniversary as a band this year, remastered from the original tapes. The CD edition features a disc of previously unreleased tracks, while the vinyl edition was cut at 45rpm. “‘My Big Mouth’ opens things up, and the band’s debt to the brilliant Hollies is evident, yet they’ve put their own spin on the strum and jangle sound with big harmonies. ‘Golden Blunders’ is marvelous ear candy with a memorable main melody and strong lyrics. And the muscle behind the sweetness kicks ass! That’s what power pop is all about really, an amalgam of sweetness and light mashed with hard driving drums and bass, and these guys do it so well! ‘Apology’ is a moody tone piece swathed with melancholy, unveiling some marvelous vocal lines and also giving a nod to Big Star, a band that Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow played in, so it’s all fitting. Current fans will revel in rediscovering this record and possibly hearing some alternate takes and other originals for the first time. Fans of Big Star, The Beatles, The Byrds, and likeminded groups will adore this.” – The Big Takeover
Protoje – A Matter Of Time CD (Easy Star)
The Jamaican artist, known for his infectious reggae hip-hop blend, returns with his fourth album.
Red Baraat – Sound The People CD/LP (Rhyme & Reason)
From the moment Sound The People kicks off, it’s clear that Red Baraat are very much taking their sonic signature to a new astral realm. The record is a shout out to, and celebration of, the South Asian community around the world. Drawing on a vast expanse of influences, from bhangra music to jazz, hip-hop to psych and everything in between, the band turn their celebration into a full-blown infiltration with an album that is at once important, rebellious, and fun.
Ari Roar – Calm Down CD/LP (Bella Union)
With intuitive powers of clarity and concision to the fore, Ari Roar’s Calm Down is an album that draws on ’60s pop and modern DIY heroes for a set of lovingly languid, lo-fi miniatures. Ari and producer Hunter Davidsohn found common ground in a telling mix of classic and modern influences. The duo bonded over a shared affection for The Beatles and The Zombies, influences channeled beautifully into Calm Down’s cool moods and warm melodies. More recent influences include Deerhunter, Beach House and the Frankie Cosmos album Next Thing, which Davidsohn produced to perfection.
The Rock*A*Teens – Sixth House CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Born in Cabbagetown, GA, the Rock*A*Teens carved their signature echo-wrapped, wounded-heart music on the edges of the Atlanta music scene more than 20 years ago. Led by songwriter and lead singer/guitarist Christopher Lopez, the band released a handful of reverb-drenched singles and full-lengths on the independent Daemon and Merge labels in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Following their reunion at the Merge 25 festival and the reissue of their last LP Sweet Bird Of Youth (2000), the group returned to touring and playing live. Restless with the need to move forward, the band began writing and recording new music. [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Paul Rodgers – Free Spirit CD+DVD/2xLP (Quarto Valley)
At the Royal Albert Hall Paul Rodgers returned to his roots, bringing the sold-out crowd an extraordinary evening celebrating the music of his former band Free.
The Jamie Saft Quartet – Blue Dream CD/2xLP (Rare Noise)
Featuring tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry, bassist Bradley Jones, drummer Nasheet Waits and Saft on piano, Blue Dream is comprised of nine Saft original compositions as well as three standards.
Self Defense Family – Have You Considered Punk Music CD/LP (Run For Cover)
With over thirty releases under their name, Self Defense Family continues to become increasingly more like an actual extended family. Their latest full-length, Have You Considered Punk Music, finds the group at their decidedly most self-reflective, taking on popular mythologies and personal narratives from a lifetime in music as the album’s overarching themes. Following their usual process-based mode of writing and recording almost simultaneously, the resulting LP features an array of songs that feel tightly composed while maintaining the loose, spirited air of improvisational music. With ten songs that reflect the diverse musical interests of its members and their mutual affinity for repetitive post-punk, psychedelic rock, and various film scores, Have You Considered Punk Music documents a band further refining their own particular invention.
Tommy Shaw and Contemporary Youth Orchestra – Sing For The Day! CD/Blu-ray (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw’s rousing 2016 solo turn with the Cleveland-based Contemporary Youth Orchestra, live under the direction of principal conductor/founder Liza Grossman. [Stand-alone Blu-ray edition also available.]
Shylmagoghnar – Transience CD/2xLP (Napalm)
“Atmospheric black metal and harsh vocals burst into progressive guitar melodies deeply rooted in melodic death metal creating a rather melancholic and yet playful set-up indulging in themes of our existence in all its monumental beauty and horrible chasms.”
Smash Mouth – Fush Yu Mang 20th Anniversary 2xCD (Interscope)
Expanded reissue of Smash Mouth’s debut featuring four B-sides and an acoustic version of the album.
Soundtrack – Incredibles 2 CD (Walt Disney)
Original soundtrack to the 2018 motion picture composed by Michael Giacchino.
The Supremes – Supremes Sing Holland▪Dozier▪Holland [Reissue/1966] 2xCD (Motown)
52-track expanded edition – includes 28 tracks heard for the first time via updated mixes & alternate versions, as well as a score of electrifying live performances captured at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City in May 1967, the last recorded performance of the original trio: Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard.
Swing Out Sister – Almost Persuaded CD (Miso)
Swing Out Sister is back with a self-assured swagger to their signature cinematic jazz sound. Dipping in and out of their influences from hip-hop and neo soul to Blue Note and Motown with underlying scores that touch on blaxploitation and half remembered French films, Corinne Drewery and Andrew Connell show how their songwriting versatility has developed over the three decades since they first hit the charts. [Vinyl edition due August 3.]
Various Artists [Sasha] – Fabric 99 CD (Fabric)
Sasha provides the 99th installment of the world’s leading house and techno mix series from London’s renowned Fabric nightclub. Features Agnes Obel, Quiet Village, Marbert Rocel, Heitzberg Theorem, Kora (CA), Tom Flynn, Indigo, CLOSE, DJ Hell, Joyce Muniz, Ghosts On Tape, Jus-Ed, Whitesquare, Crowdpleaser, Exercise One & Mathew Jonson, Sasha, Objekt, Jono Ma & Dreems, Javier Logares & Kaarel, Tiefschwarz, George Fitzgerald, Carl Craig, Francesco Tristano, Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, Antigone, BAILE, and Felicia Douglass. [Vinyl edition due July 27.]
Various Artists – Backstreet Brit Funk Vol. 2 Compiled By Joey Negro 2xCD/2xLP (Z Records)
Brit funk is perhaps one of the UK’s most under-appreciated genres. Emerging in the late ’70s and taking influences from jazz, funk, reggae, and pop, by the early ’80s it had spread all over the UK. Brit funk was essentially the UK’s answer to underground disco. Like disco, the Brit funk scene was significant in reducing racial boundaries in the clubs and raising the profile of black and white musicians who worked together. Backstreet Brit Funk Vol. 2 has been eight years in the making and continues to showcase the best of the genre from the late ’70s to early ’80s, compiled once again by Joey Negro. [Vinyl edition spread across two double-disc volumes.]
Various Artists – Czech Up Vol. 2: We’d Be Happy CD/2xLP (Vampisoul)
On Czech Up! Vol. 2, Vampisoul again present an array of astounding songs from the otherwise inglorious decade of political and social gloom in Czechoslovakia, a decade that actually started shortly after the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies in 1968. Here’s your chance to meet up with some eccentric fools, wry sarcasm, fountains of cognition, lovers approaching, lovers leaving, faunal fables, bizarre beings, wizardly seasons, ordinary oddities, unearthly gardens, morbid dreams, pretense obedience, melancholy windscapes, wishful thinking, exotic jungles, and eerie ravines.
Various Artists – Jazz Loves Bernstein 2xCD (Verve)
Two CDs worth of jazz masters and the timeless music of Leonard Bernstein. From the Verve, Blue Note, Impulse, Mersury, MCA, and Kapp catalog come jazz versions of Bernstein classics. Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Billie Holiday, Mel Torme, Bob James, Carmen McRae interpret music that is at home in jazz as well as classical or Broadway.
Various Artists – Le Pop 9: Au Début CD/2xLP (Le Pop Music)
The new Chanson generation, re-modernized and reshaped. 16 new French artists, none of which have ever appeared on a Le Pop compilation before.
Various Artists – Rough Guide To Hokum Blues CD (World Music Network)
This Rough Guide presents classic recordings from the heyday of the hokum craze – a collection of humorous songs which show a fun and racy side to the blues. Featuring many legendary country bluesmen including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Willie McTell and Charley Patton, plus by blues divas Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Memphis Minnie.
The Wild Feathers – Greetings From The Neon Frontier CD/LP (Reprise)
The Wild Feathers return with Greetings From The Neon Frontier, which finds the band embracing their more countrified influences, while retaining the heavy harmonies, gritty guitar playing, and smart, tight songwriting that brought them to prominence.
Wild Moccasins – Look Together CD/LP+MP3 (New West)
Wild Moccasins’ third full-length tackles themes of repairing relationships, shedding insecurities, and fresh starts, with vibrant guitar and synth lines layered under soaring pop melodies. The album is highly pop-powered, with Ben H. Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Deerhunter, Animal Collective) at the production helm.
John Zorn/Ches Smith/Ikue Mori – In A Convex Mirror CD (Tzadik)
In A Convex Mirror features Zorn’s unique saxophone playing and keyboard stylings in an extended foray into the nexus of voudun and downtown improvisation. An intense student of Haitian drumming and a regular at ceremonies from NYC to Port-au-Prince Haiti, Ches Smith weaves a hypnotic tapestry of polyrhythms that are constantly in flux. The result is an exciting new context for Zorn the performer. With special guest Ikue Mori creating moody electronic soundscapes, the music is as hypnotic as it is exhilarating.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Scream For Me Sarajevo – DVD/Blu-ray (Sanctuary)
Scream For Me Sarajevo is the story of the most unlikely of rock concerts, performed by Bruce Dickinson in 1994, in the midst of the Siege of Sarajevo. This is a film about extraordinary people defying the horrors of war, and the musicians who risked their lives to play a show for them. This documentary features footage from the historic gig, recent interviews with Bruce, the band, crew, security and also the people of Sarajevo that lived through the war.
Tommy Shaw and Contemporary Youth Orchestra – Sing For The Day! Blu-ray (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw’s rousing 2016 solo turn with the Cleveland-based Contemporary Youth Orchestra, live under the direction of principal conductor/founder Liza Grossman.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Ryan Adams – Baby I Love You b/w Was I Wrong? 7” (Pax-Am/Blue Note)
Brought to you on the wings of Cupid, “Baby I Love You” is exactly what it sounds like: A song to one’s baby, whom they love – a unique twist on Ryan Adams’ classic recipe, with key ingredient “sad” replaced by “happy.” The 2018 Valentine’s day surprise single is presented here on 7″ vinyl with the unreleased Prisoner sessions B-side “Was I Wrong?”
Antonin Artaud – Pur En Finir Avec Le Jugement De Dieu LP (Fantôme Phonographique)
Antonin Artaud was a French poet, dramatist, and director and one of the most important figures in 20th century European theater, and especially the avant-garde. His piece Pour En Finir Avec Le Jugement De Dieu was recorded in 1947 to be aired on French radio. But the project was shelved not only for its scatological, anti-American, anti-religious content, but also for its avant-garde sound, with screams, cries, grunts, glossolalia, and general cacophony, all of which the radio thought would be too shocking for the listeners of post-WWII France. Now regarded as one of his most brilliant works, the piece is finally available again.
Blue Water Highway – Heartbreak City LP (Agonia)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Blue Water Highway’s 2015 debut, Things We Carry, found lead vocalist Zack Kibodeaux and company blending refined roots rock elements similar to The Avett Brothers and The Lumineers with rich, soulful gospel-tinged harmonies. As a result, they invoke an invigorating sound that has the theatrics of an energetic traveling tent show. They’re able to bring down the lights and slow things down with delicate ballads that can shine the spotlight on Kibodeaux’s powerful lyrics and even more powerful vocal range.
Lizzy Borden – My Midnight Things LP (Metal Blade)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Lizzy Borden, one of theatrical rock’s top front-men, issues his first album in 11 years.
Brainticket – Past Present & Future [Reissue/2015] LP (Purple Pyramid)
Limited 180gm vinyl reissue of the 2015 studio album by Krautrock pioneers.
John Collin – Water And Rock Music Vol. 1 LP (Feeding Tube)
“Collin is a wonderful player, incorporating the distention of Loren Connors alongside the blues figures of Jack Rose and the lyrical melodicism of Robbie Basho. He can also throw in blurts that are pure Derek Bailey to throw the punters off, but that’s his business.” – Byron Coley
Container – LP LP (Spectrum Spools)
Ren Schofield has returned with a new installment in his notorious LP series for Spectrum Spools. LP has all the earmarks of the classic Container sound with its uber-mangled, saturated tape garble and headlong tempo macabre. However, this new set of tracks feature an attention to composition unlike much of the Container you’ve previously heard. While the tracks unfurl across two sides of wax the contours and jagged edges of each sonic sculpture display a new refinement while maintaining the full capacity to vaporize any club floor with Container’s traditional recklessness.
Crooked Fingers – Red Devil Dawn [2003] LP+MP3 (Merge)
First-time on vinyl. Love songs abound on 2003’s Red Devil Dawn, but most of the love is dead or dying or at least dirty. That makes sense: Just a few years after his split with indie stalwarts Archers of Loaf, Eric Bachmann had forcefully forged a new identity and sound with Crooked Fingers, and he quickly amassed a catalog of gorgeous, poetic songs about weary losers and broken lives. [Limited edition red colored pressing also available.]
Crosby, Stills & Nash – CSN [Reissue/1977] LP (Atlantic)
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Daylight Again [Reissue/1982] LP (Atlantic)
Limited 180gm vinyl reissues. CSN is the fifth album by Crosby, Stills & Nash (the group’s third studio release), and their first since their debut album without Neil Young. Daylight Again is their seventh album (their fourth studio album comprising original material).
Aleister Crowley – Original Wax Recordings LP (Fantôme Phonographique)
Fantôme Phonographique present a reissue of the only known recordings from the infamous occultist, mystic, magician, poet, novelist, sexual deviant, and all-around misfit, Aleister Crowley. Recorded onto wax cylinder in the early 1910s, and later transferred to 78rpm discs. The tracks include Crowley’s recitation of the first two Enochian Keys, original poetry, incantations, and songs. An absolutely essential piece of occult history. This collection was originally compiled and released on LP in 1986.
Dead Cross – Dead Cross 12” (Ipecac)
Consisting of Dave Lombardo, Justin Pearson, Michael Crain, and Mike Patton, the impressive, expansive, and eclectic list of prior bands collectively played in would be enough to ensure
the unyielding ferocity of Dead Cross’s music; however, their new EP stands on its own with its multilayered evil-genius vocals, manic guitar riffs, and brutal rhythms.
Dead Girls Academy – Alchemy LP (Victory)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Los Angeles, CA dark rockers Dead Girls Academy is the new band from Vampires Everywhere’s Michael Orlando. Signed to Victory Records, their debut Alchemy was written and produced by Ronnie Radke (Falling In Reverse) and mixed by Elvis Baskette (Slash, Sevendust, Trivium). Orlando explains, “Split personalities, fake friends, hangers-on, social-climbing and attention-hunting whores are all ingredients I wanted to exploit with this project.” Emotionally driven pop/punk single “I’ll Find A Way” is about conquering your inner demons. Recommended for fans of Falling In Reverse, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me The Horizon, and Motionless In White.
Deicide – Scars Of The Crucifix [Reissue/2004] LP (Earache)
Deicide – The Stench Of Redemption [Reissue/2006] LP (Earache)
Brutal anti-Christian death metal supported by a barrage of blast-beats and grimly direct riffing – back in-print on vinyl.
Tom Dissvelt & Kid Baltan As The Electrosoniks – Electronic Music [Reissue/1962] LP (Fantôme Phonographique)
Tom Dissevelt and Dick Raaymakers were both Dutch composers and electronic music pioneers. Both musicians began their studies at Royal Conservatory of The Hague on trombone and piano respectively, and later discovered the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Anton Webern. Cited by David Bowie as one of his favorite albums of all-time, Electronic Music is a forward-thinking collection of bubbling synths and space-age atmospherics that is well ahead of its time.
Ian Dury And The Blockheads – Greatest Hits LP (Demon/Edsel)
Ian Dury, like Ray Davies and Paul Weller, was a very English talent. The colorful, metropolis inhabiting characters like ‘Billericay Dickie’ or ‘Plaistow Patricia’ he sung about and the ever so cockney music hall accent he chose to sing in were a big part of that. But most of all it was the
detailed, poetic way he catalogued English life and the melting pot of musical styles used to do so, from punk to funk to jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, which left the listener in no doubt that Dury’s work could only come from one place: the very heart of England.
Bernard Estardy – Fragments D’Une Empreinte Magnétique (Rares, Originaux, Inédits 1966 – 2006) LP (Gonzaï)
A collection of 12 originals, rare and collectable songs, composed and recorded by the producer between 1966 and the year of his passing, 2006. Bernard Estardy started by playing in Parisian jazz clubs as a young pianist backing great acts such as Bill Coleman and Nancy Sinatra. After becoming an expert on the keys, his next adventure was playing the organ for Nino Ferrer and creating the riffs which are known today as classics.
Family – Greatest Hits LP (Demon/Edsel)
Family is a progressive rock band from Leicester who had a string of successful albums during a relatively short space of time.
The Grifters – So Happy Together [Reissue/1992] LP (Sorcerer)
Memphis’s Grifters made some of the finest recordings of Clinton-era America, with a number of albums on labels such as Shangri-La (their second and third LPs) and then Sub Pop for their remaining two albums. Their mixture of Memphis blues/roots influences, classic pop songwriting, and lo-fi aesthetics made them as one of the shining lights of the ’90s indie-rock scene. Here, Sorcerer Records reissue their first full-length LP, So Happy Together, out of circulation for over two decades. Originally released in 1992 on the Chicago indie label, Sonic Noise, which ceased operations not long after the album was released (hence many Grifters fans having never heard this very recording), So Happy Together is an absolute masterpiece of lo-fi slapped-together rock & roll.
Buddy Guy – A Man And The Blues [Reissue/1968] LP (Vanguard)
Remastered from the original analog session tapes, this 50th anniversary issue is pressed on 180gm vinyl and housed in an old-school, tip-on jacket. Essential Chicago blues.
John Hiatt – Live From Austin City Limits 2xLP (New West)
One could argue (at least I will) that John Hiatt was at a peak in his career when he took the Austin City Limits stage on December 14, 1993. His musical journey began in the ‘70s with an angry rocker image which gradually gave way to a mellower, more introspective country-folk-rock style.
Kevin Hufnagel – Messages To The Past LP (Translation Loss)
New York’s unorthodox progressive rock/metal guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia, Byla, Vaura, Sabbath Assembly) presents his latest solo outing. The 10-track album exudes beauty while displaying a new sense of purpose via an array of acoustic and electric guitars. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Judas Priest – Sad Wings Of Destiny [Reissue/1976] LP (Repertoire)
Silver colored vinyl pressing. The groundbreaking Sad Wings Of Destiny is the first great Judas Priest album, simultaneously taking the entire heavy metal genre to darker depths and new heights of technical precision and musicality.
Kid Dakota – So Pretty [2002] LP (Graveface)
First-time vinyl edition of the 2002 album from Darren Jackson aka Kid Dakota. Originally released on Low’s record label Chairkickers’ Music, this reissue includes two previously unreleased tracks from the So Pretty sessions in the summer of 1999. Jackson started performing as Kid Dakota and The Tumbleweeds in 1998 while living in Providence, Rhode Island. The name was chosen in homage to his home state of South Dakota and also as a parody of Kid Rock.
Dave Matthews – Come Tomorrow 2xLP+MP3 (RCA)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Dave Matthews Band’s long-awaited ninth studio album Come Tomorrow serves as their first since 2012’s Away From The World. Working between tours at studios in Seattle, Los Angeles and Charlottesville, DMB chose to record with several different producers, including John Alagia, Mark Batson, Rob Cavallo and Rob Evans. Brandi Carlile harmonizes with Matthews on the shimmering title track which finds hope in our youth and the impact they will have on the world while fan favorite “Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)” has been hailed by Rolling Stone as an “understated plea for compassion and tolerance.” The cover art for Come Tomorrow is by Béatrice Coron, who creates narrative allegories in silhouette to render archetypal stories.
Metalite – Heroes In Time LP (Onnerwound)
Released last October on CD – now available on vinyl. An impressive debut filled with melodic and memorable songs, crowned with the strong and emotional vocals by vocalist Emma Bensing. For fans of Beyond The Black, Dynazty and Amaranthe.
Mystic Bowie – Mystic Bowie’s Talking Dreads 2xLP (BFD)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Reggae artist Mystic Bowie (real name Fitzroy Campbell) releases his debut album which features classic Talking Heads songs, and more, reggae-style. As a former member of the Tom Tom Club, a band that included former Talking Heads founders Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, Mystic Bowie infuses fresh life into Talking Heads’ classic catalog with his high octane mix of roots reggae, ska and lover’s rock. The Talking Dreads album features a lineup of legendary reggae figures including singer Freddie McGregor; ska guitar master Ernest Ranglin (Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Monty Alexander); Soul Train Award nominated Tarrus Riley (“Start Anew,” “Good Girl Gone Bad”); and saxophone great Dean Fraser. The album also features drummer Kirk Bennett and Lincoln Thomas, McGregor’s longtime guitarist. Cindy Wilson of the B-52s special guests on a duet with Mystic for “Heaven”. [Limited colored pressing also available.]
Shutaro Noguchi – Love Super Terranean LP (Feeding Tube)
“Debut album by a wonderful Louisville-based guitarist/vocalist. Here the four long tracks rub against each other like adjacent bands on a PSF psych comp. The lengthiness of the song formatting allows a lot of textural motion in all directions, and the six musicians take full advantage of available latitude. The overall effect is strange and proggy, with Dane Waters’ vocal overlays giving the proceedings a shiny surface they might not otherwise maintain.” – Byron Coley
Ohio Players – Live 1977 2xLP (Goldenlane)
Limited double-vinyl LP pressing in gatefold sleeve. Vintage concert performance by one of the greatest funk/R&B bands.
Onyx – Black Rock LP (X-ray)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The new album from the East Coast hip-hop veterans mixes hardcore vocal delivery with heavy guitar riffs.
Gwenifer Raymond – You Never Were Much of a Dancer LP (Tompkins Square)
Hailing from Cardiff and now residing in Brighton in the South of England, Raymond began playing guitar at the age of eight. Oscillating between the moody and the manic she plays original American primitive instrumentals, drawn from the roots music of Mississippi and Appalachia, on finger-style guitar and banjo.
Run The Jewels – Stay Gold (Smiff & Cash Remix) 12” (Run The Jewels)
Etched red vinyl 12″ in Marvel variant gatefold cover.
Pete Shelley – The Genetic Years 3xLP (Varup)
Contains the albums Homosapien (1981) and XL1 (1983) plus a bonus vinyl LP of non-album tracks and remixes. Lead singer of the seminal punk band The Buzzcocks, Pete Shelley embarked on a solo career in the early ‘80s. Working with producers Martin Rushent and Stephen Hague, he crafted dance floor friendly synth pop.
Social Distortion – Live At The Roxy [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Concord)
Reissued on vinyl almost 20 years to the day of the album’s original release date – this first (and only) live album from one of the godfathers of punk comprises a double LP set and features a replica of the rare poster that came with the original 1998 pressing (featuring frontman Mike Ness on stage).
Soundtrack – Isle Of Dogs LP (Abkco)
Released last March on CD – now available on vinyl. Includes Academy Award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat’s original score, compositions from acclaimed Japanese films Seven Samurai and Drunken Angel, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band’s brand of American psychedelia, and The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra’s eccentric euphonies.
Spine – Faith LP (Bridge 9)
Kansas City’s Spine continue to seamlessly blend the sounds of NYHC ala Youth Of Today, Cro-Mags, and Agnostic Front with the whiplash speed and intensity of bands like Infest and Siege.
Talos – Wild Alee LP (BMG Rights Management)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Blending elements of electronic pop and soulful R&B with hypnotizing synthscapes and haunting vocals, each track on Talos’ 2017 album, Wild Alee, offers its own vivid sense of space, conjuring up an immersive journey that blurs the lines between dreaming and waking, between reality and fantasy, between the ordinary and the extraordinary. This expanded version includes a new four-track bonus EP Then There Was War. [Limited colored pressing also available.]
Them Are Us Too – Amends LP (Dais)
Posthumous release. Kennedy (the surviving member of the band after the passing of Cash Askew in the Oakland fire) teamed up with Cash’s stepfather and friends and finished their remaining songs and some new ones – resulting in a gorgeous album and a proper sendoff to the band and Cash. [CD edition due August 17.]
Theotis Taylor – Something Within Me LP (Big Legal Mess)
Something Within Me serves as the first time the world has heard a full-length album from legendary Georgian gospel singer/pianist Theotis Taylor. It features newly discovered music of Taylor’s voice and piano originally recorded in 1979 alongside new studio accompaniment from Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), Will Sexton (Amy LaVere), Liz Brasher, and more.
Tinashe – Joyride 2xLP+MP3 (RCA)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Second studio album by the R&B singer-songwriter. Joyride is a melodic overview of Tinashe’s discography, from her pop-influenced singles to the moodiness of previous mixtapes like Nightride and Amethyst all while spotlighting her production and songwriting talent. Guests include Offset, Ty Dolla $ign & French Montana, Little Dragon, and Future.
Trillium – Tectonic LP (Frontiers)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Fans of artists like The Dark Element, Tarja, Cellar Darling, Lacuna Coil, and the like will find much to enjoy here.
Various Artists – Music From The Motion Picture Wayne’s World [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (Rhino)
Double-LP pressed on pink and blue vinyl. Includes Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Black Sabbath – ‘Time Machine” and of course the Wayne & Garth’s famous “Wayne’s World” Theme.
Various Artists – Rough Guide To The Best Country Blues You’ve Never Heard LP (World Music Network)
Released in March on CD – now available on vinyl. Mysteries abound for many of these obscure country blues artists who cut a handful of sides in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Although just the nicknames alone will fire any blues connoisseur’s imagination, from the likes of Papa Egg Shell and Little Hat Jones to Uncle Bud Walker and Spark Plug Smith, these tracks are essential listening and offer a unique insight into early country blues.
Wajatta – Casual High Technology 2xLP (Comedy Dynamics)
Wajatta is the collaboration of comedian/musician Reggie Watts and producer John Tejada’s inherent musical abilities. Having grown up with similar musical influences, the two draw from their love of urban electronic music. Best described as electronic dance, the new music has roots in Detroit techno, Chicago house, ’70s funk and New York hip hop. Tejada’s deep and melodic productions make a perfect backing for Watt’s wide vocal-range and live looping skills. The duo’s debut album, Casual High Techonology, is a cosmic collection of funk-infused techno and the culmination of decades’ worth of Watts and Tejada’s favorite electronic music shaped to fit a new dance sensibility.
Junior Wells – Coming At You [Reissue/1968] LP (Craft Recordings)
One of the great electric blues albums of the ’60s, this gem features harmonica player and singer Junior Wells at his finest. With fellow Chicago musician Buddy Guy on lead guitar, Coming At You showcases the two fiery musician’s talents in the studio, as they play a selection of blues standards. Back on vinyl for the first time in over 40 years, this 50th anniversary reissue was cut from the original analog master, pressed on 180gm vinyl, and comes housed in a tip-on jacket.
Wrecks – Panic Vertigo 10” (Century Media)
Los Angeles band Wrecks make exuberant, melodic, emo and punk-influenced pop/rock. Limited pink colored 10” pressing.
Yes – The Steven Wilson Remixes 6xLP (Atlantic)
Five Yes albums remixed by renowned producer Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree): The Yes Album (1971), Fragile (1971), Close To The Edge (1972), the double album Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973), and Relayer (1974).
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