CDs + Vinyl:
311 – Archive 4xCD (Sony Legacy)
Career-spanning four CD set by the alternative rock band commemorates their silver anniversary with 81 tracks, including unreleased songs, B-sides, bonus tracks, pre-production recordings, alternate versions and demos.
Abnormal Thought Patters – Altered States Of Consciousness CD (Lifeforces)
Abnormal Thought Patterns is a mathematical instrumental trio that fuses heavy riffs, intricate time signatures and shredding solos.
Anathema – Fine Days: 1999-2004 3xCD+DVD (The End)
This triple-CD+DVD box set consists of three digitally remastered albums (Judgment, A Fine Day To Exit, and A Natural Disaster) along with the live Were You There? DVD from 2004. Anathema has become a favorite live band across Europe and the UK, and an affinity with Eastern Europe that is second to none. (Each title also separately repressed on vinyl.)
Ancient Ocean – Blood Moon CD/LP+MP3 (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
After a steady run of superb EP releases, Ancient Ocean’s first long player Blood Moon has given J.R. Bohannon the space he needs to stretch out and fully realize his sprawling soundscapes. Four songs over 41 minutes featuring Jonas Reinhardt and Mark Demolar (Woodsman) on the title track and J.S. Aurelius (Destruction Unit) and Aaron Martin on the expansive “Beargrass Creek.”
Aranda – Not The Same CD (Wind-Up)
A new album of powerhouse rock anthems.
August Burns Red – Found In Far Away Places CD/LP (Fearless)
Seventh album from the Lancaster, PA melodic metalcore band. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds two bonus tracks.
Author & Punisher – Melk En Honing CD (Housecore)
Author & Punisher’s new is mélange of his various drone machinery together, multiple physical rhythm machines, some synth and the new electromechanical masks that began to appear in A&P performances across the US and Europe in 2014. Abandoning the typical guitar and drums set up, Author & Punisher makes aggressive rhythmic and oscillatory soundscapes from his own custom fabricated and precision machinery. Designed by Shone himself, the instruments of Author & Punisher are custom devices that begin mostly as big chunks of aluminum and steel that are worked into all manners of wheels, throttles, pedals, and masks to manipulate sound live. Vinyl version due August 7.
Barbecue Bob – The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Barbecue Bob CD (World Music Network)
One of the unsung heroes of the Piedmont blues style, Robert Hicks, aka Barbecue Bob recorded over sixty sides for Columbia Records and became one of the best-selling artists on their race series, outsold only by Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Blind Willie Johnson. With his original and witty compositions he was one of the real pioneers of the Atlanta blues scene of the time, but his career was tragically ended by his death from pneumonia at the age of just 29.
Being As An Ocean – Being As An Ocean CD/LP (InVogue)
Being As An Ocean is a post-hardcore band with a melodic and plaintive sound punctuated by outbursts of aggression.
Bilal – In Another Life CD (Purpose Music Group/eOne Music)
According to a press released, the long-running soul singer’s fifth album explores “today’s sociopolitical environment.” In Another Life features Kendrick Lamar, returning the favor for Bilal singing on To Pimp A Butterfly cuts “Institutionalized” and “These Walls,” Southern rap obsessive Big K.R.I.T. and Kiwi vocalist Kimbra. The album was produced by L.A. composer and producer Adrian Younge, who just announced another collaborative album with Ghostface Killah.
Bitter End – Illusions Of Dominance CD (Deathwish, Inc.)
Introspection and anger blankets everything in tracks like “Truth, Lies, Fear,” “Realm Of Despair,” “Long Time Gone,” “The Crushing Madness,” and “Conversations With Death.” Each one, writhing and clawing with thrash precision and hardcore aggression. It’s not all speed and violence though; songs “Sting Of Betrayal,” “Pleasure And Pain,” “Into The Unknown,” and closer “No Man’s Land” choose to churn at a slower rpm but are just as lethal. Opting to let their hybrid hardcore/metal heaviness shine through the eye of the storm with mid-tempo battery and epic breakdowns.
Bong – We Are, We Were, And We Will Have Been CD (Ritual Productions)
Solemn in its delivery and frightening in its implications, We Are, We Were, And We Will Have Been signifies a point of no return from the pied pipers of mesmeric drone; its two near-20-minute tracks will surely loop and envelop indefinitely, freeing the listener from this increasingly unfamiliar material world and mercifully trapping them in the weightlessness of Bong’s sonic void.
Controlled Bleeding/Sparkle In Grey – Perversions Of The Aging Savant CD (Off Record Label)
Six songs from Controlled Bleeding, from Sparkle In Grey, plus two “extra perversions” of the two groups placed symmetrically at the end of the album. The well-known eclecticism of Controlled Bleeding is on full display, ranging from pages of confident guitar based prog rock, to rough industrial-noise excursions, to jazzy improvisations now soberly melodic and now tangled and dissonant, whereas Sparkle In Grey provide a poignant chamber lieder with neo-classical aplomb, gradually built from sparse notes of piano and a mournful violin around an emotional recurring theme, among mysterious choral breaths and subterranean cacophonies.
Deathhammer – Evil Power CD (Hell’s Headbangers)
New album of maniacal iron-fisted blackened thrash metal from Norway. Vinyl version due August 21.
Eason Corbin – About To Get Real CD (Mercury Nashville)
Third album from the country vocalist.
Cut Up – Forensic Nightmares CD (Metal Blade)
Cut Up was founded by drummer Tobias Gustafsson and vocalist/bassist Erik Rundqvist in early 2014. After disbanding Vomitory by the end of 2013 after 24 years of death metal duty, the two felt it obvious to continue creating death metal together. Very soon, guitarist Anders Bertilsson and guitarist/vocalist Andreas Bjornson were recruited and Cut Up was complete. Vinyl version due July 10.
Dew Scented – Intermination CD/LP (Prosthetic)
Featuring 13 punishing tracks of pure thrash metal, Intermination on guest vocals from Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Trouble) on the track “Reborn” in addition to a cover version of Repulsion’s “Radiation Sickness.”
DJ Vadim & Sena – Grow Slow CD/LP (BBE)
DJ Vadim brings his trademark electro-riddim beats for Sena to do her thing, which is a dope mix of soul and Afro-Caribbean swagger—a bit of Lauryn, a bit of Erykah, all Sena.
Ecstatic Vision – Sonic Praise CD/LP (Relapse)
Philadelphia’s Ecstatic Vision weaves the guitar heroics of ‘70s heavy classics of UFO and Hawkwind with the rhythmic intensity of Sun Ra Arkestra and The Budos Band. Massive riffs vibe seamlessly with deep rhythms to create an original heavy psych debut.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Triology [Reissue/1972] 2xCD+DVD-A (Razor & Tie)
Trilogy is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, originally released in 1972. This Deluxe reissue contains the original album plus two discs (CD+DVD-A) of previously unreleased material, including 5.1 surround sound mixes. Surround sound mix by Jakko Jakszyk.
Failure – The Heart Is A Monster CD/2xLP+MP3 (Failure)
Failure’s new album, the band’s first full-length since 1996. Over the years, Failure has become known as a band’s band whose songs have been covered by such diverse artists as A Perfect Circle (“The Nurse Who Loved Me”) and Paramore (“Stuck On You”). Tool/A Perfect Circle singer Maynard James Keenan said, “Failure has been a huge inspiration to me. They say amateurs borrow and professionals steal. Well over the years this pro has robbed those poor saps blind.”
Fanny – Fanny Hill [Reissue/1972] CD (Real Gone Music)
Fanny had already stepped into some big shoes by being the first all-female rock band signed to a major label, but with the release of 1972’s Fanny Hill, they took things to a new level, recording at Abbey Road with producer Richard Perry and famed Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick (the album includes a Beatles homage with a cover of ”Hey Bulldog”). And the result was Fanny’s most varied and ambitious album, sporting a beautiful mix of ballads and rockers and a mature, socially conscious lyrical approach. Digitally remastered and expanded edition.
Sammy Figueroa – Imaginary World CD (Savant)
Legendary Grammy nominee percussionist Sammy Figueroa has done it again with another outstanding Latin jazz album, combining sophistication and beauty with swinging rhythms on a variety of percussion instruments. Venezuelan composer/musicians Silvano Monasterios (piano) and Gabriel Vivas (bass) have created brilliant compositions that embrace Figueroa’s ever-creative rhythmical conversation. Joined by star horn players Troy Roberts (sax) and Alex Pope Norris (trumpet), plus one of today’s finest young drummers, David Chiverton, the musicianship level is astounding. This album, Figueroa’s fourth, displays a musical maturity and sense of invention that opens up new possibilities for today’s Latin jazz.
Frankie Cosmos – Zentopy CD (Double Double Whammy)
Released last year on vinyl – now available on CD. Ready to melt your hearts and make you believe, Frankie Cosmos’ (aka Greta Kline) songwriting captures everything great about a pop song: sadness, optimism and charm. Her first studio recording after 40 albums of anti-folk bedroom recordings, Zentropy is connected to your soul, revealing the flower you should grow.
Ghost Key – The Things I Am Not CD/LP (No Sleep)
New album from the melodic hardcore act.
Goblin Rebirth – Goblin Rebirth CD/LP+MP3 (Reprise)
Featuring the original rhythm section of the legendary Goblin, Goblin Rebirth mix classic horror-score soundscapes with a chillingly exciting, new drive that will thrill prog-heads and score-fiends alike.
Good Old War – Broken Into Better Shape CD/LP (Nettwerk)
Good Old War’s fourth studio album Broken Into Better Shape follows the critically acclaimed Come Back As Rain. For the new album, Good Old War singer Keith Goodwin estimates that he and guitarist Dan Schwartz had already written close to 50 songs when the group’s managers asked for more. The singer responded with a tune called “Tell Me What You Want From Me.” It’s a catchy, upbeat tune with a clickety-clack rhythm and a chorus that soars upward on layers of wordless vocals as Goodwin delivers the refrain. The Philadelphia duo (formerly a trio) co-wrote the song with Los Angeles-via-Zimbabwe producer Tinashe Sibanda, known as T-Collar. “Compared to our other stuff, it’s a way bigger sound,” Goodwin says. “It’s got more pop production, that’s kind of his deal.”
The Internet – Ego Death CD (Sony)
Ego Death features guest appearances from the likes of Janelle Monae, Tyler, The Creator, and Vic Mensa. The band says Ego Death is about “being vulnerable and honest. It’s about us growing up as a band and as individuals, and the challenges we’re facing and learning from. It’s about us acknowledging our egos and the egos around us, and using them the best way we know how.”
Jaill – Brain Cream CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Burger)
Jangly guitar-pop nuggets. Previous albums on Sub Pop.
JB And The Moonshine Band – Mixtape CD (Light It Up)
In the spring of 2010, JB and the Moonshine Band opened for Colt Ford. The group’s raw sound, outlaw attitude, and original material caught Ford’s attention and he quickly signed the band to his label, Average Joe’s Entertainment. Average Joe’s released JB and the Moonshine Band’s debut album, Ain’t Goin’ Back To Jail, and their sophomore effort, Beer For Breakfast. Mixtape is their third album.
Jule Vera – Friendly Enemies CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Jule Vera is a female-fronted alt-rock band from Alabama.
Jungle Rot – Order Shall Prevail CD (Victory)
Groove-laden, no-frills old school death metal.
Karin Krog – Don’t Just Sing: An Anthology CD/2xLP (Light In The Attic)
The work of Karin Krog may be unfamiliar to much of the world, but in her native Norway and Scandinavia at large, she’s practically a household name. This says much about the local enthusiasm for post-bop jazz but also about the tyranny of distribution: until 1994, Krog’s albums weren’t available in the US or UK, meaning three decades of recordings were waiting to be discovered. With this anthology of her best recordings from 1963 to 1999 curated with Krog’s own input, Light In The Attic hopes to set the record straight.
LA Priest – Inji CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
Inji is the debut solo album by Sam Dust, aka LA Priest. Across its ten audaciously imaginative tracks Inji reasserts Dust as a truly idiosyncratic voice in British music, applying the same eclectic and absurd spirit of his previous band, Late Of The Pier, to ever more nuanced and affecting songwriting and composition. From the obscene space-age stadium rock guitar solo of “Oino” to “Learning To Love,” the record’s gargantuan prog-house centerpiece, Inji confounds and delights in equal measure and at every turn. For fans of: Tame Impala, Daft Punk, Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
The Lovin’ Spoonful – Do You Believe In Magic [Reissue/1965] CD/LP (Sundazed)
The Lovin’ Spoonful – Hums Of The Lovin’ Spoonful [Reissue/1966] CD/LP (Sundazed)
The Lovin’ Spoonful – Daydream [Reissue/1966] CD/LP (Sundazed)
American pop rock band founded in 1965 (still active). Inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
James Maddock – The Green CD (In Kind)
The Green, the sixth album from veteran singer/songwriter James Maddock, is bookended by “Once There Was A Boy Part 1” and “Once There Was A Boy Part 2.” Version one has a gospel-folk gait recalling Van Morrison and the more bucolic moments of The Pogues, and version two is a fresh rendition with stately strings and dreamy vocals. Between these two tracks, Maddock traverses rustic soul-folk, electro-Motown, Tom Waits-y nostalgic singer-songwriter territory, among other sonic touchstones with his unmistakable poetic and poignant panache.
Main Attrakionz – 808s & Dark Grapes III CD (Vapor)
Hailing from North Oakland, CA, Squadda B and Mondre M.A.N. of Main Attrakionz have been rapping together for most of their young lives. Early on, a shared love of rap music led them to put school on the back-burner and focus on producing music with a talented crew of local artists. Over the ensuing 7+ years, (and with an added assist from the world wide web and social media) Main Attrakionz have cultivated a unique and passionate sound, combining opaque atmospherics and lived-in reality rhymes, that stands as one of the most interesting and refreshing in the crowded and fractured world of today’s rap underground.
Man Overboard – Heavy Love CD (Rise)
New album from the pop/punk band, produced by Bill Stevenson (Rise Against, The Descendents, A Day To Remember).
Ky-Mani Marley – Maestro CD (Konfrontation Muzic LLC)
Ky-Mani Marley, son of Jamaican royalty Bob Marley, has a sound that transcends cultural lines and prohibits him from being categorized as only a reggae artist. Single “All The Way” is a lilting reggae love song with a pop leaning vibe it captures the feeling of summer and is an impressive lead-in for his sixth studio album. Maestro includes features from Damian Marley, Matisyahu, Gentleman and Kreesha Turner. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds five bonus tracks. Vinyl version due July 10.
Miguel – Wildheart CD (RCA)
Third album from the singer/songwriter — available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks. “In fairness, Pimentel is hardly the first artist in recent years to offer up a foggy, warped take on neon-bright, mid-‘80s US pop – the melodies of [album tracks] ‘Coffee’ and ‘Waves’ suggest something that could have turned up on the soundtrack of a John Hughes film – but he’s certainly the first one to warp it in quite this way. The sound is a kind of thrillingly ramshackle funk-rock with jagged electric guitars and luscious harmonies that drift in and out of focus, drowned in a whirl of echo. The effect is eerie and drugged-out and occasionally a bit cacophonous. There’s almost always some kind of disquieting electronic growl lurking around, while on the closing ‘Face The Sun,’ Lenny Kravitz turns up, adding a feedback-heavy solo to an already chaotic mass of vocals, trebly guitar and pounding drums. It works at odds with the sparkling beauty of the tunes – as you might expect from someone who’s plied his trade as a songwriter for hire, Pimentel’s choruses are really polished – and indeed the vocals, which are powerful without being showy; he knows how to deploy his falsetto for emotional impact, rather than to try and dazzle the listener.” – The Guardian
Modern Life Is War – Witness [Reissue/2005] CD/LP (Deathwish, Inc.)
Reissued in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of the album. The CD version comes in new eco-friendly package with a 28-page booklet, while the vinyl version is presented in a deluxe gatefold jacket with a 12”x12” 28-page booklet. Both formats have been remastered.
Nick Mott – Here Begins The Great Destroyer CD (Lumberton Trading Company)
Solo project from founding member of Volcano The Bear. The ten pieces on Here Begins The Great Destroyer bear witness to a world of unfolding electronic textures, uneasy tones, rhythmic bursts, and a general sense of things not being quite as they seem. However, this is no dark ambient muck. Instead, it rather uncomfortably resides in a space out of which Renaldo & The Loaf, Tuxedomoon, Nurse With Wound, and Andrew Liles have all crawled.
Mutoid Man – Bleeder CD/LP+MP3 (Sargent House)
Mutoid Man is new trio featuring Stephen Brodsky (Cave In) on guitar and vocals, Ben Koller (Converge) on drums and Nick Cageao on bass. Heavy math rock with nu metal flourishes.
Nueva Vulcano – Noveleria CD/LP (Bcore)
RIYL: Jawbreaker, Green Day, Seam, Superchunk, Jawbox, Jesus Lizard, The Van Pelt.
Ocean Carolina – Maudlin Days CD/LP (Old Hand Record Company)
The last thing you expect to hear in an artist’s genre transition is that they went from a successful career as an EDM producer to creating heartfelt rock and Americana. That, of course, is the case with Ocean Carolina — formally known as Michael Simone — who decided to duck out of day job to embrace the passion of grassroots rock ‘n’ roll. For starters, erase the bit about his EDM career out of your head before diving into Maudlin Days. Simone brings something great to the table for the folk-Americana genre: both a genuineness that’s (if not rare) uncommon in modern music, and an infectious vocal style that’s both soothing and uplifting.
Oscar – Beautiful Words CDEP/12”+MP3 (Wichita)
“The stalking specter of Morrissey looms large over plenty of Britpop, but London’s Oscar Scheller manages to channel the iconic singer’s dramatic deep deadpan without coming off as a derivative. On the title track and lead single off his new EP, Beautiful Words, Oscar constructs his own wall of swirling orchestral pop. Earnest in all the right ways, ‘Beautiful Words’ builds glitchy synths and the harmony-packed chorus to a feel-good climax.” — Stereogum
Pas Musique – Inside The Spectrum CD (Alrealon)
Ten new electronic sound collages inspired by space and philosophy.
Matt Pond PA – The State Of Gold CD/2xLP (Doghouse)
“More No More,’ the shimmering opening track on The State Of Gold, Matt Pond PA’s 10th full-length, bounds out of the gate as though it’s been building momentum for ages. In a way, of course, it has: Behind this album is the accumulated energy and weight of nearly two decades, as well as more albums, EPs, singles and tours than can be counted without paper and a pencil.” — NPR
Radioactivity – Silent Kill CD/LP (Dirtnap)
New elease from the indie/alt-rock band. Seems pretty safe to assume that almost no one doubted Radioactivity’s ability to follow up their 2013 Dirtnap debut with something equally stunning. Frontman and chief songwriter Jeff Burke (The Marked Men, The Reds, The Potential Johns) has certainly done more than enough to earn that kind of expectation and pressure. But Silent Kill, which finds Burke backed by Marked Men compatriot Mark Ryan and two-thirds of Bad Sports (Daniel Fried and Gregory Rutherford), does more than merely match the virtues of its self-titled predecessor.
Anthony Raneri – Sorry State Of Mind CDEP/12” (Hopeless)
Anthony Raneri is best known as the frontman of the New York rock band Bayside but Raneri is back with a new solo EP. The EP finds Raneri in a more stripped down approach accompanied by his storytelling lyrics.
Refused – Freedom CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Refused came to an end in front of 50 kids at a basement show in a Virginia college town in 1998, just as their release of the same year, The Shape Of Punk to Come, was taking its first steps toward becoming an acknowledged classic and a massive influence on a generation of bands. “Refused Are F**king Dead!” became the slogan, as kids discovered Shape and its breakout track “New Noise” only to find their new heroes disbanded. After a 2012 invitation to reform for the Coachella festival, Refused followed its first shows in 15 years with a triumphant tour, as every kid who had discovered them after death came out to see them reborn. Freedom is the first album in almost 20 years. (Limited copies on vinyl pressed on color wax with expanded gatefold sleeve.)
Ronny & The Daytonas – The Complete Recordings 2xCD (Real Gone Music)
48 tracks from Nashville’s greatest contribution to surf and hot rod music.
Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody – Prometheus Symphonia Ignis Divinus CD/LP (Nuclear Blast America)
Italian guitar player and composer Luca Turilli is not just a musician with extraordinary skills, but a musical visionary and genius too. With the symphonic metal band Rhapsody he released ten studio albums, including the genre-defining milestones Legendary Tales, Symphony Of
Enchanted Lands and Dawn Of Victory.
The media dubbed this majestic and unique sound “Hollywood Metal,” while some years later it became known as “Film Score Metal.”
Self Defense Family – Heaven Is Earth CD/LP (Deathwish, Inc.)
Sophomore album from the New York post-hardcore outfit.
Senses Fail – Pull The Thorns From Your Heart CD/LP (Pure Noise)
The New Jersey punk/emo band’s sixth studio album follows 2013’s Renacer as they continue on the path of a more evolved, hardcore sound.
Slightly Stoopid – Meanwhile… Back At The Lab CD/LP (Stoopid Records)
Slightly Stoopid are back with their eighth studio album, Meanwhile… Back At The Lab. The new collection is a 14 song journey across the band’s genre-bending fusion of styles and features guests Karl Denson (Greyboy Allstars/Rolling Stones), Ian Neville (Dumpstaphunk) Marshall “Ras MG” Goodman (Sublime), The Aggrolites, and platinum songwriter/vocalist Angela Hunte.
Vince Staples – Summertime ‘06 2xCD (Def Jam)
Debut album from the Long Beach, CA rapper best known as one-third of Cutthroat Boyz. “Vince Staples, it can be argued, is top five today in terms of pure lyricism. Since his guest spot on Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘epaR’ in 2010, Vince has been burning damn near every song he’s been featured on. He followed that string of features with solo mixtapes filled with dark humor and unrelenting honesty, further proving his prowess behind the mic. All of that has led him to this point.” – Complex
Stevie Stone – Malta Bend CD (Strange Music)
New release from the rapper featuring guest appearances by Tech N9ne, Peetah Morgan, Mystikal, Kevin Gates, CES Cru, Glasses Malone, Darrein and more.
Straight Line Stitch – Transparency CD (Pavement Entertainment)
Unrelenting metalcore band fronted by the ferocious and melodic voice of Alexis Brown.
Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War CD (Nuclear Blast)
Third album from the Australian deathcore band. Vinyl version due July 24.
Pete Townshend – Truancy: The Very Best Of Pete Townshend CD (UMe)
New collection of solo tracks by the singer/songwriter and British rock icon including two new tracks. Truancy was remastered at Abbey Road Studios, features new liner notes, and highlights from nine key Townshend albums including the singles “Rough Boys,” “Let My Love Open The Door,” “Face Dances (Pt. 2),” “English Boy” and “Face The Face.” 17 tracks total.
Tina Turner – Private Dancer [Reissue/1984] 2xCD (Rhino)
30th Anniversary Deluxe edition compiles the remastered album and a second disc which features “Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)” (with B.E.F.), recorded with Martin Ware from Heaven 17, and which lead to him producing the lead single from Private Dancer, “Let’s Stay Together.” It also features 12″ mixes and B-sides as well as three non-album singles, including the duet with Bryan Adams “It’s Only Love.”
Twin Danger – Twin Danger CD/LP (Decca/Universal)
Noir jazz meets midnight blues in the music of Twin Danger an intriguing new group formed by Vanessa Bley and Stuart Matthewman. Twin Danger updates a classic sound in a contemporary style with such captivating Bley/Matthewman originals as “Pointless Satisfaction,” “Just Because, Sailor,” and “Coldest Kind Of Heart.” The album sessions also yielded one surprising cover song, a distinctively different interpretation of the hard rock track “No One Knows” by Queens Of The Stone Age. The core of Twin Danger is Bley and Matthewman, however on-stage for their sultry live performances the band expands with a tight-knit outfit of five musicians.
Various Artists (Frankie Knuckles) – Defected Presents: House Masters 2xCD (Defected)
House Masters – Frankie Knuckles is a project that began in February 2014, with Frankie hand-selecting the productions and remixes he wanted to include on a retrospective release of his illustrious career. On the sad news of his passing on 31 March 2014, the project was duly paused. Now, with the creation of The Frankie Knuckles Fund established in partnership with the Elton John Aids Foundation, the release will finally see the light of day, with all profits being donated to the charity.
Various Artists – Peru Boom CD (Tiger’s Milk)
Tropical Bass artists like Dengue Dengue Dengue, DJ Chakruna, Animal Chucki and Deltatron have long been guided by the roots of chicha and Peruvian cumbia. This compilation sees them reshape and digitally render the original sounds fashioning new cuts inspired by dubstep, techno, trap, grime, house and electronica all aimed squarely at the dancefloor. Vinyl version due July 10.
Various Artists – Sounds Of The Universe: Art + Sound 2xCD/2xLP+MP3/2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
The compilation’s first disc contains music that’s seen release on Soul Jazz’s Sounds Of The Universe sublabel—and, more specifically, its Art + Sound series—including tracks from Andrés, Kassem Mosse, AYBEE, Heatsick, Tevo Howard and Jamal Moss (as Hieroglyphic Being). The Art + Sound 12”s were pressed in limited editions, with 250 copies available exclusively through the Soul Jazz shop in London, so this is the first time the music is getting a wider release. The second disc features new, unreleased cuts from the likes of DJ Stingray, Mike Huckaby, Golden Teacher, Africans With Mainframes (AKA Jamal Moss and Noleian Reusse), Capracara and Seven Davis Jr, while LA producer Ras G chips in with three tunes. (Vinyl sold as two separate gatefold double-LP editions.)
Velvet Teen – All Is Illusory CD/LP (Top Shelf)
All Is Illusory marks the shape-shifting indie rock band’s fourth album and is the long-awaited and elegant follow-up to 2006’s Cum Laude! that was recorded and co-produced by Steve Choi (Rx Bandits, Peace’d Out) and Roger Camero (No Motiv, Peace’d Out). From its gorgeous, swirling electronics to its harder, angular, ‘90s-leaning flourishes of grunge, indie and emo, All Is Illusory is a welcome return for a band whose varied influences are still very much intact after its short silence.
Viscounts – Harlem Nocturne [Reissue/1965] CD (Real Gone Music)
A lot of folks covered Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers’ classic composition “Harlem Nocturne” –there are over 500 recorded versions by some estimates-but the definitive take was laid down by a little-known R&B combo out of New Jersey named The Viscounts, who had a hit with the song for two different labels, for Madison in 1959 and for Amy in 1965. The latter release, which cracked the Top 40, spawned an entire album to go with it, and if you are looking for the perfect soundtrack to set a bleary, late-night mood straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel (or a film by David Lynch or Quentin Tarantino), look no further-guitar dripping with reverb and tremolo, minor-key Hammond organ fills and sleazy saxophone create a mutant musical love-child of the Ventures, Link Wray and Earl Bostic.
Joy Williams – Venus CD/LP (Columbia)
Many know Joy Williams as one half of the four-time Grammy-winning folk-rock duo The Civil Wars. Until their 2012 hiatus (and eventual break up in August 2014) the singer/songstress with her long sea witch hair and Mona Lisa half-smile rarely revealed herself, except through the duo’s bruising and stark lyrics of romantic conflations and doomed intimacies. On Venus she changes all that. No longer content to just conjure the antique grace of some mythic, bygone world, Williams was intent to actually pierce the veil of metaphor and an imagined history and tell a more honest, human story of one woman’s journey out of darkness. Over 11 unstintingly honest songs, she unabashedly re-counts what occurred in her life over the past two and a half years. She doesn’t try to defend or explain, but instead tells a simple straightforward story of events, sparing no one, especially herself.
Wilson – Right To Rise CD (Razor & Tie)
New album by the hard rocking quintet. Hailing from Detroit, this explosive rock band has been making a name for themselves as a ‘must see’ band since they self-released their debut album Full Blast F**kery in 2013. Combining first rate musicianship with their lust for life (and everything,) they unleash their brand of a full blast great time and deliver a contact high to anyone who comes near them.
X Ambassadors – VHS CD (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope)
Growing up in small-town upstate New York, frontman Sam Harris, his brother Casey, and childhood friend Noah Feldshuh bonded over an obsessive love for punk, rock & roll, soul, and hip-hop that defied the conventions of their peer group. X Ambassadors have shared the stage with Imagine Dragons, Panic! At The Disco, Lights, Jimmy Eat World, and performed at festivals such as Firefly Festival, Made in America and Lollapalooza
Neil Young + Promise Of The Real – The Monsanto Years CD/CD+DVD (Reprise)
For this guitar-centric, full steam-ahead and highly-charged ecologically/environmentally-focused rock album, Young is joined by Promise Of The Real, an L.A.-based rock band fronted by Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas Nelson (vocals/guitar), and Micah Nelson (guitar, vocals), along with Anthony Logerfo (drums), Corey McCormick (bass) and Tato Melgar (percussion). Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a DVD featuring a documentary about the making of the album. Vinyl version TBA (tentatively August).
DVDs + Blu-ray:
The Decline Of Western Civilization Collection 4xDVD/4xBlu-ray (Shout! Factory)
Penelope Spheeris’ The Decline Of Western Civilization was perceived as shocking and outrageous at the time of its original release in 1981 and its two follow-up films were no less extraordinary and revealing. Today, museums and educational institutions around the world present them as a historically significant works of art. Featuring some of the most influential and innovative musicians and groups of the era: Germs, Black Flag, X, Fear, Circle Jerks, Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne, these riveting, unflinching and hard-core films adeptly captured the spirit of a major cultural phenomenon. Now for the first time, all three films are available in one deluxe box set with commentary by Dave Grohl.
The Who – Live At Shea Stadium DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)
The Who’s 1982 tour, which was all in North America apart from two warm-up dates at the Birmingham NEC in England, was their last to feature Kenney Jones on drums and they wouldn’t tour again until 1989. The tour promoted the recent It’s Hard album, which had been released in June 1982, and the set list included a number of tracks from that album, some of which the band would only play live on this tour. This concert film features the show from the second of their two nights at New York’s Shea Stadium and was filmed on October 13th, 1982. Although a couple of tracks have appeared on compilations, this is the first official release of the full show and features restored footage and newly mixed sound.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
The Achtungs – Welcome To Hell LP (Going Underground)
“Teen Punk is a universal language. Red Cross’ Born Innocent is a masterpiece. A little is more than a lot. If you disagree with any of the preceding, you can probably skip The Achtungs’ new album Welcome To Hell. But you really ought to reconsider. This very short record feels even shorter, because the folks who made it sound like they’re having a blast. Perhaps you should join them. Features the hits ‘You’re Not My Friend,’ ‘I Wanna Be Mean,’ and ‘They Sent Me Back To Hell.’ They’re from Finland, but you’d never guess. On the Going Underground label, so you know it’s messed up.” – Geoffrey Weiss
Anthema – Judgment [Reissue/1999] LP+CD (The End)
Anthema – A Fine Day To Exit [Reissue/2001] LP+CD (The End)
Anthema – A Natural Disaster [Reissue/2003] 2xLP+CD (The End)
Liverpool’s Anathema, started out in the early ’90s as strictly a doom metal outfit, with the requisite growled vocals and the trademark muddy sound, but when original singer Darren White left the band in 1995, with guitarist Vincent Cavanagh taking the reins, Anathema started their slow journey into completely uncharted (and unexpected) territory. 2001’s A Fine Day To Exit, was an artistic breakthrough, as the band completely shed themselves of their goth roots, while still putting out powerful, brooding hard rock.
Barnett & Coloccia – Weld LP (Blackest Ever Black)
Working with synthesizers, effected vocals, raw electrical noise, field recordings, EVP techniques, tape manipulation, and drum machines to create a music at once lucid and mystic. Its songs embody various experiential philosophies and objectives: searching for the sacred in the forgotten and supposedly useless; exploring the meaning of “natural”; listening for the pulse of the ancient; using technology both to materialize memory and to dream a folklore for a future age. Weld speaks its own distinctive dream-language, but it comes highly recommend to anyone enamored of the brittle sci-fi synth-scapes in Caroline K’s Now Wait for Last Year, the amorphous electronics of Beatriz Ferreyra’s work, Conrad Schnitzler’s more gothic moments, and even the gravest metaphysical reckonings of aStockhausen or a Rózmann.
Big Data – 2.0 LP (WB)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Big Data made their television debut playing “Dangerous” on Late Night with Seth Meyers and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Entertainment Weekly, named one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists You Need to Know” and picked for USA Today’s “On the Verge” spotlight. The band’s new album 2.0 features a wide variety of guest spots from Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Twin Shadow, White Sea, Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak), Dylan Rau and Ted Feldman (Bear Hands), Jamie Lidell, and Kimbra.
Clarence Gatemouth Brown – Alright Again! [Reissue/1981] LP (Rounder)
American multi-instrumentalist (guitar, fiddle, bass, drums, mandolin, viola, harmonica) and singer, who gained his nickname ‘Gatemouth’ from a high school instructor who said Brown had a “voice like a gate.” While he has been extremely influential in blues fiddle and Texas blues circles (even winning a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1982 for his album Alright Again!), his music is an eclectic mix of blues, Cajun, country, R&B, jazz, and more.
Bobby Browser – Clubspinning 12” (100% Silk)
“Clubspinning” and “No Attachments” are rich glitterball glides, soft-lensed and silk-spun; “Manchester” a baffling bass-prowler dubbed with synthetic flute and Factory samples; and “Go 90” is a complete soul-in-the-rain ghost comedown, misted in piano, voice, and percussion, empty house for blue lights.
Dave Brubeck – Jazz Goes To College [Reissue/1954] LP (Razor & Tie)
Before there was Time Out, there was Jazz Goes To College. This incredible album documents the 1954 North American college tour of The Dave Brubeck Quartet and features Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Bob Bates on double bass and Joe Dodge on drums. Following the album’s original release, Dave Brubeck landed on the cover of Time Magazine and was declared “the most exciting new jazz artist at work today.” This limited vinyl reissue has been mastered and cut directly from the original mono tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and plated and pressed at RTI on HQ-180gm vinyl.
Bummers Eve – Fly On The Wall 7” (Almost Ready)
Both tracks from this 7” are urgent, catchy, and reverb dipped. “Fly On The Wall” has all of the pop elements to make it catchy and sing-along, while still maintaining a garage punk/surf undertone. On the flip side, “Blue” starts at a frantic pace and a relentless sense of urgency while telling a tale of lost youth. Expect to hear fuzzy guitars, heavy phazed bass, warped keys i.e. The Screamers, and vocals to match any paint fume high. Fans of stripped down ’70s punk, and current West Coast garage will both find this 7” accessible and must have for their record collections. A very Midwest take on punk and surf rock from the “coast” of the Ohio River.
Donald Byrd – A New Perspective [Reissue/1963] LP (Blue Note)
This unusual set was one of the most successful uses of a gospel choir in a jazz context. Trumpeter Donald Byrd and a septet that also includes tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and pianist Herbie Hancock are joined by an eight-voice choir directed by Coleridge Perkinson. The arrangements by Duke Pearson are masterful and one song, “Cristo Redentor,” became a bit of a hit. This is a memorable effort that is innovative in its own way, a milestone in Donald Byrd’s career. Part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign.
Byzantine – To Release Is To Resolve LP (Cen)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The West Virginia’s cult groove metallers return with their fifth album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Boatman’s Call [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Mute)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – No More Shall We Part [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Mute)
The latest batch of HQ-180gm vinyl reissues of classic Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds LPs.
Cherubs – 2 Ynfynyty LP (Brutal Panda)
First new LP in over 20 years from these cult noise rock kings finds the trio rejuvenated with a more dangerous sound than ever. Picking up where they left off while trekking down a few unexpected turns, Cherubs effortlessly mix distorted heaviness with sublime songcraft.
Alex Cobb – Chantepleure LP (Students Of Decay)
Chantepleure is the Students Of Decay label head’s most optimistic and sanguine musical statement to date, acting as a balm of tender tones where abstract guitar lines circle and suspend in a kind of refined elegance. A delicate dissonance shades the edges of these four tracks, providing textural color and gorgeously offsetting the lush nature of the music.
Constrain/Wrong Hole – Mutual Transgressions b/w Solitary Solace 7” (Oxen)
Wrong Hole’s Nial Morgan slashes paths through forests of electro-tape destruction with sleep-deprived swagger with “Mutual Transgressions.” On the flip, the equally malicious and unhinged “Solitary Solace” by Constrain’s Kevin McEleny ladders to a crushing apex of sublime cacophony.
Cream – Fresh Cream [Reissue/1966] LP (Polydor)
Cream – Disraeli Gears [Reissue/1967] LP (Polydor)
Cream – Wheels Of Fire [Reissue/1968] 2xLP (Polydor)
Cream – Goodbye [Reissue/1969] LP (Polydor)
Cream – Live Cream [Reissue/1970] LP (Polydor)
Cream – Live Cream II [Reissue/1972] LP (Polydor)
HQ-180gm heavyweight audiophile vinyl LP pressings of six albums by the British rock supergroup featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass.
Crystal Syphon – Elephant Ball LP+MP3 (Roaratorio)
Following Roaratorio’s release of Family Evil in 2012, this West Coast psychedelic band reunited and began playing out again, with their vintage sound intact. This second helping of unearthed material from the band’s archives starts with three tracks from their earliest recording sessions in 1967—the swaggering garage-rock miniature “Dawn Sermon” and the folk-rock “For All Of My Life” and “Tell Her For Me”—and then moves on to a Fillmore West gig from November 1969, featuring the final incarnation of the group during their original run.
The Damned – The Black Album [Reissue/1980] 3xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Originally released in October 1980 on Chiswick as a double album, with a selection of live tracks recorded at Shepperton Studios for Damned fan club members on side four, this deluxe grey vinyl edition also includes an extra disc of rare bonus tracks.
Der Faden – Best Guess 7” (Dirt Cult)
London, Ontario’s Der Faden plays powerful and catchy power pop, and these two songs are frankly either 1) better than anything main man Rob from Deranged Records/Statues has ever done (which is saying a lot!) or 2) the best thing Rob has done since Statues fantastic New People Make Me Nervous LP.
DMA’s – DMA’s LP (Mom + Pop)
DMA’s (dee-em-ayes) is Johnny Took, Matt Mason and Tommy O’Dell – three friends who came together making nostalgic garage pop in a bedroom in Newtown, Australia. Having met whilst playing in other bands, DMA’s are three writers, three mates, three frontmen – all with a common sense of purpose and musicality. Writing a few songs together, the band demoed them in Johnny’s bedroom-studio, gaining instant attention – all before putting out an official track or playing a single show. “This has the swagger of Oasis and the musicality and inventiveness of Arctic Monkeys” – Dave Rowntree (Blur). “”Boasts that Mancunian spirit, but blends it w/ an Antipodean sheen of fizzing garage-pop” — NME
E-150 – Discografía Completa 2xLP (BCore Disc)
Double LP compiling everything ever released by the Spanish fastcore/hardcore punk band, including their unreleased split 7” with Seein’ Red, demos and unreleased sessions.
The Elwins – Play For Keeps LP (Hidden Pony)
Released earlier this year on CD – now available on vinyl. The Elwins are a pop band from the lakeside town of Keswick, Ontario that specialize in writing bright infectious songs. “On the surface everything about the Elwins’ second studio album is whimsical, light, and fizzy, from the colorful building blocks on the album cover to the first bouncing beats of ‘Bubble.’ The fivesome from Ontario produce indie pop that brings to mind Pop Rocks and Coke: crunchy, sweet, sizzling with good humor and fun, and crackling wickedly with energy. But like any semi-explosive concoction, there’s an element of complex and dark inner workings to the tracks. While the Elwins produce a form of breezy, infectious pop with ease, it’s layered over an underlying current of darker questions and revelations, and it’s this pairing of light and dark that makes the music stick with you.” – Panic Manual
EyeHateGod – In The Name Of Suffering [Reissue/1990] LP (Century Media)
EyeHateGod – Take As Needed For Pain [Reissue/1993] LP (Century Media)
Vinyl reissues of the first two albums by the sludge band from Louisiana, known for their misanthropic lyrics and endless troubles with law and drugs.
Eyelids – Eyelids LP+MP3 (Jealous Butcher)
Eyelids have a collective history of creating music for some of the most legendary indie songwriters. These longtime Portland, Oregon collaborators were not only the principal instrumentalists for Robert Pollard’s post Guided By Voices band Boston Spaceships for over eight releases, but they have also worked with Stephen Malkmus, The Decemberists, Elliott Smith, Sam Coomes of Quasi, Black Prairie, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Loch Lomond, Damien Jurado and Peter Buck (who is producing their upcoming EP this Fall). Principal songwriters John Moen and Chris Slusarenko have turned inwards to their loves of New Zealand/Flying Nun guitar buzz, their teenage L.A. Paisley Underground obsessions, haunts of early Athens and all things beautiful, lopsided and rock.
Fight Amp – Constantly Off LP (Brutal Panda)
The noise rock trio returns with a thunderously heavy blend of grunge, sludge, and punk, kicking up the riffs and locking in the rhythms with focused, melodic vocals.
Nick Forté – Primordial Forms LP (Amish)
For the five pieces that comprise Primordial Forms, Forté created five one-second sounds on his computer based purely on the visual appeal of the waveform. He made these waveforms with the speakers off. These visually appealing forms became the seeds for the pieces on the record. With the speakers turned back on, Forté then turned these discrete sound units into long form music through a slow and deliberate process of looping, editing, and manipulation.
The Frightnrs – I’d Rather Go Blind 7” (Daptone)
Waxen platter of reggae perfection — a cover of the Etta James classic “I’d Rather Go Blind” on A-side and a dubbed-out version on the B-side.
G.Love And Special Sauce – Sweet ‘N Blues (Sugar Outtakes) LP+MP3 (Brushfire)
The six songs on Sweet ‘N Blues were recorded during the sessions for the 2014 album Sugar but were held back for a separate release. White vinyl.
Dexter Gordon – One Flight Up [Reissue/1964] LP (Blue Note)
One Flight Up features Dexter on tenor saxophone with musical assistance from Donald Byrd on trumpet (tracks one and two), Kenny Drew on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Gordon’s sound was commonly characterized as being large and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat. He was famous for humorously inserting musical quotes into his solos. Part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign.
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell – The Travelling Kind 2xLP+MP3 (Nonesuch)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Produced by Grammy Award winner Joe Henry (Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann), The Traveling Kind comprises 11 duet tracks, including six new songs written by Harris and Crowell with co-writing by Mary Carr, Cory Chisel, Will Jennings, and Larry Klein. Also featured are new renditions of previous Crowell cuts including “No Memories Hanging Around” as well as new interpretations of Lucinda Williams’ “I Just Wanted to See You So Bad” and Amy Allison’s “Her Hair Was Red.”
Hawkwind – Sonic Attack [Reissue/1981] 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Hawkwind – Choose Your Masques [Reissue/1982] 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Hawkwind – Church Of Hawkwind [Reissue/1982] 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Hawkwind – Onward [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Hawkwind – Spacehawks [Reissue/2013] 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Deluxe HQ-180 vinyl reissues of a handful of albums by the legendary space rock band now available.
Hinds/The Parrots – The Parrots/Hinds [Split] 7” (Burger)
For their split single, Hinds cover Thee Headcoats, while The Parrots cover The Almighty Defenders.
Invisible Force – Satan, Rebellion, Metal CD (Dark Descent)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Obscure Chilean thrash metal.
Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick [Reissue/1972] LP (Rhino)
Thick As A Brick is the fifth studio album by Jethro Tull, originally released in 1972, and was deliberately crafted in the style of a concept album. The original packaging was designed like a foldout newspaper, and claims the album to be a musical adaptation of an epic poem by an 8-year-old genius, though the lyrics were actually written by the band’s frontman, Ian Anderson.
Jay-Jay Johanson – Opium LP (Le Plan)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. It was in 1996 that Jay-Jay Johanson, a young man from a cold climate, fascinated by the Bristol sound they called trip-hop and Portishead in particular, first tapped delicately on our eardrums. In only a few songs he revealed a family tree that spread its roots far and wide: on one branch Chet Baker and Lee Hazelwood, on the other John Coltrane with Johnny Hartman, and in between a whole army of jazz or symphonic recordings sampled from everywhere imaginable. Almost 20 years later he has returned with an incredible album called Opium. It contains the very essence of Johanson’s music: an ease with inventing melodies, a voice that gently caresses, and the jacked up, heady rhythms that lift and carry the songs.
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures [Reissue/1979] LP (Rhino)
Joy Division – Closer [Reissue/1980] LP (Rhino)
Before the death of lead singer/songwriter Ian Curtis in 1980, Joy Division recorded two studio albums (posthumous collection Still followed in 1981). To celebrate the 35th anniversary of their classic single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” on June 27th, Rhino is re-releasing these albums on HQ-180gm vinyl. (Heavyweight double-vinyl reissues of Still and Substance are due July 17).
Jovan Karcic – 2011 LP+MP3 (Scioto)
2011 is the title of Jovan Karcic’s (Gaunt, Scrawl, Black Swans, Cobra Verde) second solo album and it is his sonic shadow of that year. Jovan Karcic is having conversations with himself, and setting them to music, one year at a time. He built songs from the rhythm up: drums first, then a Casio CZ-1, whatever guitar was leaning against his amp, bass, vocal melody, and finally, words. Only a cousin to rock music, it sounds like a murkier Parade-era Prince and Amon Düül II through a Midwestern filter with lyrics personal and cryptic.
The Legends – It’s Love LP (Cascine)
“This is The Legends’ fifth album and each one has been almost completely different than the last. Where 2009’s Over and Over covered everything in harsh feedback, It’s Love is the chillest Legends album yet, with sparse percolating drum machines, minimal guitar and keyboards, as well as heavy use of vocoder/autotune. (It all works really well with his songwriting style.)” – Brooklyn Vegan
The London Souls – Here Come The Girls LP (Feel Records/Round Hill)
“The latest effort from now-duo The London Souls is worthy of consideration among history’s finest examples of the dirtiest rock. Chris St. Hilaire and Tash Neal have assembled a collection of songs full of swagger and accidental perfection that perfectly encapsulates their intuitive approach to making music. Not that the album isn’t without its tender moments – the Zeppelin-y ‘Isabel’ and Alecia Chakour-assisted album closer ‘Run Zombie Run’ are particularly gentle tunes. By and large though, this record is rife with boozy swing, crunchy guitars and thunderous drums.” – Relix
Mamitori Ulithi Empress Yonaguni San – 25/12/13 LP (Bruit Direct Disques)
This savagely DIY bunch of gleeful Japanese weirdos reimagine six tracks from their self-produced acid-folk masterpiece 1 2 3 Fairy Tail Chimidoro Phenomenon Satan Inferno Dress Ha Cattlemurarete Yggdrasill Ha Wa Sasaru. Guitars are skinned alive, twisted in counterpoint or played with a cheese grater; the frail vocal is exhausted and sweet; a trumpet plays its dying breath; the bouncy rhythm section offers a skeleton of rigor. The odd post-punk mess which spits from their amps reduces psych-rock to fluff, a scraggy trunk in which only the spinal column remains.
McRad – Lion Pure 2xLP (Not Like You)
Formed by East Coast skateboarder Chuck Treece in the early 80s, McRad’s initial EP Dominant Force and their LP Absence Of Sanity became instant skate rock classics. Lion Pure is a document of those early days, featuring those early releases plus tracks from Thrasher comps and live cuts.
Hank Mobley – The Turnaround [Reissue/1965] LP (Blue Note)
Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley brought real consistency to his many Blue Note dates, as well as an individualistic style that blended an almost languid sound with rhythmically acute phrasing. Two sessions held two years apart contribute to this 1965 LP, and they demonstrate Mobley’s ease in two quite different quintets. Part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign.
Moby – Hotel Ambient [2005] 3xLP (Little Idiot)
First time on vinyl. Reissue of Moby’s 2005 ambient album that was originally given away as a bonus CD with approximately 10,000 deluxe edition copies of Hotel. “May 4 Two,” “Spaired Long” and “Live Forever (Long)” are new tracks.
Nazareth – Nazareth [Reissue/1971] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Nazareth – Exercises [Reissue/1972] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Nazareth – Razamanaz [Reissue/1973] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Nazareth – Hair Of The Dog [Reissue/1975] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Nazareth – Play ‘N’ The Game [Reissue/1976] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Nazareth – Expect No Mercy [Reissue/1977] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissues of the Scottish rock group’s early discography.
Nots – Virgin Mary 7” (Goner)
Follow-up single to debut LP We Are Nots delivers hellish synth and guitar that swirls around the hypnotic rhythm section as the band simmers into the sonic void.
Of Monsters & Men – Beneath The Skin LP (Republic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Of Monsters and Men are getting bigger and barer on its sophomore album: Beneath The Skin, amplifies the sound of the Icelandic folk-rock group’s debut My Head Is An Animal while also peppering its anthems with more revealing lyrical passages. Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson, who shares lead vocal and guitar duties with Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, says that writing a more intimate record was a natural process for the band, which had grown closer while touring exhaustively behind their first album. ‘For the first album, being from Iceland, you could feel in the lyrics that we wanted to go out and explore,’ says Þórhallsson. ‘Because we’ve toured for two years, I think you can hear in this album that we’re going more inwards. We’re writing more about us instead of what’s out there. It’s much more personal’.” – Billboard
Outta Gas – Outta Gas 7” (Dead Broke/Life On An Island)
This indie rock band features members of NY indie/emo artists For Serious This Time, Giant Peach and more.
The Pop Group/Sleaford Mods –Nations b/w Face To Faces 7” (Freaks R Us)
Split features “Faces To Faces” — a raw alternate version of a track featured on the forthcoming Sleaford Mods album, and “Nations” — a track taken from Citizen Zombie (The Pop Group’s recently acclaimed album).
Bud Powell – The Scene Changes [Reissue/1959] LP (Blue Note)
Bud Powell was one of those very few special innovators who permanently changed the way that his instrument is played in jazz. Prior to Powell’s arrival on the scene, pianists kept time with their left hand, stating the beat by striding back and forth between bass notes and chords while their right played melodic variations. When Powell rose to prominence in 1945, his style was a revelation. He stated chords with his left- hand on an irregular basis as if he were a drummer hitting the bass drum while his right played rapid single-note lines like a horn player. This became the way to play jazz piano. While Bud Powell’s recordings of the 1950s could be erratic due to his personal problems, his greatest work was on Blue Note. Part of the Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign.
Sand In The Face – Music Made To Riot: New Jersey Hardcore 1982-1983 LP (Mad At The World)
This LP compiles the very earliest recordings of Montville, New Jersey’s Sand In The Face. The demos, largely recorded at Boonton, NJ’s Mix-o-Lydian Studios, features the band’s pre-LP line-up, containing a young, pre-Chrome Crank Peter ‘Aaron’ Wegele on bass, who also contributes extensive liner notes for the record. Note that Mix-o-Lydian is the studio that gave us the Misfits’ Walk Among Us not much earlier. Sand In The Face were one of the first wave of New Jersey’s hardcore bands, and contemporaries with the likes of Adrenalin OD and Bedlam. Mike Judge, the singer of late-’80s New York hardcore band Judge, attended the same high school as members of Sand In The Face and credits them with inspiring him to start his own band.
Sightings – Amusers And Puzzlers LP (Dais)
Amusers And Puzzlers is the schizophrenic culmination of their brand of damaged rock. Isolated noise patterns shifted from Mark Morgan’s unorthodox guitar patterns sewn up from his nervous, scattered vocal phrasing. Richard Hoffman’s stampede-like momentum on bass slammed against Jon Lockie’s drum triggers made the past couple decades crash into itself.
Sims – Lights Out Paris [2005] 2xLP (Doomtree)
Double-LP reissue of Minneapolis rapper and Doomtree member Sims’ first album.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – Live At The Roxy 09.25.14 3xLP (Eagle/Armoury)
Recently released on CD/DVD/Blu-ray – now available on vinyl. On September 25th 2014, shortly after the release of their World On Fire album, Slash with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators took the stage at the legendary Roxy Theatre on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. The atmospheric venue, steeped in rock history, gave fans a brilliant opportunity to experience the band up close as they delivered a set packed with more recent solo tracks, including several from the new album, and classics from Slash’s earlier career with Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver.
State Champion – Fantasy Error LP (Sophomore Lounge)
The one-time bedroom recording project masterminded by Kentucky native RYAN DAVIS has evolved over the course of fifteen years, two LPs, homespun side-releases, and countless miles of touring over the past five years into a full-blown rock band that summons guidance from Rust Never Sleeps-era Neil, Dead Moon, The Silver Jews and beyond. The band’s live set is a charmingly broken blend of garage folk, sun-warped honky-tonk toons, Southern art rock, soul, and noisy, unhinged slop.
Tempel – Moon Lit Our Path LP (Prosthetic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. After making waves with their debut album On The Steps Of The Temple, Arizona-based instrumental duo Tempel return with their sophomore album, The Moon Lit Our Path. The release consists of five colossal tracks that fuse haunting blackened post-metal melodies with progressive accents and atmospheric tinges.
Tigers Jaw – Studio 4 Acoustic Session 12” (Memory Music)
Scranton, PA indie punks Tigers Jaw hit studio for an intimate experience. Recorded in front of a live studio audience by Will Yip (Circa Survive, Title Fight), Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins bring you live renditions of fan favorite tracks.
Tough Age – I Get The Feeling Central LP (Mint)
If Tough Age’s self-titled debut was the culmination of four radical adults, I Get the Feeling Central busts out of their comfort zone. As before, this twelve-song collection is built on the bedrock of scuzz pop—simultaneously sweet and ear-splittingly loud—but these old dogs have dug deep and taught themselves some new tricks.
Tropical Trash – U.F.O. Rot LP (Load)
Tropical Trash’s LP debut descends from the sky straight onto your brain stem. Instead of trace papering some shadow punks of previous days, these patriots pull the curtain back, revealing nine condensed blasts of well-honed songcraft that really put them at the top of the rock heap, with paranoid punk and an eagerness to melt it all down and make it into something bold and badass.
Turbowolf – Two Hands LP (Spinefarm)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “Turbowolf are undoubtedly one of 2010’s most interesting emerging acts. Their crazy mix of punk, heavy metal and stoner rock with touches of neo-psychedelia, found on the excellent self-titled debut, helped them break into the British underground scene and subsequently all over Europe. Relentless touring and most probably the fear of avoiding a sophomore slump have constantly delayed the release of a sequel. Four years later, after steadily unveiling a number of singles, Two Hands finally sees the light of day. Nevertheless, it was worth the wait, as this effort is just as essential as its predecessor.” – Sputnik Music
Various Artists (Pete Townshend) – Pete Townshend’s Classic Quadrophenia 2xLP (Deutsche Grammophon)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. This new symphonized version of the 1973 Who classic Quadrophenia was orchestrated by Rachel Fuller, a professional composer, orchestrator and singer/songwriter in her own right and also the partner of Pete Townshend.Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2014 at London’s legendary Air Studios, conducted by Robert Ziegler, and featuring popular Decca-signed British tenor Alfie Boe on vocals, with Townshend himself on electric guitar and performing cameo vocal roles along with special guest vocals from Billy Idol and Phil Daniels.
Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Arabic Jazz LP+MP3 (World Music Network)
The syncopated beats and counter-culture attitudes synonymous with universal jazz culture have been swinging in the Arab world since the early twentieth century. The western Arabic region, the Maghreb, has historic ties with Andalucian Spain and the stamping off-beats heard in flamenco, which feeds back into local jazz expressions. The eastern Mashriq region has a solid jazz heritage underlined by the careers of musicians such as drummer Salah Ragab who worked with outer-planetary superstar Sun Ra. The oeuvre of the Beirut-born Rahbani brothers, did much to expand the jazz vocabulary of Lebanon. Jazz is still pulsing through the veins of Arabic homelands and this Rough Guide offers up an insight in to the scene.
Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Samba (2nd Edition) LP (World Music Network)
Samba is the dancing spirit and rhythm of life in Brazil. This Rough Guide features the best of old and new from the Afro-Brazilian inspired Mart’Nalia and underground artist Loop B to legendary sambista Alcione and superstar vocalist Marisa Monte.
Various Artists – Studio One Disco Mix [Reissue/2004] 2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Studio One’s music in the 1970s took the label to new heights. The new style of disco mix brought many areas of reggae together - roots, lovers, disco and dub all came together in extended form, re-versioning classic hits, experimenting with new studio technology, over-dubbing, syn-drums and more producing what many fans describe as the most creative and innovative phase in the history of the legendary Studio One Records. This compilation includes many sought after classic tunes only ever released in very small quantities (on Studio One’s very first 12″ records as well as it’s infamous Music Lab 10″s out of New York) and consequently many of these track s have been unavailable since their day of release. Studio One Disco Mix features many of the classic Studio One artists such as Alton Ellis, Sugar Minott, Jackie Mittoo and Willie Williams (with his classic re-versioning of his own “Armigideon Time”) alongside less well artists such as Doreen Schaeffer, Judah Eskender Tafari and George Dudley and many more.
Various Artists – Studio One Dub Vol. 2 [Reissue/2007] 2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Studio One Dub 2 is a second collection bringing together some of the finest dubs from the legendary Studio One Records, Kingston, Jamaica.
Various Artists – Studio One Rub-A-Dub: Studio One In The 1970s [Reissue/2007] 2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
17 classic ‘70s tracks from the foundation label of reggae. In the 1970s, Clement Dodd’s legendary Studio One Records went through an amazing period of re-birth working with new artists such as Willie Williams, Lone Ranger, Michigan and Smiley, Horace Andy as well as continuing to work with classic artists such as Alton Ellis, Freddie McGregor, etc. Re-versioning classic Studio One rhythms became the order of the day in the 1970s, not just with Studio One boss Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd, but with every Jamaican producer of note employing their own in-house musicians to copy the music emanating from Brentford Road. The music on Studio One Rub-A-Dub features classic and rare tracks from this amazing period, from the likes of Cornel Campbell, The Heptones, Johnny Osbourne and many other legendary artists.
Various Artists – Studio One Story [Reissue/2002] 2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Soundtrack to the four-hour documentary of the same name. This is the true story of reggae music and its Jamaican roots told from the inside: From the rise of Kington’s sound systems in the 1940s and 1950s, through to the evolution of a Jamaican music industry (and Studio One’s dominance) in the 1960s and the worldwide success of reggae in the 1970s.
Various Artists – Studio One Rude Boy [Reissue/2006] 2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Rude Boys are synonymous with Jamaican dancehall culture from the present day going back to the very early days of Sir Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid’s first sound-clashes in Kingston. Studio One Rude Boy features artists and songs about rude boys and rude boy culture from all periods of Studio One’s history. The album features ska, rocksteady, DJs, roots and dub, and includes classic tracks from Jamaica’s finest singers and groups such as The Wailers, John Holt, the Wailing Souls, Dennis Brown alongside super-rare tracks from artists such as Mr Foundation, Dudley Sibbley and The Soul Brother,s all recorded under Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s supervision at the legendary recording studio and record label. Musical backing comes from the legendary in-house bands – The Skatalites, The Sound Dimension, Soul Vendors and Soul Defenders – who provide the classic Studio One rhythms so influential in the history of reggae.
Various Artists – Studio One Sound [Reissue/2012] 2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Soul Jazz Records continues it’s journey into the vaults of the mighty Studio One with this installment featuring everything from classic ska and rocksteady to the deepest roots, heaviest dub and dancehall roots. As ever the album includes incredible reggae artists such as The Heptones, Ken Boothe, The Skatalites, Johnny Osbourne, Wailing Souls all of whom launched their careers at Studio One, 13 Brentford Road, under the guidance of Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd.
The Vibrators – Pure Mania [Reissue/1977] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
The Vibrators – V2 [Reissue/1978] LP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Limited color vinyl reissues of the British punk band’s first two albums.
Walleater – I/II LP (Tiny Engines)
“The band’s guitar work pulls a lot from ’90s shoegaze, but Walleater don’t restrict themselves to the genre. They’re just as likely do ditch the swirling guitars for clean-toned Pedro The Lion-style slowcore or crunchier, riffier alternative rock. But no matter what mode they’re in, these are all melancholic songs led by a singer whose voice is pushed to the forefront, never obscured by reverb or distortion, and sounds perennially sad.” – Brooklyn Vegan
We Are Hex – Bleach Brigade LP (War Crime)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Bastard children of The Birthday Party, We Are Hex is the fire of the televangelist on a night of infomercials, the last union pup on the strip, and skid rubbed raw by a pleasant sin. “We Are Hex sound like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, except if they were more into the Jesus Lizard, Pop Group and Suicide than John Hughes movie soundtracks.” — Detour
Whitesnake – The Purple Album 2xLP (Frontiers)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Purple Album features revved-up versions of songs from Coverdale’s tenure in Deep Purple some 40 years ago, from 1973 to 1976.
Wintercoffin – Forest Of Blitzkrieg 7” (Blak Skul)
No glacier ever made it as far south as Memphis and the temperature is far from Nordic, but Memphis has plenty of death and dungeons, and the crackheads are grim if not frostbitten. Classic Darkthrone-meets-Burzum-at-the-Battle-of-Ardennes sound.
Win Win – Primaries LP (Arts & Crafts)
…The band has left their dancepop beginnings for a more textured, organic sound that’s much harder to define. There’s still an emphasis on rhythm and melody, but this is much weirder, trippier and more interesting.” – Brooklyn Vegan
The Wombats – Golden Voice Recordings 1966-1967 7” (Alona’s Dream)
Originally recorded by Metamora, Illinois garage band The Wombats in 1966, these recordings represent the first tracks laid down at the legendary Golden Voice Recording Co. in the tiny village of South Pekin, IL. Although these songs were intended for release on Golden Voice’s eponymous house label, they were never issued during the band’s lifetime. They remained shelved until they were uncovered during research into the history of the studio. This collaboration sees the first official release on the Golden Voice record label since the 1970s. Unheard for 48 years, until now.
Cassettes:
Jaill – Brain Cream (Burger)
Jangly guitar-pop nuggets. Previous albums on Sub Pop.
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