June Program Titles Released This Week:
Lydia Ainsworth – Phantom Forest CD/LP (Zombie Cat)
On Phantom Forest, Lydia Ainsworth introduces a lush, complex dream world that she created and inhabits largely on her own. It’s a beautiful, vast collection of art pop with hooks about the search for personal connections in the midst of apocalypse and technology. It’s a journey that holds up to close listening (and lyric reading) and to dance floors, but can also exist on a purely emotional plane. Lydia notes that although the self-produced album is considered pop, she approached it as an orchestrator. “Even if I’m dealing purely with synths,” she says, “the songs are like a score, each one an evolving journey. I love to use strings so I’ve included my own arrangements on ‘Tell Me I Exist’ and ‘Can You Find Her Place’. I recorded live musicians on drums, bass, and guitar on ‘Edge Of The Throne’, ‘The Time’, and ‘Floating Dream’, and wove those live elements into my programmed elements.” She wrote and performed everything aside from a re-imagined cover of Pink Floyd’s “Green Is The Color”; two other tracks are co-written with Survive’s Kyle Dixon (Stranger Things), to which Ainsworth wrote melodies and added lyrics to his instrumentals.
Charly Bliss – Young Enough CD/LP (Barsuk)
Charly Bliss has evolved from the bunch of scrappy upstarts behind their brash punk debut Guppy, to the confident, assured artists who have produced the comparatively dynamic and unapologetically pop Young Enough. But, for lead singer Eva Hendricks, the path of this evolution was fraught, as her lyrics inspired by a past abusive relationship show. Songwriting became a source of respite, and, eventually, redemption. “You go through experiences of loss or extreme pain and you just keep moving,” Eva says. “You look around and go, how has the world not stopped? But it is also powerful. It’s like, I’m still here, I’m not a person who is ruled by pain, I still like who I am.” Album tracks “Chat Room” and “Young Enough” are new sonic lynchpins, as is the soaring, mini epic, “Fighting In The Dark”. The delicate synth confessional “Hurt Me” also felt, as Eva puts it, “like something we hadn’t explored yet.” The entire record sounds like a new realm, from the deceptively easeful confessional “Capacity” to the propulsive, more classic pop of
Hard To Believe”. In the end, Young Enough feels joyful and celebratory, but also infused with a new sense of depth and maturity. [Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Defeater – Defeater CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Massachusetts hardcore band Defeater’s new self-titled album serves as their fifth full-length release overall and first in four years. Lead single, “Mothers’ Sons” features blistering guitars that take the song into something chaotic and beautiful. Defeater was produced with Will Yip (Quicksand, La Dispute, Blacklisted, Lauryn Hill) whose enthusiasm and talent pushed the songs to their fullest potential. Defeater is as pummeling as it is atmospheric. Yet it’s been a long journey to where the band is now. Years of touring took their toll on the friends that make up the current lineup of Derek Archambault (vocals), Jake Woodruff (guitar), Adam Crowe (guitar), Mike Poulin (bass) and Joe Longobardi (drums). Health, substance abuse issues, and ejecting a longtime member had made a touring hiatus necessary. After a few months at home, working and decompressing, the fire to write a new record caught everyone in a major way.
Mac DeMarco – Here Comes The Cowboy CD/LP (Mac’s Records Label)
Here Comes The Cowboy is Mac DeMarco’s fourth full-length and debut release on his own record label, introduced by the waltzing lead single, “Nobody”. As described by DeMarco, “This one is my cowboy record. Cowboy is a term of endearment to me; I use it often when referring to people in my life. Where I grew up there are many people that sincerely wear cowboy hats and do cowboy activities. These aren’t the people I’m referring to.” Nearly every instrument on the album was played by DeMarco, aside from keyboards on select tracks by touring member and close friend Alec Meen. Traveling sound engineer, Joe Santarpia, helped shape the record, sharing engineering and mixing duties with DeMarco. The rusty old grinning pin on the front and back covers was purchased from a man in the mountains somewhere in the Nantahala National Forest between Chattanooga, TN and Asheville, NC.
Dreamers – Launch Fly Land CD (Fairfax/Hollywood)
Founded in Brooklyn, Dreamers deliver infectious indie rock in the vein of Surfer Blood and the Vaccines, the latter of whom they joined on tour soon after their inception. The trio of Nick Wold (lead vocals, guitar), Nelson (bass, backing vocals), and Chris Bagamery (drums, backing vocals) self-released the rousing, synth-kissed single “Wolves (You Got Me)” and an eponymous EP in 2014. It garnered attention from the mainstream and indie music press, and led to support spots on the road for Walk The Moon, Stone Temple Pilots, and Bear Hands. Jackob Wick later joined the band as drummer in place of Bagamery. February 2016 brought their second EP, You Are Here, which featured “Wolves (You Got Me)” as well as four new tunes. Their debut LP This Album Does Not Exist arrived that summer. 2017 saw the band share bills with Weezer, Catfish and The Bottlemen, and the Maine. Following last year’s EP The Launch, Dreamers release their sophomore album Launch Fly Land. Vinyl edition due June 28.]
Greys – Age Hasn’t Spoiled You CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
On their third album Age Hasn’t Spoiled You, Toronto post-punks The Greys eschew their trademark frenzy for a more cerebral and cinematic affair. This widescreen approach loses none of the impact of their early material, instead employing space and dynamics to propel the listener toward even greater payoffs when they decide to switch back into high gear. Age Hasn’t Spoiled You is a richly textured experience that draws influence from krautrock, industrial, hip-hop, dub, jazz, ambient, drone and more, sometimes within the same song. That their blend of disparate sounds never obscures the album’s sharp focus is a testament to the group’s mastery of both songwriting and production. This is evident on lead single “These Things Happen”, which jumps from big beat psychedelia to CSNY harmonies and back again while frontman Shehzaad Jiwani considers privilege, apathy, drug use, and content fatigue in one verse. Elsewhere, on “Kill Appeal”, electronic drums pound and pummel before caving into a free jazz freakout, only to return for the song’s climax with a lyrical allusion to the writings of James Baldwin.
The Mystery Lights – Too Much Tension! CD/LP+MP3 (Wick)
The Mystery Lights’ sophomore album on Daptone’s rock subsidiary, Wick Records, finds the group digging deeper into their well of eclectic influences, enriching their sound without echoing the past. It mixes the eerie, insistent synth sounds of groups like The Normal and Suicide, the energy and swagger of punks golden age, the pop sensibility of The Kinks, and the stark, deliberate execution of Television. The Mystery Lights are taking their idiosyncratic brand of rock and roll to dizzying new heights. “Mystery Lights maintaining their raw and brilliantly unrefined sound. ‘I’m So Tired (Of Living In The City)’ has almost punk-like attributes with a rhythm driving and an urgency that’s simmering superficially beneath vintage rock chords and its swirling progressions. Produced by Wayne Gordon at Daptone’s House Of Soul, Too Much Tension! is a modern classic born from vintage technique and soulful execution.” — Statiknoize
ONA – Full Moon, Heavy Light CD (Hickman Holler)
With a true brotherhood that comes from growing up together, West Virginia-based indie rock band Ona merge all their musical history for their second album, Full Moon, Heavy Light. Produced by Drew Vandenburg (of Montreal), the new nine-track effort showcases a band that could easily deliver an arena show while still retaining the sincerity of the ‘70s songwriters in their parents’ record collections. It captures the late-night ambience of a rock venue with the warmth of a listening room. Wistful songs like “Summer Candy” and “Young Forever” are at once timeless and contemporary, and the optimistic streak that runs throughout the project is both genuine and disarming. As vocalist/guitarist Bradley Jenkins explains, “A full moon is associated with all these dark, ominous things, but it’s also the brightest thing in the sky at night – and it can lead you in a good direction, too.”
Possessed – Revelations Of Oblivion CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
There was a time in which genuine power was felt erupting from the sonic landscape that is now referred to as “old school” death metal. Its genesis was filled with a fresh and vibrant energy, and it was the mighty Possessed who initially breathed life into this new and exciting genre. With writing that started in 1982, the first official death metal band created the now classic record Seven Churches and established the face of the genre permanently. Sadly, like with many artistic pioneers, it was very early on in Possessed’s existence that a grand tragedy struck which would put the band on hiatus for almost two decades. After many years of healing, education, renewal, and eventually new writing, there is now a resurgence of life, and the rebuilt, and polished Possessed return with the long awaited album Revelations Of Oblivion. [A limited indie-store exclusive red colored vinyl edition is available.]
Esperanza Spalding – 12 Little Spells CD/2xLP (Concord)
Since October 7th, 2018, 4x Grammy Award-winner Esperanza Spalding has been unveiling her innovative new project 12 Little Spells by releasing a new spell – in the form of a new song with video – every day on her Facebook, Instagram, and website. The concept came to Esperanza while exploring different ways to create, experience, and process music; particularly the healing powers of art and how music and the body interact. Each song is inspired by a different body part.
Composed by Spalding, 12 Little Spells find the trailblazing artist on vocals flanked by Matthew Stevens (guitar), Justin Tyson (drums), Aaron Burnett (saxophone), Burniss Travis (bass), Corey King (background vocals), and Rob Schwimmer (continuum). Spalding also worked with visual artist Carmen Daneshmandi, opera/theater director Elkhanah Pulitzer, wardrobe specialist Diego Montoya, choreographer Chanel DaSilva and video artist Ethan Samuel Young to create elements of the album and live show.
Tōth – Practice Magic And Seek Professional Help When Necessary CD/LP (Figureight/Northern Spy)
In July 2016, Alex Toth was recovering from a broken foot and a broken heart, stuck in his fourth-floor apartment in Brooklyn with cast and crutches. This is where Toth’s debut album, Practice Magic And Seek Professional Help When Necessary, was born. A fiercely dedicated jazz trumpeter by training, Alex is always playing. More importantly, he is always, always writing. And that spring, in the midst of dance parties and silent meditations, rooftop smokes and intense crying jags, a new kind of music started to come. Raw, stripped-down songs unfurling in the middle of the night without agenda, bent over an acoustic guitar. It never occurred to Alex that he was making an album. The idea sprouted later that spring when he was co-directing a David Bowie tribute with his friend Kimbra—after hearing some of his new songs, she strongly encouraged Alex to turn them into a record, an idea he brushed off at first (they went on to co-write Down for the Count on the album). But it solidified in June 2016, when Alex was onstage with his punk project, Alexander F and broke his foot. Stuck there in his apartment all summer, through practice, solitude, and a lot of silence, Toth came to life.
CDs + Vinyl:
Abnormality – Sociopathic Constructs CD (Metal Blade)
Sociopathic Constructs serves to further cement Abnormality’s place at the cutting edge of savage ultra-technical death metal.
Albez Duz – Enigmatic Rites CD/LP (Listenable)
Third album from the German doom band. “With a name like Albez Duz, it’s difficult to gauge what you’re about hear. Fortunately, it all works out, because Albez Duz rules. The group brings to the table a very doom-heavy brand of swaggering metal that portends the end times in such a way that sure, it might bum you out, but you’re still going to listen to it a ton.” – Metal Injection
American Sharks – 11:11 CD/LP (The End)
Sophomore album from the Austin, Texas based hard rock trio. “American Sharks are creating some of the grittiest, rawest and realest rock and roll we’ve heard in a very long time.” – Diffuser
Carmine Appice – Guitar Zeus CD/LP (Rocker)
Combines tracks from the 1995 and 1997 Guitar Zeus releases from legendary drummer Carmine Appice. Guitar Zeus features a who’s who list of the best and world-renowned guitarists on the planet backed by his core band featuring Tony Franklin on bass, Kelly Keeling on vocals, keys and rhythm guitar, and Appice on drums. [Limited orange/red colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Arch/Matheos – Winter Ethereal CD (Metal Blade)
Guitarist Jim Matheos and singer John Arch (both alumni of Fates Warning) have linked back up to deliver their second collaborative album.
Rodney Atkins – Caught Up In The Country CD/LP (Curb)
After over two decades in country music, it’s hard to imagine that the Tennessee-born Atkins could still treasure the difficult moments and the arduous process of creating a song from the ground up. But he’s just the kind of artist who loves the roots as much as the tree. For his new album Caught Up In The Country his goal was to push country music forward but stay connected to what had always made it great to begin with.
Teodross Avery – After The Rain: A Night For Coltrane CD/LP (Tompkins Square)
With his Tompkins Square label debut After The Rain: A Night for Coltrane, Avery reasserts himself as a supremely eloquent exponent of the post-Trane jazz continuum.
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso – Transiberiana CD (Inside Out)
The first album in 25 years by the legendary Italian progressive rock band.
Bat! – Bat Music For Bat People CD/LP (Cleopatra)
New psychobilly project from members of Nekromantix, The Brains, Stellar Corpses and Rezurex.
Bear Hands – Fake Tunes CD/LP (Spensive Sounds)
Bear Hands’ auspicious fourth studio album Fake Tunes offers a deep dive into a twisted modern era, paranoid yet hopeful, celebrity obsessed and introspective, an unmistakable sign of troubled times. From the metronomic electro-pop (New York Times) of album opener “Blue Lips”, a song about listening to someone’s problems over and over until it drains you completely, to the dreamy lilt of “Clean Up California”, a song about finding salvation (or not) across state lines, Fake Tunes traces the anxiety of life and love in America today.
Bewitcher – Under The Witching Cross CD/LP (Shadow Kingdom)
Rough ‘n’ rowdy ‘80s-inspired speed metal in the vein of Venom and early Razor.
Big Brave – Gaze Among Them CD/LP (Southern Lord)
Since their inception in 2012, Big Brave has explored terrains of experimental rock with a clear focus on the key principles; space, volume, and raw emotion. The essence of the group’s magic has always been the way they balance these dynamics, and particularly how much sheer power comes from the beautifully quiet moments. Their fourth album, A Gaze Among Them features guest appearances from Thierry Amar (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt Zion) on contrabass and Seth Manchester’s synth overdubs. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Brandt Bjork and The Bros – Keep Your Cool CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Reissue of the 2003 album from the ex-Kyuss drummer and multi-instrumentalist. [Limited edition marble colored vinyl pressing also available.]
A.A. Bondy – Enderness CD/LP (Fat Possum)
A.A. Bondy’s first album in eight years was finished the day before the California wildfires burned his house down. He recorded and played everything on the ten track collection himself.
Boogarins – Sombrou Dúvida CD/LP (ORG Music)
Sombrou Dúvida is a question. A play on words in Boogarins’ native Brazilian Portuguese. It’s a contraction of “Sombra ou Dúvida”, the title track of the album, which translates as ‘Shadow or Doubt’. There might seem to be a darkness to the question, given that both choices aren’t exactly cheery. Yet, Dino, the smiling, Afro-donned singer of the group tells us that “shadow” refers to a feeling related to your comfort zone, whereas doubt is the uncertainty that hits people and leads them to follow their instincts. For fans of previous works by the band, Fernando Almeida’s songwriting and soaring vocals guide Sombrou Dúvida in a way that’s reminiscent of the Latin Grammy-nominated second album “Manual”, which was a portrait of a live band exploring the professional recording studio for the first time.
Call Of The Void – Buried In Light CD/LP (2020)
Truly and utterly astounding, Call Of The Void present their third and most crushing full-length album. Recorded by Andy Patterson (Subrosa) and mixed/mastered by Dave Otero (Primitive Man, Wake) at Flatline Audio, Buried In Light presents the band weaving a truly disturbing tale of valuing death over life and the willingness to give it all up.
Tanika Charles – The Gumption CD/LP (Record Kicks)
The Gumption was indirectly influenced by the likes of Alabama Shakes, The Supremes, Khruangbin, D’Angelo, and Moses Sumney. It is sonically moody at times, but with consistent silver-lining arcs. Across a dozen songs spanning 38 minutes, Tanika addresses moments of vulnerability, vindication, uncertain love, forbidden fruit and the state of the world today.
Ciara – Beauty Marks CD/LP (Beauty Marks Ent.)
Seventh studio album by the R&B singer.
Clinic – Wheeltappers And Shunters CD/LP (Domino)
After an unprecedented seven-year break, Clinic – Liverpool’s cherished post-punk pop experimentalists – return with their eighth album, Wheeltappers And Shunters. The unusual name is taken from the long-forgotten 1970s ITV variety show The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, compered by Bernard Manning, which recreated the smoky, boozy atmosphere of Northern working men’s clubs for a sofa-bound audience. This album is neither a celebration nor a denigration of the culture of the era in which Adrian Blackburn and his collaborator-in-chief, Jonathan Hartley, grew up.
Jackie Cohen – Zagg CD/LP (Spacebomb)
New release from the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter. “The playing and production is bright and beautiful across the whole grab-bag of love songs, laments, self-mortifications, meditations on sunscreen, hammer-anvil jams, and kit v. kit double drum cardio smash-bros looney tunes suicide pursuits.” – Jackie Cohen
Daddy Long Legs – Lowdown Ways CD/LP (Yep Roc)
Lowdown Ways marks a quantum creative leap for Daddy Long Legs, the scrappy New York trio known for their stripped-down roots sound and in-your-face intensity that’s garnered them fans in their hometown and overseas, where they’ve toured with such kindred spirits as The Damned, Blackfoot Gypsies, Hurray For The Riff Raff and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. They’ve been recognized by Rolling Stone, who aptly compared them to “Chicago blues fired at the moon, played by the demented children of the Pretty Things.” [Limited white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Dehd – Water CD/LP (Fire Talk)
Chicago trio Dehd’s sound is hazy and reverb-drenched, a scuzzy and hyped-up take on surf rock that could only come from the Third Coast. It’s all animated by the red-lining feel-good spirit of the Velvet Undergrounds Loaded and the breezy melodicism of C86-era indie rock, with a dash of the Cramps spooky-hop bop. [Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres – Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres CD/LP+MP3 (Strap Originals)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres’ eponymously titled debut album was recorded live to capture the essence and spirit of the Puta Madres at a family home overlooking a fishing village in Normandy, over four days in the summer of 2018 and mixed in Urchin Studios, London. Engineered by Dan Cox and produced by Jai Stanley, it’s a devastatingly intimate portrait of love, loss, happiness, tragedy, addiction and the power of the human soul to transcend its darker levels.
Drahla – Third Article CDEP/12” (Captured Tracks)
Blending wiry post-punk with unpredictable art-rock, Drahla have garnered early critical praise with their first singles, including “Faux Text” b/w “Burden Of Proof” which was released via Too Pure Singles Club earlier this year. Formed in late 2015, Drahla quickly found their identity in Leeds’ fertile music scene with their minimal yet robust bass-heavy sound, while their reputation as a fervent live act saw them sharing stages with Parquet Courts, The Cribs, Buzzcocks, Dream Wife, Menace Beach and more.
Dreadnought – Emergence CD (Profound Lore)
Fourth album from the Denver, Colorado doom-prog band. There are a multitude of layers that establish Dreadnought’s sound, making them one of the more unique sounding bands in today’s doom/dark/progressive metal circles. Seamlessly sewing together elements from prog, doom, folk, jazz, classical /chamber, avant-garde, and even a little bit of black metal, this is the culmination of the band’s continued development and evolution [Vinyl edition due May 24.]
Employed To Serve – Eternal Forward Motion CD/LP (Spinefarm)
Eternal Forward Motion is stuffed full of vocal and guitar hooks, yet never compromises its inherent heavy ideals. Taking as much influence from alternative metal heroes Deftones or Will Haven as it does from the more brutal palettes of Carcass or Converge. The album explores our place in society that is constantly shifting and moving ahead. Finding contentment in such a fast-paced world is an impossible dream, yet one we all strive for despite the difficulties involved.
Get Up Kids – Problems CD/LP+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
On their new album Problems – their first full-length in eight years – The Get Up Kids examine everything from life-changing loss to loneliness to the inevitable anxiety of existing in 2019. But by sustaining the essence of their sound – anthemic choruses with sing-along-ready melodies – the band highlights those troubles as a shared experience, giving way to an unbreakable solidarity. And at the heart of Problems is an invaluable element the band’s embodied since their 1997 debut Four Minute Mile: a penetrating lyricism that’s both acutely introspective and indelibly resonant. [Limited 180gm colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Glitter Wizard – Opera Villains CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Pulling influences from the entire heavy rock canon, Glitter Wizard combine scorching guitar riffs and spaced-out synths to creates something familiar yet entirely new and weird.
The Gooch Palms – III CD/LP (BMG)
Hailing from Australia’s steel city, Newcastle, Australia, The Gooch Palms are two professional party starters guaranteed to get you singing at the top of your lungs and shaking your ass.
Dexter Gordon – At The Subway Club 1973 2xCD/LP (Elemental)
Live archive release of a complete previously unissued quartet performance by the great Dexter Gordon. This fascinating concert finds Gordon at the Subway jazz club in Köln, Germany, on September 11, 1973, playing along Irv Rochlin on piano, Henk Haverhoek on bass, and Tony Inzalaco on drums. [Double-CD edition includes four bonus tracks, also previously unreleased, consisting of 1965 and 1971 performances by Gordon respectively in Stuttgart and Den Haag.]
HÆLOS – Any Random Kindness CD/LP (Infectious Music)
New album from the British electronic quartet, inspired by “the isolating nature of technology and social media.” Any Random Kindness is the follow up to 2016’s intricately-layered, trip hop-influenced Full Circle, a debut album “that both cements them in a genre and leaves them room to grow” (Pitchfork).
Sammy Hagar & The Circle – Space Between CD/LP (BMG)
On Space Between, Sammy Hagar & The Circle harness the depth of their artistic experiences and seminal collaborative sound with Hagar’s prolific writing vein to produce an album that builds and explodes, song after song, around the concepts of money, greed, enlightenment and truth.
Tim Hecker – Anoyo CD (Kranky)
Anoyo (the world over there) draws from the same sessions which led to the 2018 work Konoyo but rendered starker, solemn, and stripped back, with more of a naturalist tint. Tim Hecker’s processing here moves in veiled ways, soft refractions and whispered shrouds woven within improvisational sessions of traditional gagaku interplay, evoking a sense of vaulted space, temples at dawn, shredded silk fluttering in the rafters. This is boldly barren music, skeletal and sculptural, shaped from wood, wind, strings, and mist. Modern yet ancient, delicate and desolate, Anoyo inverts its predecessor to compellingly conjure a parallel world of illusion, solitude, and eternal return. [ Vinyl edition due May 24.]
Intimate Existence – Clockwork CD/LP (The Artisan Era)
Risen from the sunny Bay Area of California, Inanimate Existence continue to prove that they are one of the most diverse, innovative, and productive acts to come from the death metal scene in many years.
Howard Jones – Transform CD/LP (BFD)
Howard Jones first burst upon the contemporary music scene in 1983, with his very English songwriting and pioneering synthesizers. He continues to make new music and tour the world.
Craig Leon – Anthology Of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 2: The Canon LP+MP3 (RVNG Int’l)
Craig Leon revisits the extraterrestrial origins of civilization in Anthology Of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 2: The Canon. Picking up where the pioneering electronic albums Nommos and Visiting (Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 1) left off, The Canon traces the imparted knowledge of alien visitors as it spread from Africa across the ancient world. Co-produced and featuring vocals by Cassell Webb, the pair engage a sonic pallet familiar from Vol. 1, updated with ecstatic contemporary sound and synthesis, creating a propulsive, exploratory album of cosmic lore and speculative anthropology.
Rosie Lowe – YU CD/LP (Caroline)
Featuring The P Funk Choir of Jamie Woon, Jamie Lidell, Jordan Rakei and Kwabs, YU sees Rosie Lowe look back on her life. The record also features a rare appearance from Jay Electronica and other leading lights across the UK’s dance and jazz circles (Floating Points, Shabaka Hutchings, Alfa Mist). [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Maps – Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss. CD/LP (Mute)
Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss. sees James Chapman (Maps) working with a classical chamber ensemble, guest vocalists and percussionists from across the world to create a stunning album of immersive, impressionistic songs.
Meat Beat Manifesto – Opaque Couché CD/2xLP (Flexidisc)
Opaque Couché finds the seminal electronic band in a mischievous, rhythm-based mood, recalling some of the band’s groundbreaking early work while still stretching modern boundaries.
Mental Cruelty – Inferis CD/LP (Unique Leader)
Sophomore full-length from Germany’s fast rising deathcore act.
Moka Only – Patina CD/LP (Urbnet)
A showcase of Moka’s signature smooth, jazzy, hip-hop beats, married with lyrical storytelling.
Stevie Moore – Beloved Exile CD/LP+MP3 (Temporary Residence)
A prevalent figure of the modern synth era, Moore cofounded the influential synth-prog duo, Zombi, and has scored more than a dozen feature films and TV shows. Composed and produced by Steve Moore in his home studio in upstate New York, Beloved Exile is a collaboration with internationally-renowned Tunisian singer-songwriter Emel Mathlouthi, visionary harpist Mary Lattimore, and veteran percussionist Jeff Gretz. Drawing influences from vintage ambient synth libraries, New Age/spiritual music, and menacing horror film canon, Beloved Exile proves to be simultaneously exquisite and deceptively unsettling.
Devin Morrison – Bussin’ CD/2xLP (NBN)
An ill mix of flavors with eclectic inspirations rooted in ’90s R&B, gospel and funk.
My Epic – Violence CDEP/12” (Facedown)
The second-half of the concept project the Christian rock band began in 2018 with Ultraviolet.
Mythra – Death & Destiny [Reissue/1979] CD/LP (High Roller)
Recently reissued on vinyl – now back in-print on CD. Mythra formed in South Shields in county Durham in 1978. In contrast to other groups from the North East active around the same time, for example Axe, who later turned into Fist and whose Name, Rank & Serial number was covered by Mythra in the very early days, Vince High and his boys did show precious few similarities with ‘70s bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. Their sound was geared towards the future of metal, not re-visiting past hard rock glories. [Limited silver colored vinyl pressing including poster also available.]
Nobody – All Too Familiar CD/LP (Ubiquity)
Hypnotic, hazy and floating on a heavy but effervescent cloud, Nobody’s All Too Familiar sees the producer delving into his formative years as a college radio DJ when his sonic palette blossomed. With hip-hop as his foundation, and a newly found affinity for indie and alternative rock leading him to pick up a guitar, the doors to creating music outside of samples was opened. Equal parts Can, Radiohead, Tortoise, plus early DJ Shadow/Mo Wax and the amalgamation of all these sounds has brought forth his first fully instrumental solo record sans samples and primarily written on his guitar.
Olivia Neutron-John – Olivia Neutron John CD/LP (Sister Polygon)
Olivia Neutron-John draws you into its hypnotic repetition only to disorient with a catchy line gone awry and into a totally different atmosphere, like Ian Curtis playing on the moon. The punk sensibilities of ON-J’s dance music ride a delicate balance between chaos and precision.
The Ossuary – Southern Funeral CD/LP (Supreme Chaos)
Second album from the Italian doom metal band. [Limited clear with blue/green/yellow/black splatter colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Parachute – Parachute CD/LP (Parachute Music)
Parachute’s eponymous fifth album was produced by Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Dawes, Tom Waits, Modest Mouth, Norah Jones, Josh Ritter, Punch Brothers). Parachute is Will Anderson (vocals, guitar), Johnny Stubblefield (drums), and Christopher Kit French (saxophone, keyboards). Fans and critics alike are no stranger to Anderson’s impeccable ability to connect as a songwriter, with Billboard hailing that “he has a knack for writing emotionally connecting, hook-laden songs that linger in the brain for days” as well as Idolator calling the band’s past songs, “well-crafted and infectious.”
Patience – Dizzy Spells CD (Winona)
Patience began as bedroom synth project for songwriter Roxanne Clifford after the break-up of her acclaimed indie pop band Veronica Falls. Born out of a desire to experiment with a new sound and analogue synthesizers, the project has since grown to become an all-encompassing persona and serves as the main vehicle for the full emotional spectrum always latent in Clifford’s songwriting. [Vinyl edition due May 24.]
Pow! – Shift CD/LP (Castleface)
Moody cybernetic punk that is oil-dipped in a rainbowed slick of dread, yet the songs are buoyed by tight tunes that seem to have a lot of fun among the ruins of the future, perhaps with an eye to a less gloomy horizon.
Protector – Summon The Hordes CD/LP (High Roller)
New release from the German thrash metal band. [Limited yellow colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Radiator Hospital – Sings ‘Music For Daydreaming’ LP+MP3 (Salinas)
The new LP from Radiator Hospital finds frontman Sam Cook-Parrott finding his way back to his bedroom roots, with decidedly more hi-fi production, but with Sam playing and singing everything on the record.
CJ Ramone – The Holy Spell… CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
CJ Ramone made his name as a member of (arguably) the greatest punk band of all time, and nearly 25 years after that experience, it’d be understandable if he now spent his days resting on his legacy and tsk-tsking the state of punk rock. Instead, The Holy Spell… joyfully celebrates his undiminished love of music.
Terry Riley & Amelia Cuni – The Lion’s Throne CD (Sri Moonshine Music)
The Lion’s Throne bears witness to the performances that the legendary composer Terry Riley and Italian singer Amelia Cuni did together in the United Kingdom and Italy between 1999 and 2006. Riley, whose remarkable body of work seamlessly integrates a lifetime of devotion to Indian classical music into the western classical tradition, collaborates with Cuni, a singer trained in Dhrupad who, like Riley, experiments with Indian singing in a variety of ways.
Duke Robillard – Ear Worms CD (Stony Plain)
Duke Robillard has been at the forefront of blues, wwing and classic R&B/jump blues for over 40 years. [Vinyl edition due June 7.]
Jo Schornikow – Secret Weapon CD/LP (Keeled Scales)
Secret Weapon is Australian songwriter Jo Schornikow (and keyboardist in Phosphorescent)’s stunning label debut. It’s a devastatingly beautiful indie-pop album that eddies into dreamy nooks, while staying firmly rooted in strong melodies. It’s a quiet record, adorned with subtle swells of synths and shimmering washes of guitars.
Woody Shaw – Live In Basel 1980 2xCD/LP (Elemental)
Live archive release of a complete previously unissued quintet performance by the great Woody Shaw recorded live at the Foyer Stadttheater, in Basel, Switzerland, on January 16, 1980. This outstanding concert features Shaw in the company of saxophonist Carter Jefferson, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Stafford James, and drummer Victor Lewis.
She Keeps Bees – Kinship CD/LP (Ba Da Bing!)
A meditative and endlessly turning clutch of songs, She Keeps Bees’ Kinship reasserts the band’s elegant power in a stream of loss and regeneration. Death, birth, both personal and in reflection of Earth itself emerge through Jessica Larrabee’s focused, empowered voice. With Larrabee and Andy LaPlant’s first album in four years, She Keeps Bees peels away their distorted guitars and fills the void with hypnotic organ, keyboards, strings, a tight bed of drum grooves, and a direct lyricism full of with wisdom and intention. This is an album that radiates its messages with deft knowledge and immeasurable strength.
Carlton Jumel Smith – 1634 Lexington Avenue CD/LP (Timmion)
Contemporary soul gold mined from the vintage groove troves of classic ‘70s R&B.
Southern Avenue – Keep On CD (Concord)
Named after the street that led to Soulsville, USA, Memphis-bred rock and blues outfit Southern Avenue burst onto the scene with their acclaimed debut in 2017. The boundary-breaking combo sparked a one-band musical revolution, embodying an effortlessly organic blues/soul/R&B fusion that reflects the band’s international roots. On the album Keep On, the band does exactly that, never letting up with a churning blend of horns, gospel-tinged harmonies, and a rhythm section that would make any southern soul icon proud. It’s a return of the Memphis sound – a gritty, funky mojo – ringing once again down Southern Avenue. [ Vinyl edition due May 17.]
Spirit Adrift – Divided By Darkness CD/LP (20 Buck Spin)
Lazily labelled doom by some, Spirit Adrift is in fact the true representation of what modern heavy metal should be – a direct descendent of the widely-appealing arena-filling superstars of the ’80s and ’90s without a whiff of anachronistic cosplay fantasies.
Studio Mule – BGM CD/LP (Studio Mule)
Mule Musiq’s sub-label Studio Mule has formed a group of shifting members and are now releasing a debut album with eight tracks of reworked, obscure Japanese gems.
Twiztid – Generation Nightmare CD/2xLP (Majick Ninja)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. The demented duo of Jamie Madrox and Monoxide – AKA Twiztid – return with a new album. Generation Nightmare takes the very best of Twiztid’s rock and rap genre crossover abilities to the next level.
Various Artists – Chevance (Etc.) CD/LP (Born Bad)
France at the crossroads of the ’70s: the Chevance collection revolutionizes music for children. Mixing forward-thinking folk and avant-garde jazz, driven by a strong literary spirit, it’s exceptional catalog was created under the direction of producer Philippe Gavardin, in the tradition of the Saravah label or iconoclastic publisher Harlin Quist. It brought together a band of classically inspired free musicians, propelling its singers into orbit by exploiting all the fantastical potential of texts by Jean Tardieu, Robert Desnos, Jacqueline Held, and many others.
Various Artists – Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 5xCD (Smithsonian Folkways)
Few music festivals are as rich, profound, and joyous as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, now entering its 50th year. With 50 tracks recorded live, Jazz Fest captures the festival’s ecstatic spontaneity, which defines the essence and vitality of American popular music. With essays and annotations by Keith Spera, Karen Celestan, Robert Cataliotti, Jeff Place, Rachel Lyons, and Jon Pareles, plus photos spanning the festival’s history, this box set delivers the sights and sounds of being at Jazz Fest for those who have not yet been there, and rekindles memories for the hundreds of thousands who return to New Orleans year after year.
Various Artists – People Let’s Freak Out! The Irish Rock Rebellion 1963 – 1970 The Explosive Sounds of Dublin, Belfast and Beyond! 5xCD (Particles)
From the R&B/blues scene in Belfast to the late 1960s psychedelia of Dublin, People! Let’s Freak Out reveals a wider account of the beat scene, and its transition into psychedelia and blues rock.
Various Artists – Soul Jazz Records Presents Fashion Records: Style & Fashion 2xCD/3xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
New collection of music from the great Fashion Records, one of the most important and iconic independent reggae labels to come out of the UK, and which ran from 1980 for nearly 20 years. In that time Fashion released hundreds of records that successfully reflected, and indeed set, the changing styles and perspectives of reggae music in the UK from UK dancehall and lovers rock in the 1980s through to the mighty rise of jungle in the second half of the 1990s.
Various Artists – Too Slow To Disco: Neo En France CD/2xLP (How Do You Are)
The second volume in the Too Slow To Disco mix series is centered on the capital of all things mellow, elegant, slightly erotic and pop.
Vintage Trouble – Chapter II EP II CD (McGhee Entertainment)
The second set of Vintage Trouble EPs includes five new studio tracks and five live recordings. Bringing some L.A. polish to the gritty soul and blues in their rock sound, Vintage Trouble has earned raves for their high-powered shows (including opening slots for AC/DC) and their earlier releases including their 2015 Blue Note album 1 Hopeful Rd. Keyboards, horns and a shinier pop sound arrive on these 10 tracks.
VR SEX – Human Traffic Jam CD/LP (Dais)
VR SEX are audio/visual provocateurs who transpose the identifiers of death rock, synth punk, post-punk, ambient, and ethereal soundscapes into an audit on technology and its imprint on our collective psyche.
The Well – Death And Consolation CD/LP (Riding Easy)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. While The Well continue to walk an intriguing line between authentic early ’70s doom/heavy psych and frayed weirdness of dark folk—especially with their haunting unison male/female vocals—Death And Consolation features a stark vibe of post-punk acts like Joy Division and early The Cure.
Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties – Routine Maintenance CD/LP+MP3 (Hopeless)
Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties is the brainchild of The Wonder Years’ frontman Dan Soupy Campbell. Routine Maintenance is the next full length installment in the story of Aaron West and offers up a more stripped down approach with Campbell’s signature storytelling lyrics.
Whitesnake – Flesh & Blood CD/CD+DVD/2xLP (Frontiers)
New release from the hard rock band fronted by David Coverdale. [Deluxe CD + DVD edition includes two additional tracks plus bonus DVD. Limited edition vinyl box set edition includes the CD+DVD plus a numbered lithograph.]
Jamila Woods – Legacy! Legacy! CD/LP (Jagjaguwar)
Jamila Woods has a voice and lyrical sensibility that transcends generations, and so it makes sense to have this lush and layered album that bounces seamlessly from one sonic aesthetic to another. From the airy boom-bap of “Giovanni” to the psychedelic flourishes of “Sonia”, the instrument which ties the musical threads together is the ability of Woods to find her pockets in the waves of instrumentation, stretching syllables and vowels over the harmony of noise until each puzzle piece has a home. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Chely Wright – Revival CDEP/12” (MRI Associated)
Acclaimed singer-songwriter and activist Chely Wright followed up her Joe Henry-produced comeback album I Am The Rain (2016) with the 2018 holiday EP Santa Will Find You which No Depression called “the warmest, most-family oriented of recent holiday records.” While recording the latter she also recorded five new songs which comprise the new EP Revival.
Zaum – Divination CD/LP (Listenable)
Zaum is a passage toward the dark realizations of the old world; a monolithic, doomy mantra-based meditative experience forged by bass and drums interwoven with sitar, woodwind, string, and synth textures.
Zig-Zags – They’ll Never Take Us Alive CD/LP (Riding Easy)
New album from the notorious punk outfit. Eight years, seven singles, three albums, three bass players, two drummers and God knows how many shows later, Zig-Zags has continually evolved, mutated, transitioned and transformed. The addition of bassist (and longtime Zig Zags sound engineer) Sean Hoffman recalls those golden moments of the past when Neil Peart joined Rush or Bob Rock teamed up with Metallica.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
AAMM – Trio & Amm LP (Unrock)
Back in August of 2015, the legendary London grand seigneurs of improvisation pioneers, AMM (John Tilbury and Eddie Prevost) joined forces with Lebanese electro-acoustic-free-jazz outfit “A” Trio (Mazen Kerbaj, Sharif Sehnaoui, and Raed Yassin). Two generations of improvisers with a very differing approach to work, captured dancing slowly along a very thin line of fine-tuned, both, clear and crackling improvised sounds. Harsh at times with magic mellow moments of intense, fragile, broken noises. No overdubs, no use of electronics.
Salum Abdallah And Cuban Marimba Band – Ngoma Tanzania LP (Domino Sound)
Sweet and joyful sounds from the first half of 1960’s Tanzania
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society – Mandatory Reality 2xLP (Eremite)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Joshua Abrams conceived Mandatory Reality for an eight-piece acoustic manifestation of NIS, consisting of himself on guimbri, Lisa Alvarado on harmonium and gongs, Mikel Avery on tam-tam and gongs, Ben Boye on autoharp and piano, Hamid Drake on tabla and tar, Ben Lamar Gay on cornet, Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, and Jason Stein on bass clarinet. A double album, Mandatory Reality is comprised largely of two performances, both Joshua Abrams compositions, 24- and 40-minutes in length.
Amnesia Scanner & Bill Kouligas – Lexachast LP (PAN)
Lexachast is an ongoing collaborative work by Amnesia Scanner, Bill Kouligas, and Harm van den Dorpel. Whilst broadly inspired by the experience derived from and exposure to algorithmic patterns as generated by visual artist Harm van den Dorpel’s specially-devised program, the work is a sonic reference to the fallouts of avant-EDM and cyberdrone. This in turn is simultaneously mirrored by the perturbing visuals, created by a unique algorithm that sources and blends various filtered imagery from DeviantArt and Flickr in real time – with a bias towards the NSFW, extreme banality, and ornamental melancholia.
Apoptygma Berzerk – SDGXXV LP (Artoffact)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Following the releases and shows honoring the 25th anniversary of Apoptygma Berzerk’s debut album Soli Deo Gloria, the Norwegian electronic-rock outfit headed by Stephan Groth presents a new album featuring collaborations with Prurient, Ancient Methods, Clock DVA, Portion Control and more.
Astrïd – Porthole LP (Gizeh)
French modern-classical quartet Astrïd return with the first part of a new release entitled A Porthole. Conceptually, the two records will work in unison, focusing on portholes into the abyss, with part one delving into the depths of the deep sea. The tracks are named after various strains of seaweed, the artwork depicting dark waves and uncertainty. Part two will follow in a year’s time and will turn its attention to the night sky and constellations. A Porthole continues Astrïd’s signature style of billowing guitars, strings and woodwinds.
Baby Huey – The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend [Reissue/1971] LP (Run Out Groove)
The Babysitters regularly played at the Thumbs Up club on Chicago’s north side and it was there that the band was discovered by Donny Hathaway who insisted Curtis Mayfield go the following night to check them out. It has been said that Curtis wasn’t a fan of the band (he only loved Huey) and may have forced some of his own musicians into the sessions for The Living Legend. The record became a posthumous release for Baby Huey as he died on October 28, 1970 in a Chicago hotel room of unknown causes, just weeks after the death of Jimi Hendrix.
The Band – Live In Charleston 1994 LP (Live On Vinyl)
Live at the Cultural Center, Charleston January 23rd, 1994. The Band triumphantly returned in late 1993 with the reunion album Jericho, featuring original members Levon Helm, Gath Hudson, and Rick Danko. Thereafter they toured widely, augmented by new members who beautifully reproduced their classic sound. This superb set was broadcast on Mountain Stage Radio, Charleston, at the start of the following year, and finds them tackling material from Jericho.
Caterina Barbieri – Ecstatic Computation LP (Editions Mego)
Caterina Barbieri is an Italian composer who explores themes related to machine intelligence and object-oriented perception in sound through a focus on minimalism. Ecstatic Computation revolves around the creative use of complex sequencing techniques and pattern-based operations to explore the artefacts of human perception and memory processes by ultimately inducing a sense of ecstasy and contemplation.
Martin Bartlett – Anecdotal Electronics LP (Arc Light Editions)
Martin Bartlett was an inspiring and original thinker, composer, writer, performer, and organizer. His preoccupation with building aleatoric elements into electronic music distinguishes his work. He devised elegant and open interactions for instrumental performers and computer-controlled synthesizers which included building his own electronic devices and extensive work on the Buchla 400. He worked with or studied under Pauline Oliveros, John Cage, and David Tudor, and collaborated extensively with Don Buchla, and some of their live performances are included on the LP Anecdotal Electronics.
The Beat Junkies – Bios Training Wax 2.0 LP (Beat Junkie Sound)
The perfect practice tool for any DJ or Turntablist looking to sharpen their skills.
Big Search – Slow Fascination LP (30th Century)
Matt Popieluch’s history is peppered with musically diverse endeavors – from fronting Foreign Born to playing with Cass McCombs, Sky Ferreira, Fool’s Gold and Papercuts among others – evidence of his distinguished skill as a player. Notable collaborators on his new album Slow Fascination speak to the distinction he’s earned. Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste, The Shins’ James Mercer and Kacey Johansing among others make fervent contributions to an already lively collection.
Billybio – Freedom’s Never Free 12” (Bridge 9)
New project from Billy Graziadei of Biohazard. The EP features the single from his debut full length Feed The Fire which was released last November, as well as two exclusive B-side demo tracks.
Pépé Bradock – What A Mess LP (Atavisme)
The Parisian house ace returns with his first full length in 21 years
Bubblewild – Long Story Short 12” (Vinyl Digital)
Bubblewild has a heart for different sounds. That’s why the producer from Melitopol, Ukraine mixes banging boombap drums with dreamy loops for some of his favorite rappers.
Case – Therapy LP (X-Ray)
2018 album from the R&B artist with guest appearances from Tank, Teddy Riley and The Floacist.
Cavetown – Animal Kingdom LP (Triple Crown)
Following the breakthrough success of the Lemon Boy and worldwide sold-out tours, acclaimed UK singer/songwriter Robin Skinner ventured deep into the Animal Kingdom, a digital mixtape series that featured new songs, covers and re-imaginings of catalog material each month along with a song from a friend or peer that he had a hand in creating.
Michael Chapman – Another Story LP (Secret)
The legendary guitarist chose eight tracks from the CD only albums Plaindealer, Sweet Powder, Wrytree Drift, and The Twisted Road – mainly sold at gigs during the 1990s and 2000s – for this 180gm vinyl release.
City Girls – Period [2018] LP (Quality Control)
City Girls – Girl Code [2018] LP (Quality Control)
City Girls is composed of members Yung Miami and JT. They released two albums last year, both of which are now available on vinyl. The remix of the song “Twerk” featuring Cardi B became City Girls’ first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Alice Coltrane – Eternity [Reissue/1976] LP (Antarctica Starts Here)
Alice Coltrane – Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana [Reissue/1977] LP (Antarctica Starts Here)
Alice Coltrane – Transcendence [Reissue/1977] LP (Antarctica Starts Here)
Alice Coltrane – Transfiguration [Reissue/1978] 2xLP (Antarctica Starts Here)
Vinyl reissues of Alice Coltrane’s four albums for Warner Bros. While Eternity and Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana followed the Coltrane’s muse through an exciting range of musical styles and influences, Transcendence is perhaps the most fully realized of the three LPs, synthesizing the best elements of each into a monumental whole. By the late ’70s, Alice Coltrane had largely gravitated away from jazz, incorporating Hindu chants and hymns into her music to reflect a newfound sense of creative omnipotence. Transfiguration, featuring drummer Roy Haynes and bassist Reggie Workman, showcases Alice’s many compositional talents and fierce improvisatory abilities. Throughout this double LP set, her playing evokes the time spent in her late husband John Coltrane’s band and the avant-garde music of her earlier years.
Cotton Jones – Paranoid Cocoon [Reissue/2009] LP (Suicide Squeeze)
Cotton Jones features ex-members of Page France. This music mixes elements of soul, rock, and gospel into a gauzy cocoon of small-town sound. An album of quiet, wooden psychedelia that reflects the duo’s casual pursuit of comfort and freedom under the mountains of Cumberland, Maryland, where creeks zigzag in the lonesome dark of the forest, and a red moon hangs overhead.
Geater Davis – Lost Soul 2xLP (Luv N Haight)
A comprehensive collection of material recorded by Geater Davis for the House Of Orange label. The name of the collection is an accurate description of the life and career of the legendary blues and soul singer who passed away at age 38 while on the verge of breaking through.
Deadbolt – Zulu Death Mask [Reissue/1998] LP (Pig Baby)
First-time vinyl pressing of the surf/psychobilly band’s fourth album.
The Dickies – A Night That Will Live In Infamy [Reissue/2014] LP (Cleopatra)
Limited colored vinyl pressing of the rare live recording from the 1977 Whisky A Go Go performance that saw The Dickies get signed to A&M Records.
D.O.A. – 1978 2xLP (Sudden Death)
A 21-track collection of never released demos, rare tracks and early singles from Canada’s punk pioneers.
Tom Doolie – V I O A LP (Vinyl Digital)
Tom Doolie is a producer and a multitalented artist from Munich. For the last decade Tom has put out music, photography and design; having collaborated with artists, brands and labels such as Cap Kendricks, GKG Mastering, Digitalluc, LUX and Meltin Pot Music. His range of genres brings a fusion of classic rap beats, lo-fi instrumentals and Mellow-Trap where he combines modern drum techniques with sample sounds and that nineties aesthetics.
Dovs – Silent Cities LP (Acid Test)
On their debut album as Dovs, Tin Man and AAAA summon the ethereal spirit of acid.
Dwarfs Of East Agouza/Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt – Electric Smog LP (Unrock)
Again an intercontinental output, this is a dangerous, electric brew filled with exotic aroma from Cairo’s sound guerilla, Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Maurice Louca (Karkhana) and Sam Shalabi (Land Of Kush, Karkhana). The always-changing face of Dwarfs Of East Agouza shows them in a feverish mode with an adrenalin rush; massive eruptions fight a genuine flow. Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt manage to sound like a tonal cyclone consisting of 156 musicians, blowing heads and minds away. Out of the blue they suddenly manage to change mode and develop mild, calm, and elegant/fragile melodies.
Emperor – In The Nightside Eclipse [Reissue/1994] LP (Spinefarm)
Limited picture disc vinyl pressing of the first studio album and fourth official release from the Norwegian black metal band.
Susana Estrada – Amor y Libertad [Reissue/1981] LP (Espacial Discos)
Sexadelic disco-funk, boogie, and Italo sounds by Spanish actress, singer, and sex goddess, Susana Estrada. Criminally underrated for many years, Amor y Libertad has become a cult item in the international cosmic disco scene.
Fistula/Junkov•en – At War With Pretension / Junkov•en 12” (Patac)
Ohio sludgefiends Fistula emerge from the gutter to offer up their latest sonic assault. Four all-new tracks accompanied by two demo tracks of the infamous Junkov•en collaboration between Fistula and Kirk Fisher.
Flughand & SMUV – Fluo 12” (Kingunderground)
Flughand and Smuv, 37 and 27-year-old producers from Germany, collaborate on their debut EP. Both are known for their laid back, dreamy, lo-fi hip-hop beats.
Robert Glasper – Canvas [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (Blue Note)
On his acclaimed 2005 Blue Note debut, Canvas, pianist and composer Robert Glasper proved he had jazz chops in abundance with his acoustic trio featuring bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Damion Reid, while a hip-hop sub-context lay just beneath the surface in the album’s skittering beats, hinting at future directions that Glasper would take on albums like the Grammy-winning Black Radio years later.
Gob Iron – Death Songs For The Living LP (Transmit Sound)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Gob Iron (British slang for a harmonica) is a brand-new side project for Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo founder Jay Farrar. Teaming up with his friend (and Varnaline front man) Anders Parker, Farrar has recorded an album of new takes on American folk standards. Also known as the folk process, these are old songs by the likes of Stephen Foster and The Reverend JM Gates which have been given new lyrics or new arrangements in an effort to re-interpret the songs in a fresh way.
Dexter Gordon – Doin’ Alright [Reissue/1961] LP (Blue Note)
Though he first recorded in the late-1940s, Dexter Gordon’s Blue Note debut Doin’ Allright -recorded and released in 1961 – marked a rebirth for the great tenor saxophonist after a decade in which drug addiction and legal troubles limited his output.
Grauzone – Eisbær [Reissue/1981] 12” (We Release Whatever The F**k We Want)
WRWTFWW Records announce the official reissue of Grauzone’s essential 1981 maxi single featuring the timeless classic “Eisbär”, the proto-techno beast “Film 2”, and the romantic synth ballad “Ich Lieb Sie”, just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band’s formation.
Herbie Hancock – Takin’ Off [Reissue/1962] LP (Blue Note)
On his debut album Takin’ Off – recorded and released in 1962 – jazz legend Herbie Hancock arrived fully formed at the helm of an impressive quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins. Though rooted firmly in hard bop, the brilliant pianist and composer presented his own strikingly original voice on this six-song album consisting entirely of his own compositions
Hollywood Rose – The Roots Of Guns N’ Roses LP (Deadline Music)
Limited splatter vinyl LP pressing of the very first demos recorded by Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin before they formed Guns N’ Roses.
I Killed The Prom Queen – Music For The Recently Deceased [Reissue/2006] LP (UNFD)
White colored vinyl reissue of the Australian metalcore band’s sophomore album.
Ill Bill & Stu Bangas – Presents: What If The Hulk Was A Cannibal? 7” (Uncle Howie)
“Hulk Meat” featuring Goretex and “Cannibal Hulk” are now available on green vinyl with full picture jacket.
Infamous Stringdusters – Rise Sun LP (Tape Time)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On their ninth album, the Grammy-winning quintet expand their signature sound by perfecting their seamless fusion of All-American-bluegrass and rock.
Junkie Flamingos – Lemegeton Party LP (Helen Scarsdale Agency)
Lemegeton Party is the narcotic and occluded industrial-ambient debut for the Junkie Flamingos. Inspired by Freidrich Holderlin’s Hyperion, the album is gilded with a neoclassical sheen that alludes to both the divine and the diabolical.
Kayo & Wilczynski – Duality 12” (Vinyl Digital)
Two producers, two countries, two singles and one sample pool. Fascinating and viby beats between lo-fidelity and classic.
Robert Koch – Sphere LP (Vinyl Digital)
Robot Koch returns with his first solo album since 2015’s Hypermoment on Moderat´s Monkeytown label. The sonic world Koch creates on Sphere is cinematic, dark, visceral and melodic, taking the listener on a trip deep into inner/outer space. Limited glow-in-the-dark vinyl pressing.
Dean Lewis – A Place We Knew LP (Island)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Debut studio album by the Australian singer/songwriter. Lewis said that the title encapsulates the bittersweet memories of past relationships. In addition to writing every song on the album, Dean also plays piano and guitar on the project.
Jerry Lee Lewis – Killer – Rock & Roll LP (Goldenlane)
Picture-disc vinyl pressing. Live and studio versions of “Great Balls Of Fire”, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”, “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and more.
Lil Pump – Harverd Dropout LP (WB)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Second album from the Florida rapper featuring guest appearances by Lil Wayne, Quavo, and Lil Uzi Vert.
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti – Greatest Hits LP (Goldenlane)
Twelve of Richard’s most popular songs, pressed on a limited edition vinyl picture-disc.
Lowland Hum – Glyphonic LP (Lowland Hum)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Lowland Hum is wife and husband team Lauren and Daniel Goans. Together they invite their listeners to share in the space of vulnerable intimacy they have formed over years of steady collaboration. In the live setting, the duo offers an immersive experience of thoughtful songcraft interspersed with audience interaction and extemporaneous songs about the day’s happenings. Their recordings take listeners on a journey through relatable, imagistic poetry exploring themes of memory, longing, confession and identity, and drawing attention to often unnoticed resonances of the everyday.
Miriam Makeba – World Of Miriam Makeba [Reissue/1963] LP (Down At Dawn)
Brilliant South African singer Miriam Makeba first found international recognition after being discovered in America by Harry Belafonte, who inspired her move to NYC and championed her talent to anyone who would listen. Combining Afro-pop with jazz and western pop music influences, Makeba created a sound that was uniquely her own and inspired generations of singers to come.
Manatee Commune – PDA LP (Bastard Jazz)
A classically trained musician influenced by the likes of Sylvan Esso, Big Wild, Flume, and many more, Manatee Commune is a captivating producer and vibrant performer. Having toured with household names like ODESZA, Emancipator, and Blockhead, while commanding stages at Bonnaroo, What The Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, and the upcoming 2019 Lighting In A Bottle Festival, Manatee Commune delivers an experience to dance music aficionados worldwide. His charming production leans toward the emotive side of electronic music while simultaneously stamping his own signature on all of his feats.
Clint Mansell – Happy New Year, Colin Burstead [OST] LP (Invada)
Acclaimed contemporary film composer Clint Mansell returns to score Ben Wheatley’s new film Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. Mansell’s score is a hypnotic and ethereal wash, built around organic instruments including insistent strings with a Celtic flavor and a brilliant use of woodwinds. The score slowly descends into something twisted and dissonant at points, beautifully laying a nod to Wheatley’s interest in folk horror.
Efrim Manuel Menuck & Kevin Doria – Are Sing Sinck Sing LP (Constellation)
Efrim Manuel Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion) and Kevin Doria (Growing, Total Life) are now officially a duo and offer up this new set of whirling maximalist antifa electronics, shot through with Menuck’s trademark incantatory vocals awash in plaintive distortion and hope.
Melodiesinfonie – A Journey To You LP (Jakarta)
A Journey To You retraces Melodiesinfonie’s musical path in the realm of jazz and soul. Long improvisations and playful instrumental passages become decisive style elements that let you dive into sonic landscapes that sound a lot more like a west coast band than a product of Swiss home style studio production.
Michal Menert & The Pretty Fantastics – From The Sea 2xLP (Young Heavy Souls)
With From The Sea, Gualala, California based artist and producer Michal Menert and his band the Pretty Fantastics have crafted a musical salve for those suffering from the relentless stream of contemporary reality. The record churns at the intersection of jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music; following its own internal rhythm, it ebbs and flows between crystalline clarity and swirling opacity.
Buddy & Julie Miller – I’m Gonna Make You Love Me b/w Can’t Cry Hard Enough 7” (New West)
The second single from the forthcoming Buddy & Julie Miller album, Breakdown On 20th Ave. South (due June 21).
Charles Mingus – Town Hall Concert 1962 LP (Down At Dawn)
Charles Mingus brought together an amazing lineup spanning the totality of the nation’s jazz scene with such luminaries as Eric Dolphy, Buddy Collette, Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, Pepper Adams, Jaki Byard, Grady Tate, and more. Brought together to perform new Mingus compositions for the first time in public, the recording was initially considered weak due to limited rehearsal time.
Mistura Pura – Hollywood Spritz LP (Ubiquity)
Italian DJ, composer and producer Federica Grappasonni, aka Mistura Pura, looks to the 70s Golden Age of Hollywood TV and the accompanying music for inspiration. Combining jazz, funk and Latin elements with Afro percussion, Mediterranean harmonies, minimal electronic effects, hip-hop and nu jazz beats, Mistura Pura focuses her sound on the action element from these ’70s soundtracks: scenes depicting danger or tension but also making sure to round it out with moments of love and fun.
Ohbliv – Give Thanks LP (Fat Beats)
A woozy pastiche of eclectic samples chopped to bits with the aid of an SP-4O4, PT01 turntable, and digi-recorder.
Phurnne – To Love Lightly LP (Feeding Tube)
First album by this exquisitely odd Massachusetts-based trio of sound-collagers.
Potter And Tillman – N.Y. To L.A.: Coasting [Reissue/1980] LP (High Jazz)
An amazing and unique private soul/jazz-funk fusion LP, New York To L.A.: Coasting is the first release (1980) on Andrew Scott Potter and David Eric Tillman’s PO/ET label. Sublime from the beginning to the end, it has become, just like their second and final release … Space… Rapture…, (1982) a sought-after collector’s item.
Razor – Violent Restitution [Reissue/1988] LP (High Roller)
Limited silver colored vinyl pressing including poster of the fifth full-length album from the Canadian speed/thrash metal band.
Johnny Rivers – The Best Of Johnny Rivers LP (Friday Music)
Limited 180gm audiophile LP pressing housed in a gatefold sleeve. In 1964, when the British Invasion was in progress and American rockers were tough to find on the US pop charts, Johnny Rivers was one of the first to regain a foothold; his first Top 10 record came right in the midst of Beatlemania. His formula was much the same as the British style vintage American rock ‘n’ roll and R&B played with a verve and simplicity that gave his music a contemporary edge.
Sidetracked – Hollowed Out LP (To Live A Lie)
Tacoma Washington’s Sidetracked has been up and down the coasts, playing fests, putting out dozens of releases, and being an amazing fast hardcore band for almost twenty years. The one thing they haven’t done (until now) is release an LP.
Soft Machine – Live In London In The Early Sixties LP (DBQP)
Live In London In The Early Sixties features the early mythical Soft Machine in the trio line-up of Kevin Ayers, Mike Ratledge, and Robert Wyatt, captured live in the full swinging London club atmosphere.
Patrick Sweany – I Wanna Tell You [Reissue/1999] LP (Nine Mile)
In 1999 a young kid named Patrick Sweany went into legendary Suma Studios in NE Ohio and recorded a simple 11 track record featuring only acoustic guitar and one vocal. Most of the tracks were done in two takes. That recording made its way into the hands of Jorma Kaukonen, Roy Book Binder, and Dan Auerbach (among others), landing Sweany a gig at prestigious Merlefest just a few months later.
Devin Townsend – Empath LP (Inside Out U.S.)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New release from the guitar great featuring Mike Keneally as music director, Morgan Agren [Mats And Morgan, Frank Zappa, Fredrik Thordendal], Anup Sastry [Monuments, Periphery], Samus Paulicelli [Decripit Birth, Abigail Williams], Chad Kroeger [Nickelback], Anneke van Giersbergen and many more.
UT – Conviction [Reissue/1986] LP (Out)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Originating in the downtown NYC No Wave scene and inheritors of the collision between rock, free jazz and the avant-garde, UT exploded the rigidity of conventional rock, constructing songs through collective improvisation, swapping instruments and rotating the role of singer/director.
Various Artists [Joey Negro] – Backstreet Brit Funk 1 2xLP (Z.)
A collection of the UK’s finest underground soul jazz-funk and disco.
The Velvet Underground – Live At The End Of Cole Avenue In Dallas LP (DBQP)
A fascinating snapshot of The Velvet Underground live in Dallas, Texas on October 28, 1969.
Warforged – I: Voice LP (The Artisan Era)
Chicago’s Warforged is looking to carve out their own spot within the world of progressive death metal.
The Woolly Bushmen – In Shambles LP (Pig Baby)
Full of organ-drenched, frenzied rock n roll with well-crafted songwriting.
Reese Wynans and Friends – Sweet Release CD (J&R Adventures)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Over the last five decades, you might have found Reese Wynans cutting his teeth with the early nucleus of the Allman Brothers Band. Taking the stage with Boz Scaggs. Saving the ‘80s blues scene with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble. Bringing the blues to the people with Joe Bonamassa. Adding his thumbprint on piano and B3 to the work of Larry Carlton, Delbert McClinton, Los Lonely Boys – and hundreds more. During a celebrated career that recently saw him inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the one omission on Wynans’ résumé was that this fabled keys man had never released a solo record – until now. Sweet Release is the album we always knew Wynans had up his sleeve: a glorious collision of stellar musicianship, classic material given fresh mojo and a glittering roll-call of star guests – including Keb’ Mo’, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Warren Haynes and Joe Bonamassa himself on production – that confirms the deep respect Wynans commands on the scene.
Zhané – Pronounced Jah-Nay [Reissue/1994] LP (Motown)
Limited double translucent orange colored vinyl reissue of the R&B group’s debut album. Pronounced Jah-Nay features songs produced and co-written by members of hip hop group Naughty by Nature.
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