CDs:
1-800-BAND – Diver Blue CD/LP (Almost Ready)
A collection of perfect pop rock songs tinged variously with glam, hard rock, and early-light FM elements. You’ll actually be happy to get these tunes stuck in your head.
Afrojack – Forget The World CD (Def Jam)
In the span of less than 2 years, Afrojack has become one of electronic dance music’s major icons. From humble DJ beginnings in his native country of Holland, he has grown to become a multi-award winning, platinum-selling producer. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds bonus tracks.
American Football – American Football [Reissue/1999] 2xCD/2xLP (Polyvinyl)
American Football features members of Owen, Joan Of Arc, and The Geese. Their self-titled debut showcases cleanly picked guitars, intricate drumming, and lyrical interplay. This deluxe edition reissue contains an extra disc with eleven live and demo tracks. Vinyl edition pressed on HQ-180gm red vinyl with download.
aMute – Savage Bliss CD/LP (Three Four)
Savage Bliss is the fifth album from aMute, aka Jerome Dueson. As a solo artist, he continues his path with determination and shows that he warrants the comparisons of such artists as Tim Hecker and Fennesz. This record still holds melancholy and nostalgia, but the religious post-rock melodies are scarcer.
Andrea Belfie/David Grubbs/Stefano Pilia – Onrushing Cloud CD (Blue Chopsticks)
Originally released on LP in 2010, Onrushing Cloud is the first album from the trio of Andrea Belfi (drums, percussion, electronics), David Grubbs (electric guitar, piano, voice), and Stefano Pilia (electric guitar).
Archie Bronson Outfit – Wild Crush CD/LP (Domino)
Archie Bronson Outfit is the duo of S. Windett and Arp Cleveland. Their sound consists of driving rhythms, howling romance, distortion, and echo, but with a new clarity.
Atlantic Thrills – Atlantic Thrills CD/LP (Almost Ready)
One of the best true garage rock records to come down the pike in some time. There’s lots to brood to, plenty of shadows and alleys to wander in between the partying and dancing some tracks might inspire.
Blu – Good To Be Home 2xCD (Nature Sound)
Los Angeles lyricist Blu returns with Good to Be Home, a brand new solo album. Unlike previous Blu releases that have leaked online and later been re-packaged in physical form, this album contains 20 tracks of brand new, previously unheard material. Vinyl version due May 27.
The Blue Angel Lounge – Sea Of Trees CD/LP (A. Records)
Since the release of their previous album Narcotica, The Blue Angel Lounge has been garnering international acclaim, touring the US, UK and France with the Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and also making appearances at the Austin Psych Fest and Roskilde.
Joe Bonamassa – Tour De Force: Live In London – Hammersmith Apollo 2xCD (J&R Adventures)
Joe Bonamassa – Tour De Force: Live In London – Royal Albert Hall 2xCD (J&R Adventures)
Joe Bonamassa – Tour De Force: Live In London – The Borderline 2xCD (J&R Adventures)
Joe Bonamassa – Tour De Force: Live In London – Shepherd’s Bush 2xCD (J&R Adventures)
The Tour De Force: Live In London series chronicles Bonamassa’s atmospheric rise from the intimate club environment of The Borderline, to the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. Each individual evening was marked by a unique theme with different setlists, arrangements and ensembles providing the viewer with four unique performances.
Haley Bonar – Last War CD/LP (Graveface)
Last War is Haley’s eighth album of alternative Americana goodness. Her rotating cast of band members includes Jake Hanson (Halloween Alaska, Mason Jennings), Jeremy Hanson (Tapes ‘N Tapes), Luke Anderson (Rogue Valley), Jeremy Ylvisaker (Andrew Bird, Alpha Consumer), and Mike Lewis (Bon Iver, Alpha Consumer).
Bo Ningen – III CD (PIAS, AmericaS)
Bo Ningen are a group of enlightenment activists from Japan’s psychedelic underground. Vinyl version due May 27.
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Revelation CD/2xLP (A. Records)
Revelation is the first album that was fully recorded and produced at Anton’s recording studio in Berlin. It is the 14th full-length release from the Brian Jonestown Massacre and was recorded from late 2012 to early 2014.
Gilbert Brantley – Just As I Am CD (Valory)
Having written on every track, Brantley’s first new music in over four years delivers a more personal look into his life and continues his story.
The Burning Of Rome – Year Of The Ox CD/LP (Surfdog)
The Burning of Rome has been described as “merging the pop sensibility of The Flaming Lips, the atmosphere of Brian Eno, and the rock edge of Muse with poetic lyrics that recall the curiosity of Carl Sagan.” They put on an eerie and electrifying live show full of anthemic choruses, searing guitars and a driving rhythm section — all with a tinge of the macabre.
California Breed – California Breed CD/CD+DVD (Frontiers)
Former Black Country Communion stars, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes and drummer Jason Bonham, have formed a new band, California Breed with the astoundingly talented 23 year-old singer-guitarist Andrew Watt. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe comes in a glossy digipak with a bonus track, a DVD including videoclips for “Sweet Tea” and “The Way” and a making of the album documentary.
Castle – Under Siege CD/LP (Prosthetic)
After scoring a Juno (Canadian Grammy) nomination for their acclaimed 2012 sophomore release and Prosthetic debut Blacklands, San Francisco heavy metal cultists Castle return with Under Siege. Recorded once again at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland with producer/mixer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Sleep), the album — which nods to the likes of Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Motörhead — features eight tracks of riff-driven classic metal that mix oft-soaring vocals with darkened and sophisticated rhythms, punishing guitars and melodic passages of haunted beauty.
Chatham County Line – Tightrope CD/LP+CD (Yep Roc)
Entering their second decade as an ensemble, Chatham County Line bring a deep reverence for traditional American roots music and timeless bluegrass instrumentation to insightful, poetic original songs that are powerfully contemporary yet rich with the complex resonance of their southern heritage. Over the course of six studio albums and performances around the world, they have pursued a singular style that is entirely their own, yet connects with audiences from all walks.
Cherry Ghost – Herd Runners CD (Heavenly)
For the last couple of years, Simon Aldred has been in a state of wilful musical schizophrenia. Since 2007, Bolton-born Aldred has – to all intents – been Cherry Ghost, a band known for perfecting a kind of widescreen North Western country soul. Yet the third Cherry Ghost album Herd Runners arrives after an extensive period in which Aldred’s own music been pulled in multiple different directions. Vinyl version due May 27.
Cindytalk – touchedRAWKISSEDsour CD (Handmade Birds)
New work from Gordon Sharp (This Mortal Coil, The Freeze). Dark industrial atmospheres.
Coldplay – Ghost Stories CD/LP+MP3 (Atlantic/Parlophone)
“Coldplay’s sixth studio album will forever be tied to frontman Chris Martin’s out-of-the-blue announcement that he and wife Gwyneth Paltrow were separating, nearly two months before the full-length’s release. The timing of the breakup hovers over Ghost Stories, a short album full of straightforward meditations on heartbreak and helplessness. Instead of hinting at the split and letting listeners spit out theories about the real-life drama that inspired the album, Martin has presented his gaping wound for the world to see, in rather spectacular fashion.” – Billboard
Comet Control – Comet Control CD/LP (Tee Pee)
Comet Control extends the dark, bass-driven washes of sound that Quest For Fire fabulously produced and drenches it in majestic bursts of pastel post-rock guitars and bright, breezy vocals. ”Strobe-lit psych-punk stomp…less stoner rock than stoned rock, marked by a patient pace and a foggy-headed whimsy that lingers even as the VU levels surge into the red.” —-Pitchfork
Brody Dalle – Diploid Love CD/2xLP (Caroline)
This is the first-ever solo album from Brody Dalle, the former front woman for The Distillers and Spinnerette. Diploid Love is a recording about life: creating it, living it and surviving it. Brody Dalle spent a year writing, playing, recording and co-producing her first solo album, a riotous blast of punk rock with a pop sheen that storms through ideas about the modern age, triumphing against the odds and even spirituality.
Dazz Dilly – Weed Money CD (Dogg Pound)
West Coast Legend, Daz Dillinger returns with a new album featuring guest appearances by Snoop Dogg and Z-Ro.
Devo – Something Else For Everybody CD (Booji Boy)
Compilation of early demos and focus group rejects written between 2006-2009. In the words of founding member Gerald Casale, “They were relegated to bin 86 for various inexplicable reasons. You sniffed the wheat in 2010, now lick the chaff aged to perfection.”
Toumani Diabete & Sidiki Diabete – Toumani & Sidiki CD/LP+MP3 (Nonesuch)
World Circuit’s Nick Gold produced Toumani & Sidiki with engineer Jerry Boys (Ali Farka Touré, Buena Vista Social Club, Orchestra Baobab), a longtime collaborator, and with Lucy Duran, producer of Toumani s previous albums, as co-producer. The album is a set of unaccompanied kora duets, recorded live at London s RAK studios with little rehearsal (for some tunes, no rehearsal) and no overdubs. The album was captured in stereo, so Toumani is heard in the left speaker and Sidiki in the right. The repertoire is based on a combination of obscure, almost forgotten kora pieces and a new look at some Mandé classics from Mali.
The Doors –Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine [Reissue/1972] 2xCD (Elektra)
The Doors now make their legendary, long out-of-print compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine available for the first time as a double-CD set. Originally released in 1972, this gold-certified double album was the first compilation to be released after Jim Morrison’s death in 1971.
The 22 songs that appear on the collection provide a wide-ranging introduction to the music recorded between 1967-71 by the original quartet, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison.
Duck Sauce – Quack CD (Fool’s Gold)
A-Trak and Armand Van Helden first splashed on the scene as Duck Sauce with the breakout hit “aNYway”. Next up was “Barbra Streisand,” a surprise global #1 smash and true pop culture milestone, complete with 93 million YouTube views, a Grammy nomination, and even a Glee cover. Quack is their debut album. Viny version due June 17.
The Everyman – Givin’ Up On Free Jazz CD/LP (Ernest Jenning)
Standing nine members strong, The Everymen is reminiscent of The E Street Band in stature, Rocket From The Crypt in searing energy, Meat Loaf in production and The Replacements in boozy, backroom party vibes.
The Flaming Lips – 7 Skies H3 CD (WB)
A 50-minute distillation across ten tracks of the remarkable 24-hour song recorded at Tarbox Road Studios in 2011.
William Ryan Fritch – Leave Me Like You Found Me CD+MP3 (Lost Tribe Sound)
Leave Me Like You Found Me delivers rapturous melodic outbursts, expressive arrangements, Fritch’s magnificent arsenal of acoustic instrumentation, and the familiar, comforting sounds of vintage rock music refracted through the prism of modern classical sensibilities. Extremely limited release in exclusive packaging includes digital download that features 28 additional minutes of music.
Hedley – Wild Life CD (Capitol)
Since forming in Vancouver in 2005, Hedley have released four double-platinum albums in Canada, sold over 2.1 million digital tracks, earned two Juno Awards and scored a record-breaking fourteen consecutive No. 1 videos on MuchMusic.
Stephen David Heitkotter – Black Orckid CD/2xLP (Now Again)
Reissue of the legendary ’70s California bedroom psychedelic album.
Herzog – Boys CD/LP (Exit Stencil)
Comparisons to ’90s luminaries such as Built To Spill, Sebadoh, and Dinosaur Jr. abound — apt and warranted — but similarities with present-day bands like Diarrhea Planet, Thee Oh Sees and Fidlar are equally appropriate.
Jolie Holland – Wine Dark Sea CD/LP (Anti)
Holland yoke’s the New York underground to American song in a way that has rarely been attempted since White Light/White Heat. Two drummers, sometimes as many as three or four electric guitars, horns of a sort that come out of free jazz and the no wave scene as much as they come from soul music, and a refreshing need, on Holland’s part, to sing out at the extreme of her range, above the squalling insatiable lullaby of the thing.
Hollis Brown – Gets Loaded CD (Alive)
It started out as live tribute last November. Lenny Kaye, Arto Lindsay, Voidoids’ Ivan Julian and others convened at NYC’s Bowery Electric to pay homage to the late, great Lou Reed. The Queens-based roots-rock band Hollis Brown was also invited to perform the Velvet Underground’s 1970 album Loaded in its entirety.
Carl Hultgren – Tomorrow CD/2xLP (Blue Flea)
It is instantly apparent to any long time listener of Windy & Carl that these new tracks show a marked change from the 20 years of dense guitar drones and walls of sound the duo have released. Carl’s first solo album is instead a lighter, more stripped down affair.
Billy Joel – A Matter Of Trust: The Bridge To Russia 2xCD/2xCD+DVD/2xCD+Blu-ray (Sony)
In July-August 1987, after 100 shows around the world on The Bridge Tour, Billy Joel accepted the Kremlin’s invitation to the U.S.S.R. for six shows in Moscow and Leningrad, fulfilling a long-time desire to perform in Russia. For the first time, A Matter Of Trust: A Bridge To Russia, presents an expanded version of what fans saw and heard over a quarter-century ago. The newly remastered double-CD set adds 11 previously unreleased songs to the original 16-song CD from 1987, which closely recreates Billy’s full concert sequence. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions, and on stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray.
John Doe –The Best Of John Doe: This Far CD (Yep Roc)
Part scrapbook, part roadmap, The Best Of John Doe: This Far guides listeners through Doe’s solo catalog. Compiled by Doe himself, the generous track listing encompasses nearly a quarter century, highlighting songs from from nine records on six different labels. Vinyl version due June 3.
Kikagaku Moyo – Forest Of Lost Children CD/LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
Sharpening their improvisational skills by busking on the streets of their native Tokyo, Kikagaku Moyo’s new album Forest Of Lost Children, is a face-melting, recorded-ritual sophomore album. Boundless though they may be, Kikagaku Moyo here sound anything but lost, their child-like wonder manifested in a confident, courageous exploration of psychedelic, folk, prog-rock, psychedelic-folk-mixed-with-prog-rock sounds, illuminated by nothing more than the geometric patterns playing behind the band’s eyelids.
Lady Cam – Get It Got It CD (Southern Stisles)
New album from the Louisiana rapper.
Les Big Byrd – They Worshipped Cats CD/LP (A. Records)
“This lot have a smooth and woozy take on this psychedelic krautrock style that’s all the rage nowadays, and this debut album plants nine serious head-nodders in your noggin. Think somewhere between the warm, melodic and upbeat krautrock of the Warm Digits and the fuzzy, concise psych-rock of the Cult of Dom Keller and you’re somewhere close I suppose.” – Norman Records
LesLord – The Wimzical Sherovolti CD (Eire Supply)
The Marxist Bertolt Brecht once wrote “home is wherever the sky is tallest.” For LesLord, that place is Dublin City, Ireland where even the most gormless of minds have something to contribute. Very much influenced by the mundanity and routine of sounds that regurgitate throughout the city yet in their “monotony” contains their own distinct rhythm, hue, color and timbre that secures LesLord’s debut album.
Arto Lindsay – Encyclopedia Of Arto 2xCD (Northern Spy)
Encyclopedia Of Arto is a photograph of the musical world created by Arto Lindsay. A double CD that presents the different musical souls that have always been the basis of the musical creativity of this American musician and composer.
Lonesome Shack – More Primitive CD/LP (Alive)
More Primitive finds Seattle’s Lonesome Shack exploring the depths of boogie and country blues. The trio’s sound is raw and immediate with fingerpicked guitar lines, soulful crooning and big danceable grooves. Ben Todd’s introspective lyrics take the American blues tradition to a new level, examining personal history, loss of friends, and a burning desire to get to the primitive core of life.
Tyson Meade – Tomorrow In Progress CD/LP+MP3 (Shaking Shanghai)
Oklahoma native Tyson Meade led alternative groups Defenestration and Chainsaw Kittens during the ‘80s and ‘90s. His new album may be a solo project, but Meade has some pretty high-profile collaborators on it, including Jimmy Chamberlin of the Smashing Pumpkins on drums and Derek Brown of The Flaming Lips on keyboards. Also available on HQ-180gm yellow vinyl.
Miss Fortune – Spark To Believe CD (Sumerian)
Miss Fortune channel major influences Avenged Sevenfold and A Day To Remember with the emphasis on post-punk brightness, not unrelenting darkness.
Mr. Scruff – Friendly Bacteria CD/2xLP (Ninja Tune)
It’s a new Mr. Scruff album, hence a new Mr. Scruff PR and you know what to expect, right? I widdle on about sexy potatoes and bouncy bacteria offering you a cup of tea, you have a little chuckle and actually make a brew, you stick on the album and… hold on. Because you see, quietly and without a lot of fuss (cos that’s not the way the Stockport Strepsil rolls) Mr Scruff aka Andy Carthy has been evolving and developing his music.
Aaron Neville – Allen Toussaint Sessions CD (Varese Sarabande)
The 25 tracks on Allen Toussaint Sessions represent the best recordings he made for Sansu between 1969 and the formation of The Neville Brothers in 1977. The bonus tracks include cuts that were recorded around the same period and three newer versions of Neville classics.
Oasis – Definitely Maybe CD/3xCD/2xLP+MP3 (Big Brother Recordings Ltd.)
Authorized remastered reissue of the now classic debut album from Oasis. Includes the landmark anthems “Rock & Roll Star” and “Slide Away.” Available in three configurations: Standard single-disc version; Deluxe triple-disc version (which is expanded with 33 bonus tracks); and a double-vinyl LP version (which includes the 33 bonus tracks via download card).
Conor Oberst – Upside Down Mountain CD/2xLP+CD (Nonesuch)
Singer/songwriter Conor Oberst’s debut album for Nonesuch Records, Upside Down Mountain, is, as its title implies, a study in contrasts, a glance up to the heavens and a glimpse into the abyss.
Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl [Reissue/1989] CD/CD+DVD (Sony Legacy)
In 1989, an era where the charts were dominated by Guns N’ Roses and the New Kids on the Block, the commercial success of Roy Orbison and company was nothing short of impressive. Mystery Girl was a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic and earned Orbison his first platinum
award for over one million albums shipped. This reissue is available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds bonus tracks and a DVD featuring a new hour-long documentary on the making of the album, Mystery Girl: Unraveled, executive produced by Roy’s sons, plus eight music videos, including an unreleased alternate video for ”She’s a Mystery to Me” and three new videos. Deluxe vinyl edition due June 10.
Phillip Phillips – Behind The Light CD (19 Recordings)
Second album from platinum-selling artist and American Idol Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips.
Plaid – Reachy Prints CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
The title, according to the duo, alludes to “the creative process, the capturing of ideas, and the devotion required to recreate them.” The work confirms their position at the vanguard of underground electronic music production incorporating the latest synthesis technologies in these compositions, whilst retaining their trademark emotive, yet playful, signature style present over their 25-year career.
Planning For A Burial – Desideratum CD/LP (The Flenser)
Planning For Burial’s brand of dark shoegaze is hard to categorize, but it incorporates elements of slowcore, doom, drone, ’90s alt-rock, ’80s goth, black metal and mournful, Neil Young-esque regret.
Deva Premal & Miten And Manrose – Mantras For Life CD (White Swan)
Includes chants to invoke very specific intentions, among them: for animal welfare; for the blessing of children; for poetry, music and learning; for perfect timing; for physical strength, and for the earth itself. Based upon the tradition of Japa, a spiritual discipline centered upon the meditative repetition of mantra (in cycles of 108 recitations), Deva Premal and Miten invite the listener to join them in chant and to utilize humanity’s most powerful healing tool: the voice.
Pujol – Kludge CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)
Kludge idiosyncratically captures life as it exists in our weird almost future world of flying robots, cancer from food, cell phone wire taps, metadata, $7.25ish minimum wage and $15.50 an hour endless choice buffets. Yet, the album possesses that inherent sense of timelessness that exists in all great music. Thanks to its combination of addictively fetching rock & roll and Daniel Pujol’s lyrical brilliance, the end result proves yet again that Daniel Pujol is, first and foremost, a songwriter.
Mark Reeder – Collaborator CD (Factory Benelux)
Expanding on Reeder’s acclaimed Five Point One collection in 2011, Collaborator gathers together door-wobbling remixes for European dance acts such as Westbam, Koishii & Hush and Blank & Jones, along with electronic and EDM artists including Ladytron singer Helen Marnie, elegant Greek synthpop duo Marsheaux, and hotly-tipped newcomer QueenOof Hearts (aka
Elizabeth Morphew).
R.E.M. – Unplugged 1991-2001: The Complete Sessions 2xCD (Rhino)
Includes every performance from the original 1991 and 2001 MTV Unplugged broadcasts, as well as 11 songs that never aired.
The Roots – …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin CD (Def Jam)
As Black Thought explains, The Root’s 11th studio effort is “another concept album in the spirit of (2011’s) undun, but it’s not just about just one kind of character. We create quite a few different characters in this record. It’s satire, but in that satire it’s an analysis of some of the stereotypes perpetuated in not only the hip-hop community, but in the community. I don’t know if that makes any sense.” Vinyl version due May 27.
Royal Trux – The Radio Video EP CD/12” (Drag City)
An album and an EP removed from the synapse-splitting Accelerator, The Radio Video EP was a new and hitherto untouched quantity – this time, well-machined, club-ready psych-pop, presented for the pleasure of all the people of Earth, with no discriminations. Includes “The Inside Game” which was featured in the major motion pic High Fidelity.
Rubicon Cross – Rubicon Cross CD (Raider Rock)
Rubicon Cross, features vocalist C J Snare (from Firehouse) and guitar virtuoso Chris Green (of Pride/Furyon).
Emma Ruth Rundle – Some Heavy Ocean CD/LP (Sargent House)
Emma Ruth Rundle is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, accomplished guitarist, and member of Red Sparowes and Marriages. Her first official solo album, Some Heavy Ocean, presents a collection of impassioned, cathartic songs, exorcising the ghosts of one of life’s dark detours.
Jamie Saft/Steve Swallow/Bobby Previt – The New Standard CD/LP (RareNoise)
A collaborative trio outing featuring the dream rhythm tandem of drummer Bobby Previte and bassist Steve Swallow, both prolific composers and venerable Downtown scene bandleaders in their own right, The New Standard showcases Saft alternating between piano and organ and making thoughtful, melodic contributions throughout.
Doug Sahm – Hell Of A Spell [Reissue/1980] CD (Varese Sarabande)
From the opening riffs Hell Of A Spell is crammed with Sahm’s typical rompin’ and stompin’ Texas blues/rhythm & blues mix. It also includes liberal dashes of the Tex-Mex and rockabilly he grew up cutting his teeth on.
Neal Schön – So U CD (Frontiers)
Guitar legend Neal Schön (Journey) has joined forces with bassist Marco Mendoza (Black Star Riders, Ted Nugent, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy) and drummer Deen Castronovo (Journey, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Hardline) to create a unique body of work with jazz and blues-inspired virtuosic hard rock playing.
Ed Schrader’s Music Beat – Party Jail CD/LP (Infinity Cat)
Party Jail is the follow-up to Jazz Mind, adding an unhinged pop vibe to their already terse pop-punk songs.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Goin’ Home CD/2xLP+MP3 (Concord)
Recorded in a mere 11 days, Goin’ Home finds Shepherd revisiting a dozen of the vintage blues classics that first ignited his love of the blues and inspired him to play guitar. The artist’s sharp interpretive skills and sublime guitar work shine on his renditions of tunes originally popularized by such blues icons as B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. (Double gatefold vinyl edition includes three bonus tracks not included on the CD version.)
Smoke Fairies – Smoke Fairies CD/2xLP (Full Time Hobby)
“Over the course of three albums and numerous singles, Smoke Fairies have created a haunting fusion of delta blues, English folk and medieval plainsong, a unique sound world that gradually seduces the listener into a state of slightly awed acquiescence.” – The Quietus
Srikalogy – New Paradigm CD (Black Swan)
The soul in Srikalogy’s music is found not only in the rhythms, but in the energy and intention of each beat. Influenced by artists ranging from Talib Kweli to Radiohead, Srikala was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York, by West Indian parents. Throughout his upbringing, he gained a deep love for listening to and creating hip hop, R&B, dub, and reggae music.
Stick Against Stone – Oregon Bootleg Tapes: Live CD (Media Groove Music)
A long thought lost live set, recorded in the summer of 1985 at Eugene’s outdoor Saturday Market, captures the raw energy of the nomadic five piece Stick Against Stone collective in full mash-up mode. Sounding like a ‘missing link’ between post-punk, funk, no wave, and world music, the set is propelled by madly inventive drummer Richard Vitale and groove-heavy bassist David Soule.
Syd Arthur – Syd Arthur CD/LP (Harvest)
Syd Arthur may revel in the music of decades long past but, as psychedelic rock goes, they match the hallucinogenic sounds of modern contemporaries like Wolf People, Black Mountain, Tame Impala with imaginative, whimsically sweet, melodies.
Third Coast Kings – West Grand Boulevard CD/LP (Record Kicks)
New release from the Ann Arbor-based funk/soul band. Recorded in Detroit with the full band in one room, a minimum amount of effects, processing, microphones and mixed by much respected funk producer Nate Goldenton, West Grand Boulevard is the follow-up to their self-titled 2012 album.
Yann Tierrsen – (Infinity) CD/LP (Mute)
8th album from Yann Tiersen, who scored the original soundtrack for Amelie. (Infinity) centers around the concept of stones– a repeated theme in the work.
Timo Tolkki’s Avalon – Angels Of The Apocalypse CD (Frontiers)
The second album by Finnish composer/producer and guitarist features lead vocals by singers Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Simone Simons (Epica), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody Of Fire), David DeFeis (Virgin Steele), Elize Ryd and others.
Trans Am – Volume X CD/LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
Trans Am refuse to rely on their legacy as innovators, opting instead to continue to break down established modes of songwriting, even if they established those modes themselves. Volume X continues in this gloriously contrarian tradition, presenting fans with strange and familiar sounds in new contexts, from kosmische rock to futuristic speed metal to robo-balladry to variants on classic rock that are so warped as to be rendered completely unrecognizable.
Traxman – Da Mind Of Traxman Vol. 2 CD/2xLP+MP3 (Planet Mu)
Da Mind Of Traxman Vol. 2 follows 2012’s first volume of the same name, and more recently, last year’s Teklife Vol. 3: The Architek. Where those two albums saw Ferguson slicing and chopping the usual slew of R&B and hip-hop samples for his beats, this one is reportedly more stripped down, each track made with just a sample or two “diced into brain-blurring cubist puzzles that bear little relation to their original sources.
Various Artists – Mud Digger 5 CD (Average Joe’s Entertainment)
Features hit makers Colt Ford, The Lacs, Lenny Cooper, LoCash Cowboys and JJ Lawhorn along with American Idol Season 12 season contestant Sarah Ross.
Various Artists – Tropical Disco Hustle CD/LP (Cultures Of Soul)
The Caribbean in the late ’70s and early ’80s was a hotbed of musical activity and this compilation focuses on the best disco-influenced tracks from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. All of the tracks here were officially licensed and reissued for the first time ever.
War – Evolutionary 2xCD (UMe)
Evolutionary is War’s first new studio album in 20 years and features special guest collaborations with Cheech & Chong, Tower Of Power, Joe Walsh, Malik Yusef and the USC Marching Band. As a bonus, the album is packaged with a second bonus disc: War’s newly remastered Greatest Hits collection, originally released in 1976.
Bry Webb – Free Will CD/LP (Idee Fixe)
Free Will is a record about responsibility, love, work, desire, art and will. Webb’s second solo album is more deliberate and insistent than ever. He is a man whose steady, ragged voice draws shapes in freehand. His lyrics are like strings of knots: you apprehend them, slowly unravel them, couldn’t ever understand how they were tied. Sometimes Free Will is weary, other times it’s defiant.
White Sea – In Cold Blood CD (Crush Music)
“My name is Morgan Kibby I play keys in M83 and now I’m releasing a solo album under the name White Sea.”
Hank Williams – The Garden Spot Program, 1950 CD/LP+MP3 (Omnivore)
24 performances, unheard for 64 years. From hits to standards to songs rarely (if ever) performed, this is pure Hank Williams, including playful, between song banter.
Zero Boys – Monkey CD/LP (Z-Disk)
Songs about sex change, devils, monkeys, and your mom f**king shit up: Indiana is a world where the waters of guitar based rock & roll still run deep and fresh. Monkey arrives more than 20 years after their last release picks right up where Zero Boys left off: music recorded by grown-ass men with the average mental age of a 12-year-old boy.
The Zombies – R.I.P. CD (Varese Records)
This is the first legitimate release of the never issued Zombies R.I.P. album as it was intended in the US, in the original running order and from the correct master mixes. As a bonus, three original mono 45 mixes are also collected here (the mono single mix of ”Don’t Cry For Me” has, in fact, never appeared previously on CD), alongside a previously unheard mono mix of ”Smokey Day.”
DVD + Blu-ray:
Billy Joel – A Matter Of Trust: The Bridge To Russia DVD/Blu-ray (Sony)
Features an expanded version of the original 1987 concert Live From Leningrad, newly remastered with seven previously unreleased songs. It also includes a brand-new 90-minute documentary that takes a fresh look at the groundbreaking trip. This new film connects documentary material from 1987 with new interviews of nearly 20 US and Russian participants, including Billy, Christie Brinkley, band musicians, crew, and many others. 155 minutes.
The Pink Floyd & Syd Barret Story 2xDVD (Eagle Vision)
The charismatic and brilliant lead guitarist of the early Pink Floyd, Syd Barret created a unique psychedelic sound and wrote wonderfully eccentric songs including the hits “Arnold Layne,” “See Emily Play,” and “Bike.” Barrett left Pink Floyd in 1968 when his increasingly erratic behavior made his continued participation in the band impossible. After two extraordinary solo albums he disappeared from music altogether. The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story tells the full bizarre, tragic but also celebratory story of Syd Barrett with contributions from all the members of Pink Floyd plus friends, managers and lovers. 214 minutes.
Vinyl:
Altar Of Plagues – Teethed Glory & Injury [2013] 2xLP (Back On Black)
Limited edition double HQ-180gm gray vinyl pressing band’s third and final album.
Oren Ambarchi/Stephen O’Malley/Randall Dunn – Shade Themes From Kairos 2xLP (Drag City)
The album began in 2009, when Belgian filmmaker Alexis Destoop asked Ambarchi and Stephen O’Malley to score his short feature, Kairos. Randall Dunn was their first and best choice to record and co-produce the music. With guitars, drums, analog synthesizers, vibes, crotales, Sruti box and a mellotron, deep emanations were evoked, while other spirits emerged from the old wooden sound panels in the room. Joined by Tor Deitrichson (tabla), Ai Aso (percussion) and Denis Kostromitin (violin). From the top, “Shade Themes From Kairos” is resonant as a collective inquest in sound, with all the players deeply immersed within the panorama they are creating. Vinyl only.
The Apache Relay – The Apache Relay LP (So Recordings)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “Nashville band The Apache Relay has come a long way since their humble beginnings in vocalist Michael Ford, Jr.’s Belmont dorm room. They impressed on their 2009 debut 1988, but the real momentum picked up with 2011’s American Nomad, which won the band slots opening for Mumford & Sons and appearing at renowned festivals like Newport Folk.” – Paste
Eduard Artemiev – The Mirror/Stalker OST LP (Superior Viaduct)
It comes as no surprise that Andrei Tarkovsky, master of Soviet cinema, turned to composer Eduard Artemiev to score his two lyrical and haunting films, The Mirror (1975) and Stalker (1979), as he had done for Solaris. Artemiev’s magnificent soundtrack to The Mirror is the natural follow-up to Solaris. Dense, slow moving, and often disorienting mood pieces with Baroque sensibilities resonate beyond the film’s dream-like images. For Stalker—Tarkovsky’s other science fiction masterpiece—Artemiev was inspired by Indian classical music and employed layers of synth tones, flute and tar (a traditional Iranian stringed instrument) to create a central theme as spellbinding as The Zone, a setting in the film where laws of physics no longer apply.
Joshua Bonnetta – Strange Lines And Distances LP+DVD (Experimedia)
Strange Lines And Distances is an award winning two-channel audio-visual installation by artist Joshua Bonnetta which examines Guglielmo Marconi’s first transatlantic radiobroadcast.
Ash Borer – Bloodlands 12″ (Gilead Media)
Repressed! HQ-180gm clear vinyl with black smoke.
William Fowler Collins & Daniel Menche – Split LP (Sige)
Split between two titans of experimental drift.
Dead Bars – Dead Bars 7” (No Idea)
Fast, catchy, punk rock’n’roll from members of Big Eyes.
Dead Bars/Sunshine State – Split 7” (No Idea)
Two pairs of unhinged pop punk tracks from a couple of spiritually compatible bands that, between them, feature members of Whiskey & Co., Big Eyes, and Against Me!
Elastica – Elastica [Reissue/1995LP (Kanine)
First repress of their debut album from 1995. Red vinyl.
Ex-Cult – Midnight Passenger LP (Goner)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Recorded by Doug Easley in January 2014, Midnight Passenger delivers ten songs meant to be heard together, each one following a different, damaged storyline. The buzz-saw guitars, krautrock rhythms and sneering vocals are all still present, but with Midnight Passenger, Ex-Cult adds a few layers of psychedelic slime to their sound.
Grave Digger – Tunes Of War [Reissue/1996] 2xLP (Plastic Head America)
Tunes Of War is the seventh studio album by German metal band Grave Digger about the Scottish struggles for independence from England, from the medieval conflicts between its clans in the 11th century through to the Jacobite rebellion of the 18th. It was the first album in Grave Digger’s trilogy of medieval inspired concept albums that was continued by Knights Of The Cross (1997) and Excalibur (1999).
Happy Couple – Into The Woods LP (Felicite)
Take a German/British duo channeling late ’60s folk-psych and electronica pioneers like Wendy & Bonnie and The United States of America, mix in equal parts obsessive record collecting and a background in jangly indiepop (with previous releases on Slumberland and Matinee), add vintage equipment from Joe Watson’s studio (Stereolab/The High Llamas) and guest trumpeter Gary Olson (Ladybug Transistor).
Heliotropes – A Constant Sea LP (Goodnight)
A Constant Sea was originally released in 2013 on CD via Manimal. This vinyl edition features the previously unreleased title track and features new album art. Heliosound grew from their earliest days of covers of Eno and Spacemen 3 into a wide-ranging quilt of heavy sludge metal guitar tones, shoegaze drone rock, and occasional girl group vocal harmonies.
Helmet – Strap It On [Reissue/1990] LP (Plastic Head America)
Helmet – Aftertaste [Reissue/1997] LP (Plastic Head America)
Helmet’s debut album, Strap It On, features competent musicianship, staccato riffs, verse then chorus structure and explosive if not deafening power. Aftertaste harkens back this earlier, rawer sound, omitting some of the experimental/jazz tendencies of Betty.
Jamie xx – G.I.R.L. 12” (Young Turks)
The xx member and producer’s first solo release since 2011. Includes the B-side “Sleep Sound.”
Killer Be Killed – Killer Be Killed LP (Nuclear Blast)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Debut album from the metal supergroup featuring Max Cavalera (Soulfly) alongside members of Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan and Mars Volta.
Tom Kovacevic – Universe Thin As Skin LP (Immune)
Solo debut from Portland, ME-based musician from Cerberus Shoal, Fire On Fire, Olas, Micah Blue Smaldone and tarpigh. The album features songs performed on the oud, nay flute, and both djembe and tchung drums.
Laraaji – Celestial Music 1978-2011 3xLP+MP3 (All Saints)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. Laraaji, is a musician, mystic and laughter meditation practitioner based in New York City. He began playing music on the streets in the 1970s, improvising trance-inducing jams on a modified autoharp processed through various electronic effects. Brian Eno saw him playing one night in Washington Square Park and invited him to record an album for his seminal Ambient series (Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance). Laraaji went onto release a prolific series of albums for a wide variety of labels, many of which he recorded himself at home and sold as cassettes during his street performances.
The Lemonheads – Rockin’ The Shell 2xLP (Let Them Eat Vinyl)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. This superb live broadcast, transmitted from Petrillo Music Shell – the famous amphitheatre in Chicago’s Grant Park – catches The Lemonheads as they appeared at 1994s Taste Of Chicago festival, an annual event sponsored by local radio station, WXRT. Sharing the bill with New England’s finest that year were a cross-section of rock luminaries including Carlos Santana, Squeeze, The Band and ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn.
LiveFastDie – Hit Stains LP (Almost Ready)
Almost a decade in the making, the prayers of punk rockers across the globe have been answered. All the hits are here and then some: 20 cuts over two sides. Legendary tunes that set the internet on fire, featuring all flavors and varieties of punk rock & roll in one handy package.
Sarah McLachlan – Shine On 2xLP (Verve)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. After a four-year hiatus Sarah McLachlan returns with her Verve Records debut.
Mesa Ritual – Mesa Ritual LP (Sige)
Collaboration between William Fowler Collins and Raven Chacon. Over the course of the album’s nine tracks a deceivingly spare palette of sounds are implemented: sporadic gasps of crackling circuitry, arid washes of impenetrable static, dilapidated field recordings, and insistent cycles of rhythmic thunder. Transparent yellow vinyl.
Maria Minerva – Histronic LP (Not Not Fun)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The third album from the Estonian lo-fi pop purveyor, Histronic is the first record that Minerva has produced in her new Brooklyn base, and has no doubt absorbed some of the city’s unavoidable influence. It certainly sports a pleasing mélange of genres, and the record’s first single manages to sound both familiar and distinctly mysterious simultaneously.
Dag Rosenqvist – Fall Into Fire LP (n5MD)
Fall Into Fire is Rosenqvist’s first album since the self-inflicted conclusion to his Jasper TX nom de plume in 2013 with the stunning An Index Of Failure LP. While no longer veiled behind a moniker Rosenqvist fittingly presents his most personal and arrestingly raw release to date.
Ty Segall – Feel b/w The Fakir 7” (Drag City)
Ty Segall strikes back with two new jams.
Split Single – Fragmented World LP (Inside Outside)
Debut from an absolute-no-holds-barred-indie-supergroup made up of Britt Daniel (Spoon, Divine Fits), Jason Narducy (Bob Mould, Verbow, Robert Pollard, Superchunk, Telekinesis) and drummer/funny man extraordinary, Mr. Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats, Bob Mould, Ben Girbbard, Robert Pollard).
Skeppet – Phase 3 LP (Not Not Fun)
New release from the instrumental Scandinavian hypno-kosmische duo.
Squarepusher x Z-Machines – Music For Robots 12”+CD (Warp)
Recently released on CD – now available on translucent blue vinyl with a special limited-edition Japanese import CD. A five track EP composed by Squarepusher and performed by the three robots that comprise the Z-Machines. In 2013, a team of Japanese roboticists was assembled with the challenge of creating a music-performing system that was beyond the capabilities of the most advanced musicians – Z-Machines were the result. The roboticist’s musical producer, Kenjiro Matsuo, and his team, invited a number of Japanese composers as well as Squarepusher to develop music specifically for the project.
Thou – Baton Rouge, You Have Much To Answer For [Reissue/2010] LP (Robotic Empire)
With scathing commentary laid down by hateful blackened vocals, the band delivers some of the most crushing riffs in ages. Incredibly deep tones and bludgeoning drumming are combined with a surprising amount of melody, making for a powerfully heavy release. HQ-180gm with gatefold jacket.
James Blood Ulmer – Odyssey [Reissue/1983] 2xLP (Original Recordings)
Ulmer’s signature masterpiece, the purest and most accessible showcase for his bold, genre-clashing guitar vision. With minimal accompaniment, Ulmer’s guitar is always the meat of the ensemble, especially since his unique tuning allows him to cover bass parts as well as guitar leads. Odyssey is not only his finest album but also a certified classic of the modern jazz avant-garde. Mastered at 45rpm from the original analog tapes.
Various Artists – 1970s Algerian Folk & Pop LP (Sublime Frequencies)
Heavy and psychedelic rock, dark and moody folk-pop and stoic cinematic tracks. CD version due June 10.
Vittoria Fleet – Acht LP (n5MD)
Dark elastic experimental beatwork pulsate around slithery emotive vocal delivery. IDM, bits of nostalgic trip-hop and some of the best sound design in some time all make the Acht LP a rewarding a treat for the ears.
The Whigs – Modern Creation LP (New West)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. For their fifth album, the Athens-bred/Nashville-based power trio the Whigs wanted to find the exact midpoint between raw and rehearsed. After more than a decade together during which they’ve released four critically lauded studio albums and toured constantly as either headliners or openers for the likes of the Drive-By Truckers, Kings of Leon, and MGMT the three members all agreed that they wanted to flex their muscles a bit: write some good songs, get them down as tight as possible, hit, and tear sh*t up.
Leave a Reply