CDs:
Airbourne – Black Dog Barking CD (Roadrunner)
There’s something about the kind of potent rock & roll fury that Airbourne cranks out, all cylinders firing, that makes you want to chug a beer straight down your throat and punch the air as though it’d touched your wife inappropriately.
Alpine – A Is For Alpine CD (TNO/Turnout)
“The angular meets the angelic with Alpine, a Melbourne-based band of art-pop Aussies who have delivered one of the most original and eclectic albums of the year. A Is For Alpine melds the dual-harmonized, pixie-ish vocals of frontwomen and longtime friends Lou James and Phoebe Baker with brisk, scattered beats and some ridiculously inventive guitar play” – Direct Current Music
Baptist Generals – Jackleg Devotional To The Heart CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
The Denton, TX band, known for its haunting, claustrophobic take on drunken folk, needed ten full years to bare its hearts for this sophomore LP. The band’s vibraphones, guitarrons and ambient feedback combine like a mess of ventricles, aortas and veins.
Bazooka – Bazooka LP (Slovenly)
Bazooka is a severely crusty unit from Athens, Greece. Perhaps the most savage crew of the incredibly corrosive rock & roll scene that includes Acid Baby Jesus and Gay Anniversary, they have concocted an evil, grungy stomper of an album.
The Beach Boys – Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour 2xCD (Capitol)
Double-disc, 41-track live collection culled from the 50th anniversary reunion tour of The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks).
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Howl CD/LP (Bloodshot)
New release from Chicago’s modern soul band. Throughout Howl, the dark side of love and longing is explored by frontman JC Brooks’ starkly personal lyrics and the Uptown Sound’s willingness to bare all their influences and let the grooves fall where they may. A collective evolution has been made where influence meets experience, and this organic progression results in 11 songs that are more open than ever both in message and vibe.
Clairy Brown & The Bangin’ Rackettes – Baby Caught The Bus CD (Vanguard)
Baby Caught The Bus is the debut release from Aussie neo-soul phenoms Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes.
Captain Beyond – Live In Texas October 6, 1973 CD (Cleopatra)
A never before released full-length concert album from ‘70s rockers Captain Beyond. Formed in 1971 by members of Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly and Johnny Winter’s band, Captain Beyond is heavy, spacey and most definitely far out.
Club 8 – Above The City CD/LP (Labrador)
Swedish electronic phenomenon Club 8 return with a blend of ‘80s-era Madonna with Florence And The Machine.
Come – Eleven:Eleven [Deluxe Edition/Reissue 1992] 2xCD/2xLP+7” (Matador)
Come was the result of a collision between Boston/NY guitarist/vocalist Thalia Zedek and Oberlin product/guitar wizard Chris Brokaw, and one of the more powerful rhythm sections of the last half century, drummer Arthur Johnson and bassist Sean O’Brien. Despite being one of Matador’s best albums, it has been out of print for way too long. That situation is being rectified with a deluxe, double-disc reissue comprising the original album plus a bonus disc featuring Come’s 10/10/92 performance at the Vermonstress Festival. The vinyl version includes a bonus 7″.
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories CD/2xLP+MP3 (Columbia/Sony)
Random Access Memories is the new album from Daft Punk. Collaborators include Nile Rodgers, Chilly Gonzalez, Giorgio Moroder, Julian Casablancas, Pharrell Williams, Paul Williams, Todd Edwards, Panda Bear and DJ Falcon.
Dirty Beaches – Drifters/Love Is The Devil CD/2xLP (Zoo Music)
Dirty Beaches, a.k.a. Alex Zhang Hungtai, started off as a one-man band in 2005 in Montreal. A trans-Pacific nomad and genre-hopping sound-smith, he has released music ranging from drone instrumentals to film scores, and possesses a fascination for dissecting popular American music like blues, rockabilly, soul, R&B and hip-hop, often rendering it to a point where it is no longer recognizable.
Fan-Tan – A Strange Game CD/LP (Good Night)
Known for their intense live performances, melding guitar noise with icy rhythms, haloed by sharp, lilting vocals, Fan-Tan recall a more dramatic Jesus & Mary Chain, or a less rigid My Bloody Valentine. “For additional post-punk brilliance, cross your fingers that springtime — and therefore, A Strange Game — arrives quickly.” — Filter Magazine
French Montana – Excuse My French CD (Interscope)
Debut album from the Morocco-born/Bronx-based rapper features collaborations with Max B, Birdman, Rick Ross, C.A.S.H., DJ Khaled, Snoop Dogg, Scarface, The Weeknd, Jeremih, Diddy, Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Ne-Yo, Raekwon and others. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks.
The Front Bottoms – Talon Of The Hawk CD/LP (Bar/None)
At the core of Talon Of The Hawk is the crazy hybrid of slamming rock drumming and acoustic guitar The Front Bottoms are known for, but this time the band augments their sound with electric guitars, synths, and even a little accordion. Brian Sella’s confident heartfelt vocals will have you laughing one minute, crying the next and then maybe pumping your fist and singing along when you least suspect it.
Grim Tower – Anarchic Breezes CD/LP (Outer Battery)
Grim Tower features Stephen McBean of Black Mountain and Imaad Wasif. The album was written around the central idea of a New Acoustic Death Folk, yet could be heard as equal parts Harry Smith and Harry Pu$$y. Both songwriters, Canadians now based in L.A., come together on this album to explore a mutual interest in the darker traditions of song and detuning found in the American Primitive Archives.
Guerilla Toss – Guerilla Toss CD (Tzadik)
This five-piece ensemble mixes noise, improvisation, complex composition and song forms with a punk rock aesthetic that verges on madness.
Beth Hart/Joe Bonamassa – Seesaw CD (J&R Adventures)
Seesaw reunites force-of-nature blues-rock vocalist Beth Hart and guitar hero Joe Bonamassa for a second album of choice covers from various musical eras.
Have Mercy – Earth Pushed Back CD/LP (Topshelf)
Recorded at The Magpie Cage in their hometown with indie icon J. Robbins producing, Earth Pushed Back finds Have Mercy expanding on the powerful, yet melodic sounds they cultivated on 2012’s My Oldest Friend EP.
Bob James & David Sanborn – Quartette Humaine CD (Sony Masterworks)
Quartette Humaine is the first creative collaboration between keyboardist-composer Bob James and alto saxophonist David Sanborn since their million-selling, Grammy-winning album, Double Vision, twenty-five years ago.
Les Rhinocéros – Les Rhinocéros II CD (Tzadik)
For their second CD for Tzadik, this fabulous trio takes a step toward tradition with a heavy CD of music for the classic format of guitar, bass and drums. Recorded at Bill Laswell’s Orange Studio by James Dellatacoma, the sound is as intense and powerful as the music. Les Rhinocéros II is a strong second release by this tight and razor sharp new band of musical renegades.
Emma Louise – Vs. Head Vs. Heart CD (French Kiss)
US debut of gold selling Aussie artist.
Lovesliescrushing – Ghost Colored Halo CD (Projekt)
Somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and ambient music, the duo of Scott Cortez and Melissa Arpin-Duimstra has been crafting lo-fi dreamscapes since the fall of 1991. Melissa’s angelic vocals and voice fragments loop within a cavernous space upon Scott’s cascading guitar waves of immense, billowing, ethereal colorburst.
Majical Cloudz – Impersonator CD/LP (Matador)
With rich vocals atop quiet looped waves of white noise, filtered synths and sparse thuds, Montreal songwriter Devon Welsh aka Majical Cloudz cites Elliott Smith and Arthur Russell as the two biggest influences on his songwriting.
Man Or Astroman – 5..4..3..2..1 CD (Communicating Vessels)
Nearly 12 years since the band last released their intergalactic sonic wave forms, Man Or Astroman have returned to Earth as tuneful and energetic as ever. 5..4..3..2..1 combines the familiar Astro audio tones and the well-established playing ferocity with an undeniable evolution that is both intuitive, logical, and well crafted. Steve Albini is yet again behind the board and the countdown has started. Vinyl version due June 4.
Audra McDonald – Go Back Home CD (Nonesuch)
McDonald’s first solo album in seven years. After four seasons spent in Los Angeles playing Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s hit medical drama Private Practice, the acclaimed singer and actress returned to New York and Broadway last year, winning her record-tying fifth Tony Award for her role in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. With Go Back Home, the Grammy Award-winning soprano, whose voice Stephen Sondheim has hailed as “one of the glories of the American theater,” makes her highly anticipated return to recording.
Pat Metheny – Tap: Book Of Angels Vol. 20 CD (Tzadik)
Virtuoso guitarist and musical mastermind Pat Metheny takes on John Zorn’s Masada songbook to create some of the most soulful and adventurous sounds yet heard in the Book Of Angels series.
Willy Moon – Here’s Willie Moon CD (Interscope)
Although just 23 years old, Willy Moon proves that age is just a number as he slinks through different decades with a swift ease. Inspired by the physical energy of Cab Calloway and Michael Jackson, the concision of The Ramones, and the style of film noir, Moon appreciates these musical giants through the gaze of his wit and irrefutable sound.
The National – Trouble Will Find Me CD/2xLP (4AD)
“Trouble Will Find Me may draw on some of the creativity of their early work, but it is firmly rooted in the sound that the band has so assuredly developed over the last two albums. The members have said that this album is more complex and aggressive, suggesting a noticeable departure from High Violet. But this characterization may say more about the members’ relationships to their music than it does about the album itself. For most fans, Trouble Will Find Me will not sound like a departure at all.” [A-] – Pretty Much Amazing
New Politics – A Bad Girl In Harlem CD (RCA)
You will likely recognize New Politics’ single “Harlem” from the wildly popular Taco Bell Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco TV commercial.
Scout Niblett – It’s Up To Emma CD/LP (Drag City)
“I love an album that knows how to make an entrance, an album that makes its presence known. Scout Niblett’s upcoming LP, It’s Up To Emma, very much obliges. Setting the tone with album-opener ‘Gun,’ a caustic fuck you from the vantage point of a jilted lover, Niblett douses the track in gasoline and then proceeds to dance around it, watching it burn.” – Aquarium Drunkard
A Pale Horse Named Death – Lay My Soul To Waste CD/LP (Steamhammer)
New album from the metal project of Sal Abruscato, co-founder of Type O Negative.
Palisades – Outcasts CD (Rise)
Palisades is a post-hardcore band from Iselin, New Jersey.
Richard Pinhas – Desolation Row CD (Cuneiform)
Pinhas is one of France’s best-known experimental musicians and is a key figure in the international development of electronic music fused with rock. Desolation Row features him in collaboration with well-known avant-garde/experimental music names like Lasse Marhaug and Oren Ambarchi, [both of whom have collaborated with sunn O)))], Noël Akchoté and Etienne Jaumet (half of the French duo Zombie Zombie).
Radiation City – Animals In The Median CD/LP (Tender Loving Empire)
“With vintage synth grooves, ethereal harmonics and vocals that effervesce with power, Radiation City has mastered the art of packaging daydreams on their new album.” – Vox Magazine
Darius Rucker – True Believers CD (10 Spot)
Third country album from the Hootie & The Blowfish frontman.
Saturday Looks Good To Me – One Kiss Ends It All CD/LP+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
One Kiss Ends It All has a spontaneous and breezy vibe, drawing on the reference points of ‘60s pop and early indie rock, all filtered through the band’s skewed pop lens. Available on CD and on white vinyl.
Section 25 – Love And Hate [Reissue/1988] CD (Factory Benelux)
Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the fourth studio album by Section 25, originally issued by Factory Records in 1988. The seven bonus tracks include both remixes of ‘Bad News Week’ by Bernard Sumner of New Order, released as a Factory maxi single. Also includes ‘Crazy Wisdom’ also features (produced by Sumner with Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio), along with several previously unreleased demo tracks and remixes.
Shannon And The Clams – Dreams In The Rat House CD/LP+MP3 (Hardly Art)
Shannon And The Clams features Shannon (of Hunx And His Punx) and Cody (aka King Lollipop) on songwriting duty and shared vocals. Their sound binds together doo-wop, early rock and R&B, girl group classics, vintage garage/psych, surf, and glints of punk.
Soundtrack – Fast & Furious 6 CD (Def Jam)
The soundtrack to Fast & Furious 6 includes songs by Peaches, T.I, 2 Chainz, Ludacri featuring Usher and David Guetta, The Crystal Method and more.
Source Family – Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD/LP (Drag City)
In 2007, the release of Isis Aquarian’s book The Source: The Untold Story Of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 & The Source Family, opened the doors on the mysterious and influential doings of The Source Family — and now sees a definitive documentary film on the subject, entitled The Source Family. This is the soundtrack.
Thirty Seconds To Mars – Love Lust Faith + Dreams CD/LP (Virgin)
The fourth album from the band led by Jared Leto. Written and recorded around the world from Europe, to India, to the bands studio in California, Love Lust Faith + Dreams was produced by Leto with previous collaborator Steve Lillywhite (U2, The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel) co-producing four of the 12 tracks.
Timo Tolkki’s Avalon – Land Of New Hope CD/CD+DVD (Frontiers)
New album from former Stratovarius songwriter/guitarist Timo Tolkki. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a DVD featuring a making of the album documentary and videoclip for “Enshrined In My Memory.”
Townes Van Zandt – High, Low And In Between [Reissue/1971] CD/LP (Omnivore)
Townes Van Zandt – The Late Great Townes Van Zandt [Reissue/1972] CD/LP (Omnivore)
Reissues of Van Zandt’s critically acclaimed fifth and sixth albums, which were originally released in 1971 and 1972, respectively.
Various Artists – Enjoy The Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 2xCD/2xLP (Now Again)
A collection of psych, funk, folk, jazz, lounge, boogie and straight up weirdness from American private press albums, Enjoy The Experience is the most comprehensive overview of the American “private press” movement. Take note: this is not a novelty freak show. Contained in this anthology are examples of some of the most highly regarded rock, soul, jazz, funk and singer/ songwriter cuts from the ‘60s through the early ‘80s. (The associated book, Enjoy The Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 by Johan Kugelberg, is also available, but sold seperately.)
The Wild – Dreams Are Maps CD/LP (Asian Man)
Dreams Are Maps earnestly explores the intersection of the political and personal aspects of life. The Wild’s earthy songwriting is both urgent and peaceful, combining folky storytelling with punk rock energy. Produced by Against Me’s Laura Jane Grace.
DVD + Blu-ray:
Queen – On Fire: Live At The Bowl [Reissue] 2xDVD (Eagle Vision)
Live At The Hollywood Bowl was filmed on the Hot Space tour on June 5, 1982 at the Milton Keynes Bowl. Disc One features the concert in its entirety. Disc Two features bonus interviews, a photo gallery and bonus performances from Tokyo & Vienna.
The Rolling Stones – Crossfire Hurricane DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)
Directed by Brett Morgen, Crossfire Hurricane is released as part of the ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations of The Rolling Stones. This superb new film tells the story of the Stones unparalleled journey from blues obsessed teenagers in the early sixties to their undisputed status as rock royalty. All of The Rolling Stones have been newly interviewed and their words form the narrative arc that links together archive footage of performances, news coverage and interviews, much of it previously unseen. 147 minutes.
Vinyl:
Adult. – The Way Things Fall CD (Ghostly International)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Way Things Fall the Adult’s first full length since 2007’s Why Bother? is a record that sounds both focused and coherent, flowing with a conceptual ease.
Caribou – Stop Breaking My Heart [Reissue/2001] LP+CD (Leaf)
Caribou – Milk Of Human Kindness [Reissue/2005] LP+CD (Leaf)
It’s hard to believe it’s been twelve years since Dan Snaith released his first album as Manitoba back in the spring of 2001. In fact, April 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of his breakthrough album Up In Flames, still the biggest selling album in The Leaf Label’s history. To celebrate, Leaf is re-releasing his first three albums, making them available on vinyl for the first time in years.
(Up In Flames is due June 11.)
Crow 44 – Crow 44 LP (Stone’s Throw)
Crow 44 is aesthetically wedged somewhere between de-tuned surf breeze, lo-fi jams, and new age.
Dead Gaze – Dead Gaze LP (FatCat)
Such emotionally honest, hippy-laced lyrics bring to mind Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips, but the album covers a vast sonic terrain from thrashy pop-punk of Buzzcocks intensity to the tidal wash of “Future Love’s & Sing Abouts,” and the psychedelic swirl of “There’s Time To Be Stupid.” Sits comfortably alongside contemporaries such as Cloud Nothings, White Fence & Ty Segall.
Digable Planets – Blowout Comb [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Modern Classics)
Double vinyl LP pressing of the 1994 sophomore album by Brooklyn-based hip-hop trio Digable Planets. Following the gold-selling commercial success of their debut, they here set out to prove their artistic prowess. This is intelligent, alternative Hip Hop that sounded like party music. Its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary and politics — and its original inner sleeve was modeled on the newspaper of the Black Panther movement.
Frightened Rabbit – Sing The Greys [Reissue/2006] LP (FatCat)
Vinyl reissue of Frightened Rabbit’s debut LP. For those only acquainted with the lush later works of the band, their first album will give insight into where those raw-nerve breakup ballads and biting pop songs got their start.
The Handsome Family – Wilderness LP+MP3 (Carrot Top)
Recently released on CD – now available on Regular and Deluxe vinyl. The deluxe version comes in a box with a 72-pg book, an 11×17″ poster, and a six postcard set. Appalachian holler, psychedelic rock, Tin Pan Alley, and medieval ballads continue to inform The Handsome Family’s unique brand of Americana, while an affinity for parlor ballads and clawhammer banjo has crept in with Wilderness. This is haunting music in the most wonderful way–brilliant, emotionally charged and completely unique.
Komodina 3 – Komodina 3 LP (Slovenly)
Back in 2005 this Thessaloniki, Greece crew of degenerates records an album, makes 80 compact disc copies, and hand-delivers them to some local kooks. Fast forward to the present and this mysterious freak punk beater is finally getting the proper vinyl treatment. The disastrous, teeth-grinding missing link between The Penetrators King Of Basement Rock LP, The Rip Offs uber-classic Got A Record, and the current garage punk scene.
k-os – BLack On BLonde LP (Nettwerk)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Recorded at Hayden Christensen’s deserted Laurel Canyon mansion, BLack On BLonde is comprised of two essential records: an album of rock tracks on which k-os sings and plays drums, guitar and bass, and an album of hip-hop jams. Featured guests include Black Thought of The Roots and Cory Hart.
Maninkari – Phantasmes 12” (Three Four)
Soundtrack to Thomas Pantalacci’s film Phantasmes. Maninkari is an instrumental duet combining improvisation and original composition, with a hint on ambient, gloomy, minimalist, jazz, rock and surreal sounds that forms organic layers of ancestral, dark and repetitive tunes that blend percussion instruments, viola, cimbalom, keyboards, and samples to reach mysticism at its climax.
Om – Gethsemane Dubplate 12” (Drag City)
The second of two dub-inspired remix 12″s on Drag City for OM. Features “Gethsemane” from Advaitic Songs and “Garden Of Gethsemane” from Alpha & Omega.
Primus – Sailing The Seas Of Cheese [Reissue/1991] LP (Interscope)
HQ-200 audiophile vinyl reissue of Primus’ remastered 1991 debut. Deluxe and expanded double-disc (CD+DVD) version due June 11.
Public Enemy – 25th Anniversary Vinyl Collection 9xLP (Def Jam)
The Public Enemy 25th Anniversary Vinyl Collection celebrates a landmark 25 years since the band’s first release, bringing together the complete original Def Jam studio album catalogue on HQ-180 vinyl, in a limited edition box set.
Emeli Sandé – Our Vision [2012] LP (Capitol)
2012 debut album from the British singer/songwriter. She has written for a number of artists, including Cher Lloyd, Parade, Susan Boyle, Preeya Kalidas, Leona Lewis, Alesha Dixon, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah.
Sic Alps – She’s On Top 12” (Drag City)
She’s On Top is a three-song 12″ single, a B-12-booster shot extract straight from the heart of Sic Alps to the inner lining of your own poor broke-crippled ripcage ribself. This is how the other half lives, laughs and loves! It’s fun and exciting, a picture from the airplane! Sic Alps are like you. They’re your friends — the better, smarter, faster, stronger ones!
Sqürl – EP 1 12”+MP3 (ATP Recordings)
Sqürl is a new trio comprised of Jim Jarmusch, Carter Logan, and Shane Stoneback. The group’s sound is slow, psychedelic, and atmospheric. Elements as diverse as the doom-laden instrumentalist drone of sunn O))) and Wooden Shjips, can be found as well as the classic Americana of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse, and a hazy, distorted ‘50s country twang recalling nighttime Memphis.
The Virgins – Prima Materia b/w Island Girl 7”+MP3 (Cult)
The New York indie-darlings continue to channel the quintessential early downtown punk sound of Television or The Modern Lovers.
Book/Magazine:
Johan Kugelberg – Enjoy The Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 (Sinecure Books)
Hardcover 512 page book features the largest collection of American private press vinyl ever amassed and presented, featuring over 1,000 reproductions of the cover art of self-released titles from 1958-1992. Includes MP3 download which introduces selections outlined in the book.
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