Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:
Tim Burgess – I Love The New Sky CD/LP (Bella Union)
Frontman, singer, label boss, DJ and author, Tim Burgess has been instrumental in so many great records over the years. While in The Charlatans, Tim’s indefatigable energy has been a consistent fuel for the band across thirteen high-charting albums. His solo adventure has been no less extraordinary, scaling new heights with his fifth solo album, I Love The New Sky. It features wonderfully connective songs of everyday minutiae and universal experience, of love and anger, of loss and belonging, all united by elaborate yet natural arrangements and an effortless but deceptively expert way with melody. [Limited white with blue splatter colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Steve Earle And The Dukes – Ghosts Of West Virginia CD/LP (New West)
Ghosts Of West Virginia centers on the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed 29 men in that state in 2010, making it one of the worst mining disasters in American history. In ten deftly drawn, roughly eloquent, powerfully conveyed sonic portraits, Earle and his long-time band the Dukes explore the historical role of coal in rural communities. More than merely a question of jobs and income, mining has provided a sense of unity and meaning, patriotic pride and purpose.
Jeff Healey – Heal My Soul (Deluxe Edition) 2xCD (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
This special double-CD edition of Healy’s posthumously released, critically acclaimed album Heal My Soul features the album packaged with its companion album, Holding On, for the first time. Heal My Soul is composed of 12 songs recorded during a three year period (1996-‘98) of intense creativity. Holding On features five more studio tracks from this time period, along with a live performance from Rockefeller Music Hall.
Blake Mills – Mutable Set CD/2xLP (Verve/UMG)
Mutable Set is Grammy-winning guitarist, composer, and producer Blake Mills’ fourth studio album, crafted as a soundtrack to the emotional dissonance of modern life. The record reflects the push and pull of opposing forces: harmony and eerie dissonance, orchestral crescendos and moments of near silence, melodic yet un-resolving chord progressions. The sonically warm album holds Mills’ guitar fingerpicking, gentle piano and melancholy tenor at its center.
The Teskey Brothers – Live At The Forum CD/LP (Glassnote)
Following up the Grammy nominated album Run Home Slow, Australian soul band The Teskey Brothers are back with their live album Live At The Forum, which was recorded on tape during their two-day residency at the iconic Forum Melbourne in Australia this past November.
CDs + Vinyl:
The 1975 – Notes On A Conditional Form CD (Interscope)
Following 2018’s A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, The 1975’s much-anticipated fourth studio effort, Notes In A Conditional Form is the second of two albums from the British band’s third release cycle, Music For Cars. Over the past six months, the band has dropped a selection of sonically-diverse singles, including the shoegazey “Me & You Together Song”, and the twangy, “The Birthday Party”. [Vinyl edition due June 12.]
The Airborne Toxic Event – Hollywood Park CD (Rounder)
In conjunction with Jollett’s memoir, The Airborne Toxic Event has completed an album by the same name, Hollywood Park is a 12-song concept record drawing from themes in the book. Incorporates real audio from his family, gospel singers and orchestral flourishes from violins to timpani to horns. Illustrates dashed dreams & difficult times of childhood, as well as the confusion of an adult life spent nursing the wounds. An ultimate redemption story on finding self-acceptance and love of family. [Vinyl edition due May 29.]
Ashe – Moral Of The Story: Chapter 1 And 2 CD (Mom + Pop)
California native Ashe has been turning heads with her balance of modern day pop writing and vintage vocals. Graduate in composition and production from world renowned, Berklee College of Music, Ashe gained international exposure as a songwriter and jazz vocalist. She quickly gained notoriety in the electronic space after collaborating with the likes of Louis the Child, Whethan, Shaun Frank, Ben Phipps, Party Pupils, Big Gigantic and co-writing the Demi Lovato single “You Don’t Do It For Me Anymore”. [Vinyl edition due May 29.]
Alina Baraz – It Was Divine CD/LP (Mom + Pop)
Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Russian parents, Alina Baraz has been around music all her life. With both parents having classical training, she was destined to find her voice through music. Almost immediately after the release of her first single, “Roses Dipped In Gold” at age 19, Baraz and her family moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career as a singer/songwriter full time. In 2015, Baraz released her debut project, the Urban Flora EP. The acclaimed project was praised by the Guardian, NPR, Huffington Post, Harpers Bazaar and many more. Following her 2018 debut album The Color Of You, she returns with her new album, It Was Divine.
Dennis DeYoung – 26 East, Vol. 1 CD/LP (Frontiers)
New release from the former Styx frontman. 26 East, Vol. 1 includes a duet with Julian Lennon on the song “The Good Old Days”.
Die Kreatur – Panoptikum CD (Napalm)
New gothic rock project from Dero Goi (Oomph!) and Chris Harms (Lord Of The Lost).
Dimma – I Morgon Borjar Allt Om CD/LP (Transubstans Sweden)
Dimma combine heavy riffs, high voltage rock ‘n roll and some psychedelic sounds of the ’60s.
Double Experience – Alignments CD/LP (Drakkar)
Drawing inspiration from their nerd rock forebearers in Coheed and Cambria, Weezer and Muse, Canada’s Double Experience have crafted a nerd-rock concept album with heart and mind that’s as catchy as it is complex.
James Elkington – Ever-Roving Eye CD/LP (A Paradise Of Bachelors)
Chicago songwriter and guitarist James Elkington-who has collaborated with everyone from Richard Thompson to Jeff Tweedy to Tortoise-recorded his sophomore album at Wilco’s Loft. Casting glances back to British folk traditions as well as toward avant-garde horizons, these brilliant new songs, as accessible as they are arcane, buttress Elkington’s brisk guitar figures and baritone poesy with strings, woodwinds, and backing vocals by Tamara Lindeman of the Weather Station. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
FM – Synchronized CD/2xLP (Frontiers)
12th album from the British melodic rock/AOR band.
Andy Frasco & The U.N. – Keep On Keepin’ On CD/LP+MP3 (Side One Dummy)
“We’re going through a mental health crisis right now”, says Andy Frasco. “Loneliness, depression, suicide – it’s all on the rise. When you’re struggling in the moment, it can feel like you’re the only one, but that’s just not the truth. I wanted to make a record to remind you that you’re not alone.” It makes sense, then, that Frasco’s rousing new LP, Keep On Keepin’ On, lands somewhere between an emotionally raw therapy session and a raucous, rowdy house party.
Nick Hakim – Will This Make Me Good CD/2xLP (ATO)
Released last week on vinyl – now available on CD. While Will This Make Me Good is distinctly Nick Hakim, it does represent a tonal shift from breakthrough release Green Twins (2017) that reflects the ideas with which he grappled with while making the record. The title is a question Hakim has asked himself since he was young and struggling in school; a reflection of what’s happening in his head as he sorts through his life and the tumult around the globe. It articulates a sense of confusion alongside a desire for hope and clarity.
Motohiko Hamase – Anecdote [Reissue/1993] CD/2xLP (WRWTFWW)
Vinyl reissue of Motohiko Hamase’s extremely rare live album Anecdote, recorded in 1987 at Spiral Garden (Wacoal Art Center) in Aoyama (Tokyo) as part of the Eat Newsic Concert No.3. Motohiko Hamase on electric fretless bass, synthesizers, and computer programming, is accompanied by frequent collaborators Toshio Kaji on acoustic piano and synthesizers, and Yasunori Yamaguchi (of #Notes of Forestry fame) on acoustic percussions.
Her Chariot Awaits – Her Chariot Awaits CD (Frontiers)
Her Chariot Awaits is a newly formed hard rock/metal group featuring the highly regarded Spanish singer Ailyn (ex-Sirenia) on lead vocals and the awesome American guitarist and producer Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob).
Indigo Girls – Look Long CD (Rounder)
Their first new studio album in five years, Look Long is a testament to the Indigo Girls’ storied 40-year career. Produced by John Reynolds at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio in England, the album features 11 brand new tracks, all written by the pair.
Rafael Anton Irisarri – Peripeteia CD/LP (Dais)
Over the years, American composer Rafael Anton Irisarri has become ubiquitous within the spheres of ambient, drone and electronic music. Whether it’s through Irisarri’s celestial long-form albums or his lauded audio engineering credentials for countless artists and labels, Irisarri’s consistent dedication to his craft never wavers from the forefront. While Irisarri’s compositions typically field an array of modern ambient overtones threaded through oceanic symphonies with tape loops, bowed electric guitar and vast washes of overdriven sound, his recent debut album for Dais Records, Peripeteia, portrays these common themes giving way to metal and classical influences that emphasizes Irisarri’s melancholic tendencies.
I Still Play – I Still Play CD (Nonesuch)
Eleven new solo piano compositions written by artists who have recorded for Nonesuch. The pieces were written in honor of the label’s longtime President Bob Hurwitz on the occasion of his 2017 shift into the Chairman Emeritus role after running the label for thirty-two years. I Still Play features works by John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Timo Andres, Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Brad Mehldau, Steve Reich, Pat Metheny, and Randy Newman. The pieces have been recorded by Andres and fellow Nonesuch artist Jeremy Denk, as well as by Mehldau and Newman themselves.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Chunky Shrapnel CD/2xLP (ATO)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard present Chunky Shrapnel, a new music documentary film and accompanying live album. The album features 13 live performances hand-picked from the band’s 2019 tour; includes new musical scores written by Stu Mackenzie that add a magical touch of an alien melancholy throughout the record. Chunky Shrapnel is an experience geared towards not only recreating the energy of a concert but also something tailored and unique to the band. [Limited gold with black splatter colored vinyl pressing also available.]
V.V. Lightbody – Make A Shrine Or Burn It CD/LP (Acrophase)
Make A Shrine Or Burn It is a masterclass in self-reflection and female autonomy. Produced herself, the album finds the singer/songwriter folding her oceanic, nap rock sound into the musical kaleidoscope of Laurel Canyon folk-pop and floaty, improvisational psychedelia; inviting the listener into the complex yet controlled chaos of it all.
RG Lowe – Life Of The Body CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
After years of success in the world of neo-classical music with his band Balmorhea, Rg Lowe took an artistic sharp turn leading to his soulful 2017 debut, Slow Time, which Stereogum called impossibly smooth. Three years later, Lowe returns with Life Of The Body, produced by David Boyle – known for his work with Glen Hansard, Patty Griffin, and Okkervil River. This wide-angle collection of songs invites us to reconnect with ourselves and our world through the senses by illuminating our intrinsic connection with the physical world, and the freedom found therein. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Nnamdï – Brat CD/LP (Sooper)
On Brat, Nnamdï starkly explores the psychological turmoil between wanting and needing in a manner that is both intensely personal and highly relatable. Its virtuosic fusion of hip-hop, rock, pop, dlectronics, gospel, and West African influences firmly establishes him in a genre-less class of his own. [Limited blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
One Desire – Midnight Empire CD (Frontiers)
New album from the melodic rock band.
Eve Owen – Don’t Let The Ink Dry CD/LP (37D03D)
The debut album from British singer/songwriter Eve Owen, Don’t Let The Ink Dry, is a work of raw sensitivity and uncontained imagination, brought to life over the course of three transformative years. During that time, the 20-year-old artist spent her summer holidays writing and recording in New York with The National’s Aaron Dessner, immersing herself in a creative exploration that provided welcome refuge from her sometimes-troubled school life. As she discovered an entirely new sense of freedom and belonging, Owen devised a sonic language all her own: frenetic yet delicate, mercurial yet nuanced enough to capture the most ephemeral of feelings.
Pretty Maids – Maid In Japan – Future World Live 30th Anniversary CD+DVD/2xLP (Frontiers)
The Danish hard rockers offer a full performance of their classic album Future World, originally released in 1987. This was the band’s first major breakthrough release in the metal community and arguably the band’s most popular album. [Stand-alone DVD edition also available.]
Psychic Graveyard – A Bluebird Vacation CD/LP/Cassette (Deadbomb Arc)
Interweaving field recordings and other nontraditional instruments into their distinctive style of rhythmic meanness, Psychic Graveyard find themselves in new territory. Very few tracks include guitars at all. The results work hand in hand with the lyrics addressing very personal experiences with mental illness, anti-depressants and benzodiazepines, and the difficulty of helping family going through their own challenges.
Radio Free Universe – Love CD (Cen)
Radio Free Universe’s unique brand of modern rock blends soaring vocals with unforgettable melodies, chunky guitars and a pounding rhythm section. They’d fit perfectly on a mixtape alongside Soundgarden, Jack White, Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age.
Revenge – Strike.Smother.Dehumanize CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Relentless and utterly savage, Strike.Smother.Dehumanize is a militant assault of grinding black/death extremism delivered with no compromise or mercy. Brutality is their stock-in-trade, and the album is a vicious death strike of epic proportions.
Pete Rock x Camp Lo – 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s 2 CD (Soul Brother)
Bronx duo Camp Lo have teamed up with the one and only Pete Rock to drop 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s (a mixtape series available as a full length). With the projects name paying homage to the BX gangs of the ‘70s, it’s only right that they bring it back to hip-hop’s essence in the video, graffiti, b-boys, rhymin’ on the project stairways, two turntables and a mic. [Vinyl edition due June 5.]
She Past Away – X CD (Metropolis)
She Past Away forgoes the simplicity and traditionalism of goth rock, instead adopting a more avant-garde set of sensibilities and diverse influences to create a new take on modern gloom. To celebrate the band’s first decade, the band presents X which is comprised of remixes from a vast array of influential artists, such as The Soft Moon, Front 242, Clan of Xymox, Selofan, Ash Code, Boy Harsher, and more. [Vinyl edition due June 12.]
Subsignal – A Song For The Homeless – Live In Rüsselsheim 2019 CD/LP (The Gentle Art Of Music)
A Song For The Homeless – Live in Rüsselsheim 2019 reflects Subsignal’s diverse musical facets, ranging from innovative progressive rock to AOR and metal to pop.
Sunwatchers – Oh Yeah? CD/LP (Trouble In Mind)
Despite (perhaps) being the band’s most accessible & melodic work to date, New York quartet Sunwatchers’ fourth album arrives in a flurry of notes with the buzzing hum of “Sunwatchers vs. Tooth Decay”; the title referencing a 1976 album featuring athlete and activist Muhammad Ali. A cheeky nod to be sure, but laced with the utmost reverence. This attitude sums up Sunwatchers’ aesthetic in a nutshell; the acknowledgement (typically via the band’s irreverent song titles or album art) that the things in life we should take seriously are better faced and understood when disarmed by a wink or nudge. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Swordwielder – Grim Visions Of Battle [Reissue/2013] LP (Halvfabrikat)
Vinyl reissue of the 2013 seven-song mini-album from the crust punk band.
Trick Or Treat – The Legend Of The XII Saints CD (Scarlet)
On their sixth studio album, the happy metal crusaders have once again managed to forge an epic and entertaining sonic tale, enriched by majestic orchestrations, refined arrangements and catchy refrains.
Ulcerate – Stare Into Death And Be Still CD/2xLP (Debemur Morti Productions)
New album from the Auckland, New Zealand-based unorthodox death metal band.
Warrant – Greatest & Latest CD/LP (Deadline Music)
A collection of super hit singles by the ’80s hard rock legends including unique, alternate versions of definitive tracks such as “Cherry Pie”, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, “Down Boys”, “Heaven” and many more. [Limited cherry splatter colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Johanna Warren – Chaotic Good CD/LP (Wax Nine/Carpark)
Recent. Warren’s fifth full-length album represents a moment of rupture in the singer-songwriter’s career as she transitions away from the quiet, folk-adjacent work that defined her early solo albums with a bold statement piece that demonstrates the breadth of her ambition. Here, Warren flits between crushing admissions set to spare piano solos and muscular declarations of independence that have more in common with grunge acts of bygone years than anything we’ve heard from Warren in the past.
Zero 7 – The Garden [Reissue/2006] 2xLP (New State Entertainment)
Recently reissued on vinyl – now back in print on CD. 2006’s The Garden won dance-pop production duo Zero 7 (Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns) a Grammy nomination in the US, and became their third consecutive gold-seller in the UK. It is chock full of warm synths, French pop flair and subtle world influences.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Pretty Maids – Maid In Japan – Future World Live 30th Anniversary DVD (Frontiers)
The Danish hard rockers offer a full performance of their classic album Future World, originally released in 1987. This was the band’s first major breakthrough release in the metal community and arguably the band’s most popular album.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Alpheus – The Victory LP (Liquidator Music)
Alpheus sixth album consists of quality, carefully constructed ska, rock steady and early reggae.
Champlin Williams Friestedt – 2 LP (Black Lodge)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. New album from the AOR supergroup. Champlin Williams Friestedt consists of renowned Toto singer Joseph Williams, composer of film and drama scores and can also be heard in Disney’s animated feature film The Lion King as the singing voice of adult Simba. Teaming up with none other than Bill Champlin formerly of the legendary band Chicago and critically acclaimed guitarist, producer and recording artist Peter Friestedt, the album II also includes contributions from vocalist, Michael McDonald, drummer John JR Robinson (Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones), Randy Goodrum (Toto, Chicago), Tamara Champlin and Polar price 2020 winner Diane Warren among many others.
Eric Church – Mr. Misunderstood [Reissue/2015] LP (Capitol Nashville)
Limited 180gm red colored vinyl LP pressing.
Entourage Music & Theatre Ensemble – The Neptune Collection [Reissue/1976] LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
An epigraph to the liner notes of The Neptune Collection, the second album by The Entourage Music & Theater Ensemble, reads, “We are a group flexible in size and temperament. Our purpose is to create original works in a collective manner. We utilize music, dance, poetry, and theatre skills.” Plainly stated, this dictum represents the core of the dynamic, multi-medium approach the group employed in the mid- ‘70s when the album was recorded. The music on The Neptune Collection traces through-lines between jazz, folk music, and various forms of traditional music from around the world, and is a precursor to the expansive sounds of Six Organs Of Admittance, Bill Orcutt, and Sun City Girls. This is curious music, lithe and free, but endlessly listenable.
First Band From Outer Space – We’re Only In It For The Spacerock LP (Transubstans Sweden)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Swedish intergalactic starfighters continue on their eternal quest to infiltrate humans with their alien psychic powers; to enslave the Neanderthals by brainwashing them with the finest Swedish space rock.
Elton John – Legendary Covers ‘69/’70 LP (Purple Pyramid)
Limited edition pink colored vinyl. Classic recordings of Elton John on the cusp of his early fame covering a superb collection of hits such as “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, “Spirit In The Sky”, “Come And Get It” and more.
Ethiopian & Gladiators – Dread Prophecy [Reissue/1986] LP (Omnivore Recordings)
While The Ethiopians were one of the most popular and prolific Jamaican groups during the early-’70s, the Gladiators gained steam during the mid- to late-’70s, recording primarily for Virgin Records during the decade. Both bands continued recording throughout the ’80s and ’90s with the Nighthawk sessions in 1986 reuniting Leonard Dillon with Albert Griffiths and the Gladiators. The result was Dread Prophecy, now a sought-after roots reggae album.
EverythingButTheGirl – Temperamental [Reissue/1999] 2xLP (Buzzin Fly)
Vinyl reissue of the 10th studio album by the British musical duo.
The Goods – II LP (Bastard Jazz)
Sydney space funk trio, The Goods, are Badmandela, Rosario & Black Tree. With the help of some friends, The Goods capture the energy of jamming and improvisation to create music that transports the listeners to a moment in time shared together on their new album II. Fueled by their mutual love of hip hop & house music and its intersection with the soul, boogie and jazz they grew up on, producers and multi instrumentalists Badmandela (Jarrol Renaud) & Rosario (Ross Ferraro) formed The Goods and released their self-titled album in 2016, drawing on their wealth of experience as producers and session musicians, having cut their teeth with artists the likes of Mac Miller, Charli XCX, Sampa The Great, Omar, and more.
The Heptones – Back On Top [Reissue/1983] LP (Burning Sounds)
The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into reggae with their three-part harmonies. The Heptones were contemporaries of the Wailers and the Maytals, and every bit their equal in the mid- ‘60s.
Houses Of Heaven – Silent Places LP (Felte)
Layering synths, guitars, electronic percussion and live drums, Houses of Heaven fuses early industrial and techno rhythms with the melodicism of shoegaze and a heavy dose of dub-influenced effects on their first full-length album, Silent Places. Written against the backdrop of the Northern California wildfires, ever-growing tent cities and the continued rise of empty luxury housing in the Bay Area, the album explores the intimate experiences that transpire within the chaotic confines of modern living. [Limited white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – The Music Of Wayne Shorter LP (Blue Engine)
Released in January on CD – now available on vinyl. “He’s at the highest level of our music; you can’t get any higher than him.” So says Wynton Marsalis of the legendary saxophonist, composer, and band leader Wayne Shorter. With a legendary career spanning over 60 years, the 11-time Grammy award winner (including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy) has released countless classic records and amassed a canon of lyrical, introspective music that stands up to the greatest jazz composers. In 2015, the formidable 81-year-old joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis onstage for three unforgettable nights.
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart [Reissue/1980] 12” (Cleopatra)
Limited 12” glow in the dark vinyl pressing. Taken from sessions with producer Martin Hannett.
Kognitif – Monometric (2020 Edition) LP (Yes High Tech)
Six years after the first edition, Kognitif reinterprets this trip-hop album with a very wise and sharp ear and invites you to rediscover his classics.
Craig Kupka – Crystals: New Music For Relaxation 2 [Reissue/1982] LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
Featuring two side-long compositions for trombone and synthesizer, Crystals: New Music For Relaxation 2 is intended as an aid for meditation, a guided journey inward towards self-discovery. Before its original release in 1982, Kupka and his wife Nancy took these recordings to relaxation classes and dance studios, field-testing them with participants primed for a meditative experience, and received extensive positive feedback.
Ann McMillan – Gateway Summer Sound – Abstracted Animal & Other Sounds [Reissue/1979] LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
Ann McMillan did not record prolifically, but she was at the vanguard of electronic composition in New York in the 1970s. A student of groundbreaking composer Edgard Varèse, McMillan’s primary medium was magnetic tape, which she manipulated to create surreal soundscapes. On Gateway Summer Sound, her debut album released on Folkways in 1979 and recorded at the legendary Princeton-Columbia Electronic Music Center, she sources sounds from the natural world – frogs, insects, field recordings from the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York Harbor – along with gongs, bells, and a harpsichord to conceive remarkable, hypnagogic compositions.
Mndsgn / Koreatown Oddity – Vivians [Reissue/2015] LP (Akashik)
Originally released in 2015 on limited cassette, packed neatly into hand sewn pouches, Vivians is a collaborative force between The Koreatown Oddity and Mndsgn. From jheri curls to low riders, Ktown’s raps remind us of a time in the late ‘90s when all we needed was something we could ride to. Mndsgn loops segue music exclusively from an iconic television show that did indeed switch actresses for the mother, somewhere in the middle of the series. Although not very seamless, this sudden switch was a catalyst for what the dynamic duo would eventually decide to title their project.
New Mastersounds – Be Yourself [Reissue/2003] LP (King Underground)
Vinyl reissue of the contemporary funk band’s second album. “Be Yourself sounds like it was recorded live, with its no-messing; let-the-music-speak-for-itself production (as it would’ve been in the 70s).” – Undercover Magazine
Barak Obama – Yes We Can LP (Culture Factory)
Limited vinyl picture disc LP pressing. This release features patriotic presidential music plus segments from his most popular speeches. High quality picture disc vinyl with clear see-thru outer plastic jacket with product sticker attached.
Ride – Clouds In The Mirror LP+MP3 (Wichita)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Ride handed the entirety of their highly acclaimed sixth studio album, This Is Not A Safe Place, to mysterious London act, Pêtr Aleksänder, who stripped the songs back to just the band’s vocals and added their customarily beautiful string arrangements, keys and synth textures beneath them. The results take Ride deep into the neo-classical / ambient territory that a couple of the remixes of their previous album hinted at.
Sarah Shook & The Devil – Seven LP (Bloodshot)
A rough-and-ready seven-song chronicle of a band putting down their roots, but foreshadowing realized greatness. Even in this early stage of her career, Shook’s signature brand of country music-wry and irreverent, high and lonesome-sent up the smoke signals for a much-needed alternative to the middle-of-the-road, feigned authenticity of Americana singer-songwriters.
Smoke DZA – A Closed Mouth Doesn’t Get Fed LP (RFC Music Group/Cinematic Music)
Dza pulls together a star studded group of hip-hops best MCs for a true underground classic album.
Stretch and Bobbito & The M19s Band – No Requests 5×7” (Uprising Music)
Stretch and Bobbito’s debut album No Requests explores the legendary club DJs’ vast musical knowledge with covers of songs directly from their record crates. Featuring the M19s Band, a live band of elite hand-picked musicians, the gatekeepers of ’90s hip-hop step outside their foundational genre base to produce Latin, Afrobeat, samba, jazz, reggae, and soul reinterpretations of dance floor bangers-ranging from popular to rare and obscure-which loosely depart expected structure and create new nuances to familiar tunes.
Cassettes:
Psychic Graveyard – A Bluebird Vacation (Deadbomb Arc)
Interweaving field recordings and other nontraditional instruments into their distinctive style of rhythmic meanness, Psychic Graveyard find themselves in new territory. Very few tracks include guitars at all. The results work hand in hand with the lyrics addressing very personal experiences with mental illness, anti-depressants and benzodiazepines, and the difficulty of helping family going through their own challenges.
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