CDs + Vinyl:
Au Pair – One Armed Candy Bear CD/LP (Sham)
“Au Pair is a meeting of the minds between the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris and the Old Ceremony’s Django Haskins. They met while participating in a Big Star tribute concert in 2013, and that band’s power-pop is a big part of Au Pair’s DNA. ‘In Every Window,’ from the duo’s [new] album One Armed Candy Bear, reminds me of the Zombies’ ‘Care Of Cell 44’ in that it is a bright, breezy pop song about a criminal. But whereas Rod Argent was writing to an imprisoned lover, Louris and Haskins penned this one from a stalker’s point of view.” — Stereogum
Dan Baird And Homemade Sin – Get Loud! CD (Jerkin Crocus Promotions)
New solo album from ex-Georgia Satellites mainman and his rambunctious rock ‘n’ roll crew featuring Warner E. Hodges (Jason & The Scorchers) on guitar.
Justin Bieber – Purpose CD/2xLP (Def Jam)
Bieber’s new album features his recent singles “What Do You Mean?” and “Where Are Ü Now?” (the latter featuring Diplo & Skrillex), and is available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds five bonus tracks (including the cut “We Are” featuring Nas).
Bing & Ruth – City Lake [Reissue/2010] CD/2xLP+MP3 (RVNG, Int’l)
Before the actualization of Bing & Ruth’s halcyonic opus Tomorrow Was The Golden Age, there was City Lake. This newly remastered version of the 2010 limited edition album features David Moore leading an eleven-piece ensemble through a greater gamut of rhythmic materials while tracing the ambient tract that appeared in tomorrow’s horizon. CD version includes three bonus tracks. Double-vinyl edition includes printed inner sleeves and a multi-format download code featuring the three bonus tracks.
The Residents Present: Charles Bobuck – What Was Left Of Grandpa: A Charles Bobuck Contraption CD (Klanggalerie)
New album by Residents composer Charles Bobuck with guest Nolan Cook on guitar. A wild mix of styles and melodies and spoken words make up this great new composition.
The Body & Krieg – The Body & Krieg CD/LP/Cassette (At A Loss)
Formed in mid-1990s and late 1990s respectively, Krieg and The Body met in the mid-2000s, being different sonically but sharing a bleak world view and inspirations musically far outside of the genre of metal. When Neill Jameson (sole constant member of Krieg) showed up to Machines With Magnets with only a acoustic guitar and a few pedals, members of The Body knew the collaboration would be something really different. Written and recorded during the long sessions of both Christs, Redeemers and I Shall Die Here, the end result is a blackened industrial crush of noise and anguish.
Bones & Beeker – Bones & Beeker CD (Wax Poetics)
Anthony Newes (vocals, guitar, keys, and other sounds) and Brendan Kelly (production, drum programming, keys, glockenspiel, kalimba)—known in hip-hop circles as BK-One—were introduced through their work with the developmentally disabled. Their first meeting was a five-minute conversation about Tom Waits. Their second was at a client’s deathbed. Flanked by bassist Chris Bierden (Poliça and Pony Trash) and guitarist Nate Collis (Atmosphere and Attracted to Gods), Bones & Beeker delivers an album full of surprises. Vinyl version due December 18.
Boots – Aquaria CD (Columbia)
“Though he’s best known for producing records for Run the Jewels, Beyoncé, and FKA twigs, Boots has steadily been carving out a name for himself. There was last year’s WinterSpringSummerFall mixtape and this past March’s short film Motorcycle Jesus; now, all of those releases are about to culminate in Aquaria, his highly anticipated debut solo album” – Consequence Of Sound. Vinyl version due December 4.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Mini Album Thingy Wingy CD/LP (A. Records)
Seven brand new and exclusive Brian Jonestown Massacre tracks recorded by Anton Newcombe in is his studio in Berlin in 2014 and ’15. Four songs written by Newcombe; the band’s first Slovakian song, co-written with Vladimir Nosal (Prsi Prsi); a composition by Newcombe and Tess Parks (Pish); and a cover of the 13th Floor Elevators’ “Dust” featuring Alex Maas from The Black Angels on jug. (Limited copies pressed on clear vinyl with alternate artwork.)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Complete Albums 1965-1980 14xCD (Elektra)
Paul Butterfield was the first white harmonica player to develop a style original and powerful enough to place him among the true blues greats. His initial recordings from the mid-‘60s featuring the legendary Paul Butterfield Blues Band were eclectic, ground breaking tracks fusing electric blues with rock ‘n’ roll, psychedelia, jazz and even Indian classical music. He released 12 studio albums over his career as well as an array of live albums and compilations with his most famous compositions being “Born In Chicago,” “Love March” and “Our Love Is Driftin’”.
Alessia Cara – Know It All CD (Def Jam)
“Alessia Cara –19-year-old singer-songwriter from Brampton, outside Toronto – is lightly famous. She’s a wearable degree of known due to her anthem for introverts, this year’s ‘Here.’ With it she hoisted a flag for the anti-social butterflies and issued a challenge of sorts to those who dream about embracing their true outside-the-lines selves. Her level gaze out, from a life just grazed by the commercial music machine, turns our own thoughts inward. She’s caught the ear of the cool kids and the uncertain, and she doesn’t let go of either affinity group throughout her full-length debut album, Know It All.” – NPR
Kurt Cobain – Montage Of Heck: The Home Recordings CD (UMe)
Kurt Cobain – Montage Of Heck: The Home Recordings [Super Deluxe Edition] CD+DVD+Blu-ray+Cassette (UMe)
This audio companion to the acclaimed film showcases tracks from the documentary including spoken word, demos and full songs. The soundtrack is comprised from various early and raw cassette recordings made by Kurt alone, the soundtrack allows a rare, unfiltered glimpse into Cobain’s creative progression from early song snippets and short demos to musical experiments and ultimately, pieces of songs or lyrics that eventually appeared on later Nirvana albums. Available as a Regular 13 track single-CD edition and as a Super Deluxe box set. The Super Deluxe box set edition includes the two hour plus, full-length feature film (which is also available on stand-alone Blu-ray and DVD) and 48 minutes of bonus interviews on Blu-ray and DVD, the extended 31 track deluxe soundtrack on CD and cassette, a 160-page hardbound book with extended interviews and images from the Cobain archive, a puzzle with a collectable storage container, movie poster, postcards and bookmark. (The 31 track deluxe soundtrack CD is exclusively available in the Super Deluxe Edition and showcases tracks from the documentary including spoken word, demos and full songs.) Vinyl version due December 4.
Congo Natty – Jungle Revolution In Dub CD/LP+MP3 (Big Dada)
Congo Natty has drawn on dub-soldiers new and old, UK-based and beyond, for this project, Jungle Revolution In Dub, a dub reworking on his 2013 album Jungle Revolution. Digidub legends Dubkasm and the one and only Adrian Sherwood rub shoulders with Glasgow’s Mungos HiFi and Hungary’s DJ Madd, with the likes of Conscious Sounds, Vibronics and Jinx In Dub all bringing their own unique flavors. Meanwhile bass music stalwarts like King Yoof and Sukh Knight sit alongside a new generation of dubstronauts, Hylu & Jago taking their place with the scions of UK dub royalty, Joe Ariwa (Mad Professor’s son) and Young Warrior (Jah Shaka’s son).
Dead To A Dying World – Litany CD/2xLP+MP3 (Gilead Media)
Litany was produced by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins) and features contributions from members of Pallbearer, Sabbath Assembly, and Pinkish Black. “The Dallas seven-piece alternates between blast-beaten violence and majestic ruin. Violence shouldn’t be this vibrant and vivid, and it’s not a function of cheap thrills, it’s in line with the stark reality of naturalism, and of imagining a hopeless world.” — NPR
DM3 – West Of Anywhere CD/LP (Alive)
Australian band DM3 made their mark on the international power pop scene with three official albums. West Of Anywhere compiles their best material, carefully remastered, and complete with liner notes.
Dragged Into Sunlight/Gnaw Their Tongues – Nv CD/LP (Prosthetic)
Dragged Into Sunlight’s unholy collaboration of minds with prolific cave dwellers, Gnaw Their Tongues — an aggro, cold and industrial stabbing of aural madness.
Eskimeaux – Two Mountains CD/LP/Cassette (Yellow K)
Two Mountains was recorded in 2010 as a dialogue between Gabrielle Smith (Eskimeaux) and Benjamin Schurr. As former collaborators now living in different states, Smith and Schurr decided to try working together from afar. After finishing up each recording in different bedrooms between the Hudson Valley and Philadelphia, Smith sent them to Schurr in North Carolina to add the finishing touches. Once 11 songs were finished, Two Mountains emerged, originally released only digitally and in a very limited run of handmade CDs.
Explosions In The Sky & David Wingo – Manglehorn [OST] CD/LP (Temporary Residence)
Following their inspired collaboration for Prince Avalanche — the understated, underrated 2013 film directed by David Gordon Green — Explosions In The Sky, and renowned film composer David Wingo return with the score to another Green film, Manglehorn.
James Ferraro – Skid Row CD/Cassette (Break World Records)
“Ferraro, a veteran of drone group Skaters, is known as a prolific underground figure, dropping well over 50 releases under a raft of aliases in the late 2000s. He would go on to form a close alliance with Hippos In Tanks, presided over by the late Barron Machat. Hippos In Tanks released his last album, NYC, HELL 3:00 AM, in 2013. Ferraro’s latest LP comes courtesy of Break World Records and takes its name from the L.A. neighborhood containing one of the largest stable homeless populations in the United States” – Resident Advisor. Vinyl version due December 11.
Flying Colors – Second Flight: Live At The Z7 2xCD+Blu-ray/3xLP+MP3 (Music Theories)
Live set from the virtuoso prog/pop/rock band with (former) members of Deep Purple, Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs, Avenged Sevenfold, Dixie Dregs, Spock’s Beard, Alpha Rev and Transatlantic.
Aretha Franklin – The Atlantic Albums Collection 19xCD (Atlantic)
The Atlantic Albums Collection gathers 16 incredible Aretha Franklin albums in a beautiful 19CD clamshell box, each CD sleeve a replica of the original artwork in the unforgettable Atlantic branding. This boxset showcases some of the Queen of Soul’s incredible work including the phenomenal Lady Soul, I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, Young, Gifted And Black and the Deluxe version of Live At The Fillmore West show.
Kirk Franklin – Losing My Religion CD (RCA)
The 13-song project explores timely themes and classic sentiments, while offering renewed testimony to Kirk’s status as a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer. Kirk collaborates with a wide array of music luminaries, including Kim Burrell, Lalah Hathaway, Tamela Mann, Tasha Cobbs, Sarah Reeves, Zacardi Cortez, and Tasha Page-Lockhart.
Rachelle Garniez – Who’s Counting CD (StorySound)
Who’s Counting, Rachelle Garniez’ sixth CD, is a collection of sweet, solemn, and irreverent musings, by turns philosophical and surreal, lighthearted and tragic. Produced by Dick Connette, it sounds distinctly American, by way of New York, stemming from jazz, folk, and soul, and rooted in the spirited interplay between Tim Lüntzel’s bass and Rachelle’s piano and accordion. Occasional horns and strings are added for atmosphere, and a guest appearance by roots-world band Hazmat Modine throws a swampy back-porch seasoning into the mix.
Gentleman’s Dub Club – The Big Smoke CD (Easy Star)
The Big Smoke takes listeners on a well-paced and diverse musical journey, with guest appearances by major UK reggae talent and “Bedroom Eyes” writer Natty (on “One Night Only”) and tenor sax star Josh Arcoleo (best known for his work with the legendary Pee Wee Ellis as well as Joss Stone, Katy B, and many others). Vinyl version due December 11.
Girlschool – Guilty As Sin CD/LP+MP3 (UDR)
Ten new tracks of driven, melodic riff-heavy rock ‘n’ roll from the London-based quartet.
Givers – New Kingdom CD/LP (Glassnote)
“The Lafayette, Lousiana group Givers were a Stereogum Band To Watch in 2010, and they released their debut album In Light in 2011. [They] follow it up with the sophomore LP New Kingdom. Judging by first single ‘Bermuda,’ [it is] just as rhythmically tricky and vocally rich as its predecessor. The members of Givers grew up playing around with jazz, and even though ‘Bermuda’ is still very much an indie rock song, you can hear their improvisational roots at play.
Goldmund – Sometimes CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
Though he may not be a household name, Keith Kenniff aka Goldmund’s evocative, distinctly American music has become quietly ubiquitous in the past few years, often appearing on NPR, in films, on TV, and in ads for Apple, Facebook, and Google among others. Recorded over the course of three years, the material on his new album Sometimes functions as a journal, documenting brief moments in Kenniff’s day when he could turn to the piano as a source of solace and unending creative possibilities. Kenniff wrote and recorded everything on the album with the exception of the track “A Word I Give”, which is a collaboration with preeminent Japanese pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto, who once described Goldmund’s music as “…so, so, so beautiful.”
Grave Pleasures – Dreamcrash CD/LP (Metal Blade)
Dreamcrash is a controlled effort which mashes the old apocalyptic-punk ethics of their former act with a malapert mixture of melancholia and gothic grandeur the likes of which the reviews has never heard before. Utopian Scream wears it’s ‘80s influence on it’s sleeve for all to see and sets the tone for a album which weaves the gauntlet of energetic punk blasts and ‘80s gothic pop hooks.
A Great Big World – When The Morning Comes CD (Epic)
Sophomore album from the New York-based pop duo. Includes the single “Hold Each Other” featuring Futuristic. A Great Big World — comprised of Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino — were winners of Best Pop Duo Group Performance at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
Handguns – Disenchanted CD (Pure Noise)
Third album from the Harrisburg, PA pop/punk band. Vinyl edition due December 4.
Emily Heller – Good For Her CD (Kill Rock Stars)
Emily Heller is a comedian and writer who likes you very much. You may have seen her once or twice on Conan, on the third season of John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show on Comedy Central, or as one of the New Faces at the 2012 Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. Emily has been named a “Comic to Watch” by both Variety and Comedy Central. She is the creator and star of the Above Average series The Future. She served as a writer on the FOX comedy Surviving Jack and is currently a series regular on the TBS comedy Ground Floor.
Hieroglyphic Being & J.I.T.U Ahn-Sahm-Buhl – We Are Not The First CD/LP (RVNG Int’l)
We Are Not The First features the interstellar ensemble of Marshall Allen, Daniel Carter, Greg Fox, Shelley Hirsch, Shahzad Ismaily, Elliott Levin, Rafael Sanchez, and Ben Vida directed in deep dialogue through humans’ hidden sound history by Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being. Hieroglyphic Being & The J.I.T.U. Ahn-Sahm-Bul demonstrate that vitality lives in its collectivity and a sonic-consciousness exists somewhere in the primordial ooze.
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Shootin’ Fire: April 11, 1969 CD (Cicadelic)
Lightnin’ Hopkins & Billy Bizor – Wake Up The Dead: June 17, 1968 March 1, 1969 April 11, 1969 CD (Cicadelic)
Two collections of rarities/sessions reveal Lightnin’ Hopkins in his prime.
Intronaut – Direction Of Last Things CD/2xLP (Century Media)
This is the essence of thinking man’s metal — a fine line between psychedelic brutality, captivating hooks and devastating yet unpredictable time changes.
Chris Isaak – First Come The Night CD (Concord/Welk)
Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds five bonus tracks. Vinyl due December 11. “For his most recent album, 2011’s Beyond The Sun, roots rocker Chris Isaak went old school. The album compiled his versions of songs by classic Sun Records artists including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis. To keep that country vibe alive on his new album, First Comes The Night, Isaak enlisted two of the genre’s foremost producers: Lady Antebellum collaborator Paul Worley and Dave Cobb, who has worked with acts including Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Jason Isbell. Accordingly, First Comes The Night foregoes the glitz and pop sheen that could guarantee a hit record. Tracks like ‘Reverie’ showcase Isaak’s melancholy voice and ear for tuneful, lush arrangements.” – Entertainment Weekly
Jeezy – Church In The Streets CD (Def Jam)
Sixth album from the Atlanta rapper features guest appearances by Janelle Monaé and fellow ATLian Monica.
Kangding Ray – Cory Arcane CD (Raster-Noton)
“Cory Arcane is the fifth LP from the French-born, Berlin-based experimental techno producer, real name David Letellier. Like the previous four, including the most recent, Solens Arc, from early 2014, it [comes] through Raster-Noton. Letellier typically brings a conceptual, cinematic approach and a rebellious spirit to his work, and this one would seem to continue in that vein.” – Resident Advisor
Ian Karmel – 9.2 On Pitchfork CD (Kill Rock Stars)
Recorded before a sold out crowd in Portland, OR. Ian Karmel is a homegrown Portland comedian whose style zig-zags between the eclectic and the universal. He is a writer on The Late Late Show with James Corden, was a writer and roundtable regular on E!’s Chelsea Lately, and recently made his late night premiere on TBS’s Conan.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Paper Mâché Dream Balloon CD/LP (ATO)
Described as psych-soul-surf-fuzz-garage-space rick-jazz-DIY-shamans by The Guardian, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have garnered a massive underground following through years of raucous shows around the world. Paper Mâche Dream Balloon is their first record to be released on ATO Records and their first truly proper album release in the US. “Sounding like a cross between Jethro Tull and the Flaming Lips on the set of the mid-‘70s kids show The Wombles, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are authentic miners of retro gold, while never resorting to camp. Paper Mâché Dream Balloon is the kind of record that gives nostalgia a good name.” – KCRW
The Knickerbockers – The Challenge Recordings 4xCD (Sundazed)
When “Lies” exploded from AM radio speakers everywhere in 1965, listeners were caught off-guard. Who was this band that had captured Beatles’ zeitgeist and repatriated it into a charging slice of American proto-punk? The Challenge Recordings collects 83 tracks from a band with exactly one hit single. Meticulously mastered from the original analog master tapes and acetates, the entire set is produced in glorious mono, including previously unheard mono mixes. Taken together, the discs and notes provide a portal back to when a three-minute single could change the world, if only temporarily.
Lanterns On The Lake – Beings CD/LP (Bella Union)
“The genius of Lanterns on The Lake is that they can be simultaneously powerful and vulnerable. Joyous yet melancholy. They can juxtapose thrashing crescendos with moments of serene tranquility. You’ll never know why one minute you’re punching the air with elation and the next you’re embracing your loved ones with tears rolling down your face. Opening track ‘Of Dust And Matter’ embodies this. Like a funeral march, the kick-drum thuds like a heart-beat clouded in static. Layers of guitars swell and drift sweetly. Hazel Wilde’s soft vocal at one moment exposed and defenseless and then the next delivered with Siouxsie Sioux-esque venom.” – NE:MM
LE1F – Riot Boi CD (Terrible Recordsxx/XL)
New York rapper/producer LE1F aka Khalif Diouf, is one of the more hyped artists in the underground hip-hop scene. His debut record, Riot Boi on XL Recordings/Terrible Records features electronic producers Sophie, Evian Christ, and Dubbel Dutch and guest appearances by Junglepussy & House Of LaDosha, DonChristian and Dev Hynes & Miss Geri. LE1F tackles issues such as black racial justice, transgender rights, and access to clean water.Vinyl version due November 27.
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch – Like Water Through Sand CD (FatCat)
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch is an award-winning French pianist/composer currently living in London. Spanning film score, bespoke composition and sound design, her work is connected by both its high quality and evocative, meticulous craft — a common sensibility of elegant, instinctual composition. Here she presents a collection of new compositions written primarily for piano, string quartet and electronics.
Logic – The Incredible True Story CD (Def Jam)
Second studio album by the rapper, The Incredible True Story is described as “a sophomore album and motion picture sci-fi epic from Logic.” The album tells a story that takes place 100 years in the future; the Earth has become uninhabitable, and the remaining five million people live in a space station. Kai and Thomas, both from the future, are trying to travel to a planet called Paradise, and their trip is accompanied by the play-through of the album. The set includes features from Big Lenbo and English singer Lucy Rose, as well as contributions by Childish Gambino and Big Sean.
Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Alone In The Universe CD/LP (Columbia)
Recorded over the course of 18 months at his own home studio, Alone In The Universe finds the English singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist expanding on his pop maestro chops. “ELO was loved and reviled for the ear candy the group routinely dished out during its heyday, and Lynne retains his talent for assembling notes and tones that become little sonic forgot-me-nots. But he pulls back on the extravagance to create something a touch more personal and concise: 10 songs in under 40 minutes. This is high-end craft from a 67-year-old studio pro with a charming tinge of melancholy in his voice.” – The Chicago Tribune
Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker – Land Of Plenty CD/LP (Whistler)
Instrumental collaboration between Chicago-based guitarists falls somewhere between Ryley Walker’s acclaimed new album, Primrose Green (Dead Oceans), and Bill MacKay’s highly melodic work in Darts & Arrows. Songs run the gamut from finger-style ballads to psychedelic waltzes and raga-inspired blues. Recorded live during the last two shows of a January 2015 residency at The Whistler.
Mark McGuire – Beyond Belief CD/2xLP (Dead Oceans)
Though deservedly known for his virtuosic multi-tracked guitar playing, McGuire in fact plays every bass/synth/piano note, and every beat on Beyond Belief himself — his vocals more prominent than ever before. Like many before him, McGuire isn’t entirely comfortable with the critically-bestowed ‘new age’ tag, but the resonance is there particularly in McGuire’s prose, and it’s not unreasonable that he appeared alongside venerated new age masters Iasos and Laraaji in The New York Times’ appraisal of the new age music renaissance For New Age, the Next Generation, Mike Rubin, February 16, 2014).
Medusa – First Step Beyond CD (Numero)
“You must physically hold this album, kneel at its altar; we will fail to describe it. Medusa’s First Step Beyond might have forever shifted the perception of Chicago rock history had it managed to make the leap from tape to its never-realized vinyl pressing. Instead, the conflagration of Sabbath, Hawkwind, and Amon Düül remained petrified in the Corycian Caverns — otherwise known as the drummer’s basement. Self produced on four track in 1975, this lone transmission from Medusa’s repertoire appeared on the extremely mysterious Pepperhead label, whose proprietor allegedly disappeared after a bad trip and was never seen again. Forged in ceremonial mock-velvet, custom embossed in Gorgon-gold and blood-red, and art directed in accordance with the band’s elaborate original stage props and artwork, we have positioned this unreleased opus to finally reach its destination: the stereos of pot-smoking and leather-clad teenagers, young and old.” (This CD version contains three tracks not included on the vinyl edition, which Numero released in 2013.)
Brad Mehldau – 10 Years Solo Live 4xCD/8xLP (Nonesuch)
Released last month on vinyl – now available on CD. The set is culled from 19 live recordings made over a decade of the pianist’s European solo concerts and is divided into four thematic subsets of four sides each: Dark/Light, The Concert, Intermezzo/Rückblick, and E Minor/E Major.
Daniel Menche + Mamiffer – Crater CD (Sige)
Crater was recorded and mixed by the artists at various locations and home studios. Additional recording was done by Randall Dunn (Earth, Marissa Nadler, Oren Ambarchi). Menche and Mamiffer have also collaborated in the past with other artists such as Kevin Drumm, Merzbow/Masami Akita, KK Null, Jenks Miller, Aaron Dilloway, and Jon Mueller. Collectively Daniel Menche and Mamiffer have released over 120 releases over their respective careers, issued by labels such as Editions Mego, Hydra Head, Daymare Recordings, Touch, Sub Rosa, and Important.
Midnight Doctors – Through A Screen And Into A Hole CD (Ourodisc)
Midnight Doctors – Midnight Doctors CD (Ourodisc)
A collage of styles and approaches which include scored pieces, structured improvisations, (mostly) loving pastiche, cut-up jams, hi-fi and lo-fi textures, electroacoustic flourishes, and studio, home and location recordings. These records mutate and exaggerate various absorbed inspirations from the margins, back-catalogues and dustbins of popular culture (particularly soundtracks), the avant-garde, and traditional music.
Kylie Minogue – Kylie Christmas CD/CD+DVD (WB/Parlophone)
Fresh holiday release from the Australian pop diva. Recorded at Angel Studios and Sarm Music Village, the album features several duets and a mix of original and classic songs. James Corden features on Yazoo’s brilliant “Only You,” Iggy Pop joins Kylie on the Waitresses festive hit,
“Christmas Wrapping” while Frank Sinatra posthumously completes the roll call of collaborators, appearing on “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds three tracks plus a bonus DVD containing six videos.
Mirror – Mirror CD (Metal Blade)
Mirror is the musical brainchild of bassist and die-hard metal connoisseur Tas Danazoglou (Electric Wizard, Satan’s Wrath). A chance meeting with London- based producer and accomplished drummer Jaime Gomez Arellano led to the two embarking on a shared musical vision that encompasses classic hard- rock, proto-metal sound with tasteful songwriting and musicianship.
Mutemath – Vitals CD/LP (Wojtek)
Mutemath is a Grammy-nominated alt-soul/rock band from New Orleans that formed in 2002. The band consists of members Paul Meany (vocals, keyboards, piano, keytar), Darren King (drums, percussion), Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas (bass, vocals), and Todd Gummerman (guitar, vocals). They meld hip-hop styled beats, moments of beauty and grandeur, big hooks, and vocals that pay homage to classic rock.
One Direction – Made In The A.M. CD/LP+MP3 (Syco)
The fifth album by the British/Irish boy band is the group’s first without member Zayn Malik, who left the group in March 2015, and will be their last before taking an extended hiatus in 2016 after promoting this album. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. The standard CD has 12 tracks, including the new single, “Perfect.” The Deluxe version in a hardcover casebook package includes four extra songs, exclusive images and mobile content, plus a handwritten message from each member of the band.
Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden Of Delete CD/2xLP+MP3 (Warp)
“Garden Of Delete is unlike anything that Daniel Lopatin has done, in terms of technique, mood, or scope. It is denser than his previous albums, by several orders of magnitude. It is more varied, and it is funnier—scarier, too. The album carries with it a risk of whiplash that’s as potent on the 15th listen as on the first” [BNM/8.7] – Pitchfork
Buck Owens – Buck ‘Em! Volume Two: The Music Of Buck Owens (1967-1975) 2xCD (Omnivore)
From #1 singles like “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Tall Dark Stranger,” to favorites including “Ain’t It Amazing, Gracie” and the original version of “Streets Of Bakersfield,” Buck ‘Em Volume Two continues the journey of Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. [Buck] throughout his run into the 1970s and into the homes of America on Hee Haw.
Panda Bear – Crosswords CDEP/12”+MP3 (Domino)
On his Crosswords EP, Panda Bear, aided on studio production duties by Sonic Boom, bequeaths five fresh and finely observed body-pop wonders — three new songs: “No Mans Land,” “Jabberwocky” and “Cosplay” — and two re-castings of previous ore – “The Preakness” — previously heard in spirited demo form on 2012’s Tomboy LP box set — and the whole shebang treasure-topped with a fresh take on his Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper LP soul tour de force “Crosswords.”
Prurient – Annihilationist CD (Functional Organisation)
A reworking of one of Pruient’s darkest works (originally released on cassette in 2011). Drones, industrial soundscapes, and ambient layers littered with noises and frightening ruptures. Abstract voices and gasps of air bubble to the top, perverse atonal bass tones swing back and forth.
Puscifer – Money $hot CD (Puscifer Entertainment)
Recent. Money $hot is the follow up to 2011’s Conditions Of My Parole and marks Maynard Keenan (Tool) and company’s third full length album.
Rapper Big Pooh & Nottz – Home Sweet Home CD/LP (Mello Music)
Virginia hiphop stalwarts MC Rapper Big Pooh and Grammy-winning producer Nottz create an homage to their origins with guests Novej, Jared Evan, Kenneth Whalum III and Eric “Blakk Soul” Keith.
Revenge – Behold.Total.Rejection CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
The Canadian metal band’s fifth album is “arguably the most fervent release and a manifesto of rejection rejection of the groundswell of mediocrity within the scene, rejection of compromise as a means of embracing of a wider audience, rejection of the dogma and strictures of religion and the trappings of the feeble social slave. Behold.Total.Rejection is a torrential barrage of relentless animosity. No scene. No brotherhood. No remorse.”
Revocation – Empire Of The Obscene [Reissue/2008] CD/LP (Metal Blade)
Reissue of the Boston technical death metal band’s debut album.
Rocket From The Tombs – Black Record CD/LP (Fire)
Rocket From The Tombs is back. Black Record delivers eight new tracks, as well as definitive recordings of Rocket classics “Sonic Reducer” and “Read It And Weep” and a cover of The Sonics’ “Strychnine.” Still fighting mad. Fronted by founding members Crocus Behemoth and Craig Bell, Black Record delivers anthems borne of decades of raw energy coupled with decades of experienced musicianship, firmly assuring its place in the extraordinary history of the band.
Sacrilege – Behind The Realms Of Madness [Reissue/1985] CD/2xLP+MP3 (Relapse)
Reissue of the UK speed/thrash metal band’s debut, expanded with seven bonus tracks.
Savage Beliefs – Big Big Sky: A Recorded History Of Savage Beliefs CD/LP (Alona’s Dream)
Recorded between 1983-1984, Big Big Sky collects the entire recorded output of Chicago punk legends Savage Beliefs, including their long out-of-print 7” EP from 1983, The Moral Efficiency Of Savage Beliefs, and the group’s two 1984 sessions, both of which were recorded by Iain Burgess. The first session from ’84 was recorded for the score of Savage Beliefs, The Movie and has remained unreleased until now. The tracks from the second session in ’84 appeared on the classic hardcore WNUR Middle Of America compilation. Transferred from the original master tapes by Steve Albini.
Squeeze – Cradle To The Grave CD (Caroline)
Squeeze’s new album Cradle To The Grave is the band’s 14th and features the first collection of new songs from founding members, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, since 1998. “Most striking is how clearly material from Cradle To The Grave shows that Difford and Tilbrook’s talents are undimmed. For all the on-stage jokes about having to write about Danny Baker’s adolescence, it’s obvious the songs quickly outgrew the sitcom brief. The agonizing portrait on ‘Nirvana’ of a marriage floundering after children leave home, or the warm-hearted depiction of a wedding on ‘Open’ demonstrate Tilbrook’s melodic facility and Difford’s ability to home in on a tiny, telling detail – which doesn’t seem to go unnoticed by the audience. ‘Play more new stuff!’ shouts a plaintive and apparently unironic voice from the circle.” – The Guardian
The Staple Singers – Faith And Grace: A Family Journey 1953-1976 4xCD+7” (Concord)
This four CD box set features all of The Staple Singers’ best-loved hits, studio and live recordings, plus a handful of never-before-released rarities, including a special bonus: the earliest known recordings of the group included on a 7” vinyl record, marking the first time that these two tracks have been available in any format since the Staples’ self-released edition of 500 in 1953. Housed in a deluxe, old-school ’45-folio’ package, the accompanying book boasts new liner notes by Mavis Staples, James Miller, Opal Louis Nations, and compilation producer Joe McEwen, as well as rarely seen photos of the family band taken over the course of their career.
Kurt Stenzel – Jodorowsky’s Dune [OST/2013] CD/2xLP (Cinewax)
This is the soundtrack to the story about the greatest film that never was. Jodorowsky’s Dune is a documentary that tells the tale of cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unsuccessful attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel, Dune, to the big screen. Composer Kurt Stenzel gives life to a retro-futuristic universe as fantastic as Jodorowsky’s own vision for his Dune—a film whose A-list cast would have included Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, and Mick Jagger in starring roles and music by psychedelic prog-rockers Pink Floyd.
A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Planning Weed Like It’s Acid/Life Is Loss: Pop Songs 2015 CD (Mis Ojos)
After returning from tour in August 2014 for Sea When Absent, A Sunny Day In Glasgow thought it would be a good exercise to write a bunch of songs, record them right away, and get them out there. Hanging out drinking coffee until it was time to start drinking beer until it was time to start taking drugs. They aren’t big drug takers, but that was definitely the vibe, and their lack of drug-doing prowess inspired the title of one of the EPs. Everyone wrote songs and then steered their songs to completion, with everyone else chiming in with whatever they thought would make it better. Or they didn’t, and that was fine too. Whoever wanted to, played whatever instrument they felt like playing. Once they were rolling, their only satisfaction would be these songs, in the world—now. Two EPs on one CD.
Swallow The Sun – Songs From The North I, II & III 3xCD/3xLP (Century Media)
A bold, adventurous and characteristically dark new triple full-length album from the melancholy death-doom masters.
Teeth Of The Sea – Highly Deadly Black Tarantula CD (Rocket Recordings)
Machine-driven yet melodically abundant, the widescreen industrial expanses of Teeth Of The Sea’s fourth album combine the influence of long-time band favorites like Aphex Twin, Angelo Badalamenti, and Throbbing Gristle with new inspiration that spans from Chicago footwork to black metal. Vinyl edition due December 14.
Tombstalker – Black Crusades CD (Shadow Kingdom)
New album from the Lexington, KY death metal band. Boasting a sound that has been described as “hammer crushing death crust,” the group’s music represents “the warrior spirit and evolution through conflict.”
TRAAMS – Modern Dancing CD/LP (FatCat)
Following the success of their debut album release, TRAAMS has spent the last couple of years bringing their frantic, high-energy performances to various festivals and venues across Europe and the US, opening for the likes of Wire, F**ked Up, Parquet Courts, Royal Blood and more. Their second album Modern Dancing captures the energy of their live performances and draws a wealth of brooding aggression and krautrock-infused-post punk. They have adapted the charisma of White Denim’s experimentalism and early Modest Mouse’ indie guitar pop to fit their own generation’s drowsy indie ethos.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Letters From The Labyrinth CD (Lava Music)
Letters From The Labyrinth is TSO’s first album of individual, unconnected songs, the 14-track set is knit together by the serious underpinning of the songs, whether it’s the sweeping overview of humanity on “Time & Distance,” the concerns of world banking irregularities on “Not Dead Yet,” the anti-bullying message of “Not The Same” (which O’Neill co-wrote with his daughter) or the learn-from-the-past studies of “Prince Igor” and “King Rurik.” In some ways it’s a straight ahead album, and in some ways it’s not. It’s blatantly out of the box more music-driven as opposed to story and music-driven.
A Tribe Called Quest – People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm [25th Anniversary Edition] CD (Sony Legacy)
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1990’s People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm, hip-hop pioneers A Tribe Called Quest are releasing the original album remastered from the original tapes by Grammy-Award winning engineer Bob Power, and reissued with exclusive new remixes by a few of today’s biggest hip-hop artists who have credited A Tribe Called Quest as a major creative influence.
Ty Dolla $ign – Free T.C. CD (Atlantic)
Debut album with features from Kendrick Lamar, Fetty Wap, Future, Rae Sremmurd, YG, Babyface, Wiz Khalifa, E-40, Kanye West, and more.
Mark Van Hoen – Nightvision CD/LP (Saint Marie)
L.A.-based UK-born artist Mark Van Hoen continues to contribute to the electronic music fields and fabrics from the inspirations, observations and movements experienced in the past three plus decades. Van Hoen’s 2015 album Nightvision finds the artist discovering modern day applications for his electro-droning visions of sound. Returning to form, Nightvision switches on the high and low beams that send scanning synths that drive through the infinite interstates through the engines of steady rhythm and the power steering smarts of serious synthesizers.
Various Artists [Stacey Pullen] – Balance 028 CD (Balance)
New mix from the veteran techno producer includes tracks by Pullen, rEJEKTS (including a remix by Marc Ashken), Leman & Dieckmann, Folic State remixed by Gurwan, DJ Hightech & IZT remixed by RaySoo, Atmosfear remixed by The Revenge, Miss Mee, Roi Okev, Cid Inc., Digitaria, Sobek, Toby Dreher feat. Dirty Paul and remixed by Autotune, Huxley remixed by Deetron, Anderson Noise, Peter Gibney, E-Dancer, Kevin Over, Hoito, Alex B, Chris Carrier & Hector Moralez, Jad & The Ladyboy, Oscar P, Osunlade, Roscius remixed by Jona Sul, Tom Ellis feat. Caroline Mulcahy, and Fake Blood.
Various Artists [Soul Clap] – Watergate19 CD (Watergate)
For the 19th installment of Watergate’s mix series, the label has arranged a special mix from a duo with which it has shared close ties since 2010. Hailing from the USA, the duo Soul Clap is well known for their blend of funk and soul with house, techno, and everything in between. From peak-time sets on the main floor to sun-soaked closing sets on the water floor, the pair of Bostonians, Eli Goldstein and Charles Levine, are a DJ’s DJ duo.
Various Artists – Brown Acid: The First Trip – Heavy Rock From The American Comedown Era CD (Riding Easy)
Expertly archived compilation (assembled by L.A.’s Permanent Records along with Riding Easy) explores the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner lost rock tracks from the past 30 years. Features blowouts from Snow, Tour, Zebra, Bob Goodsite, Raw Meat, Punch, Bacchus, Lenny Drake, The Todd, and Josefus.
Various Artists – New Songs Of The Humpback Whale CD (Important)
New Songs Of The Humpback Whale is a comprehensive investigation into the form and meaning of whale song with graphic visualizations from infographic designer Michael Deal. Liner notes and song selection by artist, scientist, author, and philosopher David Rothenberg. What album was so important that ten million copies of it needed to be pressed at once? Songs Of The Humpback Whale, which National Geographic included with every copy of its January 1979 issue, distributed in 25 languages. This new version includes recordings by made by Salvatore Cerchio near Madagascar in 1990, Olivier Adam near Madagascar in 2007, Glenn Edney near Tonga in 2008, and David Rothenberg near Maui in 2007 and 2010.
Various Artists – Piccadilly Sunshine Volumes 1-10: A Compendium Of Rare Pop Curios From The British Psychedelic Era 11xCD (Rubble)
Serving to embrace the floral heavens of British pop, this edition combines the first ten volumes of the Piccadilly Sunshine series, originally released from 2009 to 2012. Celebrating the obscured artifacts of illustrious noise that emerged from the great British psychedelic era and beyond, it is the essential guide to the quintessential sound of candy-colored pop from a bygone age. Includes over 200 tracks from 1964-1971, with an enhanced bonus disc containing rare tracks and images. Includes 84-page full-color booklet with rare photos, detailed biographies, and full discographies.
Various Artists – Pop Ambient 2016 CD/LP+CD (Kompakt)
“The Pop Ambient series, launched by the Cologne label Kompakt in 2001, is an annual compilation of lush ambient textures, packaged in a pastel-tinted case featuring photos of flowers in full bloom. Several of the tracks on Pop Ambient 2016 suggest nature and the changing of the seasons. In general, the series showcases the gentler, more melodic side of ambient electronic music, with nothing too dark or jarring. Highlights of Pop Ambient 2016 include contributions by the noted German sound artist and musician Stephan Mathieu, the electronic music legends in The Orb, and label cofounder Wolfgang Voigt. (Voigt is known under many different aliases; longtime fans of ambient music may know of his string of enigmatic ambient techno albums, recorded under the name Gas.)” — NPR
Various Artists – Soul Jazz Records Presents: Caxsone’s Music 3xCD (Soul Jazz)
Coxsone’s Music is a stunning new collection featuring over two and half hours of early Jamaican proto-ska, rhythm and blues, jazz, Rastafari and gospel music — charting the earliest recording produced by clement Dodd, in the years before he launched the might Studio One Records, brought together here for the first time. Vinyl editions (two volumes) due November 27.
Various Artists – Trojan Records Presents: Boss Reggae – 40 Reggae Scorchers 2xCD (Sanctuary)
In the late 60’s early 70’s, the dancehalls were dominated by the upbeat sound of Boss Reggae. Features tracks from The Ethiopians, The Upsetters, The Kingstonians and many more.
Various Artists – Trojan Records Presents: Dub – 40 Deep And Heavy Hits 2xCD (Sanctuary)
Essential collection from the golden age of Dub, mixed and performed by the pioneers who influenced disco, punk, dubstep, and more. Features tracks from Joe Gibbs & The Professionals, Israel Vibration, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs All Stars, and many more.
Visions Of Disorder – Razed To The Ground CD (Candlelight)
Ten hearty and provocative new songs from the hardcore luminaries.
Anna von Hausswolff – The Miraculous CD/LP (City Slang/Other Music)
“Swedish singer and organist Anna Von Hausswolff makes some of the most gloriously, ecstatically dark music of the moment. Her drawn-out, confoundingly heavy pieces draw on goth, doom metal, ambient, drone, and every other kind of music that can suck the light right out of your soul. Von Hausswolff recorded her new album The Miraculous on a massive pipe organ in the northern Swedish town of Piteå, and the whole thing just sounds alarmingly huge.” – Stereogum
The Wainwright Sisters – Songs In The Dark CD/2xLP (PIAS)
After collaborating with members of Cibo Matto and the Dirty Three for 2012’s Come Home To Mama, folk artist Martha Wainwright is taking a more familial approach to her next LP. Specifically, she’s teamed up with sister Lucy Wainwright Roche to release an album called Songs In The Dark as, fittingly enough, the Wainwright Sisters. In addition to their own musical family tree, the folk-flecked album also includes the Wainwright Sisters’ “dark, mysterious, and beautiful” take on number made famous by Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rogers.
Norman Westberg – 13 CD (Room40)
Room40 inaugurates its series of works by American guitarist and composer Norman Westberg with 13. Best known for his work with the seminal outfit Swans, Westberg’s output beyond that group is sprawling and restless. His name recurs and ripples through many interconnected micro-histories surrounding New York City’s music and art scenes. From appearances in film works associated with the Cinema of Transgression to his participation in bands such as The Heroine Sheiks and Five Dollar Priest, Westberg’s name is woven deeply into the fabric of New York from the early ’80s on.
Wimps – Suitcase CD/LP/Cassette (Kill Rock Stars)
Seattle based punk-rock-slackers-in-chief Wimps is a three-piece comprised of scene veterans Rachel Ratner (Butts) on guitar and lead vocals, Matt Nyce (Meth Teeth) on bass and backing vocals, and Dave Ramm (The Intelligence) on drums. Wimps serve their own brand of rapid-fire punk with a smattering of lo-fi post punk guitar work to create an angular, slightly off-kilter blast. Ratner lyrically twists otherwise common day-to-day woes into relatable tales of struggle shout-sung call and response stabs that champion boredom, laziness and social anxieties with wiry riffs and punchy bass lines, propelled by the measured rhythms of drummer David Ramm.
Wrekmeister Harmonies – Night of Your Ascension CD/LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
Nearly a year in the making, and including a cast of 30 musicians, J.R. Robinson delivers his towering third album as Wrekmeister Harmonies. As with previous Wrekmeister albums, the ensemble is made up of an all-star cast of musicians from the metal, new music and rock communities. Night of Your Ascension features appearances from The Body, Mary Lattimore, Marissa Nadler, Olivia Block, Sanford Parker, and members of Einstürzende Neubauten, CAVE, Disappears, Indian, Corrections House, Anatomy of Habit, Come, Yakuza, Mind Over Mirrors, and Bloodiest.
Chris Young – I’m Comin’ Over CD (Sony Nashville)
New album from the country singer/songwriter.
Neil Young – Bluenote Café 2xCD/4xLP (WB)
Recorded at various shows during Neil Young and Bluenote Café’s 1988 tour, this superb live set documents one of Neil’s most funky and heartfelt periods, featuring seven unreleased songs – “Soul Of A Woman,” “Bad News Comes To Town,” “Ain’t It The Truth,” “I’m Goin’,” “Crime Of The Heart,” “Doghouse,” “Fool For Your Love,” — and a searing 19+ minute version of the immortal “Tonight’s The Night” at The Pier in New York City. It was a wild night.
Young Galaxy – Falsework CD/LP (Paper Bag)
The winter of 2014/2015 took Young Galaxy from their studio in Montreal to Gothenburg. The band’s new full length Falsework completes the sound they have mining on their past two albums Shapeshifting and Ultramarine with producer Dan Lissvik. The album is undeniably synth pop without the simplicity and was informed and inspired by ‘80s electro, acid house and R&B, music that was well ahead of it’s time. Falsework was made using machines from the past to sound like music from the future.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Eric Clapton – Slowhand At 70: Live At The Royal Albert Hall DVD+2xCD/ Blu-ray+2xCD (Eagle Vision)
This release captures a very special Eric Clapton performance celebrating his 70th birthday at his favorite venue and includes career defining tracks like “Cocaine,” “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Layla,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “Crossroads,” “Tears In Heaven,” “Hoochie Coochie Man” and more.
Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck DVD/Blu-ray (UMe)
Experience Kurt Cobain like never before in the only fully authorized portrait of the famed music icon in Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck. Filmmaker Brett Morgen blends Cobain’s personal archive of art, music, never-before-seen movies, animation and revelatory interviews from his family and closest friends. The documentary follows Kurt from his earliest years in this visceral and detailed cinematic insight of an artist struggling to come to terms and make sense of his place in the world.
Duran Duran – Unstaged: A Film By David Lynch DVD (E1)
Unstaged is a five-part concert series featuring various artists, presented by YouTube, American Express and VEVO. Each performance included unique online components, such as voting for the encore performance or the ability to switch camera angles. The series began with Arcade Fire, who performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 5th 2010. Duran Duran took the stage at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles during The All You Need Is Now Tour. The show was directed by David Lynch. The band’s setlist consisted of new material alongside their classic MTV-era megahits.
Green Day – Heart Like A Hand Grenade DVD (Reprise)
Stroll down that boulevard of broken dreams, be awoken post-September, and stream all the American idiocy your ears can handle. More than a decade after the release of American Idiot, Green Day presents their explosive rock doc time capsule Heart Like A Hand Grenade. See the raw footage of the songwriting, recording, and emotional risks and triumphs that culminated in this Grammy Award-winning punk rock opera.
Lady Antebellum – Wheels Up Tour DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)
Lady Antebellum’s Wheels Up 2015 Tour started in Oslo, Norway at the end of February and will conclude in Las Vegas, USA at the beginning of October having touched down in Europe, Australia and North America. This live show was filmed at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California on June 27th. Dotted here and there amongst the tracks are a few snippets of behind the scenes footage of the band meeting the fans, the spectacular set design and the tour reveal to give the complete package of Lady Antebellum on the road.
Pete Townshend – Classic Quadrophenia DVD/Blu-ray (Deutsche Grammophon)
This orchestral presentation of The Who’s 1973 groundbreaking album and seminal rock opera features performances by Pete Townshend, Billy Idol, Phil Daniels (the original star of the film, Quadrophenia) and British tenor Alfie Bo, captured in July of 2015 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. This magnificent work, orchestrated by Pete’s partner and composer in her own right Rachel Fuller, is also performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Ziegler, and London’s Oriana Choir.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche À Bamako [2004] 2xLP+CD (Because Music)
Dimanche à Bamako won the BBC Award for World Music Best Album Award 2006; the duo won the African section of the same awards that year. It was also listed as one of Songlines’ ten best world music albums of the year and was nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Observer Music Monthly listed it as the 39th best album of the 2000s. Now available for the first time on vinyl – orange colored pressing with CD included.
Badaboum – Badaboum LP (Bruit Direct Disques)
Affiliates of La Grande Triple Alliance Internationale de l’Est posse, Krine (Headwar), Arnelle (The Dreams) and Solene 9Dudu Geva) add their own reverbed idiosyncrasies to post punk akin to Liliput/Kleenex, chanting in indecipherable Italian, mock German and plain French, not unlike three priestesses offering voodoo enchantments.
Birthday Suits – Spin The Bottle: Adult Party LP (Recess)
The Minneapolis two-piece play something in the vein of garage rock, but with a ballsy and crafty ‘serious’ musicianship that’s as unkempt as The Stooges but alternately as precise as AC/DC.
Black Panties – The Future 7” (Windian)
While his alter ego may spend time playing gigs with Midwest proto-punks Lumpy & The Dumpers, Black from Black Panties real talent shines when he dons the mask and gets behind the mic. Herein are four raging thrash punk anthems about isolation and aggravation, with seething guitar tones and enough energy to get you out of the house and burn down your city.
Neko Case – Truckdriver Gladiator Mule 9xLP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Deluxe vinyl box set of Case’s complete (so far) solo discography. All eight titles — The Virginian (1997), Furnace Room Lullaby (2000), Canadian Amp (2001), Blacklisted (2002), The Tigers Have Spoken (2004), Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006), Middle Cyclone (2009), and The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (2013) — are remastered from their original analog tapes and pressed on HQ-180gm black vinyl. The set also includes an 80-page book of photography, designed and curated by Case herself.
Cerrone – Golden Touch [Cerrone IV/Reissue/1978] LP+CD (Because Music)
Cerrone – You Are The One [Cerrone VII/Reissue/1980] LP+CD (Because Music)
Cerrone – Give Me Remixes 2xLP+CD (Because Music)
From 1976 to 2014, Cerrone, whose discography makes so many others jealous, never stopped playing. And if disco music had to be summarized by one artist, one creator, it would be him and nobody else. Here we have two colored vinyl reissues of classic Cerrone. Give Me Remixex is something of a tribute to his prolific discography, containing incredible remixes by Dimitri From Paris, The Reflex, L’Impératrice, Sacha Mambo, Alan Braxe, Joey Negro, Frankie Knuckles, Kevin Saunderson, A-Trak & Codes, and Get A Room!.
Coil – Backwards 2xLP (Cold Spring)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. After the groundbreaking release of 1990’s Love’s Secret Domain album, Coil were not dormant; their main project was Backwards, which was started in 1992, updated considerably between 1993 and 1995, and transferred in 1996 to New Orleans, where it was finished at Trent Reznor’s Nothing Studios. The album saw the fruition of Jhonn Balance’s recent vocal-coaching, which produced haunting, passionate vocals while reaching new heights. Now, in 2015, 23 years after it’s initiation, these tracks have been beautifully preserved by Danny Hyde and are finally available in highest quality audio. Vinyl due November 13.
John Coltrane – Coltrane’s Sound [Reissue.1964] 2xLP (ORG Music)
Recorded during the same three-day period as My Favorite Things in the fall of 1960, Coltrane’s Sound is one of the most highly underrated entries in Coltrane’s voluminous catalog. The title could not have been more accurate, as each of the six pieces bear the unmistakable and indelible stamp of Coltrane’s early-’60s style. Animating the arrangements on these sessions were Coltrane (soprano/tenor sax), Steve Davis (bass), Elvin Jones(drums), and McCoy Tyner (piano). This classic recording finally receives the ORG Music audiophile treatment with this HQ-180gm double LP 45rpm reissue, mastered from original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and pressed at Pallas Group in Germany. Each copy of this limited edition release is numbered with a gold foil-stamp.
Chick Corea – Return To Forever [Reissue/1972] LP (ECM)
Return To Forever is a 1972 jazz fusion album by Chick Corea, simultaneously functioning as the debut album by the band of the same name. Unlike later albums by the group, it was released by the ECM label and produced by Manfred Eicher. The album was not released in the USA until 1975. The record is often considered one of the classic albums in electric jazz. HQ-180gm vinyl reissue.
Dancer – Please Please Leave 7” (Chocolate Dancer)
Dancer – Rootbeer Station 7” (Chocolate Dancer)
“Dancer must have dug up the grave of Johnny Thunders and drank his heroin-infused blood to be this f**king rock and roll. San Francisco’s best rock and roll band.”
Hongthong Dao-Udon – Bump Lam Phloen: Essential Hongthong Dao-Udon LP (EM)
This collection contains the very best songs from Hongthong Dao-udon, one of the great Thai singers of the third generation of Molam singers and one of the artists who succeeded in fusing Molam with Luk Thung, thus triggering a new generation of singers; in fact, she was the first to sing both genres from the beginning of her career, considering herself to be situated happily between the two styles.
Miles Davis – Monterey Jazz Festival, 1963 LP (Jambalaya)
Recorded September 20, 1963, at the Monterey Jazz Festival, this set featured Miles Davis’s new quintet, with George Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. This group, minus Coleman and with the addition of Wayne Shorter, would soon go on to make some of the most highly regarded jazz LPs of all time. This smoking set features a wonderful rendition of “So What,” among others. Essential live jazz classics.
Dechirico – Kumamoto 7” (Jacktone)
Dechirico is a new project from Adam Douglas, also known as Kemek, Kemek The Dope Computer, and Deeper Than Space. The guiding rhythm for Dechirico is Klaus Dinger’s Neu! beat, and eighth note motorik pulse that is sublimely perfect in its driving precision. Dechirico is an attempt to update that motorik sound using modern production methods while still maintaining the spirit of the original records.
Dirty Ghosts – Let It Pretend LP (Last Gang)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “Any time a punk band starts experimenting, that’s the era of the band that I love,” remarks Dirty Ghosts guitarist and songwriter Allyson Baker while discussing the genesis of Let It Pretend, the band’s sophomore effort for Last Gang. Lead-off track “Some Kids” leaps from the speakers with tribal drums, a loping bassline and the clatter of a kicked over beer bottle. The tune spotlights Baker’s plaintive vocal melody and an earworm chorus over layers of echo-soaked, interlocking guitar. Nodding to the downstroke-heavy rhythms and ethereal textures of The Stranglers and The Police on “Battery” and the pulsing, synth heavy title track, Baker shows off a spare six-string approach that places each slashing chord and ringing note with deadly economy and accuracy. Though tracks like “Light Like Speed,” “So Shallow” and the ferocious “Cataract” bear the unmistakable imprint of pioneering synth-punk acts like Devo and Baker’s avowed cornerstone influence Chrome, the latest Dirty Ghosts effort places an elevated focus on nuanced songcraft and pop melodies carried by her growing confidence as a lead vocalist.
DJ Medhi – Lucky Boy [Reissue/2006] LP+CD (Ed Banger)
Gatefold LP edition, with CD included, of the 2006 Lucky Boy album by DJ Mehdi (1977-2011). Born and raised in Paris, DJ Mehdi began producing for major French hip-hop artists in 1995, and went on to release highly successful albums with his bands Ideal J and 113, remix various electronic acts, compose soundtracks for many French and international films, and collaborate with MC Solaar and Daft Punk. Lucky Boy was his second solo album, following 2002’s (The Story Of) Espion. Lucky Boy’s single, “I Am Somebody,” features vocals from Canada’s finest, Chromeo.
Drone Electric Lust/La Morte Young – La Morte Young/Drone Electric Lust LP (Pica Disk)
Christian Malfray’s crackling hot electronics meet the tape manipulation and processed guitar of Pierre Faure and Thierry Monnier on the La Morte Young side. Eric Lombaert’s modest percussion provides a smattering of rhythm and Joelle Vinciarelli wails like Mike Patton over a John Zorn skit. Drone homage becomes dooming chaos. On the flip, Drone Electric Lust shuffle their feet, so to speak, with accordion-styled electronics and barely awakened jazz drums. The chaos of Kjell Runar Jenssen, Lasse Marhaug, Per Gisle Galoen and Fredrik Ness Sevendal is a seemingly quiet one that gets abstracted with impossible-to-follow guitar f**k-ups before retreating into busy, tinkering ambiance.
Duran Duran – Notorious [Reissue/1986] 2xLP (Parlophone)
Limited double HQ-180gm vinyl LP pressing of the fourth studio album by Duran Duran. Produced by the band with Nile Rodgers, the album showcased a new musical direction for the band, emphasizing bass and brass as exemplified by the singles “Notorious” and “Skin Trade.”
Eazy-E – Boyz-N-The-Hood [Reissue/1987] 12” (Priority/UMe)
Boyz-N-The-Hood is the debut by Eazy-E as a part of N.W.A. Ice Cube was 17 years old when he wrote the track and took it to Eazy-E. A short time later, Eazy and Cube formed N.W.A with Dr. Dre, and included this song on the N.W.A. And The Posse album. Eazy-E released yet another version of the song the following year on his 1988 solo album, Eazy-Duz-It. This reissue is part of UMe’s Respect The Classics campaign.
Mathias Eick – Skala [Reissue/2011] LP (ECM)
Mathias Eick’s intensely melodic trumpet occupies the center-stage in this album of self-penned tunes which will appeal to an audience beyond jazz. Against the powerful backdrops offered by his sleek, modern band, driven by two drummers, he delivers richly lyrical soliloquies.
Esplendor Geometrico – Selected Tracks 1. 1992-1998 4xLP (Geometrik)
Esplendor Geometrico formed in Madrid in 1980 and went on to become an international cult act and one of the most influential pioneers of industrial music. This set contains four LPs packaged inside a special deluxe box and individually screen printed using a metallic copper ink. The four covers, when put together, make up a main image. The box set also includes a poster. The LPs feature a selection of tracks recorded between 1992 and 1998, a period during which the EG sound evolved thanks to the digital synthesizers available at the time. The group developed a singular style of industrial music that incorporates techno-esque elements, hypnotic rhythms, and tribal influences.
Hans Essel – Saitensack LP (Edition Telemark)
Long-time improv and foundational musician’s “string-bag” develops new ways of playing the violin and viola. With an approach more stripped down than other experimental violinists such as Tony Conrad and Takehisa Kosugi, Hans Essel does not modify or amplify his instruments. Strings are not pressed by fingers but rather damped. Only through bowing are they excited to complex free vibrations, sometimes harsh and noisy, at other times reminiscent of uilleann pipes with cracking and breaking like in yodeling. Saitensack focuses on the origin of tones out of the noise, zooming into the very character of string instruments. Side A features an overtone-rich performance from 1994. Side B has a harsher 1999 recording.
Exhaustion – Phased Out 12” (12xU)
A single note wrassles with manual techno via heady doses of tabletop manipulation.
Fossil Aerosol Mining Project – The Day 1982 Contaminated 1971 LP (Helen Scarsdale Agency)
Dissociated fragments from nearly lost genre films of the 1970s reconstituted, filtered by scratched celluloid, bad splices, dropouts, and damaged control tracks. Within piles of reversed tape loop miasma and time-lag accumulation, Fossile Aerosol Mining Project’s mesmerizing and hypnogogic studies of uncanny dislocations magnify grit and errors. Re-assembly of the materials—often culled from 35mm film and quarter-inch magnetic tape found in abandoned drive-in movie theaters and warehouses—interweaves ready-mades with their own disintegration. Jacket has fragment of 1970s intermission film affixed.
Jan Garbarek – I Took Up The Runes [Reissue/1990] LP (ECM)
There’s a stately splendor in much of this 1990 recording, whether it’s infused with a broadening calm or a welling tension as Garbarek synthesizes his disparate inspirations into frequently compelling music. Mari Boine Persen, a Lapp singer, contributed the first tune, an evocative musical call that summons Garbarek’s frequent use of folklore, an element that’s further developed by singer Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup on the traditional song “His Eyes Were Suns” and his own “Rahkki Sruvvis.”
Marvin Gaye – Volume Two: 1966-1970 8xLP (Motown)
Following Volume One released earlier this year, this is a collection of Marvin Gaye’s next eight studio albums on HQ-180gm vinyl. During this period, Gaye scored hits such as “It Takes Two” with Kim Weston, plus numerous duets with Tammi Terrell including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Your Precious Love,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” and “You’re All I Need to Get By.” In 1968, Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” became his first to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The eight LPs are: Moods Of Marvin Gaye, Take Two (w/ Kim Weston), United (w/ Tammi Terrell), In The Groove, You’re All I Need (w/ Tammi Terrell), M.P.G., Easy (w/ Tammi Terrell) and That’s The Way Love Is.
Haku – Na Mele a Ka Haku (Music Of Haku) [Reissue/1975] LP (EM)
Synthesizers and the human voice. Hawaii. The 1970s. Haku, aka Frank Tavares, a writer and musician, had a deep respect for the multiethnic character of his native Hawaii, and composed a number of theater pieces and songs to highlight this culture. However, he avoided many of the standard musical tropes, choosing to build his own studio and make all the music on synthesizers, a first for Hawaii. New age musical elements, traditional Hawaiian music, and unclassifiable madness, all played on glorious analog synths, are the foundation for songs and stories delivered in Hawaiian, Japanese, and English, reflecting Hawaii’s multiethnic nature. Developed and recorded over several years, released in 1975 on vinyl, and woefully hard to find, it is now reissued for the first time.
Hand Of Dust – Like Breath Beneath A Veil LP (Avant)
Dark folk rock extended with martial stomps, semi-acoustic guitars drenched in reverberation, and throbbing, vibrant bass lines. The fertile Danish trio’s fistful of apocalyptic ballads, pregnant with tragedy and unavoidability, march onward with a solemn gait toward god knows where. With 16-page lyrics booklet.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – I Put A Spell On You: Rare Tracks And B-Sides LP (Jambalaya)
A comprehensive collection of the early, pre-debut LP singles from one of the most controversial frontmen of early rock and roll. With his classically-trained bass-baritone singing voice, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins conjured up ghoulish images both on stage and on his records. Hawkins, evoking voodoo images and using bone-rattling sound effects, simultaneously entertained and bewildered rock ‘n’ roll fans. This collection features his all-time classic “I Put A Spell On You,” along with a batch of hard-to-find classics from his Okeh Records days.
Heavy Breathing – Airtight LP (Electric Cowbell)
Heavy Breathing, from Washington DC, have essentially been around for fifteen years. The core trio: Erick Jackson, handling the axes, from bass to guitars; Jeff Schmid, the drummer, who has now moved center stage; and Amanda Kleinman, playing synths and organs, made six records as The Apes, with three different vocalists; they then solved their singer problems by changing their name to Heavy Breathing and using found sounds from the World Wide Web in lieu of the old, clichèd human singer. Airtight is their second record as Heavy Breathing, and their Black Sabbath-inflused riffrock is in a business funk suit with party calls coming from the Rhythm Machine, Erick’s guitars galloping, Jeff’s drums thumping four all over the floor, and Amanda’s keys playing Jon-Lord-alongside-BernieWorrell.
Tim Hecker – Norberg/Apondalifa LP (Room40)
In 2015, Room40 celebrates 15 years of editions and events; as part of the celebrations, the label is reissuing a number of editions in various formats that are out of print. One of these editions brings together two of the pieces the label had the pleasure to publish by Tim Hecker. These two works were both created in conjunction with Hecker’s visits to Australia and were released in limited quantities. The 2010 7” edition of Apondalifa basically vanished upon release. It was also originally split across both sides of the record. On this edition, cut by the wondrous Lupo at Calyx, the piece is available on vinyl for the first time in it’s extended format. Norberg was originally released in 2007 as a 3” CD; Room40’s original description reads, “Recorded at the Norberg Festival (Sweden) amidst the mineshafts and cluttered buildings strewn throughout parts of the city, this 21-minute live piece summarizes much of what makes Tim Hecker’s music so vital and compelling.”
Helvetia – Dromomania LP (Joyful Noise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Members of Duster, Built To Spill, Love As Laughter evoke the simplicity of ’70s Kinks, combined with a good dose of Captain Beefheart and the randomness of The Residents. Third-wave hardcore influences meld with elements of Neu-like trance rock.
Incantation – The Infernal Storm [Reissue/2000] LP+MP3 (Relapse)
Incantation’s The Infernal Storm is one of a litany of classic, essential death metal titles on Relapse Records. This classic album is available for the first time in 15 years on vinyl. They redefined the bounds of brutality and blasphemy for death metal and has long been heralded as one of the heaviest and most uncompromising metal bands in the world.
Jacques Le Coque – Tip Of My Tongue 7” (Windian)
Hailing from Stamford, Connecticut, Jacques Le Coque play Replacements-style garage pop with a very Velvet-y Underground warmth on the master mix. “… [JLC’s] well-balanced, rough, raw, fuzzy rock n’ roll. Bouncing from Built to Spill-style tracks, to surf rock and straight-up punk, these guys are the perfect house-party band. Listening to their songs, I can practically feel an elbow to the ribs and a PBR being spilled on my shoes.”—The Deli
Keith Jarrett – Facing You [Reissue/1972] LP (ECM)
Keith Jarrett – Belonging [Reissue/1974] LP (ECM)
Keith Jarrett – My Song [Reissue/1978] LP (ECM)
Facing You is the first album released on ECM by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. It features Jarrett performing eight solo piano pieces recorded in the studio. The album was recorded in Oslo on November 10, 1971, the day after a concert performance with the Miles Davis Septet in the same city. Belonging is the first album by Jarrett’s European Quartet featuring Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen. Jarrett’s European Quartet followed-up Belonging in 1978 with My Song.
Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Big Band Holidays 2xLP+MP3 (Blue Engine)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A compilation of holiday classics performed live by the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Special guests on Big Band Holidays include some of today’s commanding new voices in jazz: René Marie, Cécile McLorin Salvant and more. Every December for more than a decade, the critically acclaimed Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and an all-star roster of guest vocalists have explored the canon of holiday standards to perform new and traditional arrangements of Yuletide favorites.
JEFF The Brotherhood – Global Chakra Rhythms 2xLP (Infinity Cat)
“Between the release of Wasted On A Dream in March and numerous festival stops this summer, brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall, aka JEFF the Brotherhood, found time to record a new double album, Global Chakra Rhythms. The album is set to feature the duo diving into psych rock and includes a cover of Mazzy Star’s ‘Mary Of Silence’ and a final version ‘Whatever I Want,’ which was originally recorded with Jack White at Third Man Records. The album will feature a variety of collaborators, including Jack Lawrence of The Dead Weather and Raconteurs, Reece Lazarus of Bully, Jessica Mcfarland and more and will also see the group incorporating new instrumentation, such as saxophones, organs and pedal steel guitar.” – American Songwriter
Justice – Cross [Reissue/2007] 2xLP+CD (Ed Banger)
Cross isn’t a collection of random dancefloor singles. Cross is for listening at home or in clubs. Cross is a link between pop at its purest and experimental music. Cross brings together hardcore elements and cheese. Cross makes the goths link arms with the rave kids. A generational manifest, ideally positioned on the side of the dancefloor, Cross, insolent with youth, is a testimony that the French electro scene is healthier than ever.
The Marcus King Band – Soul Insight LP (Evil Teen)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. King is a 19-year-old Southern rock guitar shredder touted as a natural successor to the likes of Duane Allman and Derek Trucks.
Kowloon Walled City – Grievances LP (Gilead Media)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The third album from Kowloon Walled City finds the San Francisco band at its artistic peak, having moved even further from its sludgy, post-hardcore origins toward a sparser, sadder yet still de-tuned heaviness.
Laraaji – Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance [Reissue/1980] LP (Glitterbeat)
Laraaji’s glistening album Ambient 3: Day of Radiance has from the beginning been considered an outlier. Though widely celebrated at the time of its release in 1980 — as the third installment of Brian Eno’s emerging ambient music series (Ambient 1-4) — the album also brought with it an aura of mystification. Where did it fit in? An uncharted synthesis of resonating zither textures, interlocking, hammered rhythms and 3-D sound treatments (courtesy of Eno) Day of Radiance seemed to push open many doors at once, ambient music being only one of them.
Maciunas Ensemble – 1976 LP (Edition Telemark)
Two previously unreleased pieces recorded December 19, 1976, performed by Paul Panhuysen, Remko Scha, Jan Van Riet, Leon Van Noorden, and Hans Schuurman. “This music is literally polyphonic,” explains René van Peer in the liner notes, “A composition of multiple voices. The members of the ensemble do not engage in virtuoso playing. Although each may go down his individual path, no one attempts to outdo the others in exuberant soloing. Their approach to improvisation bears none of the hallmarks of jazz. It is a group effort. They operate as a band in the anthropological sense: a small, mobile, and fluid social formation without clear-cut leadership.”
Majical Cloudz – Are You Alone? LP+MP3 (Matador)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Are You Alone? is the follow up to Majical Cloudz’ Impersonator; a heart-on-white sleeve statement of intent that brought Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto from the Montreal underground onto arena stages, critics’ year end lists and the hearts and minds of thousands. After the journey they’ve returned with Are You Alone? Armed with little more than the recording equipment used on Impersonator, Majical Cloudz enlisted friends and family (including Owen Pallet) for only the subtlest of studio embellishment. The record, however, immediately sounds bigger, at once more intense and more immediate — Welsh’s voice has evolved from baritone proclamation to a sweeter, almost yearning, croon.
Menstruation Sisters – Glass Walking LP (Pica Disk)
Early recordings by the infamous Australian noise duo Oren Ambarchi and Nik Kamvissis, with producer Anthony Maher assisting and performing on some tracks. Fans of the group’s later material, after Brendan Walls had joined, for example, will be struck by the almost total absence of drums and guitars, and the prominence of electronics and vocals—revealing the missing link between Hanatarash, Maurizio Bianchi and the monkeys in the Evolution Revolution. This is noise music history in reverse. Also includes the first Menstruation Sisters live concert, a ferocious and glorious performance nine-and-a-half minutes long.
Pat Metheny Group – Pat Metheny Group [Reissue/1978] LP (ECM)
Pat Metheny Group – American Garage [Reissue/1979] LP (ECM)
Pat Metheny Group – Offramp [Reissue/1982] LP (ECM)
Pat Metheny Group is a jazz fusion band founded in 1977 around a core nucleus of guitarist Pat Metheny and keyboardist Lyle Mays. The line up has frequently changed over the years, but other long term members include bassist Steve Rodby and drummer Paul Wertico. The groups first three studio albums have been reissued on HQ-180gm vinyl by ECM.
Miscalculations – Kill The Whole Cast LP (FDH)
A tasteful blend of the sound of Buzzcocks, Wire, The Statues and even some Mind Spiders with the catchy and sharp, yet laconic guitar work and the melancholic and demanding undertone of Wipers, Masshystery or The Vicious, plus some electro-synth/no-wave-punk of The Units or even The Spits.
moe. – No Doy [1996] LP (Brookvale)
moe. – Tin Cans & Tires [1998] LP (Brookvale)
First time on vinyl. To the uninitiated, moe. Is just another jam band. Like the Grateful Dead, Phish, and Dave Matthews Band before them, moe. fuse elements of rock, jazz, blues, country, and funk into their sound.
Mr. Oizo – Lambs Anger [Reissue/2008] 2xLP+CD (Ed Banger)
“French DJ and producer Quentin Dupieux (aka Mr. Oizo) offers more of his distinctive and eccentric take on electronic dance music with this album. … less stylistically aggressive than its immediate precursor, Moustache (Half A Scissor), but it still offers a suitably bent approach to dance music, taking the sound and style of traditional club music and bending it into new shapes with distinctive sounds and melodic structures” — AllMusic. Features contributions from Carmen Castro, Errorsmith, and Uffie.
MU330 – Crab Rangoon [Reissue/1997] LP (Asian Man)
Originally released in 1997, Crab Rangoon is the definitive MU330 album, and one of the few third wave ska records from that era to truly stand the test of time. The big trombone-driven hooks are reminiscent of the Specials, while the personal lyrics and wistful melodies give Pinkerton a run for its money. Clear green vinyl.
Musette – A Cosmic Serenade LP+CD (Hapna Sweden)
Joel Danell aka Musette has carved a niche for himself with a sound world merging both the most ancient and the newest of the new. Hip-hop, polka, novelty music and sound tracks all go down in the blender.
Oakeater – Aquarius LP (Sige)
Oakeater is the Chicago trio of Alex Barnett, Seth Sher, and Jeremiah Fisher. Aquarius is Oakeater’s second full length and eighth release over all. They have released records with other labels such as Nihilist, Hydra Head Records, and Dead Accents. The members of Oakeater have also or currently play in bands/groups such as Panicsville, Barnett & Coloccia, Ga’an, The Coughs and Hide.
Augustus Pablo – Rockers International [Reissue/1979] LP (VP)
Augustus Pablo – Rockers International 2 [Reissue/1979] LP (VP)
Reissues of the historic 1979 Augustus Pablo albums from the Greensleeves catalog on vinyl. Augustus Pablo was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s until his death in 1999. He popularized the use of the melodica (an instrument at that time primarily used in Jamaica to teach music to schoolchildren) in reggae music. Augustus is often regarded as one of the most important artists in reggae and dub.
Paul Panhuysen – Pendulum Change Ringing LP (Edition Telemark)
The first vinyl LP edition since 1986 by this Dutch sound and visual artist contains a recording of the installation from Pand Koloniale Waren in Hasselt, Belgium, in 2012—which consists of twelve engraved Turkish metal platters mounted onto a black plastic bin, placed in a row twenty meters long, the rim of each of which is struck by a metal pendulum operated by tiny electromotors. Since the lengths of the arms of the pendulums are different, interlocking rhythmic patterns of the resonations don’t stay the same. The rich sound texture full of dissonant overtones is not chaotic, yet its regularity is hard to comprehend. With photos of the installation and liner notes by René van Peer.
Paramore – All We Know Is Falling [Reissue/2005] LP (Fueled By Ramen)
Vinyl reissue of the Tennessee alt-rock band’s debut album.
Charlie Parker – The Complete Savoy Dial Recordings 10xLP (Savoy)
Deluxe HQ-180gm audiophile vinyl 10xLP box-set. Definitive early, vintage Charlie Parker with giants like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach, Erroll Garner.
Evan Parker/John Edwards/Chris Corsano – The Hurrah LP (Otoroku)
The Hurrah is the second recorded outing from the universe-shifting free jazz trio of Evan Parker, John Edwards, and Chris Corsano. This trio has been playing together for since 2006, sometimes expanding into quartets with the likes of Noah Howard, John Russell, Joe McPhee, John Coxon, and Paul Dunmall. The material on this LP was recorded by James Dunn at Cafe OTO in London on August 22, 2014, during Corsano’s four-night residency. All material recorded live; no editing or post-production.
Parquet Courts – Monastic Living 12”+MP3 (Rough Trade)
Monastic Living is a new limited edition 12″ EP from Brooklyn garage punks Parquet Courts and their first new music since the pair of acclaimed 2014 releases Sunbathing Animal and Content Nausea. Featuring artwork by band member Andrew Savage
Pentimento – I, No Longer LP (Bad Timing)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Vinyl due November 13. “[I, No Longer] sees the band combining the best of early 2000s emo (Taking Back Sunday and Spitalfield come to mind) with the anthemic hooks of western New York contemporaries like Polar Bear Club and Such Gold. The result is 12 introspective, well-produced pop punk songs that reassert the band three years after the disaster surrounding its first record.” – Noisy (Music By Vice)
Professor Longhair – Hadacol Bounce LP (Jambalaya)
Fusing diverse elements of blues, barrelhouse boogie-woogie, funk, and gospel with mambo, rhumba, and second-line street parade rhythms, Professor Longhair’s contribution to today’s musical vocabulary is immeasurable. You can’t listen to Fats Domino, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, James Booker, or Huey Smith without recognizing the unique “Fess” imprinting. This compilation of B-sides, rarities, and alternate takes, recorded between 1949 and 1957, honors one of the great and unique talents in rock and roll history.
Purple Seven – Garden Eyes LP (Salinas)
The second proper-full length from this Bloomington, IN trio.
The Refreshments – Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy [1996] LP (Mercury)
The Refreshments’ Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy is their first studio release and features their best known single, “Banditos.” This standard weight, first-time vinyl edition comes just months before the 20th anniversary of its original release in February, 1996.
Gabriel Saloman – Movement Building 2 LP (Shelter Press)
Over the past few years Gabriel Saloman has developed a reputation for releasing penetrating works of haunting beauty in his new role as a solo performer and composer. Known for his part in the seminal electronic-noise duo Yellow Swans (alongside Pete Swanson), Saloman has taken the sweeping drones and fried electricity of his former band and embedded them within an expanding pallette of bowed strings, martial percussion and resonant piano.
Seaway – Color Blind LP (Pure Noise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Seaway is a five-piece pop/punk band from Oakville, Ontario Canada. The band recently finished up a successful run on the 2015 Vans Warped Tour.
Shantel – Viva Diaspora LP (Essay Recordings)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Cosmopolitan, globetrotter, paprika bambaataa, constantly in search of new sounds: Shantel gracefully turns pop-cultural clichés and conventionally-accepted genre-definitions upside-down. Viva Diaspora is strongly inspired by the creative anarchy of crisis-ridden Athens, Greece. Viva Diaspora has no intention of jumping onto the crossover-and-remix bandwagon. It is bold, risky, and self-assured; this is how acoustic, traditional, and Mediterranean songs sound today and this is how they can come into their own in a contemporary party context.
The Silkworm – It’ll Be Cool [2004] LP (Touch & Go)
Founded in 1987, Silkworm were: Andy Cohen (also in Bottomless Pit, and Mint Mile) on various stringed instruments with frets, Michael Dahlquist on drums and cymbals and occasional guitar, and Tim Midgett (Bottomless Pit, Mint Mile) on bass and other guitars. With the core members in place, It’ll Be Cool also includes Matt Kadane (Bedhead, The New Year) playing his natural instrument of piano as well as other keyboard-based devices. It’ll Be Cool is the ninth Silkworm album. Originally released in 2004 on CD only and now available on LP for the first time in over 11 years.
Singers & Players – War Of Version 10” (On-U Sound)
Originally released on legendary imprint 99 Records in 1981, War Of Words is the classic debut album by Singers & Players, a loose collective featuring top Jamaican deejays Prince Far I and Jah Woosh, plus members of the Arabs and Roots Radics. The mic is dominated on the record by the sweet vocals of cover star Bim Sherman. War Of Version collects four outtakes from War Of Words, all recorded in 1981.
Singers & Players – Revenge Of The Underdog [Reissue.1982] LP (On-U Sound)
The second album by the loose On-U collective, originally released in 1982. Featuring Prince Far I, Bim Sherman, Jah Woosh, plus members of The Roots Radics, The Slits and Glaxo Babies.
Soundtrack – Kill Bill Vol. 1 [Reissue/2003] LP (Maverick)
Soundtrack – Kill Bill Vol. 2 [Reissue/2004] 2xLP (Maverick)
Two Tarantino movie soundtracks are back in print on vinyl.
Soundtrack – Natural Born Killers [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Interscope/UMe)
Most soundtracks simply feature the film’s incidental music or songs that were heard in the background throughout the movie. Not Natural Born Killers. Assembled by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), the soundtrack to Oliver Stone’s brutally warped serial killer saga recreates the hallucinatory feeling of the film. The soundtrack includes tracks by Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, L7, Nine Inch Nails, Bob Dylan, Cowboy Junkies, Dr. Dre, Duane Eddy, Juliette Lewis, Patsy Cline, Peter Gabriel with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and others.
State Champs – Around The World And Back LP (Pure Noise)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Keeping in fashion with their previous releases, The Finer Things and the EP, Overslept, the five piece continues to play captivating and addictive pop rock.
Superhuman Happiness – Escape Velocity LP (The Royal Potato Family)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Superhuman Happiness create music for a dance party inhabited by the emotionally complicated. Led by Stuart Bogie—a perpetually in-demand songwriter, arranger and performer whose resume includes stints with Arcade Fire, David Byrne, Iron & Wine, TV On The Radio and Antibalas—the Brooklyn-based ensemble construct instantly infectious and relentlessly rhythmic records that makes bodies move. Underlying the groove, however, are lyrical concepts that take a long look at the human condition. Their latest LP, Escape Velocity, is a seven-track effort that explores how human made technologies inversely shape our internal emotional landscapes.
Terrakaft – Alone LP (Out Here)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Alone was born out of a need to maintain sanity in times of broken dreams and lies. It might be Terakaft’s most rock-oriented album to date, but at the same time it is their most poetic. While their 2010 album Aratan N Azawad, and even their 2012 follow-up, Kel Tamasheq, found them still full of hope, in 2015 the soil that was supposed to blossom is burnt by selfishness and rivalry. There are too many characters in the picture, too many chiefs and not enough people,” says member Diara when asked about Mali’s political development since the group’s last album. He used to sing political songs in the days in his rebel youth, when he was still playing guitar with Tinariwen. Since then he has begun to watch a new feeling growing inside him: ténéré, which translates to “alone.”
Tiger Hatchery/Paul Flaherty – Live In New Haven LP (Ergot)
Ben Baker Billington, Mike Forbes, Andrew Scott Young and Paul Flaherty bring the heat to fire music. Live In New Haven documents four purveyors of the ecstatic now convulsing as one, with the labyrinthine saxophone mutations of Forbes and Flaherty squirming against the brink of the Billington-Young skins’n’strings throb unit. Despite the volcanic nature of the session, the quartet exhibit a sage capacity for both restraint and an elevated plane of almost-composed melodicism, “tracing a jagged pathway of legible melodic interplay,” as noted by Tiny Mix Tapes, “that breaks off at a moment’s notice into freefall runs of conjoined squalling.”
Tomaga – Futura Grotesk [2014] LP (Hands In The Dark)
Tomaga – Familiar Obstacles LP (Hands In The Dark)
Futurist Grotesque is a collection of minimalist compositions by former members of The Oscillation, Sh!t N Shine, Neon Neon, Riame, Voice Of The Seven Thunders, and Luke Roberts. Darkly psychedelic, elusive and deeply imbued with curiously unsettled images. On Familiar Obstacles, Valentina Magaletti and Tom Relleen’s sprawling assemblage of twenty-eight feverishly divergent compositions from an unconscious interzone, fusing studio experiments, field recordings, and tonal spectra into something that by turns resembles musique concrete, imaginary soundtrack and library music.
Mick Travis – Face Disappears After Interrogation 12”+MP3 (Midwich)
Mick Travis’s Face Disappears After Interrogation is a raw and severe experiment in modular synth, rhythm box and tape echo. Deceptively simple pulses oscillate from ear-to-ear forming head-nodding, brain-scrambling rhythmic patterns that could loosely be described as ‘techno’.
Various Artists [Charles Maurice] – AOR Global Sounds 1977-1982 LP (Favorite)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A compilation of eight forgotten and rare tracks produced between 1977 and 1982 in all parts of the globe. At the end of the ’70s, many artists all over the world were deeply influenced by such AOR stars as Steely Dan and their classic Aja LP and strove for the same attention to sound production and detail; this specific West Coast style mixed with pop rock standards, soul, disco, and jazz influences. From Erik Tagg in the Netherlands and Ulla in Poland to Diane Tell in Quebec and Nohelani Cypriano in Hawaii, Charles Maurice has found a real link between these great songs and artists in their music clearly infused with this special AOR touch. Fully remastered from the original versions. A must-have for rare-groove collectors. Also includes tracks by Junior Mendes, Loredana Berte, Placa Luminosa, and Paul Hart.
Various Artists [Logan Sama] – FabricLive 83 4xLP (Fabric)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Logan Sama has been at grime’s forefront since the genre’s inception, helping the careers of Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Skepta and hundreds more. Far from a traditional DJ mix, FabricLive 83 is an intricately curated album featuring contributions from luminaries and future stars of grime. Sixty-six MCs including Novelist, Meridian Dan and Ghetts, to name but a few, lay exclusive acapella bars over twenty-four expertly-mixed, brand new instrumentals from the likes of Wiley, Jme and Preditah.
Viands – Temporal Relics LP+MP3 (Midwich)
Viands is a spontaneous collaboration beteween two auteurs of Detroit’s underground music scene: Joel Peterson and David Shettler (Moon Pool and Dead Band). Temporal Relics, their debut album, is a deep, reflective and fearless alternate-reality keyboard meditation that draws on the pairs broad musical vision to explore new vistas.
Wolf Vostell – Concert Fluxus Sara-jevo LP (Edition Telemark)
Realized at Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró in Mallorca, Spain. September 9, 1994, with actions, electronics, and tapes by Wolf Vostell in collaboration with Mercedes Guardadao on ximbomba, and soprano Nancy Bellow. Gatefold jacket, with printed sleeve of concert photos.
Wang Chung – To Live And Die In L.A. [OST/Reissue/1985] LP (Geffen)
Original soundtrack to the 1985 motion picture. The To Live And Die in L.A. soundtrack is Wang Chung’s third album and second on Geffen Records. Instead of following up on the success that Points On The Curve landed them, the band switched gears to produce an original motion picture soundtrack. The switch allowed for them to experiment with different styles of music from the conventional pop music on their previous album. Released in 1985, only the album’s title song made it on the US Billboard Hot 100. Includes “Wake Up Stop Dreaming,” “Wait” (which first appeared on Points On The Curve album) and more.
The Winery Dogs – Hot Streak 2xLP (Loud & Proud)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. You know what they say: Familiarity breeds creativity. Just witness the aptly named Hot Streak, the supercharged follow-up to the self-titled rabidly rocking 2013 debut of the three-piece musical dynamo known as The Winery Dogs. Hot Streak shows the powerfully pedigreed trio’s initial burst of collective chemistry was no accident, from the sturm und headbang of “Captain Love” to the propulsive uplifting vibe of “The Bridge” to the introspective acoustic harmonic convergence of “Fire.” Colored vinyl.
Lizz Wright – Freedom & Surrender 2xLP (Concord)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The new album from this acclaimed vocalist is a mixture of newly written songs and covers, sitting at the crossroads of soul, jazz, and gospel. Produced by Larry Klein, Freedom & Surrender features collaborations with some great writers such as Larry Klein, David Batteau, Maia Sharp, JD Souther, Toshi Reagon, and Jesse Harris. The album also includes a duet with Gregory Porter on the track “Right Where You Are.”
Dwight Yoakam – Come On Christmas [1997] LP (Rhino)
Come On Christmas is the eighth studio album, and the first Christmas album by Dwight Yoakam. It was originally released in 1997 on Reprise Records and peaked at #32 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Includes holiday originals as well as Yoakam’s unique versions of yuletide classics such as “Silver Bells,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Silent Night” and more.
Marek Zebrowski & David Lynch – Polish Night Music [2007] 2xLP (Sacred Bones)
Barren train stations, Polish factories at night, and silent hotels where lonely travelers meet. These are the images and suggested narratives that pervade the spirit of Polish Night Music, the musical collaboration between filmmaker David Lynch and Polish concert pianist and composer Marek Zebrowski. Zebrowski and Lynch first met during the Camerimage Film Festival in Lodz, Poland and started to work together during the organic evolution of Lynch’s Inland Empire. Originally, Zebrowski served as a translator for the shooting of several Lodz-based Polish scenes in Empire, but upon discovering their shared interest in musical experimentation and improvisation, Lynch invited Zebrowski to his Los Angeles studio to participate in a series of musical experiments. From these initial collaborations, inspired by their unique and distinct connections to Poland, emerged a tangible mood and distinctly modern texture that became Polish Night Music.
Hans Rudolf Zeller – Hans Rudolf Zeller LP (Edition Telemark)
Various elements of this seldom-released composer’s work collected, which often involves combinations of multiple dimensions (texts, vocals, visual projections), into one cinematological literature. The recordings here were made within the last 10 years, yet many of the underlying concepts date back to the 1960s or 1970s. Contained are two scriptophonies (combining writing and vocals, with the notion of writing being extended à la Carlfriedrich Claus and Gerhard Rühm), two vocal improvisations, one piece of Tesa sounds (produced by adhesive tape), and one piece for horn.
Cassettes:
The Body & Krieg – The Body & Krieg (At A Loss)
Formed in mid-1990s and late 1990s respectively, Krieg and The Body met in the mid-2000s, being different sonically but sharing a bleak world view and inspirations musically far outside of the genre of metal. When Neill Jameson (sole constant member of Krieg) showed up to RI hipster paradise Machines With Magnets with only a acoustic guitar and a few pedals, members of The Body knew the collaboration would be something really different. Written and recorded during the long sessions of both Christs, Redeemers and I Shall Die Here, the end result is a blackened industrial crush of noise and anguish.
Eskimeaux – Two Mountains (Yellow K)
Two Mountains was recorded in 2010 as a dialogue between Gabrielle Smith (Eskimeaux) and Benjamin Schurr. As former collaborators now living in different states, Smith and Schurr decided to try working together from afar. After finishing up each recording in different bedrooms between the Hudson Valley and Philadelphia, Smith sent them to Schurr in North Carolina to add the finishing touches. Once 11 songs were finished, Two Mountains emerged, originally released only digitally and in a very limited run of handmade CDs.
James Ferraro – Skid Row (Break World Records)
“Ferraro, a veteran of drone group Skaters, is known as a prolific underground figure, dropping well over 50 releases under a raft of aliases in the late 2000s. He would go on to form a close alliance with Hippos In Tanks, presided over by the late Barron Machat. Hippos In Tanks released his last album, NYC, HELL 3:00 AM, in 2013. Ferraro’s latest LP comes courtesy of Break World Records and takes its name from the L.A. neighborhood containing one of the largest stable homeless populations in the United States” – Resident Advisor. Vinyl version due December 11.
Wimps – Suitcase (Kill Rock Stars)
Seattle based punk-rock-slackers-in-chief Wimps is a three-piece comprised of scene veterans Rachel Ratner (Butts) on guitar and lead vocals, Matt Nyce (Meth Teeth) on bass and backing vocals, and Dave Ramm (The Intelligence) on drums. Wimps serve their own brand of rapid-fire punk with a smattering of lo-fi post punk guitar work to create an angular, slightly off-kilter blast. Ratner lyrically twists otherwise common day-to-day woes into relatable tales of struggle shout-sung call and response stabs that champion boredom, laziness and social anxieties with wiry riffs and punchy bass lines, propelled by the measured rhythms of drummer David Ramm.
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