November Program Titles Released This Week:
Rodney Crowell – Christmas Everywhere CD/LP (New West)
“A few years back, it became evident to my family, and indeed myself, that I’d gone sour on all things related to Christmas. Sometime around Christmas 2016 I came home to find my granddaughters, sitting side by side and playing on our old upright piano a melody that to my ear sounded like something from the early nineteenth century. I asked them what song they were playing and in unison they replied, ‘something we just made up.’ I hit record on my iPhone and asked them to play it again. Using their melody almost entirely, I spent a couple of months composing the words to ‘Come Christmas’. I was finally ready to record an album of original Christmas songs. With Dan Knobler producing and some very gifted musicians and vocalists lending their talents, the making of the album Christmas Everywhere ranks as some of the most enjoyable recording sessions I’ve ever experienced.” – Rodney Crowell
Dead Can Dance – Dionysus CD/2xLP+CD (PIAS America)
Dead Can Dance’s new album took shape as Brendan Perry became fascinated by long established spring and harvest festivals that had their origins in Dionysian religious practices throughout Europe. Dionysus brings to the fore the rites and rituals that today continue to be informed by the Greek god. The album’s seven movements, in the form of an oratorio, represent different facets of the Dionysus myth and his cult. As with the rest of the Dead Can Dance catalog, rhythms inspired by world traditions play a key role, with tracks seeming less like songs and more like fragments of a cohesive whole. Perry blends all of the album’s elements together using field recordings and chanting, including a goatherd in Switzerland, beehives from New Zealand, and bird calls from Mexico and Brazil. Perry uses this not only to invoke the album’s atmosphere and symbolic references but also to demonstrate how music can be found everywhere. [Indie-exclusive deluxe edition features heavyweight colored vinyl, CD and a 16-page 12″ x 12″ hardback picture book with padded cover.]
Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability CD/LP+CD (BMG)
Negative Capability (a title borrowed from Romantic poet John Keats) is Marianne Faithfull’s 21st album of her 54-year recording career. Facing down arthritis and bolstered by collaborators including Warren Ellis, Nick Cave, Rob Ellis, Ed Harcourt and Mark Lanegan, Negative Capability is charged with brutal honesty and autobiographical reflection as she addresses losing old friends, the loneliness of living in her adopted city of Paris and still hoping love can come around. It includes the single “The Gypsy Faerie Queen” co-written with Nick Cave and covers of contemporaries The Rolling Stones (“As Tears Go By”) and Bob Dylan (“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”). [Deluxe vinyl + CD edition includes bonus tracks.]
JD McPherson – Socks CD/LP (New West)
Featuring eleven original tracks written by JD McPherson and his friends, Socks is a collection of holiday songs sure to become standards while you are decking the halls or decorating the tree. Come get warm by the fire with songs such as, “All The Gifts I Need” and “Every Single Christmas”, or burn the cookies to the title cut and “Ugly Christmas Sweater”. There is something for everyone on this record to enjoy whether you are in the Christmas spirit or if you just wanna say, “Bah Humbug.”
The Prodigy – No Tourists CD/LP (BMG)
Original electronic music trailblazers The Prodigy are back with a new album. No Tourists is “ultimately about escapism and the want and need to be derailed. Don’t be a tourist – there is always more danger and excitement to be found if you stray from the set path” says Prodigy found and frontman Liam Howlett. The album was written, produced and mixed Howlett in his studio in London’s Kings Cross though this is – Liam notes – “very much a band album.” Members Maxim and Keef Flint are very much present and correct, each supplying their legendary vocal skills. Yes, there are one or two collaborators, but fundamentally this is the sound of the central Prodigy three, bringing their riotous sound to audiences old and new, two decades since their epochal album The Fat Of The Land. Expanding on the general shape of the project, Liam says: “this album is equally aggressive as the last records – but in a different way.” A musician, songwriter and studio maestro, Howlett is as rigorous and righteously up for it as he was when he formed his 28-years-young band. He explains that, as ever, the new songs “are built to play live. That’s the one thing that brings everything together. I couldn’t write this music unless it has that outlet on stage. That helps write the music. This is what I do it for: the live thing. And until we feel like we can’t do it, or the buzz goes, we won’t stop.” [Indie-exclusive vinyl pressing also available.]
Tenacious D – Post-Apocalypto CD/2xLP (Columbia)
Post-Apocalypto is an original, six-part animated video series from the minds of rock duo Tenacious D, comprised of Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Each frame of every episode was hand-drawn by Jack himself, with every character voiced by Black and Gass, and can be watched via Tenacious D’s YouTube page. True to the title, Post-Apocalypto finds Tenacious D thrust into a world of complete and utter destruction following the drop of an atomic bomb. Surviving the attack in classic cinematic fashion (a good old imperishable 1950’s refrigerator), the duo quickly learns that new forms of evil have spawned from the blast. One thing becomes apparent – for humanity to prevail, Tenacious D must save the world. All six episodes feature new Tenacious D songs, culminating in this new 21-track album of the same name. [Limited green colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Touché Amoré – 10 Years/1000 Shows – Live At The Regent Theatre CD/2xLP+MP3 (Epitaph)
February 2018 marked the 10-year anniversary of the first show ever played by Los Angeles, CA melodic post-hardcore quintet Touché Amoré. To celebrate the feat the band played their 1000th show at the Regent Theater in downtown L.A, and the incredible event was captured on their new live album, 10 Years/1000 Shows – Live At The Regent Theater. 27 tracks spanning the band’s entire catalogue. Mixed by Converge’s Kurt Ballou.
December/January Program Title Released This Week:
Quavo – Quavo Huncho CD (Quality Control/Capitol)
Grammy-nominated Atlanta, GA superstar and one-third of hip-hop trio Migos (whom Rolling Stone calls “arguably the most influential group – in any genre – of the past few years”) Quavo presents his debut solo album, Quavo Huncho. The 19-track affair features 21 Savage, Cardi B, Drake, Kid Cudi, Lil Baby, Madonna, Normani & DaVido, Offset, Saweetie, Takeoff, Travis Scott and Migos’ members Offset and Takeoff and is prefaced by the infectious singles “Workin’ Me”, “Lamb Talk” and “Bubble Gum”. “…a scattershot collection of fresh-yet-familiar thumpers that will nicely keep the Migos brand bubbling.” – XXL [Vinyl edition due January 18.]
CDs + Vinyl:
Gaye Su Akyol – Istikrarli Hayal Hakikattir CD/LP (Glitterbeat)
With the release of her first international album Hologram Ĭmparatorluğu (2016), Gaye Su Akyol established herself as one of Turkey’s most compelling young voices and most exhilarating sonic explorers. Her work as a singer-songwriter, producer and audio/visual conceptualist, simultaneously navigates the storied past, the hyper-connected present and the unscripted future.
All Get Out – No Bouquet CD/LP (Equal Vision)
Mature emo that recalls The Weakerthans, Murder By Death, and Bright Eyes, as much as it does Taking Back Sunday or Jimmy Eat World.
Arsis – Visitant CD/LP (Nuclear Blast America)
James Malone has spent the better part of the last five years preparing for Arsis’ new album, Visitant. Not that the guitarist/vocalist/primary creative force has had a lot of time to follow-up 2013’s savagely good Unwelcome album. He’s been intimately involved in the unexpected explosion of supergroup Necromancing The Stone and teaching guitar at the School Of Rock. Additionally, sideman Brandon Ellis ended up joining death metallers The Black Dahlia Murder. Between Malone and Ellis’ non-Arsis responsibilities, new material was put on the proverbial backburner. Indeed, Arsis’ return is a welcome one. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Audiobooks – Now! (In A Minute) CD/LP (PIAS America)
Audiobooks is the new project from super-producer/mixer David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx, Caribou, FKA Twigs) and artist/model Evangeline Ling. The duo began making music after a chance meeting at a party. Audiobooks ride the sharp neon lines that run between the north Wales coast and the grubby heart of after-hours London. Stretched out over stuttering, glitchy glam electronics, their songs are woozy fly-on-the-wall accounts and out of body journeys through the capital at night.
Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band – Siri Ba Kele CD/LP (Sublime Frequencies)
After the Afro-beat fury of their first album Juguya (2015), the band has now distilled a potent mix of traditional and modern Burkinabe funk with a reverent take on the iconic Mandingue guitar music of the 1970s. Mamadou Sanou (Baba Commandant) leads the band with a confidence earned from years of toiling in the DIY underground of the West African music scene. His riveting growl and main instrument, the doso n’goni, still strike with a profound delivery.
Badfinger – Badfinger [Reissue/1974] CD (Real Gone Music)
Badfinger – Wish You Were Here [Reissue/1974] CD (Real Gone Music)
Expanded editions of Badfinger’s fifth and sixth albums. Most folks point to Badfinger as the greatest power pop band of all time. They released their first four albums on The Beatles’ Apple Records between 1970 and 1973.
Deben Bhattacharya – Paris To Calcutta: Men And Music On The Desert Road 4xCD+Book (Sublime Frequencies)
Deben Bhattacharya (1921-2001) was a field recordist, poet, filmmaker, musicologist, and amateur ethnomusicologist, based in Calcutta and Paris. Highly influential, it would not be too bold a stretch to say that his work shaped how we listen to the world: he produced a vast number of LPs, CDs, videos, and radio shows of traditional music from India, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe from 1953 until his death in 2001. Never before published, Paris To Calcutta: Men And Music On The Desert Road features over four hours of music and is Deben’s impressionistic account of a 1955 journey overland, in a converted milk delivery van, from France to India collecting and exploring music along the Desert Road from Europe into India.
Brant Bjork – Local Angel [Reissue/2004] CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Brant Bjork – Tres [Reissue/2005] CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
CD and vinyl reissues of the desert rocker’s fourth and fifth albums. [Limited colored vinyl pressings also available.]
Blancmange – Wanderlust CD/LP (Blanc Check)
“Wanderlust is the sixth album released by Blancmange since original member, and one half of the band, Stephen Luscombe left the band due to health issues. Neil Arthur has carried on with the name, and since 2013 there has been a new Blancmange album almost every year. Keep in mind that while he has had his Blancmange project, which also tours, Athur has been involved with two other bands, Fader and Near Future. Both these bands have released albums as well as toured. Arthur has released an astonishing amount of music over the last five years, and the thing is, he just keeps getting better.” – Spill
Blood Of The Sun – Blood’s Thicker Than Love CD (Listenable)
New release from the Texas-based hard rockers featuring drummer Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus). Drawing influences from the likes of Deep Purple, Mountain, Humble Pie, and Led Zeppelin, Blood Of The Sun has been delivering super catchy hard rock over the course of four albums, churning out upbeat ’70s radio hits with ease and conviction. [ Vinyl edition due November 16.]
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox – The Essentials CD/2xLP (Concord)
Founded by pianist and arranger Scott Bradlee in 2009, the ensemble reimagines contemporary pop, rock and R&B hits in the style of various yesteryears, from swing to doo-wop, ragtime to Motown – or, as Bradlee himself puts it, “pop music in a time machine.” Essentials II follows-up 2016’s first installment and features reinterpretations of songs by Soundgarden, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Jackson and Metallica among others with such guest artists as Haley Reinhart, Nicole Atkins, Casey Abrams, Morgan James, Wayne Brady and Mario Jose to name a few.
Peter Brötzmann & Heather Leigh – Sparrow Heights CD/LP (Trost)
There is complexity in simplicity, and Sparrow Nights is Peter Brötzmann and Heather Leigh’s most enduring record to date, and their first studio album. A series of emotionally rich and boldly elucidated tonal and timbral exchanges played like compositions on pedal steel and reeds, the tracks (released as a six-track LP and ten-track CD) are cold-forged minimalist blues motifs dragged from instrumental laments.
Rosanne Cash – She Remembers Everything CD/LP (Blue Note)
Dreams still beckon in a damaged world, and Rosanne Cash renders them with fierce grace on her new Blue Note offering She Remembers Everything. The follow-up to Cash’s 2014 release The River & The Thread, the album offers shimmering pop – with hints of twang and jazz – that could find a home in almost any year of postwar American music. But the luminescence and bright production are shot through with a darker vision, trenchant vocals, minor chords, and bent notes that destabilize the landscape. Familiar yet alien, Cash’s take on being a woman in the world reveals just how much has gone awry. [Limited edition pink colored vinyl pressing also available. Deluxe CD edition includes three bonus tracks. Box set due November 16.]
Eric Clapton – Happy Xmas [Deluxe Edition] CD+LP+7”+USB (Surfdog)
This limited-edition box set is wrapped in red-and-white faux fur (like Santa’s hat) and includes the new album on CD, a 7” picture flexi vinyl and a rubbery USB drive derived from Eric’s Santa sketch that doubles as an ornament and contains the album as hi-def WAV files, an interview, album art and bonus video content. An additional metal-alloy ornament rounds out this lavish set.
Matt Corby – Rainbow Valley CD/LP (Elektra)
For a decade, Matt Corby has been pushing his own boundaries, embracing a journey of self-discovery that’s seen him wrestle a few pre-conceptions and stare down his share of demons. Now, with two ARIA Song of the Year awards on the shelf, and a No. 1 debut album, Telluric, behind him, Corby can genuinely lay claim to some hard-earned perspective. As he had with Telluric, Corby once again enlisted the help of producer Dann Hume (Amy Shark, Client Liason) and engineer Matthew Neighbour (Avalanches, Missy Higgins). Everything else – drums, strings, keys, synths, piano and vocals – he took care of himself. The results speak for themselves. Lush, multi-textured and sparked by hints of both old soul and futuristic psychedelia, Rainbow Valley is, in Corby’s words “joyous music,” but it also has the depth and perspective of an artist who understands you can’t just take the good times for granted, you have to earn them.
Erin Costelo – Sweet Marie CD/LP (Compass)
New album from the Award-winning Canadian soul singer.
Current 93 – The Light Is Leaving Us All CD/LP (The Speres)
New album from everyone’s favorite hallucinatory cuneiform supergroup.
Andrew Cyrille, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill Frisell – Lebroba CD (ECM)
Andrew Cyrille’s title Lebroba is a contraction of Leland, Brooklyn and Baltimore, birthplaces of the protagonists of an album bringing together three of creative music’s independent thinkers. Each of them made his first ECM appearance long ago: drummer Andrew Cyrille on Marion Brown’s Afternoon Of A Georgia Faun (1970), trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith on his own classic Divine Love (1978), and guitarist Bill Frisell on Eberhard Weber’s Fluid Rustle (1979); these are, of course, players of enduring influence. Frisell contributed to Cyrille’s previous ECM disc The Declaration Of Musical Independence, but Lebroba marks a first-time meeting for the guitarist and Smith. [Vinyl edition due December 7.]
Devil Master – Manifestations CD/LP (Relapse)
Philadelphia, PA’s Devil Master have been spitting in the face of convention since forming in 2016 with their raw, twisted brand of death rock meets black metal punk mayhem. Manifestations is a compilation of the band’s full catalog, two sold out demos from 2016 and 2017 (Tape and Inhabit The Corpse); remixed and remastered. Debut full-length album coming in early 2019.
Drug Church – Cheer CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Drug Church is a glorious contradiction. They are an unabashedly aggressive band that writes hooks you can’t stop humming: too poppy for the heavy crowd, too heavy for the poppy crowd. Their frontman is a singer who rarely sings and delivers lyrics that revel in the darkest corners of the human condition, but are just as likely to make you laugh as they are to make you flinch.
Duende with David J – Oracle Of The Horizontal CD/LP (Glass Modern)
Oracle Of The Horizontal is the product of a collaboration between David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets) and Detroit’s psych prog garage rock ‘n’ rollers Duende which Damien Youth describes as “dark psych, crow winged, pulp rock at its finest.”
Bob Dylan – More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 CD/6xCD/2xLP (Sony)
The latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy’s highly acclaimed Bob Dylan Bootleg Series makes available the pivotal studio recordings made by Dylan during six extraordinary sessions in 1974 – four in New York (September 16, 17, 18, 19) and two in Minneapolis (December 27, 30) – that resulted in the artist’s 1975 masterpiece, Blood On The Tracks. [The strictly limited Deluxe six-CD set includes every surviving take from the album, including the complete New York sessions.]
Eagles – Legacy 12xCD+DVD+Blu-ray/15xLP (Elektra)
Legacy includes all seven of the Eagles’ studio albums, three live albums, and a compilation of singles and B-sides. It is packaged in a handsome slipcase accompanied by a 54-page hardbound book filled with rare and unseen photos, memorabilia, and artwork encompassing the band’s entire career. The CD edition includes two concert videos: Hell Freezes Over (DVD) and Farewell Tour: Live From Melbourne (Blu-ray).
Heaters – Suspended Youth CD/LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
“Heaters are back! And on this, their fourth LP in as many years, we find their sound has aged like a fine wine.”
Hiss Golden Messenger – Bad Debt [Reissue/2010] CD (Merge)
Hiss Golden Messenger – Poor Moon [Reissue/2011] CD (Merge)
Hiss Golden Messenger – Haw [Reissue/2011] CD (Merge)
Hiss Golden Messenger – Devotion: Songs About Rivers And Spirits And Children CD/4xLP+MP3 (Merge)
Remastered reissues of Hiss Golden Messenger’s albums Bad Debt, Poor Moon, and Haw. The limited-edition deluxe box set includes Virgo Fool – a rarities compilation that will only be available physically as part of this collection. Both the four-CD and four-LP sets are housed in a cloth-wrapped, foil-stamped slipcase and feature original iconographic artwork by Sam Smith, an exclusive foldout poster, full lyrics, and new liner notes by New Yorker writer Amanda Petrusich and MOJO editor John Mulvey.
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Willoughby’s Beach [Reissue/2011] CDEP/12” (ATO)
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – 12 Bar Bruise [Reissue/2012] CD/LP (ATO)
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Story Written And Narrated By Broderick Smith – Eyes Like The Sky [Reissue/2013] CD/LP (ATO)
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Float Along – Fill Your Lungs [Reissue/2013] CD/LP (ATO)
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Oddments [Reissue/2014] CD/LP (ATO)
CD and vinyl reissues of the Australian psychedelic rock band’s second EP and first four albums.
Heather Leigh – Throne CD/LP (Editions Mego)
On Throne, Heather Leigh takes her place as queen of pedal steel with a suite of heart-rending ballads cauterized with burning riffs. After the rawness of its precursor I Abused Animal, Throne is a record of late night Americana and heavy femininity; intimate love songs smoked in sensuality. The songs are woozy, gorgeous and uncomfortable, smothered in thick layers of bass but lifted by multi-tracked vocals.
Richard Lloyd – The Countdown CD (Plowboy)
Lloyd’s (Rocket From The Tombs, Television) trademark fusion of garage rock crunch, irresistible power pop hooks and metaphysical soul is apparent from the opening riff of the The Countdown’s inaugural rocker “Wind in the Rain”. [Also available: Deluxe edition containing an autographed copy of the CD and a paperback copy of his recent autobiography Everything Is Combustible.]
Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret – Other Side Of Air CD (Firehouse 12)
As a composer, Melford explains, The Other Side Of Air finds her strengthening and extending many of the concepts heard on that winning debut. “As we were playing the first set of music, I started thinking, ‘What else would I like to be able to express with these guys?” she recalls. Her answer yielded 10 tracks boasting continual curiosity as well as plenty of visceral impact. Melford has long culled inspiration from her expansive enthusiasm for culture-from Rumi and Camus to architecture and Eastern spirituality-and The Other Side Of Air is informed in part by visual art.
Melissa Manchester – Mathematics: The MCA Years CD (Real Gone Music)
Definitive double-CD edition Manchester’s 1985 album. Mathematics: The MCA Years boasts the newly-remastered, full-length original album on Disc One while Disc Two boasts all of the original period remixes, B-sides, and unreleased tracks.
Merzbow/Genesis P-Orridge – Perfect Pain [Reissue/1999] CD/LP (Cold Spring)
A Perfect Pain is a manifestation of the incredible power created by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Psychic TV/Throbbing Gristle) – the founding father of the industrial world, and Merzbow – the undisputed king of Japanese noise. Recorded exclusively for Cold Spring, A Perfect Pain has been hailed as an important album and an extremely successful collaboration.
Metallica – …And Justice For All [Reissue/1988] CD/3xCD/2xLP/5xLP+10”+11xCD+4xDVD/Cassette (Blackened)
Remastered reissues of the fourth studio album by heavy metal icons – available across a variety of editions. The deluxe triple-CD edition includes two discs of previously unreleased demos, rough mixes & live tracks. The one-pressing-only numbered Super Deluxe box set includes the remastered double 180gm LP and CD versions of the album, One 10″ vinyl picture disc, a triple-LP live set, four DVDs of largely previously unreleased footage, and 10 CDs of unreleased demos, rough mixes, interviews and live tracks, many of which have never been available and were pulled from the band’s personal collections. Single-disc CD, double-disc vinyl, and cassette editions are also available.
Mighty Quinn & The Oakland Ronin – Mighty Quinn & The Oakland Ronin CD/LP (Mighty Quinn Music)
Mighty Quinn aka Quinn Walker is a musician from Oakland, CA most famous for his music featured on the TV show Scrubs. He writes music and plays shows with his live punk band Mighty Quinn & The Oakland Ronin. The album, in true punk fashion, includes a ton of leftist political messages about social justice mixed with classic upbeat tunes about love, loss, addiction, depression, and a few pirate references.
Charles Mingus – Jazz In Detroit/Strata Concert Gallery/46 Selden 5xCD/5xLP (BBE)
The radical discovery by Amir Abdullah of 5 two-track master tapes in the care of Hermine Brooks – widow of innovative Detroit drummer Roy Brooks – of the Charles Mingus Quintet recorded live in Detroit at Strata Concert Gallery is cause for some serious celebration. These electrifying recordings took place during Mingus’ weeklong residency in February 1973. They were broadcast live by drummer/producer and broadcaster Robert Bud Spangler for WDET FM – a public radio station dedicated to jazz – from Kenny and Barbara Cox’s multi-purpose home for Strata Records at 46 Seldon.
The Moody Blues – In Seach For The Lost Chord [Reissue/1968] 3xCD+2xDVD/LP (Polydor)
Digitally remastered 50th Anniversary edition of The Moody Blues third album. The Super Deluxe three CD + two DVD edition contains the original stereo mix, bonus/unreleased tracks, BBC Radio One sessions. Contains the 1968 mono singles from Deram, previously unreleased on CD. DVD 1 contains a previously unreleased 96 kHz / 24-bit 5.1 Surround, new Stereo mix and remastered original stereo mix. DVD 2 includes three previously unreleased BBC TV performances from 1968. [Single-disc 180gm vinyl reissue also available.]
Kelly Moran – Ultraviolet CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
Composer, producer, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Kelly Moran made an early name for herself in New York collaborating with dance performance and composing for long-term John Cage collaborator Margaret Leng Tan. It was with the 2017 album Bloodroot that Moran began to reach wider attention. Now, on her Warp Records debut Ultraviolet she continues to interpret these wealth of inspirations into a sound all her own and pulls off a nearly impossible feat: the annihilation of experimental music’s imposing, esoteric, über-academic status quo in the name of pure, unbridled intuition, of human joy.
Mother Feather – Constellation Baby CD (Metal Blade)
New York City’s Mother Feather have perfected the formula to pay homage to the roots of punk ‘n’ roll and heavy rock injected with their own brand of the divine feminine. The evolution of their high-energy pop cock-rock surges forward with their sophomore album, Constellation Baby.
Georgia Anne Muldrow – Overload CD/LP+MP3 (Brainfeeder)
Typically working alone, the record flips that dynamic and takes Georgia out of her comfort zone for the first time since Seeds (2003) which was entirely produced by Madlib. Overload bears the fruits of numerous collaborations, most notably with duo Mike & Keys (50 Cent, Nipsey Hussle, Snoop Dogg, G-Eazy) who contribute production to four tracks including the sleek, anthemic title track alongside Khalil (Dr Dre). A modern soul classic in the making.
Michael Martin Murphey – Austinology: Alleys Of Austin CD (Wildfire Productions)
Michael Martin Murphey’s new album, Austinology: Alleys Of Austin is filled with songs that laid the groundwork for what is today considered Americana music, but don’t think for one minute that this is a nostalgia project. 50 years after Murphey helped pioneer the Austin Music Scene (along with Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn and more), his latest offering is a look at the seminal period of Austin’s music history that set the stage for the outlaw movement with Nelson and Waylon Jennings, among others, and the live music scene that is still thriving there. [Vinyl edition due November 30.]
Naked Blue/Lee Child – Just The Clothes On My Back – A Collaboration With Lee Child CD (Bluetick)
After a decades-long friendship born of unlikely coincidence and mutual fandom, bestselling author Lee Child and recording artists Jen & Scott Smith (Naked Blue) spent some quality time together, exploring their favorite character, Jack Reacher. The result is an exciting full length collaboration, Just the Clothes on My Back, an inside and personal look at the iconic Jack Reacher. Cinematic Americana/rock ‘n’ roll, illuminating Jack Reacher in a new medium.
Joey Negro – Remixed With Love Vol. Three 2xCD (Z. Records)
Joey Negro – Remixed With Love Vol. Three Part One 2xLP (Z. Records)
Joey Negro – Remixed With Love Vol. Three Part Two 2xLP (Z. Records)
Joey Negro – Remixed With Love Vol. Three Part Three 2xLP (Z. Records)
Classic disco reworked from original multi-track tapes, Joey Negro’s Remixed With Love Vol. 3 is the latest edition of what has become the industry-leading disco remix series. [Vinyl edition spread across three double-LP volumes.]
The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic CD (Metal Blade)
Based in Berlin, Germany, The Ocean have been making what they refer to as ‘ambient soundtrack doomrock’ since 2001. Their style combines elements of hardcore punk and modern, technical metal with epic arrangements and classical instrumentation. After five years of touring on 2013’s Pelagial, the band delivers their long-awaited eighth studio album, Phanerozoic, split into two volumes. [Vinyl edition due December 14.]
Will Oldham – Songs Of Love And Horror CD/LP (Drag City)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Songwriter Oldham, guitar and voice operating in quiet tension and ultimate accord, revisits songs that made him (that he made) and others in new versions that quiver like fresh young things in the air of today.
Nick Oliveri – N.O. Hits At All Vol. 5 CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
The latest in the series of Oliveri-recorded rare tracks and guest spots, including work he did with The Dwarves, Simon Strokes, Mondo Generator, Death Acoustic, Svetlanas, and The Situationalists.
Opeth – Garden Of The Titans: Opeth Live At Red Rocks Amphitheatre 2xCD+DVD+Blu-ray/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Recorded in May 2017 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside of Denver, CO, Opeth’s new live collection consists of tracks spanning their nearly 30-year career. [ Limited “beer with red splatter” colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Paint – Paint CD/LP (Mexican Summer)
Paint (Allah-Las guitarist/singer Pedrum Siadatian) makes his mark with his first self-titled solo record. After Allah-Las 2016 Calico Review album he started 4-tracking his own strange ideas fed by the acid-bitter poetry and murky music of Kevin Ayers & Syd Barrett. He found a producer in Frank Maston who instinctively understood the songs would fall apart in the studio if scrubbed too hard. Paint’s first album isn’t always clean but it’s very, very clear: sometimes the mess is the message.
Doug Paisley – Starter Home CD/LP (No Quarter)
To make his first album in nearly five years, Doug Paisley stayed in his hometown of Toronto, Canada playing with old friends and collaborators, and recording in home studios around the city. He spent the previous few years writing, and Starter Home showcases an already brilliant songwriter getting even better. The songs are rooted in the sound of folk and country, but the themes are universal and expansive, not belonging to any genre. The recording itself is quiet, often only minimally adorned, showcasing Paisley’s incredible voice and guitar playing.
Part Time – Spell #6 CD/LP (Burger)
Nearing a decade old and with a discography reaching deep into double figures across several different labels (Mexican Summer, Burger, Plastic Response Records) David Loca’s work under the Part Time moniker really shouldn’t require any introduction. Nonetheless, the release of what is officially his sixth album, fittingly titled Spell #6, does signal something of a re-birth and provides a compelling entry point for anyone new to Loca’s prolific output. Whereas previous albums were notable for a charming lo-fi production, Spell #6 takes Part Time uptown. [Cassette version due December 14.]
Pete The Cat – Pete The Cat CD (Sleeping Giant)
Pete The Cat is a wildly successful series of children’s books, and now is also an animated series. The first soundtrack from the animated series features 28 tracks from the show. Voices and songs in the show are done by Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, KT Tunstall, Don Was, Jason Mraz, and many more.
Peter, Björn And John – Darker Days CD/LP (Ingrid)
The eighth studio album from the Swedish trio, Darker Days first began coming together in Stockholm at Atlantis Studios, where the songs were written in the immediate aftermath of Breakin’ Point. A concerted effort to, as a press release puts it, “strip away the noise,” however, has resulted in a careful, measured march towards a “composed and simple” album. The album’s construction began with the conjuring of its title, which Peter Morén, Björn Yttling and John Eriksson used as a jumping off point for their songs. Though composed separately, the songs each feature contributions from the individual members.
Pistol Annies – Interstate Gospel CD/LP (RCA)
Country supertrio Pistol Annies – featuring Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley – return with their third album. Interstate Gospel showcases the Grammy-nominated group’s stunning harmonies, encompassing celebratory anthems, classic country storytelling and vibey swagger.
Qluster – Elemente CD/LP (Bureau B)
Seventh album from the third incarnation of the legendary krautronic project Kluster/Cluster springs a surprise with a minor sensation: sequencer lines. Using an array of exclusively analogue instruments, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Onnen Bock and Armin Metz have recorded eight tracks which, at one and the same time, are intrinsically hypnotic and sublimely beautiful.
Craig Richards, Terry Francis, Keith Reilly – Fabric 100 3xCD (Fabric Worldwide)
Since its inauguration in 2001, the fabric mix series has provided a physical realization of the club’s mission to support underground culture, documenting crucial developments in style and genre with an extensive list of artists. Wrapping up the series in its current format, fabric 100 is a triple disc package drawing on almost two decades of parties at the club. Distinct in style the three artists invited for this instalment are fused by their devotion to the electronic music scene.
Bill Ryder-Jones – Yawn CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
The 10 songs on Yawn, multi-instrumentalist, producer, string-arranger and composer Bill Ryder-Jones’ fourth studio album, are everyday stories about situations we all fall from and into, out of and back up against the wall again – and they are sung to us, up close, by a voice still in hock to a few uncomfortable truths. The album was recorded and produced entirely by Bill himself, with a little help from friends including guest vocals from The Orielles and Our Girl.
Senyawa – Sujud CD/LP (Sublime Frequencies)
Senyawa are a contemporary duo originating from Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Rully Shabara (extreme vocals) coupled with Wukir Suryadi’s deft instrumentals (and homemade instruments) produce one of the most profound examples of experimental via traditional music happening anywhere today. By weaving Indonesian folkloric moods with various shades of modern genre hybrids, Senyawa has been navigating unexplored musical terrain for more than a decade.
Sick Of It All – Wake The Sleeping Dragon CD (Fat Wreck Chords)
The godfathers of NYC hardcore make their triumphant return a 17 track banger. [Vinyl edition due December 7.]
Silent Planet – When The End Began CD (Solid State)
When the End Began captures the band’s aggressive live sound while retaining their more exploratory ambient elements. [Vinyl edition due November 16.]
Smoky White Devils – New Old Stock CD (Plowboy)
This quartet of veteran players is fronted by Richie Owens on vocals, slice and rhythm guitars, and harmonica. Nick Kane, from the platinum years of The Mavericks, plays lead guitar. Forming the granite-tough rhythm section are Michael “Fergie” Ferguson, consummate session player and touring musician for Country Rock duo, Trailer Choir and bassist John Reed, of longtime Nashville punk rock rebel pioneers Raging Fire.
Straight No Chaser – One Shot CD (Atlantic)
New album from the all-male a Capella group from Indiana.
Barbara Streisand – Walls CD (Sony)
Walls is Barbra Streisand’s first album primarily consisting of original songs since 2005 and the first release from the multi-talented star to encompass a unified social theme. It finds Barbra exploring both her concerns and hopes for the future in a collection filled with beautiful melodies and thought-provoking lyrics. [Vinyl edition due December 7.]
Sun Kil Moon – This Is My Dinner CD (Caldo Verde)
This Is My Dinner was written during Sun Kil Moon’s November 2017 European tour. The album was recorded November 18, 2017 at TAPF Studio in Copenhagen and December 7, 8, 9, 2017 at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco. Music by Tony Scherr, Ben Boye, and Ramon Fermin. Words by Mark Kozelek. Musicians include Tony Scherr, Jim White, Scott McPherson, Ben Boye, Ramon Fermin, Chris Connolly and special guest Jordan Cook.
Surfbort – Friendship Music CD/LP (Fat Possum)
Co-produced/recorded/mixed/mastered by Jonathan Schenke, NYC goofball hardcore quartet Surfbort channels inspiration from the ‘80s punk scene to produce rousing, explosive music. Their feedback-strafed, guitar-shredding punk music says “no” to a digital age full of intolerance; they radiate love and friendship.
Thought Gang – Thought Gang CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
By the time Twin Peaks’ second season had aired and Fire Walk With Me had just began principle production, Thought Gang had been born. The esoteric jazz side-project of David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti evolved from the seeds of Twin Peaks’ trademark slow cool jazz and blossomed into more experimental pastures: horizonless vistas of acid-soaked free-jazz, laced with spoken word narratives and sprawling noisescapes.
Two Medicine – Astropsychosis CD/LP (Bella Union)
“I’d always wanted Midlake to experiment more with the arrangements, or to get more into psychedelic textures,” says Paul Alexander, the bassist from Denton’s prog-folk voyagers. Those ambitions are fulfilled on Astropsychosis, Alexander’s debut album as Two Medicine. Richly ambitious in its sonic color and conceptual reach, Astropsychosis is an album of luminous space and mindful grace, its depths and details coaxed into orbit with the lightness of an artist in his element.
Vaudou Game – Otodi CD/2xLP (Hot Casa)
For the most authentic of frequencies to fully imbibe this third album, Peter Solo entrusted the rhythmic section to a Togolese bass and drum duo, putting the groove in the expert hands of those versed in feeling and a type of musicianship that you can’t learn in any school. This was also a way to put Otodi on the path of a more heavily hued funk sound, the backbone of which maintains flexibility and agility when moving over to highlife, straightens out when enhanced with frequent guest Roger Damawuzan’s James Brown type screams, and softens when making the way for strings.
Steve Wilson – Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall 2xCD+2xDVD/2xCD+2xBlu-ray (Eagle Records)
At the end of March 2018, Steven Wilson played a sell-out three-night residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall captures the last show of the three-night run and includes nearly three hours of live performance. [Vinyl edition tentatively scheduled for March 2019.]
Witherfall – A Prelude To Sorrow CD/2xLP (Century Media)
New release from the melodic metal masters. Main songwriters Joseph Michael (vocals, Sanctuary – live) and Jake Dreyer (Iced Earth) succeeded in perfectly combining the group’s technical proficiency with an appropriate eerie and somber atmosphere.
Yowler – Black Dog In My Path CD/LP (Double Double Whammy)
Maryn Jones’ first release under the moniker Yowler, a 2015 cassette (and later LP), The Offer, was a wintery cold reflection on unwanted change, sadness, and the facing down of the realities of loneliness and mental unrest. The songs are somehow quiet even when the instrumentation builds, and clear, even when there is a hazy quality to the recordings. This is likely due to Jones’ voice, which is at once soft and penetrating, warm and distant, and which floats assuredly among the woven arrangement of guitars, synths and harmonies surrounding it. Yowler’s newest album, Black Dog in My Path, expands on these sounds, while exploring past unexplored territory of heavier fuzzy guitars, full band arrangements, and genre-bending tendencies; all this without losing the marked intimacy Jones found in the warmth and delicateness of The Offer.
Yum•Yum – Dan Loves Patti [Reissue/1996] CD (Omnivore)
20th Anniversary reissue of the 1996 psychedelic-pop masterpiece expanded with 10 bonus tracks—6 previously unissued.
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Amaranthe – Helix LP (Spinefarm)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Twelve new pop metal anthems from the Swedish heavy metal band originally known as Avalanche. The band is notable for having three lead vocalists: Elize Ryd, Henrik Englund Wilhemsson, and Nils Molin, each presenting a different vocal style.
Arcade Fire – Arcade Fire [Reissue/2003] 12” (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissue of the original Arcade Fire demo EP recorded in August 2003 in a barn in Maine, and featuring an earlier lineup of the band (Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Dane Mills, Brendan Reed and Myles Broscoe).
Louis Armstrong – The Paramount Recordings 1923-1925 LP (ORG Music)
Louis Armstrong was one of the most renowned trumpeters, bandleaders, singers, and soloists. Also known as “Satchmo,” the incredibly influential musician was born into poverty in New Orleans, LA and worked his way to the top of the jazz circuit beginning in the early 1920’s. The Paramount Recordings is a collection studio sessions tracked between 1923 and 1925, recorded at the time for Paramount Records.
Atreyu – In Our Wake LP (Spinefarm)
Limited edition picture disc vinyl pressing. Atreyu follow-up 2015’s Long Live with their seventh studio album, In Our Wake which finds the California metalcore mavericks reuniting with producer John Feldmann who helmed Lead Sails And Paper Anchor (2007).
Bad Sports – Constant Stimulation LP (Dirtnap)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Texas trio Bad Sports push their sound into a more modern sphere of punk on their new album Constant Stimulation. The production quality is leaner and tenser, giving an air that is decidedly frustrated, and world-weary, but is still great stripped-down classic-leaning punk with deep power-pop vs. proto-punk undercurrents.
Joan Baez – Joan Baez [Reissue/1960] LP (Craft Recordings)
Recorded for the venerable Vanguard label in 1960 when she was just 19 years old, singer/songwriter/activist Joan Baez’s landmark self-titled debut opened the world’s eyes to a soprano so pure and beguiling that the mere act of listening to her – never mind that her music also packed a powerful message – was a true pleasure. Bearing twin passions of folk music and humanist causes, the traditional songs in Baez’s repertoire all dealt with the human condition – underdogs in the fight, inequity among the races, the desperation of poverty, the futility of war, romantic betrayal, unrequited love, spiritual redemption and grace – themes which have been at the forefront of her work, both on and off the stage throughout her life. 180gm.
Jon Batiste – Hollywood Africans LP (Verve)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With Hollywood Africans, Jon Batiste dives deep into his own personal and cultural heritage, weaving an intimate and emotional tapestry out of original material and American standards that carries the listener from the early jazz of New Orleans to the present day.
Ursula Bogner – Recordings 1969-1988 [Reissue/2008] LP (Faitiche)
Faitiche is ten years old. October 2008 saw the release of Ursula Bogner’s Recordings 1969-1988, for which the label was created. While working as a pharmacist, Ursula Bogner experimented with electronic music, undiscovered, for over three decades. When Jan Jelinek first heard Bogner’s work in 2008, he was enthusiastic. The resulting album, compiled by Jelinek from Bogner’s extensive oeuvre, is being reissued in a remastered version to mark the label’s tenth anniversary. This new version also includes four bonus tracks that were previously only available on a 7″ single.
Brân – Ail Ddechra [Reissue/1975] LP (Rise Above Limited)
Brân were one of the most successful Welsh bands, in their own country, during the mid-late ‘70s. Their highly unique and unusual blend of heavy rock, mixed with acid-folk and progressive elements, has since led them to become a highly collectable cult band.
Jakob Bro Trio – Bay Of Rainbows LP (ECM)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. There is no hurry to this music, but there is great depth, observed London Jazz News about Danish guitarist Jakob Bro’s trio with two kindred-spirit Americans: bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Joey Baron.
Dave Brubeck – Time In [Reissue/1966] LP (ORG Music)
Time In is last release of Dave Brubeck’s ‘Time’ series, and is often referred to as one of the pianist’s most dynamic and adventurous records. The 1966 studio album ranges from alluring ballads to driving hard bop, with intricate solos strewn about from each player. 180gm.
The Byrds – Fifth Dimension [Reissue/1966] LP (Friday Music)
180gm reissue of the third album by the American folk rock band.
Calender – It’s A Monster [Reissue/1976] LP (Tidal Waves Music)
Calender was a mid- ‘70s New Jersey funk band, best known for their proto-disco hit “Hypertension” which came out in 1975. The brainchild of songwriter, producer and arranger Paul Kyser, along with Leon Stuckey, he co-wrote “Just How Sweet Is Your Love” for disco super group Rhyze and had set up the New Jersey-based Pi Kappa label which released several singles by ‘70s hit-bands such as Jimmy Briscoe and Calender. Kyser went on to work with Stevie Wonder, The Three Degrees and The Chi-Lites among many others.
Terry Callier – The New Folk Sound [Reissue/1965] 2xLP (Craft Recordings)
Terry Callier conveys the promise and power in The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier. This capturing a young man in his element, his voice and soul, jazz and folk-infused songs timeless. This new version includes five previously unreleased alternate takes.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis – The Proposition (Original Soundtrack) [Reissue/2005] LP (Mute)
The Proposition was the first feature length soundtrack composed by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis and saw a departure in the pair’s previous band-orientated projects, (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) providing a haunting and uneasy soundtrack to the film.
A Certain Ratio – The Graveyard And The Ballroom [Reissue/1980] LP (Mute)
Fully showcasing A Certain Ratio’s legendary mix of angular, bass heavy post-punk, The Graveyard And The Ballroom has been a collectors’ item ever since its initial release on cassette at the dawn of the ’80s. Limited orange colored vinyl pressing.
CH3 – After The Lights Go Out [Reissue/1983] LP (Drastic Plastic)
After the success of their debut album, Fear of Life, Channel 3 released After the Lights Go Out in 1983, recorded at the legendary Gold Star Studios shortly before it’s closing the following year. This remarkable follow-up is full of aggressive songs traveling at break-neck speed paired with melodic vocals and earnest lyrics.
Chevelle – 12 Bloody Spies: B-sides And Rarities LP (Epic)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. As the title suggests, 12 Bloody Spies: B-sides And Rarities culls together songs that haven’t appeared on the standard editions of the band’s eight studio albums, offering remastered versions of the tunes.
Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt – Brace Up! LP (Palilalia)
Brace Up! Is the first ever studio release from the duo of Chris Corsano (drums) and Bill Orcutt (guitar). Recorded in Brussels at Les Ateliers Claus by Christophe Albertijn on March 19th and 20th, 2018. Over the past six years or so, drummer Chris Corsano has proven to be one of Bill Orcutt’s most reliably flexible collusionists. Regardless of whether Bill is cluster-busting electric guitar strings, weaseling around with cracked electronics, or playing relatively spacious free-rock, Corsano is able to provide the proper base for his aural sculpting.
Ian William Craig – Thresholder LP (FatCat)
Thresholder sees Craig return towards the smudged and scoured beauty of his 2016 opus, Centres, a record which was universally acclaimed, making many end-of-year lists. For Craig the focus of the album was a great boundlessness of space, the sound of the big bang, the spookiness of the quantum world, and vacillations of different kinds of conflicting time. Besides as the often-quoted William Basinski reference point, the music here recalls the visceral media-decay of early ‘00s operators like Fennesz, Belong, Desormais, Philip Jeck or Pimmon.
Crazy Lixx – Loud Minority LP (Frontiers)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. This Swedish hard rock/metal band carries the torch of classic rock ‘n’ roll with great pride.
Doe – Grow Into It LP (Topshelf/Big Scary Monsters)
Recently released on CD and cassette – now available on vinyl. New album from the London-based indie-punk band. “I wanted to write an album about getting older that was an antithesis of the overdone trope of male bands singing about rejecting adulthood and wanting to stay young and get wasted with their friends forever,” she said. “Instead, Grow Into It is about finding light and freedom in age and finding autonomy in death.”
Electric Eye – Live At Blå 2xLP (Digger’s Factory)
Electric Eye is a psychedelic rock band from Norway. This album is the live recording of a great concert they performed in Blå, Oslo.
Eureka Brass Band – New Orleans Funeral And Parade Music LP (ORG Music)
What started in the early 20th century was a melding of traditions from both European origins as well as African cultural influences in Louisiana for funeral services. The colonial past of New Orleans brought its marching band tradition to local services and combined with African spiritual practices the result is what onlookers would refer to as a “Jazz Funeral”. The New Orleans Parade And Funeral Music sessions come from 1951, and include previously unreleased recordings. Audio remastered for vinyl and pressed locally at New Orleans Record Press.
The Gil Evans Orchestra featuring Johnny Coles – Great Jazz Standards [Reissue/1959] LP (Down At Dawn)
This is a highly recommended set from the superb Gil Evans Orchestra, seeing the group playing stand-out arrangements of five jazz standards and a couple of originals. For this date, Evans recruited a 15-piece band including some great soloists such as trumpeter Johnny Coles, trombonist Curtis Fuller, the young soprano sax player Steve Lacy and last but not least a pair of differently great drummers in Denis Charles and Elvin Jones.
Filter – Short Bus [Reissue/1995] LP (Craft Recordings)
Long out of print on vinyl, this reissue features vinyl mastering by George Horn and Anne-Marie Suenramat Fantasy Studios and was pressed at Memphis Record Pressing.
Ryu Fukui – Mellow Dream [Reissue/1977] LP (We Release Jazz)
Official vinyl reissue of a criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem.
Gin Blossoms – Mixed Reality LP (Cleopatra)
Released last June on CD – now available on limited green colored vinyl. New album from the melodic alt rock band.
The Greeting Committee – This Is It LP (Harvest)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. The Greeting Committee’s debut album This Is It is a coming-of-age story, a reflection on growing up but defiantly holding onto a certain innocence. All between the ages of 19 and 21, the Kansas City-based band delivers an undeniably original selection of songs that feel as intimate as a basement recording but unfold in intricate textures and melodic sophistication. With delicate yet powerful vocals, frontwoman Addie Sartino instills This Is It with an openheartedness that transcends age and time, bringing both dreamy sensitivity and wide-eyed wisdom to every track.
Howlin’ Wolf – Moanin’ In The Moonlight [Reissue/1958] LP (Geffen)
An imposing figure who sang with a fierce growl and rasp, Howlin’ Wolf’s debut album was fittingly titled Moanin’ In The Moonlight. All of Wolf’s best qualities came together on the 1959 Chess Records release which collected together singles from 1951-59, including his eerie and powerful first hit “Moanin’ At Midnight” and the stupendous “Smokestack Lightnin'”.
Michael Hurley – Living Ljubljana LP (Feeding Tube)
In March 1995, soon after the German Veracity label issued Wolfways, and just before they did Parsnips Snips (1995) (Hurley’s first vinyl after a nine-year drought), the Great Snock undertook his first European tour. Joined by bassist Robert Michener (from the Richmond scene Hurley’d been involved in) and percussionist Mickey Bones (legendary Boston drummer & bones player), Hurley hit a bunch of places and Germany and also KLUB K4 in Llubjana, Slovenia, where this set was recorded. The sound is beautiful, the band plays with lazy perfection, and Hurley’s vocals are energetically melodic.
Husky Loops – Spool 12” (30th Century Records)
New EP from the Italian-born, London-based musical adventurers. Limited gold colored vinyl pressing.
Willie Hutch – Foxy Brown [Reissue/1974] LP (Motown)
Original soundtrack to the 1974 motion picture. Willie Hutch was a singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s. Foxy Brown is a 1974 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill.
Ice Nine Kills – The Silver Scream LP (Fearless)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A conceptually driven post-metalcore album with the catchiness and spirit of pop-punk and the fist-pumping anthem power of arena rock, The Silver Scream is 13 songs of horror movie inspired madness.
Illuminati Hotties – Kiss Yr Frenemies LP (Tiny Engines)
Released last May on CD and cassette – now available on vinyl. Despite the pluralized nom de guerre, Illuminati Hotties is the creative outlet of Sarah Tudzin – a producer and engineer hailing from the sprawl of Los Angeles. Lauded as local tenderpunk pioneers, Illuminati Hotties has perfected the blend of sweetness and ferocity, of celebration and despondency on debut album Kiss Yr Frenemies. At first listen, it is a sun-drenched, irreverent volley with the onset of adulthood, but as the listener dives deeper, they will find an earnest consideration of musical phrasing and deliberately crafted wordplay regarding the complexity of love, loss, and skateboarding.
Colin James – Miles To Go LP (Stony Plain)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With his new album, Miles To Go, acclaimed guitarist Colin James is getting back to the blues. The album serves as James’ ambitious sequel to his critically-acclaimed 2016 LP, Blue Highways, and continues his story with a collection of carefully curated songs handpicked from some of the greatest blues artists.
Gavin James – Only Ticket Home LP (Capitol)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. The Irish singer-songwriter’s second studio album features the chart-topping singles “Always”, “Hearts On Fire” and “Tired”.
Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts LP (G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Kids See Ghosts is the eponymous debut from the hip-hop duo of the same name featuring Kanye West and Kid Cudi and the third of five 7-track 2018 albums produced by West succeeding Pusha T’s Daytona and his own ye and preceding Nas’ Nasir and Teyana Taylor’s K.T.S.E. It includes contributions from Pusha T, Yasiin Bey, Ty Dolla Sign and a posthumous vocal sample of Louis Prima.
Kode 9 and Burial – FabricLive 100 2xLP (Fabric)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Burial and Kode9 are each credited with fostering esoteric, hyperlocal sounds and steering them to global recognition. As such, these tracks reach into obscure corners and across a disorienting range of tempos. This set of four vinyl LPs – produced to accompany the final FabricLive 100 compilation release, features 28 of the 37 tracks on the compilation in their unmixed format. Includes artists from Africa, China, South America, and Japan as well as the Europe and US. Drawing from gqom, juke, and footwork to trance, jungle, and grime, as well as a wealth of material that defies categorization.
Korn – Issues [Reissue/1999] 2xLP (Epic)
Korn – Untouchables [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (Epic)
Korn – Take A Look In The Mirror [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Epic)
Vinyl reissues of the fourth, fifth, and sixth albums from the nu metal band.
Abbey Lincoln – That’s Him! [Reissue/1957] LP (Down At Dawn)
That’s Him! is Lincoln’s second recording, with the singer accompanied by a stellar cast including Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Max Roach (drums). Lincoln’s highly original singing shines throughout a repertoire based on superior songs like “I Must Have That Man!” and “Don’t Explain”, two numbers closely associated with Billie Holiday, as well as Oscar Brown, Jr.’s “Strong Man”.
Mac Dre – Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics [Reissue/2004] LP (Thizz Ent.)
12 solid raps with production by Sean T, Gennessee, Sweet Geez, Lev, Swampkat, THE G.O.V., and Johan Whale.
Paul McCollough – Night Of The Living Dead (Original 1990 Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2xLP (Strange Disc)
Paul McCollough’s original soundtrack to Tom Savini’s Night Of The Living Dead – available for the first time on vinyl.
Mac Miller – Swimming CD (WB)
Released in August on CD – now available on vinyl. Introduced by the sonically laid-back and funk/R&B-heavy tracks “Self Care”, “Small Worlds” and “What’s The Use?”, Swimming is the last offering from shape-shifting rapper/singer/producer Mac Miller who died on September 7. The album includes contributions from fellow rapper/producer J. Cole, British singer/songwriter Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) and composer/instrumentalist John Brion. Miller told Zane Lowe that the album is focused on space and “what it means to be inside of a record.” RIP.
Marcus Miller – Laid Back 2xLP (Blue Note)
Released in June on CD – now available on vinyl. Bass great Marcus Miller brings the influence of modern urban music to his trademark sound on his genre-defying album Laid Black on Blue Note Records.
Jeff Mills – Waveform Transmission Vol. 3 [Reissue/1994] LP (Tresor)
Jeff Mills’s Waveform Transmission Vol. 3 initially came out in 1994 on Tresor Records. The eight titles on this album marked a turning point for Mills. It indicates a transition from the straightforward sound he had created through the early 1990s, into the different facets and sound palette he would develop through the remainder of the decade. It is a significant piece within Mills’s oeuvre.
Joni Mitchell – Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced [Reissue/2014] 8xLP (Elektra)
Originally released as a four-CD set in 2014 and available on vinyl for the first time as a 180gm eight-LP box, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced collects 53 songs recorded throughout Joni Mitchell’s landmark career. Mitchell selected the material from 40 years of recording and designed the package. It was first conceived as the music to a ballet about love. But after spending 18 months trying to distill everything she’d written about love-and the lack of it-down to a single disc, the influential singer-songwriter abandoned the ballet.
Thurston Moore with Tom Surgal – Klangfarbenmelodie.. And the Colorist Strikes Primitiv [Reissue/1995] LP (Glass Modern)
Originally released on CD only in 1995 in New Zealand by the Dead C’s Bruce Russell on his Corpus Hermeticum label, Klangfarbenmelodie.. has been edited by and features new liner notes by Russell for this colored 180gm vinyl edition. “A 1995 release from the famed Sonic Youth guitarist, this recording sees him paired with free jazz drummer Tom Surgal for a blistering noise set, in keeping with New Zealand noise label Corpus Hermeticum’s aesthetic,” writes AMG’s Dean McFarlane.
Ennio Morricone – Slalom (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Reissue/1965] LP (Dagored)
Ennio Morricone – Svegliati e Uccidi (Original Soundtrack) [Reissue/1966] LP (Dagored)
Slalom is a legendary soundtrack from maestro Morricone, ranging from jazz to lounge atmospheres of mystery and suspense, with ethnic elements of Middle Eastern culture, a classic surf-spy theme song, hippy bongo suspense, orchestral moods, cocktail blues, roller rink electric guitar and much, much more. Also available: Morricone’s “noir jazz style” for the Italian crime thriller Svegliati e Uccidi (Too Soon To Die).
Wolfgang Muthspiel, Ambrose Akinmusire, Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Eric Harland – Where The River Goes LP (ECM)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Where The River Goes carries the story forward from Wolfgang Muthspiel’s highly-acclaimed Rising Grace recording of 2016, reuniting the Austrian guitarist with Brad Mehldau, Ambrose Akinmusire and Larry Grenadier, heavy talents all, and bringing in the great Eric Harland on drums. Much more than an “all-star” gathering, the group plays as an ensemble with its own distinct identity, evident both in the interpretation of Muthspiel’s pieces and in the collective playing. The album, recorded at Studios La Buissonne in February 2018, and produced by Manfred Eicher, features six compositions by Muthspiel and one by Mehldau, plus group improvisation.
Nazareth – Tattooed On My Brain LP (Frontiers)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Tattooed On My Brain is Nazareth’s 24th full-length album and the first to feature new vocalist Carl Sentance (ex-Persian Risk).
QueenAdreena – The Butcher And The Butterfly [Reissue/2005] LP (One Little Indian)
The Butcher And The Butterfly is the end of a trilogy of albums that explored Katie-Jane Garside’s own obsessions: exploitation, sexuality, innocence, childhood and the things that people do to make it through the night. With QueenAdreena the finger always points inwardly as well as outwardly, but along with the disgust and shock, The Butcher And The Butterfly can’t contain the sheer joy of taking that violence and rage and using it to create something new.
Riverside – Wasteland 2xLP+CD (Inside Out U.S.)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Polish rock masters Riverside return with their seventh studio effort, Wasteland, their first new album following the death of founding member and guitarist Piotr Grudzinski in February 2016.
Sonny Rollins – Worktime [Reissue/1956] LP (Down At Dawn)
Worktime was the first Rollins album as a leader, following on from his historical two-year collaboration with the maverick Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet. One of the greatest tenor saxophone players in the history of jazz is caught here in top form, featuring a hard-swinging quartet with impeccable pianist Ray Bryant, bassist George Morrow, and drums colossus Max Roach.
Morgan Saint – Alien 12”+MP3 (Epic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. One listen to Morgan Saint’s warm delivery, dreamy instrumentation, and lush lyrical poetry, and you’re somewhere else. The New York songstress invites you back into that world with her second EP, Alien and its seductive lead track “On Fire”. As adept at creating accessible pop soundscapes as she is at mining her more melancholic reflections, she’s woven a cathartic blend here adding colorful new layers to her thought-provoking repertoire that continues to challenge musical norms.
Marlena Shaw – The Spice Of Life [Reissue/1969] LP (Down At Dawn)
Marlena Shaw’s penchant for stylistic variety is certainly evident on this, her sophomore release. Spice Of Life ranges from soul and proto-funk to jazz and MOR-hued material. Across this sound spectrum, Shaw is enveloped in unobtrusive yet exciting pop-soul environs, throwing kalimba runs, psych guitar accents, and bongo-fueled organ riffs into the mix.
Jake Shimabukuro – The Greatest Day LP (JS Productions/Mailboat)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Jake Shimabukuro is well known in Hawaii and Japan due to his early solo career in the early 2000’s and his international fame that happened in 2006 when a video of him went viral, playing a rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was posted on YouTube without his knowledge. He returns with a new album, The Greatest Day.
Horace Silver – The Stylings Of Silver [Reissue/1957] LP (Down At Dawn)
The Stylings Of Silver is one of the great and often-overlooked of Silver’s mid- ‘50s Blue Note sessions, featuring a fine horn section with trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor sax great Hank Mobley, plus the hard driving rhythm section of Silver himself on piano, Teddy Kotik on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. A super swinging set, The Stylings Of Silver, includes gems like the opening essential “No Smoking” and the classic ballad “My One and Only Love”.
Stratovarius – Enigma: Intermission II LP (E1)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. The Irish singer-songwriter’s second studio The Finnish metal giants present the second part of their Intermission series. The album consists of three brand new songs, four previously unreleased orchestral versions and rare material.
Sugar Ray – Greatest Hits LP (Razor & Tie)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Compiles Sugar Ray’s classic singles (“Someday”, “Fly”, “Every Morning”, “When It’s Over”), as well as other hits chosen by the band, including a cover of Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him” off their 2005 album In The Pursuit Of Leisure.
$uicideboy$ – I Want To Die In New Orleans CD/LP (G59)
Standard black vinyl pressing. “In a time where rap skills have become synonymous with clout goggles and laptop mics, cousins Scott “$crim” Arceneaux Jr. and Aristos “Ruby da Cherry” Pertrou have risen above the silliness by becoming one of the most influential voices of the melancholic rap community…As $uicideboy$ have gained substantial ground, their ability to tour all over the map is indebted to their open-mindedness towards influences near and far. Starting off with a love of New Orleans legends from 5th Ward Weebie to Lil Wayne, Ruby and $crim have also cited Southern rap icons Three 6 Mafia for their flavor, and of course, in terms of their delivery, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Meanwhile, local crust and vast vaporwave scenes play their hand at both sound and aesthetics. These countless factors have, in turn, produced countless mixtapes and EPs. Anticipation of first full-length I Want to Die In New Orleans thrives…” – CLVT Nation
Sylvaine – Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone LP (Season Of Mist)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Sylvaine returns with her third album Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone. It sees the band blending more darkness with the light, and more turmoil with triumph to create an altogether more palpable listening experience. Its huge, sweeping songs climb skyward before breaking like the dawn into sublime beauty. Her ethereal voice soars gracefully throughout, moving with poise and purpose.
James Taylor – Hourglass [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Analog Spark)
Available for the first time on vinyl. Hourglass (1997) served as quintessential singer-songwriter James Taylor’s first album in over half a decade following New Moon Shine (1991), the longest span in his career at the time without releasing new music. 180gm.
Tiger’s Jaw – Tiger’s Jaw [Reissue/2008] LP+7” Flexi (Run For Cover)
Since its initial limited release in 2008, Tigers Jaw’s self-titled album has become a reference point for most underground indie rock to come after it. This deluxe colored vinyl reissue packed with special features including: A zine with alternate photos from the original album art sessions, a collection of stories and memories from Nick Hamm (Citizen), Georgia Maq (Camp Cope), Jeff Casazza (RFC), Walter Schreifels (Quicksand), Phoebe Bridgers and Ben Russin (Title Fight), full color photo 7” flexi record with an alternate version of “Chemicals”.
Toe – Our Latest Number 12” (Topshelf)
Recently released on CD and cassette – now available on vinyl. Toe always captivates. Mostly for their innate ability to meld elements of jazz, punk, post-rock, R&B, and a very specific blend of midwest instrumental math rock a la Ghosts and Vodka or Pele – all while channeling the raw energy of a hardcore show.
Tokyo Police Club – TPC LP (Dine Alone Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Tokyo Police Club return with their first full-length in four years. After putting aside the idea of splitting up and back-burnering their commercial expectations, TPC recaptures the energy of their early years and was built on camaraderie and esprit de corps. Favoring simple rhythms, slower tempos and drive over details, the band felt that there was only one person who could capture this liberation on tape – producer Rob Schnapf, whom the band worked with on 2010’s Champ.
Traveling Wilburys – Volume One [Reissue/1988] LP (Arts & Crafts)
Limited picture disc vinyl LP pressing.
Unwound – Leaves Turn Inside You [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (Numero)
The Unwound album that ended all Unwound albums. Recorded in a moldering farmhouse basement at the crest of the new century, Leaves Turn Inside You is the no-wave response to Spector’s wall of noise call. Infinite layers of choppy guitar stabs and bridge scrapes, guttural bass thronk, thrift store synths, and monotone chanting wash over suffocating rhythms to deliver the world’s only choral grunge LP. Remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on heavyweight vinyl for the discerning noise-nik.
Various Artists – Sowas Von Egal: German Synth Wave Underground LP (Bureau B)
The result of a collaboration between Bureau B and the Hamburg party series Damaged Goods. “Our focus would be seldom-heard post-punk and synth-wave from, or in the style of, the 1980s.” Features: Träneninvasion, Der Moderne Man, Silberstreif, El Deux, Nullzeit, Hoffnung and Psyche, Schwellköper, New Dimension, Berlin Express, Pension Stammheim, Alu, Matthias Schuster, Gorilla Aktiv, 08/15.
Various Artists – To Catch A Ghost: Field Recordings From Madagascar LP (Sublime Frequencies)
Sublime Frequencies’ second volume of transcendent musical field recordings from central and southern Madagascar, produced by Charles Brooks. Like the grand beauty and wonder of its flora and fauna, Madagascar’s music is completely unique. Whether the tempos are fast with polyrhythmic precision or slow in the form of a Kabosy ballad, once one gets familiar with its sound, it can never be mistaken again. Brooks has been traveling to Madagascar and living with these spectacular artists for many years and has managed to document countless examples of their work, and regardless of how formal or informal a recording is made, the results always turn out magical.
Ben Wendell – The Seasons LP (Motema Music, LLC)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Ben Wendel, perhaps best known for his bold and forward-thinking group Kneebody, has been hard at work for the last two years on a project of ambitious scope. The Seasons is Wendel’s tribute to twelve musical collaborators and friends, including such heavy-hitters as Jeff Ballard, Julian Lage, and Mark Turner.
Wu-Tang Clan – Wu-Tang Forever [Reissue/1997] 4xLP (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissue of the brazenly titled second effort Wu-Tang Forever in 1997. The sprawling release includes even more elaborate production flourishes than their debut, with powerful off-kilter beats, inventive samples and soundtrack style violins and synths aplenty. Wu-Tang continues to tell great narrative stories about the trials and tribulations of urban life here with a mad dash of no less than nine MCs, including the debut of protégée Cappadonna.
Cassettes:
Metallica – …And Justice For All [Reissue/1988] (Blackened)
Remastered reissues of the fourth studio album by heavy metal icons.
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