Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:
Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color (Deluxe Edition) CD/2xLP (ATO)
Resisting any notion of a sophomore slump and putting to bed the “revivalist soul” label, Alabama Shakes returned in 2015 with a humdinger. Replete with moody vibes, intricate textures, atmospheric grooves, and confident playing, Sound & Color encompasses blues, psychedelia, R&B, and garage rock while ceding the floor to powerhouse singer Brittany Howard. Expanding on the soulful blues-rock base that made their name, they defy predictable expectations and map an exciting, surprising, and innovative new direction. The album’s twelve songs reveal a band honed by years on the road and drawing from a wide range of influences. This Deluxe Edition reissue features seven bonus tracks pulled from unreleased studio material, B-sides, and live songs cut at the world-renowned Capitol Records Studio A plus revised artwork and new photos. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Tori Amos – Ocean To Ocean CD (Verve)
Despite the various crises that have occurred since 2017’s Native Invader, Tori Amos has emerged with Ocean To Ocean, her most personal work in years – an album bursting with warmth and connection, with deep roots in her earliest song writing. Written during the third lockdown in Cornwall in 2021, Ocean To Ocean is a universal story of going to rock bottom and renewing yourself all over again. [Vinyl edition due January 28.]
Archspire – Bleed The Future CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Following up their mind-bending 2017 album, Relentless Mutation, Archspire unleash their new full-length, Bleed The Future, another unforgiving masterpiece that serves up technical death metal at its most extreme and intricate. The G-force levels of velocity and dizzying technical proficiency reach seemingly impossible heights, defying the laws of physics and pushing human boundaries to the outer limits. Bleed The Future sits at the apex of technical and extreme metal, certifying Archspire’s place among the genre’s masters.
Black Veil Brides – The Phantom Tomorrow CD (Sumerian)
Committed to uncompromising expression, with a foundation in hard rock tradition and rule-breaking iconoclasm, Black Veil Brides is a transcendent celebration of life-affirming power and anthemic catharsis. A gothic vision first summoned in a small town by an isolated kid fascinated with death, rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined), Black Veil Brides is now a postmodern heavy metal institution with a legion of like-minded fans and supporters worldwide. A new chapter in the band’s ever-evolving story arrives with The Phantom Tomorrow, an ambitious sixth album pushing the music of Black Veil Brides forward without sacrificing their beloved signature sound. [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive color vinyl edition is due November 26.]
Bnny – Everything CD (Fire Talk)
Everything, the debut album from Chicago quartet Bnny, may as well be a field recording taken from the lone country of grief. Written in sessions that span several years by singer Jess Viscius as she processed the death of her partner, the album is a chronicle of love at its most complex and loss at its most persistent. In the same vein as Sky Blue Sky-era Wilco or the harrowing vulnerability of Tomberlin or Helena Deland, Viscius’ songwriting is evocative and intentional. A longstanding member of the Windy City music scene, the album was produced by Dehd’s Jason Balla, and the sparse arrangements pick apart complicated truths while feeling both timeless and transcendent. [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive vinyl edition is due November 5.]
Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened CD (Cooking Vinyl)
Billy Bragg returns with his tenth studio album, The Million Things That Never Happened. Featuring 12 soulful country rock gems, it’s not only the first pandemic blues album of our times but also a heartfelt paean to human resilience. All the songs were written by Bragg apart from the final song (“Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained”), which was co-written by Billy’s son Jack Valero. Says Billy on lead single “I Will Be Your Shield”: “To me this is the heart and soul of the album. I’ve concluded that empathy is the currency of music – that our job as songwriters is to help people come to terms with their feelings by offering them examples of how others may have dealt with a situation like that in which listeners find themselves. After what we’ve all been through, the idea of being a shield, physically, emotionally, psychologically, should resonate.” [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl edition is due December 10.]
Hayes Carll – You Get It All CD/LP (Dualtone Music Group)
With folkie conscience, country simplicity, and a vagabond’s desire for mischief, Hayes Carll has spent over 20 years including anybody who will listen in an easy conversation about what it is we’re all doing here. “I like to tug at heartstrings, find commonality with others, reflect on my own life, and sometimes I do it in a lighthearted way,” says Carll while discussing his eighth album You Get It All. “A lot of musical styles found their way onto this record, but my first and most formative influences came from country music. This is a country singer-songwriter record. It’s just unapologetically me.”
Nat King Cole – A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined CD/LP (Capitol)
The new album A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined weaves Nat’s unparalleled, beautifully restored vocals with new arrangements and contemporary artists creating beautiful sentimental duets of holiday classics. Taking its lead from the Grammy Award-winning virtual duet of “Unforgettable”, by Natalie Cole with her father, this holiday album features brand new duets with the likes of John Legend, Kristen Chenoweth, Calum Scott, Gloria Estefan and Johnny Mathis.
Sam Evian – Time To Melt CD/LP (Fat Possum)
Time To Melt reckons with the weight of our time, even when it sounds largely weightless. Inspired by John Coltrane’s mixture of grace and gravitas and Marvin Gaye’s uncanny ability to turn social issues into personal anthems, Sam strove to give these otherwise-beguiling instrumentals the thoughtfulness and depth these days demand. Following a brief decampment to upstate New York to create his last album, You, Forever, Sam realized he could no longer resist the urge to escape the anxious city life. He and his partner, Hannah Cohen, took themselves out of the city to upstate New York, building their refuge and Sam’s studio, Flying Cloud Recordings, in the quiet of a Catskills town. That reflective, relaxing environment shaped Time To Melt, a glowing set of soulfully psychedelic pop gems and a testimonial to the life and wisdom to be found when you give yourself the mercy of space. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Mastodon – Hushed And Grim 2xCD/2xLP (Reprise)
Mastodon returns with their anxiously awaited ninth full-length album, Hushed And Grim. Over the past year, the metal mavericks recorded the album in their hometown of Atlanta, GA, collaborating with producer David Bottrill (Tool, Rush, Muse, Peter Gabriel) behind the board. As their most ambitious body of work to date, it consists of 15 tracks, surveying sonic landscapes of rock, psychedelia, punk, metal, alternative, and prog threaded together by the innately expressive musical interplay of these four musicians. At the same time, an atmosphere of loss, loneliness, and longing permeates through the trio of cathartic vocals as they musically say goodbye to old friend, confidant, and longtime manager the late Nick John by architecting a magnum opus that bears the influence of his eternal memory. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Mouse Rat – The Awesome Album LP (Dualtone Music Group)
Recently released on CD – now available on orange color vinyl. For years, fans have been eagerly waiting for the release of The Awesome Album by Pawnee, Indiana rock band Mouse Rat. The band is fronted by Parks And Recreation Shoeshine Department employee Andy Dwyer, who has led many local acts through the years such as Angelsnack, Everything Rhymes With Orange, Department Of Homeland Obscurity, Just The Tip and Scarecrow Boat, among others. The hits are all here: “5,000 Candles In The Wind”, “The Pit”, “Two Birds Holding Hands”, “Catch Your Dream (feat. Duke Silver)” and two additional tracks by the Scott Tanner-fronted band Land Ho!.
Nightmares On Wax – Shoutout! To Freedom CD/2xLP+MP3 (Warp)
The new release from George Evelyn aka Nightmares On Wax, Shout Out! To Freedom oscillates between electronica, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary styles. The album contains a wealth of guest features, with contributions by Greentea Peng, Shabaka Hutchings, OSHUN and Haile Supreme. Although nine albums into his career, Evelyn considers this album to be the first time he has truly found his sound. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
Emily Scott Robinson – American Siren CD/LP (Oh Boy)
Colorado songwriter Emily Scott Robinson beckons to those who are lost, lonely, or learning the hard way with American Siren, her first album for John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. With hints of bluegrass, country, and folk, the eloquent collection shares her gift for storytelling through her pristine soprano and the perspective of her unconventional path into music. Though not fully autobiographical, American Siren gracefully blends imagined characters with meaningful people she’s encountered on her journey.
Running Wild – Blood On Blood CD/2xLP (Steamhammer)
New album from the veteran German metallers. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Save Face – Another Kill For The Highlight Reel CD+MP3 (Epitaph)
Produced by The Movielife’s Brett Romnes, Another Kill For The Highlight Reel finds Tyler Povanda’s songwriting, lyrical, and conceptual skills at an all-time high. Povanda draws influence from his Jersey brethren like Thursday (Geoff Rickley actually sings on “A.M. Gothic”), but adds a theatrical bent that’s rooted in his love of musicals like Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dear Evan Hansen, and more. It’s clear that this record is much more interested in building worlds around itself than it is in adhering to any genre conventions or expectations. A drive to keep pushing through discomfort is evident throughout and is what makes this collection of songs as cathartic as they are catchy. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl edition is due November 12.]
Ed Sheeran – = CD/LP (Atlantic)
= (pronounced ‘Equals’) – the fourth instalment in Ed Sheeran’s symbol album series – is the singer-songwriter’s most accomplished work yet; the evolution of an artist who continues to tread new ground. A body of songs that were made over a four-year period following his seminal ÷ (Divide) album era, thematically, = finds Ed taking stock of his life and the people in it, as he explores the varying degrees of love (“The Joker And The Queen”, “First Times”, “2step”), loss (“Visiting Hours”), resilience (“Can’t Stop The Rain”) and fatherhood (“Sandman”, “Leave Your Life”), while also processing his reality and career (“Tides”). Sonically, = encapsulates Ed’s versatile musical palette, spanning signature, guitar-led tracks and world-class balladry to weightier, euphoric production moments, as first showcased on the album’s lead single “Bad Habits”.
Susto – Time In The Sun CD/LP (New West)
Time In The Sun is the fourth full-length album from Charleston, SC band Susto. The album was written and recorded during a lot of life changing events for lead writer-singer Justin Osborne. Like everyone around the world, Osborne was navigating the global issues felt from the pandemic while normal life continued with its own blessings and challenges. “We were navigating the global and national issues that everyone else was dealing with, but also I became a father and lost my father. There was a lot of contemplation going on in my brain, a lot of personal evolution going on in my life, and songwriting was my way of working through it all. The title Time In The Sun is meant to be a monument to my own human existence and also a tribute to the human experience in general. I wouldn’t claim to understand what it means to be a human, from the countless different perspectives of the world, but I do have my own experience to reflect on and I want to be able to express and explain that in some way. I guess this album is an attempt at that. At the core though, it’s just a collection of songs about my life and my feelings.” [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive translucent orange color vinyl edition is due November 19.]
The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore CD/2xLP/Cassette (Atlantic)
The War On Drugs return with I Don’t Live Here Anymore, their first studio album in four years. Over the last 15 years, The War On Drugs has steadily emerged as one of this century’s great rock and roll synthesists, removing the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the obtuse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present. The War On Drugs have never done that as well as they do with this uncommon rock album about one of our most common but daunting processes – resilience in the face of despair. I Don’t Live Here Anymore is an expression of rock ‘n’ roll’s power to translate our own experience into songs we can share and words that direct our gaze toward the possibility of what is to come. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Whitechapel – Kin CD/2xLP (Metal Blade)
At this stage in the game, the name Whitechapel command respect. Already sitting on one of the most enviable catalogs in contemporary metal, in 2019 they dropped The Valley, showcasing a confident evolution in their sound and standing as a true landmark release that sets a new standard for the genre. Now, they return with that album’s successor, the mighty Kin, which is an even more dynamic and diverse collection, further advancing the band’s sound into new territory without losing sight of what brought them to this point. The commencement of writing for the album was a direct result of the Covid pandemic, the band having several tours lined up to finish out the cycle for The Valley, but when these got cancelled, they decided to refocus their energies and begin working on a new record. [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive blue & black color vinyl edition is also available.]
Additional Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:
Dave Chappelle – 8:46 LP (Third Man)
Third Man Records is proud to release a vinyl pressing of Dave Chappelle’s viral video, 8:46. The video was YouTube’s top trending video of 2020 with over 30 million views on the official post and 7.5 million views on Chappelle’s Instagram. The video and subsequent album is a searing rumination in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd that ignited worldwide outrage and led to protests on race inequality, police brutality and the criminal justice system. Filmed in Ohio on June 6, during the COVID-19 lockdown, 8:46 addresses one deadly plague, while in the grips of another. The B-side of the album features poet Amir Sulaiman’s performance of “My Insides Out” and “We Must Win”, also recorded in Ohio. It also includes “White Noise”, 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in remembrance of George Floyd and the countless victims of police brutality and systemic racism. The album cover and artwork features performance, backstage photos from Chappelle’s concert as well as images from various George Floyd protests in Los Angeles, CA, all taken by Grammy-nominated artist and photographer Mathieu Bitton.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Paper Mâché Dream Balloon (Deluxe Edition) 2xLP (ATO)
Clear blue & pink color vinyl with lenticular cover. Their seventh album in four years, 2015’s Paper Mache Dream Balloon served as prolific Australian psych outfit King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s ATO debut and marked a shift in the band’s trademark face-melting sound. “After Mind Fuzz and Quarters, I was starting to get over concept records,” noted Stu Mackenzie. “I wanted to make an album with a collection of short unrelated songs. I wanted to steer away from electric guitar music, which I feel like we’d explored heavily on the last couple. So, Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, the concept-less concept album, got a concept. No electric instruments, just acoustic guitars, flute, double bass, fiddle, harmonica, drum kit, clarinet. Whatever we could find really. We recorded it mostly in an empty shipping container on my parent’s farm in country Victoria. It was all horses, emus, and tim tams.”
Lily Konigsberg – Lily We Need To Talk Now CD/LP (Wharf Cat)
Lily We Need to Talk Now is a record Lily Konigsberg has been slowly chipping away at since 2016, revising and re-recording the songs over the years. The eleven-track collection is her first proper full-length, following her anthology of EPs and unreleased tracks, The Best Of Lily Konigsberg Right Now, released earlier this year. The new record is catchy the whole way through, like much of the poppy and plainspoken indie rock output that’s made her a fixture of the NYC underground in recent years. Her voice twists and turns and dashes around her clever wordplay in new ways here; there are hints of power pop, pop punk, and downtempo introspection, all dotted with Easter eggs of winking humor. [A limited-edition yellow color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Phish – Joy [Reissue/2004] 2xLP (ATO)
Joy is the fourth studio album from Phish, praised by critics upon its release in 2004. Rolling Stone called it “a deeper trip than most Phish LPs” in their four-star review. This ‘Growing Brighter’ edition of Joy is pressed on a tri-color mix of vinyl (red, purple and blue).
CDs + Vinyl:
Justin Adams and Mauro Durante – Still Moving CD/LP (Ponderosa Music)
A new collaboration between guitarist/producer/composer Justin Adams and violinist/percussionist Mauro Durante. Adams has been a chief collaborator with Robert Plant as a member of his band the Sensational Space Shifters and has produced landmark albums by Tinariwen and Rachid Taha. Durante is a member of Italy’s Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. The two recognized kindred spirits in the trance rhythms of Taranta and together they create a raw, stripped-back sound that moves and mesmerizes.
Agent Orange – Living In Darkness [Reissue/1980] CD/LP (Radiation Deluxe)
Adventurous southern California punk trio Agent Orange was the first band to mix surf rock with punk.
Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color (Deluxe Edition) CD/2xLP (ATO)
Resisting any notion of a sophomore slump and putting to bed the “revivalist soul” label, Alabama Shakes returned in 2015 with a humdinger. Replete with moody vibes, intricate textures, atmospheric grooves, and confident playing, Sound & Color encompasses blues, psychedelia, R&B, and garage rock while ceding the floor to powerhouse singer Brittany Howard. Expanding on the soulful blues-rock base that made their name, they defy predictable expectations and map an exciting, surprising, and innovative new direction. The album’s twelve songs reveal a band honed by years on the road and drawing from a wide range of influences. This Deluxe Edition reissue features seven bonus tracks pulled from unreleased studio material, B-sides, and live songs cut at the world-renowned Capitol Records Studio A plus revised artwork and new photos. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Tori Amos – Ocean To Ocean CD (Verve)
Despite the various crises that have occurred since 2017’s Native Invader, Tori Amos has emerged with Ocean To Ocean, her most personal work in years – an album bursting with warmth and connection, with deep roots in her earliest song writing. Written during the third lockdown in Cornwall in 2021, Ocean To Ocean is a universal story of going to rock bottom and renewing yourself all over again. [Vinyl edition due January 28.]
Archspire – Bleed The Future CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Following up their mind-bending 2017 album, Relentless Mutation, Archspire unleash their new full-length, Bleed The Future, another unforgiving masterpiece that serves up technical death metal at its most extreme and intricate. The G-force levels of velocity and dizzying technical proficiency reach seemingly impossible heights, defying the laws of physics and pushing human boundaries to the outer limits. Bleed The Future sits at the apex of technical and extreme metal, certifying Archspire’s place among the genre’s masters.
Bastarður – Satan’s Loss Of Son CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Singer/guitarist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason has always worn his vast musical influences on his sleeve. Be it an Entombed sticker emblazoned on his guitar, queueing up Ennio Morricone before a set, or paying homage to Lemmy Kilmister with his cowboy sensibilities, it’s no secret that his love for music cannot be contained to any one genre. Now, Tryggvason is taking his adoration for crust punk to an exciting new level with his latest project, Bastarður, which channels influences such as Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Motörhead, and Disfear.
Bat Fangs – Queen Of My World CD/LP+MP3 (Don Giovanni)
Born of a shared love of hair metal, partying, and the reckless spirit of rock and roll, East Coast duo Bat Fangs brings a nostalgic combination of shredderistic guitars and heavily harmonized hooks. [A limited-edition yellow color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Be’lakor – Coherence CD (Napalm)
Since their debut, The Frail Tide in 2007, Australian progressive death metal powerhouse Be’lakor has made a huge impact on the international metal scene, turning heads with their technical driven yet melodic songwriting. Now, almost 15 years later, the legendary five-piece returns with their new album Coherence, proving themselves to be on top of their game. [Vinyl edition due November 26.]
Black Veil Brides – The Phantom Tomorrow CD (Sumerian)
Committed to uncompromising expression, with a foundation in hard rock tradition and rule-breaking iconoclasm, Black Veil Brides is a transcendent celebration of life-affirming power and anthemic catharsis. A gothic vision first summoned in a small town by an isolated kid fascinated with death, rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined), Black Veil Brides is now a postmodern heavy metal institution with a legion of like-minded fans and supporters worldwide. A new chapter in the band’s ever-evolving story arrives with The Phantom Tomorrow, an ambitious sixth album pushing the music of Black Veil Brides forward without sacrificing their beloved signature sound. [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive clear & red color vinyl edition is due November 26.]
Bnny – Everything CD (Fire Talk)
Everything, the debut album from Chicago quartet Bnny, may as well be a field recording taken from the lone country of grief. Written in sessions that span several years by singer Jess Viscius as she processed the death of her partner, the album is a chronicle of love at its most complex and loss at its most persistent. In the same vein as Sky Blue Sky-era Wilco or the harrowing vulnerability of Tomberlin or Helena Deland, Viscius’ songwriting is evocative and intentional. A longstanding member of the Windy City music scene, the album was produced by Dehd’s Jason Balla, and the sparse arrangements pick apart complicated truths while feeling both timeless and transcendent. [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive vinyl edition is due November 5.]
Joe Bonamassa – Time Clocks CD (J&R Adventures)
Blues-rock legend Joe Bonamassa is back with a new studio album, Time Clocks. Here, Bonamassa introduces elements of prog and hard rock to intensify his signature blues-rock style. Joe’s co-writers on this record include Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke), Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), James House and Tom Hambridge who help elevate the storytelling to a whole new level. [Vinyl edition due December 17.]
Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened CD (Cooking Vinyl)
Billy Bragg returns with his tenth studio album, The Million Things That Never Happened. Featuring 12 soulful country rock gems, it’s not only the first pandemic blues album of our times but also a heartfelt paean to human resilience. All the songs were written by Bragg apart from the final song (“Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained”), which was co-written by Billy’s son Jack Valero. Says Billy on lead single “I Will Be Your Shield”: “To me this is the heart and soul of the album. I’ve concluded that empathy is the currency of music – that our job as songwriters is to help people come to terms with their feelings by offering them examples of how others may have dealt with a situation like that in which listeners find themselves. After what we’ve all been through, the idea of being a shield, physically, emotionally, psychologically, should resonate.” [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl edition is due December 10.]
Burning The Oppressor – Damnation CD (Spinefarm)
Burning the Oppressor was founded in 2012 by passionate musicians with different influences and armed with remarkable stage dynamism. With intense texts and brutal riffs, BTO puts into words and sounds the trials of modern life and the sufferings of a society in turmoil. Armed with its death metal groove, the Canadian lineup is ready to rip your ears apart with blistering, catchy riffs, energy, and passion.
Calling All Captains – Slowly Getting Better CD (Equal Vision)
Debut album from the alt-rock band. [Vinyl edition due December 3.]
Hayes Carll – You Get It All CD/LP (Dualtone Music Group)
With folkie conscience, country simplicity, and a vagabond’s desire for mischief, Hayes Carll has spent over 20 years including anybody who will listen in an easy conversation about what it is we’re all doing here. “I like to tug at heartstrings, find commonality with others, reflect on my own life, and sometimes I do it in a lighthearted way,” says Carll while discussing his eighth album You Get It All. “A lot of musical styles found their way onto this record, but my first and most formative influences came from country music. This is a country singer-songwriter record. It’s just unapologetically me.”
Johnny Cash – Bear’s Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash, At the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968 CD (BMG)
An historic and never-heard live concert recorded in San Francisco by innovative sound wizard Owsley Stanley. Captured in the heart of Haight-Ashbury, just days before the release of Cash’s iconic At Folsom Prison album (and over six months before the arrival of the equally revered At San Quentin), At The Carousel Ballroom serves as a third essential – and wholly unique – live document from the era, a moment of cultural collision, with Cash leaning into songs about society’s outcasts, while playing a venue operated by The Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead. [Vinyl edition due December 3.]
Alan Clark – Backstory CD/LP (Ponderosa Music)
Alan Clark is one of rock music’s rarities: a keyboard player who makes classical piano work in the rock environment. Famous for his role in Dire Straits, he’s also played and recorded with a long list of other artists including Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, The Bee Gees, and Rod Stewart. With Backstory, Alan retraces his steps over the past 40 years, revisiting major tracks he’s played a part in and recreating them as a piano solos.
Nat King Cole – A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined CD/LP (Capitol)
The new album A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined weaves Nat’s unparalleled, beautifully restored vocals with new arrangements and contemporary artists creating beautiful sentimental duets of holiday classics. Taking its lead from the Grammy Award-winning virtual duet of “Unforgettable”, by Natalie Cole with her father, this holiday album features brand new duets with the likes of John Legend, Kristen Chenoweth, Calum Scott, Gloria Estefan and Johnny Mathis.
The Colorist Orchestra & Howe Gelb ft. Pieta Brown – Not On The Map CD (Dangerbird)
Avant-garde chamber pop ensemble The Colorist Orchestra has stuck thus far to reimagining other artists’ works. Led by Aarich Jespers and Kobe Proesmans, the group uses traditional classical and bespoke instrumentation, often played in unorthodox ways, to meticulously rework an invited artist’s music into new styles and forms. However, Not On The Map, their collaborative album with Giant Sands’ Howe Gelb, breaks new ground for the ensemble as they come forth with an entire album of original collaborations. Aarich Jespers describes the album as “soft and dark.” “The layer of low, muted toms is present in almost every song. The tempo of the album is also rather slow, ideal for sitting with a glass of whiskey in hand.” [Vinyl edition due November 26.]
Deep Purple – Live In Wollongong 2001 2xCD/3xLP (earMUSIC)
Deep Purple – Live In London 2002 2xCD/3xLP (earMUSIC)
A pair of live albums; the first recorded at the WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Australia, March 13th, 2001, and the second recorded live at the Hammersmith Apollo, London, England, February 22nd, 2002.
DJ Abilities – Phonograph Phoenix CD/LP (Rhymesayers)
In a departure from previous sample-based work, Abilities built this album’s compositions from the ground up, creating his own sound through deep, cavernous bass, funky drums and enveloping synths, with razor sharp cuts and vocal chops providing a voice where his fallen partner may have once stood. Throughout its creation Abilities sought to ensure that each song on Phonograph Phoenix held qualifying meaning and that the album on a whole made a definitive statement. [A translucent purple cloud effect color vinyl pressing is also available.]
The Doobie Brothers – Liberté CD (Island)
Produced/co-written by John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus,) Liberté contains 12 new tracks.
Dynatron – Origins CD/LP (Blood Music)
One of the original artists of synthwave, Denmark’s Dynatron is a trailblazer in off-world soundscapes, meticulously crafting the soundtrack to eternal space exploration.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Out of This World: Live (1970 – 1997) 7xCD/10xLP (BMG)
Prog-rock giants Emerson, Lake & Palmer formed in 1970 by the brilliant keyboard virtuoso Keith Emerson, gifted singer/composer/guitarist Greg Lake and dynamic drummer/percussionist Carl Palmer. Throughout their career, the group performed at some of the most famous venues across the world. Out Of This World: Live (1970 – 1997) is a career-spanning box set, showcasing some of the biggest and most important live shows ELP have ever played.
Sam Evian – Time To Melt CD/LP (Fat Possum)
Time To Melt reckons with the weight of our time, even when it sounds largely weightless. Inspired by John Coltrane’s mixture of grace and gravitas and Marvin Gaye’s uncanny ability to turn social issues into personal anthems, Sam strove to give these otherwise-beguiling instrumentals the thoughtfulness and depth these days demand. Following a brief decampment to upstate New York to create his last album, You, Forever, Sam realized he could no longer resist the urge to escape the anxious city life. He and his partner, Hannah Cohen, took themselves out of the city to upstate New York, building their refuge and Sam’s studio, Flying Cloud Recordings, in the quiet of a Catskills town. That reflective, relaxing environment shaped Time To Melt, a glowing set of soulfully psychedelic pop gems and a testimonial to the life and wisdom to be found when you give yourself the mercy of space. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Fortunate Youth – Good Times (Roll On) CD (Controlled Substance)
With Good Times (Roll On), Fortunate Youth rekindles the spirit of halcyon days, grillin’ and chillin’, and reuniting, once again, with their fans. The title track turns a slightly nostalgic eye to the band’s humble beginnings playing backyards and college parties. The lyrics strongly portray bringing back the good times that we all missed in the past. “We’re trying to change the world through the music we write and play, and the lives we live out performing onstage,” says singer Dan Kelly. “We always hope our music can change the outlook of anyone’s day.” [Vinyl edition due December 3.]
Ghost Bath – Self Loather CD (Nuclear Blast)
Black metallers Ghost Bath break out of the clutches of obscurity with their stunning new album, Self Loather. [Vinyl edition due November 26.]
Giöbia and The Cosmic Dead – Intergalactic Connection: Exploring The Sideral Remote Hyperspace. CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Here Giöbia meets The Cosmic Dead, two of the best modern space-rock bands you can find. The Italian quartet come with three incredible songs, while the Scottish guys deliver a 19-minute-long suite. This piece of psychedelic journey is a travel inside the universe, four tracks full of heavy psych and space rock riffs that will bring you into a psychedelic vortex with no way out. [Several color vinyl variants are also available.]
Nikki Giovanni and The New York Community Choir – Truth Is On The Way [Reissue/1971] CD (Modern Harmonic)
Nikki Giovanni and The New York Community Choir – Like A Ripple On A Pond [Reissue/1973] CD (Modern Harmonic)
“Listen, the great Nikki Giovanni was protected. Inside the church, you can hear it. In the dusty silence, you can hear it. In the electric texture of the crowd, the buzz of the instruments, you can hear it. What you hear and feel is safe in the belly of the blues. Her voice loved like hands on the ivory keys of the church organ deep inside the spell of gospel. Nikki Giovanni is a poet at the pulpit righteous with spirit and energy. A poet in the choir hypnotized with the sound of the past, present and future. Nikki Giovanni inspires a new language rising out of the desolate and uncertain ‘70s.” – Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother, Irreversible Entanglements) [Vinyl editions due November 26.]
Goat Torment – Forked Tongues CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
The black metal crusaders return with their first album in six years. Forked Tongues is musical punishment writ large and sounds as if forged in the crucible of hell. Ultraheavy darkening passages only serve to temper the relentless blasting speed.
Ice Nine Kills – The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood CD (Fearless)
True to horror franchise tradition, there is always a sequel… The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood follows in the bloody footsteps of its predecessor, paying tribute to 13 more of the most gruesome tales to ever grace the silver screen. In this latest INK offering, the last album and video series is portrayed as a work of fiction. The new story line thrusts the band into a brutal real-world slaying. The only traces of the crime are 13 songs left behind by the suspected killer. [Vinyl edition due December 3.]
John 5 & The Creatures – Sinner CD (Big Machine)
An eclectic showman and horror-obsessed pop culture maverick, John 5’s tastes and talent are as vast and diverse as his renowned collection of guitars and as robust as his expansive discography. Sinner is ten tracks of pure John 5, summoned with the same mix of vibrant energy and passionate emotion beloved by fans of his work as guitarist for Rob Zombie and David Lee Roth. [Vinyl edition due March 4.]
Cody Johnson – Human The Double Album 2CD (Warner Nashville)
Human The Double Album is the sophomore major-label release from Platinum recording artist Cody Johnson. The massive endeavor is stacked top to bottom with songs that were originally rejected by other Nashville artists, for what Johnson considers as being too country for country. [Vinyl edition due November 26.]
Kayo Dot – Moss Grew On The Swords & Plowshares Alike CD/LP (Prophecy)
In the sprawling, churning musical multiverse of mainly multi-instrumentalist Toby Driver’s creation that has never accepted nor cared for any artificial borders of genre and incorporated for example rock, metal, classical music, goth, indie, pop, and jazzy structures, this avant-garde album appears to tilt towards a harsher as well as heavier approach than on previous Kayo Dot recordings. [A limited green color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Lily Konigsberg – Lily We Need To Talk Now CD/LP (Wharf Cat)
Lily We Need to Talk Now is a record Lily Konigsberg has been slowly chipping away at since 2016, revising and re-recording the songs over the years. The eleven-track collection is her first proper full-length, following her anthology of EPs and unreleased tracks, The Best Of Lily Konigsberg Right Now, released earlier this year. The new record is catchy the whole way through, like much of the poppy and plainspoken indie rock output that’s made her a fixture of the NYC underground in recent years. Her voice twists and turns and dashes around her clever wordplay in new ways here; there are hints of power pop, pop punk, and downtempo introspection, all dotted with Easter eggs of winking humor. [A limited-edition yellow color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Kottonmouth Kings – Kingdom Come [Reissue/2018] 2xCD (Suburban Noize)
This double-CD reissue includes new artwork and packaging along rare and new tracks and remixes, as well as a 24-page tribute booklet honoring Saint Dog and Pakelika. Combining mind-bending sonics, fusing hip-hop, punk rock, and classic soul, The Kings have innovated and pioneered a unique signature sound that has set them apart from the pack. The group’s combination of hip-hop and punk rock has fueled the band’s longevity and enduring popularity with a diverse international fan base. This is the final Kottonmouth Kings album to feature Johnny Richter and founding member Saint Dog (who died in 2020).
Light Conductor – Sequence 2 CD/LP+MP3 (Constellation)
Light Conductor return with the second album of prismatic slow-burn analog synth instrumentals by the duo of Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes) and Stephen Ramsay (Young Galaxy). Expanding on the hypnagogic ambience of their warm and uncluttered 2019 debut, Lasek and Ramsay add subtle but scintillating structure and electricity to these four new longform tracks. The songs remain predominantly beatless, but burble and vibrate with more ornate, intentional pulses, arpeggiators and control voltages. Light Conductor’s analog palette of gently fuzzed-out chordal drone, mesmeric ostinato, sweeping filters and drifting levitational melody continues to color the glowing atmosphere of this enveloping space/trance music: like sunrise on another planet, with a profoundly satisfying dimension of heightened ceremony and design.
L.O.L. Surprise! – Fierce CD (Masterworks)
Fierce features ten brand new original songs, including “Get Up And Dance”, “Shades” and “Pose” from L.O.L. Surprise! The Movie. This is the first album that brings together four BFFs Royal Bee, Lady Diva, Neonlicious and Swag as they become popstars for the first time.
Lucifer – Lucifer IV CD/LP+CD (Century Media)
Lucifer wasted no time and used the pandemic to record yet another long player that rings in a new chapter and dives even further into the grand realms of colossal old-fashioned rock, with a severe morbid twist. With Lucifer IV the group is proving furthermore to be steadily building their very own pillar of rock history, brick by brick.
Mastodon – Hushed And Grim 2xCD/2xLP (Reprise)
Mastodon returns with their anxiously awaited ninth full-length album, Hushed And Grim. Over the past year, the metal mavericks recorded the album in their hometown of Atlanta, GA, collaborating with producer David Bottrill (Tool, Rush, Muse, Peter Gabriel) behind the board. As their most ambitious body of work to date, it consists of 15 tracks, surveying sonic landscapes of rock, psychedelia, punk, metal, alternative, and prog threaded together by the innately expressive musical interplay of these four musicians. At the same time, an atmosphere of loss, loneliness, and longing permeates through the trio of cathartic vocals as they musically say goodbye to old friend, confidant, and longtime manager the late Nick John by architecting a magnum opus that bears the influence of his eternal memory. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Monolord – Your Time To Shine CD/LP (Relapse)
Swedish power trio Monolord return with a new album. Your Time To Shine sees the trio looking inward, cultivating the elements that take their monstrous, heavy riffing to new heights with a darker edge. [A limited-edition green color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Motörhead – Everything Louder Forever 2xCD/2xLP/4xLP (BMG)
A definitive collection comprising 22 of Motörhead’s loudest songs ever and is the first to span their entire career. [The four-LP deluxe foldout sleeve edition contains 42 songs.]
Marissa Nadler – The Path Of The Clouds CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
The Path Of The Clouds, Marissa Nadler’s ninth solo album, is the most stylistically adventurous, lyrically transfixing, and melodically sophisticated collection of songs in her already rich discography. Gripped by wanderlust while suddenly housebound at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Nadler escaped into writing, and came back with a stunning set of songs about metamorphosis, love, mysticism, and murder. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy and moving freely between past and present, these 11 deeply personal, self-produced songs find Nadler exploring new landscapes, both sonic and emotional. [A limited-edition silver color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Nightmares On Wax – Shoutout! To Freedom CD/2xLP+MP3 (Warp)
The new release from George Evelyn aka Nightmares On Wax, Shout Out! To Freedom oscillates between electronica, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary styles. The album contains a wealth of guest features, with contributions by Greentea Peng, Shabaka Hutchings, OSHUN and Haile Supreme. Although nine albums into his career, Evelyn considers this album to be the first time he has truly found his sound. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
Normil Hawaiians – Dark World (79 – 81) CD/LP (Upset The Rhythm)
Choice material from Normil Hawaiians’ formative early years. Tagging along with the band from their peppy post-punk origins (so brilliantly debuted on “The Beat Goes On”) into the looser, dubbier territories that laid the foundations for the group’s landmark album More Wealth Than Money. Dark World gathers the group’s energetic 7″ singles on Dining Out and Illuminated Records, their metamorphic Gala Failed EP (Red Rhino) and a lively last-minute Peel session from 1980, alongside outtakes, rarities, and demos.
Norse – Ascetic CD (Transcending Obscurity)
Dissonant black metal entity Norse have forged a unique sound over the years playing intense, bleak and somewhat futuristic music which they’ve only honed with each subsequent album. They play calculated, atonal yet highly rhythmic music delivered with machine-like precision which sounds markedly different and refreshing when most black metal bands are too reliant on their progenitors for laying down the framework.
Opie Ortiz – Sound Sensation Vol. 1 CD (Suburban Noize)
Long Beach Dub Allstars frontman Opie Ortiz releases his first solo album, Sound Sensations Vol. 1. The album was co-written between Opie Ortiz and The Aggrolites frontman Jesse Wagner, who also produced the record with additional engineering and mixing by Chris Brennan (The Aggrolites, The Expanders).
Buck Owens And His Buckaroos – In The Palm Of Your Hand [Reissue/1973] CD (Omnivore)
Buck Owens And His Buckaroos – Ain’t It Amazing, Gracie [Reissue/1973] CD (Omnivore)
Buck Owens And His Buckaroos – It’s A Monster’s Holiday [Reissue/1974] CD (Omnivore)
Omnivore continues their aggressive Buck Owens reissue campaign – the latest of which are two entries he dropped in 1973 and one from ‘74.
Parmalee – For You CD (BMG)
For You is latest chapter in the groups’ journey to expand Parmalee’s unique sound of country music. Produced by David Fanning, the album mixes a contemporary sound with classic ingredients and is filled with pop hooks, southern storytelling, and the amplified attitude of rock ‘n’ roll.
Parov Stelar – The Princess [Reissue/2017] CD/2xLP (Le Plan)
Parov Stelar – The Demon Diaries [Reissue/2015] CD/2xLP (Le Plan)
Parov Stelar – The Burning Spider [Reissue/2017] CD/2xLP (Le Plan)
Over the years, Parov Stelar has meticulously sampled, remixed and referenced some of the most influential sounds of bygone eras, injecting them with a new lease of life and bringing them into modern times. It has become the definition for a certain style, a certain sound, the Parov Stelar sound. Undeniably unique, countlessly copied but never equaled. He is the gentleman of electro-swing, the soul brother and the phantom of the disco.
Nicholas Payton – Smoke Sessions CD (Smoke Sessions)
New release from the Grammy winning trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist.
Pentatonix – Evergreen CD (RCA)
The three-time Grammy award-winning quintet release their sixth holiday project – the 14-song Evergreen.
Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (Remixed & Updated) CD/CD+DVD Audio/CD+Blu-ray Audio/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Originally released in 1987, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was updated and remixed by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson for The Later Years box set. By returning to some of Richard Wright’s original keyboard parts and by re-recording new drum tracks with Nick Mason, producers David Gilmour and Bob Ezrin restored the creative balance between the three Pink Floyd members. The front cover features an alternative photograph from the original album cover photoshoot. [The deluxe CD+DVD and CD+Blu-ray editions each include bonus material and 5.1 Surround Sound audio, along with a 40-page booklet and envelope containing six exclusive stickers designed by Peter Curzon from Storm Studios.]
Quantic & Nidia Góngora – Almas Conectadas CD/LP+MP3 (Tru Thoughts)
Almas Conectadas (‘Connected Souls’) is the sophomore album from renowned British producer Will “Quantic” Holland and Colombian folklore singer-songwriter Nidia Góngora. Bubbling with symphonic flourishes, the release explores the unique, rich, and mystical musical traditions of the Colombian Pacific Coast while being recorded at Quantic’s Brooklyn-based studio and creative powerhouse Selva. Delving into the concept of the album, Nidia explains: “Almas Conectadas refers to the interrelation of cosmic energies, the aura and the way they manifest from the abstract; we are more than body and flesh and there are countless elements that connect us as beings that interact in the universe, physical contact does not always exist to be connected.” [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Michel Redolfi – Sonic Underwater Music CD/LP (Sub Rosa)
A work that literally immerses the listener into an acoustical substance. The sound becomes almost like matter, like jelly. Soon, you’re swimming in sound, getting lost inside it. “With the Sonic Waters project initiated in 1978, my aim was to situate field of electronic music within a liberating and futuristic experience, outside the concert halls and in sync with the development of new instruments – particularly the Synclavier digital synthesizer, the first model of which I acquired in 1977. As concert space, the Pacific Ocean seemed to me to be the ideal experimental medium for both acoustic and cultural reasons.”
R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi-Fi: 25th Anniversary Edition 2xCD/2xLP (Craft Recordings)
First released in September 1996, New Adventures In Hi-Fi endures as one of R.E.M.’s most acclaimed albums and stands as a favorite among band members and fans alike. Recorded at the height of their fame, it is R.E.M.’s final album with drummer and founding member Bill Berry, who left the group amicably the following year. Perhaps most remarkable, however, is that New Adventures in Hi-Fi found the band taking a unique creative approach: writing and recording much of the LP on the road, during their 1995 Monster tour. While writing new material on the road wasn’t an unusual feat for R.E.M., New Adventures was unlike anything they had done before. As they embarked on tour, the band sought to create an abstract travelogue documenting every emotion and experience as it happened. [The double-CD edition features 13 B-sides and rarities.]
Emily Scott Robinson – American Siren CD/LP (Oh Boy)
Colorado songwriter Emily Scott Robinson beckons to those who are lost, lonely, or learning the hard way with American Siren, her first album for John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. With hints of bluegrass, country, and folk, the eloquent collection shares her gift for storytelling through her pristine soprano and the perspective of her unconventional path into music. Though not fully autobiographical, American Siren gracefully blends imagined characters with meaningful people she’s encountered on her journey.
Saga – Steel Umbrellas [Reissue/1994] CD/LP (earMUSIC)
Saga – Generation 13 [Reissue/1995] CD/LP (earMUSIC)
Saga – Pleasure & The Pain [Reissue/1997] CD/LP (earMUSIC)
Digitally remastered reissues of the AOR band’s tenth, eleventh, and twelfth albums.
Save Face – Another Kill For The Highlight Reel CD+MP3 (Epitaph)
Produced by The Movielife’s Brett Romnes, Another Kill For The Highlight Reel finds Tyler Povanda’s songwriting, lyrical, and conceptual skills at an all-time high. Povanda draws influence from his Jersey brethren like Thursday (Geoff Rickley actually sings on “A.M. Gothic”), but adds a theatrical bent that’s rooted in his love of musicals like Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dear Evan Hansen, and more. It’s clear that this record is much more interested in building worlds around itself than it is in adhering to any genre conventions or expectations. A drive to keep pushing through discomfort is evident throughout and is what makes this collection of songs as cathartic as they are catchy. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl edition is due November 12.]
Ed Sheeran – = CD/LP (Atlantic)
= (pronounced ‘Equals’) – the fourth instalment in Ed Sheeran’s symbol album series – is the singer-songwriter’s most accomplished work yet; the evolution of an artist who continues to tread new ground. A body of songs that were made over a four-year period following his seminal ÷ (Divide) album era, thematically, = finds Ed taking stock of his life and the people in it, as he explores the varying degrees of love (“The Joker And The Queen”, “First Times”, “2step”), loss (“Visiting Hours”), resilience (“Can’t Stop The Rain”) and fatherhood (“Sandman”, “Leave Your Life”), while also processing his reality and career (“Tides”). Sonically, = encapsulates Ed’s versatile musical palette, spanning signature, guitar-led tracks and world-class balladry to weightier, euphoric production moments, as first showcased on the album’s lead single “Bad Habits”.
Ty Segall – Harmonizer CD/LP (Drag City)
For his first new album in two years, Ty glides smoothly into a new wild area via a synthtasm of production overhaul, rebooting guitar and keyboard tones ‘n’ zones. A seething, yet emotionally austere statement, Harmonizer slices through psychic cloud cover, enrapturing the ear with groove moves for the body, mind and soul.
The Slow Death – Siege CD (Transcending Obscurities)
The Slow Death is an exceptional band that straddles the emotive as well as heavier aspect of atmospheric death/doom metal. There are eerie, haunting female vocals alternated with abysmally low growls to go with similarly undulating music, encompassing a terrific range of heart-rending expression.
Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics – The Dub Battle CD (Dubshot)
New release from the reggae legends.
Solaris – Universal Trial CD/LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Recorded back in 2006 and hidden up until now, the Swedish retro rockers’ masterpiece Universal Trial is now brought to daylight with this release. ‘70s groovy hard blues rock with a psychedelic twist and featuring Jonatan Ramm of Graveyard fame (before joining that band). Hard, groovy, soft and fuzzy. [A variety of limited-edition color vinyl editions is also available.]
Spice Girls – Spice [Reissue/1996] 2xCD (Virgin)
Digitally remastered and expanded edition includes the original album along with bonus tracks, B-sides from the hit singles, remixes commissioned for the singles, and previously unreleased demos.
Spillage – Electric Exorcist CD (Qumran)
Prepare for riffs. Prepare for doom. [Vinyl edition due November 5.]
Susto – Time In The Sun CD/LP (New West)
Time In The Sun is the fourth full-length album from Charleston, SC band Susto. The album was written and recorded during a lot of life changing events for lead writer-singer Justin Osborne. Like everyone around the world, Osborne was navigating the global issues felt from the pandemic while normal life continued with its own blessings and challenges. “We were navigating the global and national issues that everyone else was dealing with, but also I became a father and lost my father. There was a lot of contemplation going on in my brain, a lot of personal evolution going on in my life, and songwriting was my way of working through it all. The title Time In The Sun is meant to be a monument to my own human existence and also a tribute to the human experience in general. I wouldn’t claim to understand what it means to be a human, from the countless different perspectives of the world, but I do have my own experience to reflect on and I want to be able to express and explain that in some way. I guess this album is an attempt at that. At the core though, it’s just a collection of songs about my life and my feelings.” [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive translucent orange color vinyl edition is due November 19.]
James Taylor & Carole King – Live At The Troubadour [Reissue/2010] CD/2xLP (Craft Recordings)
Released last week on vinyl – now available on CD. In November of 1970, James Taylor and Carole King first performed together at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. Thirty-six years later, they returned for a three-night, six-show run to celebrate the venue’s 50th anniversary. This remarkable recording features 15 songs and 75 minutes of stunning performances of their collective biggest hits including “You’ve Got A Friend”, “Fire And Rain”, “I Feel The Earth Move” and more.
The The – The Comeback Special 2xCD (earMUSIC)
What started as an unforgettable live experience now turns into something even bigger as The The release The Comeback Special. Bonus material includes interviews, radio performances from 2018, as well as an intimate insight in the form of photos and background stories told by Matt Johnson. [Vinyl edition due November 26.]
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings – The Incredible Heat Machine CD/LP (Mama Bird)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Hailing from Portland OR, TK & the Holy Know-Nothings deliver their much-anticipated sophomore album The Incredible Heat Machine. The band is led by frontman Taylor Kingman, whose equally irreverent, delicate, and cerebral first-person narratives somehow merge seamlessly with the group’s bar band ethos. The Incredible Heat Machine takes the band’s half-facetiously self-described psychedelic doom boogie and delves further into the struggles of the working-class musician with themes of substance abuse and redemption, companionship as salvation, and the ever-present shadow of disillusionment.
Twiztid – Twiztid Presents: Songs Of Samhain, Vol. II – Haunted Record Player CD (Majik Ninja)
Twiztid’s favorite time of the year is upon us again, and this is the second volume in their Halloween-themed album series Songs Of Samhain. Complete with custom-drawn packaging by Jamie Madrox, Vol. II – Haunted Record Player features Majik Ninja labelmates Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Boondox, The R.O.C., HOK, and Oh The Horror.
Unlord – Gladiator [Reissue/2000] CD (Hells Headbangers)
Unlord – Unlord CD (Hells Headbangers)
Formed in 1989, Unlord is widely considered among the Netherlands’ very first black metal bands. Unlord’s proud ‘n’ pure synthesis of bazooka-blown speed and violently melodic riffing reeks of late ’90s nostalgia but also sounds remarkably fresh today, nearly 20 years after their untimely breakup.
Various Artists – Flag Day CD (Republic)
Features songs from Cat Power, Glen Hansard, Eddie Vedder & Olivia Vedder. [Vinyl edition due December 10.]
Veilburner – Lurkers In The Capsule Of Skull CD (Transcending Obscurity)
Veilburner are back with an album full of twisted, brain-warping, consciousness-altering death/black metal.
The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore CD/2xLP/Cassette (Atlantic)
The War On Drugs return with I Don’t Live Here Anymore, their first studio album in four years. Over the last 15 years, The War On Drugs has steadily emerged as one of this century’s great rock and roll synthesists, removing the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the obtuse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present. The War On Drugs have never done that as well as they do with this uncommon rock album about one of our most common but daunting processes – resilience in the face of despair. I Don’t Live Here Anymore is an expression of rock ‘n’ roll’s power to translate our own experience into songs we can share and words that direct our gaze toward the possibility of what is to come. [A limited-edition indie-exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]
Whitechapel – Kin CD/2xLP (Metal Blade)
At this stage in the game, the name Whitechapel command respect. Already sitting on one of the most enviable catalogs in contemporary metal, in 2019 they dropped The Valley, showcasing a confident evolution in their sound and standing as a true landmark release that sets a new standard for the genre. Now, they return with that album’s successor, the mighty Kin, which is an even more dynamic and diverse collection, further advancing the band’s sound into new territory without losing sight of what brought them to this point. The commencement of writing for the album was a direct result of the Covid pandemic, the band having several tours lined up to finish out the cycle for The Valley, but when these got cancelled, they decided to refocus their energies and begin working on a new record. [A limited-edition indie-store exclusive blue & black color vinyl edition is also available.]
Whitesnake – Restless Heart [Reissue/1997] CD/2xCD/4xCD+DVD/2xLP (Rhino)
In the wake of Whitesnake’s massive global success, the band’s founder and lead singer, David Coverdale, set out to record his third solo album in 1995. However, the plan was derailed when pressure from his record label forced him to change course and release Restless Heart under the David Coverdale & Whitesnake moniker. Despite the changes, the 1997 album was a Top 40 hit in the UK. Surprisingly, the record was never released in the US, until now. [The double-CD edition includes a new remix of the album plus the digitally remastered version of the original 1997 version. The Deluxe five-disc edition includes a DVD of music videos and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album with new interviews from David Coverdale. A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Bad Company – Holy Water [Reissue/1990] LP (Friday Music)
Limited 180gm audiophile clear blue color vinyl LP pressing. One of the most acclaimed bands of the classic rock era, England’s Bad Company has put its indelible stamp on rock ‘n’ roll with a straight-ahead, no-frills musical approach that has resulted in the creation of some of the most timeless rock anthems ever. 1990’s Holy Water is the band’s third with Brian Howe on lead vocals, a platinum-certified affair (their last) anchored by the trio of hit singles “Holy Water”, “If You Needed Somebody”, and “Walk Through Fire”.
Bremer/McCoy – Natten The Night LP (Luaka Bop)
‘Natten’, which means ‘The Night’ in Danish, draws inspiration from the end of day, that regenerative time under the constellations when our lives look different. Listeners might be quick to call it escapist’ the music might be a reprieve from our busy lives. And while that’s one way to experience Natten, there’s also another, which has more to do with immersion. It offers us the chance to see what’s around us as beautiful. “When it works for me,” says pianist Morten McCoy, “it’s pure meditation, pure prayer. Pure gratitude for simply being, without all kinds of jibber-jabber filling my thoughts.” A sentiment that tells you everything about the feeling and nothing about the sound. [CD edition due November 19.]
Ian Carr’s Nucleus – Roots [Reissue/1973] LP (Be With)
Thick, funky-prog jazz-rock heaven.
Cannibal Corpse – Butchered At Birth [Reissue/1991] LP (Metal Blade)
Limited clear vinyl LP pressing. Butchered At Birth is the controversial second album by Cannibal Corpse, originally issued in July of 1991 and banned in Germany and other countries due to its violent artwork. In fact, the first pressing of the compact disc was wrapped in white butcher paper stamped with the band logo and featured the album’s title in blood red ink. The cult favorite debuted the death metal sound which would become the band’s trademark.
Dave Chappelle – 8:46 LP (Third Man)
Third Man Records is proud to release a vinyl pressing of Dave Chappelle’s viral video, 8:46. The video was YouTube’s top trending video of 2020 with over 30 million views on the official post and 7.5 million views on Chappelle’s Instagram. The video and subsequent album is a searing rumination in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd that ignited worldwide outrage and led to protests on race inequality, police brutality and the criminal justice system. Filmed in Ohio on June 6, during the COVID-19 lockdown, 8:46 addresses one deadly plague, while in the grips of another. The B-side of the album features poet Amir Sulaiman’s performance of “My Insides Out” and “We Must Win”, also recorded in Ohio. It also includes “White Noise”, 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in remembrance of George Floyd and the countless victims of police brutality and systemic racism. The album cover and artwork features performance, backstage photos from Chappelle’s concert as well as images from various George Floyd protests in Los Angeles, CA, all taken by Grammy-nominated artist and photographer Mathieu Bitton.
Come – Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Expanded Edition 2xLP (Fire)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. In 1994 Come responded to the difficult-second-album stereotype with the hypnotic, intense and emotional masterpiece Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Featuring the original line-up of Thalia Zedek, Chris Brokaw, Sean O’ Brien and Arthur Johnson, the Boston band broadened their sound by slowing down the tempos and creating a dense urban stream of consciousness that mixes noise, city blues and catharsis. The album hits you immediately as one of the greatest dissident records ever made. Lovingly remastered, this expanded edition includes Wrong Sides, an additional album’s worth of B-sides and unreleased tracks, including the band’s very first single “Car” and their last recorded song, “Cimarron”, featuring this core line-up. These gems showcase the rawness and incredible growth of a band completely in command of their songwriting and at the same time paying homage to some of their punk roots with beautiful renditions of Swell Maps “Loin Of The Surf” and X’s “Adult Books”. Also includes new artwork with unearthed photos and fresh liner notes by the band.
Alice Cooper – Killer [Reissue/1971] LP (Friday Music)
Alice Cooper – Alice Cooper’s Greatest Hits [Reissue/1974] LP (Friday Music)
Gatefold audiophile 180gm vinyl reissues. Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group was also famous for their captivating stage show which featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors.
Dawes – North Hills [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (ATO)
Double translucent red color vinyl pressing. North Hills, the debut album from Dawes, was released in the summer of 2009. The band hit the road for nearly three years of non-stop touring. Rolling Stone declared them “The most promising purveyors of new-school country folk.” Years later, after performing alongside Jackson Browne, and backing up Robbie Robertson, that promise has proved true and the album – featuring hits like “When My Time Comes” – sounds as fresh as ever.
Deadbolt – Shrunken Head [Reissue/1993] LP (Pig Baby)
The creepy surf rock band’s 1993 debut – the cult classic Shrunken Head – remastered with liner notes.
Decibel – El Poeta Del Ruido [Reissue/1980] LP (Purple Pyramid)
Blue color vinyl reissue of the debut album from Mexico’s premiere prog rock group influenced by such visionaries as Henry Cow, Faust, Magma and 20th century composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Domination Campaign – Onward To Glory LP (Prosthetic)
Limited color vinyl pressing. Domination Campaign was started in Hobart Tasmania in late 2019 by Psycroptic vocalist Jason Peppiatt as a solo studio project. Jason began work in Crawlspace studios in December 2019 with fellow Psycroptic band mate and studio engineer Joe Haley. Once recording began Joe was recruited to also play drums on the album and the duo had their sights set on recording an over the top, heavy, straight down the line, crushing old school death metal album. Nothing fancy or technical just big simple heavy riffs and massive mid paced drumbeats.
Dozer – Vultures [Reissue/2013] LP (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Limited-edition color vinyl reissue. Recorded in 2004-2005 at Rockhouse Studios in Borlänge, these six tracks were used as pre-production demos for what would later become the fourth Dozer album, 2005’s Through The Eyes Of Heathens. Vultures is a real heavy Swedish stoner rock explosion.
Empyrium – Weiland 2xLP (Prophecy)
Gold color vinyl reissue of the German neofolk/rock/doom band’s fourth album.
Ex Deo – The Thirteen Years Of Nero LP (Napalm)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Roman Empire inspired Canadian death metal band’s newest release, The Thirteen Years Of Nero, transports the listener back to Ancient Rome with 10 cinematic masterpieces that tell the emotional, conceptual story of the reign of Emperor Nero. Accented by sounds of ancient instruments like lyra and harp and detailing the harrowing stories of Nero’s surroundings, close allies and enemies, listeners will connect with intense psychological tones of political turmoil and paranoia.
The Faux Paws – The Faux Paws LP (Great Bear Records)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New release from the Americana trio. Andrew and Noah first started making music with Chris in 2010 and they honed their sound traveling all over North America in the popular dance band Great Bear. Their music is a mix of fiddle tunes, original songs, explosive jams and driving rhythm.
The Felice Brothers – From Dreams To Dust 2xLP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
Double red and cream-colored vinyl pressing. Includes bonus tracks. From Dreams To Dust, the latest studio album by The Felice Brothers was recorded in the fall of 2020 in an old one room church in Harlemville, NY. Produced by The Felice Brothers and mixed by Mike Mogis, the record ranges over a variety of topics and themes, including isolation, the world of dreams and delusions, environmental collapse, and the inward and outward chaos of modern life.
Nico Fidenco – Emanuelle And The White Slave Trade LP (Not Dark Yet Music)
The Emanuelle soundtracks are well known among collectors with originals fetching three figures and re-releases being in high demand. Emanuelle And The White Slave Trade has never been released on vinyl before now, giving collectors an opportunity to own this album of Italian disco and library sounds for the first time.
Béla Fleck – My Bluegrass Heart 2xLP (BMG)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. My Bluegrass Heart is the third chapter of a trilogy which began with the 1988 album, Drive, and continued in 1991 with The Bluegrass Sessions. The project features a who’s who of some of the greatest instrumentalists in bluegrass music’s history alongside some of the best of the new generation of players mandolinists Sam Bush, Sierra Hull, and Chris Thile; fiddlers Michael Cleveland and Stuart Duncan; celebrated multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses, bassists Edgar Meyer and Mark Schatz, and the amazing Bryan Sutton and Molly Tuttle on guitar.
Josh Freese – Just A Minute, Vol. 1 LP (Loosegroove Inc.)
Like many musicians during 2020, Josh Freese (drummer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer) began writing and recording every day from home. Just A Minute, Vol. 1 features 20 one-minute songs all written and composed by Freese. Some featured tracks on the record include The Dwarves And The Queens Of The Stone Age which Josh explains, “I love the Dwarves and I love the Queens Of The Stone Age and have been a part of both their extended families for over 20 years.”
Gaerea – Limbo 2xLP (Season Of Mist)
Limited-edition color vinyl pressing. Cathartic outfit Gaerea challenges the archetype of black metal, coloring outside of the genre’s lines with melancholy, texture and passion. 2020’s Limbo devours the listener with misanthropic catharsis and cinematic agony, delivering palpable emotion for 52 uninterrupted minutes.
Daryl Hall / John Oates – Abandoned Luncheonette [Reissue/1973] LP (Friday Music)
Gatefold color 180gm vinyl reissue. 1973’s Platinum-certified Abandoned Luncheonette served as the watershed second studio album from pop-rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates and the most commercially successful of their Atlantic Records era. Produced by the great Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin), the well-crafted nine-song set is fused with classic Philly soul, rock and acoustic pop anthems like the huge hit single “She’s Gone”.
Scott Hirsch – Windless Day LP (Scott Hirsh)
Limited purple color vinyl pressing. Scott Hirsch’s name is one you’ll find lurking in the liner notes of many admired recordings from the last two decades. As a founding member of Hiss Golden Messenger, he was integral to the band’s first five records, lending his sonic imprint on their productions, as well as shaping the sound of the live outfit, having toured heavily through the formative years of the band. Much of this work is reflected on the recent Merge Records box set Devotion: Songs About Rivers And Spirits And Children. Along the way he produced and played on records by Kim Krans’ Family Band, as well as recording a Grammy nominated record by the legendary folksinger Alice Gerrard. Having stepped off the demanding tour schedule of Hiss in 2016, new pathways opened for Scott to fully engage in the craft of songwriting.
Houses – Drugstore Heaven LP (Downtown)
“Drugstore Heaven is a collage of songs about life and death and drugs and sex and growing up a lost fuckup in Chicago. The best of these songs was written for my dead friends that I’m still trying to impress 15 years later. The worst of them are probably the ones where I’m trying to impress you. Drugstore Heaven was named after an Ed Ruscha painting that reminded me of a night I spent on the floor of a gas station when I was 15, slouched against the snack display on LSD while god talked to me through a Moby song playing on the radio. This record is a memorial for the people and places I knew back then and the life we lost along the way.”
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You: The Best Of Whitney Houston [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
First-time vinyl pressing.
Interloper – Search Party LP (Nuclear Blast)
Mustard & brown swirl with black splatter color vinyl pressing. New album from the Los Angeles based progressive metal band.
Chris Jagger – Mixing Up The Medicine LP (BMG)
Recently released on CD – now available on clear vinyl. Recorded in a studio near Chris Jagger’s long-standing collaborator and pianist Charlie Hart’s Lewisham home, at Jagger’s farmhouse, and down the line to each other when lockdown restrictions were in force, Mixing Up The Medicine is a loose, lively 10-track collection of Jagger/Hart originals that features a hit-list of top players. These include old friend Olly Blanchflower on double bass; Atcha band alumnus Dylan Howe on drums; veteran producer John Porter, who’s worked with artists including The Smiths, Roxy Music, Buddy Guy, BB King and Elvis Costello; guitarist Neil Hubbard (Bryan Ferry, Joe Cocker); as well as brother, Mick Jagger, whose vocals appear on “Anyone Seen My Heart?”, the first song on the album.
Bob James – Feel Like Making Live! 2xLP (Evosound)
In the eyes of the rap generation, an older musician’s hipness is often defined by how many times he or she has been sampled for beats and breaks. That means that keyboard wizard Bob James, whose records have been sampled a staggering 1,435 times. Feel Like Making Live! captures James performing a career-spanning selection of material live in the studio. [A limited-edition orange color vinyl pressing is also available.]
Park Hye Jin – Before I Die LP+7” (Ninja Tune)
Hot pink color vinyl pressing featuring bonus 7”. Before I Die – entirely written, produced and performed by the South Korean-born and now L.A.-based the producer, rapper, singer, and DJ – follows the release of her hugely successful How Can I EP and comes on the heels of a string of collaborations. Includes the single “Let’s Sing Let’s Dance”, a wistful dance track that places Hye Jin’s mantra-like vocals over piano keys and rumbling bass. Elsewhere on the record, she continues to expand her sonic palette, drawing on a range of influences that take in electronic, rap/hip-hop and downtempo sensibilities to present the most complete vision yet of her sound.
Khruangbin – Mordechai Remixes 2xLP (Dead Oceans)
Entering the tight-knit world of a Khruangbin song can be a little daunting. They have created this entire universe in which the trio seem to function telepathically in the way the music is composed, arranged and played. To mess with their delicate eco-system can invoke feelings like that of an unwanted guest crashing a good-time party. We write our music to be interpreted; this is another wonderful interpretation of the music, reassure Khruangbin. There is something very vulnerable about letting others work on your music. But through the correspondence with the different artists, we gained a bigger connection to the songs themselves.
Larkin Poe & Nu Deco Ensemble – Paint The Roses (Live In Concert) LP (Tricki-woo)
Recently released on CD – now available on orange color vinyl. Innovative hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble brought their genre-bending orchestral music to fans around the world through their 2020-2021 virtual performance season including a collaborative concert with roots rock band Larkin Poe on December 12, 2020, streamed live from the Miami Beach Bandshell.
Lindsay Lohan – Little More Personal (RAW) [Reissue/2005] LP (Casablanca)
Vinyl pressing of Lindsay Lohan’s sophomore album which features the hit single “Confessions Of A Broken Heart (Daughter To Father)”.
Mansions – New Best Friends LP (Bad Timing)
Blue & brown multi-color vinyl pressing. Old Best Friends is an 11-song lookback through Mansions’ 12+ year career. Chris Browder spent part of the pandemic recording haunting versions of songs throughout the band’s entire catalog, bringing new life and perspective to fan favorites.
John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers – Padlock On The Blues [Reissue/1999] LP (earMUSIC)
Limited-edition white color vinyl pressing. John Mayall is undoubtedly one of the most successful bandleaders in the history of the blues. With 1999’s Padlock On The Blues, he and his long-running outfit The Bluesbreakers created an album that easily ranks among Mayall’s finest complete with guest appearances by such legends as John Lee Hooker, Coco Montoya and Ernie Watts.
Meadows – In Those Days & Also After LP (Facedown)
Meadows is a melodic hardcore band out of Birmingham, Alabama that has received comparisons to other heavyweights within the community such as Counterparts and Defeater, all while blending atmospheric guitar tones and vocals that touch on all parts of the spectrum ranging from spoken word to a harsh yell for the likes of mewithoutYou and La Dispute.
The Midnight – Monsters LP (Counter)
Limited-edition purple color vinyl pressing. Monsters finds the duo of Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, who’ve gone from online cult fascination to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Electronic Album Chart, creating a sweeping sound that fuses Americana archetypes with an evocative electronic palette referencing synth-driven film scores, deep house, pop, and rock. Monsters sees a continuation of The Midnight’s immersive world-building that has attracted a rabid fanbase – a communal coalition of internet culture obsessives, bedroom producers, Tumblr goths, cosplayers, teenagers, their parents, and everyone in between – who have been pining for a new album for almost two years.
Minus The Bear – Farewell 3xLP (Suicide Squeeze)
Grey color vinyl pressing. Farewell covers a lot of ground across the span of its 26 songs and two-hour run time. Yet every moment is a reminder of why Minus the Bear was such an experiential live band. They were always pushing forward, evolving their sound, and adding new ways to balance brainy musicianship, pop worship, meditative sentimentality, and adrenalized fervor into their own signature concoction. Further bolstered by the mix of Matt Bayles and master job by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, the album sounds like a fully immersive live experience.
Mouse Rat – The Awesome Album LP (Dualtone Music Group)
Recently released on CD – now available on orange color vinyl. For years, fans have been eagerly waiting for the release of The Awesome Album by Pawnee, Indiana rock band Mouse Rat. The band is fronted by Parks And Recreation Shoeshine Department employee Andy Dwyer, who has led many local acts through the years such as Angelsnack, Everything Rhymes With Orange, Department Of Homeland Obscurity, Just The Tip and Scarecrow Boat, among others. The hits are all here: “5,000 Candles In The Wind”, “The Pit”, “Two Birds Holding Hands”, “Catch Your Dream (feat. Duke Silver)” and two additional tracks by the Scott Tanner-fronted band Land Ho!.
Museum Of Love – Life Of Mammals 2xLP (Skint)
Life Of Mammals is the second album by New York duo Museum Of Love (Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem and Dennis McNany aka Jee Day). It is a dizzying, hypnotic swirl of chaotic art rock and irresistible, metronomic dance music.
Neutral Snap – Tell Me How I Feel LP (Orange Music)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. This album highlights the thoughts going through a cusp millennial’s head as he reluctantly wades through the coarse marsh that is life. Neutral Snap puts a contemporary twist on nostalgic pop punk.
Pendulum – Elemental 12” (Ancenic Ltd.)
This Phenakistoscope 12” picture disc is designed by frontman Rob Swire and animates when it is played at 45rpm and filmed on a mobile phone. The long-awaited release heralds the full comeback of the groundbreaking band, who previously released the double A-side singles “Nothing For Free” and “Driver” in 2020, followed by single “Come Alive” earlier this year – all included here alongside the track “Louder Than Words”, a collaboration with Hybrid Minds.
Phish – Joy [Reissue/2004] 2xLP (ATO)
Joy is the fourth studio album from Phish, praised by critics upon its release in 2004. Rolling Stone called it “a deeper trip than most Phish LPs” in their four-star review. This ‘Growing Brighter’ edition of Joy is pressed on a tri-color mix of vinyl (red, purple and blue).
Pond – 9 LP (Spinning Top)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. In Pond’s universe nothing stays still for long. Although no one who heard 2019’s Tasmania could possibly describe its pulsating psych-pop as straight, Pond wanted to try a more spontaneous way of working for their next record. Taking a leaf out of krautrock outliers Can’s book, at the start of 2020, Pond embarked on a series of totally off-the-cuff jam sessions from which songs and ideas could be pulled out. Hence their new album, 9. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive coke bottle clear pressing is also available.]
Porter Ricks – Porter Ricks [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Mille Plateaux)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Porter Ricks is a collaboration between Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig. Following the re-release of the legendary album Biokinetics, which is superb subaquatic dub techno, Mille Plateaux re-release Porter Ricks’ first album on the label, a self-titled album released in 1997. The album demonstrates the move to a kind of discoid funkiness with an underlying almost organic rhythm might, but still, it’s not music for beautiful souls. Instead, it combines funkiness with alien sonic fluxes and the rhythm of a killing mover.
Billy Preston – Encouraging Words [Reissue/1970] LP (UMe)
To celebrate Billy Preston’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October 2021, Apple Records and UMe reissue Billy’s highly regarded 1970 album, Encouraging Words, on vinyl for a limited time. It was produced by Billy and George Harrison, with two of George’s songs – “All Things Must Pass” and “My Sweet Lord” – issued here for the first time, two months before his own recordings appeared on Harrison’s album, All Things Must Pass.
Quicksand – Distant Populations LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Distant Populations, just the fourth full-length album of Quicksand’s career, comes as a comparatively swift follow-up to Interiors – which itself came a full 22 years after its predecessor, 1995’s Manic Compression. Distant Populations has a punchier, more up-tempo sound than its predecessor; its 11 songs are concise, carved sonic jewels boasting not a single wasted note; and its raw power, its gripping lyricism, leaps out from the very first listening. It is a striking step up for the band.
Rare Earth – One World [Reissue/1971] LP (Culture Factory)
Red translucent color vinyl reissue of the fourth studio album by rock band Rare Earth. One World features “I Just Want To Celebrate” which became a Top 10 Gold certified hit. The album would become the third (and final) Gold album from the ensemble. Deluxe packaging includes OBI strip.
The Record Company – Play Loud LP (Concord)
Indie store exclusive color vinyl pressing w/ poster. The Record Company has outgrown the home recording of previous records and enlisted Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Sardy (Fall Out Boy, A Perfect Circle, Modest Mouse) to work with them on their third studio album, Play Loud. It also finds the band collaborating with outside songwriters for the first time ever, including Kevin Griffin and Sam Hollander on single “How High”. The result is a sonic growth both in music and in songwriting, highlighting an ever-evolving band bringing rock back to the masses. On Play Loud, the group stretches out artistically and explores their far-flung influences. “On the first two albums, people might have thought we were three guys who sit around a campfire, praying to Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and we’re not,” notes bassist Alex Stiff. “We’re three different guys with different musical tastes. It’s time for all of us to show our individuality, and this record shows us evolving.”
Ashley Shadow – Only The End LP (Felte)
Blue & orange swirl color vinyl. Ashley Shadow winks at darkness, but she won’t lead you towards it. It’s easy to fall under the spell of her haunting voice. The Vancouver, B.C. based songwriter forged her own identity as a songwriter with 2016’s eponymous self-titled debut. Her sophomore effort, Only The End, maintains the moody introspection that is ingrained in Pacific Northwest life, but now comes armed with a palpable hope complementing her signature melancholy.
Joseph Spence – Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Encore is a new album produced from previously unheard archival recordings by the legendary Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence, made in 1965 at the height of his career. Spence’s radically innovative guitar style transformed elements of Bahamian traditional music into adventurous, joyful improvisations and influenced players worldwide. His powerful singing stemmed directly from the rhyming tradition created by Bahamian sponge fishermen early in the 20th century. The music is punctuated by Spence’s unique, sometimes otherworldly vocalizations including humming, short bursts of lyrics, and near-scat singing.
Teenage Halloween – Teenage Halloween LP+MP3 (Don Giovanni)
Limited electric smoke color vinyl pressing. Often pinned as a band that “has a lot going on,” Teenage Halloween has crafted a sound rooted in abundance. Luke Henderik’s rare and universal lyrics, and the precise ear of engineer Evan Bernard, this newest collection of songs is full of surprises that humbly aims to redefine the modern DIY punk scene. Predominantly a queer identifying band, the songs reflect this experience holistically with lyrics that grapple with vulnerability, community, extreme existentialism, mental illness, and gender euphoria.
They Might Be Giants – Escape Team [Reissue/2018] LP (Idlewild)
2018’s The Escape Team is an album set of ultra-vivid musical portraits inspired by the comic book The Escape Team Issue #1 created by long-time TMBG visual collaborator David Cowles. The 11 colorful tracks move from the cartoon violence of the book’s Big Daddy Roth-inspired origins to melancholy. Includes “The Poisonousness” with Robin Godwasser, “Jackie The Chipper”, “Chip the CHiP” and eight more haunting tracks.
Henry Threadgill Zooid – Poof LP (Pi)
Poof is composer, saxophonist and flutist Henry Threadgill’s latest work for his band, Zooid, his musical laboratory for the last two decades. The new work is the latest in Threadgill’s ongoing exploration of compositions and group improvisations based around what he calls a serial intervallic language. In this scheme, each musician is assigned a series of intervals on which to improvise, effectively creating an intertwining, polyphonic swirl that encourages each musician to play with an ear for counterpoint. The music often seems teetering on edge and is as knotty and inscrutable as always, but always propelled by an off-kiltered swing that is a consistent hallmark of Threadgill’s works.
Bryson Tiller – T R A P S O U L [2020] 2xLP (RCA
Bryson Tiller – Anniversary [2020] 2xLP (RCA)
Bryson Djuan Tiller is a singer, songwriter and rapper. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he started his career in 2011, releasing the debut mixtape titled Killer Instinct Vol.1. Tiller initially gained notable recognition following the release of his debut single, “Don’t”. Tiller’s debut studio album, T R A P S O U L, was released in October 2015 and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart.
Pat Travers And Carmine Appice – The Balls Album LP (Purple Pyramid)
Two color viny pressings are available: blue and red. The Balls Album is a supercharged, full throttle piece of real deal rock and roll majesty by two of the hottest driving forces in classic rock, vocalist/guitarist Pat Travers and drummer Carmine Appice.
Trouble – Psalm 9 [Reissue/1984] 2xLP (Hammerheart)
Trouble – The Skull [Reissue/1985] 2xLP (Hammerheart)
Trouble – Manic Frustration [Reissue/1992] LP (Hammerheart)
Trouble’s early work, and in particular, Psalm 9 represents everything that doom metal should be (but so often is not). Here is a band who are rather diverse with regards to tempo, arrangements and mood, and are not afraid to break the mold of what is typically expected of a doom band.
Type O Negative – October Rust [Reissue/1996] LP (Rhino)
Limited indie-store exclusive green color vinyl 25th Anniversary edition of the fourth studio album by Type O Negative. October Rust has more ballads and less of the doom metal sound of previous or subsequent albums. It also features a much heavier cover of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl”.
The Unclaimed – Moxie [Reissue/1980] LP (Teen Sound)
The Unclaimed combined tinny and repetitive with melody and pop grit exactly like the best mid-‘60s garage bands had before them.
Mika Vainio – Live At Berlin Atonal 2xLP (Berlin Atonal)
Berlin Atonal is pleased to announce the release of Mika Vainio’s live performance at the 2016 edition of the festival. Accompanied by the artwork from Vainio’s personal archives, it’s soft lack of focus is reminiscent of the natural looseness in his sound programming, lending itself to jazz as much as any form of electronic music. Right at the tips of his fingers, sparks fly unhindered by background noise, left to saturate in his universe of swollen intent. This pared-down, sensitive, and serious music has no parallel.
Vildhjarta – Måsstaden Under Vatten 2xLP (Century Media)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. With a decade between releases, Vildhjarta remain as inscrutable and as close to anonymity as a band can be. Vildhjarta’s down-tuned, staccato riffs and pulverizing grooves are the sound of music stripped to its essence. Yet, the Swedish collective’s long-awaited album, Måsstaden Under Vatten, is far more than a recitation of djent values. Clocking in at 80 minutes, it thematically picks up where the dark Swedish fable of 2011’s Måsstaden left off and delivers on the promise that record hinted at.
Vipers – Outta The Nest [Reissue/1984] LP (Teen Sound)
The Vipers set themselves apart with superior songwriting chops and a melodic, harmony-based sound that was closer to the Knickerbockers and The Turtles than The Seeds or The Music Machine.
We Are Scientists – Huffy LP (Masterworks)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Jet-skis ripping across a jewel-green bay. Piña Coladas on ice, shredded in the blender. An alligator drops into a sick-ass guitar solo, then takes the last chorus up a notch with an unusual harmony you simply didn’t see coming. This is Huffy, the brand-new studio album from We Are Scientists. Ten tracks recorded and produced by the band, and mixed by ear-athlete Claudius Mittendorfer, in a package that only you can complete.
World Party – Goodbye Jumbo [Reissue/1990] LP (Seaview)
Limited 180gm vinyl reissue of the second album by the British band, essentially the solo project of Karl Wallinger. It peaked at #73 on the Billboard Top 200 and #36 on the UK albums chart. “Way Down Now”, the album’s lead single, spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Alternative songs chart, and follow-up single “Put The Message In The Box” reached #8.
Cassette:
The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore (Atlantic)
The War On Drugs return with I Don’t Live Here Anymore, their first studio album in four years. Over the last 15 years, The War On Drugs has steadily emerged as one of this century’s great rock and roll synthesists, removing the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the obtuse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present. The War On Drugs have never done that as well as they do with this uncommon rock album about one of our most common but daunting processes – resilience in the face of despair. I Don’t Live Here Anymore is an expression of rock ‘n’ roll’s power to translate our own experience into songs we can share and words that direct our gaze toward the possibility of what is to come.
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