Social Media Program Titles Released This Week:
North Americans – Roped In LP (Third Man)
Los Angeles-based musician collective with a rotating cast featuring Mary Lattimore and William Tyler, playing instrumental, psychedelic folk music. Pedal steel and nylon string guitar intertwine to create ethereal crystalline drones and twinkling hypnotic moods in the American Primitive style.
November Marketing Program/ Banner/ Listening Station Titles Promoted This Week:
Bahamas – Sad Hunk CD (Republic)
The fifth album from Bahamas, Sad Hunk takes its title from a nickname bestowed upon the artist by his wife in reaction to how he was being portrayed in the media, “Something like ten years ago I did a photo shoot, and in all the pictures they sent back I was lit half in shadow, looking all brooding and mysterious,” says the award-winning singer/songwriter otherwise known as Afie Jurvanen. “When my wife saw the photos the first thing she said was, ‘Whoa—sad hunk,’ and after that it became sort of a joke among our friends.” It’s a fitting backstory for an album that embodies an undaunted self-awareness, each track graced with Bahamas’s wry wit and unabashed heart. In sketching Sad Hunk’s delicately composed batch of songs, Jurvanen drew much inspiration from his home life and all the joy and struggle that comes with building a family together. [Vinyl edition due October 23.]
Black Pumas – Black Pumas 2xCD/2xLP+7” (ATO)
Black Pumas unveil a deluxe edition of their Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album. This expanded set is available as a double CD and double LP + 7” and includes the original album plus 11 bonus tracks, including three new original songs, four cover tracks, and unreleased live material. The package is updated with new artwork and contains unpublished in-studio and live photographs.
The Budos Band – Long In The Tooth CD/LP+MP3 (Daptone Records)
15 years after the release of their debut album, Daptone’s Royal Court from Staten Island deliver a truly epic collection of new material that finds the group further bridging the gap between the Farfisa-fueled Ethio-funk stylings of their early recordings, with the psychedelic, Sabbath-inspired hellfire of late. The title track and lead single, “Long In The Tooth”, jumps out of the speakers with a heavy drum break (reminiscent of the B-Boy approved grooves of their early output), drenched in a pulsating, hallucinatory wall of organ, menacing horns, and a rugged guitar riff that pummels the listener into Budonian submission. Imagine Link Wray and Mulatu Astatke collaborating on an Italian horror soundtrack and you’re getting close.
Chubby Checker – Dancin’ Party: The Chubby Checker Collection 1960-1966 CD/LP (Abkco)
21 of Checker’s recordings are featured on Dancin’ Party: The Chubby Checker Collection 1960-1966. This definitive compilation highlights seventeen Top 40 hits, of which twelve entered the Top 20; seven charted in the Top 10 with two ultimately reaching the No. 1 spot.
Future Islands – As Long As You Are CD/LP (4AD)
With As Long As You Are, Future Islands has created an album that looks back as well as forwards, that confronts old ghosts and new hope. It’s also one that “pushes the edges of what we do” according to bassist/guitarist William Cashion; ballads are a beat slower and more dramatic, the upbeat tracks have a little more spark and urgency. And, above all, it’s a record full of searing honesty, redemption, and what singer Sam Herring refers to as “letting go.” “As an artist, you always have fears that you’re just gonna get old and then people won’t care,” says Herring, “but this is what we’re supposed to sound like and, to us, it’s the best we’ve ever sounded. As Long As You Are is another step in defining who and what Future Islands is, and that’s really important.” [Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Garcia Peoples – Nightcap At Wits’ End CD/LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
The duality here runs deep: almost 50 minutes of intricately arranged composition and kinetic guitar chorales christened in tribute to both a familiar place of refuge and that ragged state of mind beyond all common sense, when you keep on going even after you’ve run out of rope and road. The music itself is a double image: one album-length side of songs that advance the crisp momentum and tangled jangle of early-2019’s Natural Facts; and a second half that extends the medley action on Cosmic Cash with the long reach of One Step Behind in a suite of dynamic writing and bonded, instrumental charge, connected by live-to-tape jams – the band’s first time exercising that second-nature-on-stage in a studio. Nightcap At Wits’ End has arrived as if absolutely destined for right now. Raise a glass at your wit’s end, and let the music blow away the night.
METZ – Atlas Vending CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
“Change is inevitable if you’re lucky,” says guitarist/vocalist Alex Edkins while talking about Atlas Vending, the fourth full-length album by Toronto’s METZ. “Our goal is to remain in flux, to grow in a natural and gradual way. We’ve always been wary to not overthink or intellectualize the music we love but also not satisfied until we’ve accomplished something that pushes us forward.” The music made by Edkins and his compatriots Hayden Menzies (drums) and Chris Slorach (bass) has always been a little difficult to pin down. Their earliest recordings contained nods to the teeming energy of early-‘90s DIY hardcore, the aggravated angularities of This Heat, and the noisy riffing of AmRep’s quintessential guitar manglers, but there was never a moment where METZ sounded like they were paying tribute to the heroes of their youth. If anything, the sonic trajectory of their albums captured the journey of a band shedding influences and digging deeper into their fundamental core—steady propulsive drums, chest-thumping bass lines, bloody-fingered guitar riffs, the howling angst of our fading innocence. With Atlas Vending, METZ not only continues to push their music into new territories of dynamics, crooked melodies, and sweat-drenched rhythms, they explore the theme of growing up and maturing within a format typically suspended in youth.
Ron Miles – Rainbow Sign CD/LP (Blue Note)
Rainbow Sign is the Blue Note debut by cornetist and composer Ron Miles and the follow-up to his widely-acclaimed 2017 album I Am A Man, featuring the same remarkable group with pianist Jason Moran, guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Brian Blade. Miles wrote most of the music as his father was passing away in the summer of 2018, and the album is both a loving dedication and a riveting spiritual document that scores the journey from Earth to eternal peace. “Rainbows deal with renewal, and also the title; there’s a Carter Family song called ‘God Gave Noah The Rainbow Sign’. Rainbows also show up in The Book of Revelation, when Christ comes back and his skin is like jasper. We see people in these kinds of boxes — like ‘he’s black, brown or white,’ but when Christ shows up, it’s like ‘we don’t know what this brother is.’ Jasper’s got a whole bunch of colors, like a rainbow. Sometimes, our limitations can inform what we can see. And when they finally got to see Christ, it was more than we thought we could ever see.”
SKÁLD – Vikings Memories CD (Decca)
Vikings Memories is about the importance of ancestral heritage. It is an invitation to listen to messages from the past to build the future. SKÁLD is inspired by the Doggerland, which is an island that disappeared 20,000 years ago following various natural disasters (tsunami, long winter…). The Vikings tell here the history of the people who preceded them and question the role of man for saving the planet. The sound of SKÁLD is created through two contrasting voices: Justine Galmiche’s warm yet powerful tone, combined with the guttural, vibrant resonance of Pierrick Valence. They work closely with producer-composer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet, who uses a broad palette of instruments to immerse the listener in an extraordinary musical world. There is an array of percussion alongside stringed instruments, like the nyckelharpa or skáldharpa – which was specially conceived for the group. Underpinning the sounds are arrangements which draw on world music and Celtic influences, with rousing orchestrations. [Vinyl edition due November 6.]
Slow Pulp – Moveys CD/LP (Winspear)
Slow Pulp’s remarkable full-length debut Moveys is a testament to hard-fought personal growth. In the process of making their new record, the Chicago-based indie rock band powered through health challenges, personal upheaval, and a pandemic, all while breaking old habits and learning how to be better songwriters and friends. Full of blistering energy and emotional catharsis, this compelling 10-track collection highlights the band’s resourcefulness and resilience to come together even when they were states away. Slow Pulp’s tough adaptability is something that has formed over time thanks to the unbreakable bond of lifelong friendship. Their roots can be traced back to elementary school, with Alexander Leeds (bass), Theodore Mathews (drums), and Henry Stoehr (guitar) performing in bands together since the sixth grade while growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. Emily Massey (vocals/guitar) was later invited to join their new project, Slow Pulp, in 2017. “I can’t describe a level of closeness with other people like we have. Having lived together, toured together, worked together, and written together, we learned so much about each other so quickly,” says Massey. [Limited neon green colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Patty Smyth – It’s About Time CD (BMG)
“Patty Smyth returns with an excellent new album It’s About Time, a title that puts a button on the question she’s been asked by fans and often posed to herself. Though there have been a few scattered songs here and there, it’s been 28 years since her last full album, 1992’s self-titled Patty Smyth, which contained the Grammy-nominated “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”, sung with Don Henley and co-written with Glen Burtnik. Since that time, Smyth raised her family of six kids with guitar playing husband and tennis legend John McEnroe. Truth is, she’s been touring, playing shows and writing all along, but never found the time to get back in the recording studio. Recorded in Nashville with Dann Huff, It’s About Time is a journey back to her roots and simpler times, focusing on the strength and importance of formative, long-lasting relationships. The six originals on the record retain the classic Patty Smyth sound- driving drums and a hint of classic ‘80s sounds finely blended with acoustic guitars and crunchy electrics. Soaring over the instruments is Smyth’s seductive voice, which still exudes passion and a sultriness that perks your ears and makes you stop what you’re doing and just listen.” – American Songwriter
Touché Amoré – Lament CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Since their formation in 2007, Los Angeles post hardcore band Touché Amoré has been burrowing through angst, alienation, cancer, and death throughout four adored studio albums. After over a decade of working through darkness, fifth offering, Lament, finds the light at the end of the tunnel. The album arrives as the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed 2016 release, Stage Four, which found vocalist Jeremy Bolm mourning and paying tribute to his late mother. Lament shines a light on what life for the band has been like since then, tackling themes of fragility, empathy, politics, and love while pushing forward a newfound sense of hope. [A limited edition indie store exclusive aqua blue vinyl pressing is also available.]
Travis – 10 Songs CD/LP (BMG)
At various points along the trajectory between then and now, Travis has sold millions of albums (just under three million of The Man Who in the UK alone); they’ve been the subject of an award-winning feature length documentary (Almost Fashionable) and frontman Fran Healy has elicited acclaim from Paul McCartney, Elton John and Graham Nash – all songwriters whose ability to divine a timeless melody out of thin air has sustained them through the decades. 10 Songs is an album that holds you in its own emotional microclimate at the outset and keeps you there. It’s also a grown-up record. 10 Songs is a record about the way life comes at love and what love does to weather those challenges. “This is no rehearsal/This is the take,” sings Fran at the beginning of “Waving At The Window”, over an insistent piano hook, “Promises you once kept/Are going to break.” Every track on this album carries an even load. No passengers here. Nowhere to hide. [Deluxe double-CD and double colored vinyl editions – both expanded with album demos – are also available.]
Ultravox – Vienna (Deluxe Edition) 5xCD+DVD/ 2xLP (Chrysalis)
Ultravox’s Vienna album was originally released in July 1980, their first with Midge Ure on vocals/guitar. Produced by legendary German producer Conny Plank (Neu!, Kraftwerk),the album contains four UK Top 40 singles; “All Stood Still”, “Passing Strangers”, “Sleepwalk” and the title track “Vienna” which reached No.2 in the UK and Top 10 in seven countries around the world. The Deluxe Edition six-disc CD/DVD box set contains 66 tracks, 44 are previously unreleased recordings or mixes. CDs 1 to 5 contain the original 1980 album production master, a new stereo mix by Steven Wilson, A-sides, B-sides and live tracks, two CDs of previously unreleased cassette rehearsals and a newly mixed concert from St. Albans in 1980. The DVD (audio only) contains a new 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the album/B-sides by Steven Wilson along with hi-res audio of the new mixes and the original 1980 master/B-sides. The vinyl edition has been mastered and cut at half-speed by Alchemy Mastering using the original 1980 production tapes. The second bonus vinyl disc includes single versions and B-sides from the four singles released from the album, including a previously commercially unreleased US promo edit of “Vienna”, which is exclusive to this edition.
Ronnie Wood – Somebody Up There Likes Me DVD/Blu-ray/DVD+Blu-ray (Eagle Rock)
This intimate portrait by Oscar-nominated director Mike Figgis is the first in-depth film biography of the legendary guitarist (Jeff Beck Group, Rod Stewart, Faces, and The Rolling Stones), and traces his many lives and careers. A man still at the cutting edge in his seventies, the film tells the story from his humble beginnings in north London, where his older brothers shaped the musical powerhouse he would become, to the unique career that has not only spanned over 50 years (so far) but also traversed some of the most influential musicians the world has ever known. [Deluxe DVD+Blu-ray hardcover box set features a 40-page book containing pictures, paintings and annotations by Ronnie exclusive to the edition.]
CDs + Vinyl:
Bahamas – Sad Hunk CD (Republic)
The fifth album from Bahamas, Sad Hunk takes its title from a nickname bestowed upon the artist by his wife in reaction to how he was being portrayed in the media, “Something like ten years ago I did a photo shoot, and in all the pictures they sent back I was lit half in shadow, looking all brooding and mysterious,” says the award-winning singer/songwriter otherwise known as Afie Jurvanen. “When my wife saw the photos the first thing she said was, ‘Whoa—sad hunk,’ and after that it became sort of a joke among our friends.” It’s a fitting backstory for an album that embodies an undaunted self-awareness, each track graced with Bahamas’s wry wit and unabashed heart. In sketching Sad Hunk’s delicately composed batch of songs, Jurvanen drew much inspiration from his home life and all the joy and struggle that comes with building a family together. [Vinyl edition due October 23.]
Black Pumas – Black Pumas 2xCD/2xLP+7” (ATO)
Black Pumas unveil a deluxe edition of their Grammy-nominated self-titled debut album. This expanded set is available as a double CD and double LP + 7” and includes the original album plus 11 bonus tracks, including three new original songs, four cover tracks, and unreleased live material. The package is updated with new artwork and contains unpublished in-studio and live photographs.
Blue Öyster Cult – Symbol Remains CD/2xLP (Frontiers)
Coming nearly two decades after the release of their last studio album, Blue Öyster Cult return with a mammoth new set of songs.
Brothers Osborne – Skeletons CD (EMI Nashville)
Brothers Osborne return with their much-anticipated third album, Skeletons, which finds the 6x Grammy nominated country duo again teaming with producer Jay Joyce. John and TJ Osborne co-wrote every track on the album, working with their frequent collaborators Lee Miller, Craig Wiseman, Natalie Hemby, Casey Beathard and others. Skeletons includes lead single “All Night” which was co-written with Andrew DeRoberts and was described by Billboard as a “feel-good, rocking ditty” and “a party-friendly tune that’s equal parts outlaw attitude, disco groove and ZZ Top-style boogie” by Rolling Stone. [Vinyl edition due October 30th.]
Carla Bruni – Carla Bruni CD (Verve)
This eponymous album is the reflection of Carla Bruni herself, a wholehearted embrace. The sensitive music bears witness to a unique temperament and avoids ostentation; with a desire for calm simplicity. Multi-instrumentalist/producer Albin de la Simone gave her new songs the most delicate treatment on their first collaboration. The manifesto, “Carpe Diem”, reflects the present moment. What’s so disarming about Bruni’s songs is the intimacy and simplicity, in spirit of freedom, friendship, love. [Vinyl edition due October 16.]
The Budos Band – Long In The Tooth CD/LP+MP3 (Daptone Records)
15 years after the release of their debut album, Daptone’s Royal Court from Staten Island deliver a truly epic collection of new material that finds the group further bridging the gap between the Farfisa-fueled Ethio-funk stylings of their early recordings, with the psychedelic, Sabbath-inspired hellfire of late. The title track and lead single, “Long In The Tooth”, jumps out of the speakers with a heavy drum break (reminiscent of the B-Boy approved grooves of their early output), drenched in a pulsating, hallucinatory wall of organ, menacing horns, and a rugged guitar riff that pummels the listener into Budonian submission. Imagine Link Wray and Mulatu Astatke collaborating on an Italian horror soundtrack and you’re getting close.
Crippled Black Phoenix – Ellengæst CD/2xLP (Season Of Mist)
Dark proggers Crippled Black Phoenix return with a new album featuring a variety of guest vocalists. Ellengæst means “mischievous demon” in Olde English but in Scandinavian as “strong spirit,” and represents the band’s duality.
Cut Worms – Nobody Lives Here Anymore CD/2xLP (Jagjaguwar)
Nobody Lives Here Anymore is the haunted reverie of an American landscape in-and-out of Max Clarke’s mind. Recorded between May and November 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee, the album is a snow globe of the mid-twentieth-century’s popular music filled with jangling guitars, honkey tonk pianos, and Telstar organs. [Limited Coke bottle clear vinyl pressing also available.]
Darlingside – Fish Pond Fish CD/LP (More Doug)
Darlingside’s new album Fish Pond Fish concerns the claustrophobia of the here and now. Some of the most consistent themes on the album are the desire to return to past states (“Keep Coming Home”, “Take Me Back To South of Denver”) on one hand and change on the other. In some cases, repetition and return are a desirable way to deal with uncertain times; in others, the stagnancy of the present is overwhelming. Much of the album lives in the space between repetition and change, and considers how those two pieces complement one another – how either one can be a stress or a salve depending on the circumstances, and how even change itself predictably repeats. As the band sings, “things will change, and change again.”
DGM – Tragic Separation CD/2xLP (Frontiers)
Italian progressive metal masters DGM release their long awaited tenth studio album.
Diamond Dogs – Too Much Is Always Better…Than Not Enough… [Reissue/2002] CD/LP (Wild Kingdom)
Recently released on vinyl – now available CD. Reissue of the 2002 album from the Swedish rockers. [A limited orange colored vinyl pressing is also available.]
Dire Straits – The Complete Studio Albums 1978-1991 6xCD/8xLP (WB)
The Complete Studio Albums 1978-1991 brings together all six of Dire Straits’ distinguished studio albums, starting off with the band’s breakout debut Dire Straits (1978) through to Communique (1979), Making Movies (1980), Love Over Gold (1982) and commercial apex Brothers In Arms (1985), and closing out with On Every Street (1991) which was the band’s last before they disbanded and Knopfler departed for a successful solo career.
Down By Law – Revolution Time [Reissue/2013] CDEP/12” (Kung Fu)
Down By Law, the seminal melodic punk band, fronted by the equally influential Dave Smalley, returned in 2013 with the mini album Revolution Time. The seven new, original tracks here showcase the band at the most complex and melodic phase of their career whilst they pay homage to the artists who in turn inspired them with three stripped down, acoustic covers. Stiff Little Fingers, Thin Lizzy and Elvis Costello all getting the Down By Law treatment. [Clear vinyl pressing also available.]
Future Islands – As Long As You Are CD/LP (4AD)
With As Long As You Are, Future Islands has created an album that looks back as well as forwards, that confronts old ghosts and new hope. It’s also one that “pushes the edges of what we do” according to bassist/guitarist William Cashion; ballads are a beat slower and more dramatic, the upbeat tracks have a little more spark and urgency. And, above all, it’s a record full of searing honesty, redemption, and what singer Sam Herring refers to as “letting go.” “As an artist, you always have fears that you’re just gonna get old and then people won’t care,” says Herring, “but this is what we’re supposed to sound like and, to us, it’s the best we’ve ever sounded. As Long As You Are is another step in defining who and what Future Islands is, and that’s really important.” [Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Garcia Peoples – Nightcap At Wits’ End CD/LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
The duality here runs deep: almost 50 minutes of intricately arranged composition and kinetic guitar chorales christened in tribute to both a familiar place of refuge and that ragged state of mind beyond all common sense, when you keep on going even after you’ve run out of rope and road. The music itself is a double image: one album-length side of songs that advance the crisp momentum and tangled jangle of early-2019’s Natural Facts; and a second half that extends the medley action on Cosmic Cash with the long reach of One Step Behind in a suite of dynamic writing and bonded, instrumental charge, connected by live-to-tape jams – the band’s first time exercising that second-nature-on-stage in a studio. Nightcap At Wits’ End has arrived as if absolutely destined for right now. Raise a glass at your wit’s end, and let the music blow away the night.
Gargoyl – Gargoyl CD/2xLP (Season Of Mist)
New release from progressive grunge rockers.
Get Dead – Dancing With The Curse CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
Third album from the NorCal punk band.
Groove Armada – Edge Of The Horizon CD (BMG)
It’s been ten years since Groove Armada released their landmark album Black Light. They’ve been active in recent years – DJ sets, select live shows and the Twenty One Years compilation – yet the prospect of a new album seemed unlikely. That all changed when they stepped out at the Boomtown Festival and saw the reaction from long-term fans and newcomers alike. “We walked on stage to a young crowd, there were 40,000 people there,” notes Cato. “We had the most amazing Hollywood Bowl type view from the stage and it just felt so fresh and relevant.” Their creative reconnection resulted in new album, Edge Of The Horizon. [Vinyl edition due November 20.]
Groovie Goolies – Groovie Goolies [Reissue/1970] LP (Real Gone Music)
Released last week on vinyl – now available on CD. When Filmation Studios landed a late-‘60s hit with the Saturday morning cartoon TV show The Archies, it wasn’t long before it started looking for more “sugar” with a similarly music-themed follow-up. Inspired by the success of such shows as The Munsters and The Addams Family, penned by a couple of writers for Laugh-In, and featuring the voice of F-Troop’s Larry Storch, Groovie Goolies first aired in September 1970 as a pairing with the Archies spin-off Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. Groovie Goolies brought A-list talent to the task of composing and performing two songs for every episode. The whole record has a very Archies vibe with some very groovy touches. [Limited green colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Gunn-Truscinski Duo – Soundkeeper CD/2xLP+MP3 (Three Lobed)
This music does not come out of nowhere. It comes from a guitar amplifier and a drum kit, and you are standing directly in front of them. And it’s beautiful, all dozen tracks of the Gunn-Truscinski Duo’s Soundkeeper: beautiful loud exchanges between Steve Gunn’s shimmer-blast guitar and John Truscinski’s outside-in drums, beautiful quiet exchanges that hum, beautiful melodies that evoke long-lost screen worlds and old film stock, beautiful phrases that telescope into saturating pinwheels.
Hellripper – The Affair Of The Poisons CD/LP (Peaceville)
The Affair Of The Poisons is the second full-length album by the UK’s premiere blackened thrash metal trailblazers, Hellripper, presenting the latest savage assault of blistering old school riffs and hyper-speed soloing which has earned the band a reputation as one of the nation’s best rising heavy metal acts.
Incinerate – Sacrilegivm CD (Comatose)
Unfathomable brutality, technical complexity and the wild, dark magic of classic death metal entwine throughout eleven tracks that together deliver an unforgiving master class in musical extremity.
Juice WRLD – Legends Never Die CD/2xLP (Interscope)
Featuring 22 tracks, Legends Never Die includes such songs as “Wishing Well”, “Come & Go” with Marshmello, “Righteous”, “Tell Me U Luv Me” with Trippie Redd, and “Life’s A Mess”, featuring Halsey. Rolling Stone proclaimed that the album “solidifies his legacy,” while Pitchfork hailed it as “bleak and beautiful.” Variety praised the LP as “positively lush” with moments of “pure magnificence.”
King Kobra – Lost Years CD/LP (Deadline Music)
This throwback collection of classic metal features superstar drummer Carmine Appice, Earl Slick plus former members of Wasp, Keel and Bulletboys.
Kronos Quartet – Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet and Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger CD/2xLP (Smithsonian Folkways)
On Long Time Passing, the trailblazing Kronos Quartet celebrates the music of Pete Seeger and rejoices in the spirit, inspiration, and fearlessness inherent in his life’s work. Along with guests Sam Amidon, Maria Arnal, Brian Carpenter, Meklit, Lee Knight, and Aoife O’Donovan, the group examines Seeger’s celebration of beauty and the pleasure of singing together. Through the power of these eternally relevant cries for unity and moral integrity, the album articulates the responsibility we have as citizens and members of a greater community to question war and injustice, and to develop the courage to raise our voices together both in word and song.
Mary Lattimore – Silver Ladders CD/LP+MP3 (Ghostly Int’l)
Los Angeles-based harpist Mary Lattimore returns with Silver Ladders, the full-length Neil Halstead- (Slowdive) produced follow-up to acclaimed album Hundreds Of Days. [Limited ‘silver star’ colored vinyl pressing also available.]
John Lennon – Gimme Some Truth CD/2xCD/2xCD+Blu-ray/2xLP/4xLP (Capitol)
Gimme Some Truth traces the arc of Lennon’s post-Beatles life and career, bringing together songs from all of his revered solo albums including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Some Time In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls And Bridges (1974), Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975), Double Fantasy (1980) and 1984’s posthumous Milk And Honey.
All tracks have been completely remixed from the original master tapes from scratch. A variety of editions is available: 19-track single CD and double-LP; 36-track double-CD featuring a hi-res audio Blu-ray; and Deluxe four LP set.
Jerry Lee Lewis – The Ballads Of Jerry Lee Lewis CD (Bear Family)
This new collection spans 1956-1963 and features Lewis’ take on gems by Hank Williams (one of his primary heroes), in-house bard Charlie Rich, a couple of Tin Pan Alley chestnuts and a taste of the blues, and anything else that might have struck his free-wheeling fancy during his unbeatable Sun tenure.
Laibach – Bremenmarsch: Live At Schlachthof 12.10.1987 CD/LP (Made In Germany Music)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Rare live album from the German industrial band.
Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition) [Reissue/2000] 2xCD/4xLP/4xLP+5xCD+3xDVD (WB)
Released in October 2000, Linkin Park’s groundbreaking debut album, Hybrid Theory, is a melting pot of heavy alternative rock, hip-hop and electronic flourishes that inspired a new genre of music (nu metal) and a generation of dedicated fans, who continue to be loyal followers of the band. Available in a variety of configurations, each featuring B-sides and rarities; the flagship format is a Super-Deluxe edition box set that includes unreleased and hard-to-find material on CD, vinyl and DVD. The box set also includes a lavishly illustrated 80-page book with contributions from the band and many previously unseen photographs, plus a replica tour laminate, an oversize poster of Chester Bennington, and three lithographs of new artwork supplied by Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn and Frank Maddocks (the art director on the original release, and this anniversary edition).
Seth MacFarlane – Great Songs From Stage And Screen CD/LP (Republic)
This collection of tender ballads and uptempo tunes is full of rich, iconic vocals that harken back to Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Machinedrum – A View Of U CD/LP (Ninja Tune)
A View Of U is L.A.-based producer Machinedrum’s (aka Travis Stewart) ninth solo album in a glittering career that has cemented his reputation as “one of electronic music’s biggest and brightest stars” (DJ Mag). It features an incredible cast of collaborators including Sub Focus, Chrome Sparks, Father (Awful Records), Freddie Gibbs, Mono/Poly (Brainfeeder), Tigran Hamasyan, Jesse Boykins III, Rochelle Jordan and Tanerélle. A truly career defining record for the North Carolina born producer, A View Of U distills his signature fusion of IDM, UK rave, jungle and bass culture blended with myriad US regional hip-hop and club music styles. [Limited silver, white, and black marbled vinyl pressing also available.]
Matty – Déjàvu CD/LP (Mr. Bongo)
Déjàvu is the debut solo album from Matthew Tavares, aka Matty. Originally released in 2018 as a digital only release, it now sees the physical release it rightly deserves. Produced by his good friend, the acclaimed producer/songwriter Frank Dukes, Déjàvu emerged during a period of rest for Matthew after heavy touring schedules with his former band BADBADNOTGOOD. As with many of the most fertile creative minds, continual reinvention leads to exploration of new sounds and styles. Déjàvu sees a departure from the jazz of BADBADNOTGOOD and a move into a more song-based storybook, with Matthew stepping up to the plate as lead vocalist.
METZ – Atlas Vending CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
“Change is inevitable if you’re lucky,” says guitarist/vocalist Alex Edkins while talking about Atlas Vending, the fourth full-length album by Toronto’s METZ. “Our goal is to remain in flux, to grow in a natural and gradual way. We’ve always been wary to not overthink or intellectualize the music we love but also not satisfied until we’ve accomplished something that pushes us forward.” The music made by Edkins and his compatriots Hayden Menzies (drums) and Chris Slorach (bass) has always been a little difficult to pin down. Their earliest recordings contained nods to the teeming energy of early-‘90s DIY hardcore, the aggravated angularities of This Heat, and the noisy riffing of AmRep’s quintessential guitar manglers, but there was never a moment where METZ sounded like they were paying tribute to the heroes of their youth. If anything, the sonic trajectory of their albums captured the journey of a band shedding influences and digging deeper into their fundamental core—steady propulsive drums, chest-thumping bass lines, bloody-fingered guitar riffs, the howling angst of our fading innocence. With Atlas Vending, METZ not only continues to push their music into new territories of dynamics, crooked melodies, and sweat-drenched rhythms, they explore the theme of growing up and maturing within a format typically suspended in youth.
Ron Miles – Rainbow Sign CD/LP (Blue Note)
Rainbow Sign is the Blue Note debut by cornetist and composer Ron Miles and the follow-up to his widely acclaimed 2017 album I Am A Man, featuring the same remarkable group with pianist Jason Moran, guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Brian Blade. Miles wrote most of the music as his father was passing away in the summer of 2018, and the album is both a loving dedication and a riveting spiritual document that scores the journey from Earth to eternal peace. “Rainbows deal with renewal, and also the title; there’s a Carter Family song called ‘God Gave Noah The Rainbow Sign’. Rainbows also show up in The Book of Revelation, when Christ comes back and his skin is like jasper. We see people in these kinds of boxes — like ‘he’s black, brown or white,’ but when Christ shows up, it’s like ‘we don’t know what this brother is.’ Jasper’s got a whole bunch of colors, like a rainbow. Sometimes, our limitations can inform what we can see. And when they finally got to see Christ, it was more than we thought we could ever see.”
Anthony Mills – Drankin Songs Of the Midwest LP (Icons Creating Evil)
It was just three years ago when Anthony began to tell his story through his own flavor of country music. He released his debut album, Blue Collar Work in 2019 giving us a taste of his amazing storytelling capabilities. This year we see the release of his second country album, delivering Anthony’s deep south background partnered with up north nuances and creating some down-home country drinking songs.
Mina Tindle – Sister CD/LP (37DO3D)
Mina Tindle is the project of Parisian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Pauline de Lassus. Mostly made in New York City with producer Thomas Bartlett (Yoko Ono, Florence + The Machine), the album’s elegant detail balances the odd magic of the songs with a fierce emotional realism.
Mint Field – Sentimiento Mundial CD/LP (Felte)
Mint Field was originally formed in Tijuana by frontwoman Estrella del Sol Sánchez and ex-member Amor Amezcua in 2015. The band recorded their second full-length, Sentimiento Mundial, in London at Wilton Way Studios with producer Syd Kemp and help from drummer Callum Brown (both of Ulrika Spacek). The album sees the evolution of the band’s psych-shoegaze sound shift toward a more minimal, rhythmically focused approach. Smoke marbled colored vinyl pressing.
Simon Moullier – Spirit Song CD/LP+MP3 (Outside In Music)
The message through this music is meant to draw connections and energies between all listeners. Rooted in percussions and astral soundscapes, Spirit Song is about the dance, the melodies and the raw energy of spontaneous creation which reflects a special aura behind each song. The core of the band is made up of saxophonist Morgan Guerin, bassist Luca Alemanno, drummer Jongkuk Kim and pianist Isaac Wilson. The album also features on two tracks Saxophonist Dayna Stephens.
Mrs. Piss – Self-Surgery CD/LP+MP3 (Sargent House)
Mrs. Piss is a new collaboration between Chelsea Wolfe and Jess Gowrie. Drawing on their collective rock, metal, and industrial influences, the project began while the two were touring around together during Wolfe’s Hiss Spun album in 2017. The result is their debut album Self-Surgery, which was recorded at The Dock Studio in Sacramento, CA and in Wolfe’s home studio, The Canyon. These songs feel more urgent and visceral than anything either of them has created before: heaviness spurred on by punk spirit.
Róisín Murphy – Risn Machine CD (Skint)
The alt-pop icon’s new album Róisín Machine is a career best – a collection of shimmering nu-disco gems she’s been perfecting with long-time collaborator Richard Barratt, aka DJ Parrot, for the last decade. [Vinyl edition due December 4.]
Nav – Good Intentions CD (XO/Republic)
Now available on CD. Toronto-native Nav celebrated his second #1 Billboard 200 debut with third album, Good Intentions. The celebrated record has features from rap heavy weights like Young Thug, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Lil Durk, Don Toliver and Pop Smoke. He set the tone early with the success of his song “Turks” feat. Travis Scott and Gunna.
Necrophobic – Dawn Of The Damned CD (Century Media)
With thirty years of active, nefarious service under their bulletbelts, Necrophobic are undisputed legends of the death and black metal underground. Dawn Of The Damned is undoubtedly the most imaginative and creative album of the band’s career to date. Once again recorded in collaboration with Fredrik Folkare of death metal icons Unleashed, it’s an album that proclaims its creators’ idiosyncratic approach to hammering their infernal point home. [Vinyl edition due October 30.]
Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – Chicago Waves CD/LP (International Anthem)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. In late November of 2018, long-time collaborators (and life-long Los Angelenos) Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson flew to Chicago to participate in the album release performance of Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings. Just 11 months prior, Carlos & Miguel were part of recording the ‘Los Angeles Side’ of Universal Beings at Jeff Parker’s house in Altadena, California, and this performance in Chicago would be the first time that all of the musicians reunited to relearn and perform the music they’d collectively composed during those sessions.
Lama Lobsang Palden & Jim Becker – Compassion CD/LP (Drag City)
Music is a healing force in our universe. With Compassion, Lama Lobsang Palden and Jim Becker have collaborated on an immersive environment, built from ritual Tibetan healing chants and percussion, dubbed and edited to transcend a traditional field recorded encounter. Compassion is a layered soundtrack of experience, to help you relax your mind.
Penny Penny – Yogo Yogo [Reissue/1996] CD/LP (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
The rags-to-riches chronicle of Penny Penny’s life would be remarkable if he had only released his smash debut Shaka Bundu and packed houses for a few years. But the inimitable South African singer and dancer known for his trademark top ponytail and emphatic anthems was no one-hit wonder.
Penny & Sparrow – Live In Texas, 2019 LP (I Love You)
Written during their first major break from the road in years, Finch found the band reckoning with a prolonged period of intense personal transformation, a profound awakening that altered their perceptions of masculinity, sex, religion, divorce, friendship, vanity, purpose, and, perhaps most importantly, self. Deeply vulnerable and boldly cinematic, the resulting songs blur the lines between indie-folk and alt-pop, with dense string arrangements and atmospheric production underpinning soaring melodies and airtight harmonies from Andy Baxter and his longtime musical partner, Kyle Jahnke. And the songs sound even more revelatory on Live In Texas, 2019.
Elvis Perkins – Creation Myth CD/LP (MIR)
Released last week on vinyl – CD edition now available. Creation Myths is the first album in five years from Elvis Perkins. Produced by Sam Cohen, the album in many ways picks up where his debut Ash Wednesday left off. Pitchfork wrote of that album “Elvis Perkins has emerged as an assured, fully-formed cosmopolitan able to merge readily recognizable influences with a sense of theatre.”
Pride Of Lions – Lion Heart CD (Frontiers)
Sixth album from the revered melodic rock band featuring the legendary “Eye Of The Tiger” songwriter and The Ides Of March member Jim Peterik together with powerhouse vocalist Toby Hitchcock.
Raticus – Street Corner Diaries CD (Tenement Music)
18 tracks of boom bap hip-hop, representing hoods from around the US. [Vinyl edition due November 6.]
SKÁLD – Vikings Memories CD (Decca)
Vikings Memories is about the importance of ancestral heritage. It is an invitation to listen to messages from the past to build the future. SKÁLD is inspired by the Doggerland, which is an island that disappeared 20,000 years ago following various natural disasters (tsunami, long winter…). The Vikings tell here the history of the people who preceded them and question the role of man for saving the planet. The sound of SKÁLD is created through two contrasting voices: Justine Galmiche’s warm yet powerful tone, combined with the guttural, vibrant resonance of Pierrick Valence. They work closely with producer-composer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet, who uses a broad palette of instruments to immerse the listener in an extraordinary musical world. There is an array of percussion alongside stringed instruments, like the nyckelharpa or skáldharpa – which was specially conceived for the group. Underpinning the sounds are arrangements which draw on world music and Celtic influences, with rousing orchestrations. [Vinyl edition due November 6.]
Skeletoon – Nemesis CD (Scarlet)
Amazing compositions, a fresh touch of sonic brutality, a top-notch production, some stellar special guests, the beginning of a new conceptual story, tons of feel-good vibrations and, last but not least, their inborn sense of wonder and amazement.
Slade – Cum On Feel The Hitz. The Best Of Slade CD/2xCD/LP/2xLP (BMG)
Slade are without doubt one of the most exciting bands to ever come out of Great Britain. With their unique blend of perfect pop-rock ‘n’ roll, outrageous flamboyance and pure fun, Slade have become a firm favorite in the hearts of pop fans all over the world for nearly fifty years. Slade were heavily influential to their peers and remain influential to the generation of musicians they spawned. This career spanning collection gathers the hit singles “Run Runaway”, “My Oh My” and “Gudbuy T’Jane” plus glam rock classics “Mama We’er All Crazee Now” and “Cum On Feel The Noize”, Quiet Riot’s cover. [Deluxe double-CD and double-vinyl editions (including limited neon green colored vinyl pressing) are also available.]
Slow Pulp – Moveys CD/LP (Winspear)
Slow Pulp’s remarkable full-length debut Moveys is a testament to hard-fought personal growth. In the process of making their new record, the Chicago-based indie rock band powered through health challenges, personal upheaval, and a pandemic, all while breaking old habits and learning how to be better songwriters and friends. Full of blistering energy and emotional catharsis, this compelling 10-track collection highlights the band’s resourcefulness and resilience to come together even when they were states away. Slow Pulp’s tough adaptability is something that has formed over time thanks to the unbreakable bond of lifelong friendship. Their roots can be traced back to elementary school, with Alexander Leeds (bass), Theodore Mathews (drums), and Henry Stoehr (guitar) performing in bands together since the sixth grade while growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. Emily Massey (vocals/guitar) was later invited to join their new project, Slow Pulp, in 2017. “I can’t describe a level of closeness with other people like we have. Having lived together, toured together, worked together, and written together, we learned so much about each other so quickly,” says Massey. [Limited neon green colored vinyl pressing also available.]
The Small Faces – Greatest Hits: The Immediate Years 1967-1969 CD/LP (Charly)
Over 40 minutes of remastered classic Small Faces singles previously released on the Immediate Records label. Featuring A-sides, rare B-sides, and hit singles.
Patty Smyth – It’s About Time CD (BMG)
“Patty Smyth returns with an excellent new album It’s About Time, a title that puts a button on the question she’s been asked by fans and often posed to herself. Though there have been a few scattered songs here and there, it’s been 28 years since her last full album, 1992’s self-titled Patty Smyth, which contained the Grammy-nominated “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”, sung with Don Henley and co-written with Glen Burtnik. Since that time, Smyth raised her family of six kids with guitar playing husband and tennis legend John McEnroe. Truth is, she’s been touring, playing shows and writing all along, but never found the time to get back in the recording studio. Recorded in Nashville with Dann Huff, It’s About Time is a journey back to her roots and simpler times, focusing on the strength and importance of formative, long-lasting relationships. The six originals on the record retain the classic Patty Smyth sound- driving drums and a hint of classic ‘80s sounds finely blended with acoustic guitars and crunchy electrics. Soaring over the instruments is Smyth’s seductive voice, which still exudes passion and a sultriness that perks your ears and makes you stop what you’re doing and just listen.” – American Songwriter
Tears For Fears – The Seeds Of Love [Reissue/1989] CD/2xCD/4xCD+Blu-ray/LP (Mercury)
Digitally remastered edition of the third studio album by Tears For Fears. The expanded Deluxe double CD edition includes bonus disc of B-sides and alternate mixes. The Super Deluxe version includes a new 5.1 mix by Steven Wilson on Blu-ray, as well as all the relevant B-sides, alternate mixes and around 60 minutes of previously unheard demos and live rehearsals.
Ting Tang Tina – Honeybee CD/LP (Dreamy Life)
Ting Tang Tina is a four-piece indie rock band from Fort Worth, Texas. The band consists of singer Ruby Lewis (daughter of Toadies frontman, Vaden Todd Lewis), guitarist Dillon Wilkins, bassist Claire Marcho, and drummer Aidan Bumgardner. They began playing shows in early 2017 at ages 13 and 15 and have continued to grow in popularity since. Though still just teenagers the group’s music covers a wide range of emotional depth, from danceable songs of youthful bliss to angry or austere ruminations of frustration and angst.
Touché Amoré – Lament CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Since their formation in 2007, Los Angeles post hardcore band Touché Amoré has been burrowing through angst, alienation, cancer, and death throughout four adored studio albums. After over a decade of working through darkness, fifth offering, Lament, finds the light at the end of the tunnel. The album arrives as the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed 2016 release, Stage Four, which found vocalist Jeremy Bolm mourning and paying tribute to his late mother. Lament shines a light on what life for the band has been like since then, tackling themes of fragility, empathy, politics, and love while pushing forward a newfound sense of hope. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive aqua blue vinyl pressing is also available.]
Travis – 10 Songs CD/2xCD/LP (BMG)
At various points along the trajectory between then and now, Travis has sold millions of albums (just under three million of The Man Who in the UK alone); they’ve been the subject of an award-winning feature length documentary (Almost Fashionable) and frontman Fran Healy has elicited acclaim from Paul McCartney, Elton John and Graham Nash – all songwriters whose ability to divine a timeless melody out of thin air has sustained them through the decades. 10 Songs is an album that holds you in its own emotional microclimate at the outset and keeps you there. It’s also a grown-up record. 10 Songs is a record about the way life comes at love and what love does to weather those challenges. “This is no rehearsal/This is the take,” sings Fran at the beginning of “Waving At The Window”, over an insistent piano hook, “Promises you once kept/Are going to break.” Every track on this album carries an even load. No passengers here. Nowhere to hide. [Deluxe double-CD and double colored vinyl editions – both expanded with album demos – are also available.]
Ultravox – Vienna (Deluxe Edition) 5xCD+DVD/ 2xLP (Chrysalis)
Ultravox’s Vienna album was originally released in July 1980, their first with Midge Ure on vocals/guitar. Produced by legendary German producer Conny Plank (Neu!, Kraftwerk),the album contains four UK Top 40 singles; “All Stood Still”, “Passing Strangers”, “Sleepwalk” and the title track “Vienna” which reached No.2 in the UK and Top 10 in seven countries around the world. The Deluxe Edition six-disc CD/DVD box set contains 66 tracks, 44 are previously unreleased recordings or mixes. CDs 1 to 5 contain the original 1980 album production master, a new stereo mix by Steven Wilson, A-sides, B-sides and live tracks, two CDs of previously unreleased cassette rehearsals and a newly mixed concert from St. Albans in 1980. The DVD (audio only) contains a new 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the album/B-sides by Steven Wilson along with hi-res audio of the new mixes and the original 1980 master/B-sides. The vinyl edition has been mastered and cut at half-speed by Alchemy Mastering using the original 1980 production tapes. The second bonus vinyl disc includes single versions and B-sides from the four singles released from the album, including a previously commercially unreleased US promo edit of “Vienna”, which is exclusive to this edition.
Unguided – Father Shadow CD (Napalm)
New album from the Swedish melodic death metal band.
Venom Prison – Primeval CD/LP (Prosthetic)
Primeval comprises both new and historic material from Venom Prison, bringing new life to favorites such as “Usurper of the Throne” from their Defy The Tyrant EP and “Babylon The Whore” from their Primal Chaos EP respectively, both of which were released in very limited pressings in 2015. In addition to historic material, Primeval sees Venom Prison debut “Defiant To The Will Of God”, a newer track recorded during late 2019. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Loudon Wainwright III – I’d Rather Lead A Band CD/LP (Seach Party)
Produced by Randall Poster and Stewart Lerman, I’d Rather Lead A Band finds Grammy Award-winning songwriter Loudon Wainwright III partnering up with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks for their take on some of the American songbook’s finest classics. This collection of modern takes on timeless compositions from the American songbook spanning from the 1910s through 1950 showcases a fresh side of LW3, with big band sounds and timeless songs from Irving Berlin, Cliff Friend, Lew Brown and other Tin Pan Alley contemporaries.
The Wolfgang Press – Unremembered, Remembered CD (4AD)
Recently released on vinyl for RSD Drops 2020 – CD edition now available. Recorded sometime between 1995 and 1996, when The Wolfgang Press had become the duo of Andrew Gray and Michael Allen, the six demos that make up Unremembered, Remembered were shelved when the band called time on proceedings. Recently rediscovering the tapes, the duo mastered the tracks for a proper archival release.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Ronnie Wood – Somebody Up There Likes Me DVD/Blu-ray/DVD+Blu-ray (Eagle Rock)
This intimate portrait by Oscar-nominated director Mike Figgis is the first in-depth film biography of the legendary guitarist (Jeff Beck Group, Rod Stewart, Faces, and The Rolling Stones), and traces his many lives and careers. A man still at the cutting edge in his seventies, the film tells the story from his humble beginnings in north London, where his older brothers shaped the musical powerhouse he would become, to the unique career that has not only spanned over 50 years (so far) but also traversed some of the most influential musicians the world has ever known. [Deluxe DVD+Blu-ray hardcover box set features a 40-page book containing pictures, paintings and annotations by Ronnie exclusive to the edition.]
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
45 Grave – Sleep In Safety [Reissue/1983] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited black and green colored vinyl pressing of the debut studio album by the American deathrock band.
Gracie Abrams – minor 12” (Interscope)
Emerging songwriter Gracie Abrams shares her highly awaited debut project, minor. A stunning showcase for her nuanced lyricism and mesmerizing vocals, the seven-song project features Abrams’s acclaimed singles “21”, “I Miss You, I’m Sorry”, “Minor”, and Long Sleeves”.
The Allman Betts Band – Bless Your Heart 2xCD (BMG)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. If Down To The River was the sound of The Allman Betts Band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown – a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.” A conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition, Bless Your Heart captures a vast, panoramic scope throughout a baker’s dozen of modern rock. Ragged and stomping. Heady and frayed. Soaring and scorching. Generational and genteel. West Coast scenes and Gulf Coast shores. Gateways of the Midwest and swamplands of Florida. Wyoming’s Big Sky. New York’s Big Apple. Chicago’s Broad Shoulders.
Anteloper – Tour Beats Vol. 1 LP (International Anthem)
Anteloper is the duo of Jaimie Branch (Fly Or Die) and Jason Nazary (Bear In Heaven, Helado Negro). Of Anteloper, Rolling Stone says, “fractured beats and pealing, effects-heavy brass suggests a punk-minded update of Miles Davis’ most thrillingly weird ‘70s explorations.”
The Archies – The Archies [Reissue/1968] LP (Goldenlane)
Picture disc vinyl pressing. Sticky sweet groovy goodness a-plenty can be found on this eponymous greatest hits collection from The Archies. Features the bubble gum pop classics “Sugar Sugar”, “Bang Shang A Lang”, “Archie’s Theme” and more.
Ash Ra Tempel – Gin Rosé (At The Royal Festival Hall) LP (MG.Art)
Vinyl pressing of this one-time reunion concert at the Royal Festival Hall on April 2, 2000 by the beat and blues band. [CD edition due November 6.]
Automatism – Immersion LP (Tonzone)
Released last week on CD – limited colored vinyl pressing now available. Automatism is an instrumental rock band from Stockholm, Sweden. The music is based on psych rock, with some added herbal, progressive and modal jazz elements.
Julien Baker – Turn Out The Lights [Reissue/2017] LP+MP3 (Matador)
Repressed on cloud-in-clear vinyl. Included on Best of 2017 lists from The New York Times, Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, Billboard and many more, Julien Baker’s sophomore LP Turn Out The Lights proves “A powerful new voice has arrived in music” (The Ringer).
Martin Barre – Rarities LP (Purple Pyramid)
Clear vinyl pressing. A collection of rare gems from the legendary Jethro Tull guitarist.
Between The Buried And Me – Alaska [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (Craft Recordings)
15th anniversary vinyl reissue with newly remixed and remastered audio and gatefold jacket packaging. Between The Buried And Me has built their reputation as one of hard rock’s most inventive and ambitious bands. Since the NC outfit first welcomed listeners into their musically innovative and imaginative minds with their 2002 self-titled debut and 2003 follow-up The Silent Circus, they’ve continued their quest to chaotically rule the world, one bizarre chord progression after another. BTBAM’s critically acclaimed third full-length Alaska, originally issued on Victory Records in 2005, took fans into uncharted territory while solidifying the band’s reputation as the most innovative acts in metalcore.
Black Sabbath – Paranoid: Super Deluxue Edition 5xLP (WB)
Paranoid: Super Deluxe Edition includes the original album, in addition to a rare 1974 Quad Mix of the album folded down to stereo, plus two concerts from 1970, from Montreux and Brussels, that are pressed on vinyl for the first time. The five-LP set comes with a hardbound book with extensive liner notes featuring interviews with all four band members, rare photos, and memorabilia, a poster, as well as a replica of the tour book sold during the Paranoid tour. The collection’s final three LPs mark the official vinyl debut of two 1970 live performances.
The Bookends – Calliope LP (Jem)
Recently released on CD – now available on neon pink colored vinyl. 14 tracks of pure power sunshine pop.
Buffalo Tom – Bird Brain [Reissue/1990] LP (Beggars Banquet)
Out of print for years, Beggars Arkive is excited to present a 30-year anniversary colored vinyl reissue of Buffalo Tom’s epic second album. Initially offering a raw, propulsive sound that emphasized Janovitz’s imposing guitar squall on such early releases as 1989’s Buffalo Tom and
1990’s Birdbrain, Buffalo Tom’s early approach gave way to a more melodic, yet no less distinctive, style on 1992’s Let Me Come Over (including the hit ballad “Taillights Fade”), 1993’s Big Red Letter Day (including the hit “Soda Jerk”) and 1995’s Sleepy Eyed. Their friendship with J Mascis helped the band’s career take off by assisting with the production on the band’s first two albums.
Jimmy Buffett – Life On The Flip Side 2xLP (Mailboat)
Jimmy Buffett’s first new studio album since 2013, Life On The Flip Side, now available on vinyl. The double LP set features 14 all new tracks and is housed in deluxe gatefold packaging. Includes a collectible book with exclusive content like lyrics, special photos from Jimmy’s collection, his stories behind the songs and more.
Mojo Buford – Mojo Workin’ LP (Americana Anthropology)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Bluesman George Mojo Buford started blowing the harmonica in his teens, eventually linking up to tour with fellow Mississippian Muddy Waters. Adopting his nickname from ravenous crowds requesting Muddy’s “Got My Mojo Working”, Buford gained the attention of some gifted young rockers (including lead guitarist of The Trashmen), who steered him into the studio for three smokin’ ’69 sessions – the results of which comprise this archival release.
Calibro 35 – Calibro 35 [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (Records Kicks)
Active since 2008, Calibro 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent bands around. During their ten-year career, they were sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album as well as by Jay-Z and The Child of Lov & Damon Albarn, they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat and Headhunters and as unique musicians they collaborated with, among others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet).
Captain Beyond – Lost & Found 1972-1973 [Reissue/2017] LP (Purple Pyramid)
Special picture disc vinyl of this compilation of vintage demo tracks from the space rock supergroup.
Alex Chilton – Like Flies On Sherbert [Reissue/1979] LP (Vinyl Lovers)
A step beyond the pop-perfection of Big Star lay Chilton’s darker side. His 1979 solo effort was a both brilliant and flawed drug-fueled examination of his own country roots in search of a new direction. Through songs by Ernest Tubb, Jimmy C. Newman, Roy Orbison, and K.C. and the Sunshine Band, as well as some originals, Chilton produced a looser album that allowed his new found creativity to flow through the many cracks, simultaneously dividing fans into two camps: the Big Star purists, and the ones who were able to see the genius on the flip side of its demise.
John Coltrane – Ballads [Reissue/1963] LP (Verve)
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme [Reissue/1965] LP (Verve)
Two new vinyl reissues of hard bop classics.
Dirty Art Club – Gardens LP (Paxico)
Dirty Art Club’s newest release Gardens builds upon a rich tradition of evocative loops, with an always welcomed and genuine sentimental bite.
The Divine Comedy – Liberation [Reissue/1993] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Promendade [Reissue/1994] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Casanova [Reissue/1996] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love [Reissue/1997] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Fin De Siecle [Reissue/1998] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Regeneration [Reissue/2001] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Absent Friends [Reissue/2004] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Victory For The Comic Muse [Reissue/2006] LP (Divine Comedy)
The Divine Comedy – Bang Goes The Knighthood [Reissue/2010] LP (Divine Comedy)
In 1990 Neil Hannon signed his first record deal and began releasing one album after another under the name The Divine Comedy. Thirty years, twelve albums and hundreds of shows later, Neil Hannon is now reissuing his entire back catalogue. Each LP release consists of the original remastered album, cut at Abbey Road, packaged with a download code for the album and bonus tracks. The LPs are heavyweight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve accompanied with photos, credits and Neil’s liner notes.
The Doors – Morrison Hotel (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [Reissue/1970] LP+2xCD (Elektra)
To commemorate the Morrison Hotel’s 50-year anniversary, this deluxe edition 180gm vinyl LP + double-CD-set includes the original album newly remastered by The Doors’ longtime engineer and mixer Bruce Botnick, plus a bonus disc of unreleased studio outtakes. For this new collection, the original album has been expanded with more than an hour of unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for Morrison Hotel. These 19 outtakes transport listeners into the studio with Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek for an unprecedented perspective on the making of the album.
Eivør – Segl LP (Absolute Label Services)
New release from the Faroese electro folk pop artist. Segl includes co-production from Lana Del Rey collaborator Dan Heath and features an appearance from Ásgeir.
Foals – Collected Reworks 3×12” (WB)
Foals present Collected Reworks, a compilation of the most essential remixes from throughout their career. The collection features Hot Since 82’s brand new remix of “Into The Surf” and highlights an eclectic range of artists, including the 10-minute take on “The Runner” from the Grammy-nominated Rüfüs Du Sol, Solumun’s huge version of “Late Night”, Hot Chip’s inventive interpretation of “My Number”, and the recent Purple Disco Machine remix of “In Degrees”. Highlights from the three volumes are compiled here in the colored triple-vinyl Collected Reworks set.
Headcat 13 – Headcat 13 LP (Cleopatra)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A new incarnation of the rockabilly project originally created by Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister and Danny B. Harvey, and now featuring Lemmy protégé Alan Davey and Frantic Flattops drummer Paul Vezelis joining Harvey for another round of good rockin’.
Jabee – This World Is So Fragile and Cruel I’m Glad I Got You LP (FIVESE7EN Music)
Jabee is an Emmy Award winning rapper from Oklahoma City whose music, according to Chuck D. from Public Enemy, has the potential to change the world. This World Is So Fragile & Cruel I’m Glad I Got You features collaborations with Wale, Lil B, Slug (Atmosphere), 88 Keys, Statik Selektah and S1.
Jeremy Ivey – Waiting Out The Storm LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Nashville-based performer Jeremy Ivey has operated in the background for years as a songwriter/guitarist with his wife, celebrated country-rock luminary Margo Price. Ivey is back in the spotlight with his sophomore solo album Waiting Out The Storm. Produced by Price, the ten-song album finds Jeremy Ivey expanding his sound with his band The Extraterrestrials. On Waiting Out The Storm, an album with electricity coursing through its veins, Ivey zooms out to take a widescreen look at the world around us—the landscape, the people that populate it, and the ways in which we help each other survive against all odds. Ivey, who writes prolifically and cites Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan as influences, evokes “Mutations-era Beck along with classic country” (Rolling Stone). His solo material travels through a wide spectrum of classic folk, gently frayed psychedelia, pop, and a bit of Southern rock.
Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage [Reissue/2000] LP (Metal Blade)
20th anniversary Doublemint splatter colored vinyl reissue of the metalcore band’s eponymous 2000 debut complete with four 1999 demo bonus tracks.
Lewis Del Mar – August 2xLP (The Fader Label)
New York duo Lewis Del Mar returns with their sophomore album. The first new music from Lewis Del Mar since their 2016 self-titled debut, August is “our account of gluing the vase back together, cracks visible,” says Lewis Del Mar.
Marillion – Live From Cadogan Hall 4xLP (earMUSIC)
Live From Cadogan Hall is the last night of the amazing Less Is More acoustic tour recorded on December 7, 2009. The venue, the audience and the performance made the night unique. The fantastic live show features the full live show over four red colored vinyl LPs.
Mistura Pura – The Blue Bus 2xLP (Ubiquity)
Mistura Pura (Federica Grappasonni), Italy-based DJ, record producer, and vinyl collector boldly returns with her sophomore album. Blending sounds of funk, Afrobeat, Latin jazz, and jazz in 5/4 combined with unexpected electronic textures of trip-hop, house, and downtempo.
Monolord – No Comfort LP (Relapse)
Vinyl repress of the 2019 album from the Swedish doom metal band.
Marilyn Monroe – Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend (60th Anniversary Edition) LP (Stardust)
Repress on orange vinyl of Gary Moore’s Live In London, a milestone in blues rock history. Some shows are so momentous, they pass into rock ‘n’ roll folklore. When Gary Moore stepped onto the stage of London’s Islington Academy on December 2nd, 2009, it was a true one-off, showcasing one of blues-rock’s biggest names in an intimate club setting.
Gary Moore – Live From London 2xLP (Provogue)
Orange colored vinyl pressing.
The Munsters – The Munsters [Reissue/1964] LP (Real Gone Music)
Orange with black splatter colored vinyl pressing.
Napalm Death – Time Waits For No Slave: Decibel Edition LP (Century Media)
This Decibel Edition of Time Waits For No Slave includes a limited eight-page reprint of the original Decibel Magazine cover feature plus a Napalm Death vinyl sticker.
North Americans – Roped In LP (Third Man)
Los Angeles-based musician collective with a rotating cast featuring Mary Lattimore and William Tyler, playing instrumental, psychedelic folk music. Pedal steel and nylon string guitar intertwine to create ethereal crystalline drones and twinkling hypnotic moods in the American Primitive style.
Nubo – Nu Vision LP (Western Vinyl)
Pink vinyl. Nu Vision is Nipponese modernist kosmische that is therapeutic, multicolored, and alluringly strange, like a bioluminescent valley on an exoplanet discovered by a JAXA probe. With chopped-up kabuki howls and moonlit koto plucks placed ecstatically around floral billows of ambience and candy-coated synthesis, it at least approximates a picture-book about traditional Japan, cut-up and recombined to become an instruction manual for building the aforementioned spacecraft.
Polaris – The Death Of Me LP (Sharptone)
Recently released on CD – now available on colored vinyl. New album from the metalcore band.
Pop Smoke – Meet The Woo 2 2xLP (Victor)
Christened Brooklyn Rap’s Homecoming King by New York Times, Pop Smoke was the Borough’s next icon in the wings. Breakthrough mixtape Meet The Woo boasts high-profile cameos from Nicki Minaj and Skepta. In a stellar review, Pitchfork claimed, “The Brooklyn rapper makes good on the promise of ‘Welcome to the Party’ with a debut full of the hardest, dirtiest tracks he can manage.” Most recently, he was featured on Travis Scott’s #1 album Jackboys and turned up with Meet The Woo 2 before he was killed earlier this year.
Powerman 5000 – The Noble Rot LP (Cleopatra)
Recently released on CD – now available on Coke bottle green vinyl. new album from highly adventurous industrial metal icons
The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me [Reissue/1987] LP+3xCD (Rhino)
Released in 1987 by Sire Records, The Replacements’ fifth full-length, Pleased To Meet Me is the only album recorded by the band as a trio, after original guitarist Bob Stinson acrimoniously left the band. Following 2019’s widely acclaimed Dead Man’s Pop release, Pleased To Meet Me receives a similar ‘deep dive’ treatment with a vinyl LP + three CD deluxe boxed set, which tells the story of the album in ways not previously possible with more than 50% of the content previously unreleased.
Jessie Reyez – Before Love Came To Us 2xLP (Island)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Toronto-born/Colombian-bred Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter has racked up award nominations and wins, including a Breakout Artist Juno Award. Her songwriting prowess is also flexed on tracks like Calvin Harris’ “One Kiss” with Dua Lipa and “Promises” with Sam Smith.
Sad13 – Haunted Painting LP (Wax Nine)
Pink colored vinyl pressing. Drawing inspiration from 1980s British pop-rock à la Tracy Ullman and Joan Armatrading, as well as the contemporary digital gloss of post-PC Music electronica, Sadie Dupuis aka Sad13 calls Haunted Painting “decidedly non-minimal,” mixing technicolor synth-pop and math-rock dynamism. Accompanied throughout by drummer Zoë Brecher – and, on two songs, by an eight-piece orchestra – Dupuis handles all other instrumentation herself, expanding her palette of guitar, bass, and synth to include organ, lap steel, marimba, glockenspiel, sitar, autoharp, Theremin, “toys, trash, and ephemera.” She worked exclusively with women engineers; among those credited are mixer Sarah Tudzin (Weyes Blood, Illuminati Hotties), tracking engineers Erin Tonkon (David Bowie, Esperanza Spalding) and Maryam Qudus (Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, mxmtoon), and Dupuis’ long-term collaborator, mastering legend Emily Lazar (Beck, Dolly Parton). The process allowed for a diversity of timbres, as well as guest vocal contributions from Helado Negro’s Roberto Lange, Deerhoof’s Satomi Matsuzaki, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, and Pile’s Rick Maguire.
Melvin Sparks – I’m Funky Now [Reissue/2017] LP (Tidal Waves Music)
Over the seven tracks of I’m Funky Now, Melvin Sparks and his band flit seamlessly between soul-jazz, proto-boogie, disco and funk. There are some über-funky dancefloor tracks on this album which would have been destined to become DJ favorites. I’m Funky Now pays lip service to the then-current success of disco-music but doesn’t pander… what you get here is a heavily funky and orchestrated version of his trademark style, with some sweet JB styled basslines and beautiful mellow moments thrown in the mix.
Steve & Teresa – Catching A Wave [Reissue/1983] LP (Aloha Got Soul)
During the 1970s and 1980s, Hawaii’s live music scene was at its peak. Countless clubs, lounges, and bars filled the islands. Musicians embraced and experimented with all manner of ideas. Among them were Steve Ma’i’i and Teresa Bright, a harmonizing guitar-and-bass duo that floated somewhere between nostalgia and an unassuming island sound. [Limited clear vinyl pressing also available.]
Tricky – Fall To Pieces LP (!K7)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “Tricky has always worn his bruised heart on his sleeve. His brilliantly desolate debut album, Maxinquaye, was inspired by his mother, who died when he was four years old, and a song like ‘Strugglin’’ laid bare in excruciating detail his experiences of pain, darkness, and toil. Fall To Pieces, which contains some of the most darkly moving music that Tricky has produced since that debut album, was produced in the shadow of tragedy. Tricky’s daughter Mazy died in 2019 as he was beginning work on a new record. Here, on his 14th studio album, he translates that unimaginable loss into moments of nauseatingly raw emotion. However personal the burden of Tricky’s grief, his collaborators have played a significant role in shaping the sound and feel of the album. Marta Złakowska, who Tricky discovered in a Krakow bar after a singer dropped out of his Polish tour, has the perfect voice for a Tricky vocal foil, her spectral tones the wisp of smoke to his cigarette-end mutter, while Marie-Claire Schlameus’s cello and Kristof Hahn’s slide guitar creep around the arrangements with the finesse of art thieves.” – Pitchfork
Twin Peaks – Side A 10” (Grand Jury)
Pink vinyl pressing. Twin Peaks has been creating some incredible music for years now. This EP continues to prove that Twin Peaks is evolving and thriving with the many different sounds they approach.
Two Feet – Pink LP (Republic)
Released in May on CD – now available on vinyl. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Bill Dess aka Two Feet initially made his mark with the gold-selling single “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”. Yet, the breakthrough preceded one of the darkest times in his life. As his mental health and life spiraled out of control, he spent ten days in a psych ward at Bellevue Hospital. Returning home, he turned his attention towards what would eventually become Pink. Under the influence of Pink Floyd, Norah Jones, Citizen Cope, Rufus Wainwright, and more, he drew directly on life as it happened. “For a lot of these lyrics, I’m using real memories and trying to figure out the best way to formulate and pull emotions from listeners,” Dess explains. “That’s how my past experiences affected this record. I wanted something with a more complete meaning. A lot of the songs deal with the passage of time and how you interpret it. Musically, I wanted it to be a full album with bangers, heavy songs, and acoustic tracks.”
Unleashed – Hammer Battalion [Reissue/2009] LP (Blueline)
Unleashed has been pounding out Viking death metal for three decades.
Townes Van Zandt – Somebody Had To Write It LP (Chicken Ranch)
An essential time capsule of Townes Van Zandt acoustic performances.
Various Artists – A Metal Tribute To Van Halen LP (Deadline Music)
The first ever vinyl pressing of this collection of metal icons paying their respects to Van Halen. Includes performances by members of Great White, Slaughter, Cinderella and Mr. Big plus former members of Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Poison and more. Limited edition red colored vinyl pressing.
The Wake – Nine Ways [Reissue/1996] LP (Cleopatra)
First-time vinyl pressing of the goth album from Columbus, OH melancholic masters.
Weyes Blood – Cardamom Time LP+MP3 (Mexican Summer)
On vinyl for the first time since its first sold-out pressing in 2015, this fifth anniversary edition of Weyes Blood’s (Natalie Mering) warm and elegiac record, Cardamom Times, features re-imagined cover art with the focal image of a desolate paradise during sunset – Jamaica Bay in Queens, NY surrounded by rust. A couple is laying on the ground, caught in a comfort beyond time.
Wishbone Ash – Live At Rockpalast 3xLP (Made In Germany Music)
The is show presented here was recorded at Sporthalle, Cologne, Germany on 1st December 1976 when the band still included the core original line-up of Andy Powell on guitar and vocals, Martin Turner on bass and vocals, Steve Upton on drums and Laurie Wisefield on guitar and vocals. It captures the band at their prime, offering a blistering live performance for over an hour and a half.
Yo La Tengo – Sleepless Night 12”+MP3 (Matador)
New EP comprised of the original track “Bleeding” and five covers written by Bob Dylan, Carole King, The Delmore Brothers and more. The release includes an etched illustration by YLT’s own James McNew on the disc’s B-side along with original cover artwork by renowned Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara.
John Zacherle – Zacherle’s Monster Gallery [Reissue/1963] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited clear orange swirl vinyl pressing of an incredibly rare album Zacherle’s Monster Gallery, originally issued on the budget Elektra imprint Crestview, now on clear with pumpkin splatter vinyl.
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