New Releases for September 25, 2015

CDs + Vinyl:

Mindi Abair And The Boneshakers – Live In Seattle CD (Heads Up)

Mindi Abair is one of the most recognizable saxophonists on the music scene today. In addition to great solo albums over the years, she has been seen on American Idol, as well as joining Aerosmith on their US tour over the past two years. After releasing her latest studio album Wild Heart in 2014, Mindi has been touring with her live band, The Bone Shakers. On Live In Seattle, Mindi channels the bands high-energy performances that fans have been connecting to for years. The potent Bone Shakers personnel includes renowned Motor City guitarist Randy Jacobs and the stunning vocalist Sweat Pea Atkinson, both from the original Was (Not Was).

Herb Alpert – Come Fly With Me CD (Herb Alpert Presents)

Herb Alpert returns with a new album, Come Fly With Me, a mix of new Alpert originals and classic American tunes (“Come Fly With Me,” “Blue Skies,” and “Take The A Train” are just a few that are featured), performed as only the beloved trumpeter can. “With his latest recording, Come Fly With Me, legendary award-winning trumpeter, producer, artist and overall Renaissance Man, Herb Alpert takes the listener on a melody-rich, groove-embellished artistic journey, offering marvelous musical perspectives and insights with both familiar and exciting new sonic landscapes” – All About Jazz. Vinyl version due November 20.

Gabrielle Aplin – Light Up The Dark CD/LP (WB/Parlophone)

The 22-year-old British singer/songwriter Gabrielle Aplin, who racked up major YouTube views with her acoustic covers, releases her first US album. The catchy, soulful tracks were inspired by a road trip to Reno that Aplin took a few years ago, as well as by the music scene in LA’s Laurel Canyon in the ‘60s and ‘70s. She also cites Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young as key influences.

Avant – The VIII CD (MO-B Entertainment)

Avant is an R&B singer/songwriter from Cleveland that broke into the music scene with his first platinum singles “Separated” and “My First Love.”

Balthazar – Thin Walls CD/LP (PIAS America)

“After ten years of making music together and two memorable LP outputs, Belgian indie-pop institution Balthazar’s third record was created in a whole new environment in the murky and restless moments on tour. The quintet was successfully touring the world with their 2012 album Rats, when they had to fit in writing sessions whenever they had some time off. While Applause and Rats were yet self-produced, this time Balthazar decided to team up with cool cats Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode producer) and Jason Cox (Gorillaz, Massive Attack) to help form the sound of Thin Walls, which took some of the generational pressure off their shoulders as well. Being able to solely focus on the music resulted in ten legit tracks that are pure evidence of self-confidence and hands-on experience.” – Nothing But Hope And Passion

Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap – The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern CD (Columbia)

On The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, Tony Bennett is joined by acclaimed jazz pianist Bill Charlap. This release continues the classic series of Tony Bennett album releases celebrating the essentials of the Great American Songbook. Jerome Kern was a major force on Broadway and in Hollywood musicals in a career that spanned more than four decades.

Big Grams – Big Grams CDEP (Epic)

New release from this musical project featuring Big Boi and Phantogram. The Atlanta rap vet and NY electro-pop duo first worked together on Big’s 2012 solo album Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors, and they clicked so much that it blossomed into a fully realized joint venture. Vinyl version due October 30.

Bikini Kill – Revolution Girl Style Now [1991] CD/LP+MP3 (Bikini Kill)

Bikini Kill’s first collection of work (previously cassette-only) has been expanded with three previously unreleased tracks: “Ocean Song,” “Just Once,” and “Playground.” These songs feature a decidedly more grunge sound than the rest of the Bikini Kill catalog.

Clint Black – On Purpose CD (Black Top)

The country artist releases his tenth studio album – his first in ten years.

Black Breath – Slaves Beyond Death CD (Southern Lord)

Slaves Beyond Death arrives three years after Black Breath’s 2012-released Sentenced To Life, a revered album of morbid metal anthems laced with a deadly allure that few could resist. A foul den of thrashing potency, reanimated hardcore muscle and icy death metal, it’s a record that partly sets the tone for this nefarious third chapter of the band, but it’s safe to say that Slaves Beyond Death represents a harder, bleaker Black Breath than ever before. Vinyl version due October 30.

David Bowie –Space Oddity [Reissue/1969] CD (Rhino/Parlophone)

David Bowie –The Man Who Sold The World [Reissue/1970] CD (Rhino/Parlophone)

David Bowie –Hunky Dory [Reissue/1971] CD (Rhino/Parlophone)

David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars [Reissue/1972] CD (Rhino/Parlophone)

David Bowie –Aladdin Sane [Reissue/1973] CD (Rhino/Parlophone)

David Bowie –Pin Ups [Reissue/1973] CD (Rhino/Parlophone)

CD reissues of David Bowie’s second through seventh studio albums, which were available earlier this year as import-only (UK and Japan), but are now available domestically in conjunction with the Five Years 1969-1973 box set.

David Bowie – Five Years 1969-1973 12xCD/13xLP (Rhino/Parlophone)

This set features all of the material officially released by rock chameleon David Bowie during the nascent stage of his career from 1969 to 1973, including tracks that have never before appeared on CD. The accompanying 128-page book features rarely seen photos as well as technical notes about each album from producers Tony Visconti and Ken Scott, an original press review for each album, and a short foreword by legendary Kinks front man Ray Davies.

Apollo Brown – Grandeur CD (Mello Music)

In recent years, Apollo Brown has become an institution of Detroit hip-hop. For his newest album, Grandeur, Brown has assembled an all-star cast of MCs including Sean Price & Reks, Freddie Gibbs, MOP, Evidence, Oddisee, Vinnie Paz, Masta Ace, Rapper Big Pooh and more. Vinyl version due October 16.

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – Lick My Decals Off, Baby [Reissue/1970] CD (Rhino)

Captain Beefheart – The Spotlight Kid [Reissue/1972] CD (Rhino)

Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band – Clear Spot [Reissue/1972] CD (Rhino)

Lick My Decals Off, Baby was originally released in 1970 on Frank Zappa’s Straight Records label. The follow-up to Trout Mask Replica (1969), it is regarded by some critics and listeners as superior, and was Van Vliet’s personal favorite. Don Van Vliet said that the title is an encouragement to “get rid of the labels,” and to evaluate things according to their merits rather than according to superficial labels (or “decals”). The Spotlight Kid is the only album formally credited solely to Captain Beefheart. Often cited as one of the most accessible of Beefheart’s albums, it is solidly founded in the blues but also uses instruments such as marimba and jingle bells that are not typical of that genre. The Ted Thompson produced Clear Spot followed soon thereafter, but wasn’t the commercial success his involvement might have indicated.

Casey Veggies – Live & Grow CD (Epic)

New release from the Los Angeles rapper. Casey Veggies started out as one of the founding members of the hip-hop supergroup Odd Future before he decided to strike out on his own at age 14 after the release of his first mixtape, 2007’s Customized Greatly Vol. 1. That same year, he formed the popular street wear brand Peas & Carrots International (PNCINTL), and his grassroots approach to marketing has helped him build a loyal following. Live & Grow includes the single “Backflip,” featuring YG and Iamsu!. Vinyl version due October 30.

Caspian – Dusk And Disquiet CD/2xLP+MP3 (Triple Crown)

Caspian present Dust & Disquiet, the band’s first full length since 2012. The band returned to Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts again with producer Matt Bayless (Mastodon, Minus The Bear, Isis) where they recorded the highly acclaimed Waking Season (“the Best Post-Rock Album of the Year,” said SPIN Magazine in 2012). The result showcases a maturation of the quiet/loud dynamic that Caspian has been exploring since their debut EP, You Are The Conductor. The new album reflects the many moods of post-rock from the album opener with horns and a string quartet (“Separation No. 2”), riffs on the wilder, steel-eyed side of country (“Rioseco”), all the while staying true to its epic brand of build-and-release rock (“Arcs Of Command,” “Dust & Disquiet”).

Lily Chao – Chinese Folk Songs [Reissue/1968] CD/LP (Akuphone)

As the first entry in its catalog, French label Akuphone presents a reissue of Lily Chao’s Chinese Folk Songs, originally released by Four Seas Records in 1968. This edition includes four previously unheard titles and exclusive liner notes containing Lily Chao’s biography and lyric translations.

Michael Chapman – Fish CD/LP (Tompkins Square)

In recent years, the revered British guitarist and songwriter has seen his classic Harvest records from the ‘70s reissued by Light In The Attic, and he’s toured with Bill Callahan, Kurt Vile, Thurston Moore and Bonnie Prince Billy. On the eve of the Fully Qualified Survivor’s 75th birthday, Fish finds Chapman vital as ever.

CHRVCHES – Every Open Eye CD/LP (Glassnote)

Every Open Eye develops CHVRCHES signature style, juxtaposing the light and the dark, creating their own brand of twisted pop music that uniquely merges the organic with the electronic, molding sounds and ideas forged over two years on the road into an electronic-pop record with a heart. Using some ideas the band had recorded in venues during their time on the road as a starting point, the band found riffs, loops and melodies they wanted to develop or started from scratch on the synths, pads and machines they had been gathering in their basement to create the instrumentals of the songs. The album seeks to do more with less. To make big sounds without racking up endless tracks within Cubase sessions. To make something intense and urgent and visceral, using the basic tools of melody, rhythm and arrangement rather than the mentality that more is more. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds three bonus tracks. Limited color vinyl also available.

Bill Cobham – The Atlantic Box Set 1973-1978 8xCD (Atlantic)

The definitive collection of Billy’s Cobham’s early career as a bandleader on Atlantic, lavishly packaged, remastered and featuring unreleased material, as well as singles. Each Atlantic album is in a mini-LP CD cardboard replica sleeve with spine of the original artwork, all housed in a clamshell box. Includes 60-page, perfect-bound booklet, with period photos and liner notes.

Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airment – Live In San Francisco 1971 CD/LP (Sundazed)

Recorded in one of KSAN’s offices direct to quarter inch tape, Live In San Francisco 1971 captures a brilliant performance from the band despite the Bayside bacchanal that was happening around them The Commander’s pumping piano racing alongside Bill Kirchen’s Joe-Maphis-on-steroids guitar led the rest of the band through a set of originals mixed with classic songs from their club days. Working from the original analog tapes, Sundazed has painstakingly mastered this historic performance. Also available on translucent gold vinyl.

Dark Buddha Rising – Inversum CD (Neurot)

Ominous riffing, colossal doom, swirling psychedelia, repetition, repetition, repetition. The recipe is carved in stone, yet it leads to different endings or bottomless shafts. Tension, tension, tension, lunacy.

Dead Letter Circus – Aesthesis CD (The End)

Produced by Forrester Savell (Helmet / Karnivool) and Matthew Bartlem (Royal Blood/Jarryd James), and mixed by Grammy Award winning Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, U2), Aesthesis bears the familiar grandiosity of Dead Letter Circus. Across 10 tracks, the band create a vast sonic universe filled with their trademark sound of intricate-yet-danceable rhythms, ocean-sized guitars, and the lofty voice of Kim Benzie.

The Dead Weather – Dodge And Burn CD/LP (Third Man)

Jack White and the Kills’ Alison Mosshart’s band The Dead Weather return with the follow-up to 2010’s Sea Of Cowards. The album features 12 songs, including four previously released singles remixed and remastered. Among them: “Open Up (That’s Enough),” “Rough Detective,” “Buzzkill(er),” and “It’s Just Too Bad.” White, singer Alison Mosshart, guitarist Dean Fertita, and bassist Jack Lawrence spent their rare and sporadic free moments over the past year recording together in Nashville. The Dead Weather told SPIN last month that their new record included some music made for “demented kids.”

The Dears – Times Infinity Volume One CD/LP+MP3 (Dangerbird)

Times Infinity Volume One, the first new album from the Dears in four years is a sweeping collection of orchestral pop/rock that is at once enlightening, angst-ridden and mesmerizing. The first song from the album, “I Used To Pray For The Heavens To Fall” vividly encapsulates The Dears’ neo-romantic songwriting and acts as a calling card for the album. From electrifying pop to full-on primal screams; grinding guitar solos to soulful baroque, Times Infinity “is made of daydreams and spontaneous yet careful inspiration. That’s the sound of The Dears — always has been and always will be.” – NPR

Disclosure – Caracal CD/2xLP (Capitol)

“Disclosure has traded in its debut’s hook-heavy, nonstop good time for a more relaxed follow-up designed for respectability beyond the EDM world — as if dance music couldn’t possibly be enough” – Billboard. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks.

Dogs On Acid – Dogs On Acid CD (Jade Tree)

The songs on Dogs On Acid at times feel effortless in the best way: “The Prick” stomps like Pinkerton-era Weezer; the playful hooks of “Flushed” make for an earworm surprise; and ‘90s indie-rock influences like Pixies, Built To Spill and Archers Of Loaf shine through on songs such as “Make It Easy.” But above all, Dogs On Acid is an album with a distinct personality, the result of the band rejecting desires to overthink things and play what feels right. Vinyl version due October 30.

Dungen – Allas Sak CD (Mexican Summer)

Dungen frontman/mastermind Gustav Ejstes has been making music for nearly twenty years—at first for himself, then eventually and inevitably for all of us. As a teenager in rural Sweden, he became obsessed with hip-hop and sampling, and eventually, ‘60s pop and psychedelia. He took up guitar and bass, drums and keyboard and even flute, then took to his grandmother’s basement to put it all on tape. It’s been five years since the last Dungen album, 2010’s Skit I Allt, which is by far the longest interval between releases for a band that proved especially prolific and inspired during the 2000s. Allas Sak picks up where Dungen’s previous album left off, but somehow it sounds bolder and livelier, feistier yet more focused. Allas Sak is about everyday matters: family, friends, the fine texture of life. Common but never mundane, these subjects anchor the music in the here and now, while the music lends a certain grandeur to ordinary moments. Vinyl version due October 9.

Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap CD (300 Entertainment)

The New Jersey hip-hop artist’s 17-song debut album features the hits “Trap Queen,” “My Way,” “679,” “Again” and “RGF Island.” Production credits include long time Fetty Wap collaborator, Brian “Peoples” Garcia and Young Lan.

Fever The Ghost – Zirconium Meconium CD/LP+MP3 (Complicated Game)

Debut full-length album from the young psychedelic buzz-band. Since their formation, Fever The Ghost has toured extensively, including tours with The Flaming Lips, Temples, Sean Lennon, and Morgan Delt. “… sounds like Rush making a version of Satanic Majesties Request.” — Wayne Coyne

Firekid – Firekid CD (Atlantic)

Firekid is the brainchild of Dillon Hodges, a virtuoso guitarist and singer. A child prodigy at guitar, Dillon won the National Guitar Championship at the age of 17, the second youngest person to ever win the competition. After attending college in Alabama, Dillon moved to Nashville to work on music that could help him grow from the confines of the bluegrass world to a bigger audience, and Firekid was born. Returning to his roots, Firekid recorded the debut album in Muscle Shoals with the help of producer and songwriter Sam Hollander (The Fray, Train).

Futurebirds – Hotel Parties CD/LP (Easy Sound)

Six years ain’t a hell of a lot of time, but Futurebirds have filled ’em with a whole lot of living. Laying down their shoegazing country, harmonious psychedelia, and barnstorming, ragged rock both on record and in person, the Athens-based band presents a delicate balance on Hotel Parties, it’s third full-length record that explores the toils, joys, and struggles exposed by six years doing any one thing so intensely.

Girl Band – Holding Hands With Jamie CD/LP+MP3 (Rough Trade)

Recalling any number of things but for only milliseconds at a time, Girl Band make a mockery of comparisons, because you can only get as far as “oh this bit sounds like—” before a guitar scuff-screams, the bass crunches like a car in a bailing press, or something else visceral and glorious comes from the speakers, and the thought’s erased.

Gloryhammer – Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards CD/LP (Napalm)

New album from the power metal act lead by Alestorm keyboardist/singer Christopher Bowes.

Holly Golightly – Slow Down Now! CD (Damaged Goods)

12 songs that will please fans old and new alike performed by the perfect Holly Golightly band line-up of Bruce Brand (drums), Matt Radford (double bass), Ed Deegan (guitar), and Bradley Burgess (guitar).

Graveyard – Innocence & Decadence CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)

Swedish rockers Graveyard release their fourth full-length album. The band noted: “It’s gonna be an album filled to the rim with a little bit of this — and for all of those who might wonder or worry, there will be quite a lot of that on it as well.”

Patti Griffin – Servant Of Love CD (Thirty Tigers)

Servant Of Love is the Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter’s tenth album, and her first to be released on her new self-owned imprint in conjunction with Thirty Tigers. On the album, Patty Griffin digs deep into folk and roots tradition with its grounding in the experience and rhythms of the everyday, but she also writes in the vein of another tradition, less often mined: the transcendentalism of writers like Emerson and Whitman. Grounding itself in the natural world and finding patterns there which speak both to human experience and to the call of the spirit, Servant Of Love weaves an elemental spell out of the stuff of life. Vinyl version due October 9.

Steve Hauschildt – Where All Is Fed CD/2xLP (Kranky)

Heavily inspired by surrealist landscape paintings, early alchemical emblems and recurring visions from dreams, Where All Is Fled is a pristine series of cascading melodies, fantastical terrains of layered lattices, and overlapping patterns of synthesizers superimposed with orchestral instrumentation. Hidden in the crevices of the album are processed crowd sounds, re-sampled text-to-speech synthesis, piano, and animal noises which reveal themselves after repeated listens and blur together notions of artificial and natural sound.

Heaters – Holy Water Pool CD/LP+MP3 (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)

If there’s an offer of salvation within Holy Water Pool, it’s the rapid-rush of these 11 songs over 41 minutes, creating an album that consistently offers explosion while also always keeping its fuse lit. Moments of “Holy Water Pool” threaten to turn into a wave pool, given Heaters almost incongruous surf-city leanings. Sonically, this is more than the sum of its parts (& more than the sum of 2nd-hand Ventures records, too) in the way it colors the band’s sound, with their relatively defined palette expanding to a depth that’s deceptively broad & ultimately breathtaking. (Limited copies pressed on blue/cyan splatter vinyl.)

Don Henley – Cass County CD/2xLP (Capitol)

Henley’s fifth studio album and first in 15 years features guest appearances from Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, Mick Jagger, Martina McBride, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks.

Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)

Have You In My Wilderness is Julia Holter’s most intimate album yet, a collection of radiant ballads. This, her fourth album, explores love, trust, and power in human relationships. The focused, warm sound and luminous instrumentation highlight a remarkable voice that rises confidently above intricate, yet grounded arrangements. It’s a bold step for the young songwriter/composer, one that is immediate and rewarding. “The composer, singer and keyboardist Julia Holter’s latest album is her sunniest and most accessible. The music has shifted, gaining warmth and weight while remaining essentially mysterious. Instead of unpacking weighty overarching concepts, Holter is telling stories, brief and foggy ones that are often plagued by ambiguities.” [BNM] – Pitchfork

Huntress – Static CD/LP+MP3 (Napalm)

New album from the metal band fronted by singer Jill Janus and her four-octave vocal range.

The Intelligence – Vintage Future CD (In The Red)

Fittingly born at the dawn of the 21st Century, The Intelligence’s brand of art-smarm surf has become a touchstone for with-it rock ‘n’ roll of the era. Perhaps a surprising assertion, especially considering their primitive and personal origins, but one cemented by the dedication and continual reinvention fostered by main-brain Lars Aldric Finberg. For all their longevity and prolificacy, The Intelligence is a restless, ever-evolving vehicle for Finberg, showcasing his presumably patented knack for sharp pop songwriting that rides waves from both the past and heretofore unknown. Hence the emergence of Vintage Future, the band’s new album. Vinyl due October 9.

JR JR – JR JR CD/LP (WB)

“The band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. had a solid imprint on the psyche of indie pop, from their critically lauded 2010 EPs Horsepower and My Love Is Easy, which got the Detroit group signed to Warner Brothers, all the way through their two LPs, It’s A Corporate World and The Speed Of Things. Their peppy, positive electro pop rock won over fans almost immediately, including their namesake NASCAR driver, who promised to let them continue the use of his moniker. So why change the name of the band for their third full length, the self titled JR JR? ‘Mostly it was because of the confusion it caused,’ admits half of the duo, Daniel Zott. ‘People would drive from all over to meet the actual Dale Earnhardt Jr., and it would just be us instead.’” – The Daily Beast

Kaskade – Automatic CD (WB)

Eighth studio album from the Grammy-nominated electronic artist. Kaskade was the first DJ to sell out Staples Center and Barclays Center and the first to secure a Las Vegas residency.

Krallice – Ygg Huur CD (Krallice)

Ygg Huur is the fifth studio album by American black metal band Krallice. “If you don’t know Krallice, you should get to know them: They play hyper-technical, brutal, beautiful, hypnotic, almost avant-garde death/black metal that has no peers. Krallice destroy everything. I’m so excited that this thing burst into the world today, and now, I’m gonna stop writing and listen. You should stop whatever it is you’re doing and join me.”—Stereogum

Colin Linden – Rich In Love CD (Stony Plain)

Colin Linden is a genuine renaissance man of roots music. He’s a singer and songwriter of great skill; an in-demand and prolific record producer (Bruce Cockburn, Tom Wilson, Colin James); a side-man to the stars as guitarist for the likes of Bob Dylan, Greg Allman, Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings; plus there’s his on and off-screen musical work on the TV series Nashville. Linden’s songs have been covered by The Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Keb’ Mo’, and Colin James. His new release includes guests Charlie Musselwhite, Reese Wyman and Amy Helm.

Jeff Lorber Fusion – Step It Up CD (Heads Up)

Keyboardist/composer/producer Jeff Lorber, heralded as one of the founding fathers of fusion (Keyboard Magazine) continues to reach new levels and stretch the envelope by crystallizing jazz, funk, rock and world music. Step It Up expands the boundaries of contemporary and fusion jazz.

Los Lobos – Gates Of Gold CD/LP (Savoy Jazz)

With their new album Gates Of Gold, Los Lobos evoke a rich American saga in the tradition of Faulkner and Steinbeck. “Gates Of Gold puts a fresh spin on the blues-rock that has come to define Los Lobos sound, with elements of samba and jazz mixed in for good measure. It’s a driving record, equal parts mellow and rocking, that should fit well into the Los Lobos catalog once it hits shelves.” – jambands.com

The Maccabees – Marks To Prove It CD/LP (Caroline)

Marks To Prove It is the London indie band’s fourth studio album and the first since their debut to receive a proper release in the United States. It follows 2012’s Given To The Wild which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. “As lofty and stoic as Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, with a claustrophobic, concrete-like weight to its sound, Marks To Prove It is indebted to the cold grey city in which it was created – or perhaps the time spent in it drinking to forget.” – The Guardian

Johnny Mathis – The Singles 4xCD (Sony Legacy)

This four-CD anthology compiles, for the very first time, every non-LP single side released by Johnny Mathis for Columbia Records between 1956 and 1981. Includes landmark hits “It’s Not For Me To Say,” “The Twelfth Of Never,” the Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit “Chances Are” and more. 31 of the 87 tracks are being released on CD for the very first time.

Nick Mazzarella Trio – Ultraviolet CD/LP (International Anthem)

Third album from trio featuring Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, Anton Hatwich on bass, Frank Rosaly on drums. All seven pieces were conceived simultaneously and explore themes of nature, universal structure, time and memory. The program they form encompasses a variety of textures and moods, melodic invention and contexts for improvisation.

John Mclaughlin & The 4th Dimension – Black Light CD (Abstract Logix)

Black Light includes eight original McLaughlin compositions, including a heartfelt homage to his departed colleague, collaborator, and friend Paco De Lucia – with whom McLaughlin had intended to compose an album’s worth of new material just before De Lucia’s death. McLaughlin has returned to acoustic guitar for a tribute to his friend, entitled “El Hombre Que Sabia” and brings forth from the instrument a depth of sadness and admiration beyond words.

Mild High Club – Timeline CD/LP (Circle Star)

Mild High Club is the home for the musical output of Alexander Brettin, a jazz-schooled musician transplanted from the Midwest to Los Angeles. Premiered originally via Stereogum, they write of the blissed out psych track, “it feels like a lost ’60s tune, each note sustained with a twirl of vibrato creating an elongated nonchalant West Coast vibe… it’s sweet, in all senses of the word.” Recording with a Fostex four-track cassette recorder, MacBook, 12-string electric guitar, PortaSound keyboard, bass, drum machine, software instruments “and whatever was lying around,” Brettin began recording Timeline in 2012.

MonkeyJunk – Moon Turned Red CD (Stony Plain)

The Ottawa based trio are Canada’s most acclaimed blues/roots music band. They are Juno Award winners and have taken home top honors four times at the Maple Blues Awards.

New Order – Music Complete CD/2xLP+MP3 (Mute)

Long awaited album Music Complete is New Order’s first full studio release since 2005’s Waiting For The Siren’s Call, and their debut for Mute. The album finds the group revitalized, and where they had previously pushed toward electronics or guitars, here the two are in balance. Music Complete also marks a return to the studio for Gillian Gilbert, this is her first album with New Order since 2001’s Get Ready, and is also their first without founding bassist Peter Hook. “On the band’s first studio album since the departure of Peter Hook, New Order don’t attempt to replace his characteristic lead basslines, but shift instead towards a more general electronic orientation.

It’s most effectively realized in tracks produced by Tom Rowlands, especially “Unlearn This Hatred”, a twitchy electro strut infectious enough to help one overlook the ragbag of clichés that passes for its lyric. But mostly, the album comprises a series of scuttling bleepscapes lent individual character by unorthodox instrumental detail” – The Independent. (Regular double-LP vinyl available now; Super Deluxe eight-piece vinyl edition coming in November.)

Danielle Nicole – Wolf Den CD (Concord)

Danielle Nicole, founding member, bassist and vocalist of Kansas City blues-rock band Trampled Under Foot, releases her first solo record. Nicole has drawn comparisons to Susan Tedeschi, Etta James and Grace Potter, as she delivers a sweeping vocal range and powerful telling of her lyrics every time she hits the stage.

No Devotion – Permanence CD/2xLP (Collect)

Mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Cut Copy, Thursday) and produced by Stuart Richardson and Alex Newport (Bloc Party, Frank Turner, The Mars Volta), Permanence is the sound of a band not only liberated from their pasts, but perhaps liberated by them: Slates thoroughly cleaned, No Devotion has refined those early flirtations with nostalgic pop-noir to find themselves at the intersection of post-punk heart and contemporary tricknology. Its subject matter still bleeds with equal measures longing and satisfaction; in the same way that he did in Thursday, frontman Geoff Rickly revels in the anxiety and relief. But ultimately, Permanence is about the mark that’s left after the bleeding: It’s something new, something unpredictable, something there to remind you.

Doe Paoro – After CD/LP+MP3 (Anti)

As a songwriter and vocalist, Doe Paoro seeks both to uplift and unsettle. For her Anti debut After, the New York-bred, L.A.-based artist worked in close collaboration with producers Sean Carey (drummer/supporting vocalist for Bon Iver) and BJ Burton (musician/producer/engineer whose past credits include POLIÇA, Sylvan Esso, The Tallest Man On Earth and Volcano Choir), deepening her musical repertoire into a dense hybrid of R&B, synth-pop, and indie-leaning electro that’s rooted in earthy minimalism. “I’m used to just having a piano and working with that,” says Doe, “but with this album we built an entire world with the sonics alone. There’s an assumption that pop music needs to be dumbed down, but I think pop can be surprising and make you uncomfortable sometimes. It can ask you to think about something you hadn’t considered before, and maybe awaken a place in yourself that you hadn’t been giving attention to.”

Parkway Drive – Ire CD/2xLP+MP3 (Epitaph)

Parkway Drive is an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2002. “For the past ten years Byron Bay’s Parkway Drive have been a reliable source of crushing metalcore for a loving fan base they’ve built up through dedicated touring and local mosh pit comradely. They have undoubtedly changed the perception of heavy music in Australia for good, becoming the gateway band for many a young metalhead in training and representing the scene on a global scale. For many up-and-coming bands Parkway Drive are the reason they’ve started a band and, more importantly, the reason they think their band could make it” – Faster Louder. (Limited copies pressed on translucent blue and black vinyl.)

Peaches – Rub CD/LP (I U She Music)

Peaches, the queen of filthy electropunk, enlisted Kim Gordon and Feist for her new album Rub, her first since 2009’s I Feel Cream. The album was recorded last year in Peaches’ Los Angeles garage studio with longtime collaborator Vice Cooler. “After six years, I was excited about my lyrics again, about what Peaches was. I felt more comfortable living out any idea I wanted to try. We spent ten hours a day making beats, and whatever stuck, I would write on and develop. The only agenda was to make the best album we could.”

The Pollies – Not Here CD (Single Lock)

Not Here finds The Pollies shedding their alt-country skin in favor of experimental noise and unadulterated risk. Jay Burgess is the songwriter behind the group, and on the album he hits on all the familiar topics — love, loss, regret and triumph with an edge and ferocity that shows up on tracks like “Lost” and “Jackson.” Vinyl version due October 9.

Rayon – II Colo e la Collana/Libanon CD (Alien Transistor)

Whenever Markus Acher finds time between his work with The Notwist and Lali Puna, he sets out to record film soundtracks under his solo moniker Rayon. This time it’s Eleonora Danco’s 2015 film N-Capace that inspired ten cinematic, instrumental sketches based on loops that loom, take shape, and change colors, only to vanish an instant later.

Tomeka Reid Quartet – Tomeka Reid Quartet CD (Thirsty Ear)

Over the last decade or so Chicago cellist and composer Tomeka Reid has emerged as one of the most original, versatile, and curious musicians in the city’s bustling jazz and improvised music community. Her distinctive melodic sensibility, usually braided to a strong sense of groove, has been featured in many distinguished ensembles over the years. She’s been a key member of ensembles led by legendary reedists like Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, as well as a younger generation of visionaries including flutist Nicole Mitchell, singer Dee Alexander, and drummer Mike Reed. The eponymous Tomeka Reid Quartet is her first album as a bandleader.

Rey Pila – The Future Sugar CD/LP (Cult)

“’Control is all that I have/ It’s all that I know,’ Diego Solórzano croons on ‘Nerds.’ The frontman of Mexico City synthrock outfit Rey Pila intends that mantra to fight against the chaos that crowds in around him. That insistence, regardless of its potential sarcasm, carries through to the surrounding album — Rey Pila signed on with Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records, as if consciously doubling down on the Strokes-y jean jacket swagger of their debut. Solórzano’s rich, wavering vocals and the quartet’s jigsawing ’80s synths and limber guitar leave little room for error, and they come out of The Future Sugar without any missing pieces” – Consequence Of Sound. (Limited copies on blue vinyl.)

Thomas Rhett – Tangled Up CD (Valory)

Sophomore album by platinum-selling rising star Thomas Rhett. Lead single “Crash And Burn,” is already certified Gold and sets the pace for his second album. His debut album It Goes Like This spawned three consecutive #1 hits, making him Billboard’s first male country artist to do so from a debut album in over two decades.

Ricked Wicky – Swimmer To A Liquid Armchair CD/LP+MP3 (GBV Inc.)

Swimmer To A Liquid Armchair serves up the same gleefully messy prog/punk/pop stew as on the previous two Ricked Wicky releases, but there’s a growing sense of assurance evident on the newest record that indicates Big Things for the future. If Guided By Voices, Pollard’s other other band, often bear comparison to the Beatles, Ricked Wicky on occasion calls to mind a kind of lo-fidelity Blue Öyster Cult, with a touch of early Queen (multi-instrumentalist Nick Mitchell’s slide work on “The Blind Side” recalls Brian May).

Duke Robillard – The Acoustic Blues & Roots Of Duke Robillard CD (Stony Plain)

The Acoustic Blues & Roots Of Duke Robillard presents Robillard’s love of vintage blues, jazz and swing, with a selection of vocal and instrumental cuts. This is his very first acoustic album in a career that spans over five decades. Robillard has worked with Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Roomful Of Blues, Fabulous Thunderbirds and dozens of blues legends. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has won ‘Blues Guitarist Of The Year’ four times. Special guests include Maria Muldaur, Jay McShann and Mary Flower.

Rodinia – Drum Side/Dream Side CD/LP+MP3 (Now Again)

Ambient krautrock in line with Cluster, Popul Vuh, Tangerine Dream by JJ Whitefield (Poets Of Rhythm/Whitefield Brothers/Karl Hector & The Malcouns).

John Scofield – Past Present CD (Impulse!)

John Scofield updates his early-’90s quartet with drummer Bill Stewart, saxophonist Joe Lovano and bassist Larry Grenadier for his Impulse! debut, Past Present. For an artist equally adept at jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock getting to the root of jazz means channeling the blues. Scofield describes Past Present as “futuristic blues”: he and Lovano craft unison melodies before separating then intertwining invigorating improvs.

Kendrick Scott Oracle – We Are The Drum CD (Blue Note)

Blue Note debut of a band founded by drummer Kendrick Scott who over the last decade has powered bands led by Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, Charles Lloyd, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Kurt Elling, as well as the Blue Note 75th Anniversary all-star band with Robert Glasper. The 11-track album also includes a cover of the Flying Lotus song “Never Catch Me” as well as a feature spot for the vocalist Lizz Wright who co-wrote “This Song In Me” with the album’s producer Derrick Hodge.

Erick Sermon – E.S.P. CD (Def Squad Entertainment)

E.S.P. marks the return of the legendary hip-hop producer, rapper, actor and songwriter from Long Island.

Silversun Pickups – Better Nature CD/LP (New Machine Recordings)

Produced at Jacknife Lee’s Topanga studio (he’s worked with the likes of U2 and Two Door Cinema Club), Better Nature is the first release on Silversun Pickups’ own label, New Machine Recordings. According to lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Aubert, the new full-length is an amalgam of the group’s trademark SoCal vibe, funky sampling, and other “swirly bits.” The band has been steadily climbing the ranks of the indie rock scene for more than a decade, mixing frontman Brian Aubert’s layered guitar riffs and airy vocals with the animated backbeats from drummer Christopher Guanlao.

Sneakers – Sneakers [Reissue/1976] CD (Omnivore)

Before The dB’s and Let’s Active, there was Sneakers. Chris Stamey, an icon of indie pop, and friend Mitch Easter began to explore recording techniques in Winston-Salem, NC, during their youth. In 1976, Chris and his band, Sneakers (including drummer Will Rigby, with appearances from Easter), released a single on Stamey’s own Carnivorous Records. The sessions were engineered by Don Dixon, who would eventually produce bands like R.E.M. (with Easter) and The Smithereens. Stamey and Rigby would go on to form The dB’s and Easter would reappear in Let’s Active – but the Sneakers single remains vital in not only independent record history, but music in general. Here, their original six-track self-titled EP from 1976 has been expanded with five bonus tracks.

The Soul Surfers – Soul Rock CD/LP (Ubiquity)

“If, in the mid ’90s, when I first heard real “new” funk and soul music made by the likes of Poets Of Rhythm and the Desco crew — that in 2015 some of the realest funk left to be recorded would come from Russia, I would have said you were out of your mind. But The Soul Surfers are sincere, and their geographic location matters little when it comes to chicken scratch guitar, syncopated drums, throbbing bass lines and overall attitude: this is funk for the universal get down.” — Eothen Alapatt aka Egon (Now-Again Records)

Tedo Stone – Marshes CD (This American Music)

“Tedo Stone’s rock ‘n’ roll origin story seems almost too authentic to be real, the type you might expect from some fabled early 20th century bluesman, but certainly not from a modern-day twenty-something with a Bandcamp page. But Stone did in fact grow up in a musical family in Covington, Georgia, a small town you might happen to find yourself in if you somehow managed to get lost trying to make your way from Atlanta to Athens. By the age of 12, Stone was already well on his way, fronting a band that he toured through the motorcycle bars of greater Covington. A more badass way to hone your chops, we cannot imagine. By 2013, Stone was all grown up and living in Atlanta when he released his first proper album, Good Go Bad. As is often the case with debut efforts, however, Stone didn’t yet feel like he’d truly come into his own. That would change soon thereafter when he started playing around Athens and developing a raw, often-snarling, often-sweet live sound that’s about as close to the guts of American rock ’n roll as one can get, albeit with a little psychedelic undercurrent. Think Dinosaur Jr. meets Neil Young meets a mason jar full of sweet tea and bourbon before mason jars started trending on Etsy (go ahead and throw a smidge of Deerhunter in there, too)” – Impose. Vinyl version due October 23.

U.S. Girls – Half Free CD (4AD)

The work of Illinois-born, Toronto-based artist Meg Remy, U.S. Girls has evolved in recent years from the coarse four-track fidelity found on her early recordings to more luscious and unabashed works, packed with fiery pop sensibilities. Half Free is the next step in this impressive progression, an honest and lyrically jarring exploration of emotions, drenched in a bath of raw beats and loops that have become the hallmark of her work with producer and frequent collaborator Onakabazien. Other album guests include Slim Twig (DFA), Ben Cook (F**ked Up, Young Guv), Amanda Crist (Ice Cream) and Tony Price. Vinyl version due October 9.

Various Artists – Augustus Pablo Presents Rockers International 2xCD (VP/Greensleeves)

This double-CD set presents classics from Rockers International, a Jamaican label, record store and movement begun by the revolutionary sounds of Augustus Pablo’s melodica and burning reggae riddims and dubs.

Various Artists – The Rough Guide To The Blues Songsters CD (World Music Network)

Before there was the bluesman there was the songster and it was these travelling troubadours who helped lay the foundations for the development of the blues. In the decades preceding the phonograph and radio and before the American national entertainment industry had reached into the deepest parts of the South, it was these wandering musicians who provided the musical entertainment for all manner of social events. Priding themselves on their huge musical repertoires, they performed every form of popular music of the day and could be described as the human jukeboxes of their time.

Various Artists – The Rough Guide To The Heroes Of Country Blues (Vol. 2) CD (World Music Network)

This second volume digs that bit deeper into the early days of recorded country blues and sheds light on other mysterious figures, many of whose contribution to the blues is easily overlooked. None more so than Sylvester Weaver who was the first artist to record a blues instrumental and whose featured “Guitar Rag” shows off his slide-guitar brilliance which was much imitated by other players. Likewise, Ramblin’ Thomas from Louisiana was famed for his bottleneck guitar playing and truly makes his guitar weep on his homesick lament “Poor Boy Blues.” By carefully selecting artists from across the different sub-genres this collection serves as a refreshing and alternative overview of country blues.

Kurt Vile – B’lieve I’m Goin Down… CD/2xLP+MP3 (Matador)

Kurt Vile – B’lieve I’m Goin (Deep) Down… 3xLP+MP3 (Matador)

B’lieve I’m Goin Down… is Vile’s sixth album, and shows Kurt both deeply introspective and briskly self-assured. As longtime fan Kim Gordon wrote about the album: “Kurt does his own myth-making; a boy/man with an old soul voice in the age of digital everything becoming something else, which is why this focused, brilliantly clear and seemingly candid record is a breath of fresh air. Recorded and mixed in a number of locations, including Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, B’lieve I’m Goin Down… is a handshake across the country, east to west coast, thru the dustbowl history (“Valley Of Ashes”) of woody honest strait forward talk Guthrie, and a Cali canyon dead still nite floating in a nearly waterless landscape. The record is all air, weightless, body-less, but grounded in convincing authenticity, in the best version of singer songwriter up cycling.” (B’lieve I’m Goin (Deep) Down… is the deluxe triple-vinyl edition which includes six additional tracks.)

Wand – 1000 Days CD/LP/Cassette (Drag City)

1000 Days finds Wand searching in corners. They found extra texture during 1000 Days via synthetic animation. Songs compelled them to reach across lifestyle, relying on broadcast to find out who might need the sound. The atmosphere is quicksilver and the space acoustic; as a beacon sparks electric, a cascade of hi-fi noises for everyone’s ear moles — raucous, impassive, inevitable musical expressions.

Widespread Panic – Street Dogs CD (Vanguard)

Street Dogs is the twelfth studio album from Widespread Panic, and was the first to be entirely recorded live in the studio. The result is the most fun the veteran sextet has had making an album, which is apparent upon first listen. For almost 30 years, Widespread Panic has been known for their masterful improvisational style, but their core has always been built around songwriting. Incorporating a vast range of styles, Panic’s songs run the gamut from compelling narratives to poignant ballads to southern blues to progressive jazz and rock. Street Dogs is a testament to how a veteran band can remain vibrant, relevant and continue to progress. Vinyl due October 9.

Witchsorrow – No Light Only Fire CD (Candlelight)

Third album from the UK doom metal band.

Wolfmother – Wolfmother [Reissue/2005] 2xCD/2xLP (Modular)

Digitally remastered and expanded 10th Anniversary deluxe double-CD edition of the Australian hard rock band’s major label, self-titled debut. The bonus tracks featured on this edition include B-sides, unreleased demos, live tracks and remixes.

The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die – Harmlessness CD (Epitaph)

Founded by guitarist/singer Derrick Shanholtzer-Dvorak, guitarist/singer Tyler Bussey, and bassist Josh Cyr in 2009 in the post-industrial mill town of Willimantic, Connecticut, The World Is A Beautiful Place’s early records were atmospheric, impressionistic tone-poems, balanced somewhere between the twilit emo of American Football and Christie Front Drive and the pensive, mood-heavy post-rock of The Appleseed Cast and Yo La Tengo. Their new album, Harmlessness, is a breakthrough for a band that has built a following crafting striking melodies, poignant narratives, and confident, compelling songs out of their own complicated and imaginative aesthetic. It ranges from the hushed folk of opener “You Can’t Live Here Forever” to the epic, grandiose “Mount Hum” – spanning the bedroom pop of the band’s salad days to the sweeping scope of 2013’s Whenever, If Ever, and beyond. Vinyl due October 9.

Youth Lagoon – Savage Hills Ballroom CD/LP (Fat Possum)

“In rococo indie-rock songs that have wormed their way into ears well beyond his native Boise, Idaho, Youth Lagoon mastermind Trevor Powers comes across as a sensitive, trembling soul who combines precision and poise with a sense of being forever on the verge of falling apart. Shows of strength and vulnerability abound on Savage Hills Ballroom, the third Youth Lagoon album since his 2011 debut — and his most formidable work yet. ‘My legs are limp, my shoes suckled stone,’ Powers sings at the start of ‘Officer Telephone,’ an opener that introduces itself as a pensive dirge before launching into a spacious, big-bottomed blast with muscular beats and frayed electronic sounds that peer surprisingly toward dubstep. Before the mania spills over, ‘Highway Patrol Stun Gun’ gathers up and dials down with a balladeer’s piano and violin in the open air around Powers’ singular voice. That voice is a curious jewel: homely yet highly stylized, impish and ingenuous, constantly warbling while always falling flush into place after all manner of melodic adornments and curlicues” – NPR. (Limited copies available on gold vinyl.)

DVDs + Blu-ray:

Rammstein – Rammstein In Amerika 2xDVD/2xBlu-ray (Mercury)

This double-disc set pairs Rammstein’s incendiary Madison Square Garden concert, filmed and recorded in 5.1 surround, with a feature-length documentary film directed by Hannes Rossacher. A 20-minute film about the making of Rammstein’s sixth album, Liebe ist für alle da, is also included. The two-hour Rammstein In Amerika documentary is a chronological exploration of the band’s history, from the members’ shared experience of limited touring and other creative business opportunities behind the Iron Curtain in their native East Germany to bursting onto the world’s stage as metal/rock heroes after Germany’s reunification. 251 minutes.

This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:

Addaura – And The Lamps Expire LP (Vendetta)

One thing setting Seattle’s Addaura apart from their peers in the American black metal scene is their use of keyboards. In the sonic spectrum, this is one of the band’s strong suits. They know what spaces need to be filled. These duties are divided by the bassist and singer/guitarist, with the singer handling synths and the bassist playing the organ parts. For fans of Ash Borer and Wolves In The Throne Room.

The Allman Brothers Band – Seven Turns [Reissue/1990] LP (Friday Music)

After almost a decade hiatus where many left them for dead, The Allman Brothers Band came out of hibernation and greeted the 1990s with revitalized spirit and the strong blues-based studio effort Seven Turns. Issued on a new label and featuring a new line-up rounded out by recent additions Warren Haynes (lead guitar/vocals), Allan Woody (bass) and Johnny Neel (keyboards), Seven Turns is chock full of signature ABB performances from Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts and company including No. 1 single “Good Clean Fun.” HQ-180gm/gatefold sleeve.

The Jeff Beck Group – Beck-Ola [Reissue/1969] LP (Friday Music)

A classic masterpiece, one of Jeff Beck’s finest recordings which truly rock’s in the audiophile domain. First time vinyl issue of rare bonus tracks like B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel.” Check out Nicky Hopkins stellar piano work on “Girl From Mill Valley.” HQ-180gm translucent green vinyl/gatefold sleeve.

Big Black – Atomizer [Reissue/1986] LP (Homestead/Touch & Go)

Recorded in 1985 by Steve Albini and Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering, this remastered vinyl reissue of Big Black’s first full-length album Atomizer includes the song “Strange Things” which appeared on the first pressing, but was not present on subsequent vinyl editions nor on The Rich Man’s Eight Track CD.

Biosphere – Substrata [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Biophon)

One of the all-time classic ambient albums finally available on strictly limited edition HQ-180gm vinyl.

Birds Of Paradise – Love Is Confusion 7” (Dusty Medical)

Blues, pop, and folk-based with electro-acoustic soundscapes and electronics, paying tribute to the great songwriters such as Lee Hazlewood, Leonard Cohen, Jason Molina, and Townes Van Zandt.

David Bowie – Reality [Reissue/2003] LP (Friday Music)

Bowie’s 26th album has been repressed on limited HQ-180gm clear vinyl LP packaged in a tri-fold jacket. 

Mel Brooks & John Morris – Blazing Saddles [OST/1974] LP (Silva Screen)

28 tracks including dialogue. Blazing Saddles is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all Hollywood comedies, a fact underlined by its three Academy Award nominations.

The Byrds – Fifth Dimension [Reissue/1966] LP (Friday Music)

Limited 180gm translucent red vinyl repress housed in a gatefold sleeve. The Byrds’ classic fifth album, featuring the singles “Eight Miles High,” “Mr. Spaceman,” “I See You,” “Hey Joe” the title track, “Fifth Dimension.”

The Dandy Warhols – Dandy’s Rule OK [Reissue/1995] 2xLP (Schizophonic)

The Dandy Warhols’ 1995 debut is now available for the first time on vinyl. HQ-180gm numbered white vinyl pressing.

The Devil Wears Prada – Space 12”+CDEP (Rise)

Recently released on CD – now available on etched color vinyl with a copy on CD. This new EP from the metalcore band is “a metal odyssey through the vast reaches of outer space and beyond.” – Mxdwn

The Dramatics – Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get [Reissue/1971] LP (Fantasy)

“The Dramatics had been around in one form or another for nine years before the members got to release their first LP, and the result was a pair of breakthrough hits over the spring and summer of 1971, beginning with the title track, a Top Ten single that boasted not only extraordinary singing from bass to falsetto, but a soaring, punchy horn arrangement and some of the best fuzztone guitar heard on a hit record since the Rolling Stones’ ‘Satisfaction.’ The Afro-Cuban-flavored ‘Get Up And Get Down’ followed it into the R&B Top 20, and the Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get album followed them both. It was the third hit off of the album, ‘In The Rain,’ a delicate ballad that was issued separately as a single in early 1972, topping the R&B charts and reaching number five on the pop charts, that solidified the group’s reputation and elevated them to the front rank of ’70s soul acts.” – AllMusic

Dreadlords – Death Angel LP (Not Just Religious Music)

Part satanic, part gospel, all blues, Dreadlords cultivate an interesting and refreshing take on American folk musical tradition, clawing and scratching their way into the fragile psyche of what remains of the blues. Features members of noise outfit T.O.M.B.S.

Drekka – Unbeknownst To The Participants At Hand LP (Dais)

Continuing his work with memory not only as a subject but also as a process, geistwave/folk composer Michael Anderson has culled many of the sounds on this record from the past. But this is not a record of rehashed material or remixes. Rather, DREKKA’s music is made through continually delving into an archive, digging up and repurposing old recordings, live performances, and forgotten snippets of the voices of out-of-touch friends.

The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers – Heavenly Fire LP (Ba Da Bing!)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Will Wadsworth formed The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers in the winter of 2010 following a failed relationship, a band dissolution, and a scary airplane ride. In order to re-spark his interest in music, he and his roommate, Jeremy Horton, gathered friends together to sing old Gospel songs. Inspired by their love of Washington Phillips, The Staples Singers, Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe (you know, the real classics) they held house parties just so they could perform.

Brian Ellis & Brian Grainger – At Dusk LP (El Paraiso)

Rarely has the feeling of late summer twilight been captured as well on record as on this collaborative effort by Southern California native Brian Ellis and prolific South Carolina ambient producer Brian Grainger. This is the sound of two offbeat musicians zoning out with acoustic guitars, hand drums, flutes, and an array of vintage synthesizers and tape machines, brewing a mysterious, mellow kind of acid folk like it’s never quite been brewed before.

Nico Fidenco – Zombi Holocaust [OST/1980] 2xLP (Death Waltz)

The definitive version of this Italian splatter classic spread over two LPs and including 13 previously unheard cues. Blue and green vinyl.

The Fresh & Onlys – The Early Years Anthology LP (Castle Face)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A very valuable release here from The Fresh & Onlys, compiling together top-notch early material. The Early Years Anthology is bursting at the seams with Bay Area DIY garage-punk fun, and is released with the assistance of John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees) on his very own Castle Face label.

Goat – It’s Time For Fun b/w Relax 7”+MP3 (Sub Pop)

Goat return with a brand new single, their first new music since the critically-acclaimed second album Commune, which was released last September.

Great Father – Bicentennial Blue LP (Exit Stencil)

Great Father manages to incorporate the standard indie-folk band instrumentation into a darker, more atmospheric, and more haunting presentation than typically found in the genre. Bicentennial Blue has a decidedly overcast aesthetic, wrapped in the warm tones of nostalgia for the ‘70s a la Tobias Jesso Jr., and delivered from a perspective of someone who lives with loss close at hand. At times reminiscent of Mojave 3’s dream/country/folk amalgamation; at others, an Elliot Smith/Conor Oberst-like approach to lyrics and vocalization; and at others, just approaching things straight up like Pink Floyd and letting it breathe.

Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete – From All Sides [Reissue/1964] LP (Original Jazz Classics)

Given Vince Guaraldi’s affinity for Brazilian music, this pairing with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete from the early ’60s seems like a natural. On From All Sides, fans of the Peanuts TV specials will recognize Guaraldi’s trademark pianistic style, with “Menino Pequeno da Bateria” being essentially the same tune used as “My Little Drum” on A Charlie Brown Christmas. The melody of “Ginza Samba” will also be familiar to the Charlie Brown TV audience. Sete contributes a pair of originals, with “Mambeando” being especially enjoyable. The group offers a tasty reading of “The Girl From Ipanema,” and places “A Taste Of Honey” into an interesting Latin groove.

Coleman Hawkins with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis – Night Hawk [Reissue/1961] LP (Original Jazz Classics)

Hawkins was one of the main inspirations of his fellow tenor Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, so it was logical that they would one day meet up in the recording studio. This LP has many fine moments from these two highly competitive jazzmen, particularly the lengthy title cut and a heated tradeoff on “In A Mellow Tone,” on which Davis goes higher but Hawkins wins on ideas.

Heat Dust – Heat Dust LP (The Flenser)

New Orleans-based post-punk institution for fans of Thou, Wire, Joy Division.

Michael Holm – Mark Of The Devil I & II [OST/1970/1973] LP (One Way Static)

Mark Of The Devil was released in 1970 and is certainly a film that has achieved a real cult status, it is notorious and known by many horror fans for being given the first ever ‘V’ for violence certificate (or was it a ‘V’ for vomit, since vomit bags were handed out at screenings of the film). A sequel was also produced in 1973, both soundtracks are featured here on this release. Multi-talented German singer, musician, songwriter, producer and composer Michael Holm was hired to score Mark Of The Devil (released as Hexen in Germany).

Hurdy Gurdy – Hurdy Gurdy [Reissue/1972] LP (Shadoks)

Hurdy Gurdy was inspired by Cream but with more psychedelic leanings.

Introverted Dancefloor – Introverted Dancefloor LP+MP3 (Carpark)

Introverted Dancefloor is Bevan Smith, a New Zealander who has released music under names like Signer and Aspen, and who has played in the Ruby Suns and Skallander throughout the last decade. His prior output has been spread over many international labels and has touched on sundry genres (like techno, IDM, folk, ambient) while featuring restraint and sophistication as compositional hallmarks. As Introverted Dancefloor, Smith has kept those features as guiding principles while allowing a more propulsive low end to dominate the construction of this music, winding up with understated but energetic dance tracks. Here Smith has marked gestation as a prominent attribute as well, working with hundreds of audio layers to break down and rebuild songs, a process which often occurs over years at a time. This new direction is an exercise in constraint and assimilation, pouring specific dance-oriented influences through two synthesizers, one mic, one filter, and a single effects processor to create music that is, as its title suggests, equally contemplative and motional.

Kansas – Two For The Show [Reissue/1978] 2xLP (Friday Music)

In 1978, Kansas released the double-LP live set Two For The Show. Featuring the classic line-up of Steve Walsh on keys and lead vocals, Phil Ehart on drums, Kerry Livgren playing the lead guitar, Robby Steinhardt on violin and lead vocals, plus Dave Hope on bass, the album rapidly became one of their most definitive live albums in the classic rock era. HQ-180gm.

King Pleasure/Annie Ross – King Pleasure Sings/Annie Ross Sings [Reissue/1958] LP (Original Jazz Classics)

This split LP features seminal sessions by King Pleasure, and then by Annie Ross, each vocalizing horn solos by jazz greats of the time. King Pleasure was a jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo. Annie Ross is a Scottish singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. A unique addition to any bop or vocal jazz fan’s collection.

Tim Krog – The Boogyman [OST/1980] LP (One Way Static)

In 1980 German director Ulli Lommel directed The Boogeyman starring John Carradine, which became a slasher hit and made the UK’s banned ‘Video Nasties’ list. Two sequels were also produced in 1981 and 1983. To underscore his film, Lommel needed a soundtrack that fitted the times like the synth based John Carpenter styled soundscapes used in Halloween. Limited color vinyl with bonus CD-record (to be played on a turntable).

Sam Lee & Friends – Fade In Time LP (The Nest Collective)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Nominated for the UK’s Mercury Music Prize for his debut album in 2012, Sam Lee is an outstanding singer and song collector. Lee is a 21st-century artist, collecting new versions of old songs on his iPhone and laptop, but his repertoire is full of history. He is the driving force behind the eclectic, award-winning folk club The Nest Collective, which has brought traditional music to new stages and venues, and founder of a burgeoning song collectors’ movement that inspires a new generation of performers to draw on living source singers. Impassioned and hugely ambitious in scope, The Fade In Time is a major statement from an artist and group extending the borders of their music beyond its national boundaries to encompass Bollywood beats, Polynesian textures and contemporary classical music.

Courtney Love – Miss Narcissist b/w Radio Killer 7” (Ghost Ramp)

A new single from Ms. Love.

LVL UP – Three Songs 7” (Run For Cover)

Although self-categorized as “slacker rock,” Brooklyn’s LVL UP are quite an ambitious band. In only a few short years, they have released two critically acclaimed LPs, as well as a number of singles and splits with other indie darlings such as Porches, Ovlov and Radiator Hospital. Three Songs, the band’s new EP, is a quick but fulfilling demonstration of LVL UP’s ability to write incredibly understated indie-pop classics.

Mariah – Utakata No Hibi [Reissue/1983] LP (Palto Flats)

Vinyl reissue of this 1983 cult-classic — the culmination of composer and bandleader Yasuaki Shimizu’s early ’80s work, often compared to his contemporaries Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono, as well as experimental new wavers Flying Lizards/David Cunningham, all of whom he has worked with. Japanese folk and pop idioms filtered through a chamber disco, new wave, synth production, for fans of Blood Orange, YMO, Arthur Russell, Julee Cruise.

Bob Marley & The Wailers – The Complete Island Recordings 12xLP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – The Complete Island Recordings: Collectors Edition 12xLP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Each box includes all nine Bob Marley & The Wailers studio albums recorded for Island Records, featuring their most celebrated releases, including Catch A Fire, their 1973 label debut, and Rastaman Vibration, their 1976 breakthrough album in the United States, along with two live albums Live! and Babylon By Bus. The Complete Island Recordings is packaged in a rigid card box with lift top lid, and wrapped in silver paper that simulates the brushed metal finish of a zippo lighter. The Complete Island Recordings: Collector’s Edition includes a vinyl slip mat and two photos in glassine envelopes, all packaged in a unique hinged top metal box set to emulate a classic lighter, numbered and lined with velvet. 

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Burnin’ [Reissue/1973] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Catch A Fire [Reissue/1973] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Natty Dread [Reissue/1974] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Live! [Reissue/1975] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Rastaman Vibration [Reissue/1976] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Exodus [Reissue/1977] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Kaya [Reissue/1978] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Babylon By Bus [Reissue/1978] 2xLP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Survival [Reissue/1979] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Uprising [Reissue/1980] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Confrontation [Reissue/1983] LP (Tuff Gong/Island)

HQ-180gm vinyl black vinyl.

Drew McDowall – Collapse LP (Dais)

Recorded in 2015 in Brooklyn, NY, McDowall’s modular synthesizer compositions are augmented by obtuse sampling cut-ups and contributions from Nicky Mao (Hiro Kone/Effi Briest) rounding out the lumbering sequential knot work that has become synonymous with McDowall and craft.

Midday Veil – This Wilderness LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The beating musical heart of both This Wilderness and Midday Veil remains the out-sized synth wizardry of founding member David Golightly, who seems to have ingested every possible mind-altering sound from Stockhausen to Cybotron to the “Love To Love You” of Donna Summer. They’re all on display on This Wilderness, made especially ornate by the driving percussion of Garrett Moore, the deep, submerging bass of Jayson Kochan and the often-explosive, reptilian guitar lines of multi-instrumentalist Timm Mason. Features guest spot from Bernie Worrell (Parliament, Funkadelic) Eyvind Kang, and Sherik.

Miguel – Wildheart LP (RCA)

Released late last June on CD – now available on vinyl. Third album from the singer/songwriter — available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks. “In fairness, Pimentel is hardly the first artist in recent years to offer up a foggy, warped take on neon-bright, mid-‘80s US pop – the melodies of [album tracks] ‘Coffee’ and ‘Waves’ suggest something that could have turned up on the soundtrack of a John Hughes film – but he’s certainly the first one to warp it in quite this way. The sound is a kind of thrillingly ramshackle funk-rock with jagged electric guitars and luscious harmonies that drift in and out of focus, drowned in a whirl of echo. The effect is eerie and drugged-out and occasionally a bit cacophonous. There’s almost always some kind of disquieting electronic growl lurking around, while on the closing ‘Face The Sun,’ Lenny Kravitz turns up, adding a feedback-heavy solo to an already chaotic mass of vocals, trebly guitar and pounding drums. It works at odds with the sparkling beauty of the tunes – as you might expect from someone who’s plied his trade as a songwriter for hire, Pimentel’s choruses are really polished – and indeed the vocals, which are powerful without being showy; he knows how to deploy his falsetto for emotional impact, rather than to try and dazzle the listener.” – The Guardian

Mouse On The Keys – Flowers Of Romance LP (Mule Musiq)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Mouse On The Keys, the Japanese trio of Daisuke Niitome (piano, keyboard), Akira Kawasaki (drums, piano, keyboard), and Atsushi Kiyota (synths, piano, keyboard), are an energetic, hard-to-pigeonhole Tokyo-based group that combine the sound of diverse pianos and synthesizers with out-there drumming. Their locomotive American hardcore rhythms and virtuosic post-rock grooves dance fearlessly with jazz, contemporary classical, and shreds of electronic music.

Needtobreathe – Live From The Woods 2xLP+2xCD (Atlantic)

Released last April on CD – now available on vinyl. Captured live at The Woods at Fontanel Amphitheatre in Nashville, TN on September 13, 2014, this double-disc set features 17 tracks, including fan favorites “Multiplied,” “Keep Your Eyes Open,” “Washed By The Water,” “Something Beautiful” and “Brother.”

Obnox – Wiglet LP (Ever/Never)

Obnox is soul music for the bruised and battered; feel-good tunes for the righteously pissed-off masses; and a sonic salve for the neglected and ignored.

Oldd News – Oldd News LP (Wharf Cat)

Jamie Kanzler’s final recording, completed in the summer of 2013 in New Orleans, just before he passed away. Recorded directly into an overdriven computer microphone, the six tracks herein feature shredding, distorted acoustic guitars and emotionally bare lyrics. Released in conjunction with “September Spring,” the first performance-based work by artist Sam Falls, Kanzler’s god-brother and frequent collaborator. All proceeds from the sale of this record will go to benefit The Jamie Kanzler Foundation.

Ornerys – Wanna Get Dead 7” (Dusty Medical)

Unholy pissed off trash rock featuring members of Sagger, Night Terrors, Drug Gradons.

Psychic Blood – Alien 12” (Wharf Cat)

Western MA trio Psychic Blood’s debut EP is comprised of six tracks of lush beauty and noise marred by shredding guitar whose reverb drips down the walls like expired glue before coalescing in dark corners. Conceived from lost causes, sleepless nights, and a brush with death which landed guitarist/vocalist Jason Vachula in the hospital, Alien is less about extraterrestrial beings than it is about alienation from one’s own self and the surrounding world. At its core this is not a downer record, but rather a burst of energy; a celebration of the lost, the truly free.

Queen – Complete Studio 18xLP (Hollywood)

Limited edition vinyl box set containing all 15 studio albums by the British band pressed on HQ-180gm heavyweight vinyl (each on a different color). The masters were sourced from the original tapes; half-speed lacquers cut at abbey Road Studios. Also includes a 100-page hardback book. Queen formed in 1970 and consisted of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen’s earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock, into their music. They eventually became one of the most famous rock bands in the world and still command much respect long after Mercury’s 1991 death. (Features a double-disc version of Queen II, which is otherwise available as a single disc version outside the set.)

Queen – Queen [Reissue/1973] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Queen II [Reissue/1974] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Sheer Heart Attack [Reissue/1974] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – A Night At The Opera [Reissue/1975] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – A Day At The Races [Reissue/1976] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – News of the World [Reissue/1977] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Jazz [Reissue/1978] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – The Game [Reissue/1980] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Flash Gordon [Reissue/1980] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Hot Space [Reissue/1982] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – The Works [Reissue/1984] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – A Kind Of Magic [Reissue/1986] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – The Miracle [Reissue/1989] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Innuendo [Reissue/1991] LP (Hollywood)

Queen – Made In Heaven [Reissue/1995] 2xLP (Hollywood)

HQ-180gm black vinyl.

Reverberations – Lost In Time 7” (Hidden Volume)

This ragingly fuzzy Portland, OR quartet deliver three slices of insanely catchy primitive goodness. This is the sound of young Portland.

Ricked Wicky – Number I Can Trust 7” (GBV Inc.)

Ricked Wicky – Poor Substitute 7” (GBV Inc.)

Two singles from the new (third) long-player Swimmer To A Liquid Armchair – each with non-album B-sides.

Senior Fellows – Shallow Grave For A Dying God LP (Dead Tank)

With filth-mired riffs and an element of crusty hardcore fury, Senior Fellows have launched a vicious diatribe against political sensibilities and, most crucially, organized religion. This is “political sludge” at it’s finest.

Seventeen Evergreen – Epiphanie Solaire 12” (Spiritual Pajamas)

A duo comprised of Caleb Pate and Nephi Evans, Seventeen Evergreen threads their psychedelic rock with electronic experimentation.

Soundtrack – Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas [Reissue/1966] LP (Mercury Nashville)

Limited green vinyl LP pressing. Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas was a popular children’s book during the late ’50s and early ’60s, but it achieved a new level of acclaim in 1966 when it first appeared as a television special. The soundtrack includes narration by Boris Karloff, and the immortal voice veteran Thurl Ravenscroft singing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

Soundtrack – The Lost Boys [Reissue/1987] LP (Friday Music)

Vinyl reissue of the soundtrack to the 1987 Joel Schumacher cult classic vampire film. Peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, The Lost Boys soundtrack is anchored by Gerard McMann’s theme song “Cry Little Sister” and Lou Gramm’s (Foreigner) “Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Boys)” and rounded out by famous covers from INXS and Jimmy Barnes (“Good Times”), Roger Daltrey (“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”) and Echo & The Bunnymen (“People Are Strange”).

Soundtrack – Scrooged [Reissue/1988] LP (A&M)

Limited vinyl LP repressing of this original soundtrack to the 1988 holiday classic starring Billy Murray. The soundtrack features updates on Christmas classics as well as original material by Dan Hartman and Denise Love, Mark Lennon, Robbie Robertson, and Buster Poindexter. The album’s sound, as well as it’s roster of artists, give it the feel of a time capsule buried in the late ’80s.

Soviettes – Rarities [Reissue/2010] LP (Dead Broke)

Vinyl reissue of the Minneapolis bands’ 2010 well-sought after rarities and singles collection. Originally pressed in radically small numbers by a now defunct US label that folded before shipping out preorders to most fans.

Gloria Ann Taylor – Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing b/w Brother Less Than A Man [1973] 7” (Luv N’ Haight)

Teaser single issued in advance of the forthcoming retrospective of the forgotten soul singer’s rare soul and disco cuts (due in November).

Thunderbitch – Thunderbitch LP (Thunderbitch)

“’I just wanted to rock and roll,’ Brittany Howard repeats on ‘I Just Wanna Rock And Roll.’ The Alabama Shakes frontwoman’s thesis for her side project, Thunderbitch, is pretty simple — and on the self-titled debut, she pulls it off. While her main band digs into the roots of soulful blues rock, Thunderbitch takes a stab at garage punk, though still filtered through a slight Southern burn, a la Turbo Fruits or PUJOL. ‘I just wanted to rock and roll/ And now I’m golden.’ Garage punk and rock have their formulas, and deviations from that standard-issue sound can make or break an album. Thunderbitch doesn’t stray too far from the center musically; the group, composed of members of Nashville-based projects Fly Golden Eagle and Clear Plastic Masks, make sure the guitars crunch, the bass drives, and the drums slap. The element that separates Thunderbitch from the massive tier of completely average garage bands, unsurprisingly, is Howard.” – Consequence Of Sound

Various Artists – Small Town Country, Vol. 1 LP (Orion Road)

14 forgotten gems of private press country.

Various Artists – Still on the Line: A Tribute to Jimmy Webb LP (Flannel Graph)

Tribute album to the legendary songwriter featuring covers by The Cairo Gang, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Pop Zeus, Elephant Micah, Wooden Wand, and more. Per Flannel Graph, all profits go to benefit Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, a food pantry in Bloomington, Indiana.

Liz Vice – There’s A Light LP (Ramseur)

Liz Vice is from Portland, Oregon. With a love of storytelling, she has found herself transitioning

from behind-the-scenes in the film and video world to behind the mic. The songs from There’s A Light feature dynamic, soulful vocals, with classically influenced, timeless lyrics that reference her deep-rooted spirituality. Vice grew up as the middle of five children. She was raised by her mother, and when she was a little girl, she would hide in the basement dancing and lip-synching to songs from the radio and soundtracks from her favorite films. Ms. Vice has overcome many obstacles to get to where she is today. She credits her adventurous life to dealing with things as they come, never forcing anything, and taking risks. It s all about risk, and taking risks is never regretful…well, most of the time.

Sonny Vincent & Spite – Mary Ann b/w Inflection 7” (Big Neck)

Veritable mega-supergroup of Sonny Vincent (Testors) on vox/guitar, Rat Scabies on drums (The Damned), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) on bass and Steve Mackay (The Stooges) on sax. Two killer rock & roll tunes.

White Light – White Light LP (Shadoks)

White Light was a progressive-rock group originally from New Orleans, then later from Austin, where the group once recorded with Sonobeat Records (Mariani, Wildfire). White Light was comprised of Mike Hobren on guitars and vocals, Rob Haeuser on bass and synthesizers, and Rusty Haeuser on percussion and flute. On White Light’s self-titled album, fans of progressive rock will be treated to a real romp of experimental music that utilizes a host of instrumentation and special effects.

Woodsman – Woodsman LP (Fire Talk)

Third LP from Brooklyn via Denver psych warlocks after releases on Mexican Summer and Lefse. Texturally the album conjures the usual psych concepts, connecting the dots and filtering them through a new lens, mixing shamanistic circular guitar patterns with steady shifting drum beats. 40 minutes of zoned out instrumental jammers. Think Torotise meets Wooden Shjips and Spacemen 3. Green vinyl. 

Writing On The Wall – The Rockfield Sessions LP (Shadoks)

Writing On The Wall was a Scottish psychedelic/progressive rock band from 1967 until 1973. Continually on the road for six years — everything from radio, TV, British & European tours, recording and of course Brazil. One of the very few bands to have held two residencies at the famous Marquee Club in London. The band issued but one official studio album, the 1969 release The Power Of The Picts. Like many evolving groups caught in the midst of rapid musical evolution in the late ‘60s, the band retained much of the blues influence of the music they came of age with by mixing heavy and sometimes uneven blend of psych, blues with idealistic and often abstract lyrics to form a distinctly late sixties sound reminiscent of groups like Blues Image, Cactus and Babe Ruth.

Cassettes:

Adderall Canyon/Yves Malone – Split (905 Tapes)

Both artists parachute in absurdly marvelous synthesizer music, coming through like champs with some ‘80s tinged, meticulously biting space-human music. Steamy runs, penetrating zaps, and killer focus.

All Your Sisters – Modern Failures (Young Cubs)

All Your Sisters take on the post-punk paradigm is decidedly non-retro. The basic building blocks are there; heavy drum machine rhythms, pumping melodic bass lines, swaths of atmospheric guitars and cold synth melodies.

American Culture – The Olympia Sessions (Lightning)

“Anthemic and noisy. Pop racket. American Culture is the music that we all grew up with as American wasteland kids. Music that got into our blood during those fragile and formative years. The soundtracks to when we first tried drugs, cut class, had sex, became who we are. Whenever that may have been.” — Chris Adolf (Excerpts from the American Culture Manifesto) 

Shredderghost – Accretion (905 Tapes)

After a heavy dosing of self-released activity over the last couple of years and some recent jams on Power Moves Label and Invisible City, Ian Franklin finally joins the 905 squad. Two sidelong burners spread out like a moldy tapestry, loose threads and dust fanning in humid whiffs. Modular synth, acoustic guitar, field recordings.

Wand – 1000 Days (Drag City)

1000 Days finds Wand searching in corners. They found extra texture during 1000 Days via synthetic animation. Songs compelled them to reach across lifestyle, relying on broadcast to find out who might need the sound. The atmosphere is quicksilver and the space acoustic; as a beacon sparks electric, a cascade of hi-fi noises for everyone’s ear moles — raucous, impassive, inevitable musical expressions.