CDs + Vinyl:
3OH!3 – Night Sports CD (Atlantic)
Night Sports sees 3OH!3’s Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte embracing cutting edge production while retaining their trademark raw humor. Tracks like “Mad At You” layer propulsive beats, soaring pop choruses, and spitfire hip-hop energy.
9Bach – Anian CD/LP (Real World)
“The Welsh-language band return with a set dominated by the exquisite vocals of Lisa Jên, who also adds piano and wrote many of the lyrics and melodies. At times, it sounds like a solo album. ‘Ifan,’ a gently pained song of parting, starts as a piano-backed solo and adds a wash of harp and other instruments, while ‘Heno’ is constructed around layers of vocal tracks – a technique repeated on the traditional ‘Sri Hwi Hwi,’ with the effective addition of bass and percussion.” – The Guardian
Anti-Nowhere League – The Cage CD/LP (Cleopatra)
Brand new studio album from the UK punk rock veterans.
Arbor Labor Union – I Hear You CD/2xLP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)
Arbor Labor Union was born from a peach tree in Georgia in the American south. They play psychedelic, repetitious, and joyful rock and roll music. In 2014 they released the album Sings For You Now under the name Pinecones. In 2016 they decided to change their name, and have now released new album, I Hear You. Vice had this to say about their recently released single “Radiant Mountain Road”: “‘Radiant Mountain Road’ is a chugging, ballsy rock squall, with a pinch of psych and a smidge of QOTSA, that’ll stomp its way straight into your heart. The bass and drums at the top may make you want to break stuff. This can be a good thing. Elsewhere singer Bo Orr’s tone is simultaneously powerful and sexily insouciant.” Meanwhile, the band had this to say about the song (via haiku) — “Your mind is poisoned / Take joy for the antidote / And you will be cured.”
Astronautalis – Cut The Body Loose CD/LP (SideOneDummy)
Astronautalis is a Minneapolis indie hip-hop artist, often centering his music on original ideas, vivid lyricism and juxtaposing between indie rock and rap. Cut The Body Loose is his first album in five years, and was executive produced by Justin Vernon. “Tying together his own ‘bipolar Southern insanity’ with a torrent of dominant hip-hop hallmarks, Cut The Body Loose infuses Astronautalis’ jagged persona into every musical note and story-based anthem. On the surface, the album centres around themes of loss, disappointment, and struggles, delving deep into the pitfalls of life, but in the end, it’s an album the ultimately searches for redemption, aiming for triumph and facing off against all the sadness in the world. Although this may be Astronautalis’ most aggressive album, to call it angry, or even pessimistic, would be to miss the point. It’s an album about liberation carried upon waves of gritty, atmospheric, glitch-filled cuts like ‘Kurt Cobain’, ‘1515 Washington’, and ‘In The Tall Grass’, soaring dualities in ‘You Know What It Is’, and ethereal anthems like ‘Kudzu’ An album founded in reality and brought to life through vivid design, limitless diversity, and an unshakeable passion, Cut The Body Loose is both a mission statement and a triumphant arrival.” – Anthem Review
Avatar – Feathers & Flesh CD/2xLP (E1)
New album from the Swedish metal band. “Avatar crafts a near perfect sixth studio album, with many changes and musical improvements from their previous work.” – Sputnik Music
David Bazan – Blanco CD/LP/Cassette (Barsuk)
Blanco is made up of songs that were previously available in a very limited edition 7″ vinyl series called Bazan Monthly, Volume 1 and Volume 2. David picked ten of those songs to update, remix and flesh out into a cohesive album format. “Former Pedro The Lion leader David Bazan is back with a new solo album called Blanco. Recorded with Crystal Skulls co-founder Yuuki Matthews, it features a heavy dose of keyboards and drum machines alongside the mournful acoustic strums that have long been Bazan’s calling card, transforming tracks that were previously available through the Bazan Monthly 7” series.” – Stereogum
Blaak Heat – Shifting Mirrors CD/LP (Tee Pee)
Los Angeles “heavy mental” psych rock band Blaak Heat play intercontinental desert rock, with influences that range from ’60s prog-rock, ’70s krautrock, Middle Eastern and world music.
Blacklisters – Adult CD/LP (MRI Associated)
“Blacklisters’ new album is a potent burst of noise rock that pulls in sounds from hardcore, post-hardcore, and sludge metal. Vocalist Billy Mason-Wood is typically abrasive for this style of music, which doesn’t make the band an easy listen for the layperson. But the rest of the band is tight and interesting enough that Adult starts to work as an album after a few listens, even if Mason-Wood is an acquired taste.” – Pop Matters
Karl Blau – Introducing Karl Blau CD/LP (Raven Marching Band)
Introducing Karl Blau, all covers, is a crate-digger’s feast of forgotten hits and deeper cuts, most of them from the Nashville country-soul renaissance in the late- ‘60s and early- ‘70s: Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bond, Allen Reynolds. Other songs are from the Bee Gees (“To Love Somebody”), Link Wray (“Fallin’ Rain”), and Townes Van Zandt (“If I Needed You”).
Broken Teeth HC – At Peace Among Chaos CD/LP (Nuclear Blast)
Ten tracks of pure aggression and hatred towards modern society, inspired by hardcore greats such as Madball and Sick Of It All.
Bob Brown – The Wall I Built Myself [Reissue/1970] CD/LP (Tompkins Square)
Bob Brown – Willoughby’s Lament [Reissue/1971] CD/LP (Tompkins Square)
Singer/songwriter Bob Brown recorded two rare albums on Richie Havens’ Stormy Forest label in the early- ‘70s. They are legitimately reissued on CD and vinyl for the first time, with notes by DC journalist Leor Galil.
Andrew Chalk/Ralf Wehowsky/ Eric Lanzillotta – Yang-Tul [Reissue/1998] CD (Cold Spring)
A legendary sound collaboration formed of two lengthy pieces. The first track features Andrew Chalk (Mirror, Ora, Ferial Confine) gently reworking the sound materials of Ralf Wehowsky, a hypnotic, slowly-evolving drone with waves of mysterious sounds, static and glitches. The second piece, on the other hand, finds Ralf Wehowsky composing a frenzied journey into otherworldly realms using sound material from Andrew Chalk and Eric Lanzillotta (Eye Music). These pieces reflect a sound unique from the work of any of the three individual participants, but clearly related. Subtle, but full of detail for the willing listener. Originally issued on Lanzillotta’s label Anomalous Records in 1998.
Christopher The Conquered – I’m Giving Up On Rock & Roll CD/LP (Maximum Ames)
This Iowa singer/songwriter counts John Lennon and The Mountain Goats as influences. Ryan Adams is a fan.
Cold Collective – Bachelorette Party CD (Rise)
Cold Collective started with Tim Landers, some guitars, a drum pad and a laptop. Tim, whose previous acts include Transit and Misser, wanted to return to his roots and the things that made him fall in love with music. After writing non-stop day and night, Tim recruited Paul Debenedictis (November 5, 1955), one of his favorite drummers growing up in the North Shore Massachusetts music scene, and they went into the studio with Jay Maas (Dropkick Murphys Title Fight, State Champs) to record their debut album, Bachelorette Party.
Common Eider, King Eider – Extinction CD (Cold Spring)
A new ritual from this long running doom/drone/ambient collective, Common Eider, King Eider offering up modern manifestations of ancient energies, channeled into smoldering swathes of ceremonial hypnosis and explosive gouts of blood-red radiance.
Count Ossie and The Rasta Family – Man From Higher Heights [Reissue/1983] CD/LP (Soul Jazz)
Bandleader and drummer Count Ossie (1926-1976) was the central character in the development of Rastafarian roots music, an almost mythical and iconic figure. His importance in bringing Rastafarian music to a populist audience is matched only by Bob Marley’s promotion of the faith internationally in the 1970s. Recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, throughout the early-to-mid- ‘70s, Man From Higher Heights is a fascinating and successful blend of heavyweight Rastafarian roots rhythms and drumming alongside deep jazz improvisation and tripped out psychedelic fuzz guitar.
Curse Ov Dialect – Twisted Strangers CD/2xLP (Monotype)
Wildly surreal experimental hip-hop group Curse Ov Dialect return with the socially conscious, zonked-out Twisted Strangers, their first album since 2009’s Crisis Tales. Renowned for their non-conformist costumes and political ethos, the enigmatic Australian group has garnered a strong worldwide cult following.
Dance Gavin Dance – Tree City Sessions CD/2xLP+CD (Rise)
12 fan favorites, both old and new, recorded live in Sacramento, CA. [Limited color vinyl edition also available.]
Death And Vanilla – EP [Reissue/2010] CDEP/12” (Fire)
Death And Vanilla – Death & Vanilla [Reissue/2012] CD/LP (Fire)
Formed in Malmö, Sweden by Marleen Nilsson and Anders Hansson, Death And Vanilla use vintage musical equipment such as vibraphone, organ, mellotron, tremolo guitar and Moog to emulate the sounds of ‘60s/’70s soundtracks, library music, German krautrock, French ye-ye pop and ‘60s psych. “Recallis the eerie, haunted ambience of Angelo Badalamenti/Julee Cruise’s Twin Peaks soundtrack, Stereolab/Broadcast’s experimental vision of ‘50s lounge muzak/exotica and French ‘60s pop, and the narcotic country-noir of Mazzy Star.” — The Guardian
Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Press Color Remixes & Edits CD (Ze)
Twelve remixes and edits of tracks from Press Color, Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s acclaimed 1979 debut album, by contemporary artists and DJs. Includes remixes and edits by Charlus de la Salle, Glenn Rivera, T2MM, Psonic Psummer, DJ Mila, and more.
Destruction – Under Attack CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
New album from the German thrash metal veterans. “This is their best album so far and exactly what Teutonic thrash is meant to be!” — Rock Hard Italy
DevilDriver – Trust No One. CD/LP+MP3 (Napalm)
Trust No One. is the seventh album from California metallers DevilDriver. “Opening track ‘Testimony Of Truth’ begins with a flurry of melodic guitar work before breaking into a familiar DevilDriver groove. ‘Bad Deeds’ is a crushing piece of tribal drumming and heavy guitar work. Lead single ‘Daybreak’ initially feels like a Coal Chamber song (CC being frontman Dez Fafara’s former, and now reunited other band), before hammering into a whirlwind of blast beats and melody-driven guitars. After the title track’s haunting introduction, the band breaks into a groove that only they are able to deliver. In the metal community, DevilDriver continue to impress with their relentless work-ethic and seemingly endless rage to tap into on their releases. Despite numerous line-up changes and the reformation of Coal Chamber, they somehow manage to consistently pump out quality albums” – Rip It Up. [CD edition is available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe is packaged in a digipak and includes bonus tracks.]
Abdoulaye Diabaté – Djiriyo CD (Sterns Africa)
Born a Maninka griot, young Abdoulaye Diabaté was taught the praise songs and epics that his forefathers had sung for centuries, but he grew up also listening to griots (including older cousins) performing with Mali’s history-making modern bands (The Rail Band, Super Biton, Les Ambassadeurs and others). When he came of age he proved his mettle in Le Kené-Star De Sikasso, one of the most popular Malian bands of the 1980s. Equally at home in tradition and innovation, he flaunts a style that appeals to three generations, as his solo career has proved. This CD includes tracks from three cassettes arranged and produced in the early ’90s by Boncana Maiga (Alpha Blondy, Africando).
Digitalism – Mirage CD/LP+MP3 (PIAS America/Magnetism)
German duo Digitalism, who broke out in 2007 at the height of the modern dance-punk and nu-rave scenes with the ‘80s tinged dance floor slayer “Idealism,” return with their third studio album, Mirage. Following the trajectory of 2011’s I Love You Dude, Mirage has less of an edgy post-punk aesthetic, skewing toward the poppier side of the spectrum but still incorporating a wide range of influences and moods, spanning euphoric radio-friendly electronic pop and guttural dancefloor bangers with equal aplomb. Expect a diverse range of musical concepts on Mirage, from upbeat rock crossover to flowery, elaborate, 12-minute synth explorations. Single “Utopia” has been earning the right kind of attention, with dance doyen Pete Tong selecting it as his “Essential New Tune.” [Vinyl edition includes a glow in the dark slipmat.]
Discharge – End Of Days CD/LP/Cassette (Nuclear Blast)
New album from the UK-based crust legends. Formed in 1977, the group is characterized by a minimalistic approach to music and lyrics — a heavy, distorted and grinding guitar-driven sound and raw, shouted vocals, with lyrics on anarchistic and pacifistic themes.
Donots – ¡Carajo! CD (OK! Good)
A German punk rock band whose name was meant to pay tribute to pastry, but ended up representing so much more by that mistake, the Donots formed in 1993 in Ibbenburen, Germany. ¡Carajo! is their new album.
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Monistic Theory CD (Cumbancha)
Joe Driscoll has gained fame over the last decade for his unique blend of folk, funk and hip-hop. Sekou Kouyate, from Guinea, is one of the most innovative and virtuosic players of the kora, the 21-stringed West African harp. Their second collaborative album, Monistic Theory, derives its title from the concept that reality is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system. It’s an apt philosophy for this boundary-crossing collaboration, one that brings together two musicians from vastly different backgrounds in search of the commonalities that are uniquely revealed by artistic expression. The Guardian recently raved, “African, funk and rap influences combine in an energetic performance. They have developed into a tight, attacking unit, in which the virtuoso kora work is integrated into sturdy playing from the band. Exuberant virtuosic fusion.” Songlines Magazine calls the group, “A boundary-trampling high-octane hybrid in which the lightning fast electrified licks of Kouyate are matched by the explosive energy of Driscoll’s rapid fire rhyming.”
Petar Dundov – At The Turn Of Equilibrium CD/4xLP+CD (Music Man)
An 8 track stack of smooth, attractive techno, all perfectly suited to both club and home listening, with lots of melodic elements and even acoustic instruments in play.
Eagulls – Ullages CD/LP+MP3 (Partisan)
Whilst Eagulls’ self-titled debut album was a juggernaut of a record, often moving at breakneck speed and intensity, it was also a deeply melodic one, one that underneath the heady fuzz and gushing charge of the guitars laid a band with just as many pop leanings as they had punk. It’s these moments that have been brought to the surface on the new record: dense, deeply textured explorations that recall the shimmering opulence of the Cocteau Twins and the ominous gloom of Disintegration/Pornography-era The Cure. On opening track “Heads Or Tails” one might be temporarily fooled into thinking Smiths-era Johnny Marr had resurfaced to lend his melodic touch to the track but the song, much like the guts of the rest of the album, has a faint whiff of such timeless song structure but takes a new shape, unmistakably becoming the band’s own. On “My Life In Rewind” the group allow ruminating bass-lines to power the underbelly of the song as luminous guitar lines dance afloat on top and powerful but restrained drums color the background. Whilst thunderous drums and heavy hammering bass may lead the opening to “Lemontrees,” it’s songs such as these that display the group’s natural propensity for plucking out a melody as beautiful as it is gutsy from seemingly nowhere — it’s a trait that can be found peppered throughout the entire record. [Limited green color vinyl edition also available.]
Edward II – Presents: Manchester’s Improving Daily CD (EII Music)
English roots musical collective Edward II present a collection of rare and historic songs, known as the Manchester Broadside Ballads, dating back over 200 years to the Industrial Revolution.
Chiemi Eri -江利チエミCD/LP (Akuphone)
With the label’s second release, Akuphone continues to explore Asia with an original compilation of the work of Japanese singer Chiemi Eri, drawing upon 10”s released by the Japanese King label between 1958 and 1962 — a magical mixture of traditional min’y songs and Latin jazz elements.
Fruit Bats – Absolute Loser CD/LP (Easy Sound)
Eric D. Johnson is Fruit Bats. And Fruit Bats is back. Johnson has picked up the name again for a sixth album, Absolute Loser. Though he made music, scoring films like Our Idiot Brother, and built up his own Hulchica Music Festival in Sonoma, Fruit Bats was on hold following a family tragedy. His 2014 solo record, EDJ, dealt with that head on and it led him to realize that it was time to head back to the “punk rock” name he’d slapped on his music years earlier.
Gorguts – Pleiades’ Dust CDEP/LP/Cassette (Season Of Mist)
Pleiades’ Dust is a new one-track EP from Canadian death metal veterans Gorguts. Comments frontman Luc Lemay: “As our Pleiades’ Dust EP consists out of a single long narrative composition, it was not written with the intention of being edited in segments. As the storyline proceeds in chapters though, I was able to isolate this part called ‘Wandering Times’, which will give the listener a good idea of the composition aesthetics which are present throughout the whole piece. The lyrics tell the story of the ‘House Of Wisdom’, which is referring to a library that was based in Baghdad sometime between the 8th and the 13th century. There much of the intellectual activity of the Middle Age took place while Europe was stuck in the Dark Ages after the fall of Rome. Many scientific discoveries were made at the time such as algebra, optics, astronomy, and many more… Without the translation movement that brought this library to life, we would have never had the Renaissance that we know. It is a story about curiosity, beautiful minds and sadly, about how man destroys great discoveries and achievements.” The mind-bending intricacy of Gorguts’ aural landscapes portrayed in this single, over thirty minutes long piece of almost classically structured music, lends an aptly dramatic narrative to the story of a leading civilization abruptly returned to dust.
Grand Magus – Sword Songs CD/LP (Nuclear Blast)
Eighth studio album from the Swedish riff lords. Frontman Janne ‘JB’ Christoffersson has this to say: “For me, Sword Songs is the best Grand Magus album ever. The new songs are faster and more aggressive than on Triumph And Power, and we have also included some more extreme and harder stuff. I’m convinced that there are some future classics on the disc.”
Grateful Dead – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO (7/8/78) 3xCD (Grateful Dead Production)
In the history of Grateful Dead performances, 1978 is widely praised as one of the group’s finest years. This set marks the official debut of one of their first ever performances at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
David Grubbs – Primrose CD/LP (Blue Chopsticks)
Prismrose is a nearly wordless collection of six pieces for electric guitar, all given real time to breathe, grow unpredictably, mutate. The album begins with “How To Hear What’s Less Than Meets The Ear,” an eleven-minute duo written for Tony Conrad’s 75th birthday bash with Grubbs on chiming, tolling Telecaster and wunderkind percussionist and composer Eli Keszler on backwards-somersaulting drums.
Hard Working Americans – Rest In Chaos CD/LP+MP3 (Melvin)
Fronted by singer/songwriter Todd Snider, the Hard Working Americans includes guitarists Neal Casal (solo artist, Ryan Adams’ Cardinals) and Jesse Aycock, bassist Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), keyboardist Chad Staehly (Great American Taxi), and drummer Duane Trucks (Widespread Panic). This diverse group of musicians has managed to create an inspired mix of American roots music – rock, blues, country – that is delivered with energy, intelligence, and humor. Produced by Schools, Rest In Chaos is said to take the band’s sound into new and exciting new sonic directions. The thirteen-track Rest In Chaos offers a cover of Guy Clark’s “The High Price Of Inspiration,” with Clark himself sitting in on guitar, along with a dozen original songs written by the band while touring, the material recorded live in six different studios.
Hatebreed – The Concrete Confessional CD/LP (Nuclear Blast)
New studio album from the Connecticut-based metalcore unit. Frontman Jamey Jasta describes the record as “no glitz, no glam, just pits, all slam.”
Islands – Should I Remain Here At Sea? CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Manque)
Islands – Taste CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Manque)
Prolific songwriter Nick “Diamonds” Thorburn took a break from Islands to reunite The Unicorns in 2014 and release a solo album called City Of Quartz last year. Returning to his main band, he’s now released not one but two Islands albums. Taste is considered the band’s sixth album and sees Thorburn exploring electronic sounds. Should I Remain Here At Sea?, meanwhile, is the band’s seventh full-length and is a sequel to the band’s 2006 debut Return To The Sea.
Ro James – Eldorado CD (RCA)
Ro James is an R&B singer/songwriter reminiscent of the greats (think Prince meets D’Angelo). He credits his soulful roots to his father — a military man turned preacher — who raised him on a mix of gospel, Donny Hathaway and Otis Redding.
Demun Jones – #Beast CD (Average Joes Ent.)
#hick-hop.
Kaira Ben – Singa [Reissue/1996] CD (Sterns Africa)
Singa is a unique album, the only album by Kaira Ben, an assemblage of distinguished Mandé musicians from three West African countries. Singer Idrissa Magassaand guitarist Zoumana Diarra share career history in two of Mali’s greatest bands, Super Djata and Super Rail Band. Saxophonist Tidiane Koné was the Rail Band’s first director. Bala-xylophonist Keletigui Diabaté was in Les Ambassadeurs and continued working with Salif Keita as well as with Habib Koité and Bonnie Raitt until his death in 2012. And Cheick Tidiane Seck has played keyboards with artists as diverse as Fela Kuti and Damon Albarn, Youssou N’Dour and Dee Dee Bridgewater. The album these pros made together is an excellent exemplar of modern Mandé music.
Kekele – Congo Life [Reissue/2003] CD (Sterns Africa)
“Delicious melodies, inspired and original arrangements, faultless playing, scalp-tingling voices” — BBC Radio 1. “The sound is stunning and the orchestration perfect, including beautifully layered acoustic guitars, some tasty accordion, and on some tunes an all-clarinet horn section, harking back to the early days of Congolese rumba” — Afropop Worldwide. “A thread of nostalgia runs through Congo Life, yet the novel arrangements and loose-limbed swing speak of invention and ready wit” — The Wire
Sammy Kershaw – The Blues Got Me CD (Big Hit)
A blues-centric album from the country great, The Blues Got Me features Kershaw’s take on timeless classics such as Chuck Berry’s “No Money Down,” the Allman Brothers’ “It’s Not My Cross To Bear” and the song made famous by Solomon Burke, “Where’d The Money Go,” along with a handful of originals.
Kikagaku Moyo – House In The Tall Grass CD/LP (Guruguru Brain)
“Kikagaku Moyo is a Tokyo-based band that makes “feeling good music” with a psychedelic flair and a distantly upbeat demeanor. They’re quite good at what they do, not to mention incredibly prolific: Having put out their first album in 2013, House In The Tall Grass is the band’s fourth full-length in addition to a couple 7” splits with the likes of Kinski and Moon Duo. A ’60s psych throwback, this album utilizes a poignant balance of folk, pop, and jam-band influences, adapting them to fit within the context of modern music. That M.O. materializes in the form of classic, crunchy guitar tones, a sitar, and quiet acoustic interludes, all coming together through a thick layer of reverb. Adding some Tame Impala-meets-Junip vocals to the mix, Kikagaku Moyo create a work that can be likened to the Shins just as easily as it can to throwback acts like Les Rallizes Dénudés.” – Stereogum
Mark Knopfler & Evelyn Glennie – Altamira [OST] CD (Verve)
“This 10-song, lush landscape soundtrack from Knopfler and Glennie for the movie of the same name, Altamira, is a little gem of an album. The main themes here are gorgeous and the acoustic guitar playing is about as top-notch as you’d expect, considering it is Mark Knopfler playing guitar and composing. The percussion background is expert, whether it’s spooky metallic churning replicating bison, or trilly xylophone all from Evelyn Glennie.” – Short And Sweet NYC
The Ousmane Kouyaté Band – Domba [Reissue/1990] CD (Sterns Africa)
If you’ve heard Salif Keita, Sékouba Bambino, Kandia Kouyaté or Les Ambassadeurs (either the original ’70s band or the acclaimed recent reunion), you know what a marvelous guitarist Ousmane Kouyaté is, and you’ll jump at the chance to hear him with his own band. He recorded Domba in 1990 after leading Salif’s band on his breakthrough European and American tours. Jean-Philippe Rykiel, an arranger and producer who worked on Soro (1987), Salif’s monumental solo debut album, brings his innovative wizardry to this project as well, but here, while the singers (including Ousmane himself) are top-flight, the focus is rightly on the masterly guitar.
Kvelertak – Nattesferd CD/2xLP (Roadrunner)
“Kvelertak know how to make metal music fun. The Norwegian rockers proved as much with 2010’s Kvelertak and 2013’s Meir, which is why we’re so excited for their follow-up, Nattesferd. At first listen, it’s easy to think of [lead single] ‘1985’ to be an ode to the heyday of hard rock. That was the year Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction formed, the year AC/DC dropped Fly On The Wall, Mötley Crüe released Theatre Of Pain, and Twisted Sister begged us to Come Out And Play. With the tracks party-driving guitar riffs and a crunchy rhythm perfect for swinging around that mane of long locks, it sounds like an homage to all things beautiful about metal. But according to the band, that’s not exactly the message it’s trying to deliver. ‘Think of George Orwell’s 1984 instead of Taylor Swift’s 1989,’ the band said in a statement. ‘Its lyrics depict a cold and (not so) distant future where technology and surveillance have erased all forms of individuality and critical thinking. Needless to say, everything was better before — can somebody hit the rewind button already?’ Considering the lyrics are in Norwegian, it’s probably hard for most listeners to pick up on those vibes. Regardless, the track is a killer slice of ringing, exhilarating rock” – Consequence Of Sound. [Limited copies pressed on blue and white color vinyl.]
Kygo – Cloud Nine CD (RCA)
Cloud Nine is the debut studio album by Norwegian record producer, deejay and musician Kygo. His 2014 single “Firestorm” (included on Cloud Nine) set a Spotify record for reaching one billion plays faster than any other artist.
Jessy Lanza – Oh No CD/LP (Hyperdub)
Canada’s Jessy Lanza stormed the electropop scene in 2013 with her debut album, the Polaris Music Prize-nominated Pull My Hair Back. She’s looking to replicate that success with her follow-up, Oh No. The LP was recorded in Hamilton, Ontario with Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan, who also had a hand in co-producing Pull My Hair Back.
Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes – Junjo Presents: Big Showdown [1980] 2xCD/2xLP (Greensleeves)
Legendary Jamaican reggae/dancehall producer Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes is rebranding classic Scientist albums under his own name with the blessing of veteran UK label Greensleeves. Each are twinned with a second disc of the original vocal versions and a selection of DJ cuts. Disc One: Roots Radics; Disc Two: Barrington Levy.
Lucy – Self Mythology CD/2xLP (Stroboscopic Artefacts)
Lucy’s techno career has been marked by a number of highly experimental techno releases, and his next album follows the same path. Self Mythology has all the techno credentials you’d expect of a release on this Berlin label, but flutes and improvised vocals (from collaborator Jon Jacobs) push some of these tracks into interesting experimental space.
Clint Mansell – High-Rise [OST] CD/LP (Silva Screen)
The prolific composer brings his synths and harsh drones to create a score that represents High Rise‘s themes of concrete alienation, as well as his own utterly distinctive style.
René Marie – Sound Of Red CD (Motema Music)
After landing a Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy nomination with her last release, Marie returns with her patented ultra-sexy, wise, provocative and daredevil style on new album Sound Of Red.
Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost CD/LP/Cassette (Run For Cover)
Read any recent interview with Modern Baseball, or watch the documentary the band released charting the run up to and creation of their newest album, and the weight behind the words on Holy Ghost is exposed for all to hear. Falling in love and falling apart, faced with the loss of loved ones and struggling not to lose themselves, the 11 songs on this record are openly rooted in turmoil and confusion. Written in two halves (the first six tracks penned by Jake Ewald and the last five by Brendan Lukens), the album is a tempestuous storm of very real emotion, with the music as a means of expression for everything that couldn’t quite be said any other way. The shiver-inducing, stripped-back set up of the opening track is made all the more potent in its contrast to the rest of the record, but the hauntingly raw intensity of ‘Holy Ghost’ is an energy that surges strongly throughout. With no holds barred, the band lay all their worries and hopes bare, and invite the listener to do the same. Adjusting to the distressing nature of the events that surround them behind a mask of upbeat melodies on ‘Wedding Singer,’ yearning for the romance of home on ‘Mass,’ and clamoring for self-acceptance on ‘What If…,’ it hasn’t been an easy journey for the Philadelphia quartet, but their spirit remains resolute” – The Line Of Best Fit. [Limited color vinyl pressing also available.]
Mother Feather – Mother Feather CD/LP (Metal Blade)
Featuring ten tracks that marry the scratchy yet catchy, swaggering, and dangerous sounds of The Stooges, Blondie, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with the playfulness, pop sensibility, and exuberance of the finest ’90s alt-rock, Mother Feather is the combination of the band’s two independently released recordings: 2011’s Mother Feather EP and 2013’s Living Breathing EP – plus two new songs.
Mr. Stress Blues Band – Live At The Brick Cottage 1972-1973 CD/LP+MP3 (Smog Veil)
Bill “Mr. Stress” Miller (January 1, 1943-May 18, 2015) played with Steppenwolf, the MC5, the James Gang. He jammed with 100-plus bandmates, including rock heroes such as Chrissie Hynde, Peter Laughner and Jimmy Fox. This album is a collection of recordings taped live at the legendary Brick Cottage in Cleveland in 1972-1973.
Nino Nardini/Eddie Warner/Roger Roger – Alexis Le-Tan & Jess Presents Studio Ganaro Space Oddities 1972-1982 CD/LP+MP3 (Born Bad)
During the ’60s and ’70s, three distinguished old gentlemen who had built their careers playing “made in France” exotic jazz — Roger Roger (1911-1995), Nino Nardini (1912-1994), and Eddie Warner (1917-1982) — met every evening in the Ganaro recording studio, playing like kids with their new toys: souped-up keyboards that looked more like prototypes of spaceships to explore the Milky Way. Flying high on whimsical and joyful inspiration, the improbable trio used their strange instruments to sketch out the beginnings of something that, at that time, resembled the future of music; this set collects their productions from 1972-1982.
Ogoya Nengo and The Dodo Women’s Group – On Mande CD/LP+MP3 (Tal)
Ever since her childhood, Ogoya Nengo, baptized Anastasia Oluoch in about 1940, would excite listeners around her village with her singing abilities. Very soon she had received her stage name, Ogoya Nengo (which, in the Dholuo language, means “the most precious and expensive singer in the region”). On Mande features rich instrumentation, including nyatiti lute, asili flute, orutu strings, and box guitar, interwoven with fierce rhythms of ohangla drums, various types of shakers, and the scintillating vocal parts of Ogoya and The Dodo Women’s Group.
Jennifer Nettles – Playing With Fire CD (Big Machine)
Second solo album from the Sugarland lead vocalist.
New Order – Complete Music 2xCD (Mute)
Complete Music contains the extended versions as originally found on the Music Complete limited edition vinyl box set.
Nothing – Tired Of Tomorrow CD/LP+MP3/2xLP+MP3 (Relapse)
Deriving beauty from a turbulent life, Nothing is a shoegaze band formed by former Horror Show member Dominic Palermo. “Tired Of Tomorrow is [a] powerful batch of messy-yet-dreamy songs: The rippling sheets of guitar noise in ‘Fever Queen’ and the sludgy ‘Curse Of The Sun’ show that this is a band that loves its ’90s shoegaze, alternative rock and even spacious black metal. But Nothing also diversifies its formula. ‘Nineteen Ninety Heaven’ kicks off with a big, heavy rock beat, leaving listeners to anticipate another mighty onslaught that never comes. Later, ‘Everyone Is Happy’ sways gently with a crisp acoustic guitar while piano and atmospheric reverberations amplify the feeling of drifting to sleep in a haze of meds” – NPR [A very limited double-vinyl edition was also made available by Relapse.]
Nouvelle – Free Bossa [Reissue/2002] CD (Sterns Africa)
Guitarist Maurico Tagliari, vibraphonist Guga Stroeter, and clarinetist and pianist Luca Raele inhabit a rarified sector of the São Paulo music scene where Brazilian genres, American jazz, European schools and emerging trans-global styles intersect. For Free Bossa (Nouvelle’s fourth album) they invited Estela Cassilatti to sing with them, Marinho Andreotti to play the double bass, and half-a-dozen percussionists to sit in (but not all at once). They recorded a few choice chestnuts (Rodgers & Hart, Gershwin & Gershwin, Reinhardt & Grappelli, Redding & Cropper), several Brazilian songs and dances, an homage to Ornette Coleman, some very fine original compositions, and a poem, all in their own fresh style.
Novembre – Materia [Reissue/2006] CD/2xLP (Peaceville)
Novembre is a pioneer of the atmospheric metal scene. Materia is there sixth album overall, and is reissued as part of their new deal with Peaceville.
Oscar – Cut And Paste CD/LP+7” (Wichita)
North Londoner Oscar Scheller is one of the most talked about new indie stars in the UK at the moment. His guitar based indie pop and intriguing deep, rich vocals have captured many people’s attention during his live tours throughout 2015 and ‘16.
Perturbator – Uncanny Valley CD/2xLP (Blood Music)
Dark electro master Perturbator attempts to improve upon ’70s/’80s analog synthesized film scores, recounting John Carpenter (Halloween), Vangelis (Blade Runner), Goblin (Suspiria), and the like.
Pierce The Veil – Misadventures CD/LP (Fearless)
Pierce The Veil, one of the faster-rising, more electrifying artists on the scene today release their hotly anticipated new album, Misadventures. It is the follow up to the band’s 2012 breakthrough release, Collide With The Sky, that debuted at No. 12 on The Billboard 200 albums chart. The eleven songs on Misadventures find the band dealing with a variety of topics including self-worth and an individual’s ability to shine, the dream of leaving everything behind while you run away with the one you truly love, the challenge of outrunning betrayal, an undefined relationship, and the horror of the 2015 Paris attacks told from a hypothesized point of view.
Pinkwash – Collective Sigh CD/LP (Don Giovanni)
Debut album from the Philadelphia prog-punk duo. Comprised of longtime friends Joey Doubek and Ashley Arnwine, who have previously played in Mass Movement Of The Moth, Ingrid, Waxahatchee (Ashley is a current member), Des Ark, etc. The name Pinkwash refers specifically to a type of marketing that capitalizes on the suffering of those with breast cancer. After Joey’s experience of being the primary caregiver to his mother who died of breast cancer, and Ashley being his friend through that time, the name seemed appropriate. It aims to draw attention to the wrongs of a system that capitalizes on and trivializes people’s pain and suffering. In that way, the name is both political and personal, just as Joey’s lyrics are on Collective Sigh.
Ben Poole – Time Has Come CD (Manhaton)
Ben has been dubbed “f**king amazing” by Jeff Beck, “really great” by Gary Moore, “ferocious” by Guitarist Magazine and “one to watch” by The Blues Magazine.
Mark Pritchard – Under The Sun CD/2xLP+MP3 (Warp)
Following countless seminal releases that have seen Mark Pritchard through his various groups and pseudonyms, constantly propel himself forward into new areas of experimentation, Under The Sun marks his return to the production limelight by weaving traces from his vast array of previous projects together to produce a record that pushes his sound forward, in to something that sounds quite unlike anything he has put his name (or alias) to before. His Harmonic 313 beats, Link acid, Global Communication ambience, and Africa HiTech rhythms all glimmer throughout, but the overall direction of this record is rooted in the realms of modern composition, traditional folk and soundtrack-heavy incidental music. Guests include: Bibio, Thom Yorke, Linda Perhacs, and underrated and criminally overlooked rapper Beans.
Puberty – Puberty CD/LP+MP3 (Born Bad)
Debut album by the Seattle band, featuring The Intelligence’s Susanna Welbourne and Lars Finberg leading a wide array of co-conspirators both old and new. Big-band arrangements with wildly unexpected turns, delivered via eccentric theatrics and playing upon classically sexual, sultry, and moody rock ‘n’ roll with odd atmospherics. Influences include U-Roy, Tones On Tail, Fun Boy Three, prime sleaze Roxy Music, and other grandiose splatterings.
Corinne Bailey Rae – The Heart Speaks In Whispers CD (Capitol)
The Heart Speaks In Whispers is the third studio album by British singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae. Recorded both at her studio in Leeds, and in Los Angeles, the album is co-produced by Corinne with Steve Brown, her collaborator on her critically acclaimed previous album The Sea. Guests include Pino Palladino (D Angelo, Erykah Badu, The Who), James Gadson (Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers), Marcus Miller (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock), Esperanza Spalding and Moses Sumney (best known for his work with Beck). “Corinne Bailey Rae’s heart may speak in whispers, but it dreams in glorious technicolor. The title of the Leeds-born songwriter’s new album is an echoey chorus line that swims among the layers of its opening track – a song with the bridge of a boiling ocean that hints at dance-pop beats, reinvention. Fans concerned, from that giddy opener, that new love and a six-year hiatus have turned Bailey Rae into a generic pop artist should hang on for the second track. ‘Hey, I Won’t Break Your Heart’ is a gentle, soulful hymn to second chances, small enough for the jazz clubs until its lush backing vocals – which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Supremes record – kick in” – The Art Desk. [Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks. Also, a limited edition lithograph is included with purchase – while supplies last, of course. Vinyl edition due June 24.]
Rainbow – Boston 1981 CD/2xLP (Cleopatra)
A superb unreleased live concert performance from 1981 by the hard rock legends.
Red Krayola with Art And Language – Baby And Child Care CD/LP (Drag City)
When people search for nursery stockton to keep their kids engaged. Drag City presents a newly-unearthed artifact from the long history of The Red Krayola: 1984’s previously-unheard Baby And Child Care. Grooving sinuously in prime mid- ‘80s form in a production redolent with funk, dub and new-wave inflections, Baby and Child Care is of a musical vintage whose dry complexity is even more appreciable today.
Satanic Warmaster/Archgoat – Lux Satanae (Thirteen Hymns Of Finnish Devil Worship) 2xCD/LP (Hells Headbangers)
A split album between two of Finnish black metal’s longest-running and most potent cults.
Savage Warmaster – With Whips And Chains CD (High Roller)
Savage Master were formed in October 2013 by guitarist Adam Neal and Stacey ‘Savage’ Peak in Louisville, KY (of all places), and pack a lethal dose of female vocals soaring on Lucifer’s wings, over sick rockin’ guitar riffs straight from the depths of Hell.
Al Scorch – Circle Round The Signs CD/LP (Bloodshot)
Balanced on wedges of punk, old-time string band, American and European folk, and soulful balladry, Al is an entertainer, road warrior, storyteller, and one helluva musician. His second album Circle Round The Signs is built on a sonic framework sharing an intersection with the Bad Livers’ lawless next-gen take on traditional country & bluegrass, and Black Flag’s burn-it-all-down revolt and breakneck tempos.
Darrell Scott – Couchville Sessions CD (Full Light)
A deft lyricist who works in the idioms of folk, blues and classic country, singer-songwriter Darrell Scott has always been a quintessential Americana artist, long before Americana became the inflationary coin of the realm in alternative Nashville. In his long and variegated career, the Kentucky-born Scott has seen his songs covered by more than 70 artists, from Travis Tritt to Keb ‘Mo to Mary Gauthier. His new album, Couchville Sessions, is comprised of nine originals and five covers, including Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man,” Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” and Townes Van Zandt’s “Loretta.” The opening track, “Down To The River,” a Scott original, features a spoken-word outro by country-folk legend Guy Clark, who spins a tale about a crow’s nest made out of barbed-wire he once stumbled upon in a windmill derrick. [Vinyl version due June 10.]
Shagrat featuring Steve Peregrin Took & Larry Wallis – Lone Star CD (Cleopatra)
A rare gem from the acid soaked early- ‘70s of a short lived psych-folk project from Tyrannosaurus Rex guitarist Steve Peregrin Took and Pink Fairies/Motörhead member Larry Wallis.
Sinclair – Get Out Of The City CD (Dangerbird)
Every song that Aaron Sinclair writes has a certain underlying feeling. SPIN described it as “twitchy paranoia.” Baeble Music sensed a “strung-out urgency” in his voice, while the Austin Chronicle called his music “tension-driven” with “tight, rough riffs and sharp post-punk lines.” It’s surprising then, that in person, Sinclair is a quiet guy – reserved, humble, and even-keeled. Not one for self-promotion, he often shies away from putting himself in the spotlight. As Paste put it, he “lets the music speak for itself.” [Vinyl version due June 10.]
Slim Of 112 – Refueled CD (Shanachie)
Slim is the long time lead vocalist of the popular Grammy winning R&B vocal group 112, who emerged in the late- ‘90s as part of Sean Puffy Combs Bad Boy empire. Refueled includes a feature from Slim’s former Bad Boy label-mate Ma$e, and production by Patrick “Guitarboy” Hayes (Keyshia Cole, Tank), Oddz & Endz, Tim Kelly, Bridgetown, Kevin Rockhill and others.
Slow Steve – Adventures CD/LP+MP3 (Morr Music)
Debut full-length as a solo artist from Rémi Letournelle (formerly of Fenster), under the name Slow Steve. Adventures is a synth-driven pop album of ‘proper songs’, rather than the jams of his earlier work. The sound is maybe a little nostalgic, but it is also catchy and lovely and fun.
Sylvaine – Wistful CD/2xLP (Season Of Mist)
With her sophomore album Wistful, multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine is delving deeper into her characteristic ambient wall-of-sound landscapes that are painted by beautiful melodies, lingering guitar riffs, and atmospheres, which are all underlined by a solid groove. The Norwegian is not just another blonde driven by obvious Burzum worship, but has developed her own sound that owes more to the shoegaze of Alcest for example.
Linvall Thompson – Linval Presents: Encounters Pac Man [Reissue/1982] 2xCD/2xLP (Greensleeves)
Rebranded reissue of another Scientist classic – a crucial selection of Linval’s classic Roots Radics propelled rhythms recorded at Channel One and originally mixed by Scientist at King Tubby’s. Newly remastered and twinned with a second disc of the original vocal versions and a selection of DJ cuts.
Those Pretty Wrongs – Those Pretty Wrongs CD/LP+MP3 (Ardent Music/Burger)
Those Pretty Wrongs consists of Jody Stephens and Luther Russell, two old friends and veterans of the music scene in different ways. Jody was the drummer for the legendary band Big Star and now helps run equally legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis. Luther was the leader of seminal roots-rock band The Freewheelers and is now an acclaimed solo artist and producer. It was the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me that brought the pair together creatively, when Jody asked Luther to join him for some promo performances. A chemistry was immediately noticed.
Thränenkind – The Elk CD (Lifeforce)
“King Apathy effectively blends post-rock, post-metal, crust, and black metal in a tightly wound 46 minutes that depicts the struggle of remaining an emotional being in a society that seems more inclined to press us into dead-eyed, clock-punching drones. The result, frankly, is one of the strongest and most emotionally gripping albums I’ve heard in years.” – Angry Metal Guy
Tides From Nebula – Safehaven CD/LP (Long Branch)
Poland’s most popular post-rock band have released three studio albums so far and played over 500 shows all around the world, and have opened for Dream Theater, Marillion and Deftones.
Megan Trainor – Thank You CD (Epic)
Sophomore album from Grammy-Award winning multiplatinum pop superstar. [Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds three bonus tracks. Vinyl edition due June 17.]
Trashcan Sinatras – Wild Pendulum CD (Red River Entertainment)
“Scottish pop greats Trashcan Sinatras return with their sixth album, Wild Pendulum. It’s their first in seven years and the band recorded it in Omaha, Nebraska with Bright Eyes’ member/producer Mike Mogis. Judging from the first two singles ‘Ain’t That Something’ and ‘Best Days On Earth,’ the band have lost none of their melodic gifts.” – Brooklyn Vegan
Twin Peaks – Down In Heaven CD/LP/LP+7” (Grand Jury)
“You’d think that, with David Lynch bringing back the Twin Peaks TV show, maybe Chicago garage rockers Twin Peaks would change their name. Nope! The 2014-vintage Band To Watch is coming back this spring, following up their sophomore album Wild Onion with a new one called Down In Heaven, and they’re keeping the name intact. The band has added a member, becoming a five-piece, and they recorded the album live to reel-to-reel tape at a friend’s house in Western Massachusetts. Dinosaur Jr. producer John Agnello mixed the album. First single and album opener ‘Walk To The One You Love’ is a confident and relatively restrained choogler” – Stereogum. “If you’re going to borrow that name, you’ve got to live up to it. Thankfully Chicago garage rockers Twin Peaks do a decent job. On Down In Heaven their sound is less scuzzy and more indebted to 1960s pop like the Mamas and Papas. Groovy and dense guitars keep the pace over bright and memorable melodies” – Norman Records UK. [Limited vinyl pressing with bonus 7” also available.]
Usé – Chien d’la Casse CD/LP+MP3 (Born Bad)
“I listened to this one today based solely on the cover art – a bunch of dogs and a drum kit in front of a VW Transporter with some weird Neil Young-looking dude laying on the roof. I can’t tell if the drums are analog or electronic, but they sound pretty good (I get the impression that they are at least partially live drums). The synths and whatever else are in use all sound pretty rich, from lo-fi throwback sounds to futuristically hard saw-tooth waves. Parts of it remind me a bit of Add N To X’s Avant Hard, but I’m not enough of a student of the genre to say what else is going on. The Bandcamp write-up suggests that this is the sound of the new French garage movement, but maybe me and the French have a different definition of the term ‘garage.’ All in all, this was a surprise. I needed something a little different today and this delivered.” — Supercorrupter
Foy Vance – The Wild Swan CD/LP+MP3 (New Elektra)
Irish singer/songwriter Foy Vance’s new album The Wild Swan (recorded in Nashville and executive-produced by Elton John) opens with “Noam Chomsky Is A Soft Revolution,” a rock ‘n’ blues celebration of a roll-call of musical, philosophical, literary and polemical insurrectionists. It ends with a dash of uilleann pipes pipes and “The Wild Swans On The Lake,” a stop-you-in-your-tracks breath of Celtic balladry inspired by WB Yeats’ The Wild Swans At Coole. Vance’s rich voice also gets up close and personal on the hymnal “Burden,” then digs deep for “She Burns,” a song and a performance evocative of Bruce Springsteen’s “Tunnel Of Love.” On the ancient-but-modern “Be Like You Belong,” Vance’s soulful rasp weaves through pedal-steel and simple piano chords. “Ziggy Looked Me In The Eye” is a piano-based, strings-buoyed soul-stirrer, a dignified tribute to, says Vance, “various people who I think have been part of a revolution. I’m not talking about Che Guevara or Ghandi or even Russell Brand for that matter — I’m talking about personal revolution. I like that idea constantly revolting against your own parameters.”
Variant – Vortextual [Element Five] CD (Echospace)
Variant – Vortextual [Element Six] CD (Echospace)
Variant – Vortextual [Element Seven] CD (Echospace)
Variant – Sequential Sleep 1 2xCD (Echospace)
Detroit/Chicago-based electronic music producer and Echospace record label head honcho Stephen Hitchell uses the Variant moniker to release his more long-form ambient and drone inflected recordings.
Various Artists – Cosmic Machine The Sequel: A Voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde (70s-80s) CD/2xLP+CD (Because Music)
This sequel to the acclaimed Cosmic Machine compilation released in 2013 is another fantastic journey through time and space. At the time musicians were trying to capture the sounds of meteorites entering the terrestrial atmosphere thanks to machines developed by NASA engineers, a new generation of analog synthesizers enabled electronic music composers to take over the charts. Each and every one of the artists present on this compilation has dreamt of getting his one-way ticket to the moon.
Adia Victoria – Beyond The Bloodhounds CD/LP+MP3 (Atlantic)
Nashville singer/songwriter Adia Victoria’s music is heavily influenced by Southern literature, the Delta blues, classic country, modern alternative rock, and Afro punk, resulting in a sound that seems simultaneously old and new. There’s a certain honesty and earthiness in her work whether she’s rocking like the Black Keys on “Head Rot,” singing over a Delta blues riff for “Stuck In The South” or even during perhaps the purest musical moment on the record, the acapella “Lonely Avenue” where Victoria’s intonation speaks volumes even though the song clocks in at under a minute. No pretense. No jive. Ask about her artistic goals, and the songwriter/vocalist will say, “I want to shine a light on the unseen, and speak the unspeakable.” Adia Victoria is a truth teller. She admits, “I don’t necessarily paint myself in a flattering light. This isn’t the pop version of pretty or the strategically posed pretty-ugly. Sometimes I’m just ugly. There’s a brat in some of these songs, selfish, naïve, vengeful, but there’s also a tender eye that just wants the listener to feel seen and understood.”
Christian Vogel – Classics Remastered (1993-1998) 2xCD/2xLP (Sub Rosa)
Cristian Vogel is a composer and music producer, known for his DJ sets and live performances as well as his studio composition and production (having worked with artists such as Radiohead, Maxïmo Park, Chicks on Speed, and Thom Yorke). Classics Remastered collects his best techno tracks from the ’90s.
We Will Fail – The Hand That Heals/The Hand That Bites CD/2xLP (Monotype)
New album of anxiety-ridden tracks from Aleksandra Grünholz aka We Will Fail. It is as much a techno album as it is a conceptual noise experiment. Grünholz’s sound runs parallel to artists like Scott Walker, Autechre, Pharmakon, Daphne Oram, Pan Sonic, Grouper, Laurel Halo, Demdike Stare, Vessel, and beyond.
Michelle Willis – See Us Through CD (Ground Up)
Following in the footsteps of Leslie Feist, Joni Mitchell and kd lang, singer/songwriter Michelle Willis “sounds like God on a good day” according to colleague David Crosby. After having worked with everyone from Iggy Pop to Laura Mvula, Michelle’s debut album showcases her talent as a sultry vocalist and keyboardist, dipping her toes into contemporary jazz, folk and soul.
Wire – Nocturnal Koreans CD/LP (Pink Flag)
Eight previously unreleased tracks recorded during the Wire album sessions in 2015. “Nocturnal Koreans ranks among Wire’s most musically relaxed releases, with Newman mostly singing in calm, sometimes hushed tones. But it’s only relaxed in the sense that a sleepless night in your bedroom is relaxed—the pillows and sheets feel familiar, but your thoughts are riddled with anxieties over the unknown.” – Pitchfork
Erik Wøllo and Byron Metcalf – Earth Luminous CD (Projekt)
Electronic musician Erik Wøllo joins tribal-trance percussionist Byron Metcalf for an elegant album weaving melodic, vibrant soundscapes with subtle, grounding rhythms.
Olivia Wyatt + Bitchin’ Bajas – Sailing A Sinking Sea LP+DVD (Drag City)
Last year, filmmaker Oliva Wyatt invited Bitchin Bajas to add incidental music to the climatic sounds of her feature-length experimental documentary on the nomadic, seafaring Moken people of Burma and Thailand. Sailing A Sinking Sea packages the soundtrack LP with a DVD of the film.
Yak – Alas Salvation CD/LP (Octopus Electrical)
Yak have channeled their ferocious live experience into their debut album Alas Salvation. Recorded with Pulp’s Steve Mackey, it’s a wired and ambitious affair. “Opening track ‘Victorious (National Anthem)’ emerges as a quick yet powerful blow to the head, as if you were walking alone through a dodgy area at night and out of nowhere something struck you. Which is a great explanation for what happens next, since the visceral violence of the opener is but a gate for a restless 13-track journey during which everything — but boredom – happens. Single ‘Hungry Heart’ and Iggy and Lou’s love child ‘Use Somebody’ follow, the latter flowing through the brief demi-monde of ‘Wilting Away’ and into ‘Roll Another’ – in a sequence similar to what La Femme did with ‘La Femme’/’Interlude’/’Hypsoline’ on their 2013 debut Psycho Tropical Berlin. As we’re thrown directly and unmercifully into ‘Curtain Twitcher’, we’re already heavily bruised from the first half of the album, and will have to wait until ‘Take It’ to finally take a breath. Vaguely reminiscent of late ’90s Radiohead for its uptempo melancholy, this is the first track that somehow distances itself from the raw glam-punk that has been beating us up since the beginning of the record. ‘Take It’ embraces a more chaotic/hypnotic vibe as it comes to a halt, probably to better establish a bridge to its successor ‘Harbour The Feeling’, one of my personal favorites.” – The Four Oh Five
Bulby York – Epic & Ting CD/LP (Greensleeves)
Now that Drake and Rihanna have eased you into the Dancehall riddims to suit the warmer climates, we welcome you to make the full trek deep into Jamaican borders with Bulby York. The producer and engineer has worked with No Doubt, Rihanna, Britney Spears, and Madonna, but he earned his stripes with Sean Paul, Bounty Killer, and Beenie Man.
Young Magic – Still Life CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
The beginnings of Young Magic’s new album, Still Life, coincided with singer Melati Malay revisiting her own, in her birthplace of Indonesia. Having lost her father the previous year, she returned to the island of Java to reconnect with her family, dig up stories, and begin work on a new collection of music. The search led Melati deep into her family history. She rented a small shack by the water for a month, and with just a backpack and microphone, began recording – unraveling a past of superstition, black magic, and ties to the Javanese royal family. Still Life is a deeply personal and idiosyncratic record, somewhere close to the enchanted electronic pop realms occupied by Björk and Broadcast, yet unique to Young Magic. Found sounds and textures feature prominently across the album, including the Javanese gamelan, blossoming into ecstatic bursts during the climax of “Lucien.” Melati grounds the textured sonic world with arrows direct to the heart, like the arresting “How Wonderful” where the singer overflows with regret for “all those things I never said.” This is as deeply personal as the group has ever been. [Limited clear vinyl copies are also available.]
This Week’s Vinyl Exclusives:
Alessandro Alessandroni – I Cantori Moderni Di A. Alessandroni [Reissue/1972] LP (Dagored)
Dagored presents the only existing full-length recording of the legendary vocal group from Alessandro Alessandroni, who lent their voices to the amazing soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani and many of the most important Italian composers of the ’60s and ’70s. Transparent vinyl.
Antwood – Virtuous.scr 2xLP+MP3 (Planet Mu)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Following a few online releases using the literary world-punning name of Margaret Antwood, Canadian producer Tristan Douglas has chopped the moniker in half for a full-length debut. Virtuous.scr is themed around the development of artificial intelligence. Via a mix of mechanical sounds and melody, the record is said to contemplate whether or not an AI can have a set of ethics, and if not, how close can it get to being like human intelligence? Sonically, the album possesses a dark cartoonish cinematic feel, with the results pushing it somewhere near the realms of computer game music and anime soundtracks.
Bromp Treb – Concession Themes LP (Feeding Tube)
“Most dance music cuts up time like a log saw bearing down on a tied up lady. It’s dramatic and everything, sure. But you can always tell what’s going to happen way ahead of time. What if, instead, you throw all those beats and tempos at the ceiling and then just let the pieces fall wherever? Neil Young Cloaca aka Bromp Treb makes whimsical, jiggling electronics that go from dry to juicy to unintelligible and morph again & again before you even figure them out.”
Jim Bunkley & George Henry Bussey – The George Mitchell Collection LP (Big Legal Mess)
Jim Bunkley and George Henry Bussey were recorded by George Mitchell in Geneva and Waverly Hall, Georgia in 1969. The album serves as the next installment in the George Mitchell Collection series of early blues recordings which also includes releases from the likes of Mississippi Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside, Joe Callicott, Furry Lewis and J.W. Warren.
Camara – Before We Sleep LP (Particles)
Born in Canada, Fatima Camara was raised in a large Portuguese family where traditional song and dance were as integral to her family gatherings as food, laughter, and wine. Before We Sleep, her debut album, is as a collage of diverse musical influences that have defined each chapter of her storied life. Bass guitar lines wrought with the new-wave sound that marked her formative adolescence, drums that echo the electronic music she migrated to during her early adulthood in Toronto’s dance music scene, and an overriding melancholy that signals the conflicted feelings she has when considering the thin layer of dust that has collected upon her chair at the family dinner table since she made her move to Berlin.
Daniela Casa – Società Malata [Reissue/1975] LP (Dagored)
Daniela Casa – Ricordi D’Infanzia [Reissue/1975] LP (Dagored)
Società Malata (Sick Society) from 1975 is an extraordinary collection of experimental, ambient and electronic tracks from the Italian cult composer Daniela Casa. It acts as an aural reaction to the wickedness of humanity and the decay of our world. Also originally released in 1975, Ricordi D’Infanzia is comprised of eleven tracks of soft, romantic, exotic pop with a sweet and childish atmosphere designed for use in radio, film, TV, documentaries and educational projects. Transparent and blue vinyl, respectively.
Celtic Frost – Monotheist [Reissue/2006] 2xLP+MP3 (Century Media)
Limited edition color vinyl repress. Celtic Frost’s final album and first in over 13 years, the avant-garde 2006 effort Monotheist is an extremely dark, inventive, and radically heavy release that features monolithic, droning doom anthems that rival the primitive massiveness of Hellhammer as well as the gloomy experimental side witnessed on Into The Pandemonium (1987).
Chic – Chic [Reissue/1977] LP (Friday Music)
HQ-180gm audiophile vinyl LP pressing. In 1977, disco’s greatest exponent Chic (Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson) officially arrived with their gold certified self-titled debut and it’s runaway hit singles “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Everybody Dance.” Equally stylish and funky, Chic established a template here that would lead to unprecedented success and produced timeless material that far outlived the disco movement in the process which we now know is extremely rare.
The Crickets – The “Chirping” Crickets [Reissue/1957] LP (Rumble)
Lubbock, Texas’s most celebrated sons, Buddy Holly and his group, The Crickets, released this, their debut album, way back in 1957. Though it’s nearly 60 years old, the sounds are familiar to most everyone who has not been living under a rock.
Dark Funeral – The Secrets Of The Black Arts [Reissue/1996] 2xLP+CD (Century Media)
Dark Funeral’s classic early releases from the late- ‘90s are some of the most volatile offerings from the blackened pits of the black metal movement. Originally issued in 1996, The Secret Of The Black Arts is Dark Funeral’s debut full-length. With the combination of ultra-brutal riffs, pure blood freezing melodies, eerie classical themes and furious speed, this album is the ultimate Satanic symphony straight from the gates of Hell.
Miles Davis – The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection 11×10” (Fantasy)
Just in time to celebrate what would have been Miles’ 90th birthday, The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection presents all ten 10” LPs on which Miles Davis appeared as a leader for Prestige Records (1951-1954), plus a bonus LP featuring Davis as a guest artist with Lee Konitz, faithfully reproduced on (you guessed it) 10” vinyl, with the original LP cover artwork and liner notes included.
Destroying Angel – Conversations With Their Holy Guardian Angels LP (Not Just Religious Music)
Philadelphia’s Destroying Angel incorporate synths, piano, violin, samples, bass/guitar and percussion into their folk-y mix, bringing together their love of ‘60s acid folk/rock and post punk/industrial music to create something both dark, but beautiful and uplifting.
Djustin – Tryst LP (Labrador)
Like Grimes on Giorgio Moroder’s synths with Abba’s memorability, Djustin filters lust, love and hurt through suggestive synthesizers, whispers and soft soul.
Feral Ohms – I Fall b/w Sweetbreads 7” (Alternative Tentacles)
Bezerko psych/fuzz/punk guitar wizard Ethan Miller returns to the heavy with the latest arrival from Feral Ohms. This 7” includes a pounding cover of The Damned’s “I Fall” on Side A and a brand new original title, “Sweetbreads” on the B-side.
Fireside – Do Not Tailgate [1995] LP (Dine Alone)
Fireside’s 1995 post-hardcore classic is available on vinyl for the very first time. HQ-180gm.
Foodman – Ez Minzoku LP+MP3 (Orange Milk)
Since releasing his first cassette in 2012, Takahide Higuchi aka Foodman has become somewhat of an unofficial ambassador for Japan’s robust electronic music scene. He is known for mixing juke/footwork, minimal electronics, and avant-garde pop and collage sounds with an irreverence and sense of exploration that is distinctly Japanese. That adventurous nature continues on Ez Minzoku (translation: Easy Ethnic) with its bold use of bright, plastic-sounding MIDI instruments and negative space minimalism.
Robert Francis – Fire Engine Red 10” (Aeronaut)
Robert Francis is a singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles. His sound is a mixture of music genres including Americana, country, folk and indie music.
Stan Getz/João Gilberto featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim – Getz/Gilberto [Reissue/1964] LP (Verve)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissue one of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all time, not to mention bossa nova’s finest moment. Getz/Gilberto trumped Jazz Samba by bringing two of bossa nova’s greatest innovators — guitarist/singer João Gilberto and composer/pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim — to New York to record with Stan Getz. The results were magic.
Ghostface Killah – More Fish [Reissue/2006] 2xLP (Def Jam)
Vinyl reissue of Ghostface Killah’s sixth album. More Fish features several appearances from the members of Theodore Unit (Cappadonna, Shawn Wigs, Trife Da God and Ghostface’s teenage son, Sun God), as well as from Redman, Sheek Louch, Killa Sin, Kanye West and singers Amy Winehouse, Eamon, Ne-Yo and Mr. Maygreen. Production comes from Jim Bond, Hi-Tek, Kool-Aid & Peanut, Madlib, MF DOOM, Mark Ronson, Lewis Parker, Xtreme, Fantom of the Beats, and Ghostface himself.
Grant Hart – Oeuvrevue [2010] LP (Bang)
First vinyl release of Hüsker Dü cofounder Grant Hart’s magnificent rarities collection Oeuvrevue, originally released as a CD in 2010. Electricity and tension cross in Hart’s own songs as well as two covers of Bob Dylan and Love.
The Head Cat – Fool’s Paradise [Reissue/2006] LP (Cleopatra)
Limited edition white color vinyl repress of the rockabilly side project featuring Lemmy of Motörhead plus Stray Cat drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitar slinger Danny B. Harvey.
Head Wound City – New Wave Of Violence LP (Vice)
Head Wound City is comprised of members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Blood Brothers, and The Locust. All come from diverse backgrounds, steeped in metal (thrash and grind in particular), goth, and every permutation of hardcore and punk imaginable. [Limited red color vinyl pressing also available.]
Nikki Hill – Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists LP (Deep Fryed)
Released last year on CD – now available on vinyl. “’If Tina Turner and Little Richard had a daughter, and if she would have grown up with uncles like James Brown and Chuck Berry, she would be like Nikki Hill.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
Hollow Deck – Hobson’s Choice LP (Feeding Tube)
Previously issued as a cassette, Hobson’s Choice is a blend of traditional and experimental approaches that alternately puts us in mind of several units inhabiting the landscape of Strange Maine over the last decade, and the animated ’30s cartoons of Max Fleischer. And Hollow Deck have a unique way of quivering between their two main style poles guaranteed to put hair on anyone’s chest. From its first song, the album is a bridge between beauty (as personified by Mia’s singing voice) and odd instrumental work that moves from clutter to clack to clam in the space of a blink. A few of the tracks are so sweetly arranged — rural voice and flute gliding above warm fields — that it almost feels like insanity is on the wind when the musical proceedings turn dark and unruly.
iamthemorning – Lighthouse LP+MP3 (Kscope)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. New studio album from Russian progressive duo. Lighthouse is a rich and eclectic album, with echoes of classical music, the Canterbury scene, northern folk, jazz and electronic sounds.
Ihsahn – Arktis. 2xLP (Spinefarm/Candlelight)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Sixth solo album from Emperor frontman Ihsahn (real name: Vegard Sverre Tveitan).
Lil Ugly Mane – Mista Thug Isolation [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Hundebiss)
Vinyl reissue of Virginia-based rapper and producer Lil Ugly Mane’s 2012 album. “Mista Thug Isolation is far more than datpiff fodder. Lil’ Ugly Mane has fully developed into his ideal Memphis hardcore caricature and exudes pure evil without resorting to shallow shock tactics.” — Impose
Kel Assouf – Tikounen LP (Zephyrus)
Tuareg rock band Kel Assouf present their second album. With one foot in the desert and the other in the urban jungle, and lyrics about the Sahara and everyday life in both Niger and Europe, the band’s sound blends trailing drums, cutting guitar riffs, and Tamasheq chants.
Wynton Kelly – Kelly Blue [Reissue/1959] LP (Fantasy)
A favorite accompanist of Miles Davis and Dinah Washington, pianist Wynton Kelly (1931-1971) found his own distinctive voice in the bop and hard-bop worlds with his blues-inspired style of playing. 1959’s Kelly Blue features bluesy originals by Kelly as well as several standards.
Jordan Klassen – Javelin LP (Nevado)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “The indie-pop performer’s latest was tracked at Tornillo, TX’s Sonic Ranch studio, with Klassen performing the bulk of the instruments and handling all production duties. The 10 tracks are described in a press release as being ‘among the most confidently and imaginatively arranged Jordan Klassen has ever recorded.’ On the lyric front, Javelin is said to have Klassen exploring his depression and his mother’s battles with breast cancer. She is currently in remission. Sonically, parts of the set are apparently in the same wheelhouse as Enya, whom Klassen apparently heard a lot of during his formative years. ‘The record is a nod to the ’90s new age music that I grew up with,’ he says. ‘My mom was really into Enya, and I wanted to explore some of those sounds in a very modern way. I wanted to really embrace ethereality.’” – Exclaim
The Lines – Hull Down LP+MP3 (Acute)
After the release of their cult-classic singles, EPs, and LPs (compiled on Acute’s Memory Span and Flood Bank releases), The Lines continued to record, first in a series of home experiments and then in William Orbit’s Guerilla Studios. Unfortunately, these recordings were never finalized as band members began to drift apart. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Rico Conning continued working at Guerilla, spending the better part of the ‘80s engineering and remixing such artists as Wire, Coil, Renegade Soundwave, Depeche Mode and many others of your favorite bands, often in collaboration with Mute’s Daniel Miller. These tracks marry drum machine programming with classic post-punk textures in a way not dissimilar to other artists making the post-punk to dancefloor transition circa 1983.
Booker Little/Eric Dolphy – Far Cry [Reissue/1962] LP (Fantasy)
Saxophonist Eric Dolphy and trumpeter Booker Little made a handful of recordings in 1960 and ’61, shortly before Little’s own premature death, including this debut LP.
Don McLean – American Pie [Reissue/1971] LP (Capitol)
Standard weight vinyl reissue of the second studio album by Don McLean. Containing the chart-topping singles ‘American Pie’ and ‘Vincent’, the record reached number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold within six months of release.
Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Himself [Reissue/1957] LP (Fantasy)
This 1957 LP — Monk’s fourth for Riverside — was released just as he was becoming a major star in the jazz world. It was the pianist’s first (almost) entirely solo album, which allows the listener to intimately appreciate Monk’s artistry.
Alva Noto – Xerrox 1 [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Raster Noton)
Vinyl reissue of the first part of Alva Noto’s five-album Xerrox series. Here, Alva Noto works with samples from muzak, advertising, soundtracks, and entertainment programs — sounds one hears randomly in everyday life in an ever-present and available kind of public domain, and manipulates these recognizable melodic (micro-)structures by the process of copying. He alienates them beyond recognition so the results manifest their connection to the original only suggestively. The results are both rhythmically complex and melodically beautiful.
Nurse With Wound – Soliloquy For Lilith [Reissue/1998] 4xLP (Dirter Promotions)
Originally recorded and released in 1988, Nurse With Wound’s ambient opus was years ahead of its time, a groundbreaking set of atmospheric sound patterns designed for ritual ceremonies. H This edition has been expanded to a four-LP set containing the original three LPs plus a 40-minute piece from the original sessions, previously unreleased on vinyl, all housed in a rigid, heavy, gloss-laminated box with red foil blocking.
Phil Ochs – Live Again! 2xLP (Rockbeat)
Phil Ochs was a topical songwriter who was at the forefront of the folk music scene in the ‘60s and ‘70. In the spring of 1973 he embarked on a small US tour that included this stop at The Stables in East Lansing Michigan, which is presented here for the first time on vinyl (CD edition was released in 2014).
Plastic Flowers – Heavenly LP+MP3 (The Native Sound)
London-via-Greeces Plastic Flowers (aka George Samaras) offers his second dream pop LP, Heavenly. The hazy atmosphere created with the heavy use of soft guitars and multi-layered synth patters are some of the main characteristic of Plastic Flowers’ sound. BBC described his music as “very ethereal soundscapes accompanied by warm vocals”, and DIY Magazine labeled him as a “Greek wunderkind musician.”
Pylon – Gravity b/w Weather Radio 7” (Chunklet)
At the height of their powers, Pylon performed their final show at the Mad Hatter in their hometown of Athens, Georgia in the winter of 1983.Two enterprising gentlemen professionally filmed and recorded this show as a pilot for a potential Austin City Limits-style show called Athens Shows, but quickly abandonned the project. Shelved and forgotten about for over 30 years, this single marks the first newly released Pylon since the early- ‘90s. (The full live double-LP is due sometime in July.)
Steve Reich – Berkeley University Museum – November 7, 1970 LP (Modern Silence)
A live performance of four early works by Steve Reich: “Four Organs”, “My Name Is”, “Piano Phase”, and “Phase Patterns.” This performance marked an important moment in San Francisco Bay Area new music history with the triumphant return to the East Bay by Reich, who studied at Mills College with Luciano Berio, and who performed the 1964 world premiere of Terry Riley’s seminal work, In C, at the San Francisco Tape Music Center. HQ-180gm.
Rogue Wave – Delusions Of Grand Fur LP (Easy Sound)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Delusions Of Grand Fur marks the sixth album from Rogue Wave and is their first since 2013’s Nightingale Floors. Longtime bandmates Zach Rogue & Pat Spurgeon recorded and produced the album on their own at their home studio. Instead of recording demo versions that would evolve into a song, the band wrote and recorded these demo’s as the songs. The album is easily Rogue Wave’s least predictable, where ambient synth tones, mottled textures, and electronic beats stand in for the breezy, acoustic gems fans have long come to expect.
Jean Schwartz – Erda/Suite N LP+MP3 (Recollection GRM)
Beautifully executed, valuable reissue of pioneering 1972/1982 electronic music, executive produced by Peter Rehberg with layout by Stephen O’Malley.
Shibalba/Phurpa – Teachings Of Eastern Traditions LP+MP3 (Cold Spring)
The alignment of two esoteric/ritual dark ambient minds.
Soundtrack – Brooklyn 2xLP (Razor & Tie)
Original score and soundtrack to the 2015 motion picture. Besides the score by Michael Brook, Brooklyn also includes a various artist soundtrack, featuring a colorful mixture of vintage music classics from the 1950s. Limited 180gm vinyl pressing in deluxe gatefold jacket including four-page insert.
The Struts – Everybody Wants [2014] LP (Interscope)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. A UK-bred band full of reckless swagger and hugely catchy hooks, The Struts favor the sweet and dirty spirit of glam to modern rock ‘n’ roll. (This is the US release of the band’s 2014 debut album, which was originally released in the EU by Virgin France.)
Switchfoot – Nothing Is Sound [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (SRC Vinyl)
HQ-180gm color vinyl reissue of the San Diego rock band’s fifth studio album.
Til Tuesday – Voices Carry [Reissue/1985] LP (SRC Vinyl)
HQ-180gm color vinyl reissue of Til Tuesday’s debut album. For those of you under the age of 25, ‘Til Tuesday was a popular ’80s new-wave/synth pop band and MTV staple famous for first showcasing the talents of Grammy award winner Aimee Mann, who has since had a successful solo career.
Torn Hawk – Union And Return LP (Mexican Summer)
The solo project of video artist and musician Luke Wyatt bubbled up in the early ’10s with a prolific stream of lo-fi guitar and drum machine jams for labels like L.I.E.S. and his own Valcrond Video. On the new one, the Brooklyn-based imprint Mexican Summer says he “ditches the irony, distortion and electronic collage of his previous records.” Instead, Wyatt says he looked to the romantic 19th century landscape painters Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich to inspire Union And Return’s “lush and ornate” compositions. Wyatt returns to the imprint after 2014’s Let’s Cry And Do Push Ups At The Same Time.
Tusco – Suspence Elettronica [Reissue/1983] LP (Dagored)
Tusco is one of the many pseudonyms that legendary composer and producer Piero Umiliani uses to not overcrowd the synchronization market with his name. Umiliani was a well-known Italian soundtrack composer and jazz musician. He was one of the pioneers of styles such as exotica and lounge and used a lot of funk moves in his soundtracks, too. He also composed a lot of library albums, covering genres such as Spaghetti Western, Giallo, sex films, and documentaries. They were all self-produced in his mighty Soundworkshop Studio, equipped with the most advanced screening and editing systems of that time. Suspence Elettronica is a very rare experimental/ ambient electronic album from the early- ’80s with a great use of synthesizers. A long time forgotten masterpiece of early electronic music, reissued on white vinyl.
Yoshi Wada – Off The Wall [Reissue/1985] LP (Saltern)
First vinyl reissue of composer and Fluxus artist Yoshi Wada’s second album, originally released by famed free jazz label FMP. Recorded in Berlin on May 11 and 12, 1984, by a quartet featuring Yoshi Wada and Wayne Hankin on bagpipes, Marilyn Bogerd on adapted organ (hand-built by Wada), and Andreas Schmidt Neri on percussion.
The Wallflowers – Bringing Down The Horse [1996] 2xLP (Interscope)
First-time vinyl edition of The Wallflowers second album.
Peter Wolf – A Cure For Loneliness LP (Concord Music Group)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. “On his new solo album, A Cure For Loneliness, Peter Wolf considers his place in today’s rock-and-pop world. In ‘Peace Of Mind,’ he sings: ‘When I was a young man I believed in everything / Now I’m not a young man. I don’t know what song to sing.’ Through the disc, Mr. Wolf, the vocalist and composer for the J. Geils Band, which had a string of hits in the ’70s and early ’80s, examines his standing at this stage in his life. The 70-year-old shows his respect for yesteryear by tapping into the music of his youth, including R&B, Cajun, gospel and bluegrass. He brought his touring band into the studio and it supports him with alluring self-assurance. The album includes covers of Moe Bandy’s 1974 country hit ‘It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman),’ Thomas Wayne and the DeLons’s 1959 tearjerker ‘Tragedy’—and a live, amped-up bluegrass version of the J. Geils Band’s 1980 hit single, ‘Love Stinks.’ A Cure For Loneliness balances the gravitas of its theme with Mr. Wolf’s appreciation for what music has long been for him” – The Wall Street Journal.
Wolf Parade – Apologies To The Queen Mary [Reissue/2005] 3xLP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)
This deluxe vinyl remastered reissue of Wolf Parade’s debut album includes the band’s pre-Sub Pop self-titled EPs (released in 2003 and 2004) both of which are making their vinyl debut. The package also includes the previously unreleased track “Snakes On The Ladder” from the Apologies sessions. [A separate (first time) cassette edition of the album is also available.] “On first listen, Wolf Parade is just another Canadian buzz band that plays fun, keyboard-heavy, new wave-y indie-rock and sings in weird, affected, high-pitched tones. Upon further listening, the songs reveal a lot of strange and fuzzy little details, and the lyrics have more depth than most bands do on their debuts. The Montreal-based group was brought to the Seattle-based Sub Pop label’s attention by none other than Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, modern rock radio’s king of affected vocalizings. Brock even recorded much of the album in Portland, OR. The vocalist has more than a passing affinity for David Bowie, and if you love the Arcade Fire and Frog Eyes, you probably are already a fan.” — Mike McGonigal
Yes – Fragile [Reissue/1971] LP (Atlantic)
HQ-180gm vinyl reissue of Yes’s classic fourth album. Quintessential prog rock.
Cassettes:
Arbor Labor Union – I Hear You (Sub Pop)
Arbor Labor Union was born from a peach tree in Georgia in the American south. They play psychedelic, repetitious, and joyful rock and roll music.
David Bazan – Blanco (Barsuk)
Blanco is made up of songs that were previously available in a very limited edition 7″ vinyl series called Bazan Monthly, Volume 1 and Volume 2. David picked ten of those songs to update, remix and flesh out into a cohesive album format.
Discharge – End Of Days (Nuclear Blast)
New album from the UK-based crust legends.
Gorguts – Pleiades’ Dust (Season Of Mist)
Pleiades’ Dust is a new one-track EP from Canadian death metal veterans Gorguts.
Islands – Should I Remain Here At Sea? (Manque)
Islands – Taste (Manque)
Prolific songwriter Nick “Diamonds” Thorburn took a break from Islands to reunite The Unicorns in 2014 and release a solo album called City Of Quartz last year. Returning to his main band, he’s now released not one but two Islands albums. Taste is considered the band’s sixth album and sees Thorburn exploring electronic sounds. Should I Remain Here At Sea?, meanwhile, is the band’s seventh full-length and is a sequel to the band’s 2006 debut Return To The Sea.
Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost (Run For Cover)
The Philadelphia punk group slide into their third album.
Wolf Parade – Apologies To The Queen Mary [2005] (Sub Pop)
First-time cassette edition now available!
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