Boo Boo Records

CDs + Vinyl:

The Aggrovators – Dubbing At King Tubby’s 2xCD (VP)

Freshly sequenced and remastered, Dubbing At King Tubby’s showcases the mixing skills of King Tubby, Prince Jammy, Scientist, Phillip Smart and Pat Kelly on a drum and bass heavy selection of groundbreaking Bunny Lee dubs. [Vinyl edition due July 15.]

Alma Afrobeat Ensemble – It’s Time CD/LP (Slow Walk Music)

The third album from Barcelona-based Alma Afrobeat Ensemble, their first with Nigerian singer Joe “Olawale” Psalmist singing in English, Yoruba, and Broken English. It’s Time featuressongs that hearken back to the origins of Afrobeat: extended, elegant arrangements, socially and politically charged lyrics, and danceable grooves. Add in a dose of trance, some unique improvisational solos and a modern feel, and you have It’s Time.

Anderson/Stolt – Invitation Of Knowledge CD (Inside Out U.S.)

New duo comprised of Yes vocalist Jon Anderson and prog rock veteran Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic). 

Augustines – This Is Your Life CD (PIAS America)

“Despite our constant collective quest for The New, we’ll always return to those musicians who imbue their work with only themselves, vulnerability and popularity be damned. On This Is Your Life, Augustines continue to mine adversity for glimmers of hope. There’s more of an electronic presence and more influence drawn from outside the indie-rock sphere, but it remains resolutely an Augustines record. If you’ve been on the fence about the band thus far, this isn’t going to change your mind, but they continue to grow in sound and scope, with each LP bringing bigger ambitions and production that could comfortably be labelled bombastic. With each record the band releases, they inch further from the tragedy and pain that initially threatened to define them. It’s still there, but sits comfortably alongside thankful depictions of events which led them to this point. No longer having to scream to be heard, they’re able to imbue their music with the elegance necessary to create the truest representation of its message: it’ll be okay” – Drowned In Sound. [Vinyl edition due July 8.]

The Avett Brothers – True Sadness CD (Republic)

Seth Avett says that True Sadness is a patchwork quilt, both thematically and stylistically. Wherein a myriad of contrasting fabrics make perfect sense on the same plane, the album draws upon countless resources from its writers and performers. He cites pervasive and cornerstone influences such as Queen, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimmie Rodgers, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Gillian Welch, Aretha Franklin, Walt Disney, Pink Floyd, Kings Of Convenience, calypso of the 1950s and country of the 1930s. Most importantly, he assures, “Throughout the album, we stitched together the boldest red and the calmest green, polka dots and stripes, the roughest denim and the smoothest velveteen. They came together because they are the best patterns we have and because each of us brought our own fabric to the quilting frame.” 

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 24, 2016

CDs + Vinyl:

Jay Arner – Jay II CD/LP (Mint Recordings)

Jay Arner’s Jay II is music for outsiders who might not want to be insiders. Sophisticated synth-pop for sensitive types, existential glam rock for the unsettled-these songs are the soundtrack to fitting in, finding your place in the world of suffering, and finally coming to terms with yourself. In his quest for self-discovery, Arner channels inspirations ranging from the cheeky charm of Sparks to the regal slink of Roxy Music; the soaring hooks of Fleetwood Mac to the propulsive drive of La Dusseldorf.

Avion Roe – In Separation CD (Epitaph)

New album from the melodramatic emo rock band.

Luke Bell – Luke Bell CD (Bill Hill)

“Luke Bell is a country singer of seriously old timey tradition. He was born in Wyoming, where he grew up working on a ranch, dropped out of school to make music, and now he’s in Nashville, the country music capital of the world. And that’s not all—his music sounds like you could have heard it in the same honky tonk Hank Williams used to play (with the exception of a little profanity). ‘Sometimes,’ the first single off Bell’s new self-titled album, is a two-step worthy tune about the mixed feelings he has about leaving his girl behind. ‘So now I sit alone, but mostly I don’t mind/ except every now and then at closin’ time/ there’s a sweet memory/ at the bottom of my glass,’ he croons with his old soul voice, transporting you straight to the stool next to him at the whiskey joint. Makes you wanna wipe those honky tonk tears off his face” – The Fader. [Vinyl edition due August 17.]

Big Deal – Say Yes CD/LP (FatCat)

“In between stolen laptops and plentiful heartbreak, Big Deal had a right old ‘mare these last few years. Most people might respond by huddling away with Netflix and a bag of crumpets; Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe answered it with their most rip-roaringly brilliant album yet.

Their third album Say Yes is affirmative to the core, by name and nature. Saccharine vocals coat like sherbet, in tense contrast with a bitter­laced dib­dab of clouded melodies. Time and time again, the pair make zesty, sugary lemonade out of sour lemons. And even when they’re teary-eyed and falling out of love — on starkly honest standouts like ‘Still My Dream’ and ‘Don’t Forget’ — there’s a persistent feeling that mega-riffs can overcome mega-woe.” – DIYmag

Wolfert Brederode Trio and Wolfert Brederode – Black Ice CD (ECM)

After two quartet adventures, Wolfert Brederode returns to a piano trio setting, and Black Ice makes an apt metaphor for his new music, with its gleaming lyricism, transparency, and hint of danger. “I find the combination of danger and beauty intriguing,” he says. There is sleek melodic invention both from the leader and from Icelandic bassist Gulli Gudmundsson, and Jasper van Hulten proves to be a resourceful addition to the team, a tone-sensitive drummer adept at embellishing the sensitive musical language and sense of interplay.

Jake Bugg – On My One CD/LP (Island)

Raised on a steady diet of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the brothers Gallagher, English singer/songwriter Jake Bugg blends the melodious, working-class swagger of the La’s and the primal, bluesy simplicity of the White Stripes with the wry, weathered romanticism of Jens Lekman. Born in Nottingham, Bugg picked up the guitar at the age of 12, and within a year he was composing his own songs. Disinterested in the hip-hop and grime that dominated the listening habits of his peers, he turned to the classics for inspiration. 

Will Butler – Friday Night CD (Merge)

Friday Night is a live album of performances from Will Butler’s tour supporting Policy, his first album. It was recorded mostly at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on June 4, 2015. Five of the songs are from Policy, two are songs Will wrote for the Guardian newspaper last year, and five are new. “We started almost every show with ‘You Must Be Kidding.’ Not only does it build nicely, but the chorus lyric is literally ‘It’s only just begun.’ The blend of humor, Lord Of The Flies, and the end of the world also set the right tone for the show to come. But I thought the album should start in medias res to welcome the listener into a sweaty room with a tired, happy band and a loose crowd. So the album starts with the encore ‘Tell Me We’re All Right’ which was only ever played once, and this is the recording of it. We never soundchecked it. It wasn’t even written yet (you might be able to tell).” – Will Butler

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 17, 2016

CDs + Vinyl:

Af Ursin – Aura Legato [Reissue/2005] CD/LP (Blackest Ever Black)

Blackest Ever Black presents Af Ursin’s 2005 masterpiece Aura Legato. Af Ursin is the alter ego of Finnish autodidact composer/improviser Timo Van Luijk. His work is rooted in the use of acoustic instruments (wind, percussion, strings), but his special sensitivity to the timbral qualities of each instrument, and his deft blurring of them, results in a sound-world that is mysterious, amorphous and hallucinatory, full of suggestive shadows, creaks and whispers. Van Luijk’s process begins always with pure improvisation: music played in an intuitive, sensual way, without the employment of conscious technique.

AGF – Kon:3p>UTION to: e[VOL]ution CD (AGF Produktion)

Ninth solo album of the artist and producer AGF (Antye Greie, also Anye Greie-Ripatti or formerly Antye Greie-Fuchs, Laub). It is the 30th studio album as executive producer in collaborations with Vladislav Delay, Gudrun Gut, The Lappetites, Craig Armstrong.

The Aggravators & The Revolutionaries – Guerilla Dub [Reissue/1978] CD/LP (Burning Sounds)

Classic 1978 album recorded at King Tubby’s studio and mixed by Ossie Hibbert. Features Sly and Robbie.

Air – Twentyyears 2xCD/2xLP (Rhino/Parlophone)

Twenty years after their international debut, the French multi-platinum selling band Air, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, release their first anthology. The first disc contains 17 tracks selected by the band and the second disc gathers 14 rare and unreleased tracks.

Amp Studio – Uncertainty Principles 2xCD (Ampbase)

Uncertainty Principles is the new Amp Studio album, the solo project of Richard Amp of A.M.P.

As the album’s name suggests, it is an homage to the beauty that can manifest itself when random or complex processes are allowed to flow in the production and creation of musical or visual works. The double-disc set features new material, using sounds and field recordings, both new and re-discovered.

Analog Brothers – Pimp To Eat [Reissue/2000] CD (Mello Music Group)

Out of the attics of the insane comes one of the most overlooked rap classics of its era, full of bizarre boasts, ice-cold and meteor-hard beats, and the best bad examples. [Vinyl edition due July 15.]

Apathy – Handshakes With Snakes CD/LP (Dirty Version)

Apathy, a member of the underground hip-hop collectives Army Of The Pharaohs and Demigodz, has been extremely active over the past couple of years. Handshakes With Snakes features guest contributions by B-Real, Twista, Bun B, Ras Kass, O.C., Celph Titled and other respectable artists including Brooklyn MC Pumpkinhead, who passed away last year.

Atom TM – Texturen II CD (No.)

Part two of Atom TM’s minimalist, ambient magnum opus, Texturen, airdrops you into a void of undulating sonic modulation with nothing but the dream of silent huskies for company. Uwe Schmidt has always been a maestro of harnessing non-repetitive repetition and on Texturen II he takes that to a psychedelic extreme, constructing a smooth, digital crystal within the stereo field. Almost imperceptible sheets of binary sleet superimpose themselves on flows of deep, glacial pulse-width gestures. The ensemble is minimal but ever-fluctuating, expansive but hyper-detailed. A frozen mirage. Here, the vistas are endless, the peaks illusory, the troughs few and the symmetries pure. Eat your rations, try to keep moving and don’t go snow blind.

Audion – Alpha CD/2xLP (!K7)

New album from Matthew Dear’s techno-focused Audion alias.

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 10, 2016