New Releases for October 15, 2013
CDs:
Alpaca – Demimonde CD/LP+MP3 (Robotic Empire)
Los Angeles/Brooklyn duo Alpaca is comprised of vocalist Justin Nuckols and multi-instrumentalist Allen Blickle. Their debut album, Demimonde, recorded over a five-year period across locations in New York and the members’ native Virginia, draws from material conceived during arduous tour schedules for Baroness, the accomplished hard rock band for which Blickle drummed. His dance, pop and melody-driven compositions juxtapose with Nuckols’s darker, groove-focused, and harmonic vocal explorations. Also available on color vinyl.
Anberlin – Devotion [Deluxe Edition] 2xCD/2xCD+DVD (Big3)
Two expanded editions of Anberlin’s 2012 album, each featuring six additional tracks and a bonus CD of remixes. Triple-disc version adds a live DVD.
The Asphodells – Remix LP CD/2xLP (Rotters Golf Club)
“The Rotters – Andrew Weatherall and Tim Fairplay – call in their disco friends, and Group Rhoda, to remix their eponymous debut album. Highlights appear from Weatherall’s protégé Daniel Avery with a slow, soaring remix of ‘We Are The Axis; a swaggering Wooden Shjips job on ‘One Minute’s Silence’; Hardway Bros’ lusting EBM revision of ‘Never There’; and most of all Group Rhoda’s nimble drum machine tweaks and minimal yet ornate overhaul of ‘Another Lonely City’.” – Boomkat
The Avett Brothers – Magpie And The Dandelion CD/2xLP (American Recordings)
Magpie And The Dandelion was produced by Rick Rubin who produced their previous two full-length studio albums, I And Love And You and The Carpenter. The album was recorded during the same recording sessions as The Carpenter and in an open letter to fans published in August band says the album conveys a feeling on “youthful wonder.” Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds four bonus tracks.
Bailterspace – Trinine CD/LP (Fire)
New album from the veteran New Zealand noise rock band. Bailterspace continue to remind us that we need guitar heroes now more than ever, providing a vital offering to those thirsty for six-stringed salvation in an age of laptops and pretenders.
Beats Antique – A Thousand Faces: Act I CD/LP (Beats Antique)
Electronic/World fusion dance trio Beats Antique brings you their new album and multi-media touring show A Thousand Faces, a journey beyond the sonic realm that s part odyssey, part genre-warping rock opera. The album is an epic two-volume adventure that follows every stage of Joseph Campbell s hero s journey with sweeping and lushly textured new compositions. Act II due next Spring.
Diane Birch – Speak A Little Louder CD (S-Curve)
Birch’s bears hints of Laura Nyro (when she was hanging out with LaBelle) and early 70’s Karen Carpenter (when she was ruling the charts), while effortlessly incorporating New Orleans second-line rhythms, gospel fervor, doo-wop harmonies, country-blues guitar and classic AM radio-style melodies. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds five bonus tracks.
Black Milk – No Poison No Paradise CD (Fat Beats)
Fifth album from the Detroit rapper/producer/MC. “As one of the most celebrated auteurs of his generation of hip-hop artists, Black Milk has conditioned fans and critics to expect the unexpected with each release. Few producers have earned the notoriety and respect he has as a musician, and when that is coupled with commanding talent as an emcee, it’s no surprise that his solo releases are met with exalted anticipation.” – The Echo
Boardwalk – Boardwalk CD/LP (Stones Throw)
“The Los Angeles based duo consists of multi-instrumentalists Mike Edge and Amber Quintero and their sound is infectiously soothing with miles of exotic tones to accompany. A brightly lit psych sound that reaches far into the past eras of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Boardwalk are among many artists who are creating a very special movement together.” – SoundColourVibration
The Body – Christs, Redeemers CD/2xLP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
The Body is an avant-metal duo with ravishing grimness and impenetrable walls of noise. Their new album incorporates elements of noise, avant-garde composition, and experimental electronic music into their crushing doom and searing black metal foundation.
Harold Budd – Perhaps CD/2xLP (Root Strata)
Recorded live on December 8, 2006 at a memorial event for James Tenney at CalArts, Perhaps was originally only available digitally. This is a much-deserved physical release of this performance, which is striking in its restraint and simplicity yet profoundly resonant in its depth and message. It is both a eulogy to a departed friend and a defining statement from an artist at the apotheosis of his career.
Castevet – Ovsian CD (Profound Lore)
New York’s Castevet is one of the most invigorating, unique and musically advanced bands in the extreme metal underground. Emerging from the same scene as Krallice, Liturgy and Tombs, they possess a sound unlike any of their contemporaries. The trio incorporates influences ranging from avant-garde dissonant black metal (Ved Buens Ende, Deathspell Omega), neo-classical, jazz and progressive metal, and while they are often associated with the American black metal movement, they defy categorization.
Cave – Threace CD/LP (Drag City)
Cave is known for playing with rolling funk minimalism; Threace finds them inhabiting their cut-up aesthetic with tremendous ease and fewer reference points than before. They access new depths of meditative stasis, and then torpedo the dream and turn on a dime to ride the riffs again.
Eric Clapton – Unplugged: Expanded And Remastered 2xCD+DVD (Rhino/Reprise)
New double-CD+DVD version of Clapton’s 1992 live set includes a remastered version of the original album along with six unreleased outtakes. The DVD features a newly restored version of the concert, as well as more than an hour of previously unseen footage from the rehearsal.
Cross Record – Be Good CD/LP (Ba Da Bing!/Lay Flat)
Between melody and discord, Cross Record’s debut forges a quiet path through myriad sounds. Strings, clarinet, flute, steel drum, bells, tape distortion and other instrumentation support Emily Cross’s enchanting vocals while allowing for silences to build like black holes. Her lyrics conjure a dark beauty that leaves an effect long after the album has completed.
Crystal Antlers – Nothing Is Real CD/LP (Innovative Leisure)
Crystal Antlers is a Long Beach, CA band consisting of singer-bassist Jonny Bell, drummer Kevin Stuart and guitarist Andrew King. On their third full length Nothing Is Real, the Crystal Antlers go beyond the beyond, with a record of songs that rattle and ricochet from desolation to delirium; you’ll feel as much as hear echoes of bands like Wire, Pixies, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.
Cults – Static CD/LP+MP3 (Columbia)
Static is the follow-up to Cults’ critically adored 2010 self-titled, debut release. Written and recorded over the course of 2012 in the band’s home base of New York City, Static is produced by Cults with support from Shane Stoneback (Sleigh Bells, Vampire Weekend) and Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Washed Out). The album is comprised of 11 tracks including “I Can Hardly Make You Mine” and first single “High Road.”
