Boo Boo Records

June Program Titles Released This Week:

As Cities Burn – Scream Through The Walls CD (Equal Vision)

For Scream Through The Walls, As Cities Burn turned to a familiar collaborator in producer Matt Goldman (Underoath, Meg & Dia, The Chariot) to help capture the signature frenetic energy of their live show. Goldman proved a wise decision, providing sonic clarity without sacrificing the rawness and honesty the band wanted to instill in the record. While this was the band’s most collaborative record to date, primary songwriting duties remained with Cody Bonnette and his personal growth since the last record shines through on how progressive and open the album is lyrically. It deals with the destructive tendencies and emotional crutches we rely on, both on a personal level and from a larger cultural perspective. As Cody puts it, the 10-tracks on Scream Through The Walls seek to be “like a good counselor, asking the right questions to allow the listener to work through their issues on their own terms.”

AURORA – A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) CD/LP (Glassnote)

The latest album by Norwegian synth-pop musician AURORA follows the release of her sophomore release, Infections Of A Different Kind (Step I), which was named one of A Bit Of Pop Music’s 20 Best Pop Albums of 2018. “Though still part of the Different Kind series, Step II finds AURORA traversing more experimental territory. The location where the LP was recorded helped to inform this new, unconventional sound; the artist set up shop ‘in a more lo-fi space than before,’ one described as a French chateau that’s ‘beautiful and dreamy’ and ‘far away.’ Much of Step II is said to focus on the ecological crisis plaguing society. We hear this on the album’s latest single, ‘The Seed’, in which AURORA reflects on the toxic ways we treat nature and those around us. ‘People say ‘live like you don’t care’ or ‘party like you don’t care’, but I like to care,’ AURORA remarked. ‘I think people do, too, now more than ever, for example when Trump was elected people became more involved politically because they were frustrated. It’s a time of open ears and open eyes’.” – Consequence Of Sound

Chon – Chon CD (Sumerian)

On their self-titled third album, Chon find themselves at the confluence of a great push and pull. Their debut full-length, 2015’s Grow, established their mathy, forward-thinking take on the genre, while 2017’s Homey furthered that sound while incorporating brand-new influences like effect-pedal-heavy elements of electronic music and trip-hop. Now, with Chon, the trio once again have kicked down their musical guardrails – but in a way that balances their more eccentric impulses with a steadying dose of clarity and restraint. The album is brimming with some of the most forward-thinking, intricate musings the band have ever attempted, from the deep progressive propulsion of first single “Peace” to “Spike”, which spins the band’s youthful tech and metal influences together into a flashy riff-athon. All at once, Chon respects the trio’s current listeners while inviting a broader swath of new ones in – the rare progressive rock album adroit enough to straddle that line. [Vinyl edition due July 12.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for June 7, 2019

June Program Titles Released This Week:

Apex Manor – Heartbreak City CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

Requiring less than two weeks of studio time to complete, it’s accurate to say that Apex Manor’s Heartbreak City was captured more than it was recorded due to the “everybody in the same room” live sessions featuring songwriter Ross Flournoy on guitar and vocals, Dan Allaire (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) on drums, and Rob Barbato on bass and production duties. The raucous result is a sonic spectacle that cleverly balances aggressive Dinosaur Jr-esque guitars with dreamy synth work that’s reminiscent of The Cure, all mixed together with spirited instrumental performances, nuanced melodicism, and lyrics that swing wildly between being cryptic and being profound. In short, it’s everything there is to love about early ‘90s pre-commercialized alternative rock but with a refreshingly modern absence of pretense or nostalgia. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Kishi Bashi – Omoiyari CD/LP (Joyful Noise)

Imagine being forced from your home. Imagine being sent to a prison camp with no trial, and no promise of release. Imagine all this happened simply because of the language you speak, the shade of your skin, or the roots of your family tree. For over 120,000 Japanese Americans, this was a reality during World War II. It’s a reality that Kishi Bashi seeks to reckon with on his latest release, Omoiyari. The strong conceptual elements of Omoiyari are driven by Kishi Bashi’s captivating musical score. Stepping away from his past loop-based production model, he embraced a more collaborative approach when recording, and for the first time included contributions from other musicians, such as Mike Savino (aka Tall Tall Trees) on banjo and bass, and Nick Ogawa (aka Takenobu) on cello. Kishi Bashi’s spectacular trademark violin soundscapes are still an essential component of his sound, but the focus of Omoiyari is centered squarely on its songs. [Exclusive indie-store-only colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Pip Blom – Boat CD/LP (Heavenly/PIAS America)

Dutch artist Pip Blom’s debut album Boat is as energetic as it is infectious. Recorded in a shipping container on the banks of the Thames in East London, its ten songs, alluding to the album’s title, ferry you through Pip’s headspace via expertly crafted compositions gelled together through their unassuming depth. There’s the kinetic combination of guitars from Pip herself and brother Tender Blom, the effortlessly captivating vocal range which can be authoritative and intent like in the driving album opener “Daddy Issues”, or soothing and warm as heard in melodic middle track “Bedhead”. Then there are the choruses that seem to stop songs in their tracks and lift them into a different stratosphere. Boat is an open book of Pip Blom, delivered via her undeniable knack for writing hook-laden, three to four-minute songs.

[Read more…] about New Releases for May 31, 2019

June Program Titles Released This Week:

Amyl and The Sniffers – Amyl and The Sniffers CD/LP (ATO)

Melbourne, Australia’s Amyl and The Sniffers’ self-titled debut album was produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A) and comes with 11 blistering tracks boasting ‘70s throwback anthemic guitars and breakneck drumming with human firecracker Amy Taylor leading the 29-minute auditory assault. The Fader says that, “the Australian band recall the heady days of punk: spiky, wild, provocative, and a little dangerous with a fierce live reputation.” Taylor explains that lead single “Got You” is “about that feeling you get when you first start seeing someone and you’re excited to see them, no matter what sh!t they got. You just see them at the pub and it feels like the most exciting thing in the world, like you’re so lucky they’re even there. It’s definitely one of the ‘sweetest’ songs on the album, and less punky. It was kind of inspired by Split Enz.’”

Justin Townes Earle – The Saint Of Lost Causes CD/2xLP (New West)

The Saint Of Lost Causes is the eighth album from American roots troubadour, Justin Townes Earle. Earle’s latest album finds a songwriter and artist who is unflinching and unequivocal in his truth. When writing this collection, Earle focused on a different America – the disenfranchised and the downtrodden, the oppressed and the oppressors, the hopeful and the hopeless. There’s the drugstore-cowboy-turned-cop-killer praying for forgiveness (“Appalachian Nightmare”) and the common Michiganders persevering through economic and industrial devastation (“Flint City Shake It”); the stuck mother dreaming of a better life on the right side of the California tracks (“Over Alameda”) and the Cuban man in New York City weighed down by a world of regret (“Ahi Esta Mi Nina”); the “used up” soul desperate to get to New Orleans (“Ain’t Got No Money”) and the “sons of bitches” in West Virginia poisoning the land and sea (“Don’t Drink The Water”). These are individuals and communities in every corner of the country, struggling through the ordinary – and sometimes extraordinary – circumstances of everyday life. [Double-LP vinyl edition features and etched D-Side.]

Fleshgod Apocalypse – Veleno CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)

Italian grandmasters of orchestral death metal Fleshgod Apocalypse find spontaneity rewarding on their new album, Veleno. Over the past four records – including previous album, King (2016) – the Francesco Paoli-led trio have planned every step, discussed every note, and ensured every salutation to Paganini, Bach, and Mozart was met with an equally brutal death metal equivalent. On Veleno, which is Italian for “Venom”, Fleshgod Apocalypse distanced themselves from distraction, unboxed the songwriting process, and let the inspiration flow freely. They’ve matured, blended more efficiently their musical vision, and walked away with 11 songs that sound like a new band with an insatiable prey drive. “Veleno is an interesting creature. It tries to accomplish a lot while at the same time making valiant attempts to avoid the usual Fleshgod Apocalypse tropes. To say that that the crew manning the good ship Fleshgod have developed a comfort zone in their branch of opera-infused death metal would be to put it politely, and it seems on Veleno that the group are aware of that, and tried to move outside those boundaries as much as possible.” – No Clean Singing [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

[Read more…] about New Releases for May 24, 2019