New Releases - 10/18/19
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
Jump to… New Releases Reissues & From The Vaults New on Vinyl Live & in Concert For the Holidaze… Compilations Books
New Releases
Battles - Juice B Crypts CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
Battles return with Juice B Crypts on Warp Records to follow their complex, mind-bending predecessors Mirrored (2007), Gloss Drop (2011) and La Di Da Di (2015). Their latest album is a sensory overload of information that throws everything you thought you knew about Battles into flux once again. Battles' redefined line-up puts Ian Williams (keys, electronics) and John Stanier (drums) at the core of the covertly named Juice B Crypts, which was produced and mixed by Chris Tabron (Trash Talk, Mobb Deep, Ratking). Marrying synthesizer loops, cut-throat drum patterns and cyclical riffs, the album flirts with new technology, questions of authenticity and the technicalities of reinventing the wheel at the eleventh hour. [Limited translucent colored vinyl pressing.]
Jim James/Teddy Abrams/Louisville Orchestra - The Order Of Nature CD/LP (Decca)
My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Teddy Abrams and The Louisville Orchestra release their collaborative project. With The Order Of Nature, they've crafted a large-scale symphonic suite that has James' evocative songs as its foundation. Abrams built a grand orchestral house on that foundation, and the result is an explosion of music that boldly synthesizes rock and classical while taking advantage of orchestral music's inherently cinematic nature. Featuring unreleased new songs from James as well as re-imaginings from his solo catalog, lyrically he takes a deep dive into issues vitally important to him in recent years, including equality and intolerance, human connection and acceptance. Abrams uses repeating motifs to weave the songs into a seamless whole, with the goal of capturing the idea of nature in a cinematic way and turning James' quiet demos into a majestic tapestry that conveys The Order Of Nature's themes of politics, the natural order, and the hopelessness of hatred.
Jimmy Eat World - Surviving CD/LP (RCA)
Surviving is Jimmy Eat World's most personal, ambitious album to date, and frontman Jim Adkins once again proves himself to be one of the most prolific songwriters in rock & roll. As Adkins himself puts it, "Surviving explores some of the different kinds of weights my ego tells me I have to carry, what I see people around me choosing to carry and what I have found to be the truth when I choose to let go." Album track "All The Way (Stay)" extolls the virtues of letting people discover the real you while exposing your vulnerabilities. As a heady rush of guitars give way to an irresistible middle-eight, Rachel Haden's backing vocals and a saxophone solo, "All The Way (Stay)" showcases the restless creative energy of a band at the peak of their powers. "Love Never" pits the realities against the expectations of love, a classic slice of Jimmy Eat World wrapped up in a three-minute rush of towering guitars and crashing drums. [Indie exclusive vinyl pressing.]
The Muffs - No Holiday CD/2xLP (Omnivore)
"It's been five years since the last Muffs album, 2014's Whoop Dee Doo. That came ten years after the preceding Really Really Happy in 2004. In-between, front woman Kim Shattuck (who recently passed away on October 2nd) joined the reformed Pixies in 2013 for six months, and then participated in the Pandoras reunion in 2015. So what we've learned from all this is that Shattuck pretty much does things on her terms, when and if she wants. And that's to the immense benefit of the music. 'I wrote the songs between 1991 and 2017,' she said in a press release. 'We decided to have a long album and use songs that had been in my arsenal but were weeded out for super concise albums. They were all great songs and we didn't want them to go to waste. No way!' Nobody familiar with The Muffs will be surprised to learn that there is no filler here. Each of the 18 (!) tracks is entirely memorable, gloriously catchy and full of welcome, caustic 'tude. It's that magic combination of sugary sweet melodies and a bit of barbed wire that makes it all work, from the opening, over-in-a-flash 'That's For Me' to the closing 'Sky.'" - L.A. Weekly.
Screaming Females - Singles Too CD/LP+MP3 (Don Giovanni)
Singles Too is a complete collection of the New Jersey indie rock trio's non-album recordings, gathering the band's early 7" singles, digital-only B-sides, rarities, and one pretty great remix. The digital version also gathers six cover songs, including the New Jersey trio's re-works of songs by Neil Young, Taylor Swift, Sheryl Crow, and Patti Smith.
Rachael & Vilray - Rachael & Vilray CD/LP (Nonesuch)
Rachael & Vilray is the debut album by Lake Street Dive singer-songwriter Rachael Price and composer, singer, and guitarist Vilray. The 12-song set features ten originals by Vilray, along with two covers from the era that inspired him: Cuban composer Pedro Junco Jr.'s 1943 "Nosotros" and Milton Drake/Louis Atler's "I Love The Way You're Breaking My Heart", first popularized by Peggy Lee. Price and Vilray, who began performing together in 2015, recorded the album with Lake Street Dive pianist Akie Bermiss, a rhythm section, and a small complement of horns, plus a guest performance from pianist Jon Batiste on "Go On Shining". Dan Knobler, who had worked with Lake Street Dive on the Free Yourself Up album, produced. "The voices of acoustic duo Rachael & Vilray are magical enough on their own, but when they blend in song the results are utterly sublime."
Mark Lanegan Band - Somebody's Knocking CD/LP (PIAS America)
From the opening bars it's clear that Mark Lanegan's outstanding 11th solo album, Somebody's Knocking, was made by someone deeply obsessed with how music - with all its primal, spiritual healing power - truly penetrates the soul. As a result, there's joy in the music, as if created from a perfect set of inspirations smashed and grabbed from God's own record shop. From the Raw Power-esque garage metal grind of '"Disbelief Suspension'" to '"Letter Never Sent's'" rocket-powered take on Love-era kaleidoscope-psych, through the pensive subterranean murk of "Dark Disco Jag" and on to "Playing Nero's" sun-bleached riff on Joy Division's "Atmosphere", there's the glee of infatuation running deep in the tracks. This album is less the tale of a brooding, crepuscular rock 'n' roll veteran and more that of someone consumed by a lifelong love of words and sound fused together. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing.]
Cody Jinks - The Wanting CD (Late August)
Cody Jinks follows up his 2018 album Lifers with two new albums: After The Fire (released last week) and The Wanting, both released via the Texas songwriter's own label, Late August Records. A former thrash-metal singer, Jinks has become one of outlaw country's most popular new stars, amassing a passionate base of fans who gravitate to his blue-collar brand of lived-in country music and his fierce DIY aesthetic. "I tried to play the game a long time ago, I tried to do the clean-cut thing," Jinks told Rolling Stone of his indie approach. "I talked to some people who wanted to shelve me for a developmental deal, but it just wasn't a route I could see myself going down. Too much hand tying." [Two deluxe colored vinyl pressings are available: clear smoke and red smoke due in December.]
Chris Janson - Real Friends CD (Warner Nashville)
The new album from the country singer/songwriter features hit single "Good Vibes" and a special guest appearance from superstar and fellow Grand Ole Opry member Blake Shelton.
The Magpie Salute - High Water II CD/2xLP (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
When High Water I was released in August 2018, it was the sound of old friends coming together in a union of rock 'n' roll, psychedelic blues, rasping Americana and late-night storytelling. The Magpie Salute was pulled together by guitarist Rich Robinson and continued a storyline he began in The Black Crowes with guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Sven Pipien. Meanwhile, vocalist John Hogg shared Hookah Brown with Robinson as keyboardist Matt Slocum and drummer Joe Magistro both joined him for solo records and tours over the years. High Water II picks up where the band's studio debut left off, much of the album was written during those early recordings at Dark Horse Studios in Nashville which is why it feels like a perfect continuation of its predecessor. Talking about the flow between the two albums Robinson explains, "Both records are part of a collective journey. I chose the sequence specifically for each record. I wanted High Water l to introduce us to the world and the world to us. With High Water ll, I wanted to get a little deeper. To take people places they may not have expected to go."
Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2 CD/LP (WB)
Foals return with two new albums in 2019: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1 (released last March) and now, Part 2. Profoundly tethered but possessing their own personalities, the two albums capture the most compelling, ambitious and cohesive creations that Foals has ever produced. "They're two halves of the same locket," frontman Yannis Philippakis explains. "They can be listened to and appreciated individually, but fundamentally they are companion pieces." Eager to break the traditional pop song structure which they felt they were becoming increasingly tapered to, the 20 tracks defy expectation. There are exploratory, progressive-tinged tracks which occasionally break the 10-minute mark alongside atmospheric segues which make the music an experience rather than a mere collection of songs. Yet the band's renowned ability to wield relentless grooves with striking power also reaches new heights. [Indie exclusive vinyl pressing.]
Clipping - There Existed An Addiction To Blood CD/2xLP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
There Existed An Addiction To Blood finds Clipping interpreting another rap splinter sect through their singular lens. This is Clipping's transmutation of horrorcore, a purposefully absurdist sub-genre that flourished in the mid- '90s. If some of its most notable pioneers included Brotha Lynch Hung and Gravediggaz, it also encompasses seminal works from the Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and the near-entirety of classic Memphis cassette tape rap. The most subversive and experimental rap has often presented itself as an "alternative" to conventional sounds but Clipping respectfully warp them into new constellations. There Existed An Addiction To Blood absorbs the hyper-violent horror tropes of the Murder Dog era, but re-imagines them in a new light: still darkly tinted and somber, but in a weirder and more vivid hue. The album contains interludes with hissing recordings of demonic invasions, and guest appearances from Griselda Gang's Benny The Butcher and Hypnotize Minds horror queen La Chat. Other tracks feature contributions from noise music legends The Rita and Pedestrian Deposit.
Floating Points - Crush CD/LP (Ninja Tune)
Fresh off the release of his compilation of lambent, analogous ambient and atmospheric music for the esteemed Late Night Tales compilation series, Floating Points' first album in four years twists whatever you think you know about him on its head again. A tempestuous blast of electronic experimentalism whose title alludes to the pressure-cooker of the current environment we find ourselves in.
Glenn Branca - The Third Ascension CD (Systems Neutralizers)
The first release from avant garde composer Glenn Branca since his death in 2018. This is a return to the 4-guitar, bass and drums format of his legendary 1981 release The Ascension as well as 2010's The Ascension: The Sequel. The recording is a live performance by The Glenn Branca Ensemble at NYC's The Kitchen in 2016. Emerging from the late 70's No Wave scene and moving into composition, Branca's 45 years of work as a composer included music for experimental rock bands, large ensemble instrumentals for electric guitars, symphonies for both electric instrumentation and acoustic orchestras, chamber ensembles, an opera, a ballet, choral works, and music for film, dance, theater, and installation art.
Corridor - Junior CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)
Corridor is a group from Montreal. The rock 'n' roll band had barely inked their record deal with Sub Pop when they surfed into studio, racing against time to make the most dazzling, immediate and inventive album of their young career: 39 minutes of darting and dodging guitars, spiraling vocal harmonies, and the complicated, goldenrod nostalgia of a Sunday mid-afternoon. Junior is the band's third full-length; however, while 2015's Le Voyage Éternel and 2017's Supermercado were made languorously, taking shape across whole seasons, Clipping offered no such indulgence while crafting Junior. This time Dominic Berthiaume (vocals/bass), Julian Perreault (guitar), Jonathan Robert (vocals/guitar/synths), and Julien Bakvis (drums) conceived six of the album's ten tracks during a single weekend. The timelessness of the group's straight-forward setup underpins their sound: a rock 'n' roll mixed with punk and pop, psych and jangle, daydream and swoon. This is music that's muscular, exciting and full of love, its riffs a kind of medicine.
Patrick Watson - Wave CD/LP (Domino)
Watson's sixth studio album is about having a wave knock you over when you realize everything you have in life can be wiped away in a moment - and then learning how not to drown in the process. The songs are about how sometimes you have to sing a love song to yourself when no one else will, allowing the sound carry you and learning to trust where you will land. It is very personal and intimate, and it is the most humble of all their records. NPR Music deemed "Broken" as "dreamily rendered, falsetto-rich ruminations on the way human beings are wired" and the track went on to be featured in several TV series including Grey's Anatomy, The Good Doctor and Burden of Truth. Limited edition blue vinyl pressing.
Common Holly - When I Say To You Black Lightning CD/LP (Barsuk)
Holding fast to the emotional honesty of Playing House (2017), Common Holly's sophomore record, When I Say To You Black Lightning, is a look outward; an exploration of the ways in which we all experience pain, fear and self-delusion, and how we can learn to confront those feelings with boldness. A swift change of course, the album couples a submergence into the dark and dissonant with its consolation in harmony and a dose of dry humor. The record is more experimental than Common Holly songwriter Brigitte Naggar's debut. It's rougher, looser, louder and more atonal. When I Say To You Black Lightning ditches fear without losing vulnerability, and trades in sadness for the healing powers of anger, and the strength of observing, recognizing and confronting. Through its nine labyrinthian yet catchy tracks, shaped sonically by the seriously unique visions of Devon Bate, Hamish Mitchell, and Naggar herself, the album observes the complexities of mental health, the precarity of life, and the challenges of finding strength in the face of grave misunderstanding.
Garcia Peoples - One Step Beyond CD/LP+MP3 (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
Welcome to the sound of Garcia Peoples at full speed. Without losing a ray of sunshine or a drop of dew, One Step Behind is the first major statement by the malleable Brooklyn sextet. The 32-minute title cut highlights the twin guitars and songwriting of Tom Malach and Danny Arakaki and, instead of pointing itself towards one possible future for the band, just zaps itself square into the thick of it. Encompassing a range of moods and scenes in one flowing arc (plus a coda), it's less a piece of music to listen to than it is a zone to occupy, a portal for all open-eared heads. The band's third album in a year-and-a-half, "One Step Behind" is unquestionably their boldest yet. Whether or not you thought you knew Garcia Peoples' music, One Step Behind is something new and beautiful, for new heads and old. No matter where you stand--behind, beyond, or another plane altogether - One Step Behind is ready. For those about to get on the bus, we salute you.
Vida Blue - Crossing Lines CD/2xLP (Friends & Family)
Vida Blue is a trio featuring Page McConnell (Phish), with Oteil Burbridge (The Allman Brothers Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Dead & Company), and Russell Batiste (The Meters).
White Reaper - You Deserve Love CD/LP (Elektra)
Recorded with producer Jay Joyce in Nashville, Tennessee, You Deserve Love marks White Reaper's Elektra Records debut and follows their celebrated 2017 album, The World's Best American Band. The album is a collection of smart, sharply written songs of doubt, dislocation, and elusive and often complicated love.
Ali Barter - Hello, I'm Doing My Best CD/LP (PIAS America)
Two years on from her blistering debut, A Suitable Girl, Ali Barter makes her triumphant return with follow-up Hello, I'm Doing My Best. This revealing collection of songs explores her most formative relationships with her body, her instincts, her sobriety and her connections to the people she loves most. Hello, I'm Doing My Best is a sentiment almost anyone can relate to, and that universality is the undeniable pull of Ali Barter's work. From her breakout single "Girlie Bits" to recent cut "UR A Piece Of Shit", Barter spins sobering honesty through sugary pop songs with a one-two punch of staunch self-assurance and touching vulnerability that is uniquely her own.
Hovvdy - Heavy Lifter CD/LP+MP3 (Double Double Whammy)
Charlie Martin and Will Taylor met at a baseball game while on tour drumming for different bands. Back home in Austin, the two Texas natives discovered both held batches of compatible songs, intended for solo projects. They merged as Hovvdy instead. Charlie and Will create like satellites on the same orbit, combining bedroom recordings into a singular worn-in sound. Their downtempo rock found an audience in the Austin and New Orleans scenes, elevated by support from small indie Sports Day Records. Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Electric Guest - Kin CD/LP (Atlantic)
Kin marks Electric Guest's first LP in two years as well as the duo's first new music since Taccone earned a 2019 Grammy award for co-writing and co-producing Portugal. Co-produced by Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, Health, Foster the People), Kin sees Taccone and Compton pushing modern pop towards their own unique worldview, melding sunshine soul grooves and sugar candy hooks with ambitious production and a subversive lyrical power.
Carla dal Forno - Look Up Sharp CD (Kallista Records)
Carla Dal Forno beckons a bold new era in her peerless output pushing her dub-damaged DIY dispatches to the limits of flawless dream-pop. In a transformative move towards crystal clear vocals and sharpened production, Look Up Sharp is an evolutionary leap from the thick fog and pastoral stillness of her Blackest Ever Black missives, You Know What It's Like and The Garden EP. The small-town dreams and inertia that preoccupied dal Forno's first album have dissolved into the chaotic city, its shifting identities, far-flung surroundings and blank faces. Look Up Sharp is the story of this life in flux, longing for intimacy, falling short and embracing the unfamiliar. In her own territory between plaintive pop, folk, and post-punk, dal Forno conjures the ghosts of AC Marias, Virginia Astley, and Broadcast through her brushwork of art-damaged fx and spectral atmospheres. Vinyl due out 10/25.
Richard Dawson - 2020 CD/LP (Weird World)
2020 is the sixth solo album from Richard Dawson, the black-humoured bard of Newcastle. The album is an utterly contemporary state-of-the-nation study that uncovers a tumultuous and bleak time. Here is an island country in a state of flux; a society on the edge of mental meltdown. On 2020, Dawson introduces us to grand themes through small lives: the disgruntled civil servant dreaming of better days, the anxiety-addled jogger listlessly searching Zoopla for houses they cannot afford, amateur footballers who think they're Lionel Messi and beleaguered pub landlords battling rising floodwaters. These are portraits of human beings struggling with recognizable (and dare we say it, relatable) concerns, conflicts and desires. Indie exclusive red vinyl pressing.
Vagabon - Vagabon CD (Nonsusch)
Vagabon's sophomore album, All The Women In Me, follows up her breakout debut, Infinite Worlds (2017), and is an artistic leap for Lætitia Tamko, who wrote and produced the entire album. Guitar-driven melodies are largely absent, replaced by hybridized analog and digital arrangements. While Infinite Worlds situated the last Vagabon project in the realm of indie rock, All The Women In Me is not easily defined. Grounded by Tamko's expressive voice and knack for unique melodies, the album flits between genres, never lingering too long on one sensibility. Lead single "Flood Hands" exemplifies this growth; the production ebbs like a gentle tide before a cavernous drumbeat kicks in and the tone shifts completely. "'Flood Hands' is a track I originally produced and arranged for a well-known pop-duo to have on their album," Tamko says. "Knowing I was writing this song for musicians I admire, allowed me this relief from my writer's block. I used this assignment as a chance to flex my production muscles and write something I wouldn't have written as a Vagabon song a couple years ago. The result felt like a triumph for me in my progression as an artist and I just couldn't stand to part with the song by the time I was finished." [Vinyl edition December 13.]
David Newbould - Sin & Redemption CD (Rock Ridge Music)
David Newbould's voice embodies a high and lonesome state of being, evoking winds that blow through valleys of fear and over plains of wistful peace.
Fastball - The Help Machine CD/LP (33 1/3)
Fastball once again demonstrates the distinctive songwriting, expressive vocals and inventive melodic sensibilities of Miles Zuniga and his bandmate Tony Scalzo. With drummer, Joey Shuffield completing the longstanding lineup, the trio's time tested creative rapport is a potent as ever.
Stephen Bishop - We'll Talk About It Later In The Car CD (BMG)
New album from the multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter, whose timeless hits include "On And On", "Save It For A Rainy Day", "It Might Be You" and who wrote the Oscar-nominated song "Separate Lives." Bishop says that the record contains "songs that should have been hits 40 years ago," originally started as a demo project of tracks he wrote at the beginning of his career, but as he kept recording the idea of turning it into a proper album took shape. [Vinyl edition due November 8.]
Homeboy Sandman - Dusty CD/LP (Mello Music Group)
The Queens virtuoso delivers 15 soul-assessing confessionals that sweep the entropy and daily static, the distortion and psychic silt of modern life onto wax. This is sacred dust, alchemical practice to convert anxiety into the highest form of creativity.
GA-20 - Lonely Soul CD/LP (Karma Chief/Colemine)
GA-20 was formed by friends Pat Faherty and Matthew Stubbs in Boston, MA in 2018. The project was born out of their mutual love of heavy traditional Blues, R&B, and Rock & Roll of the late 50s and early 60s. Faherty and Stubbs bonded over legendary artists like Lazy Lester, J.B. Lenoir, Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Junior Wells. Feeling a void in current music, the duo has set out to write, record and perform a modern version of this beloved art form. [Limited edition red colored vinyl pressing.]
Jake La Botz - They're Coming For Me CD/LP (Hi-Style)
Jake La Botz brings a lifetime of unconventional stories crackling to cinematic life on his new album. They're Coming For Me deftly ties threads from La Botz's background in Chicago blues, gospel, early rock 'n roll, American folksong traditions, and a dash of country twang into a grooving knot of warm-timbred Americana.
Jimmy "Duck" Holmes - Cypress Grove CD/LP (Easy Eye Sound)
72-year-old bluesman Jimmy "Duck" Holmes' new album, the Dan Auerbach-produced Cypress Grove, captures the raw, explosive sound of real Mississippi juke-joint blues today. It is an aural postcard of a typical Saturday night at Holmes' Blue Front Café, America's longest operating juke joint. Cypress Grove is anchored by tradition - which is natural, since Holmes is the last of the original torchbearers of the rural style known as Bentonia blues - but it's also explosive, raw, and unpredictably in the moment. Featuring an all-star cast of players including Auerbach, Marcus King, Eric Deaton and Sam Bacco, as well as Holmes' repertoire of songs spanning nearly a century, the adventurous 11-song set is an untamed bridge between the present and the classic sounds of the Delta.
Bill Orcutt - Odds Against Tomorrow CD/LP (Palilalia)
After two LPs and over half a decade spent toiling in the margins of the American Songbook, Bill Orcutt returns to original composition and the blues with Odds Against Tomorrow, which retrofits familiar folk/blues forms to the unique sound of Orcutt's guitar. With its nods to existing musics, half-step fluctuations, and near-songwriter-ly manipulations of tension/release, Odds Against Tomorrow is a rock record -- almost. Clearly and simply recorded through a clattering Fender Twin in Orcutt's living room and lovingly mixed by Bay Area neighbor and pedal-steel savant Chuck Johnson, the precision of its technique and the swaying Child-ballad logic of its gentler improvisations comfortably seats it between John Mayall and Richard Thompson in your Ikea Kallax. Odds Against Tomorrow challenges contemporary solo guitar practice in a way that simultaneously nullifies hazy dreams of folk purity and establishes a new high-water mark for blues-rock reconstruction.
Saariselka - The Ground Our Sky CD/LP+MP3 (Temporary Residence)
Saariselka is inspired by the meeting of earth and light, where slowly moving land masses merge with enveloping light fields. This sonic collaboration between composers Marielle Jakobsons (Fender Rhodes, organ, synthesizers) and Chuck Johnson (pedal steel guitar and treatments) is as expressive as it is enigmatic. On their debut album, The Ground Our Sky, a kind of new ambient Americana is unearthed and explored.
Nils Frahm - All Encores CD (Erased Tapes)
All Encores collects all three installments of his Encore EP series. Whilst Encores 1 focused on an acoustic pallet of sounds with solo piano and harmonium at the core, and Encores 2 explored more ambient landscapes, Encores 3 sees Nils expand on the percussive and electronic elements in his work. "The idea behind All Encores is one we had from before (2018 album) All Melody; to separate releases each with their own distinct musical style and theme, perhaps even as a triple album. But All Melody became larger than itself and took over any initial concepts. I think the idea of All Encores is like musical islands that compliment All Melody." Molded during All Melody but refined by his live performances, All Encores is testament to Nils' exceptional ability to craft his art on stage.
Bremer/McCoy - Utopia CD/LP+MP3 (Luaka Bop)
Danish duo Bremer/McCoy's music is a meditative and intense blend of jazz and dub created entirely via analog process. No computers are involved; they record everything straight to tape in their own studio. These two childhood friends tour with their own sound system to ensure adequate depth in the lower frequencies. Their new album, Utopia, was recorded over two cold and windy Copenhagen weeks in sessions plagued by malfunctioning gear, the band overcame these setbacks and recorded some of the clearest melodies and conceptual passages they have put to tape. In pieces such as "Åben Bog" they draw on Danish folk music as a base from which they work from more classical composition to a free-form and trouble-free place. The album's closing track, "Determination", stays true to its title and is a song without hesitation, finishing what the band sets out to do.
Kneebody - Chapters CD (Edition)
For years, Kneebody has been at the forefront of progressive, genre-bending jazz music. Since their formation back in 2001, the group has amassed an impressive collection of works that showcase their adventurous approach to songwriting and unapologetically fiery style. [Vinyl pressing due November 15.]
Kevin Griffin - Anywhere You Go CD (The End)
Kevin Griffin formed the alternative rock band Better Than Ezra in 1988. The band had great success in the 1990s with hits such as "Good," "In the Blood," and "Desperately Wanting," and has continued in the 2000s with hits such as "Extra Ordinary," "A Lifetime," and "Juicy." They continue to tour and produce new recordings, the most recent of which is All Together Now, released in September 2014. Griffin has also produced, written, and co-written songs for other artists, such as Sugarland, James Blunt, Christina Perri, Taylor Swift, Train, Howie Day, Missy Higgins, Daniel Powter, Augustana, Debbie Harry, and Josh Radin. Anywhere You Go is his debut solo album. Buoyed by minimal production, sweeping vocal harmonies, and narrative lyricism, he's penned some of his most intimate, inimitable, and irresistible tunes to date. [Vinyl edition due November 8.]
Holy Fawn - Death Spells CD/LP (Triple Crown)
Holy Fawn describe themselves as four creatures making loud, heavy, pretty music which vaguely encompasses their sound. It's a darker shade of shoegaze with elements of post rock's engulfing wall of sound. They rely on strong lyrical imagery of nature along with atmospheric guitars reverberating in a swirl to create vast sonic landscapes that transports the listener to otherworldly realms; outside and within.
Ariel View - Until My Lungs Are Cleared CD/LP (Epitaph)
Growing up in the suburbs of Ontario, CA, sisters Harmonie and Heaven Martinez have been playing music before they could walk and songwriting since middle school. It was when the two brought a few friends into the equation that they formed what is now an indie rock band they call Ariel View. With Harmonie Martinez (vocals/lead guitar), Heaven Martinez (vocals/bass), Miranda Viramontes (rhythm guitar), and Nadina Parra (drums), Ariel View has played countless DIY and club shows across Southern California. Influenced by garage, surf, psych rock, emo, and pop punk, Ariel View make music you can dance to, party to, sing along to, or maybe even cry to if that strikes the mood.
Third Eye Blind - Screamer CD/LP (Mega Collider)
The follow up to 2018's EP Thanks For Everything and the band's sixth studio album overall, Screamer finds post-grunge outfit Third Eye Blind collaborating with Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells ("Screamer"), Ryan Olson of Marijuana Death Squad and Poliça ("Who Am I" and "Got So High"), and the album's musical consigliere, Billy Corgan. "We have always been so insular," Stephan Jenkins explains. "And on Screamer we adopted an open-door policy - come in, be musical, and follow the song where it takes us." "My current mood resonates with rebellion, energy, courage, and risk," Jenkins adds. "I seek to combine it with a percussive level of musical immediacy in this collection of songs to cultivate collective idealism and an unapologetic aspiration towards humanistic values." [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing.]
Ray Alder - What The Water Wants CD (Inside Out U.S.)
Debut solo album from the Fates Warning vocalist. [Vinyl edition due October 25.]
Refused - War Music CD/LP (Spinefarm)
Fifth full-length album from the Swedish punks. [Limited white colored vinyl pressing.]
Alter Bridge - Walk The Sky CD/2xLP (Napalm) F
or over 15 years, Alter Bridge has been a band known for blurring the line between hard rock and heavy metal. Building upon the sound that has won them worldwide critical acclaim and a devoted global fan base, the group returns with their sixth studio album, Walk The Sky. The fourteen-track opus marks a creative highpoint for the quartet. From the opening vocal melody on "One Life" to the moving finale of "Dying Light", Alter Bridge has created a formidable addition to their catalog. And songs like "Godspeed", "Native Son" and "Walking On The Sky" are sure to be early additions to their live set. Lead single "Wouldn't You Rather" is quintessential Alter Bridge and "Forever Falling" also marks a lead vocal return from Mark Tremonti with Myles Kennedy taking the chorus as done previously on the Fortress favorite "Waters Rising". [Indie exclusive vinyl pressing.]
1349 - The Infernal Pathway CD/2xLP/Cassette (Season Of Mist)
Norwegian black metal titans 1349 return with their long awaited seventh full-length, The Infernal Pathway. Following-up 2014's Massive Cauldron Of Chaos, the album promises a journey through chaos and madness, darkness and peril, terror and annihilation. After performing a fiery show at Norway's Inferno festival in 2019, 1349 started recording in Amper Tone studios and Studio Nyhagen with engineer Jarrett Pritchard. Thus, The Infernal Pathway was born, a sonic parallel to summoning and unleashing the beast of the abyss in all its fearsome, ferocious and powerful splendor. [Deluxe CD edition also available.]
New on Vinyl
The Highwomen - The Highwomen LP (New Elektra)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. The Highwomen is a new, highly anticipated, collaborative movement formed by Brandi Carlie, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires. "Anyone can be a Highwoman," Belinda Carlile notes. "Itss about banding together, abandoning as much ego as humanly possible, holding one another up and amplifying other women every chance we get. Shoulder to shoulder. One push, one love." Continually demonstrating the importance of inclusion and collaboration, The Highwomen are joined by several guest musicians, vocalists and songwriters across their eponymous album. The project features Sheryl Crow (background vocals, bass), Yola (vocals, background vocals), Dave Cobb (acoustic/electric guitar), Jason Isbell (acoustic/electric guitar), Phil Hanseroth (bass, background vocals), Tim Hanseroth (guitar, background vocals), Chris Powell (drums) and Peter Levin (piano and keyboards) with songs written by Carlile, Hemby, Morris, Shires, Isbell, the Hanseroth twins, Rodney Clawson, Lori McKenna, Miranda Lambert and Ray LaMontagne among many others.
Marty Stuart - Pilgrim [Reissue/1999] 2xLP+CD (MCA Nashville)
Double vinyl LP pressing plus bonus CD containing eight alternate and demo versions of tracks from the album. The Pilgrim is the tenth studio album from Marty Stuart, originally released in 1999. A concept album, it tells the story of a man (The Pilgrim) from Marty Stuart's hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Marty plays the role of the Pilgrim, as well as other roles. The album features many country/bluegrass legends as guest stars, including Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs and Marty's old boss, Johnny Cash.
Charles Bradley - Lonely As You Are EP (Innit Recordings)
In the midst of intensive and crippling chemotherapy to battle late-stage stomach cancer, Charles Bradley entered his home recording studio in Queens, N.Y. During what would become his final session, Bradley extemporaneously wrote the track "Lonely As You Are." Bradley's former co-manager and executive producer Morton Lorge said of the gifts and legacy that Bradley left behind: Charles knew "Lonely as You Are" could comfort people and help them find a way to deal with their own loneliness. He was always looking for ways to make people feel better, even when he was confronting his own pain and suffering. He asked that "Lonely" be played at his funeral; he wanted to share it with the world. Another track from the session titled "Lucifer" plus instrumental versions of both songs appear on the EP. In these final recordings, Bradley was backed by Seth Avett and Mike Marsh from the Avett Brothers, along with co-producers James Levy and Paul Defiglia, with sessions completed in Nashville.
Songhoy Blues - Meet Me In The City 12" (Fat Possum)
Songhoy Blues present their new EP which features two versions of "Time To Go Home", one mixed by Blake Mills (Grammy-nominated producer of Alabama Shakes' Sound & Color, John Legend's Darkness And Light, and Perfume Genius' No Shape) and the other by David Ferguson (known for his sound engineering work with Cowboy Jack Clement and on Johnny Cash's American Recordings).
Blacker Face - Distinctive Juju LP (Sooper)
Blacker Face is a Chicago quintet fronted by gospel singer turned firebrand punk vocalist, Jolene Whatevr. After years of collaboration, Whatevr called on a core of longtime friends to reify a truly idiosyncratic and politically forward-thinking musical vision. Blacker Face earned a reputation in Chicago's DIY punk scene for their first-class musicality and high-energy performances. Their unique fusion of provocative lyricism and transgressive musical arrangement has been labeled Afropunk, Afrofuturist, and experimental.
Rüfüs Du Sol - Solace Remixed 2xLP (WB)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. In celebration of Rüfüs Du Sol's universally acclaimed third studio record, Solace, comes the new reimagined remix album, Solace Remixed. The collection features a sonically diverse amalgamation of reworks from some of electronic music's most influential figures including Audiofly, Adam Port, and Hot Since 82. The package reimagines the story of Solace into club-ready portraits spanning from brooding techno to cerebral house.
OMD (Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark) - Souvenir 3xLP (Republic)
New collection from the British synthpop duo spanning their 40-year career.
Roy Orbison - A Black & White Night 30 2xLP (Rhino)
Black & White Night 30 is a re-imagined, re-edited, remastered and expanded version of the original 1988 HBO television special. Re-edited by Roy's youngest son Alex Orbison, the program has been restored to reflect the correct set order as the audience who attended the show saw it.
Jaimie Branch - Fly Or Die II: Bird Dogs Of Paradise LP (International Anthem)
Released last week on CD - now available on vinyl. Fiery and fluent front-line dispatch on dystopian Americana folds distorted forms of blues jazz and punk into outer space dub and alien disco.
Mark Korven - The Lighthouse [OST] LP (Sacred Bones)
From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind modern horror masterpiece The Witch, comes the hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. The Lighthouse stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe and marks composer Mark Korven's second collaboration with Eggers. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis 2xLP (Constellation)
Matana Roberts returns with the fourth chapter of her extraordinary Coin Coin series - a project that has deservedly garnered the highest praise and widespread critical acclaim for it's fierce aesthetic originality and unflinching narrative power. The first three Coin Coin albums, issued from 2011-2015, charted diverse pathways of modern/avant composition - Roberts calls it panoramic sound quilting - and ranged sequentially from large band to sextet to solo, unified by Roberts' archival and often deeply personal research into legacies of the American slave trade and ancestries of American identity/experience.
Bruno Bavota - Get Lost LP (Temporary Residence)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. On his new album Get Lost, Bavota explores the sounds around the piano - the resonance, the silence, and the acoustic ambience of the living, breathing space in which the piano resides. He employs an array of outboard effects pedals and processors to not just capture those sounds that are often overlooked, but to sample, loop, and reposition them as central figures in a story. [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing.]
Behavior - Spirits & Embellishments LP (PPM)
Spirits & Embellishments is a brush fire, hungry for oxygen, choking the dry air with lavender, sage, and melting plastic. The tools are simple, the atmosphere is stark, the space is literal. These are tactile rock n roll songs, shaped at root by the extreme techniques of punk in all it's groping permutations. These songs are lengths of multichrome climbing rope coiled like snakes, brought to life by way of melodrama, and contemporary in their free association. They were conceived with irreverence for the distinction between Crass and The Rolling Stones, to leverage the evaporating space of antagonism between first wave post-punk and it's commercially unambivalent counterparts.
Bent Knee - You Know That They Mean LP (Deadline Music)
Released last week on CD - now available on vinyl. A band occupying sonic territory entirely their own, Bent Knee continues to break ground with each successive album. The Boston outfit's myriad influences are distilled into a deeply moving art-form that defies categorization, merging texture and style into music that's thrilling, addictive, and unapologetically original. You Know What They Mean, the band's fifth full-length, is a prime example how to unite rock, pop, minimalist, and avant-garde spectrums in a seamless and captivating experience. [Limited 180gm clear vinyl pressing.]
Issues - Beautiful Oblivion LP (Rise)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Beautiful Oblivion takes the band's signature cocktail of metallic groove, hip-hop aplomb, alternative echoes, and edgy pop appeal a step further.
Dead Soft - Big Blue LP+MP3 (Arts & Crafts)
Dead Soft is a Canadian trio that traffic in a fuzz-drenched, hook-laden sound that recalls everything from grunge to classic '80s alternative to power-pop.
Sorry Girls - Deborah CD/LP (Arbutus)
Think your new favorite album couldn't possibly pair earnest songwriting, irreverent danceable pop, and a synth-harmonica solo played over a collage of cinematic sound fx? Think again.
Rick Ross - Port Of Miami 2 2xLP (Epic)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. The tenth studio album by the rapper features guest appearances from Meek Mill, the late Nipsey Hussle, Drake, Swizz Beatz, Wale, Teyana Taylor, Jeezy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and Denzel Curry, among others.
Atmosphere - Headshots: Se7en [Reissue/2005] 3xLP (Rhymesayers)
After their debut album Overcast! was released, Atmosphere was still insatiably hungry. Slug and Ant wasted no time getting back to work, and quickly returned with Headshots: Se7en, a project that went down as an early classic in their discography. Recorded between 1997-1999, Headshots: Se7en was initially released on cassette-only as a contribution to Rhymesayers' infamous Headshots tapes, a series of cassettes featuring 4-track recordings from all the various artists in the crew at the time.
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'N Roll [Reissue/1981] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Joan Jett - Bad Reputation [Reissue/1981] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissues of rock legend's first two albums.
The Lords Of The New Church - Open Your Eyes [Reissue/1982] LP (Cleopatra)
First commercial release of this rare and highly sought after '80s bootleg album recorded in New York in 1982. Pressed on red colored vinyl.
Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet [Reissue/2001] LP (Island)
Vinyl reissue of the debut studio album by musician Andrew W.K. It is well-known for its controversial artwork, name and hit singles "Party Had" and "She Is Beautiful". Originally released in 2001, the album was intended to sound like a party.
Florida Georgia Line - Acoustic Sessions CD/2xLP (BMX)
Acoustic remix versions of 17 of their chart-topping hits.
Combichrist - The Joy Of Gunz [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (Out Of Line)
Combichrist - Everybody Hates You [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (Out Of Line)
Double colored vinyl LP pressings of the first and second full-length studio albums by the aggrotech/industrial metal band formed in 2003 by Norwegian vocalist Andy LaPlegua.
From Ashes Rise - Concrete And Steel LP (Southern Lord)
Formed in Nashville, Tennessee during the mid- '90s American crust punk surge, later relocating to Portland, Oregon, the infectious, downtuned From Ashes Rise sound became a staple in the scene, and alongside bands like Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone.
Daphne Oram & Vera Gray - Listen Move & Dance LP (Fantome Phonographique)
Originally released in 1962. The British composer, musician, and audio engineer Daphne Oram was a pioneering figure in the use of electronic music. Coming to prominence through her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which she co-founded, Oram was one of the first British composers to feature electronic instruments in her work and has been rightly hailed as helping musique concrete to become accepted in Britain. The Listen Move & Dance series of BBC programs were devised as a radical new technique to help British schoolchildren learn how to dance; on the LP releases, Vera Gray arranged short adaptations of classical pieces by Bartok, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and others, designed for "stamping, punching, kicking and jumping" movements, as well as "running lightly", "dancing on toes" and "shaking all about", which contrasted sharply with Oram's electronic abstractions, which seemed to have been beamed in from outer space.
Luc Ferrari - Photophonie LP (Transversales Disques)
Celebrating what would be Ferrari's 90th birthday, Transversales Disques announce the release of Photophonie - Bandes magnétiques inédites, unpublished archives, spanning 1973-1992, a collection of commercial, commission, and secret music by electroacoustic music pioneer Luc Ferrari. "Photophonie" (1989) features music for the photographic exhibition of Alain Willaume; "Il était une fois" (1973) was Commissioned by the G.M.E.B.; "Trans-Voices" (1992) was curated by the American Center, Paris; and "Leica" (1977) was used in advertisement for the Leica camera. Affiliated with French Radio's Groupe de Musique Concrète, co-founder of the GRM with Pierre Schaeffer in 1958, Luc Ferrari (1929-2005) was a major figure of musique concrète and electroacoustic music, broke away to pave his own path of individualistic expressions of minimalist music, musical theater, field recordings, orchestral music and soundtracks.
Slikback - Lasakaneku / Tomo 2LP (Hakuna Kulala)
Ascendant star of the new global underground, Slikback wraps up his first two digital-only EPs with three killer bonus cuts on a vinyl premiere for Hakuna Kulala, his prized sublabel of Nyege Nyege Tapes. Hailing from Nairobi, Kenya via Kampala, Uganda, Slikback has rapidly attracted a wave of attention to his undulating mutations of current club style. Distilling a range of inspirations from local East African hip hop to Congolese rhythms and Gqom's cold percussion, plus influence from US trap and footwork, and the subbass common to Jamaican and UK soundsystem cultures; Slikback's music has arrived at a grippingly powerful sound which, while singular, is also entirely symptomatic of the thrilling styles emerging from Central Africa right now.
Two Shell - Access 12" (Livity Sound Recordings)
Drawing influence from the South London underground of the late-Nineties and early-Noughties with a nod to more contemporary Bristol sounds, London's Two Shell debut on Livity Sound Recordings with their four-track Access EP. The duo has forged an EP of warm but stripped, deft UK style grooves to mark an anthemic debut.
Only Now - Souk LP (Captivity)
Continuing Kush Arora's Only Now project's ever-evolving engagement with themes of time and existence, Captivity encompasses versatile synthesis, mutant kuduro, widescreen sound design, turbulent cold fronts of power ambient and melodic undertones of black metal. Captivity is a culmination of what the project has explored across several years of time-dilating, mind-altering music. Adopting a meticulous approach to production, a methodology which opens up almost every element to transformation and deconstruction, Arora generates forms which possess a sense of pointillist precision, as well as a keen psychedelic potency.
Comet Gain - Fireraisers Forever! LP (Tapete Records)
The last LP was a gentler, inner, melancholic hug at 2am, but late-night sadness has turned to morning rage, as the state of the world has compelled Comet Gain to turn the fuzz up and make something more brutal and instant. Two weeks of late afternoon 45s listening parties with The Rationals / Messthetics / Back From The Grave garage / The Jam / Dead Moon, trying to figure out how Rufus Thomas would sound if he joined the Swell Maps... condensing it all and propelling the psychic mix tape into an albums worth of angry pop drops and slow howls. Songs about the evil greedy mirage of world religion, Victor Jara and those poets and teachers killed for believing in love and words, about the forgotten who are blamed for everything and can't rise up from their knees to fight back, about those stuck in the glory days of their past -- with added melody and stomp... giving no real answers but pointing fingers and prodding you in the back.
Reissues & From The Archives
ason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit [Reissue/2009] CD/LP (Southeastern)
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Here We Rest [Reissue/2011] CD/LP (Southeastern)
Four-time Grammy Award winner Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit reissue two of the group's earliest albums - 2009's self-titled Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit and 2011's Here We Rest - both remixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb and remastered by Pete Lyman. An Alabama native, Isbell comes from a tradition of Southern music and proudly embraces his roots, which shines through in his songs and even in the title of the album.
Cornelius - Point CD/2xLP (Matador)
Following the 2016 reissue of 1997's Fantasma, Japanese sonic-wunderkind Cornelius presents a remastered and expanded edition of 2001's Point. The album was a departure from the sample heavy, cut and paste production style of Fantasma to a fluid and organic aesthetic. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Jethro Tull - Stormwatch: The 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition 4xCD+2xDVD (Rhino/Parlophone)
Stormwatch is the twelfth studio album by the progressive rock group Jethro Tull, released September 1979. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull. Among other subject-matters, the album touches heavily on the problems relating to the environment, oil and money. This set expands the legendary album with Steven Wilson's newly remixed version of the original, plus studio outtakes, an unreleased concert recorded in 1980, and more.
Stone Temple Pilots - Purple [Reissue/1994] CD/2xCD/3xCD+LP (Atlantic)
Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition version of the 1994 album. Deluxe double-CD edition Includes a newly remastered version of the original studio album, plus unreleased versions of album tracks and rarities, along with an unreleased full concert recording from 1994. The Super Deluxe version adds another CD of rarities and a copy on vinyl.
For the Holidaze...
Rob Halford with Family & Friends - Celestial CD/LP (Sony Legacy)
Celestial marks Halford's second album of Christmas music, re-made in a heavy metal style.
Idina Menzel - Christmas: A Season Of Love CD (SRV Label Co./Decca)
Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel has a career that spans stage, film, television, and music. Timed to coincide with the release of Disney's Frozen 2, which includes Idina's unforgettable voice in the title role of Elsa, Christmas: A Season Of Love Special includes special guests Ariana Grande ("A Hand For Mrs. Claus"), Billy Porter ("I Got My Love To Keep Me Warm"), Josh Gad ("We Wish You The Merriest") and her husband, Aaron Lohr ("I'll Be Home For Christmas"). [Vinyl edition due November 22.]
Live & in Concert
The Cure - 40 Live: Cureation-25 + Anniversary - Two Live Shows Recorded In London 4xCD+2xDVD/4xCD+Blu-ray/2xDVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
In 2018 The Cure performed two historic shows celebrating a 40-year career: Anniversary (1978 - 2018 Live In Hyde Park London) - a 29-song, 135-minute anniversary concert, and Cureation-25 (From There To Here, From Here To There) which was captured on the tenth and final night of the 25th Meltdown Festival (curated by lead singer Robert Smith) at London's Royal Festival. For the latter, The Cure performed a song from each of their 13 studio albums in chronological order, displaying the evolution of their music live on stage. Each show is collected on 40 Live (as stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray editions and as a box set that adds four audio CDs). Both were directed by Tim Pope, the long-time collaborator behind many of The Cure's music videos and their award-winning 1986 concert film The Cure In Orange.
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On Live CD/2xLP (Motown)
What's Going On Live features Marvin Gaye's legendary concert - the only live performance of his iconic 1971 What's Going On album in full - recorded in February of 1972 at the Kennedy Center in his Washington, D.C. hometown, and notable as Marvin's first concert after a four-year hiatus.
Compilations, Best Of's, & Sundry Collections
The Carter Family - Across Generations CD/LP (Reviver)
Between 1927, and their disbanding in 1943, the original Carter Family recorded over three hundred songs. A.P. Carter, his wife Sara Carter, and Sara's first cousin Maybelle Carter were the first country band to be inducted as Members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. These are recently discovered recordings between Sara and Maybelle from the '60s with John Carter Cash adding to them.
Books
Liz Phair - Horror Stories: A Memoir BK (Random House)
When Liz Phair shook things up with her musical debut, Exile in Guyville-making her as much a cultural figure as a feminist pioneer and rock star-her raw candor, uncompromising authenticity, and deft storytelling inspired a legion of critics, songwriters, musicians, and fans alike. Now Liz Phair reflects on the path she has taken with Horror Stories, a piercing collection of essays that reveal the indelible memories that have stayed with her. Illuminating despair with hope and consolation, tempering it all with her signature wit, Horror Stories is immersive, taking readers inside the most intimate junctures of Phair's life, from facing her own bad behavior and the repercussions of betraying her fundamental values, to watching her beloved grandmother inevitably fade, to undergoing the beauty of childbirth while being hit up for an autograph by the anesthesiologist. Horror Stories is a literary accomplishment that reads like the confessions of a friend, transforming these deeply personal experiences into tales about each and every one of us.
Elton John - Me BK (Henry Holt & Co.)
In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend. Born Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt, and boots with wings. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar. In Me, Elton writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble, and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you by a living legend.
Questlove - Mixtape Potluck Cookbook: A Dinner Party For Friends, Their Recipes, and the Songs They Inspire BK (Abrams Image)
Questlove is best known for his achievements in the music world, but his interest in food runs a close second. He has hosted a series of renowned Food Salons and conversations with some of America's most prominent chefs. Now he is turning his hand to creating a cookbook. In Mixtape Potluck Cookbook, Questlove imagines the ultimate potluck dinner party, inviting more than fifty chefs, entertainers, and musicians-such as Eric Ripert, Natalie Portman, and Q-Tip-and asking them to bring along their favorite recipes. He also pairs each cook with a song that he feels best captures their unique creative energy. The result is not only an accessible, entertaining cookbook, but also a collection of Questlove's diverting musical commentaries as well as an illustration of the fascinating creative relationship between music and food. With Questlove's unique style of hosting dinner parties and his love of music, food, and entertaining, this book will give readers unexpected insights into the relationship between culture and food.