New Releases - 11/1/19

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

Omni - Networker CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)

Our pals from Atlanta are now on Sub Pop! Omni's sound is still defined by sparse drums, locked-in bass, blistering guitar, and nonchalant, yet assured vocals, but from the first notes of "Sincerely Yours" you'll immediately notice that Networker sounds much cleaner and more hi-fi than their prior two albums, Deluxe (2016) and Multi-task (2017). The departure in fidelity suits the new record and allows the listener to enjoy the nuances of their meticulous arrangements. Don't worry, the riffs of Gang Of Four and Wire are still present, but the production is more lush and the harmony is even more expansive. Despite nods to the sounds of the '70s and '80s, what comes through is a record fully rooted in the here and now. Thematically, this is apparent on the title track "Networker" taking a candid snapshot of the "digital you" aspect of life in the age of the internet.

Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka CD/2xLP (Interscope)

New release from the British indie and folk rock singer/songwriter and record producer. Produced by Danger Mouse and Inflo. London native Michael Kiwanuka has won over the hearts of many with his soulful voice & trademark "modern vintage" sound. Drawing inspiration from Curtis Mayfield, Jimi Hendrix, Ron Isley & more, his 2016 album Love & Hate was received to mass critical acclaim with rave reviews from The New York Times, Pitchfork, NPR, Rolling Stone & more, debuted at #1 on the UK chart, and earned him a Mercury Prize nomination. Standout track "Cold Little Heart" - theme to A-list HBO drama "Big Little Lies".

Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out Of Nowhere CD/LP (Sony)

Jeff Lynne's ELO, whose music has touched fans deeply across three generations now, has found himself in recent years at the peak of his powers as a songwriter, musician and producer. As does its predecessor, 2015's Alone In The Universe, From Out Of Nowhere shows Lynne finding new facets to his signature sound, at once drawing on his globally loved legacy and forging new paths in both sounds and emotions. Once again, he plays nearly every note of the music on guitars, bass, piano, drums, keyboards and vibes, as well as singing all of the lead and layered harmony vocals. [Limited gold colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Hootie & The Blowfish - Imperfect Circle CD (Capitol Nashville)

Imperfect Circle is the latest milestone in a remarkable career that has seen Hootie & The Blowfish win numerous awards including two Grammy Awards, and secure the tenth biggest selling album in history with their 1994 debut Cracked Rear View. The band took a break from full-time touring in 2007, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events whilst also pursuing solo projects. Produced by frontman Darius Rucker's longtime collaborator Frank Rogers and Jeff Trott, who co-wrote three songs on the record, Imperfect Circle features new co-writes with superstar singer/songwriters Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton. "There's something timeless about their sound," proclaimed USA Today. "From their stupendous debut to their reunion album, Imperfect Circle, Hootie & The Blowfish appear ready to pick up where they left off as a pop music phenomenon." If you're in NYC, stop by the Spin On shop inside Showfields in the East Village where Hootie & The Blowfish will be greeting fans & signing CDs on Friday, November 1st, at 11AM EST.

Miranda Lambert - Wildcard CD (SME Nashville)

Seventh studio album by the country music artist. Features the single "It All Comes Out In The Wash". "When people listen to this record, I want them to know that I see them and hear them," says Lambert. "I feel you, because I'm just a girl from East Texas, writing about all the things that go on in my world and in the worlds of people around me. I want people to get along, you know, just be who you are, own it and move on from the moments you couldn t live in." Her first collaboration with producer Jay Joyce, Wildcard moves from fraught, taut rock & roll to gentle folk, classic Wurlitzer country and a bit of funky gospel with Lambert's signature wit and tongue-in-cheek humor permeating throughout.

The Mavericks - The Mavericks Play The Hits CD/LP (Mono Mundo Recordings)

"The Mavericks have never been averse to putting their own spin on another band's song. This is a group, after all, who once recorded their own Tejano/surf-rock take on Motley Crue's 'Dr. Feelgood'. Now The Mavericks release an entire album of covers. A collection of songs originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen, Waylon Jennings, and Elvis Presley, it's a way to further illustrate the eclecticism of the group, says singer Raul Malo. While the music is delivered with serious precision, the full title of the album - The Mavericks Play The Hits - nods to those bargain-bin compilations that are often for sale in convenience stores on the road. The band has already released two tracks off the album, a rollicking take on John Anderson's 'Swingin'' and a poignant reading of Freddy Fender's 'Before The Next Tear Drop Falls'. Their horn-laced interpretation of Waylon Jennings' 'Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?' veers into Joe Cocker's 'Feelin' Alright' by song's end." [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl pressing also available.]

CUP - Spinning Creature CD/LP (Northern Spy)

CUP is the duo of Nels Cline (the guitarist/composer best known for his work with Wilco) and Yuka C Honda (the composer/keyboardist/programmer best known for her work with Cibo Matto). Combining aspects of electronica, folk, improvisation, and some heated rocking, this debut recording - perhaps predictably - defies easy categorization. Contained within this package is a sometimes sweet, sometimes jarring, but always compelling excursion into what a shared sensibility sounds like, and after taking the journey that is Spinning Creature it all feels just right as CUP's music veers from the accessible to the abstract and back.

The Stargazer Lilies - Occabot CD/LP (Rad Cult)

Occabot, the third album by The Stargazer Lilies goes deeper and weirder. Produced by Tobacco and covered in his trademark smudges and saturation. Strongly melodic shoegaze with some heavy tape manipulation. Classic rock enters the sweatbox dynasty. Cover art by Robert Beatty.

Lindstrøm - On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever CD/LP (Smalltown Supersound)

"The joy of making music on actual physical objects and devices makes a lot of sense to me now. After working on a computer for over 15 years, I don't think I'll ever look back." "The Scandinavian synthesizer maven pays dusts off dozens of arcane, vintage machines in an all-hardware studio recording meant to summon the spirit of bygone circuitry." - Pitchfork [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]

Cold War Kids - New Age Norms 1 CD/LP (CWKTWO Corp.)

Just over two years from delivering L.A. Divine, Cold War Kids release New Age Norms 1, the first volume of a three-album trilogy. As the band's Nathan Willett explained in a press release, New Age Norms takes its title from a phrase bassist Matt Maust had written on a T-shirt. They also took inspiration from Kanye West in plotting out the trilogy. "Last summer we were on tour when Kanye was putting out his new records," Willett said. "Pusha T, Kids See Ghosts, Nas, etc. They were eight songs each. It was so fun waking up to these brand-new records and taking them in as a whole while hanging out, working out, talking shit, pushing each other. I knew then I wanted our next release to be three volumes - eight songs each." [Limited white colored vinyl pressing.]

Vetiver - Up On High CD/LP (Mama Bird)

Vetiver is the long-running stage and recording name of San Francisco's Andy Cabic. Up On High is his seventh studio album and the first since 2015. Vetiver has toured around the world on headline tours and supporting artists that include Wilco, The Shins, Fleet Foxes, Beach House, Bob Weir & Phil Lesh, and Vashti Bunyan. Vetiver craft nuanced, understated songs that reward careful listening, building a rich duality; a space where sunshine is only a chord away from melancholy, an introspective lyric underlies an extroverted chorus and subtlety tries to be outgoing in an effort to connect the dots of life's ellipsis. [Indie exclusive color vinyl]

Half Moon Run - A Blemish In The Great Light CD/LP+MP3 (Glassnote)

Half Moon Run return with their third album, A Blemish In The Great Light, produced by Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes, Beck, Killers). The word everyone comes back to when describing Montreal indie rockers Half Moon Run is "complex" (The Guardian, Exclaim, et al.) Whether they're billed as dreamy alt-pop, bucolic alt-folk, or psychedelic indie rock, the four multi-instrumentalists - Devon Portielje (vocals, guitar, piano, percussion), Conner Molander (vocals, guitar, keyboard, piano, pedal steel, bass, harmonica), Dylan Phillips (vocals, drums, piano, keyboard), and Isaac Symonds (vocals, drums, mandolin, synth, bass) - have built their name on cerebral, acrobatic arrangements and harmonies that lilt prettily till they turn feral. [Limited indie store exclusive white colored vinyl pressing.]

Turnover - Altogether CD/LP (Run For Cover)

There is a closeness at the heart of Turnover's aptly titled new album, Altogether. Though it's the first collection the trio has written while living on opposite coasts, the record actually represents the group's most collaborative and connected work to date, showcasing the intuitive, near-telepathic relationship frontman Austin Getz has developed over the years with his bandmates. Altogether demonstrates the band's eclectic mix of personalities from the very start, opening with a lo-fi, jazzy intro that quickly gives way to the driving drums and delay-drenched guitar of "Still In Motion". Like much of the album to come, the song is a meditation on change and perspective, on learning to quiet your mind and appreciate the moment before it's gone. The bittersweet "No Reply" reckons with guilt over failing to be present with a loved one, while the effervescent "Much After Feeling" recognizes the sacrifices we make to stay connected across geographical distance, and the breezy "Parties" grapples with the kind of self-consciousness that can leave us prisoners of our own design. [Limited indie-store exclusive colored vinyl pressing.]

Bruce Soord - All This Will Be Yours CD (Kscope)

Fresh from a run of successful albums and tours with The Pineapple Thief, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and frontman Bruce Soord releases his second solo album. Taking elements from the recent musical developments with The Pineapple Thief, as well as an ambition to experiment with his own sound, All This Will Be Yours is an album of acoustic and personal vision from Soord.

TR/ST - The Destroyer CD/LP (House Arrest)

It has been five years since TR/ST released 2014's Joyland. In an industry that prioritizes constant momentum, taking time to slow down and focus on the creative process could pose a risk of losing audiences, but for his third album, Robert Alfons challenged himself to remain patient and careful; dedicated to both healing himself and ensuring that he was delivering his most cohesive work. Now, 2019 is poised to be the most momentous year yet, and he's just starting to see the excitement unfurl.

Cunts - Cunts CD/LP (Ipecac)

Comprised of Los Angeles scene vets Michael Crain (Festival Of Dead Deer/Retox/Dead Cross), Sterling Riley (Hepa. Titus/Orphan Goggles), Keith Hendrikson (Virginia Reed/Kill The Capulets), Kevin Avery (Retox/Planet B) and Matt Cronk (Qui), Cunts is a band that requires no explanation. Since appearing on the L.A. underground scene in early 2018, Cunts have earned a reputation for their blistering and intense (and often violent) live shows. Equal parts catharsis and blood-letting, Cunts as a live entity is an unapologetic display of rage and sex, of belligerence and contempt, of body and soul.

Micky And The Motorcars - Long Time Comin' CD/LP (Micky And The Motorcars)

Pop the hood of Long Time Comin', the long-running Austin band's eighth album, and you'll find a brand-new engine, fine-tuned and good to run for at least as many more miles still ahead. And behind the wheel? Two brothers and founding members Micky Braun (lead vocals and guitar) and Gary Braun (guitar, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals) invigorated and supercharged by a transfusion of new blood from fresh recruits Josh Owen (lead guitar/pedal steel), Joe Fladger (bass), and Bobby Paugh (drums).

Erin Enderlin - Faulkner County CD (Blue Slate)

An intimate ramble through lonely corners in barrooms and bedrooms, where strength in the face of shame, longings that may never stop, and past lives hang around like old friends. [Vinyl edition due November 15.]

Itasca - Spring CD/LP (A Paradise Of Bachelors)

Itasca's Kayla Cohen wrote the anticipated follow-up to her acclaimed 2016 album Open To Chance in a century-old adobe house in rural New Mexico. Inspired by the landscape and history of the Four Corners region, the sublime Spring - its title summoning both season and scarce local water sources-dowses a devotional path to high desert headwaters. Featuring contributions from Chris Cohen, Cooper Crain (Bitchin' Bajas), James Elkington, and members of Gun Out and Sun Araw, Spring contains Cohen's most quietly dazzling and self-assured set of songs to date.

Sudan Archives - Athena CD/LP (Stones Throw)

Violinist, singer and songwriter Sudan Archives (born Brittney Denise Parks) releases her debut album, Athena. Sudan Archives is widely acclaimed for her thrilling combination of styles: powerful and anthemic R&B, electronic music, a violin style inspired by Northeast African fiddling, and West African rhythms. For Athena, she collaborated with a wide cast of songwriters, producers and musicians for a sound that is her fullest and richest to date, while staying true to the unique blend of influences that has won her fans around the world. Athena follows the EPs Sudan Archives (2017) and Sink (2018), which received glowing coverage from tastemakers across the board.

Cautious Clay - Table Of Context CDEP (Cautious Clay Music)

Rising independent R&B/indie artist Cautious Clay has been self-releasing and self-producing music since 2016. With three EPs under his belt already, his most recent EP Table Of Context continues his upward trajectory. [Vinyl edition due November 29.]

Apollo Brown - Sincerely, Detroit CD (Mello Music Group)

Featuring over fifty Detroit artists, Apollo Brown's new album, Sincerely, Detroit, is a love letter to the culture. From different eras and different walks of life, veterans and newcomers alike lend their styles and deliveries to the twenty-one track album. Featuring artists like Royce Da 5'9, Black Milk, Trick Trick, Elzhi, Slum Village and many, many more, Sincerely, Detroit is a nearly comprehensive look at the styles and flavors of Detroit. [Vinyl edition due November 8.]

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.

Jon Batiste - Chronology Of A Dream: Live At The Village Vanguard CD (Verve)

Recorded live at the historic Village Vanguard in NYC in the fall of 2018 during Jon Batiste's residency, Chronology Of A Dream includes more of the raucous, full band material Jon Batiste, and his hometown New Orleans, are often associated with. The album serves as the companion to the August release of Anatomy Of Angels: Live At The Village Vanguard. Features eight new tracks and an interlude. [Vinyl edition due Black Friday 2019 (November 29).]

Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra - I Shouldn't Be Telling You This CD (Verve)

With his long-time band The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra in tow, Jeff Goldblum's enticingly titled second album finds the multi-talented artist bringing his on-screen charisma and eccentricities to the piano once again, with a style that is totally unique, and an impressive array of surprising duet guests. I Shouldn't Be Telling You This features an extraordinary gang of vocalists from all walks of musical life, some of whom reveal their jazz voices for the very first time. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten stars on the first single, Irving Berlin's classic number "Let's Face The Music and Dance". Also joining Jeff is Brit Award and Mercury Prize nominee Anna Calvi, for a mash-up of Wes Montgomery's "Four On Six" and Marianne Faithful's "Broken English". The 1954 Frank Sinatra hit "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" features Grammy Award-winning Fiona Apple, Sonny & Cher favorite "The Beat Goes On" is sung by American singer-songwriter Inara George, and the 1939 hit "If I Knew Then" is recorded here with one of L.A.'s most in demand jazz singers, Gina Saputo. In between the variety of world-class vocalists, instrumental tracks such as Herbie Hancock's "Driftin'" and Lalo Schifrin's "The Cat" show off the band's dazzling jazz licks.

Black Stone Cherry - Black To Blues 2 CDEP/12"+MP3 (Mascot Label Group)

Black Stone Cherry return with another riotous, rip roaring tribute to their blues heroes on Black To Blues Volume 2. The EP kicks off with Chris Robertson introducing Yates McKendree on the organ as they launch into Freddie King's "Big Legged Woman". It's wild, raucous and has their own unmistakable groove woven through the song as does their unrelenting take on Howlin' Wolf's "Down In The Bottom". This time around they also take on Robert Johnson's howlin' "Me And The Devil Blues", the sultry slow burning "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" originally performed by Mississippi legend Otis Rush, and the Elmore James classic "Early One Morning". The EP closes with their take on "Death Letter Blues" by Son House.

MakeWar - Get It Together CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)

A uniquely fresh eyed and youthful rallying cry, somehow made by seasoned punks, tempered with anger, heartache, a dash of Latinx hardcore rage and a virtuosity that belies their relatively short tenure as a band. A multi-lingual, multi-genre, multigrain slab of fury, beers, tears and what-have-we-here's, Get It Together is one of the most dynamic punk records in years.

Voyager - Colours In The Sun CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

Voyager explode like a supernova onto the worldwide stage with their new album Colours In the Sun. The Australians radiate an ultra-modern and prismatic hard rock that delivers on their promise of "epic electro progressive power pop metal." Each of the album's ten tracks are bright, vibrant hook-laden affairs that resonate long after listening. Voyager deliver the perfect storm of modern hard rock song craft, and Colours In the Sun is a vivid, uplifting, and exhilarating album experience.

Stray From The Path - Internal Atomics CD/LP (UNFD)

Long Island, NY hardcore heavyweights Stray From The Path has been bringing their charged-up punk fury and politically outspoken voice to the masses for the better part of two decades, and Internal Atomics is proof that they aren't slowing down any time soon. The album finds Stray From The Path more ferocious than ever, a vital voice for reason, empathy, and change in challenging time. Internal Atomics pushes the band's distinctive rhythmic aggression to breakneck levels as guitarist Tom Williams' powerful riffs work in tandem with the crushing engine room of Anthony Altamura (bass) and Craig Reynolds (drums) to create a hybrid of all things heavy-yet-hooky. Vocalist Drew Dijorio's unique hardcore-meets-hip-hop delivery is on full display throughout, spitting out lyrics that rail against apathy towards the suffering of others, toxic dog-eat-dog culture, myopic worldviews, institutional corruption, and the selfishly misplaced priorities of past generations. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]

Angel Witch - Angel Of Light CD/LP (Metal Blade)

40 years and more have passed since the original inception of Angel Witch rose from the inauspicious locale of suburban Kent with the doom-laden clangor of Black Sabbath ringing in its ears and leading a movement of bands that reinvented heavy metal as a form darker, heavier, faster and more intense than anything previously issued forth.

Frail Body - A Brief Memoriam CDEP/12" (Deathwish Inc.)

Frail Body is a hardcore/punk band from Rockford, IL that embodies the spirit and soul of what many define as screamo. A Brief Memoriam combines a new four-song recording session with their sought-after At Peace session into one proper album.

Nile - Vile Nilotic Rites CD/LP (Nuclear Blast)

Ninth album from the technical death metal veterans.

Une Misère - Sermon CD/LP (Nuclear Blast)

With an inherently heavy nature, Une Misère sits somewhere on a vast spectrum of blackened hardcore and aggressive metal.

Cannabis Corpse - Nug So Vile CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

Cannabis Corpse's new album Nug So Vile is an onslaught of dank death that stands on the shoulders of the US metal giants that precede them. Featuring Phil "Landphil" Hall (Municipal Waste), the trio wield 420-ton riffs like weapons of iron and steel. Each track unfolds deranged fables of stoner horror. Illicit grass forfeiture, alien pot forms, interstellar greenhouse planets, murderous THC zombies, and supernatural smoke sessions are delivered by crushing hits like "Cylinders Of Madness", "Blunt Force Domain", and "Dawn Of Weed Possession". Cannabis Corpse habitually raises their pot-inspired madness with each album, and the classic US death metal assault of Nug So Vile is another new high.

Counterparts - Nothing Left To Love CD/LP (Pure Noise)

"A couple of years ago, the Ontario metalcore band Counterparts released the majestic and brutal LP You're Not You Anymore, and it was one of our favorite albums of 2017. Last year, they followed it up with the three-song EP Private Room It's great to be able to report that Counterparts have returned with a new full-length called Nothing Left To Love, their sixth. And it's also nice to report that the first single is a ripper. In true Counterparts fashion, new joint 'Wings Of Nightmares' oscillates wildly between scrape-gnash hardcore aggression and soaring, melodic hooks. There's also a real neck-snapper of a breakdown near the end. their sound reminds me more of Swedish death metal than it does North American Bandcamp hardcore. But that sound does not prevent them from kicking hard." - Stereogum [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl pressing.]

Live & in Concert

Keith Jarrett - Munich 2016 CD (ECM)

A solo concert recorded on the last night of Jarrett's 2016 European tour at Munich's Philharmonie. Creating a spontaneous suite of forms in the moment with the assurance of a master builder - interspersing touches of lyricism between pieces of polyrhythmic and harmonic complexity, he delivered one of his very finest performances. [Vinyl edition due November 22.]

Bananarama - Live In Stereo CD/LP (Absolute Label Services)

A live album recorded during their In Stereo launch shows, An Evening With Bananarama. This 12-track collection was recorded at Manchester's Gorilla Club and features some of the band's favorite tracks from In Stereo as well as some gems from previous albums.

Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited Band & Orchestra: Live 2xCD+Blu-ray+DVD (Inside Out U.S.)

Genesis Revisited Band & Orchestra: Live was recorded on October 5, 2018 at The Royal Festival Hall, London, during the 2018 Genesis Revisited Tour which fulfilled a long held ambition of Steve's to perform the music of Genesis with a live orchestra. The concert featured his regular touring band of Roger King (keyboards), Gary O'Toole (drums/percussion), Rob Townsend (saxes/flutes) with Nad Sylvan on vocals and Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings) on bass, together with special guests John Hackett and Amanda Lehmann, and augmented by the 41-piece Heart Of England Orchestra conducted by Bradley Thachuk.

For the Holidaze...

Josh Rouse - The Holiday Sounds Of Josh Rouse CD (Yep Roc)

Produced by Brad Jones and Josh Rouse, The Holiday Sounds Of Josh Rouse features beautiful harmonies and gentle, bright melodies wrapped in the lush, folk/pop soundscapes that have become his signature. The album illustrates themes of childhood nostalgia and holidays spent away from home, with lighthearted, upbeat instrumentals that make these songs enjoyable year-round. From the rollicking "Sleigh Brother Bill" to the reflective "Letters In The Mailbox" and the dreamy closing track, "Christmas Songs", Josh Rouse is redefining what holiday music can be. The vinyl has been delayed until Nov. 8.

Compilations, Best Of's, & Sundry Collections

The Damned - Black Is The Night: The Definitive Anthology 2xCD (BMG)

Legendary band The Damned was the first UK punk band to release a single back in 1976. Along with the Sex Pistols and the Clash, they helped to spearhead the punk movement in the UK. As their career developed they became one of the first gothic rock bands and were a major influence on the goth subculture. [Vinyl edition due November 15.]

Masahiro Sugaya - Horizon, Volume 1 CD/LP (Empire of Signs)
Almost completely unknown in the west, Masahiro Sugaya has been composing and producing music since the 1980s in an exceptionally wide range of fields and practices, but it was in the 80s bubble-era kankyō ongaku scene that he first found his musical voice. Horizon, Volume 1 presents a window into these works, culled from Sugaya's early scores for experimental Tokyo theatre group Pappa Tarahumura. Surprisingly, the sound sources on Horizon are entirely digital, showcasing Sugaya's ability to organically recreate complex musicianship approaches via keyboard using hyper-realistic samples. The results eschew electronic music's usual coldness for something more warm and inviting, the feeling of a human in deep conversation with technology.

Various Artists - Pakistan: Folk and Pop Instrumentals 1966-1976 CD (Sublime Frequencies)
Stuart Ellis of Radiodiffusion International has compiled a mind-blowing set of Pakistani instrumentals spanning the period between 1966 and 1976. It's all here: rock and roll beat, surf, folk traditional mixed with pop, film tunes, electric guitars, sitar and organ solos, brilliant percussion and arrangements crafted by the grooviest bands of the period. Situated between Afghanistan, India and Iran, the collision of cultural influences in Pakistan gave birth to music that was, and still is, unlike anything heard anywhere else on the planet, particularly as previous restrictions on musical expression began to soften in the late 60s, and bands that were playing American and British pop covers became popular in Karachi's burgeoning night club scene and at private dance parties.

Books

Prince - The Beautiful Ones BK (Spiegel & Grau)
The brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time, in his own words-featuring never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death. The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince-a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The book is framed by editor Dan Piepenbring's riveting and moving introduction about his profound collaboration with Prince in his final months-a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique he'd so carefully cultivated-and annotations that provide context to the book's images. This work is not just a tribute to an icon, but an original and energizing literary work in its own right, full of Prince's ideas and vision, his voice and image-his undying gift to the world.

Allison Moorer - Blood: A Memoir (Da Capo Press)
The Grammy- and Academy Award- nominated singer-songwriter's haunting, lyrical memoir, sharing the story of an unthinkable act of violence and ultimate healing through art. In Mobile, Alabama in 1986. a fourteen-year-old girl was awakened by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. On the front lawn, her father had shot and killed her mother before turning the gun on himself. Allison Moorer would grow up to be an award-winning musician, with her songs likened to "a Southern accent: eight miles an hour, deliberate, and very dangerous to underestimate" (Rolling Stone). But that moment, which forever altered her own life and that of her older sister, Shelby, has never been far from her thoughts. Now, in her journey to understand the unthinkable, to parse the unknowable, Allison uses her lyrical storytelling powers to lay bare the memories and impressions that make a family, and that tear a family apart. Blood delves into the meaning of inheritance and destiny, shame and trauma -- and how it is possible to carve out a safe place in the world despite it all. With a foreword by Allison's sister, Grammy winner Shelby Lynne, Blood reads like an intimate journal: vivid, haunting, and ultimately life-affirming.

New on Vinyl

Rayland Baxter - Good Mmornin Yellow LP (ATO)

Rayland Baxter first saw Mac Miller perform at a festival and he was enchanted; by Miller's lyrics, his musicality and most of all, his approach to and through life. On Good Mmorning, Baxter covers seven of his favorite Mac Miller songs - expanding on Mac's incorporation of jazz, R&B and funk, and adding his own folk/Americana influences. Limited yellow vinyl LP pressing.

Bradford Cox/Cate Le Bon - Myths 004 12" (Mexican Summer)

Fourth in Mexican Summer's Myths EP series, Myths 004 sees Le Bon and Cox-each a much-revered musical innovator in their own right-finally united. Though this EP materializes after two individual 2019 album campaigns-Le Bon's Mercury-nominated fifth album Reward, and Cox's eighth with his band Deerhunter, Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? (which Le Bon co-produced) - the chronologies are tangled: Myths 004 is in fact a snapshot of the pair's very first meeting.

Mid-Air Thief - Crumbling LP+MP3 (Topshelf)

Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Although sung almost entirely in Korean, Mid-Air Thief's cult-acclaimed 2018 album Crumbling exhibits a distinct universality, merging disparate sounds and styles into a cohesive, electronic-infused folk amalgam that tactfully blurs the lines between organic and synthetic. Listeners are led through enrapturing passages of swirling melodies underscored with eloquent plucks, strums, and bursts of bubbly glitches. Highly recommended by Will & Jacob at Grimey's!

Widespread Panic - Carbondale 2000 5xLP (Widespread Records)
First time on vinyl and newly remastered. Recorded live at Southern Illinois University Arena in Carbondale, IL on December 1, 2000, this very special multi-track recording features all original band members including late guitarist Michael Houser.

Umphrey's McGee - Hall Of Fame: Class Of 2018 2xLP+MP3 (Nothing Too Fancy)

A robust collection of the best of the best live tracks performed in 2018 as voted on by the fans. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Marc Cohn & Blind Boys Of Alabama - Work To Do LP (BMG)

Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. A collaboration from critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Marc Cohn and gospel titans Blind Boys Of Alabama. Produced by John Leventhal, the unique collection combines the songwriting talents of Marc Cohn with the soul stirring harmonies of Blind Boys of Alabama and falls on the heels of more than a year of live collaborative dates.

Brantley Gilbert - Fire & Brimstone 2xLP (Valory)

Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Brantley Gilbert has made a pummeling kind of country that consolidates the outsiders, outliers and full-tilt life livers in a collective known as the BG Nation. The Georgia-born songwriter/rocker continues to bring his hard-charging music to fans defining country's outlaw edge in what Entertainment Weekly hails for his "swaggering guitars, catchy hooks, and a DGAF attitude."

King Princess - Cheap Queen LP (Sony)

At just 20 years of age, acclaimed singer, songwriter and producer King Princess (born Mikaela Straus) is fast emerging as a modern pop icon. Straus was exposed to music from a very early age, watching and learning from her recording engineer father Oliver Straus in his recording studio Mission Sound in their home city of Brooklyn. Inspired by classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin and more contemporary artists such as Jack White, she mastered several musical instruments, learnt music production and even gained insights into the industry by attending label meetings with her father. Her debut album Cheap Queen includes contributions from Tobias Jesso Jr., Father John Misty and The Dap-Kings. [CD version due November 8.]

Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains LP (Drag City)
Back In Stock after being unavailable since David Berman's death. After a decade in the wilderness, David Berman returned to record-making - this time around as Purple Mountains, leaving his iconic Silver Jews brand to history. Fortunately for all the fans, he's retained his iconic songwriting style, with a new batch of tunes conveying an astonishing variety of 21st-century mid-life crises. Featuring full-on technicolor production intervention from Woods' Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earle, Purple Mountains debut stands tall among Berman's classic albums.

Rodan - The Hat Factory '93 LP (Quarterstick)

Newly discovered Rodan tapes from the Hat Factory in Baltimore, the studio where Rodan recorded early versions of the songs that would comprise Rusty.

Altın Gün - On LP (ATO)

On their 2018 debut album On, Altın Gün show what happens when you open doors between Turkish folk songs which were passed on from generation to generation on the one hand and a dirty blend of funk rhythms, wah-wah guitars and analogue organs on the other.

We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor [Reissue/2005] LP (100%)

We Are Scientists reissue their 2005 indie disco cult classic on vinyl. Titled after a J.D. Salinger short story and produced by Grammy winner Ariel Rechtshaid (HAIM, Vampire Weekend, Madonna, Adele), the shimmering 12-track collection includes the hit singles "Nobody Move", "Nobody Get Hurt", "The Great Escape" and "It's A Hit".

Winged Victory For The Sullen - The Undivided Five LP (Ninja Tune)

Giants of contemporary ambient and electronic inspired music, A Winged Victory for the Sullen make a bold return on their new album, The Undivided Five. The duo, made up of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie, has created iconic film scores and forward-thinking ambient groups, releasing a series of game-changing records for Erased Tapes and Kranky. Musical peers include Max Richter, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Tim Hecker and Fennesz.

Mappe of - The Isle Of Ailynn LP (Paper Bag)

The sophomore album from Mappe of, The Isle Of Ailynn (eye-lin) is a record built on fictional landscapes full of strange flora and fauna, mysterious phenomena and mythological beings. Yet, the stories that take place within these landscapes are the connective tissue that link fantasy to reality. A cartographer's journey discovering new lands, a militant missionary questioning his faith before godlike creatures, a rebellious daughter's dissent against her royal father in the capital. These stories are a select few of those that make up the mythology beneath The Isle Of Ailynn.

Sarry - So LP (Bam Balam Records)
Japanese Ethereal drone pop duo of Fuji Yuki (vocals) and 821 (bass). Through Fuji Yuki's softly screamed vocals, gently echoing into madness, and 821's bass, which reaches for the innermost depths of the human heart, Sarry's music -- at times incantational, at times narrative -- explores the occult realm of sound that connects this world to the next. Sarry takes elements from various genres such as Buddhist ritual music, krautrock, dark ambient, drone, hardcore, and noise, and blending them into an original style of performance using only bass and vocals. For fans of Djong Yun (Popol Vuh), Lisa Gerrard.

Tunes of Negation - Reach the Endless Sea 2LP (Cosmo Rhythmatic)
Shackleton works up a hypnotic group energy alongside avant-goddess Heather Leigh, percussionist Takumi Motokawa, and mallet player Raphael Meinhart in their debut as Tunes Of Negation. Reach the Endless Sea is a heady blast of lysergic, chromatic color, and syncopated rhythms that partly imagines an alternative musical timeline where the Hawkwind and Ash Ra Tempel fans, proto-Humanoid types, and new age travelers who made up the UK's rave vanguard prevailed against the law to enact a freely psychedelic dance music. Gushing in five durational parts running between 10-15 minutes each, the music comes in waves of pointed, timeless intensity, and illusory suggestion, subtly shifting pattern with an acid-dosed logic.

Hieroglyphic Being - Synth Expressionism/Rhythmic Cubism LP (On the Corner Records)
The new album from Chicago's Hieroglyphic Being is a collection of idioms that have no past and no future,as his jarring use of polyrhythmic polyphony imbues a sense of timelessness. Here he explores a multitude of expressions of the American avant-garde; temporal considerations are put aside as polyrhythmic propulsion is the current flowing through the work. The disjointed dance of an alternative Black Music takes the meter down a fraction to exonerate a granular groove of visceral refracted complexity. Sonorous static sits alongside spastic shards of synthesis to reveal a melancholic medley. Drifting through time, this fragmented abstraction of Afro-cubism leaves room for posterity, as each listen summons a new perspective on the suite.

Garden Centre - A Moon For Digging LP (Kanine)

Described as "A lo-fi pleasure" (Too Many Blogs) and "An indie pop project... for people with short attention spans" (Vice), Garden Centre mixes elements of punk, indie, and minimal folk to create a sweetness of melody with a taught narrative thread running through. [Limited blue colored vinyl pressing.]

Moon Bros. - The Easy Way Is Hard Enough LP (Western Vinyl)

So many fingerstyle virtuosos fall into one trap or another; bad production, hollow showboating, predictable influences, but Matthew Schneider, aka Moon Bros., bypasses all the tropes. In doing so, he gives the subgenre back to the weirdos, rendering it more palatable and listenable than it has been since the early '70s.

Fink - Bloom Innocent LP (R'coup'd)

Released last week on CD - now available on vinyl. Fink is UK-born, Berlin-based founding singer-songwriter/musician Fin Greenall, alongside bandmates Tim Thornton (drums, guitar) and Guy Whittaker (bass). On their new album Bloom Innocent, Fink has again collaborated with pioneering producer Flood (PJ Harvey, U2, Foals, Warpaint, The Killers) as they did on their sixth studio album, Resurgam (2017). [Limited white colored vinyl pressing.]

Social Distortion - Mainliner (Wreckage From The Past) [Reissue/1995] LP (Craft Recordings)

Social Distortion - Sex, Love And Rock 'N' Roll [Reissue/2004] LP (Craft Recordings)

Over the past four decades Social Distortion have all but trademarked their sound, a brand of hard rockabilly and punk that's cut with frontman Mike Ness.

The Building - Just For Once 12" (Peppermint)

The Building - Reconciliation LP (Peppermint)

The Building is brothers Anthony and Angelo LaMarca from Youngstown, Ohio. In May 2015 Angelo and Anthony started recording a new album called 'Reconciliation' with Gary Rhamy at Peppermint Recording Studio in Youngstown, a place made famous by their multiple Grammy-award winning Polka recordings. Some of the songs they were working on examined some of the choices their dad made in his life while dealing with an MS diagnosis in his late twenties. Questioning how people deal with tragedy, whether they know it is coming or not. The goal is to get rid of all fear, especially of inevitable situations.

Louis Sclavis - Characters On A Wall LP (ECM)

Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Louis Sclavis's 13th ECM recording finds the French clarinetist drawing inspiration from two sources the street art of Ernest Pignon-Ernest, and the interpretive originality of a splendid new quartet.

Pharoah Sanders - Izipho Zam (My Gifts) [Reissue/1973] LP (Pure Pleasure)

Two years after the death of his mentor and boss, John Coltrane, and just before signing his own contract with Impulse!, Pharoah Sanders finally got around to releasing an album as a leader apart from the Impulse! Family. Enlisting a cast of characters, no less than 13 in number, Sanders proved that his time with Coltrane and his Impulse! debut, Tauhid, was not a fluke. Though hated by many of the jazz musicians at the time - and more jazz critics who felt Coltrane had lost his way musically the minute he put together the final quintet - Sanders followed his own muse to the edges of Eastern music and sometimes completely outside the borderlines of what could be called jazz. That said, Izipho Zam is a wonderful recording, full of the depth of vision and heartfelt soul that has informed every recording of Sanders since.

Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Melting Pot [Reissue/1970] LP (Craft Recordings)

Melting Pot from Booker T. & The M.G.'s marked a turning point for the influential instrumental group. Released in 1971, it was the final studio album to include the original lineup of the longtime Stax house band (Booker T. Jones on keyboards, Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald Duck Dunn on bass guitar, and Al Jackson Jr. On drums). Comprised entirely of original material, Melting Pot finds the four-piece digging deep into some expansive Memphis soul jams.

Bar-Kays - Gotta Groove [Reissue/1969] LP (Craft Recordings)

50th anniversary reissue of The Bar-Kays' 1969 album, originally released on Stax subsidiary label Volt Records. Gotta Groove marked a triumphant return by a band reeling from tragedy after four members of the band were killed in a plane crash with Otis Redding in 1967. Surviving members Ben Cauley and James Alexander rebuilt The Bar-Kays with new musicians, and by 1969 they were back in the studio working with artists like Isaac Hayes.

Delaney & Bonnie - Home [Reissue/1969] LP (Craft Recordings)

Limited 180gm vinyl pressing of the blue-eyed soul duo's Stax debut. Married singer-songwriters Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett came from impressive backgrounds (Delaney played with acclaimed songwriter Leon Russell in the house band for the TV show Shindig!, while Bonnie performed with legendary blues guitarist Albert King when she was just a teenager). Home features an impressive lineup of talent, including Russell, as well as Booker T. & The M.G.'s and members of the Memphis Horns.

Ben Harper - Welcome To The Cruel World [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Virgin)

Pressed at 45rpm. A quarter-century later, Ben Harper's Welcome To The Cruel World remains an especially welcomed auspicious debut that let the world at large know a singular singer/songwriter had fully arrived on the scene.

Jorge Ben - Solta o Pavao LP (Survival Research)
Originally released in 1975. Jorge Ben is one of Brazilian music's iconic and best-loved figures. Beginning in samba, Ben's open-minded approach saw him embrace aspects of bossa nova, rock, and Tropicalia, the broad palette and diverse influences yielding a number of adventurous and abstruse albums during the 1970s, of which Solta o Pavao is one of the most rated by connoisseurs. Its title translates roughly to "Unleash the Peacock" and concerns the outward expression of inner beauty. Against a backdrop of lushly produced samba rock with shades of MPB, highlights include opener "Zagueiro", in which Ben salutes football center-backs in typically playful language; closing number "Jesualda" is a heady ballad of a chance encounter leading to a girl's social climbing and "Para Ouvir No Radio (Luciana)" a love song with striking flute and string arrangements.

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto LP (Wewantsounds)
Originally released in 1978 on the Better Days label. Save for a small-scale release in 1982, this is the first time the album is being released on vinyl outside of Japan. A penchant for avant-garde and improvisation had gotten Sakamoto interested in electronic music early on, and Thousand Knives was conceived as a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music. Sakamoto conjures mid-tempo synthpop instrumentals, insect-like swarms of synth sounds, subtle soundscapes for gentle piano melodies, and a fusion of krautrock with Japanese folk style melody. Recorded just before the group of Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, and Yukihiro Takahashi released their debut album as Yellow Magic Orchestra, there is no denying Thousand Knives paved the way for the group's Computer Music sound.

Chris & Cosey - Trance LP (Conspiracy International)
2019 repress on gold vinyl. This seminal album and a long time favorites with DJs and fans alike, highly influential in contemporary electronic music. Primarily an instrumental album, Trance covers everything from minimal electro and polyrhythmic sequences to rhythm heavy industrial dance tracks. "High-tech sequencer dazzles mix with heavy stews of sound, teasing atmospheric pieces with abrasive disco forgeries." --John Gill (Time Out, 1982)

Sponge - Rotting Piñata LP (Wargod)
Rotting Piñata is a definitive 90s release - the Detroit quintet perfecting the alternative rock sound, while not being afraid to experiment. Nearly impossible to find on vinyl (and never pressed in the U.S.) getting Rotting Piñata back onto wax was a no brainer, especially on the eve of its 25th anniversary. The original artwork elements have been carefully restored and formatted for a vinyl release. The jacket is printed on an upgraded 24pt stock with candy corn print inside the pocket.

Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples of the Moon LP (Waveshaper Media)
As composer, musician and initiator of the San Francisco Tape Music Center which he co-founded with Pauline Oliveros and Ramon Sender in 1961, Subotnick (born 1933) has propelled the progress of electronic music in several significant ways. From 1963 on he worked with Don Buchla on the development of the early synthesizer "Buchla Series 100" before moving to New York where the artist-in-residence at the newly established Tisch School Of The Arts of NYU was able to set up his own studio. That's where Subotnick's most popular work "Silver Apples Of The Moon" was commissioned by Nonesuch as the first electronic composition ever that was especially conceived for a vinyl release. The album has long been considered one of the essential milestones in electronic music with great effect on later generations of artists, starting with Silver Apples and Laika.

Various Artists - Electronic Voyages: Early Moog Recordings 1964-1969 LP (Waveshaper Media)
Released in support of the forthcoming Bob Moog documentary Electronic Voyager, this compilation features tracks by Robert Arthur Moog, Herbert Deutsch, Lothar and the Hand People, Ruth White, and more, all of which have been difficult to track down, with most tracks previously unreleased on vinyl. Bypassing the Moog synthesizer's backseat appearance on key pop recordings by the likes of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, Electronic Voyages aims to highlight the diverse approach of 1960s musicians and composers who adopted the Moog as their primary instrument. Electronic Voyages veers from avant-garde and electronic soundscapes, to psychedelic madness and summer-of-love pop, but the pioneering use of the Moog on all of these recordings sounds fresh today - you can sense the wide-eyed exploratory delight unfolding, and the disparate results range from endearingly naive to downright eerie.

Mamman Sani - La Musique Électronique du Niger [Reissue/2013] LP (Sahel Sounds)

Mamman Sani Abdoulaye, a legendary name amongst Niger's avant garde, presents a singularly unique recording of minimalist organ music from the Sahara. Dreamy and hypnotic, the sound is unlike anything coming out of West Africa before or since, closer in effect to early electronic experiments of Kraftwerk.

Kadavar - For The Dead Travel Fast LP (Nuclear Blast)

Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Aptly entitled For The Dead Travel Fast after German gothic poet Gottfried August Bürger, Kadavar's doomed fifth record is a perilous journey into the land of the dead, a foray into the bleakest corners of our minds. A heavy, slow-paced, throbbing force of guitar, bass and drums preciously enriched by spooky synths and a brooding narrative reminiscent of the Victorian death-cult. Beware, this is Kadavar gone pitch-black. Think Hawkwind with old Pink Floyd melodies, eerily sung to you from the grave. Just like the album cover, taken in front of Dracula's alleged crib in Transylvania, mysterious Castle Bran, the whole album is drenched in superstition, Romanian folklore and the mysterious ways of our psyche. Self-recorded and self-produced, For The Dead Travel Fast is Kadavar's very own death cult, an album at the same time uncanny and extremely powerful.

High On Fire - Electric Messiah 2xLP (E1)

Limited picture disc pressing. "I had a dream about Lemmy," says High On Fire's Matt Pike, explaining the inspiration behind the title of the band's eighth album Electric Messiah. If there's one aspect of the band that warrants comparison to Lemmy's mighty Motörhead, it's longevity. 2018 sees them celebrating 20 years of thunderous heavy metal, with brothers-in-arms Pike, bassist Jeff Matz, and drummer Des Kensel having been firmly intact for the last dozen years. Along the way the band has forged a distinct identity of towering riffs, a propulsive rhythm section, shredding solos, and lyrics of Hessian poetry. "This is by far the best record I've ever made with the High on Fire stamp," Pike adds.

Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi [Reissue/1994] LP (By Norse Music)

Enslaved's first full-length was dedicated to Mayhem's Euronymous whose label Deathlike Silence Productions originally released the album in 1994 following his murder by Varg Vikernes. This album has lyrics in Icelandic, and is a tribute to the Norse landscape, history and mythology. The songs match these themes with long horizontal songscapes, dense atmospheres and winds from the past.

Reissues & From The Archives

R.E.M. - Monster [Reissue/1994] 2xCD/5xCD+Blu-ray/LP/2xLP (Craft Recordings)

25th Anniversary Expanded and Remastered Edition - available in a variety of configurations: standard single-disc (vinyl and CD), expanded double-disc featuring Scott Litt's 2019 remix of the album (vinyl and CD) and new artwork, and a Super Deluxe box set featuring an additional CD comprised of 15 previously unreleased demos as well as a double-CD live set from the 1995 Monster Tour and a Blu-ray disc containing both hi-resolution audio and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes of Monster, a 90-minute film Road Movie and six music videos.

Bob Dylan - Travelin' Thru: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15 1967-1969 3xCD/3xLP (Legacy/Sony)

The latest chapter in the highly acclaimed Bob Dylan Bootleg Series revisits Dylan's pivotal musical journeys to Nashville, from 1967 to 1969, focusing on previously unavailable recordings made with Johnny Cash and unreleased tracks from the John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, and Self Portrait sessions. The first disc of Travelin' Thru: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15 1967-1969 finds Dylan in Columbia's Studio A in Nashville recording alternate versions of compositions written for John Wesley Harding (October 17 and November 6, 1967) and Nashville Skyline (February 13-14, 1969) while introducing a new song "Western Road" (a Nashville Skyline outtake). Discs two and three are centered around Dylan's collaborations with Johnny Cash including the much sought-after Columbia Studio A sessions and on-stage performances at the Ryman Auditorium (May 1, 1969) for the recording of the premiere episode of The Johnny Cash Show (originally broadcast on ABC-TV on June 7, 1969). The third disc closes with tracks recorded on May 17, 1970 with Grammy Award-winning bluegrass banjo legend Earl Scruggs for the PBS television special, Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends (originally aired January 1971).

The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Edition) CD/2xLP+2xCD+7" (ABKCO Music)

The Rolling Stones groundbreaking multi-platinum selling album Let It Bleed was released in late 1969. The Rolling Stones, at this point already a critically and commercially dominant force, composed and recorded their eighth long player (tenth for the US) amidst both geopolitical and personal turmoil. The second of four Rolling Stones albums made with producer Jimmy Miller (Traffic, Blind Faith), Let It Bleed perfectly captures the ominous spirit of the times with "Gimme Shelter", the opening track. The 2019 remaster has been engineered by eleven-time Grammy-winning mastering engineer Bob Ludwig. [The deluxe box set of Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Limited Deluxe Edition) includes the remastered album in stereo and mono on both vinyl and Hybrid SACD, and a reproduction of the 1969 7" mono single of "Honky Tonk Women" b/w "You Can't Always Get What You Want", in a picture sleeve. The box set also comes with three 12" x 12" hand-numbered replica-signed lithographs printed on embossed archival paper, a full-color 23" x 23" poster with restored art from the original 1969 Decca Records package, and an 80-page hardcover book with never-before-seen photos by the band s tour photographer Ethan Russell and an essay by journalist David Fricke.' The deluxe box is due Nov. 15th and the vinyl has yet to arrive...

The Doors - The Soft Parade [Reissue/1969] CD/3xCD+LP (Elektra)

Digitally remastered. Available in single-disc and Deluxe editions. The Deluxe box set features more than a dozen unreleased mixes across three CDs as well as a copy of the album on vinyl. Most of The Soft Parade was recorded following a grueling tour during which the band was left with little time to compose new material. Producer Paul A. Rothchild recommended a total departure from The Doors' first three albums: develop a fuller sound by incorporating brass and string arrangements provided by Paul Harris.

Jim Sullivan - Jim Sullivan CD/LP (Light in the Attic)
Jim Sullivan - If the Evening Were Dawn CD/LP (Light in the Attic)
Light In The Attic's reissue of Sullivan's 1969 debut U.F.O. introduced the world to an overlooked masterwork and won Sullivan, posthumously (presumably), legions of new fans. Those new admirers are in for a real treat: a lavish reissue of Jim's 1972 self-titled sophomore album, and a first-time release of a previously unheard 1969 studio session.
The self-titled LP was originally released on Hugh Hefner's short-lived Playboy imprint. Horns sweeten this funky and bombastic session driven by Jim's larger-than-life voice and exceptional song-writing chops, alongside a cast of legendary session musicians including Jim Hughart. The album makes a big stride into country, folk rock, and swampy blues, mesmerically finger-picked, brass-bedecked, and with that uniqueness of phrasing-part crooner, part jazz singer-that makes Sullivan such a rare performer. If The Evening Were Dawn contains 10 acoustic solo recordings that have never seen the light of day, finding Sullivan stripped down and soulful as ever. Recorded at an LA studio circa 1969, the session contains acoustic versions of a handful of U.F.O. tracks alongside a half dozen previously unheard songs. According to his widow, Barbara, this was the album Jim always hoped to record. It serves as an unprecedented glimpse into the mysterious, larger-than-life figure who's become the stuff of legends. Both albums available as indie exclusive color pressings.

Uncle Walt's Band - An American In Texas [Reissue/1980] CD/LP (Omnivore)

Uncle Walt's Band (Walter Hyatt, Champ Hood, and David Ball) has always been a hidden gem. One of those bands that, if you knew them, you loved them, but in their time, if you weren't at the right place at the right time, you didn't know about them at all. In their heyday, they were well known in their adopted home of Austin, but if you didn't get a copy of one of their albums from a band members' trunk after a gig, you didn't have anything to tide you over until their next show. Their second album, An American In Texas, is back in-print nearly 40 years after its initial release.

Los StraitJackets - The Utterly Fantastic And Totally Unbelievable Sounds Of Los Straitjackets [Reissue/1995] CD/LP (Yep Roc)

Los StraitJackets - ¡Viva! Los Straitjackets [Reissue/1996] CD/LP (Yep Roc)

As Los StraitJackets approach their 25th anniversary, Yep Roc is happy to reissue their long out-of-print first two albums, The Utterly Fantastic And Totally Unbelievable Sounds Of Los StraitJackets and ¡Viva! Los Straitjackets. "The Shadows/Ventures of the '90s arrive as a quarter in Mexican wrestling masks, burgundy turtlenecks, black jeans, black Converse and bedecked in silver sun pendants." -- AllMusic

Opeth - The Roundhouse Tapes [Reissue/2009] CD (Peaceville)

The Roundhouse Tapes contains a captivating Opeth performance from the Camden Roundhouse in London, UK, on November 9, 2006 (a gig which also featured goth metal legends Paradise Lost), and sees the band in scintillating form churning out a selection of classics from their illustrious career.