New Releases - 11/6/20
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
New Releases
Adulkt Life – Book Of Curses LP (What’s Your Rupture)
Debut LP by London band Adulkt Life featuring Huggy Bear's Chris Rowley, Male Bonding's John Arthur Webb and Kevin Hendrick, and drummer Sonny Barrett. Huggy Bear led the UK's answer to riot grrrl, inspired by the "seismic shock" of witnessing a Nation Of Ulysses performance together and galvanized by Bikini Kill drummer Tobi Vail's germinal riot grrrl zine Jigsaw. In the 25 years since Rowley played with iconic Huggy Bear, starting a new band hasn't felt right. But after Arthur Webb, who Rowley met while picking up records at a Rough Trade shop, asked if he wanted to play music together it "suddenly it felt super exciting." Years later, Webb and Rowley befriended a then-teenage drummer, Barrett, now 23, who worked at a different Rough Trade location. After a mysterious letter from Rowley arrived for Sonny at the shop, Sonny finally decided to check out Huggy Bear, promptly offering to drum in Adulkt Life. The Adulkt Life lineup was finalized when Webb enlisted his best friend and longtime collaborator, Hendrick – who has in recent years turned towards solo industrial noise poetry as Middex – on bass.
Ólafur Arnalds – Some Kind Of Peace CD/LP (Mercury KX)
Some Kind Of Peace was born out of the mantra: "We can't control anything that happens to us. All we can do is control how we react to what life gives us." Touches on what it means to be alive, daring to be vulnerable and the importance of rituals. A personal journey told through Olafur's introspective music, against the backdrop of a chaotic world. The collaborators are key, like British musician Bonobo on the luminous, pulsing opener, Icelandic artist JFDR and German singer-songwriter Josin.
Nils Frahm – Empty LP+MP3 (Erased Tapes)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Conceived of just before Nils broke his thumb and composed the similarly intimate solo piano album Screws, Empty is a soothing vessel of eight simple and serene pieces originally recorded as the music to a short art film he shot with his friend and film director Benoît Toulemonde.
Goo Goo Dolls – It’s Christmas All Over LP (WB)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. Multi-platinum, four-time Grammy-nominated rockers Goo Goo Dolls release their first-ever holiday record. It’s Christmas All Over is filled with cover renditions of iconic holiday songs such as "Let It Snow" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing", as well as two new originals that capture the warmth and nostalgia of classic Christmas favorites. Produced by frontman John Rzeznik in addition to the band's longtime collaborators Brad Fernquist and Jimmy McGorman, It's Christmas All Over was recorded during lockdown in 2020. The Union Square 5 appears on the final track "The Christmas Party."
Holy Motors – Horse LP (Wharf Cat)
At 22 years old, Eliann Tulve resembles Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, reincarnated as an Estonian cowgirl. She is enigmatic as ever but stands more firmly alongside co-songwriter Lauri Raus, the solidification of their roles perhaps accounting for the more hopeful turn their song writing has taken of late. Holy Motors' new album Horse finds the band acknowledging the Americana and rockabilly strands of their musical DNA without sacrificing any of the otherworldly mystique that keeps them from neatly conforming to the shoegaze and dreampop labels often applied to their music.
Nicolas Jaar - Telas 2xLP (Mana)
Four new chapters from Nicolas Jaar. Here it's the odder and more essence-like devotion to sound that is semi-narrative, ambient, and concrète that we heard and were drawn to in Pomegranates. Telas gestures towards a more refined tone, with less sudden shifts and vignettes, incrementally shaping an hour of self-reflective music with tracks building and collapsing. Nicolas remains focused on manipulating gauzy fibres and room tone or fluttering around other cryptic actors, so that when bursts of clarity and emotion appear they take on a deeper character. There's a greater sense of contemplation and patience in the album's logic, pointing to a conception of art, melody, and sound which is continuously under construction. Black & clear vinyl in gatefold jacket, with art by Somnath Bhatt.
Kylie Minogue – Disco CD/LP (BMG)
The Australian singer’s 15th album is a departure from her previous country-tinged album Golden (2018), and was influenced by 1970s and 1980s disco, as well as modern-day club music. [Deluxe CD edition includes four bonus tracks.]
Thurston Moore - By the Fire 2xCD/color 2xLP (Daydream Library Series)
Now available on orange vinyl. Thurston Moore's seventh solo album features musicians Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine) on bass and backing vocals, Jon Leidecker aka "Wobbly" (of Negativland) on electronics, James Sedwards on guitar, and Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley. 2020 is our time for radical change and collective awareness and Thurston Moore has written nine songs of enlightenment, released to a world on fire. Taking a cue from Albert Ayler's "music is the healing force of the universe," this recording offers songs as flames of rainbow energy, love songs in a time where creativity is our dignity, our demonstration against the forces of oppression.
PUP – This Place Sucks Ass CDEP/12” (Rise)
After recording their acclaimed 2019 album, Morbid Stuff, PUP was left with a handful of songs that didn't make the final tracklist, largely because they were too frenetic or too unhinged. And for an album that fantasized about the world exploding, that's saying a lot. Like all of their material, This Place Sucks Ass is a document of the band PUP is - at times thoughtful and introspective and at other times wildly cathartic. [Indie exclusive green & pink vinyl]
Darrell Scott – Jaroso CD (Darrel Scott)
Recorded and inspired by Jaroso, the last village in south central Colorado on the New Mexico border, Scott made an album in his friend Mark Dudrow’s adobe church. With no PA system and a small room of attendees arriving only by word of mouth, Scott and his engineer Erick Jaskowiak simplified the album process and made a free flowing, simple, pure, old-style recording.
Heather Trost – Petrichor CD/LP (Third Man)
New Mexico-based artist Heather Trost's new solo full-length, Petrichor, is fresh, unique, and really good. Sonically, this modern psychedelic pop music is as experimental as it is accessible. Petrichor was recorded between 2018 and 2019 by Trost and her husband Jeremy Barnes at their home studio. These seven lush, beautiful songs defy easy categorization, gleefully mixing elements from multiple genres - but it's never to impress you or show off. You might not even notice how smart the record is until a fifth listen, a testament to how much work was put into the futuristic and shimmering sound. With Trost's Petrichor, we have a record that sounds like the soundtrack to what might come next, on the off chance that what comes next really doesn't suck. "Even though shit had yet to hit the fan when I wrote these songs," Trost says, "2019 also felt like such a crazy year in terms of what was happening in the world, I felt like I needed to remind myself to have joy and love in my heart. It's something I meditate on a lot, especially when it seems like the world is ending."
Twain – Adventure LP (Keeled Scales)
Mat Davidson is the songwriter in Twain, who you may recognize as the virtuoso musician in The Low Anthem, Spirit Family Reunion, Buck Meek, Langhorne Slim, and Courtney Marie Andrews' live bands. While he lends his talents on pedal steel, piano, violin, bass, and guitar to those projects, Twain is his songwriting project, joined by Peter Pezzimenti on drums and Ken Woodward on bass. [Dark red vinyl.]
Laura Veirs – My Echo CD (Raven Marching Band)
My Echo is Laura Veirs' eleventh studio album, and includes appearances and features from Jim James, Bill Frisell, Karl Blau, Matt Ward and others. [Vinyl edition due November 27.]
Wynonna – Recollections CDEP (ANTI-)
The new release from the younger half of country music duo The Judds, Recollections marks both a literal and a figurative homecoming for the Grammy-winning icon, who recorded much of the collection while quarantining on her Tennessee farm in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced off the road for the first time in years, she found herself reconnecting with her roots as she sang once again for the sheer joy of it, performing a series of loose and lively covers with her husband, former Highway 101 drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cactus Moser. The resulting EP is a testament not only to Wynonna's status as a jaw dropping vocalist and electrifying frontwoman, but also a consummate interpreter of song and a dedicated student of craft. She offers her singular take on tracks by Nina Simone, Slim Harpo, John Prine, Fats Domino and the Grateful Dead here, delivering spare, entrancing performances driven by deep empathy and gut intuition. Wynonna drills down to the essence of each song, stripping back layer after layer until she's laid bare the raw, emotional core of the music. There's no pretense or posturing on Recollections, just pure heart and soul.
Reissues & From The Archives
Ataraxia – The Unexplained [Reissue/1975] LP (Sacred Bones)
The pioneering electronic composer Mort Garson (Mother Earth's Plantasia) takes on supernatural phenomena with lush synth grooves on The Unexplained, his only release under the name Ataraxia. Subtitled Electronic Musical Impressions Of The Occult, the album explores tarot, astral projection, seances, and more with Garson's signature Moog synthesizer serving as the listener's tour guide to the paranormal. The exploratory, whimsical spirit of its creator is evident throughout the release, but it also takes its subject matter seriously, making it essential for anyone interested in musical conjurations of the occult. [Indie exclusive orange vinyl + standard black vinyl available.]
David Bowie – Metrobolist (aka The Man Who Sold The World CD/LP (Rhino/Parlophone)
Originally titled Metrobolist, the album's name was changed at the last minute to The Man Who Sold The World -- the original stereo master tapes were in fact labeled Metrobolist, with the title ultimately crossed out. The 2020 re-release of the album under its Metrobolist moniker has been remixed by original producer Tony Visconti, with the exception of the track “After All” which Tony considered perfect as is and is featured in its 2015 remaster incarnation.
Dave Brubeck – Lullabies CD/LP (Verve)
In 2010 at 91 years old, Dave Brubeck recorded peerless takes on best-known children's songs, beloved standards, and originals as a gift to his grandchildren and as his last studio recording. His playing, ingenuity and integrity, all hallmarks of great Brubeck recordings, are abundantly apparent on Lullabies. Bookended by two versions of "Brahms Lullaby", the five originals among the covers are "Going To Sleep", "Lullaby For Iola", "Koto Song", "Softly, William, Softly" and "Briar Bush". Further tracks include "Over The Rainbow", "Danny Boy", "Going To Sleep", "There's No Place Like Home", "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Sleep". "Some of the melodies on this album are like those familiar songs," says Brubeck. "Some are original pieces that I thought would appeal to a baby as well as an older generation. I hope the littlest ones will respond to this music, and that parents and grandparents will enjoy it as well."
Mariah Carey – Emotions [Reissue/1991] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Mariah Carey – MTV Unplugged [Reissue/1992] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Mariah Carey – Music Box [Reissue/1993] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Mariah Carey – Daydream [Reissue/1995] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Mariah Carey – Butterfly [Reissue/1997] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Mariah Carey – Rainbow [Reissue/1999] 2xLP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Digitally remastered vinyl reissues including download.
Chrome – Blood On The Moon [Reissue/1981] LP (Cleopatra)
On their 1981 album Blood On The Moon, founding members Helios Creed and Damon Edge veer towards straightforward rock constructions while keeping with the weird and adventurous spirit Chrome is known for.
Coven – Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls [Reissue/1969] LP (Real Gone Music)
The upside-down crosses, the 'devil's horns' hand's signs that are commonplace with metal bands both past and present - they all started here.
Peter Gabriel – Live In Athens 1987 2xLP+MP3 (Real World)
The touring band captured on this, the final stop on a very long tour in Athens, Greece, consists of Gabriel alongside Manu Katché (drums), Tony Levin (bass and backing vocals), David Rhodes (guitar and backing vocals) and David Sancious (keyboards) with a special guest appearance by Youssou N’Dour and Le Super Etoile de Dakar. The album has been half-speed remastered and cut to lacquers at 33RPM, across two heavyweight LPs and includes hi-res 16bit or 24bit download.
Mort Garson – Music From Patch Cord Productions CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
A collection of rare and unreleased recordings from the archives of electronic music pioneer Mort Garson, composer of Mother Earth's Plantasia. The compilation plays like an ultimate Mort Garson playlist, and includes alternate takes of Plantasia tracks, music for never-aired radio advertisements, themes for science fiction films, erotic oddities, and much more from the prolific composer's '60s and '70s synthesizer oeuvre. This deluxe edition includes art by Robert Beatty and new liner notes by Andy Beta (Pitchfork). [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available. Vinyl reissues of Didn’t You Hear?, Black Mass (under the alias Lucifer) and The Unexplained(his only release under the name Ataraxia) are also available this week.]
Mort Garson – Didn’t You Hear? [Reissue/1979] LP (Sacred Bones)
Digitally remastered edition of this 1970 album from the Canadian-born electronic music pioneer. Garson is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s that were among the first to feature Moog synthesizers.
John Lee Hooker & The Coast To Coast Blues Band – Live At Montreux 1983 & 1990 2xLP (Eagle Records)
The legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker brought his boogie style blend of rhythm & blues to deliver two blistering performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1983 and 1990. Joined by The Coast to Coast Blues Band they cover an impressive set of hits from across his career including “Boom Boom”, “Crawlin King Snake” and his very first single “Boogie Chillen'”.
INXS – Kick [Reissue/1987] LP (Atlantic)
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing of the best-selling album from INXS, featuring the hit singles “Need You Tonight”, “New Sensation”, “Devil Inside” and “Never Tear Us Apart”.
Jónsi – Go [Reissue/2010] LP (Krúnk)
Sigur Rós front man Jón Jónsi Birgisson released his debut album Go in 2010. Jónsi initially though he would be making a low key, acoustic album until, as he says, somewhere along the line, it just sort of exploded. That explosion resulted in sheer aural fireworks. Not a straight ahead pop record, nor rock, folk, ambient or electronic, it encompasses all of these to create an expansive musical palette that's been brought to life by Jónsi alongside a number of free-spirited collaborators including the Philip Glass protégé Nico Muhly and the percussive genius of Samuli Kosminen.
Lucifer – Black Mass LP (Sacred Bones)
Digitally remastered edition of this 1971 album from the Canadian-born electronic music pioneer. Garson is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s that were among the first to feature Moog synthesizers.
Ayalew Mesfin - Mot Aykerim LP (Now Again)
The last in a series of five reissues. Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin's music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation. Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set of albums - the first time that his music has been presented in this form. This anthology gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from his uber-rare 7" single releases.
Nickel Creek – Nickle Creek [Reissue/2000] LP (Craft Recordings)
Nickel Creek – Why Should The Fire Die? [Reissue/2005] LP (Craft Recordings)
While Nickel Creek's earlier recordings showed off their musical prowess, the trio consider their self-titled 2000 release to be their official debut. Released on Sugar Hill Records and produced by Alison Krauss, the album incorporates elements of rock, alternative, jazz, and even classical. Featuring both traditional and original material, Nickel Creek showcases the band's unique style as well as their deft songwriting skills. As Nickel Creek integrated more rock and pop elements into their music, they went in a new direction with their 2005 album Why Should The Fire Die? - enlisting producers Eric Valentine & Tony Berg.
Charlie Parker – The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection CD (Craft Recordings)
CD configuration of the Charlie Parker LP box set released earlier in the year. The collection highlights Bird's pioneering bebop recordings for Savoy Records from 1944-1948, featuring jazz legends Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Bud Powell, Max Roach and more. The package includes faithfully restored original album artwork, plus a booklet containing vintage photos, rare ephemera and new liner notes by Grammy-winning author Neil Tesser.
Pylon – Gyrate [Reissue/1980] CD/LP (New West)
Pylon – Chomp [Reissue/1983] CD/LP (New West)
Pylon – Pylon Box 4xLP (New West)
In the late 1970's Athens, Georgia was buzzing with a raw but sophisticated music scene. Traditional southern rock had been the Georgia musical export for years before but the turn of the decade began producing new sounds from bands like the B-52's, R.E.M. and alt rock luminaries, Pylon. Before they were a band, Pylon were art-school students at the University of Georgia: four kids invigorated by big ideas about art and creativity and society. Pylon was less a band, however, and more of an art project, which meant they had very specific goals in mind as well as an expiration date. While their time together as a band was short lived (1979-1983), Pylon had a lasting influence on the history of rock and roll. Throughout their brief history, they were able to create influential work that would help foster the post-punk and art-rock scene of the early ‘80s. Artists like R.E.M., Gang of Four, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, Interpol, Deerhunter and many more claim inspiration from the band. [Pylon Box (CD edition due next year) is a comprehensive look at the band and features their studio LPs Gyrate and Chomp, both of which have been remastered from their original tapes, the 11-song collection Extra which includes rarities and 5 previously unreleased studio and live recordings, as well as Razz Tape, Pylon's first-ever recording: a 13-song unreleased session that pre-dates the band's seminal “Cool” b/w “Dub” debut.]
Linda Ronstadt – Get Closer [Reissue/1982] LP (Friday Music)
Audiophile 180gm translucent red marbled colored vinyl pressing. Produced by Peter Asher, 1982's Get Closer showed up two years after its predecessor, Mad Love, during which time Linda Ronstadt had appeared in a Broadway production of The Pirates of Penzance and had recorded an album of standards entitled Keeping Out Of Mischief, produced by Jerry Wexler. In the end, Ronstadt opted to cancel the album's release because she wasn't happy with how it had turned out, but since she still had an album to fulfill her contract, she returned to the studio with Asher, who she'd worked with previously, and knocked out another album that was - more or less - in line with the material she'd been releasing in the '70s.
Sun Ra – A Fireside Chat With Lucifer [Reissue/1983] CD/LP (Modern Harmonic)
Fireside Chat offers a wide stylistic array, as was the artist's intent, reflecting his eclectic, seemingly irreconcilable approach to compositional extremes.
The Who –Who [Deluxe & Live At Kingston] 2xCD (Interscope)
The Who release a new version of 2019's album Who featuring an updated version of “Beads On
One String” newly remixed by Pete Townshend and acoustic tracks from the band’s only live shows of 2020. The songs on the deluxe version of Who were recorded in Kingston on Valentine's Day this year exactly 50 years to the day since The Who's seminal show at Leeds which became the infamous live album Live At Leeds. [Vinyl edition due December 4.]
Wilco – Summerteeth [Reissue/1999] 4xCD/5xLP (Rhino)
Wilco's third album, Summerteeth, arrived in March 1999 to glowing reviews for it's daring arrangements, lush harmonies and revealing lyrics. This Deluxe Edition reissue includes a Bob Ludwig 2020 remastered version of the original album along with an entire disc of unreleased studio outtakes, alternate versions and demos that chart the making of the album from songwriting demos to alternate studio arrangements to finished masters. The two remaining discs feature a previously unissued live show. The concert took place late in the Summerteeth tour, on November 1, 1999 in Colorado at The Boulder Theatre, when the new songs had been road-tested and the band was in top form. Sourced from an uncirculated soundboard recording, it features band members Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Ken Coomer and Jay Bennett. Most of the songs on Summerteeth were performed during the show, along with several tracks from the band's two previous records, Being There (1996) and A.M. (1995), as well as Mermaid Avenue (1999).
Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Return To Greendale 2xCD/2xLP/2xCD+2xLP+Blu-ray+DVD (WB)
Return To Greendale is the next installment in Neil Young’s Performance Series (#16) and features a concert (audio & on film) from the historic and unique 2003 tour supporting the release of the Neil Young with Crazy Horse album Greendale. On the 2003 tour, Neil Young and Crazy Horse were joined on stage by a large cast of singers and actors to perform the story Neil Young wrote about the small town of Greendale and how a dramatic event affects the people living there. The ten songs from the powerful original album are performed in sequence, with the cast speaking the sung words - adding to the intensity of the performance. The live album Return To Greendale is available in several formats: a double-CD set, double-vinyl LP, and a limited-edition deluxe box set that includes both CD and vinyl formats, a Blu-ray of the full concert, and a DVD of Inside Greendale (the making of the album documentary).