New Releases - 11/8/19
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 Compilations Books
New Releases
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen 2xCD/2xLP+MP3 (Ghosteen/AWAL)
Ghosteen, the new two-part album from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, serves as the band's 17th studio effort overall following 2016's Skeleton Tree. "The songs on the first album are the children. The songs on the second album are their parents. Ghosteen is a migrating spirit," notes Cave. "On the the first album Nick Cave has written and recorded entirely since the death of his teenage son, Arthur, in 2015-he sorts through his grief and all the requisite stages, occasionally as though in real time. His mood drifts between domesticity and depravity. He empathizes with the true believers who wept beneath Jesus' feet at the crucifixion. He latches onto friendship and love in any shape they take. He loses his faith, then fights desperately for any belief that can replace it. Scored by synthesizers, pianos, and electronics, the process is alternately harrowing and comforting for the first hour of the album, Cave's waking nightmare on full display. [Here he] emerges with one of his most powerful albums yet, an endlessly giving and complex meditation on mortality and our collective grief." - Pitchfork, Best New Music
Allen Stone - Building Balance CD/LP (ATO)
Allen Stone's Building Balance is his first new album in four years, spanning a time period spent figuring out how the old parts and the new parts of his universe were going to co-exist. For Building Balance, he worked with Grammy-winning producer Nasri as well as Jamie Lidell. Stone continues to draw inspiration from '70s funk and soul with current flexes, sitting amid D'Angelo in its sultrier moments, Stevie Wonder at its most melodic and the production of Mark Ronson at its most modern. [Limited clear vinyl pressing.] Join us for a free, all ages in-store performance by Allen Stone at Grimey's on the day his new album is released - Friday, November 8th, at 6PM!
FKA Twigs - Magdalene CD/LP (Young Turks)
Magdalene is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter FKA Twigs. It is her first body of work since her EP M3LL155X (2015), and first full-length record since LP1 (2014) Production was handled by FKA Twigs herself, with producers including Jack Antonoff, Metro Boomin, Nicolas Jaar, Kenny Beats, Oneohtrix Point Never, Jeff Kleinman, Skrillex, Sounwave, and Michael Uzowuru. Includes the singles "Cellophane, Holy Terrain" (featuring rapper Future) and "Home With You".
Pet Shop Boys - Dreamland CDEP/12" (X2)
An expanded release package for their current single, "Dreamland". Includes the new singles "An Open Mind" and "No Boundaries" new remixes and B-sides.
Snow Patrol - Reworked CD (Republic)
Issued in celebration of the band's 25th anniversary, Reworked presents thirteen re-envisioned versions of Snow Patrol classics including "Run", "You're All I Have", "Chasing Cars", "Take Back The City", "Crack The Shutters" and "Called Out In The Dark" plus three new songs. [Vinyl edition due December 6.]
Lankum - The Livelong Day CD/LP (Rough Trade)
Made up of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat, Dublin four-piece Lankum has gained worldwide acclaim for their first two albums and captivating, often euphoric live performances. New effort, The Livelong Day successfully blends alternative folk and psychedelia.
Moor Mother - Analog Fluids Of Sonic Black Holes CD/LP (Don Giovanni)
New full-length by Philadelphia-based artist, poet, and musician, Camae Ayewa, who performs under the name Moor Mother. A sonic black hole is a place where fluid moves so fast that it traps all sound. To be entangled in its gravity is to feel the pressure of an unjust system -- corruption so powerful that it drowns out whatever you throw at it. Analog fluids are resistance -- individuals who work to create and preserve community in the face of immense darkness and cosmic pressure.
Luke Combs - What You See Is What You Get CD (SME Nashville)
New release from the country superstar. Produced by Scott Moffatt, What You See Is What You Get features 17 songs including the five tracks previously released via Combs' The Prequel EP earlier this summer. [Vinyl edition due December 6.]
Ned LeDoux - Next In Line CD (Powder River)
In country music, a last name like LeDoux casts a big, storied and bittersweet shadow, but it's one Ned LeDoux doesn't mind standing in one bit. Having been a drummer in his dad Chris' band Western Underground since 1998, Ned knew from an early age that he had 'no plan b' but to play music, "Once I got the taste of the road, and being in front of a crowd and just the sound of it, it was...freedom."
Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders - Get The Money CD/LP (RCA)
Produced by John Lousteau and Taylor Hawkins, and mixed by Sylvia Massy, Get The Money follows Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders' 2016 six-song mini-LP KOTA by three years and features a scope far wider than KOTA's takes on suburbia's bizarro underbelly. The new album finds Taylor and Coattail Riders Chris Chaney, Brent Woods and John Lousteau accompanied by an all-star supporting cast including Taylor's fellow Foo Fighters Dave Grohl and Pat Smear, Roger Taylor, Joe Walsh, Duff McKagan, Nancy Wilson, Chrissie Hynde, Perry Farrell, LeAnn Rimes and more, collectively creating a staggering, epic sprawl that swerves from classic rock to prog and glam and all points between. Get The Money is introduced by the swaggering lead single "Crossed The Line".
Hawthorne Heights - Lost Frequencies CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Ahead of their upcoming 15-year anniversary tour celebrating The Silence In Black And White alongside Emery and Oh, Sleeper, Hawthorne Heights present the fun new covers collection featuring takes on current pop songs by Kacey Musgraves and Billie Eilish.
The Hit Parade - The Golden Age Of Pop CD/LP (JSH)
Would be UK pop stars The Hit Parade took fate into their hands early upon formation in 1984, circumventing fame and founding their own imprint JSH records. They operated on their own budgets and schedule, and along the way the long running cult has band earned more than a fair share of critical attention with very little promo. Over their 30+ years they've been described as indie icons, hailed by the NME as perfect pop, and the UK's Arts Desk has regarded them as the very definition of twee '80s style indie. The Golden Age Of Pop features 12 bright new pop songs written and recorded by the band over the last three years with Raymond Watts, producer of the band's 1986 indie classic LP With Love From The Hit Parade.
Rusty Shipp - Liquid Exorcist CD (Rusty Shipp)
The thematic possibilities are endless for the band out of Tennessee who treads some pretty deep waters on their latest release Liquid Exorcist. Like Galactic Cowboys, Rusty Shipp delivers multiple layers of raw riffage with a highly effective degree of melodic complexity. Their righteous blend of grunge, prog and classic metal served up with a shot of fuzz pop form a satisfying framework for Rusty Shipp's conceptual brand of aquatic rock. Don't miss Rusty Shipp when they rock the shop at Grimey's this Saturday, November 9th, at 5PM.
Mono - Before The Past - Live From Electrical Audio CD/LP (Temporary Residence)
Mono revisit three of their earliest songs and retrofit them with speaker-destroying upgrades. Live From Electrical Audio, recorded recently with longtime collaborator Steve Albini, shows the evolution of Mono's execution, stripping away the strings and layers of guitar overdubs to show just how massive this band can be at their most instrumentally austere.
Fitted - First Fits CD/LP (ORG Music)
Fitted is a new project from Bob Lee (The Freeks), Edvard Graham Lewis (Wire), Matthew Simms (Wire), and Mike Watt (Minutemen). The group first convened after just one practice to perform at Wire's DRILL festival in 2017 in Los Angeles. On their debut album, First Fits, the freewheelin' pysch-pop powerhouse plows through six numbers over the course of 38 minutes, with Lewis and Watt trading lead vocal duties. [Limited silver colored vinyl pressing.]
Macseal - Super Enthusiast CD/LP (6131)
Macseal is one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the vibrant, historically thriving Long Island, New York music scene in recent memory. Their unique ability to craft hook-laden earworms that also feature relatable lyrical narratives is uncanny and is impressively matched by their electrifying live shows.
The Good Ones - Rwanda, You Should Be Loved CD/LP (ANTI-)
For The Good Ones' album, Rwanda, You Should Be Loved, bandleader Adrien Kazigira composed over forty songs. Most were meditations on his now thirteen-year-old daughter, Marie-Claire, and the life-threatening tumor that has afflicted her left-eye. The recording was done live without overdubs on Adrien's farm and was imbued with the passing of producer Ian Brennan's mother during the days that they were there together as well as a former founding band member recently having succumbed to his own demons. The Good Ones renown is evidenced by the stellar musicians who collaborated with them on the new album: Wilco's Nels Cline, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker, My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, and Fugazi's Joe Lally.
Grum - Deep State CD (Anjuna Beats)
10 tracks that show off Grum's fresh take on progressive trance.
Andrea Bocelli - Sì Forever: The Diamond Edition CD (Decca)
Bocelli's million-selling 2018 Sì has been expanded to include six brand new tracks including duets with Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Matteo Bocelli, Jennifer Garner and more. Andrea Bocelli, one of the most beloved tenors in the world, returned with his first album of new material in fourteen years in 2018 with Sì. The album was recorded at his home in Italy and was produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed).
Work Of Art - Exhibits CD/LP (Frontiers)
A batch of unforgettable songs with soaring melodies and amazing instrumental prowess. For melodic rock/AOR aficionados.
Quiet Riot - Hollywood Cowboys CD/LP (Frontiers)
Widely known as the first heavy metal band to top the US pop charts, the Los Angeles quartet became a global sensation thanks to their monstrous smash hit 1983 album, Metal Health. The band has continued to record and tour throughout their 30 + year history. Their new album, Hollywood Cowboys, offers exactly what you would expect: arena-ready hard rock with strong hooks and infectious riffs.
Bask - III CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Hailing from the mountains of North Carolina, Bask was conceived in the fall of 2013 by guitarist Ray Worth, drummer Scott Middleton, bassist Jesse Van Note, and guitarist/vocalist Zeb Camp. The band's new record, aptly titled III, showcases a soulful juxtaposition of Americana rock 'n' roll with progressive and psychedelic elements, separating Bask from your average Southern rock outfit. Bask's sound has been described as progressive and cinematic, containing glimpses of Appalachian tonality and heartfelt heaviness, something they unequivocally prove with III. While songs like "New Dominion" and "Stone Eyed" present a heavier dynamic from the band, tracks like "Maiden Mother Crone" and "Rid Of You" serve up a melancholy elegance that showcases the band's roots, adding to the record's vast yet cohesive dimensions.
Pretty Maids - Undress Your Madness CD/LP (Frontiers)
Undress Your Madness is Pretty Maids' highly anticipated follow up to 2016's Kingmaker. Tracks include the in-your-face melting barn burner "Serpentine", the title track, and "Black Thunder", along with the timeless melodic metal anthems "Firesoul Fly" and "Will You Still Kiss Me (If I See You In Heaven)" as well as the superb power ballad "Shadowlands".
Empath - Active Listening: Night On Earth CD/LP (Get Better/Fat Possum)
Recently release on vinyl - now available on CD. Noise punk band Empath broke onto the national scene with the release of the Liberating Guilt And Fear EP with renowned DIY Philly punk label Get Better Records in 2018. Over the course of 2019 Empath cemented themselves as one of the buzziest emerging bands in indie music, being heralded as "America's most inventive young psychedelic band" by Rolling Stone Magazine. They also garnered more support from Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum, NPR and more around "Soft Shape" and "Hanging Out Of Cars," two standout singles from Active Listening: Night On Earth.
Can't Swim - Foreign Language CDEP (Pure Noise)
New Jersey punks Can't Swim present six blasts of anger on the Foreign Language EP. [Vinyl edition due November 22.]
Edge Of Paradise - Universe CD (Frontiers)
Formed by singer/pianist Margarita Monet and guitarist Dave Bates in 2011, Los Angeles based Edge of Paradise has made a name for themselves in the metal scene with the release of well-received independent albums and heavy touring both nationally and internationally. New album Universe brings together a symphonic and classic metal approach with more contemporary sounds like industrial and electronic influences.
The Dark Element - Songs The Night Sings CD/LP (Frontiers)
The Dark Element is a musical project fronted by vocalist Anette Olzon (ex-Nightwish) together with Finnish guitarist and songwriter Jani Liimatainen (Insomnium, Cain's Offering, ex-Sonata Arctica).
Mayhem - Daemon CD/LP (Century Media)
True Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem return with their sixth studio album, Daemon. By the power of darkness and with the might of black-hearted will no two Mayhem albums have been or will ever be the same. Over the course of Mayhem's storied and groundbreaking 35-year career - from Deathcrush (1987) through Esoteric Warfare (2014) - the Norwegians have continuously challenged the orthodoxy of the genre they helped create. Originally informed by greats Hellhammer, Venom, Bathory, and Sodom, Mayhem eventually imbued their damnable attack with influences from all over the music extreme spectrum, indicated first on the harsh and angular Wolf's Lair Abyss (1997) EP and foremost on the enterprisingly brutal and revolutionary Grand Declaration Of War (2000). In 2019, Mayhem yet again leaves holy earth scorched with Daemon.
Live & in Concert
Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars: Songs From The Film CD (Columbia)
The Western Stars film is a cinematic retelling of Springsteen's first studio album in five years, Western Stars, as he plays the album backed by a band and full orchestra at Stone Hill Farm in Colts Neck, NJ. The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was written and performed by Bruce Springsteen with special guest Patti Scialfa. The original score is by Springsteen and features each of the live performances captured in the film, including every song from Western Stars, as well as a cover of Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy". [Vinyl edition due December 13.]
The Rolling Stones - Bridges To Buenos Aires 2xCD+DVD/2xCD+Blu-ray/3xLP (Eagle Vision)
Bridges To Buenos Aires is the latest concert release from The Rolling Stones' endlessly fruitful archive. The full-length show from their five night sell-out residency at the River Plate Stadium in Argentina's capital city has been restored in full and features such classics as "Gimme Shelter", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Sympathy For The Devil", "I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)", "Brown Sugar" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" plus a guest appearance from Bob Dylan on "Like A Rolling Stone". Filmed and recorded on April 5, 1998, by this point the band had played to over two million people on the first two legs of the tour in North America and Japan and were in absolute top form. [Limited blue colored vinyl pressing.]
John Fogerty - 50 Year Trip: Live At Red Rocks CD (BMG)
Recorded at Red Rock Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on June 20th, 2019, as part of John Fogerty's nationwide US tour celebrating 50 years since Creedence Clearwater Revival performed at Woodstock Festival in 1969. 50 Year Trip: Live At Red Rocks includes live John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival classics.
Slayer - The Repentless Killogy (Live At The Forum In Inglewood, CA) CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
The Repentless Killogy short film is the combination of music videos from Slayer's last full-length release Repentless, threaded through a film narrative that ends with the band performing a sold-out show at Los Angeles' iconic Forum. Revenge, murder, bloodshed, and retribution, The Repentless Killogy is a perfectly packaged story reflecting these values that most look down upon. This is the story of Wyatt who used to run with the wrong crowd. Wyatt is a former Neo Nazi associated with a gang known as The Hand Brotherhood whose signature mark is a bloody handprint left after a murder had taken place. Wyatt left his gang after he fell in love with Gina, a woman who saved his life after a brush with death from those who wanted revenge on him and his gang. Wyatt and Gina go into hiding to start a family and escape his tarnished past. The Hand Brotherhood are not going to let this happen. The Repentless Killogy (Live At The Forum In Inglewood, CA) contains the entirety of the culminating concert, consisting of 21 tracks. [Limited indie store exclusive.]
Dessa/Minnesota Orchestra - Sound The Bells: Recorded Live At Orchestra Hall CD/2xLP (Doomtree)
Live album featuring 17 of Dessa's strongest songs, ambitiously rearranged by musician and composer Andy Thompson, and recorded live across two sold-out shows performed in March of 2019. The concerts were held in downtown Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall, a striking venue with an unmistakable acoustic design. Executive produced by Lazerbeak and Minnesota Orchestra Director of Live at Orchestra Hall programming, Grant Meachum.
Tracy Byrd - Live At Billy Bob's Texas CD/LP (Smith Music Group)
There are many ways to describe Tracy Byrd, but unique, talented, and charismatic just seem to scratch the surface. However, there is one word that ties them all together and is true to their character: Tracy Byrd is real. Few people sing so honestly from their heart and soul. Tracy Byrd does so in just the right way, combining art, story, and song in perfect unison. [Stand-alone DVD version also available.]
Reissues & From The Archives
Gene Clark - No Other [Reissue/1974] CD/2xCD/LP/3xSACD+Blu-ray+LP+7" (4AD)
The Byrds founding member's ambitious 1974 psychedelic rock/folk/country/soul masterpiece has been released on single disc CD and vinyl as well as limited run double-CD edition in a hardbound book cover. This reissue includes a bonus disc of alternate studio versions of each track plus a recording of "Train Leaves Here This Morning (an Eagles hit in 1972, written by Gene and Eagles founding member Bernie Leadon). An 'extremely limited' deluxe box set which contains the album on silver-colored vinyl, three SACDs, an exclusive seven-inch single, and a Blu-ray disc - which includes HD versions of all tracks, a 5.1 surround mix of the album, the original 1974 vinyl master and an exclusive documentary by Paul Kendall (the director of the 2013 film, The Byrd Who Flew Alone: The Triumphs and Tragedy of Gene Clark) - and a hardbound 80 page book which features essays, extensive liner notes and previously unseen photos, is was also made. "One of the greatest albums ever made. Initially celebrated for its obscurity, No Other is now celebrated for its magnificence. It was in every way a magnum opus: epic, sprawling, poetic, choral, rococo." - The Guardian UK
Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose [Reissue/2002] CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
Against Me!'s genre-defining 2002 debut album has been hard to come by in recent years, but those days are over. Fat Wreck has got you covered with this new CD and vinyl LP repressing. The singalong choruses and visceral grit of Reinventing Axl Rose spawned countless imitators.
Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds [Reissue/2005] CD/LP (New West)
Limited colored vinyl reissue. After the return to the garage feel of The Eyes Of Alice Cooper Alice continued down the same road with 2005's Dirty Diamonds. However, this is generally a more satisfying album with a greater diversity of material from the AC/DC hard rock of "Woman Of Mass Distraction", through the Stonesy "You Make Me Wanna" and "Perfect" to the country feel of the hysterical "Saga of Jesse Jane". Although he was no longer the acknowledged prince of Shock Rock by this time, "Zombie Dance" and "Run Down Down The Devil" are reminiscent of the time when he created the model for artists like Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie.
Peter Ivers -Becoming Peter Ivers CD/2xLP (Rvng Intl.)
Demos are often better than records. More energy, more soul, more guts. Peter Ivers / Becoming Peter Ivers tells the story of the late Peter Ivers, a virtuosic songwriter and musician whose antics bridged not just 60s counterculture and New Wave music but also film, theater, and music television. Collected from a trove of previously unheard demos, studio sessions, and rehearsal recordings written and recorded in Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 70s, Becoming Peter Ivers pulls back the curtains on this mischievous master of ceremonies whose exploration of the outer limits of music, and of life, came to a tragic end in 1983.
Compilations, Best Of's, & Sundry Collections
Various Artists - No Other Love: Midwest Gospel 1965-1978 CD (Tompkins Square
Tompkins Square has released acclaimed black gospel compilations over the years, including Fire In My Bones, This May Be My Last Time Singing, a Nashboro Records anthology, the complete recordings of Arizona Dranes, and When I Reach That Heavenly Shore. Record collector Ramona Stout compiled this new set of Midwest Gospel gems, many heard here for the first time since original release. She tracked down many of the original artists, and composed deep, moving liner notes about her experiences. The original 45rpm records were transferred and mastered by the Grammy-winning team of Christopher King and Bryan Hoffa.
Various Artists - Nigeria Soul Power 70 (Afro-Funk ★ Afro-Rock ★ Afro-Disco) CD/2xLP (Soul Jazz)
Soul Jazz Records' Nigeria Soul Power 70 album showcases the influence of funk, rock and disco on Nigerian music during the 1970s. Originally released as a nowlong-out-of-print collectors' 7' RSD box, this fully expanded album release now also includes extra tracks from Sonny Okosuns, Wings, Chief Kollington Ayinla and more.
Tribe - Hometown: Detroit Sessions 1990 - 2014 CD (Strut/Art Yard)
The first compilation bringing together the modern era recordings of Detroit's acclaimed independent jazz collective. [Vinyl edition due November 15.]
New on Vinyl
Lucy Dacus - 2019 12"+MP3 (Matador)
Lucy Dacus - Historian [Reissue/2018] LP+MP3 (Matador)
"Emotionally raw and intimate... (Lucy Dacus has) a big, unadulterated voice and tattooable lyrics" (The New York Times). "Lucy Dacus' voice has a snuggly allure, it's tone warm, deep, and decadent" (Pitchfork). "She never sounds less than supremely confident on lyrics that make the personal political, and vice versa, accompanied by musical arrangements that are sometimes downright majestic" (Paste Magazine). [2018's Historian is available on colored vinyl for the first time.]
Mercury Rev, Margo Price, & Erika Wennerstrom - Sermon b/w Louisiana Man 7" (PTKF)
From their recording lair in New York's Catskill Mountains, Mercury Rev's founding core of Jonathan Donahue and Grasshopper with Jesse Chandler (previously in the Texas group Midlake) honor pop and country singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry's foresight and creative triumph with spacious invention and hallucinatory flair. "Sermon" b/w "Louisiana Man" is part of a limited run of 7", this one featuring "Sermon" with Margo Price and a brand new cover of "Lousiana Man" withx Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards.
Can - Tago Mago [Reissue/1971] 2xLP (Mute)
Can - Ege Bamyasi [Reissue/1972] LP (Mute)
Limited colored vinyl reissues of the krautrock band's third and fourth albums. Of all the band's oeuvre, the unclassifiable Tago Mago has been most often cited as an influence for a host of artists including John Lydon, The Fall, Ariel Pink, F**k Buttons, Sonic Youth, Factory Floor and Queens Of The Stone Age. Ege Bamyasi finds the band transitioning from the edgy excursions of their earlier albums to the more nuanced ambience of their later fare, a sound that would lend itself to many soundtrack opportunities.
Bill Frisell - Harmony 2xLP (Blue Note)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Acclaimed guitarist Bill Frisell has signed with Blue Note and releases his debut album for the label under his own name with Harmony, a gorgeous and evocative journey across the landscape of American music of the last century. The album features vocalist Petra Haden, cellist and vocalist Hank Roberts, and guitarist, bassist and vocalist Luke Bergman. Longtime fans will recognize Frisell's ongoing calling to both honor the totality of American music and represent his personal history with integrity. "If I think back throughout my whole life, all the music that I've loved," he says, "why can't it all be there at the same time? You can play a Bob Dylan song and you can play a standard song or a Charlie Parker song, and they can fit together. Why not? There's no reason why you can't have 'Lush Life' and 'Red River Valley' on the same album. They're both beautiful songs."
Ryan Porter - The Force For Good LP (World Galaxy/Alpha)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. With remarkable artistry and a deep emotional charge, Ryan Porter's album Force For Good channels a powerful spiritual electricity that speaks directly to your soul. Backed by the West Coast Get Down on his third full-length release, the acclaimed trombonist takes inspiration from the positivity of jazz pioneer: "The Force For Good is my contribution to the legacy of John Coltrane's message of peace, love, and unity through music."
Juana Molina - Forfun 10" (Crammed Disc)
When Juana Molina - the unrivalled master of mysterious, sophisticated experimental pop- arrived with her band on the site of the Roskilde festival in July 2018, they found that the airline had misplaced their backline, all they had with them was Juana's guitar. They decided to go ahead and play a set anyway, using the guitar and instruments which were onstage, i.e. a keyboard and a drum kit. They played a wild set of semi-improvised versions of Juana's songs, to the fans delight. Now, several months later, here's the Forfun EP, which includes four of Juana's songs, all re-arranged and performed in that joyful punky mood.
Gary Davenport - Scattered Thoughts LP (Numero)
A treasure trove of early underground from San Antonio's first punk label Closet Records. Centered around the manic energy of founder Gary Davenport, this tidy 13-song collection compiles for the first time the best of his mid-fi work in Mannequin, quirky duos with Mark Champion and Charles Athanas, and alone at the raging edge of suburban Texas. A heady mix of jangly prog, dream-punk, community college rock, and anxious alternative, achieved just as video was killing the radio star. Packaged in a heavy-weight tip-on sleeve, with an accompanying book chronicling the entire sordid affair and visual discography.
Hiro Kone - A Fossil Begins To Bray LP (Dais)
In her most personally narrative work to date, A Fossil Begins To Bray is the follow up on Dais Records for NYC producer Hiro Kone, furthering the dialogue set forth on her 2018 release, Pure Expenditure. While the statements on Pure Expenditure rallied behind a point of dangerous excess and injustice, the material on A Fossil Begins To Bray embark upon a journey of discovery and self-analysis, proposing a potential reorientation towards absence in hopes of illuminating potential futures. The first single, "Feed My Ancestors", expands upon Hiro Kone's signature take on electronic music structures. Seemingly free from the predictable contracts imposed by any one genre's stereotypes, Hiro Kone throttles the foreboding bassline in favor of more calculated, abstract cutups that gracefully hold the track in place between hopeful utopia and something more ominous. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing.]
Brian Owens & The Deacons Of Soul - Soul Of Ferguson LP (Soul Step)
Soul Of Ferguson is for fans of Durand Jones & The Indications, Leon Bridges, and Marvin Gaye. Soul music isn't something you can define, but something you can hear. With this LP, you can hear a ton of soul. Hear the echoes of some of the great soul sounds of old, from Motown to Stax. Guest vocals from Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers.
Hannah Williams & The Affirmations - 50 Foot Woman LP (Record Kicks)
Hannah Williams, the British soul hurricane who sensationally became part of Jay-Z's chart-topping 4:44 album, is primed and ready for her own national and international breakthrough. Shades of classic soul and psychedelic funk blend uniquely with modern-day flavors on a record destined to set the soul agenda for 2019 and far beyond.
Kele - 2042 LP (Kola)
Kele, founding member and lead singer of Bloc Party, returns with the new solo album 2042, heralded by the visceral first single "Jungle Bunny". 2042 is Kele's fourth solo record and, following 2017's largely acoustic Fatherland (released under his full name and featuring a duet with Olly Alexander from Years And Years), marks something of a return to the adrenalized electronics of his previous two solo records, Trick (2014) and The Boxer (2010), whilst broadening the sonic palette by bringing in elements of his work with Bloc Party and a litany of other influences and ideas. As an artist, Kele Okereke has never stood still, relentlessly seeking new ways in which to present his luminous songs. Whilst sonically markedly different from Fatherland, lyrically 2042 picks up a thread from that record whereby Kele's life experiences and relationships suffuse the album with some of his most personal lyrics yet. [CD due November 15.]
Apollo Brown - Sincerely, Detroit 2xLP (Mello Music Group)
Released last week on CD - now available on vinyl. 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 21-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.
White Denim - The Last Day Of Summer [Reissue/2010] LP (Radio Milk)
Vinyl reissue of this album from the Texas Alt-Rock trio, which was briefly available as a download-only release in 2010. Last Day Of Summer is unique in the Texan explorers' catalog. Rather than the result of long experimentation and their usual casually eclectic approach (typified by their much-admired mixtapes), enforced restrictions offered new possibilities. It's noticeably different in approach from their other offerings.
Comet Gain - Fireraisers Forever! LP (Tapete)
The cultishly loved UK indie greats led by David Feck, are back with their first album in five years. "If 2014's Paperback Ghosts was gentle and folky, Fireraisers Forever! finds them mad as hell, taking aim at a variety of subjects. One of them: nostalgia. "Mid 8Ts" is an organ-fueled anthem that may have fond memories of the days of Vespas and Beatle Boots ('we were '60s in the '80s') but argues for living in the now. 'Old mods with bellies and hair like shit,' they sing, adding 'all your heydays deserve better than this.'" - Brooklyn Vegan
Slow Meadow - Happy Occident LP (Hammock Music)
Two years following 2017's Costero, Slow Meadow returns with its third full-length album Happy Occident, a collection of textured ambient melodies. Fueled by the anxiety derivative of modern life and the frenetic and often uncertain state of these ever-changing times, Happy Occident provides music for reflection. A soundtrack to life's contemplative moments, and an experience akin to mindfulness meditation.
Land Of Kush - Sand Enigma 2xLP (Constellation)
Renowned Montréal/Cairo composer Sam Shalabi returns with his exhilarating and utterly genre-bending big band Land of Kush. The trenchantly titled Sand Enigma bristles with defiant exuberance, restless creative energy, and electrifying cross-cultural expression - the band's most accomplished, acute and accessible album to date (though don't expect 'easy listening' from this boundary-pushing hydra-headed entity). Sand Enigma is a wildly diverse and hugely compelling tour de force of modern composition that pulses with emotion and experimentation, blending avant-garde, psychedelic, Middle Eastern, out-jazz, electronic, and improv/free music tropes to stunning effect.
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Assorted Works LP (Triple Crown)
"The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die has always been a collective. We have gained and lost, grown and shed over the first 10 years. Here we are now with probably the strongest core we have had yet. We want to collect these songs you may have missed and give the chance to see us at the steps we've taken between albums. From our halves of splits with other bands to companion releases to others you may have heard, these songs are now together on vinyl and arranged in a new package with previously unseen art. While we take our time making the next full length, have a listen to pieces of our past."
Tempers - Private Life LP (Dais)
New York based duo Tempers, comprised of Jasmine Golestaneh and Eddie Cooper, has been diligently carving out their own unique niche within dark indie, electronica and synth-pop circles since their formation. After a series of digital singles in 2013, Tempers began solidifying its singular identity of rigorous electronic production blended with instinctual, unleashed vocals. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Shantih Shantih - Someone, Anyone?! LP (Wild Honey Records)
This Atlanta-based four piece combine rock 'n roll with dreamy harmonies over twanging guitars, with Italian native Anna Barattin on vocals and rhythm guitar, Julia Furgiuele on vocals and drums, Anna Kramer on lead guitar, and Nikki Speake on bass. If you dig girl groups, dream pop, and doo wop, don't sleep on Shantih Shantih!
Kevin Griffin - Anywhere You Go LP (BMG)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. 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.
Roger C. Reale & Rue Morgue - Reptiles In Motion LP (Rave On Records)
Recorded in 1979, the previously unreleased Reptiles In Motion was meant to be Roger C. Reale & Rue Morgue's second album. Reptiles In Motion features deluxe full color gatefold sleeve with liner notes, previously unseen photographs and eye-popping graphics by Cliff Mott. During the studio group's 1978-1979 existence, a stellar lineup of rock sidemen recorded as Rue Morgue, including guitarists G.E. Smith (Daryl Hall & John Oates, Bob Dylan, Saturday Night Live Band), Mick Ronson (David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Ian Hunter) and Jimmy McAllister (The Beckies, Mick Ronson Band, Sparks), alongside drummer Hilly Michaels (Mick Ronson Band, Sparks, Ian Hunter). Reale served as the group's primary songwriter, vocalist, and bassist.
The Police - Reggatta De Blanc [Reissue/1979] LP (A&M)
The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta [Reissue/1980] LP (A&M)
The Police - Ghost In The Machine [Reissue/1981] LP (A&M)
The Police - Synchronicity [Reissue/1983] LP (A&M)
Limited 180gm vinyl reissues.
Madonna - Madonna [Reissue/1983] LP (WB)
Madonna - Like A Virgin [Reissue/1984] LP (WB)
Limited clear vinyl pressings of Madonna's first two studio albums.
Ceasar Frazier - 75 LP (Be With Records)
Funky soul-jazz organist Caesar Frazier crafted superior Hammond funk. 75, his second LP, is a rare gem. It's comfortably his greatest artistic statement. The follow-up to Hail Ceasar! (1972), it's a taut, grooving set that expands his sound, with stronger songs to boot. The key elements of his debut album are all there -- production from maestro Bob Porter, accompaniment from hip players (Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Cornell Dupree, John Tropea) and arrangement from Horace Ott -- and the tightly jamming, expressive jazz-funk makes for a richer, fuller, more satisfying experience. 75 is a mixture of hard-driving originals, deeply beautiful slower numbers to vary the tempo and a couple of classy covers.
Optimistics - Optimistics LP (Be With Records)
This is some serious top-shelf material out of Baltimore, a certified masterclass in sweet symphonic soul. Originally released on Turbo in 1970, Optimistics are every bit as essential as The Chi-Lites, The Delfonics, and The Moments, yet nowhere near as known. This album is beloved of discerning hip-hop producers worldwide and routinely championed by the legendary Pete Rock. The genius George Kerr has handled the production on what is an album of beautiful, naïve soul for mind and body. The LP is a winning blend of slow, spine-tingling ballads and joyously upbeat tracks, radiating a heart-breaking ambience that cuts right to the core.
CRAC - All for You LP (KingUnderground)
First vinyl reissue of the 1980 album. The band C.R.A.C. was formed in 1974 by bassist/vocalist Rick Cua, drummer Tommy Rozzano, keyboardist Larry Arlotta, and lead singer/percussionist Ricky Chisholm, and a regular gig playing mostly popular covers at a Syracuse club called Big Daddy's led to more gigs across New England, a radio single, "Of the Lites," and a reputation as one of the premier funk and R&B bands in NYC. The busier the band got, the more their talent grew, and this afforded some members the honour of playing with such well-known artists as Maynard Ferguson, Melba Moore, Sea Level, Duke Jupiter, and The Outlaws.
Latrell - 1984 LP (Family Groove) Prince-influenced previously unreleased Modern Soul & Boogie-Funk. Recorded in North Hollywood, 1984.
Pinch - Border Control 12" (Berceuse Heroique)
Pinch, one of the seminal members of the Bristol scene, is kickstarting a trilogy of 12"s that Berceuse Heroique call 'an ode to sound system culture', trying to invoke the long lost spirits of pure, heavyweight, hardcore hedonism that stems from a lot of sub genres of British dance music culture. 'Border Control' fuses the industrial aesthetics of Birmingham techno and the jungle techno pressure of the early 90's and in the end it sounds like a fight anthem against Brexit. 'Fortune Teller' will test any soundsystem with that Dillinja-esque bassline. Pinch runs the voodoo down one more time, and he sounds pissed off and more fresh than ever.
B. Visible - Pleasant Clutter LP (Data Snacks)
With an endless love for detail, Vienna-based DJ and producer B. Visible weaves delightful chaos into the vibrant fabric of his album Pleasant Clutter, which masterfully condenses familiar and strange sounds into a fascinating collection of moments, each one in itself as beautiful as volatile. Using playful little melodies and decontextualized fragments of sounds, B.Visible conjures up a wide range of moods and emotions: he tells mesmerizing instrumental stories full of unexpected twists and turns, evoking lively images within the mind. In constant flux between weightlessness and dead-aim beats, structures are broken up and put back together on the fly -- always changing, always evolving.
Various Artists - Under Frustration Vol. 2 LP (Infine)
The Under Frustration project takes stock of the contemporary Arab electronic scene, and highlights its astonishing diversity, by deconstructing Western clichés imagining a culturally homogenous Arab world. In a context of post-revolutionary disillusion, this ambitious compilation series sets itself as a manifesto of a new, futuristic, underground wave that aims to uplift the Arab voice, once again. With this new release, Arabstazy allows the listener to walk among Shiite, Shaabi or Stambali lands -- revealing new mystical sounds, reserved for trance ceremonies and ancestral rituals. Vol. 2 includes unreleased tracks of DJ Haram, Praed, Hello Psychaleppo, OkyDoky, and many more.
Yazz Ahmed - Polyhymnia 2LP (Ropeadope)
London-based composer, trumpeter, and flugelhorn player Yazz Ahmed has performed with Radiohead and The New Puritans. Her second album, La Saboteuse, featured Shabaka Hutchings and Naadia Sheriff and was hailed by critics and fans alike. On Polyhymnia, Yazz continues to blend Jazz with traditional Arabic rhythms and melodies to convey a celebration of female courage and determination. The album is a suite of six compositions, each dedicated to women of outstanding qualities, whom Yazz finds to be inspirational role models. We welcome this powerful and important statement as we work towards a world of equality.
Various Artists - Electronic Voyages: Early Moog Recordings 1964-1969 LP (Waveshaper Media)
In support of their forthcoming Bob Moog documentary Electronic Voyager, Waveshaper Media has produced a compilation LP of Moog recordings from the 1960s. The first compilation of its kind, Electronic Voyages: Early Moog Recordings 1964-1969 contains tracks by Robert Arthur Moog, Herbert Deutsch, Joel Chadabe, Lothar and The Hand People, Intersystems, Ruth White, Max Brand, and Paul Earls.
Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples Of The Moon [Reissue/1967] LP (Waveshaper Media)
In support of their forthcoming documentary Subotnick - Portrait Of An Electronic Music Pioneer, Waveshaper Media - the same team behind the modular synthesizer documentary I Dream Of Wires - presents a deluxe edition vinyl reissue of Subotnick's landmark 1967 debut electronic release.
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Thousand Knives Of Ryuichi Sakamoto [Reissue/1978] LP (Wewantsounds)
A reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album originally released in 1978 on the sought-after 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. Named after Belgian-born poet Henri Michaux's description of a mescaline experience, the album is a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music.
Andrew Pekler - Sounds From Phantom Islands LP (Fatiche)
A masterpiece of contemporary exotica. Phantom Islands are islands that appeared on historical maps but never actually existed. The status of these artifacts of European colonial expansion from the 15th to the 19th century oscillates between cartographic fact and maritime fiction. Sounds From Phantom Islands interprets and presents these imaginations as a quasi-ethnographic catalog of music and synthetic field recordings.
Giulio Aldinucci - No Eye Has an Equal LP (99Chants)
Four long-form pieces from the contemporary Italian producer/composer. Opener "Brezza Perduti Arsi Tramonti" is an introspective composition, where fluttering soundscapes meld with soaring choral voices, contrasting with the darker post-rock atmospherics of "Mirages and Miracles", with distorted radio transmissions crackling through the heavy ether. The detuned, insistent bliss of "Meiosis, Remembrances" intertwines delicate piano with heavy synthesis, leading into the dubbed-out ambience of "Fuoco Lontano", heard inside a glassine chamber with a distant skyline twinkling in the background. RIYL: Steve Roach, Fennesz, Kara-Lis Coverdale, William Basinski, Tim Hecker, the dronier moments of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Sa Pa - In a Landscape 2LP (Mana)
Rain, spit, ice, neon, plants, steam, mercury and soil. This is dream music categorized by a language of senses; visual, poetic, and abstract sound that draws on techno and dub ambient. Somewhere between pastoral impressionism and cyber-noir, its surface evokes the tensions of a fluctuating, fizzing atmosphere, pictures emerging and dissolving in the mind's eye. Thick layers of field recording flood tracks fabricated from erratic, oddly distanced rhythm. The sensation whilst listening is not unlike hearing the world from a place within the body; swimming in the bloodstream, cutting through the turbulent landscape secure in a metal tube. Or being over-exposed to lushly textured environments with the anatomy far receded; an out-of-body experience where subtler senses are heightened and the landscape begins to take on surreal qualities.
Om Buschman - Total LP (Glossy Mistakes)
A percussive trip to the roots of new age. Total is an obscure masterpiece by ethnic percussion group Om Buschman. Tribal rhythms, spiritual jazz, and organic grooves melt together in Total. Recorded in Germany in 1989, this glossy originally edition was lost and then found in a warehouse, next to other matte finish covers, that never got distributed. 180 gram vinyl.
Don Slepian - New Dawn: New Music For Digital Orchestra Volume III ( [Reissue/1980] LP (Morning Trip)
Gravitating towards improvisation and experimentation, Slepian built a breathtaking sound-world that stretched the briefest of moments into an eternity of detail and depth. In 1980, Slepian self-released a series of cassette albums that built upon and perfected this practice, offering New Music For Digital Orchestra. New Dawn is one of those albums - an enthralling example of New Age euphoria, and early-electronic experimentation.
New for the Bookshelf
Flea - Acid For The Children: A Memoir BK ( Grand Central Publishing)
The iconic bassist and co-founder of the Red Hot Chili Peppers takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years. Through hilarious anecdotes, poetic meditations, and occasional flights of fantasy, Flea deftly chronicles the experiences that forged him as an artist, a musician, and a young man. His dreamy, jazz-inflected prose makes the Los Angeles of the 1970s and 80s come to gritty, glorious life, including the potential for fun, danger, mayhem, or inspiration that lurked around every corner. Young Flea, looking to escape a turbulent home, found family in a community of musicians, artists, and junkies who also lived on the fringe. He spent most of his time partying and committing petty crimes. But it was in music where he found a higher meaning, a place to channel his frustration, loneliness, and love. This left him open to the life-changing moment when he and his best friends, soul brothers, and partners-in-mischief came up with the idea to start their own band, which became the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Acid for the Children is the debut of a stunning new literary voice, whose prose is as witty, entertaining, and wildly unpredictable as the author himself. It's a tenderly evocative coming-of-age story and a raucous love letter to the power of music and creativity from one of the most renowned musicians of our time.