New Releases - 10/5/18
New Releases
Phosphorescent - C'est La Vie CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
Matthew Houck's first new Phosphorescent release in five years chronicles a life-altering period which saw him fall in love, start a family, leave New York for Nashville, and build a studio from the ground up. With a focus on translating these profound experiences to music as intuitively as he could, Houck pushes the boundaries of what a Phosphorescent record can sound like, balancing the earthy and the incandescent, the troubled and the serene, creating his own musical cosmos in the process. [Limited clear vinyl pressing.] We have a very limited supply of tickets to the Phosphorescent show at The Basement East on Saturday, October 6th. Buy the new album at Grimey's and you'll get a pair of free tickets to the Basement East show!
Cat Power - Wanderer CD/LP (Domino)
There are few voices more deeply embedded in the iconography and mythology of American indie rock than that of Chan Marshall. Under the musical nom de plume of Cat Power, Marshall has released music for nearly 25 years now and her prowess as a songwriter, a producer, and most notably - as a voice - has only grown more influential with time. Wanderer, Cat Power's stunning tenth studio album, marks a pivotal moment in both Marshall's life and her career. In the six years since the release of 2012's Sun, she has traveled the world, given birth to a child, and parted ways with her previous record label. Even though it was, in many ways, a period of profound upheaval and radical change, those experiences resulted in a record that is arguably the most assured artistic statement of her career. Produced by Marshall and mixed by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck), the album includes appearances by longtime friends and compatriots, as well as guest vocals courtesy of recent tourmate Lana Del Rey. [Limited indie-exclusive clear vinyl pressing.]
Ron Gallo - Stardust Birthday Party CD/LP (New West)
"Stardust Birthday Party is about human evolution. Specifically, one human's evolution: mine, Ron Gallo. That's the name my parents gave me. Hi. At one point, I was a very lost mid-twenties person living in Philadelphia, in a relationship with someone struggling with mental health issues and crippling heroin addiction. I was asleep. I didn't know how to handle my life. I was also writing songs for Heavy Meta - my frustrated with humanity album. I laugh about it all now, but at the time it all felt like an absolute nightmare. It was the perfect doorway to look inside the place I'd been avoiding forever: myself. Stardust Birthday Party is about what is happening underneath all of this life stuff. My path inward. The details of my path are pointless because everyone's path is different. It is about me sitting with myself for the first time and confronting the big question WHAT AM I, REALLY? It's about the love and compassion for all things that enters when you find out you are nothing and everything." - Ron Gallo
Idle Bloom - Flood the Dial CD/LP/CS (Budding Romance Records)
The Nashville-based band's sophomore LP, produced by Ben McLeod of All Them Witches, was recorded in an isolated cabin in Kingston Springs, TN over the course of a week. Out on the band's new label, Budding Romance Records, Flood the Dial is refreshingly anti-establishment, ardently hopeful, and catchy as hell. addressing discordant themes in today's overwhelming political landscape. Angular guitar hooks, tight, crunchy build-ups, stacked vocal harmonies, and deeply personal lyrics deliver tension and release in an increasingly chaotic world.
Jim James - Uniform Clarity CD/LP (ATO)
New acoustic companion piece to James' recent album Uniform Distortion. "The idea for Uniform Clarity came from Uniform Distortion," says James, "an album of intentional chaos/dirt: literal and figurative distortion of lyrics and sound meant to echo and hopefully shed some light on the twisted times and distortion of the truth in which we now live. Uniform Clarity is meant to illuminate the other side - raw and real, but very clear, much like in the early days of recording where all you could hear was the truth because there were no ways to manipulate recordings in the studio. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.] This title should arrive on Friday.
Eric Church - Desperate Man CD/LP (EMI Nashville)
Country superstar Eric Church introduces his sixth studio album Desperate Man with the single of the same name. The upbeat track, flavored with Church's usual rock influences, keyboard detail and a singalong motif, was produced by Jay Joyce and written by the singer with fellow artist and Texan music mainstay Ray Wylie Hubbard. Never satisfied with the status quo, Church constantly challenges himself as an artist and that's certainly the case here. Desperate Man follows-up on the great success and acclaim of 2015's Mr. Misunderstood, which won the CMA Award for Album of the Year and was certified platinum by the RIAA. "I look forward to seeing you on the road," Church says. "I'm very proud of this album." Free bonus 7-inch single with purchase while supplies last!
Steve Perry - Traces CD/LP (Fantasy/Concord)
Legendary singer-songwriter and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Perry (Journey) makes his long-awaited return with Traces, his first new album in nearly a quarter century. The famed singer introduces the album with lead track "No Erasin'" and reassuringly greets fans with the opening line "I know it's been a long time comin'." The track is an emotional homecoming, a familiar welcome from the iconic voice and writer of Journey's timeless, global hits including "Don't Stop Believin'," "Faithfully", and "Open Arms", as well as the significant solo success of "Oh Sherrie" and "Foolish Heart". Perry says, "Putting 30 years into 10 songs has certainly been an emotional experience for me. I started writing and recording these songs with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them. Along the way, I rediscovered my love for music. Each track represents traces of my past, but is also a hopeful look into the future. I invite you to listen with an open heart."
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon CD/2xLP+MP3 (BMG)
The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon sees Echo and the Bunnymen, still lead by the indomitable Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, revisit their peerless back catalog to reinterpret 13 of their most beloved songs with strings and things. Recorded at The Dog House Studios with co-producer Andy Wright, The Bunnymen hand-picked the selection of tracks for the album from their majestic, four-decade spanning archive. McCulloch said of the new versions: "I'm not doing this for anyone else. I'm doing it as it's important to me to make the songs better. I have to do it." The first track, "Seven Seas", was originally a Top 20 hit in 1984, the third single from their fourth studio album Ocean Rain. A couple of brand new tracks - "The Somnambulist" and "How Far?" - also accompany the rearranged classics. [Limited indie-exclusive luminous vinyl pressing also available.]
Twenty One Pilots - Trench CD/2xLP+MP3 (Fueled By Ramen)
Trench finds Twenty One Pilots fearlessly reimagining the possibilities of their music through the same candid expression and genuine identity that helped to cement their place as one of the largest bands in the world. The album is introduced by the dub-inspired "Jumpsuit" and reggae rap cut "Nico And The Niners."
Adrianne Lenker - abysskiss CD/LP+MP3 (Saddle Creek)
Adrianne Lenker has been writing songs since she was ten years old. Her "back story" has been well documented in various interviews and profiles for Big Thief over the last three years. Despite, or more likely because of the constant touring and studio work, the last few years have been some of the most prolific for Lenker as a writer. Songs pop out at soundcheck. They pop out on late night drives between cities. They pop out in green rooms, hotel stairwells, gardens, and kitchens around the world. In the hands of Lenker songwriting is not an old dead craft. It is alive. It is vital. With little regard for standard album cycle practice or the idea of resting at all, Lenker set out to make a document. Songs can be slippery and following a 2+ years on the road with Big Thief, Lenker felt a growing need to document this particular time in her life in an intimate, immediate way. The result is her new album, abysskiss. [Limited glow-in-the-dark vinyl pressing.]
Swearin' - Fall Into The Sun CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Fall Into The Sun is what co-songwriter Allison Crutchfield calls "the adult Swearin' album." This can be heard on songs like "Big Change", where she says goodbye to Philly and the scene that she came up in, or in "Dogpile" where co-songwriter Kyle Gilbride offers the line any aging punk can relate to: "By pure dumb luck I've gotten where I'm going." Where Swearin' used to pummel through their songs, on Fall Into The Sun, they bask in what this newfound openness offers. It's most notable on the ambling "Stabilize", which sees the band throw their weight around in the song's back half, offering up what's easily the heaviest riff in their catalog. "I think both me and Allison have gone through huge transitions in our lives. There was a lot on our minds, and it was a super fertile time to put a bunch of songs together," said Gilbride. It's true of the material found on Fall Into The Sun, but it's noticeable in the album's production as well. Much like the band's previous albums, Gilbride anchored the recording and producing of the record, but this time around, the band worked to make the process feel more collaborative than ever before. [Limited edition 'coke bottle' colored vinyl pressing.]
Friendship Commanders - Bill CD/LP (Trimming the Shield Records)
The latest album from Nashville-based melodic punk/hardcore/sludge duo, recorded with Steve Albini. Band members Jerry Roe and B. Arson are committed to making work that promotes conversation around tolerance, equality, communication, and human rights.
Cursive - Vitriola CD/LP (15 Passenger)
Over the past two decades, Cursive has become known for writing smart, tightly woven concept albums where frontman Tim Kasher turns his unflinching gaze on specific, oftentimes challenging themes, and examines them with an incisively brutal honesty. The band's remarkable eighth full-length, Vitriola, required a different approach -- one less rigidly themed and more responsive as the band struggles with existentialism veering towards nihilism and despair; the ways in which society, much like a writer, creates and destroys; and an oncoming dystopia that feels eerily near at hand.
F**ked Up - Dose Your Dreams CD/2xLP+MP3 (Merge)
"I was sent an unfinished version of Dose Your Dreams so that I might contribute string parts. I couldn't stop listening to the rough mixes I received. A friend asked me how the record was. I replied, 'My God, F**ked Up have made their Screamadelica.' And psych-rock-groove it is. The drums mixed wide, propensity for drones, for delay pedal, for repetition, groove. The politics and aesthetics of hardcore married to an "open format" approach to genre. Elements of doo-wop, krautrock, groove, digital hardcore. 'None of Your Business Man' opens the album in familiar enough territory, a sax-assisted exit from an office space. But things get psychedelic very quickly. By the time the title track arrives, Mike Haliechuk is whispering, wah pedals are in full effect, and we're wearing oversized t-shirts and pinwheeling. 'Accelerate', the lyrical centerpiece of the album, storms in like Boredoms on a bullet train and dissolves into a digital nightmare. The album closer, 'Joy Stops Time', finds F**ked Up at their most Düsseldorfian, nearly eight minutes of blissful motorik. At the center of it all is Damian Abraham's scream - a man chained, a man tortured, a true protagonist. The effect is one of an epic, every chapter attempting its own narrative devices, its own genre hybridization - and it works, it works so insanely well." - Owen Pallett [Limited edition translucent yellow colored vinyl pressing.]
Kristin Hersh - Possible Dust Clouds CD/LP (Fire)
Hersh's tenth studio album is a highly personalized sociopathic gem delivered as a futuristic rewriting of how music works, a melodious breeze with a tail wind of venomous din. Enveloping the juxtaposition of the concept of 'dark sunshine', a brooding solo record created with friends to expand her off-kilter sonic vision; a squally, squeaky mix of discordant beauty. Feedback and phasing gyrate from simply strummed normality, imagine Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine cranking up a Dylan couplet.
Will Hoge - My American Dream CD/LP (Edlo)
Will Hoge didn't really need to release a new album in 2018. His most recent, Anchors, came out last August. He'd toured the United States and Europe, and could've settled in from there. But there was something he couldn't stop thinking about: his children. Border police. Political corruption. Anti-intellectualism. Poverty. Gun control. A broken education system. Indifference to others' suffering. Each of these things weighed on Hoge, and he confronts them all head-on in My American Dream.
Gregory Alan Isakov - Evening Machines CD/LP (Dualtone)
Recorded at a converted barn studio located on Isakov's three-acre farm in Boulder County, CO, Evening Machines was self-produced and mixed by Tucker Martine (Neko Case, The Decemberists) and Andrew Berlin (Descendants, Rise Against). Since his debut in 2003, Isakov has self-released three full-length studio albums on his independent label, Suitcase Town Music, with over 370,000 in sales, and has toured extensively building a devoted worldwide audience. He has toured with artists including Iron & Wine, Ani DiFranco, Blind Pilot, Passenger, Josh Ritter, Brandi Carlile, and Nathaniel Rateliff, and since his debut with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in November 2013 has performed with symphonies across the country including the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Matt Nathanson - Sings His Sad Heart CD (Acrobat)
Whoever thinks that the dog days of summer are for chillin' by the pool needs to have a chat with San Francisco native son Matt Nathanson. The beloved singer/songwriter, whose live shows are a winning combination of hook-filled pop and stand-up-quality humor, is running hard on all cylinders this season. In early June, the self-confessed Def Leppard "dork" released a tribute EP to the band, recorded with his frequent collaborator, Aaron Tap, at the latter's L.A. studio. Entitled Pyromattia (get it?), the digital release was followed a few weeks later with a video for a new Nathanson original, "Way Way Back", and a tease of more new songs to come. In July Nathanson began a summertime tour as opening act for his good friends, O.A.R. His 11th studio album, Sings His Sad Heart, was produced by Butch Walker, Stacey Jones, Amir Salem, and Adam Pallin and features the aforementioned "Way Way Back" and the singles "Used To Be" and "Mine".
Seasick Steve - Can U Cook? CD (BMG)
Can U Cook? finds Seasick Steve mixing up all of his much-loved ingredients to deliver a good ol' mix of boogie, blues, rock, Americana and folk-music. "Just seems there's all kinds of sunshine and colors on this record," Steve notes. "Maybe it's because we made most of it down in Key West, Florida?...It was made down south, way down south, as far south as you can go and still have your boots in America." [Vinyl edition due October 26.]
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - Poor Until Payday CD/LP (New West)
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band has built its reputation the long, slow, hard way. After 12 years of playing as many as 300 shows each year, Rev. Peyton, the world's foremost country blues finger-style picker, along with the biggest little band in the country, has pieced together a new country blues record that was made the right way -- two feet on the ground and both hands getting dirty.
Marcus King Band - The Carolina Confessions CD/LP (Fantasy/Concord)
At 22 years of age, Marcus King has been a bandleader for a decade and tipped as "music's next great guitarist" by the Washington Post. But the band's daring, ambitious new album, Carolina Confessions, marks an artistic leap of another order. Produced and mixed by Grammy Award-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) and recorded at Nashville's iconic RCA Studio A, it finds the band's trademark musicianship buoyed by a new narrative depth, as Marcus delves into heavy themes: absolution, guilt, leaving home, yearning, love and other affairs of the soul. Carolina Confessions features ten brand-new songs, all written by Marcus except for "How Long", which was co-written with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and veteran songwriter Pat McLaughlin. Whether it's the searing rock exorcism of "Confessions" or the propulsive road-bound soul of "Where I'm Headed", Marcus exhibits an almost Southern gothic sensibility in his songs, owning up to failed relationships, portraying his complex connection with his hometown, arraying a sprawling musical firmament in the process.
Doyle Bramhall II - Shades CD/2xLP (Provogue)
A spellbinding blend of grungy blues, raucous garage rock, transcendent psychedelia, and soothing, soul-stirring ballads that sees Bramhall reaching new heights as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist while responding to his heart's most urgent commands as a lyricist and arranger.
Molly Burch - First Flower CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Molly Burch burst onto the music scene in 2017 with her debut Please Be Mine - a ten-track ode to unrequited romance written after studying Jazz Vocal Performance in Asheville, NC - and earned immediate praise from critics for her smoky, effortless vocals and bleeding-heart lyrics. A walk-through Burch's most intimate thoughts - broken friendships, sibling relationships and overwhelming anxiety, First Flower is a bright, beautiful album peppered with moments of triumph with Burch's voice as strong and dexterous as ever.
Madeline Kenney - Perfect Shapes CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
In January of 2018, five months after the release of her debut album Night Night At The First Landing, Madeline Kenney traveled from Oakland, CA to the woods outside of Durham, NC to record her sophomore album with a new collaborator, Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner. Perfect Shapes marks Wasner's first foray into producing another artist's work and is permeated by the pair's collaborative spirit. From the delightfully warped percussion on opening track "Overhead" to the burbling synths on the R&B-tinted "The Flavor Of The Fruit Tree" and the left-field trumpet solo in "Your Art", their rich and inventive ideas echo Yo La Tengo's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality, as well as the surging soundscapes of Tame Impala and Wye Oak at their most impressionistic.
KT Tunstall - WAX CD (Rostrum)
WAX is the sixth studio effort from Brit Award and Ivor Novello Award-artist KT Tunstall. The album was entirely self/co-written by KT and produced by Nick McCarthy (founding member of multi-million selling band Franz Ferdinand), with co-production from duo MyRiot (London Grammar, Birdy). WAX also features co-writing contributions from her frequent creative collaborator Martin Terefe and Kings Of Leon producer/mentor Angelo Petraglia. KT (guitar, synths and vocals) is flanked on the record by seasoned L.A.-based musician Denny Weston Jnr on drums and longstanding cohort Charlotte Hatherley on guitar among others.
Tokyo Police Club - TPC CD (Dine Alone Music)
Tokyo Police Club return with their first full-length in four years. After putting aside the idea of splitting up and back-burnering their commercial expectations, TPC recaptures the energy of their early years and was built on camaraderie and esprit de corps. Favoring simple rhythms, slower tempos and drive over details, the band felt that there was only one person who could capture this liberation on tape - producer Rob Schnapf, whom the band worked with on 2010's Champ. [Vinyl edition due November 2.]
TTNG - Animals Acoustic CD (Sargent House)
TTNG's Animals Acoustic isn't a simple rebuild that one would normally expect to hear when anticipating an acoustic album. Like the referenced album's cover, there are multiple color palettes present to create an overall picture that feels less two dimensional and more of a colorful celebration of the layers of music within. Animals Acoustic features musical contributions from TTNG's friends and contemporaries. Nate Kinsella (Birthmark, American Football, Make Believe) recorded string arrangements found throughout the new release. The Kraken Quartet are featured on some of the band's fan favorites: "Chinchilla," "Baboon" and "Gibbon." Yvette Young of Covet turns "Crocodile" into a delicate piano ballad. The Mivos Quartet, Vicky Tremain and Andy Hume contribute even more depth to an album of reassembled songs.
Tall Heights - Pretty Colors For Your Actions CD/LP (Sony Masterworks)
Pretty Colors For Your Actions finds the Boston, MA duo exploring a range of musical influences and emotions. The 11-track album is underpinned by Tall Heights' signature melodies, layered and shaped with live instrumentation and contemporary production. "We've always been influenced by the electronic instrumentation of drum machines and synthesizers, but we approached this album with a renewed respect to the breadth of human performance." [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing.]
Castlecomer - Castlecomer CD/LP (Concord)
Castlecomer's self-titled debut is equal parts rock and roll abandon and meticulous pop craftsmanship. Chock full of contagious, arena-ready anthems, the album conjures up its own escapist world of young love and big dreams, all fueled by explosive guitars and hypnotizing grooves. Lead single "All Of The Noise" shimmers as it barrels forward, mixing thoughtful beauty with raw power, while "Move" pairs lead vocalist Bede Kennedy's silky-smooth vocals with a disco-tinged arrangement that's pure 1970's joy. Castlecomer also offers the band a chance to show off the versatility that marks their exhilarating live shows, where punk snarl ("She Knows") and stripped-back tenderness ("Leaving") meet undeniable dancefloor jams ("Make Love Make Music", "If I Could Be Like You").
Ashbury Heights - The Victorian Wallflowers CD (Out Of Line)
Three years after The Looking Glass Society, Swedish duo, Ashbury Heights returns with a new album. Purified in sound by Mario Rühlicke (Blutengel), their overall palette has become even more varied and the sounds reveal an astonishing eye for detail. The irresistible glamour of the band continues as well as a subtle wickedness that has transformed it into one of the more exciting electro-pop acts of our time.
Mueller-Roedelius - Imagori II CD (Grönland)
Imagori II is a continuation of Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster, Harmonia) and Christoph H. Müller's collaborative efforts. The pair released their debut album Imagori on Grönland Records in 2015. Roedelius's soundscapes joined Müller's electronic productions and beats and they entered into a dynamic symbiosis that gave rise to music that, instead of uniting two worlds, created a new one. That process continues seamlessly here.
McCaslin - Blow. CD/LP (Motema Music)
As the bandleader on David Bowie's Blackstar, saxophonist Donny McCaslin collaborated with the Starman to carry forward his penchant for reinvention. For Blow. - a daring fusion of vibrant electronica, and bombastic art-rock due this fall - McCaslin applied that mindset to his own work, pushing his music in a bold new direction. Propulsive and improvisational alternative music combines with a heady blend of powerhouse vocals, saxophone, flute, keyboards, Wurlitzer, electric bass and pummeling drums that captures McCaslin's core roots while also bringing in more recent influences such as Radiohead and Bon Iver. Sun Kil Moon also provides a riveting spoken word track.
Marie Davidson - Working Class Woman CD/LP (Ninja Tune)
She still mines the same influences, from Italo Disco, to proto-industrial and electro, but leadens them with a gut-punching weight, making for a record that's more visceral than any she's released before. It's combined with her characteristically-deployed spoken text that carries a more darkly humorous edge than before, making observations on both aspects of club culture as well as more oblique critiques of the modern world. It's a record poised between dark and light. Industrial heaviness is balanced by Davidson's words; dark, textured soundscapes are counterweighted by statements or observations which never take themselves too seriously.
Atmosphere - Mi Vida Local CD/2xLP+MP3 (Rhymesayers)
It's a different world than it was two years ago, when Atmosphere released their last record, Fishing Blues. Their seventh album, Mi Vida Local, reflects the ways in which the world - and their place in it - has changed. The idyllic domesticity of the past few records has morphed into anxiety over keeping loved ones safe during turbulent times. The easygoing collaboration between Ant and Slug has started to feel more like the life-or-death intimacy of two men trapped together on a lifeboat. [Limited vinyl pressing includes a colored 2" featuring two bonus tracks.] Mozzy - Gangland Landlord CD (Mozzy Records) New release from the Sacramento hip-hop artist. Checking in at 18 songs, Gangland Landlord includes features from ScHoolboy Q, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YFN Lucci, Trae Tha Truth, Yhung T.O., Blac Youngsta, Yo Gotti and many others.
Windhand - Eternal Return CD/2xLP (Relapse)
Across nine songs and 63 minutes, Eternal Return offers an infectious display of songcraft cloaked in alluring atmosphere, molten fuzz, eerie psychedelia and ethereal vocals. The album was once again produced by Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden) with vivid artwork by Arik Roper (Sleep, High On Fire). Equally informed by heavy, fuzzed-out psych along with the iconic grunge/alternative groups of the '90s, Windhand have crafted a record brilliant in scope, powerful in execution, and perfect for an era of increasingly blurry yet still heavy borders.
Coheed And Cambria - The Unheavenly Creatures Tigers Eye CD/3xLP+MP3 (Roadrunner)
Coheed and Cambria's newest epic begins a brand-new story arc within the backdrop of The Amory Wars universe, which has been depicted in previous novels and comics. The band explains the concept: "...[W]e begin by seeing two captured criminals (Creature and Colossus) being walked through a ship on their way towards judgment for their crimes. It's clear any friendship that once existed has not survived, as we see colorful flashbacks of their crimes committed against society, and perhaps, one another." [Colored triple-vinyl set features a side-F etching.]
High On Fire - Electric Messiah CD/2xLP (E1)
"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.
Soundtracks
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born Soundtrack CD/2xLP (Interscope)
Gaga performs original music for the soundtrack to the new remake of A Star Is Born, songs that she wrote with Bradley Cooper and a handful of artists, including Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell and Mark Ronson. All the music is original and was recorded live. Featuring 19 songs in a wide range of musical styles and 15 dialogue tracks, the soundtrack to A Star Is Born follows the musical arc and romantic journey of the movie's two lead characters and is introduced by "Shallow" and "Maybe It's Time," two songs featured in the film's trailer.
Reissues & From the Vaults
John Lennon - Imagine: The Ultimate Mixes CD/2xCD/2xLP (Capitol)
John Lennon - Imagine: The Ultimate Collection 4xCD+2xBlu-ray Audio (Capitol) Digitally remastered, remixed and expanded edition of Lennon's classic 1971 album. Available in a variety of editions: Single-disc CD adds six tracks; Double-CD and double-vinyl LP features 12 additional tracks; Super deluxe The Ultimate Collection includes four CDs (new stereo mix, outtakes, raw studio recordings, track-by-track) and two Blu-rays (5.1 surround mixes, HD audio, Elements mixes, Elliot Minz audio documentary).
Compilations, Best Of's, and Sundry Collections
Joe Strummer - 001 2xCD/3xLP+12"/2xCD+3xLP+12"+7"+Cassette/4xLP (Ignition)
Punk pioneer, singer, songwriter, recording artist, activist, musical and political inspiration for a generation and mighty diamond Joe Strummer was the most charismatic and passionate frontman to emerge from the punk explosion of the late '70s. After Joe's untimely death in December 2002 it was discovered that he had been an archivist of his own work, having barns full of writings and tapes stored in his back garden. Featuring 32-tracks, Joe Strummer 001 is the first compilation to span Strummer's career outside of his recordings with The Clash collecting fan favorites from his recordings with the 101ers and The Mescaleros, his solo albums, soundtrack work plus an album of 12 unreleased songs. Available in Regular, Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions.
Lindsey Buckingham - Solo Anthology: The Best Of Lindsey Buckingham CD/3xCD (Rhino)
First-ever, comprehensive solo anthology by legendary artist, guitarist, song-writer and 3x Grammy winner - available in single-disc and deluxe triple-CD editions. Buckingham is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and in addition to his prolific and loved work with Fleetwood Mac he is a widely celebrated solo artist. Solo Anthology - The Best of Lindsey Buckinghamincludes album, live and alternate versions from Law And Order, Go Insane, Out Of The Cradle and more, and also incorporates songs from his recent collaborative album with Christine McVie. [Vinyl box set edition due November 23.]
Unicorn - Laughing Up Your Sleeve CD/2xLP+MP3 (Omnivore)
Unicorn released three exquisite albums in the mid-'70s with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd in the producer's chair. The albums and the band found a wide audience elusive, even though the group opened for many heavyweights in the day (including Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, Dr. Hook), played with Kate Bush on her first proper demo recordings that landed her a deal with EMI, and were even covered by their producer on his first self-titled solo album, released in 1978. Laughing Up Your Sleeve attempts to correct what may have been a matter of wrong time, wrong place for a band whose music overflows with beautiful melodies, lush arrangements and perfect harmonies. [The vinyl edition release compiles 11 previously unreleased demos (plus 9 more on the accompanying download.]
The Four Tops - The Complete ABC/Dunhill Singles 2xCD (Real Gone Music)
With 47 Pop hits and 52 R&B hits to their credit spanning nearly 25 years of recordings, The Four Tops are one of the greatest vocal groups in the history of pop music, hands down. But a big chunk of their hits, the ones they recorded for the ABC/Dunhill label, have been almost entirely unavailable in the CD era. This double-CD collects all 33 rare single sides that the Tops recorded for the ABC/Dunhill label from 1972 through 1978.
Joe Simon - Step By Step: The Complete Pop Hits 2xCD (Real Gone Music)
Joe Simon is one of the premiere R&B voices of all time. Over a career spanning five decades, "The Mouth of the South" has racked up 35 Billboard pop hits and 50 R&B hits, exploring an encyclopedia of R&B genres ranging from gospel to doo wop, country-soul, the '70s sound of Philadelphia, Blaxploitation, disco, and a subsequent return to Simon's spiritual side. The Complete Pop Hits presents all 35 of Simon's pop smashes.
New On Vinyl
Tyler Childers - Purgatory [Reissue/2017] LP (Hickman Holler/Thirty Tigers)
EL-P - Cancer 4 Cure [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Fat Possum)
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Daryl Hall & John Oates [Reissue/1975] LP (MRI)
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor [Reissue/2009] LP (Frenchkiss)
Modest Mouse - This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About [Reissue/1996] 2xLP (Glacial Pace)
Silversun Pickups - Swoon [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (Dangerbird)
Soccer Mommy - Clean LP (Fat Possum)
Ten Bands reissue their albums on limited edition pink vinyl, all for one cause. This is the 5th year for the initiative that has raised over $200,000 for Gilda's Club NYC, an organization that provides community support for both those diagnosed with cancer and their caretakers. It is named after comedian Gilda Radner, who passed away from cancer at the age of 43 in 1989.
Blood Orange - Negro Swan 2xLP (Domino)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and vocalist Devonte Hynes returns with his fourth album as Blood Orange, Negro Swan. "My newest album is an exploration into my own and many types of black depression, an honest look at the corners of black existence, and the ongoing anxieties of queer/people of color. A reach back into childhood and modern traumas, and the things we do to get through it all. The underlying thread through each piece on the album is the idea of Hope, and the lights we can try to turn on within ourselves with a hopefully positive outcome of helping others out of their darkness."
Bassnectar - Reflective (Part 3) LP (Amorphous)
The next chapter in the Reflective Series - sonic co-creations born from the exchange of ideas and inspirations, and an exploration of the interplay and ricochet that ensues. Each track has a rich story of collaboration, as ideas bounce back and forth to form these customized versions, remixes, edits, and re-imaginations. [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing now available.]
Tricky - Maxinquaye [Reissue/1995] LP (Island)
180gm vinyl reissue of the 1995 debut album by English rapper and producer.
Titus Andronicus - Home Alone On Halloween 12"+MP3 (Merge)
With Home Alone On Halloween, noted rock band Titus Andronicus [hereafter +@] celebrate the spookiest of the seasons by staring into the abyss and confronting the bone-chilling terror which lies at the haunted heart of our human experience. The 12" EP spans 31 minutes and features three tracks recorded concurrently with the group's most recent full-length A Productive Cough, offering an autumnal tableau of dread and decay to complement its LP companion's springtime visions of rebirth and new possibilities.
Many Voices Speak - Tank Town LP (Hit City USA)
Featuring the dreamy singing and songwriting of Matilda Mård, Many Voices Speak follows her 2016 debut EP, Away for All Time, with the new album. The majority of Tank Town was written and recorded in a village outside of Avesta, Sweden, where she currently resides. Crafted with producer Petter Nygårdh, the album's musical compositions elicit similar contemplation - be it the airy simplicity of "Necessaries," the swelling depth of "I Saw You" or the comforting intimacy of "Chances" - washing over listeners with honest acceptance and romantic absolution.
Exploded View - Obey LP (Sacred Bones)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Striking the balance between precise and wild, between unshackled and grounded, grooving and unhinged, has always been Exploded View's specialty. They have a special knack for making the esoteric feel accessible and crafting pop music out of seemingly raw consciousness. This unique ability to make beautiful music that feels written beyond the veil is at the heart of what makes the band so captivating and powerful, and it's on full display all over Obey. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing.]
Jade Hairpins - Mother Man b/w Gracefully 12"+MP3 (Merge)
Jade Hairpins are hiding quietly in a tall grove, softly whisking away the mask of dew and doubt, thrilling the needed speakable truths of equality and peace into four beats and cascading melody on their debut. The shapes and names of a world appear... Debut LP due 2019.
Erika Spring - Scars 12" (Cascine)
New solo EP from Au Revoir Simone and Nice As F**k's Erika Spring. On Scars she embraces the invisible, channels serenity and encourages listening with all senses, including memory.
The Promise Ring - Wood/Water [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (ANTI-)
Vinyl reissue of fifth and final album to date by The Promise Ring. Long-time fans may have been surprised with Wood/Water, as its sound was a departure from the band's previous releases. The album had a drastic change of pace with a more introspective tone and shimmering atmospheric songs. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Pedro The Lion - Achilles Heel [Reissue/2004] LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Pedro the Lion's 2004 release is band's final album to date. Beautifully achieved, Achilles Heel is crafted as a scathing glance into the crosshairs of the American dream, a heartbreaking sketch of husbandhood and ultimately an exploration of faith as told through eleven perfectly textured vignettes. Lyrically, dry wit and melancholy are marbled together, creating relaxed narratives with subtle and often profound depth.
Elvis Presley - Elvis In Person At The International Hotel [Reissue/1970] LP (Friday Music)
Audiophile translucent gold & blue swirl vinyl pressing. After an eight-year absence from live performance, Elvis Presley made his triumphant return to the concert stage in 1969 at The International Hotel in Las Vegas. In Person is a classic live collection that captures the shows which forever cemented the long and famous association between the iconic entertainer and the sparkling desert city.
James Brown - Black Caesar (Original Soundtrack) [Reissue/1973] LP (Polydor)
James Brown - Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Reissue/1973] LP (Polydor)
Vinyl reissues of a pair of blaxploitation soundtracks from the R&B/soul/funk legend.
Hank Jones Trio - Arigato [Reissue/1977] LP (ORG Music)
Hank Jones has a reputation for being one of the most flexible and dynamic piano players of the jazz genre. His playing on Arigato is a fantastic example of such and gives the listener great insight into the artist's unparalleled talent. Appearances by Ronnie Bedford on the drums, Jay Leonhart and Richard Davis - both on the bass, and Ray Rivera on guitar help to round out this fantastic album.
Steve Roach - Dreamtime Return 2LP (Telephone Explosion)
Dreamtime Return was inspired by multiple visits to the Australian Outback. The concept behind Dreamtime has secured the album as one of the pivotal works in ambient music today. The tales told over two LPs touch on the earth's origins, and the role humans have to play in it. Inspired by the stories of Australia's first people, Steve Roach used a combination of synthesizers and ancient Aboriginal instruments to create the album's signature sound, most notably the dumbek & the didgeridoo. Dreamtime Return travels through unexpected pathways with slow moving textures, as tones scatter into brilliant arrays and evolve into a mystic long-distance journey.
Popera Cosmic - Les Esclaves LP (Finders Keepers)
Originally released in 1969, the mythical Popera Cosmic album is now considered to be France's first dedicated psychedelic album and the shrouded blueprint for the hugely influential Gallic concept album phenomenon that followed, including Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson. With credentials that mark the birth of the cosmic funk (later disco) that helped shape the influential sound of France today, this LP also includes the first pressed instrumentals by members of Space Art, some of the best orchestra rock arrangements by William Sheller, all pinned down by the rhythm section that would later be known to prog aficionados as Alice. Imagine a rock opera where the cast of Mister Freedom perform Clash Of The Titans at the foot of The Holy Mountain -- then pinch yourself...
Vainica Doble - Vanica Doble LP (Vinilissimo)
Originally released in 1971. Gloria Van Aerssen and Carmen Santonja of Vainica Doble were truly unique and their mix of folk, traditional genres and psych rock is a landmark in Spanish pop. Their self-titled debut album has been highly influential for generations of pop musicians in Spain and a holy grail item for many music fans. Fantastic vocal harmonies, unexpected arrangements, original elements brought into the song and even fierce guitars where needed - their backing band would later become Asfalto, one of the biggest hard rock bands in Spain.
Inland & Julian Charriere - An Invitation to Disappear 2LP (A-Ton)
Inland takes eight ambient techno perspectives on a lush, synthetic jungle, made of myriad buzzing fauna, morphing melody and colossal bass-weight. All paths lead toward an apocalyptic dance floor, though speeds vary widely. Rhythms dissolve from straight to broken, and synth tempos operate by their own internal clocks (and logic). Juxtaposing industrial agriculture with rave culture, the album explores the industrialization and refinement of nature, and the new strange forms emerging from the synthetic grids of both.
Klara Lewis & Simon Fisher Turner - Care LP (Editions Mego)
The first outing from English musician, songwriter, composer, and producer Simon Fisher Turner alongside the highly acclaimed emerging Swedish sound artist Klara Lewis. Care is a unique outing rife with delicious dichotomy. The opening track positions the aggressive directly against more fragile moments. On the subsequent track medieval melodies sprout from a dense rhythmic hiss. Witness a Middle Eastern song appearing amongst a haunted rattling reverb in the epic "Tank", whilst a beautiful force of hope can be found within the sound world of closing track "Mend". The wide scope of references and constant pull of forces make this debut offering a timeless patchwork of sonic spaces.
Manoid - Truth LP (Hafendisko)
The debut album from Polish producer and live act Manoid, delivering an amalgamation of styles ranging from jazz-tinged electronica through to modern classical and techno. Some ideas came to fruition through field recordings, such as "When", which is based upon recordings from a textile museum in the city of Lodz, and "For Roses" was initially made as a lullaby for Manoid's niece and later developed into an enchantingly eerie composition for the album. Trust radiantly displays charm, maturity and musicality throughout and joins the thread of his musical influences and experiences perfectly. LP includes download code.
Steve Reich - Sextet / Double Sextet LP (Mode)
This release couples two of Reich's 'sextets' for the first time: the Sextet of 1984 and the Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet of 2007, which also makes its first appearance on LP. A striking difference between the two pieces is that the rhythmic world of Sextet mostly consists of a single-meter grooving, while Double Sextet works in the angular, off-kilter shifting meters reminiscent of Reich's Tehillim (also of Stravinsky). Ekkozone impart a uniquely chamber music feel and color to these works while maintaining their propulsive character.
Nu Guinea - Nuova Napoli LP (NG Records)
Nuova Napoli is the result of a long musical research that has become a historical investigation on the sound that shaped Napoli during the '70s and '80s, starting from the contamination of genres (disco, jazz-funk, African rhythms) which ended up in Nu Guinea's DNA. In this album the synthesizers fill the spaces between the past and the future, tightening in a single body acoustic instruments, electronics and voices in Neapolitan dialect. It is the first time that the duo has worked with such a large group of musicians, some of whom are exponents of the contemporary Neapolitan scene.
Niagara - Apologia LP (Principe)
Apologia is a set of unique psychedelic killers from Niagara, mounting a sterling debut album for Lisbon label Príncipe. Outlining Niagara's definitive description of contemporary exotica, Apologia limns a frayed, buzzing sort of "Fourth World PLUS" sound, referring to their embrace of noise as an agent of chaos; the group's organic machine music keenly reflects a natural world order without the need for algorithmic process. Their world is a fertile interplay of acoustic and electronic sources rendering hazy glimpses of musical possibility, realizing a fine expression of anachronistic modernism. Tracks range from richly colorful spiritual jazz arps and raw machine grooves, to acidic kosmiche, heat-sick boogie gliss, and Vangelis-style synth majesty.
Embassador Dulgoon - Hydrorion Remnants LP (Psychic Sounds Research & Recordings)
Dulgoon delivers a fantastic voyage by way of transportive electro-acoustic elements, roaming crypto-zoological sampling, and soaring synthesized melodies that all work to create a truly unique escapade. Burrowed systems of organ tones, colossal reptile grunts, washes of native twang, shapeshifting effects, sliding sonic tendrils of dangerous fauna, rowdy bird calls, heroic guitar trod, and interconnected tunnels of feedback are all mapped out for you to explore. Activate the artifact that is Hydrorion Remnants to reveal a dense world of wild beasts and uncharted landscapes that only the most adventuresome dare to seek.
Nachtbraker - When You Find a Stranger in the Alps 2LP (Quartet Series)
Amsterdam's Nachtbraker presents, his first long-player on his own Quartet Series imprint. The good-humored Dutchman, tongue always firmly in cheek, has always refused to stick to the "sound du jour" and the industry's conventions, continually willing to step out of his comfort zone. Constantly shifting through different settings and moods, the album feels like a deep dream, with vivid details, blurry edges and a warped sense of time: you'll hear a lo-slung hip-house groove relying on field recordings, a delectable slice of up-tempo French-filtered house, a tropical disco shuffler turned dance floor banger, and an instrumental hip-hop track that finishes on a jungle tip, along with many other genre-blurring tracks.
Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun [Reissue/2014] 2xLP (Reprise)
Double picture disc vinyl LP pressing.
King Diamond - The Puppet Master [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Metal Blade)
King Diamond - Give Me Your Soul... Please [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Metal Blade)
Picture-disc vinyl reissues. Over the course of more than thirty years, among innumerable trends, ebbs and flows of the music industry, King Diamond remains as one of the most prolific and important figures in metal.
Gorguts - Colored Sands [Reissue/2013] 2xLP (Season Of Mist)
Limited white colored vinyl pressing of the Canadian technical death metal band's most recent album, 2013's Colored Sands.
DVD & Bluray
John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Gimme Some Truth: The Making Of The Imagine Album DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)
Two films, which focus on the Imagine era, hand restored frame-by-frame from the original film reels into HD. Their soundtracks have been remixed in glorious 5.1 surround sound and remastered. Includes exclusive bonus content.