New Releases - 3/1/19
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
Jump to… New Releases Reissues & From The Vaults New on Vinyl Compilations, Best Of’s, and Sundry Collections
New Releases
Weezer - Weezer (The Black Album) CD (Crush Music)
Weezer (The Black Album) was produced by TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek, with whom the band worked for the first time. The album's songs were entirely written on piano by frontman Rivers Cuomo for the first time in Weezer history, creating some of the most satisfyingly awesome songs in the entire hits-filled Weezer catalog. With band members switching up instruments in the studio, and choruses filtered through Sitek's own encyclopedic musical references of everything from Gorillaz to Can to Pink Floyd, Weezer (The Black Album) is the bold next step in the winning streak of acclaimed albums they've released since 2014. [Vinyl has been bumped to 3/08]
Pond - Tasmania CD/LP (Interscope)
New album from Australian psychedelic-rock adventurers. Tasmania is a dejected meditation on planetary discord, machismo, shame, blame and responsibility, love, blood and empire, wrapped in luxurious, funky prog-pop.
Hozier - Wasteland, Baby! CD/2xLP+MP3 (Columbia)
Wasteland, Baby! is the sophomore album from Grammy-nominated Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. The 14-track collection is released on the heels of his September 2018 EP, Nina Cried Power whose title track is also included on Wasteland, Baby! and features vocals from Mavis Staples and instrumentation by Booker T. Jones. The track was highlighted as one of President Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2018. "I think musically it's a logical step forward from previous records" Hozier told NPR. "The influences are all still there-the influence I had growing up-blues music and soul music, etc. Thematically, not that it was intentional, but it's informed quite a bit by the political climate of the last 12 months, 18 months. I hope it's taken with a bit of a pinch of salt. There is a kind of wry smile to the work, but it takes place with a great shadow hanging over, I suppose the end of the world kind of hanging over the album a little bit. But that is enjoyed in the best way possible. It's a hard one to describe. There's even optimism in that, and a lot of the work is very hopeful and very warm, but it still takes place in a very desperate place."
Dee White - Southern Gentleman CD/LP (Easy Eye Sound/Warner Music Nashville)
Twenty-year old Alabama native and country music newcomer, Dee White releases his debut album, Southern Gentleman via Dan Auerbach's label, Easy Eye Sound. Making classic-minded country music for the modern world, NPR says White "is up to something very different than most others in the swelling ranks of young artists with vintage country tastes" and says the album has a "finesse and a distinctly introspective angle on masculinity, and he applies those qualities in such an exhilarating way that his music is likely to sneak up on listeners and make a lasting impact." Southern Gentleman features performances by Alison Krauss, Ashley McBryde, and Dan Auerbach, who co-produced the album alongside David "Fergie" Ferguson. Mark your calendar! Dee White will play a free, all ages in-store set at Grimey's next Thursday, March 7th, at 6PM.
Citizen Cope - Heroin And Helicopters CD (Rainwater Recordings)
Comprised of eleven new, original songs all written and produced by Citizen Cope, Heroin And Helicopters serves as his first album in seven years and marks a return to a grassroots approach to musicianship, one that's colored by hard work, hustle and heart, irrespective of the obstacles he's encountered throughout 25 years as a career artist. Cope came up with the title after an encounter with Carlos Santana: "stay away from the two H's - heroin and helicopters," Santana told him. The LP tackles Cope's personal struggles with religion, political manipulation, hollowness in the entertainment world, and spiritual enlightenment, as he contends with his own role in those societal institutions. It opens with "Duck Confit", a poetic spoken word piece backed by 808 kicks and an ominous organ. "The River" is a slow-burning reflection on tyrannical systems that betray and oppress. Quiet stand-out "On My Love" is a stark, heart-wrenching tribute to Cope's daughter Lula, and an attempt on Cope's part to pass his life's lessons on to her. [vinyl has been delayed and will ship when ready]
Royal Trux - White Stuff CD/LP (Fat Possum)
Royal Trux's first album of new songs since 2000's Pound For Pound not only maintains the magic chemistry between Jennifer Herrema (vocal, Moog, guitar, melodica) and Neil Hagerty (vocal, guitar) but expands upon it greatly with their natural ability to give us something unexpected, necessary, and truly unique. Their own formidable and informed imaginations...the same two creative minds that brought us (to name a few) Twin Infinitives, Cats And Dogs and Accelerator, are present in the unadulterated, exhilarating energy that has the album listed on most highly anticipated albums of 2019 lists. Royal Trux find innovation in their Bitches Brew aesthetic which now defines the standard mash-up approach so commonly ascertained and claimed by the majority of musicians that whether cognizant or not have followed in Trux's very large footsteps: "everything in the pot whether you like it or not," deriving from world music, punk rock, jazz, metal, electronic, southern, teeny-bop and all the rest. In the tradition of the blues, through appropriation and re-evaluation, Royal Trux changed the way we think of music. Their return is nothing short of glorious. [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl edition.]
Durand Jones & The Indications - American Love Call CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
Durand Jones & the Indications aren't looking backwards. Helmed by foil vocalists in Durand Jones and drummer Aaron Frazer, the Indications conjure the dynamism of Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, and The Impressions. Even with an aesthetic steeped in the golden, strings-infused dreaminess of early '70s soul, The Indications' sophomore LP, American Love Call, is planted firmly in the present, with the urgency of this moment in time.
J.D. Simo - Off At 11 CD (Crows Feet)
The Chicago-born, Nashville-based recording artist channels classic sounds from acid rock, traditional blues, folk, soul, to free form jazz, reinvigorating them into a kaleidoscope of sound for a new generation of music lovers.
Delicate Steve - Till I Burn Up CD/LP (ANTI-)
Some of the first people to recognize Delicate Steve's (aka Steve Marion) unique musical talents were renowned artists such as David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, tUnE-yArDs, Mac DeMarco, Dr. Dog, and elder statesmen like Lee Ranaldo and Built to Spill. Steve is likely the only guitarist who has cut records with Sondre Lerche and Death Grip's Zach Hill, been handpicked to open a sold out North American tour for Tame Impala and then provided guitar for a Paul Simon record. Now the acclaimed guitarist is back with his fifth solo studio album, Till I Burn Up. "On the (mostly) instrumental albums he's released as Delicate Steve, Marion's guitar playing is always in the spotlight, but never hogging it - rather, his luminous leads form the emotional undercurrent around which everything else flows. What makes Marion a guitar hero isn't just his technical wizardry, but his music's mission to help you through dark times." - Pitchfork.
The Cactus Blossoms - Easy Way CD/LP+MP3 (Walkie Talkie Recs)
The Cactus Blossoms - Minneapolis-based blood harmony brother duo Page Burkum and Jack Torrey - return with the new album Easy Way, a self-produced collection of ten new originals. Featuring special contributions from Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) and renowned saxophonist Michael Lewis (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird), Easy Way expands on the creative turns of phrase, gorgeous harmonies, and ageless sound.
Quaker City Night Hawks - QCNH CD/LP (Lightning Rod)
10 new songs from the Texas band rooted in vintage R&B grooves, Stax-worthy funk, and guitar-fueled psychedelia. [Limited gold colored vinyl pressing.]
Della Mae - The Butcher Shoppe EP CDEP (Rounder)
Comprised of cover songs and three brand new original compositions, The Butcher Shoppe EP highlights the band's genre-bending virtuosity: from traditional bluegrass standards to classic southern rock. This EP also serves as Della Mae's welcome back from hiatus, and features a number of guest performers including legendary banjo player Alison Brown, rising star/guitarist Molly Tuttle, and original bandmate/guitarist Avril Smith.
Steve Poltz - Shine On CD/LP (Red House)
A true musical iconoclast, Steve Poltz has done it all. Born in Nova Scotia but associated with his years in San Diego, California, Poltz has co-written an iconic, multiplatinum single ("You Were Meant For Me" with then girlfriend Jewel), signed to a major label (he chafed under the restrictions) and created a career as a songwriter, humorist and collaborator with a fervid following.
Willie Farmer - The Man From The Hill CD/LP (Big Legal Mess)
Willie Farmer is living proof that Mississippi continues to produce deep blues. The 62-year-old guitarist is neither a soul modernist nor revivalist, but simply a small-town auto mechanic who's never shaken his love for old school legends like Muddy, Wolf and Lightnin'. The Man From The Hill marks the first time that he's spent serious time in the studio.
Lonesome Shack - Desert Dreams CD/LP (Alive)
With a sound that is raw, expressive, and strange, Lonesome Shack's music is part hill country blues, part urban folk rock, and owes as much to Alan Wilson's Canned Heat as it does to Junior Kimbrough. The trio is led by Ben Todd, a finger picking guitarist who has spent time living in a shack in the NM desert where he learned how to play old blues and banjo tunes from vintage recordings. Desert Dreams sounds like rock city meets backwoods boogie, desert blues meets jungle grooves.
Hand Habits - Placeholder CD/LP (Saddle Creek)
Meg Duffy grew up in a small town in Upstate New York and cut her teeth as a session guitarist and touring member of Kevin Morby's band. The Hand Habits project emerged after Meg moved to Los Angeles; it started as a private songwriting outlet but soon evolved into a fully-fledged band with Meg at the helm. Hand Habits' debut album, Wildly Idle was entirely self-produced and recorded in Meg's home during spare moments when they weren't touring. Wildly Idle is a lush, homespun collection of folk songs that found Meg in an exploratory state as an artist moving out on their own for the first time. Two years later, Hand Habits has returned with their sophomore album, Placeholder. To make this album, Meg chose to work in a studio and bring in collaborators, entrusting them with what had previously been a very personal creative process. Over the course of 12 tracks, Meg emerges with new confidence as both a bandleader and singer. This album is as tender and immediate as anything Meg's ever written, but it's also intensely focused and refined, the work of a meticulous musician ready to share their singular vision with the world.
Japanese House - Good At Falling CD/2xLP (Dirty Hit)
Good At Falling is the debut album from singer/songwriter Amber Bain aka The Japanese House. It neatly connects to her initial laptop demos which made their way online. Finished in studios across Wisconsin, Brussels and Oxford by Bain, BJ Burton and George Daniel, the end result is more direct. "arriving four years after her debut EP Pools To Bathe In - Bain is stripped of all enigma for one of her most beautifully evocative and bravely honest bodies of music to date." - Gigwise [Limited white colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Yves Jarvis - The Same But Different Means CD/LP (ANTI-)
Yves Jarvis is a recasting of Montreal-based musician Jean-Sebastian Audet. Audet previously created under the name Un Blonde. Each aspect of Audet's work is immensely personal, and Yves Jarvis reflects this literally. Yves is Audet's middle name, while Jarvis is his mother's last name. His music is idiosyncratic neither by design or by chance; it just is. It mutates and shifts, as he does, through cycles and phases. Yves Jarvis new record, The Same But By Different Means, is a new cycle. With it, Audet continues to create music that is at once warm, haunting, and unfamiliar while remaining singularly inviting and kind - a mélange that reflects both comfort and its counterpart. Un Blonde's 2017 LP Good Will Come To You was celebrated universally for those things that make Audet's work compelling: careful folk noir, tender R&B flourishes, pillowy vocal beds that somehow seem to neither begin nor end, and a punkish ambivalence towards saccharine melodics that traditionally dominate the previous three structures.
Teen - Good Fruit CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
If Teen's 2016 album Love Yes was a bursting, harmony-infused synthpop thesis on embracing love, then its follow-up, the even more joyous and melodic Good Fruit, is its opposite, a look at what happens after love fades. The Lieberson sisters - Teeny, Lizzie, and Katherine - have, with their fourth album, crafted a dynamic, hook-stuffed take on the oft-trodden breakup album; as on prior releases, there are frequent meditations on death, capitalism, and womanhood. While recording Good Fruit, the sisters employed a self-described "reductive approach," strove to create space within their songs, and, for their first time, self-produced the album (save a few co-productions from Francis, who also played on some songs). These techniques explode the glistening, sprinting glamour of "Only Water", a deceptively upbeat number about death and the loss of a loved one. They inform Good Fruit's handful of ballads too, including "Pretend", which rings with a vast, unsettling static fuzz even as Lizzie beautifully recounts the disappointment of realizing a partner wasn't all she'd built them up to be.
Mansionair - Shadowboxer CD/2xLP (Liberation/Glassnote)
Sydney-based, genre-bending trio Mansionair release their debut album, the long-awaited Shadowboxer. It was written and self-produced over a three-year period - in living rooms, studios, a garage in inner-city Sydney, and finally a cabin in the Californian mountains - in between the band's travels and touring. It's the culmination of a journey that started with a viral hit single - "Hold Me Down" - and led to high profile collaborations, a Grammy-nomination, ARIA and Billboard charting singles and several major support tours (CHVRCHES, Florence & The Machine, London Grammar and Bob Moses). But it's also an album reflective of everything the band were going through personally and creatively - from mental health to sickness, relationship breakdowns to the ordinary coming-of-age struggles of youth.
Tom Walker - What A Time To Be Alive CD/LP+MP3 (Epic)
New release from the breakout British singer-songwriter. Includes the single "Angels" as well as the smash hit "Leave A Light On".
Living Hour - Softer Faces CD/LP (Kanine)
Everything about Winnipeg's Living Hour has been expanding since their humble basement beginnings. What started with dreamy love songs inspired by the cinematic sky of their hometown has transformed into even more sprawling and expansive expressions on their latest effort, Softer Faces. The quintet is led by the smoky, ethereal lead vocals of Sam Sarty, who starting singing in choirs at a young age, and includes three voices, guitar, trombone, brushed percussion and boundless effects. Living Hour creates their own sonically diverse and unique vibe that will appeal to fans of Grizzly Bear, Beach House and Slowdive. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Tomato/Tomato - Canary In A Coal Mine CD/LP (Denim On Denim)
New album from the New Brunswick- based roots rock/folk outfit.
Frankie and The Witch Fingers - ZAM CD/2xLP (Greenway)
Frankie and The Witch Fingers' fifth LP, ZAM, bleeds beyond borders and boundaries. Its opening preternatural sounds bubble up out of the primordial soup, spilling into our world, invading the inner recesses of the listener's mind. Like a two-headed snake wrapped around the skull, the album pendulates between winding instrumentals and dancey riffs that pop like supernovas out of the black void. Just when a song goes one way, it propels another through long stretches of a cosmic inferno. Bringing glimmers of krautrock and funk, its eleven tracks unleash a versatile and tenacious weight, slithering between the sexy, the aggressive, the vivacious, and the disorienting - until the living invasion is felt - ZAM, a supernatural entity summoned by four madmen obsessed with tearing open a gateway to dark space. After being pulled apart atom-by-atom, the listener is reconfigured on the other side, born unto starry wasteland. [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl edition.]
Criminal Hygiene - Run It Again CD/LP (Dangerbird)
Formed in 2011, Criminal Hygiene is a Los Angeles-based quartet comprised of founding member Michael Fiore (vocals, guitars, keys), Michael Hiller (vocals, bass, guitars) and Sean "Birdman" Erickson (drums, percussion) and bassist Cameron Ward. Their second album, Run It Again is a 10-song set that shines a fresh light on a raw sort of garage rock, full of melody, smart lyrics and hooks for days. When it comes to influences, the band cites everything from Johnny Thunders to The New York Dolls, The Clash and Wire. Television and Richard Hell. Minneapolis stuff like The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, The Suicide Commandos and The Suburbs. Big Star. Guided By Voices. Fleetwood Mac. Fugazi. The Pixies. Nirvana. Pavement. The Shins. Wilco. Marshall Crenshaw. Tommy Keene. Not to mention the classic rock they all heard via their parents.
Reese Wynans and Friends - Sweet Release CD (J&R Adventures)
Over the last five decades, you might have found Reese Wynans cutting his teeth with the early nucleus of the Allman Brothers Band. Taking the stage with Boz Scaggs. Saving the '80s blues scene with Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble. Bringing the blues to the people with Joe Bonamassa. Adding his thumbprint on piano and B3 to the work of Larry Carlton, Delbert McClinton, Los Lonely Boys - and hundreds more. During a celebrated career that recently saw him inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the one omission on Wynans' résumé was that this fabled keys man had never released a solo record - until now. Sweet Release is the album we always knew Wynans had up his sleeve: a glorious collision of stellar musicianship, classic material given fresh mojo and a glittering roll-call of star guests - including Keb' Mo', Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Warren Haynes and Joe Bonamassa himself on production - that confirms the deep respect Wynans commands on the scene. [Vinyl edition TBA.]
Joey DeFrancesco - In The Key Of The Universe CD (Mack Avenue)
On his adventurous new album, In The Key Of The Universe, the master organist turns his musical attentions to his spiritual side, tapping into a strain of metaphysical jazz that's fueled sonic searchers for more than half a century. [Vinyl edition due April 5.]
Branford Marsalis Quartet - The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul CD (Masterworks)
The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul finds the celebrated ensemble at a new peak, addressing a kaleidoscope of moods with inspiration and group commitment. The quartet that saxophonist Branford Marsalis has led for the past three decades has always been a model of daring, no-apologies artistry, of ever-widening musical horizons and deepening collective identity. With like-minded support from pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner, the band has long been a model of how to sustain and enlarge a musical outlook that is both historically and stylistically inclusive.
Blu & Oh No - A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night CD/LP (Nature Sounds)
The work of acclaimed L.A. rapper Blu is a hip-hop time capsule perfectly embodying the vibrant culture of the City of Angels. With no signs of slowing down, the talented artist continues to supply listeners with vivid lyrical imagery over exceptional production. The latest addition to his catalog is A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night, a new album entirely produced by Oh No. The son of singer Otis Jackson and younger brother of beat god Madlib, Oh No has been among the most consistently relevant artists on the independent hip-hop scene since the release of his influential debut album 15 years ago.
Smif N' Wessun - The All CD/LP (Duck Down Music)
Smif N Wessun, the duo of Tek & Steele, return with their seventh studio album, The All entirely produced by 9th Wonder & The Soul Council. Known for their hardcore lyrical content, The PNC Boyz represent their Brooklyn roots going bar-for-bar offering deep jewels of knowledge and wisdom. The album features guest appearances from Raekwon, Rick Ross, Musiq Soulchild, Rapsody, GQ, Heather Victoria and more.
Little Simz - Grey Area CD/LP (AGE101/AWAL)
Simbi Ajikawo, crowned Little Simz, let's her work do the talking - and her prolific releases and boundary-breaking achievements clearly tell a story of a pioneering hip-hop artist who leads the way on her own terms. Giving lauded, energetic performances, critically acclaimed albums, sold-out headline shows around the world, and international tours with the likes of Gorillaz, Anderson.Paak and Ab-Soul, this visionary 24-year-old woman from North London is living out her childhood dreams to heights of excellence - and inspiring her generation to do the same. "While her last album, Stillness In Wonderland, brave and huge in scope, was certainly incomparable to anything else at the time, it's also possible that she just needed some bigger tunes. On Grey Area, those are in abundance. It swings. It grooves. It's not bogged down by a self-consciously poetic concept. And it feels like a record rather than a showcase, anchored by the production work of Simz's childhood friend Inflo. He is the Timbaland to her Missy and gives her songs the glue they needed. There are big, chunky breaks, fat funk dollops, the crackle of US soul, touches of cosmic jazz and cinematic strings - also reminiscent of Adrian Younge's work with Ghostface Killah. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Queensrÿche - The Verdict CD/LP (Century Media)
The Verdict features 10 brand new songs expanding upon 2015's Condition Human. The album offers the finest heavy metal with a dark progressive edge and stellar melodies. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Iced Earth, Hatebreed). Includes the tracks Blood of the Levant, Man the Machine, Inside Out, Dark Reverie, Bent, Inner Unrest and more. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing.]
Masked Intruder - III CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Masked Intruder, the ski-mask clad, pop-punk felons from Madison, WI have escaped from prison for the release of the new album III, their third full-length. For the new effort, the band - Intruder Blue, Intruder Green, Intruder Red and Intruder Yellow - recruited lead producer/engineer Roger Lima (Less Than Jake) as well as co-producer Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects). Whether it comes to stealing hearts or wallets, Masked Intruder have upped their game on III in every way and it seems as if even Officer Bradford can't hold them back, although we're sure he'll try. Speaking about the follow up to 2016's EP Love And Other Crimes, vocalist/guitarist Invader Blue said: "Our songs aren't just about the feelings and situations that they describe but they're supposed to hopefully help other people think about and reflect about their own situations." Includes the rippin' lead single "No Case".
In Flames - I, The Mask CD (Eleven Seven Music)
At this point, In Flames are less of a band than they are a musical institution in the heavy music world. Since helping create Sweden's legendary "Gothenburg Sound" three decades ago to their current status as melodic metal monoliths, the act has constantly eschewed trends in order to forge their own musical path. This is ever evident on their thirteenth full-length I, The Mask, which sees them reuniting with multi Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Motörhead, The Used). [Vinyl edition due March 15.]
Devil Master - Satan Spits On Children Of Light CD/LP (Relapse)
Philadelphia's Devil Master stake their claim as one of the most venomous, twisted entities in the underground with their hellish debut. Satan Spits On Children Of Light rattles the very gates of hell with a vile dose of black metal-infused punk mayhem.
Pissgrave - Posthumous Humiliation CD/LP (Profound Lore) One of the rawest, most depraved, immoral, and violent bands in present-day death metal follow up their 2015 Suicidal Euphoria debut with their sophomore album Posthumous Humiliation, an album even more dark, surreal, violent, and perverted than its infamous predecessor.
Demon Hunter - War CD (Solid State)
Demon Hunter - Peace CD (Solid State)
A pair of new albums from the Christian metal band. [Vinyl editions due March 29.]
Compilations, Best Of's, and Sundry Collections
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career-Spanning Hits Collection 1976-2016 2xCD/4xLP (Geffen)
This collection of personal favorites and important milestones is the first anthology to span Petty's entire career, from the first album to Mudcrutch 2. The album contains 38 tracks including the hits "Free Fallin', American Girl, "You Don't Know How It Feels", You Wreck Me: and many more. The album also includes two unreleased tracks, "The Best of Everything (Alternate Version)" and the previously unreleased and unheard "For Real".
John Hartford - Backroads, Rivers & Memories: The Rare & Unreleased John Hartford CD (Real Gone Music)
Licensed directly from the John Hartford estate, Backroads, Rivers & Memories: The Rare & Unreleased John Hartford features three live radio cuts from 1964, and 16 beautifully rendered 1965-1969 songwriter demos, including five Hartford newly-uncovered originals never heard before. Fan favorites include "This Eve of Parting" (from the recent indie hit film Lady Bird), the iconic "Gentle on My Mind", and a brief recording of the first rehearsal of the bluegrass classic "Steam Powered Aereo Plain".
Gordon Lightfoot - The Complete Singles 1970-1980 2xCD (Real Gone Music)
Gordon Lightfoot is a genre unto himself. Neither pop nor folk nor country nor rock, his music is unvarnished, direct, a statement from one heart to another (as Lightfoot has stated, "I like to keep things simple. I don't like to make them complicated"). And this uncompromising stance has not only made him a legend (particularly in his native Canada, where he is a full-fledged icon), but also, somewhat paradoxically, brought him huge commercial success (which, ironically, has in turn caused some to discount his prodigious songwriting talent). This double-CD set provides an ideal, in-depth overview of the artist's "classic" period, peppered with one memorable tune after another.
New on Vinyl
Robert Pollard - Eat 15 - (Dislodge) The Immortal Orangemen 7"+Book (GBV Inc.)
Since 1986 Robert Pollard has been the most prolific songwriter and musician on the planet. This is not news. Since 2003 he has also been producing an incredible amount of visual art which comes as a surprise to many. His unique collage pieces have been featured in multiple galleries around the country including having his own art shows in New York City. Eat, his series of 14 art books, have been fan favorites. Now, for the first time, Robert Pollard is including music with Eat and for the first time, Rockathon is offering Eat for sale in stores. This full color book contains a pocket which holds the six song 7" one-sided EP (Dislodge) The Immortal Orangemen and is poly-bagged. These songs are exclusive to Eat and were recorded for the project.
Rema-Rema - Fond Reflections LP+MP3 (4AD)
Cult band Rema-Rema featured former members of The Models and Siouxsie and The Banshees, and their much-loved Wheel In The Roses EP (1980) was among the first records to be released on 4AD. Their only contribution to the label's storied history, they split-up before its release, going on to form or join bands as diverse as Renegade Soundwave, The Wolfgang Press, Mass, and Adam and the Ants. The debut album that never was, Fond Reflections, comes almost 40 years after their debut EP and has been culled from the band's rich archive of reel-to-reel and cassette recordings, with member Gary Asquith and mixing engineer Takatsuna Mukai painstakingly working on them to make the album as cohesive as possible.
The Runaways - The Best Of The Runaways [Reissue/1982] LP (Sony Legacy)
From the all-female rock band The Runaways comes an updated vinyl compilation featuring 13 of the band's top hits. Best Of The Runaways includes remastered audio and the career defining single Cherry Bomb, the song that took singer Joan Jett's career to the next level.
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - Bad Reputation (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) LP (Sony Legacy)
Released last September on CD - now available on limited 180gm vinyl. This career-spanning soundtrack premieres a new Joan Jett & The Blackhearts track, "Fresh Start", alongside definitive live and studio performances by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as well as tracks featuring The Runaways, Bikini Kill, members of The Sex Pistols, and more. The album also includes "Androgynous", an unreleased track performed by Miley Cyrus, Laura Jane Grace, and Joan Jett.
The Silver Machine - Standing On The Bare Ground LP (Alternative Tentacles)
The epoch of The Silver Machine began in 2012, from mystic visions seen by its female founders in Savannah, GA. The name of this cult of performers, and their mytho-futurist-intergalactic-shamanic doctrine, sound and aesthetic, are derived from the infamous psychedelic-space rock band Hawkwind. The Silver Machine travels sideways through time, along Hawkwind's electric lines, calling forth ancient truths long forgotten, discovering new Zodiac signs.
SUSTO - Susto LP (Missing Piece)
On the heels of their recently released new album Ever Since I Lost My Mind, a vinyl reissue of Charleston, South Carolina-based alt-rock band's debut album is now available.
Skinny Lister - The Story Is... LP (Xtra Mile)
Always a band unafraid of testing the limits, UK rock band Skinny Lister return with their fourth album. A loosely-based concept album, The Story Is... anthologizes a series of personal vignettes inspired by a chaotic few years for the band and binds them into 14 tracks of unmistakably Skinny-sounding rock 'n' roll. [Limited green colored vinyl pressing.]
L.A. Witch - Octubre LP (Suicide Squeeze)
Octubre may be a record about unhealthy infatuations and debilitating love, but it's also an inadvertent statement on the past and permanence. Originally offered to the world as a surprise digital release, it might suggest a kind of ephemera, but the underlying motive is to reinvent and bring a new life to these seminal songs from the band's early years. Reimagined and reshaped, these songs not only represent the band's beginnings but also serve as a teaser for the band's future output.
Future Punx - The World Is A Mess 12" (Modern Sky)
Brooklyn's Future Punx are back with a new EP. "While the band began as a bit more lighthearted, shiny and bright, the current state of things has seeped in this time. One thing that hasn't changed is their sonic modus operandi: very catchy synthpop, indebted to '80s groups like Devo, Missing Persons and Wall of Voodoo." - Brooklyn Vegan
Ahmed Ag Kaedy - Akaline Kidal LP (Sahel Sounds)
In exile from his city in Northern Mali, singer/songwriter Ahmed Ag Kaedy returns to the origins of Tuareg folk with sessions of stripped down solo acoustic guitar. Mellow pentatonic notes dance over plaintive vocals, intimate and close mic'd, endearing in their simplicity. Drifting from melancholic ballads and pleas for peace, Akaline Kidal is a politically charged and poignant recording for a community ripped apart by division and civil war.
Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club [Reissue/1981] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited white colored vinyl edition. The Talking Heads spawned a number of worthy side projects and spinoffs - David Byrne & Brian Eno's My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, Jerry Harrison's The Red And The Black - but none were as funky, danceable, and flat-out fun as Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth's Tom Tom Club.
Chaka Khan - Hello Happiness LP (Island)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Hello Happiness, Chaka Khan's twelfth studio album, is her first new material since 2007's Funk This. Khan stated that she did not stop making music following the release of Funk This, but simply stopped releasing material, and also needed time to recover following the death of Prince in 2016, which she has since said made her rethink herself and admit herself into rehab for her addiction to prescription drugs.
Barbara Howard - On The Rise [Reissue/1969] LP (Colemine)
Barbara Howard's On The Rise is more than just another rare soul LP. It's a love story. It's a dream. It was an attempt to break through. And although Barbara certainly never became a star, one song did become a staple in rare soul and funk DJ sets, keeping interest in Barbara Howard just under the surface. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing also available. CD version due March 22.]
Ray Charles & Betty Carter - Ray Charles & Betty Carter LP (Wax Love)
Originally released in 1961. Recorded in a couple of days in June 1961 in Hollywood, this fine album documents the historical meeting between genius Ray Charles and the wonderful Betty Carter, one of the greatest female jazz singers of all times. A powerful duet combination with Ray's deep-sweet tone in almost sensual relation with Carter's highly pitched and energetic vocals. The two literally fly on top of a series of sophisticated string arrangements and some highly swinging big band charts.
Rudy de Anda - The Mirror 7" (Colemine)
There is a tidal wave of cross-cultural expression washing inland out of Long Beach and Rudy de Anda is at the forefront of this genre-bending, sonic re-definition of the musical melting pot. Young and soft spoken, his is cutting and bringing a fresh sound to the west coast indie scene.
Gnash - We LP+MP3 (Atlantic)
Gnash is a singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and record producer. He released his debut EP, U, in March 2015 on SoundCloud and followed up with the Me EP in December 2015. His third EP, Us, was released in March 2017. Limited beige colored vinyl pressing.
21 Savage - I Am > I Was 2xLP+MP3 (Epic)
Released last December on CD - now available on vinyl. The rapper's second album features vocals by J. Cole, Childish Gambino, Schoolboy Q, Post Malone, Offset, Lil Baby, Gunna, and Travis Scott, among others.
Blockhead - Uncle Tony's Coloring Book [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Young Heavy Souls)
Limited red and blue colored vinyl pressing of the hip-hop producer's third album.
Sean Price & Small Professor - 86 Witness LP (Duck Down Music)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. 86 Witness features Rock of Heltah Skeltah, scratches by DJ Revolution, Guilty Simpson, Your Old Droog, Reef the Lost Cauze & more. The CD also features a bonus Sean Price EP; a re-issue of his project, Land Of The Crooks, entirely produced by M-Phazes.
Pete Rock - Soul Survivor [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Nature Sounds)
Among the first ever hip-hop "producer albums", Pete Rock's 1998 classic Soul Survivor shined a much-deserved light on one of hip-hop's greatest ever music-makers. While Pete's smooth-as-butter instrumentals take center stage, the album also features a who's who of late '90s hip-hop royalty - artists like Method Man, Big Pun, Common, Black Thought, Kurupt, Raekwon, Noreaga, Ghostface Killah, Prodigy, Large Professor, and many more.
KRS-One - Return Of The Boom Bap [Reissue/1993] LP (Fat Beats)
Limited gold colored vinyl pressing. Stripping away the intricate production of the final Boogie Down Productions album, Sex And Violence, Return Of The Boom Bap saw the already iconoclastic rapper return to the bare bones, gritty territory of his landmark masterpiece Criminal Minded. KRS-One's delivery, too, burned with a reinvigorated fury, spitting out his rhymes with pummeling cadences and world-wise intelligence.
Rick Ross - Mastermind [Reissue/2014] 2xLP (Def Jam)
Vinyl reissue of the sixth album from the hip-hop superstar which features guest appearances from Jay Z, Meek Mill, and Lil Wayne.
Bonobo - Fabric Presents Bonobo 2xLP (Fabric)
Ushering in an exciting new era for the label, nightclub, and mix series, Bonobo opens the Fabric Presents series. His highly textural aesthetic translates into an ethos that looks to introduce a more open musical palette for the label. His mix features Roach from his rare pop-up alias Barakas and employs multi-instrumental arrangements in this 74 minutes of house, techno, electronica, and breakbeat.
Gary Numan - I, Assassin [Reissue/1982] LP (Beggars Banquet)
Originally released in 1982, I, Assassin is Gary Numan's sixth studio album and fourth under his own name. Combining fretless bass with heavy rock drumming, Numan further refined his dark, sparse, funky-electro style, mixing it with impenetrable, slurred vocals.
Gun - Gun [Reissue/1968] LP (Real Gone Music)
Armed with a collection of talent and a dazzling stylistic breadth that ranged from psychedelic to hard rock to mod to Procol Harum-esque prog, it's little wonder that Gun has seen multiple reissues, but it's been about 30 years since it's been available on vinyl. This limited edition "red devil" vinyl pressing presents the original artwork intact. A classic of '60s British rock.
Lucinda Williams - Happy Woman Blues [Reissue/1980] LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
Lucinda Williams, whose musical style defies easy categorization, recorded her first album of original songs in 1980, supported by a six-member band. Her songs are a mix of traditional and alternative country, folk, and blues that reflect her Louisiana roots.
Elizabeth Cotten - Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar [Reissue/1958] LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
Elizabeth Cotten's 1958 debut album on Folkways is best known for containing the earliest recording of her classic "Freight Train". The breadth of her repertoire and her endearing style have captivated generations of guitarists and fans of traditional American music. Cotten's self-taught, upside-down, left-handed playing style on the guitar and banjo made her a true original.
Mary Lou Williams - Mary Lou Williams [Reissue/1964] LP (Smithsonian Folkways)
Composer, arranger, and pianist Mary Lou Williams' musical career reflected the history of American jazz from the late 1920s through the 1970s. Described by Duke Ellington as being beyond category, Williams was conversant in jazz styles ranging from stride through swing and be-bop to the avant-garde, yet her music was always rooted in spirituals and the blues. This self-produced recording, originally recorded in 1962 and 1963, contains a mix of standards and originals including four compositions reflecting her devout interest in religious music.
Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Reissue/1985] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited white colored vinyl LP pressing. Seldom has any artist captured that ineffable high, lonesome sound quite as beautifully as Ry Cooder did on his landmark soundtrack to Wim Wenders' 1984 film Paris, Texas. Not quite blues, not quite bluegrass, not quite ambient, Cooder's haunting, evocative score mirrors the existential journey of Harry Dean Stanton's Travis Henderson as he wanders through the empty Texas prairie landscape in pursuit of his irretrievable past.
Merzbow - Venerology [Reissue/1994] LP (Relapse)
The undisputed king of Japanese noise Merzbow returns, as the landmark 1994 album Venereology celebrates 25 tinnitus-inducing years with its inaugural vinyl pressing. Remastered by James Plotkin (Isis, Electric Wizard, Full Of Hell) and featuring reworked art, this is the most extreme recording of harsh electronic sickness you will ever own. Includes 20 minutes of unreleased bonus material.
Thighpaulsandra - Practical Electronics With Thighpaulsandra LP (Editions Mego)
As audacious as the sleeve it comes housed in, the UK's most eccentric audio malefactor returns with his eighth studio album. Unique in the Thighpaulsandra oeuvre, this one eschews the usual group-based recordings, consisting of electronics and vocals only. Hovering between haunted narratives and extended instrumental sequences, Practical Electronics is an eccentric excursion into playful pop and fearless electronic experimentation.
Makaya McCraven - Where We Come From CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape LP (International Anthem Recording)
Over the course of 3 days in London, drummer/producer Makaya McCraven connected with first time collaborators (Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Soweto Kinch, Ashley Henry, Daniel Casimir and Kamaal Williams) and did two improvised performances as part of a two-night showcase called CHICAGOxLONDON at legendary UK Jazz hub Total Refreshment Centre (TRC). The following Sunday afternoon five producers (LeFtO, Ben LaMar Gay, Quiet Dawn, Earl Jeffers & Don Leisure of the Darkhouse Family) were invited to TRC to participate in an event called Fresh Roasted: Live Beat-Making & Battle, where they did live remixes of the recordings from Makaya & company's CHICAGOxLONDON performances.
Richard Pinhas - L'Ethique LP (Bureau B)
Originally released in 1982. Following the vaguely poppy shapes of 1980's East West, Pinhas' fifth album L'Ethique saw the ex-Heldon guitarist and synth wizard return to bigger and bolder band-like methods, before unexpectedly disappearing from the limelight for almost a decade. Collaborating with musicians who had performed in Magma brought a phat and forceful feel to the crunching cosmic jazz-rock fusion of some songs, with mellow but gorgeous synth ruminations nestled in between.
StabUdown Productions - Strange Rabbits LP (Diagonal)
Strange Rabbits is a bittersweet kiss to chill-out room jungle and ambient techno by Jimmy Donadio, who drew from his current record buying habit to produce an unusually affected batch primed for the back room sessions of clubs of yore or today's afterparty/domestic rave soundtracks. Rabbits refracts NYC deep house and European electronics via the prism of early jungle and Jimmy's fuzzy memory, recalling techno protoytpes and touching on cubist electro, proto-Goa trance, and slow burn swings. A psychedelically sensuous and driving album that amounts to Donadio's most diverse, techno-spirited, and pop-friendly work.
Laurel Halo - In Situ 2x12" (Honest Jon's Records)
Spherical collections of stars form around black holes in situ; that is, locally to their cosmic neighborhoods. It is said that future space colonization will rely on sourcing supplies in situ. Wild, organic machine grooves, with a mind's eye on naked treetops and an early sunset. Melody breathes out from dubwise fx, percussion by turns sinewy and floating, sub blasts and stripped synth arrangements. Keys on air. Spacious, witty, melancholic, deadly.
Pfirter - The Empty Space 2LP (Mindtrip Music)
Pushing his sound further into leftfield-leaning horizons and textured atmospheric reliefs, The Empty Space finds the Argentinian-born, Barcelona-based producer steering across shape-shifting sonic rapids with poise and panache. Inspired by a fractal of elements including physics, sci-fi and Lovecraftian flicks, the album revolves around the experience of the voyage itself rather than the destination, adroitly recombining techno's DNA into uniquely evocative shapes. From the false quiet of gloomy lakeshores and riverbanks to post-industrial cityscapes, through barren no-go zones and tiny basements packed to the rafters, welcome to Pfirter's personal "empty space".
Modeselektor - Who Else CD/LP (Monkeytown)
Who Else is yet another counteraction to boredom and formulaic approaches. Technical knowledge and craftsmanship have improved Modeselektor's creative process, but in the studio they are driven by the same impulse: the endless search for new sounds while always bearing in mind that less is more. Who Else represents the sound of Berlin in all its ambivalence, flirting with dark industrial techno while also delivering crunchy yet playful bangers, paying tribute to the formative clubs of the Berlin scene.
Vtgnike - Steals LP (Other People)
Vtgnike is Danil Avramov, born in Vladimir, Russia. After a stint behind bars for drug charges, Vtgnike follows up Dubna, his footwork-inspired 2014 album on Other People, with the murkier, more introspective Steals. The NII club resident likes to switch genres in his production style, here drawing from film score samples and inspired by Midwestern American techno producers, injecting ambient elements into his ominous club music.
Shanti Celeste & Hodge - Soba Dance 12" (Peach Discs)
Shanti Celeste returns to Peach Discs in 2019, teaming up with good friend Hodge for the label's first release of 2019. The three tracks that make up the Soba Dance EP showcase the best of both producer's styles -- from the galloping rhythm and misty pads of the title track to the propulsive momentum of "Alulu" and the trippy, somber slide of "Pips", it's a record that finds Shanti and Hodge teasing out new ideas together while retaining that dancefloor magic.
Star Band De Dakar - Psicodelia Afro-Cubana De Senegal LP (Ostinato)
2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, when the Cuban way won hearts, minds, and ears across Africa. This album is the soundtrack to a time when Cuban music was the future for 1970s Senegal. Changüí, Guajira, Salsa, and Son mingle with cosmic Mbalax guitars, Sabar rhythms, Afro-Latin horns, and Spanish vocals spiced with a Senegalese twang.
Nightwish - Once [Reissue/2004] 2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
Nightwish - Dark Passion Play [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Nuclear Blast) Nightwish - Made In Hong Kong (And In Various Other Places [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
CD and vinyl reissues of the fifth and sixth studio album by the Finnish symphonic metal band, along with their 2009 live compilation album, Made In Hong Kong (And In Various Other Places).
Reissues & From The Archives
The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops [Reissue/1984] 2xCD (Confetti)
The Blue Nile - Hats [Reissue/1989] 2xCD (Confetti)
The Blue Nile - Peace At Last [Reissue/1996] 2xCD (Confetti)
The Scottish band The Blue Nile has enjoyed a mystique contrived by its inaccessibility and the infrequency of its recordings, but it has also made a series of critically acclaimed discs. Their first three albums have been remastered and expanded with a disc of bonus material.
Ryuichi Sakamoto - BTTB [Reissue/1998] CD/LP (Milan)
Originally released in 1998, BTTB (an acronym for Back To The Basics) was a major commercial hit for Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album is comprised entirely of original solo piano pieces, both delicate and frantic, with deep impressionist-inspired roots. Currently a rare and hard-to-find album outside of Japan, BTTB has being reissued in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Dennis Coffey - Live At Baker's CD (Omnivore)
Unissued 1996 live recording from the legendary guitarist.
Al Manfredi - Blue Gold CD/LP (Now-Again Reserve)
Al Manfredi is the father of hip-hop producer Exile, and Blue Gold is his little-known West Coast rock masterpiece from 1973. In his Acid Archives book, Patrick Lundborg called the album's discovery a deus ex machina and compared it to David Crosby's first solo album and Hawaii-era Merrell Fankhauser, "not just the acutely captured mellowness, but the self-confidence and the talent." This version of the album, overseen by Manfredi's son Exile, and with Manfredi's story told by Ugly Things' founder Mike Stax, presents the complete package of an incredible lost and found artist.
Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader CD/LP
Algernon Cadwallader - Algernon Cadwallader LP
Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies CD (Lauren Records)
Algernon Cadwallader was an emo band from Philadelphia comprised of Peter Helmis, Joe Reinhert, Nick Tazza, Colin Mahony, and Tank Bergman. Their succinct, evocative songwriting stretched across raw, distinctive vocal stylings and signature "twinkly" guitars have earned them near-cult status. Since their disbandment, publications including Rolling Stone and Spin have cited them on "Best of Emo" lists and credited them with inuencing a new wave of emo. The members have gone on to play in a number of important DIY and indie bands, including Hop Along. For the ten-year anniversary of Algernon Cadwallader's first full length, "Some Kind of Cadwallader," Lauren Records and Asian Man Records are reissuing the record along with their second album, "Parrot Flies" (2011), and a new self-titled collection LP. The 16-track collection includes EPs, B-sides, previously unreleased versions, and two covers.
Marillion - Live In Glasgow [Reissue/1993] CD (earMUSIC)
Marillion - Brave Live [Reissue/2013] 2xCD (earMUSIC)
Live In Glasgow was recorded on various dates at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom and St. Georges Hall in 1989. Brave Live was recorded at the Marillion Weekend at Center Parcs, Port Zélande, The Netherlands on March 9th, 2013.