New Releases - 3/13/20

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 Magazines

New Releases

Caitlyn Smith - Supernova CD/LP (SME Nashville/Monument)

With the release of her 2018 debut, Starfire, Caitlyn Smith established herself as one of the brightest rising stars in Nashville, TN with finely etched songwriting and a soulful voice. Now, with the follow-up, Supernova, the singer-songwriter has upped the ante, delivering a set of songs that are bigger, bolder, and more powerful sonically and lyrically. "I had years to collect songs for the first album," says Smith. "This time I was much more focused going in. I had a better idea of what I wanted to create." Growing up in the small town of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Smith was drawn to music at a young age. After making three albums before she turned 19, she moved to Nashville, where she became one of the town's most celebrated songwriters; her compositions were recorded by artists from James Bay to Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton to John Legend and Meghan Trainor. That journey, and her ultimate triumph, formed the backbone of Starfire. With Supernova, Smith advances the story, grappling with life as a touring artist, a wife, and a mother of two young children. Caitlyn Smith will celebrate her new album with a free live performance at Grimey's next Friday, March 20th, at 6PM! Purchase Supernova at Grimey's, in person or online, for your wristband to go through the signing line following her performance and get your album autographed.

Early James - Singing For My Supper CD/LP (Nonesuch)

Early James, an Alabama native and the latest signing to Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound roster, releases his debut album, Singing For My Supper. The album spans hard-charging blues, wistful folk, and ages-old pop crooning, anchored by the singer's voice that oscillates from gravel-gruff shout to a honey-smooth whisper. James' inspirations run from Fiona Apple and Tom Waits to the Southern Gothic poets, as heard in the album's darker themes and in the wry humor with which he writes about them. Early James' debut features ten wide-ranging songs, co-produced by Auerbach and David "Fergie" Ferguson, is full of world-weary wisdom. "Blue Pill Blues" details a period when James, who was being treated for depression, quit his antipsychotic medication cold turkey. "High Horse" is a lament of the ways his adolescent excitement faded with the arrival of the vices of adulthood, while "Easter Eggs" finds the songwriter coming to terms with some of the darker sides of his heredity. Early James will play a free live set at Grimey's on Thursday, March 26, at 6PM

The Districts - You Know I'm Not Going Anywhere CD/LP (Fat Possum)

While You Know I'm Not Going Anywhere builds on preceding albums, it takes an ambitious leap to a new level, exhibiting a widened sense of experimentation and expansiveness at its heart. There's Rhodes, Mellotron, strings, samples, drum machines, tape loops, Wurlitzer, ambient swells, piano, synthesizers; bandleader Rob Grote lists 12 instruments next to his name alone. Pulling from the propulsive Popular Manipulations, the jagged indie rock of 2015's A Flourish And A Spoil, and the rootsy vibe of their 2012 debut, Telephone, the band here followed their creative instincts every step of the way, resulting in their most sophisticated and adventurous record to date. [Limited indie store exclusive colored vinyl pressing.]

Grouplove - Healer CD/LP (Atlantic)

Grouplove kicked off 2020 with their anarchistic, high-energy new single "Deleter", and show no signs of slowing down with their fourth studio album, Healer. The Los Angeles based five-piece has spent the past two years writing and recording their most visceral and cathartic songs to date, all while experiencing and bearing witness to a great deal of change, trauma, and growth. From recording in El Paso within eyeshot of the border during the height of the family separation crisis, to brain surgery for frontwoman Hannah Hooper, to immersing themselves in new creative spaces with producers Dave Sitek and Malay - their new album represents a re-birth and a full-circle return to their initial idealism. [Limited red colored vinyl pressing.]

Porches - Ricky Music CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)

On 2016's Pool, Porches' Aaron Maine made a notable change in his musical outlook and practice. The collapsible guitars and home-recorded dynamics of his earlier work were replaced with some serious beat-making skills and a new groove was weaved through the atmosphere of his musical territory: a thought-filled, late night kind of place, one that maybe doesn't host a party too often, but one that also knows how to put on a very real good time if pressed to do so. Since then, The House (2018) and, now, Ricky Music have added further layers of emotion and sophistication to his unique cracked-glass pop. Featuring contributions from Zsela, and Dev Hynes, and with co-production by Jacob Portrait, Ricky Music delivers 11 emotionally open, cracked-glass pop songs.

Circles Around The Sun - Circles Around The Sun CD/2xLP (The Royal Potato Family)

Circles Around The Sun explore new horizons on the band's new double album, Let It Wander, the first new music from the quartet since their acclaimed 2015 debut, Interludes For The Dead. Originally, the band - guitarist Neal Casal, keyboardist Adam MacDougall (his bandmate in the Chris Robinson Brotherhood), bassist Dan Horne and drummer Mark Levy - were only supposed to record some Grateful Dead-influenced instrumentals to be played during the set breaks at the Dead's Fare Thee Well concerts. But the response was so positive, and they were having so much fun making music together, that they all agreed to keep it going. Let It Wander signals a new beginning for Circles Around The Sun as they move beyond their original musical mandate of evoking the spirit of the Dead and fully embrace their own personality.

Deap Lips - Deap Lips CD/LP (Cooking Vinyl)

Deap Lips is Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd from Oklahoma psych-heroes The Flaming Lips and Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards from the Los Angeles, California rock & roll duo Deap Vally. This special collaboration came together after a friendship formed between the two bands. Deap Vally have spent several years touring the world with the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Muse and Red Hot Chili Peppers and played festivals such as Glastonbury and Bonnaroo. Their last album FEMEJISM was released to much critical acclaim. The Flaming Lips, long considered one of the most important alternative rock bands of all time, winning multiple Grammys and selling millions worldwide, released their latest The Soft Bulletin: Live At Red Rocks (feat. The Colorado Symphony & André de Ridder) last November. [Limited indie store exclusive colored vinyl pressing.]

Code Orange - Underneath CD/LP (Roadrunner)

Rattling drum loops give way to bursts of rage as Underneath transforms into something colossal, daring, and resilient, setting the tone for one of the year's most exhilarating heavy records. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]

Monophonics - It's Only Us CD/LP (Colemine)

With a timeless sound that blends heavy soul and psych-rock, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the best live bands in the country. Led by singer Kelly Finnigan, the band of has drawn on their colorful history - both their experiences as veteran touring performers and as individuals growing up in the Bay Area - to create It's Only Us, their fourth release since 2012. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Yumi Zouma - Truth Or Consequences CD/LP (Polyvinyl)

Truth or Consequences, Yumi Zouma's third album was produced by the band and mixed by engineer Jake Aron (Solange, Grizzly Bear, Snail Mail). Christie Simpson's voice gives weight to whispers of impressionistic poetry, shielding hard truths with soft tones, while Burgess' vocals reveal a rarified dimension of raw and lucid romanticism, with lead single "Right Track / Wrong Man", in particular, exhibiting a Balearic tempo and bass-heavy energy that belies its underlying tension. [Limited edition colored vinyl pressing.]

The Boomtown Rats - Citizens Of Boomtown CD/LP (BMG)

The Boomtown Rats - Bob Geldof on vocals, Pete Briquette on bass, Simon Crowe on drums and Garry Roberts on guitar - mark 2020 (The Year Of The Rat) with the release of Citizens Of Boomtown, their first new studio album since 1984. The record is ushered in by the beautifully sleazy rocker "Trash Glam Baby". So why a new record? "Because that's what bands do. They make records. Songwriters write songs. There's so much to respond to in this new and different febrile atmosphere that we live in. People forget we took our name from Woody Guthrie, the great musical activist. I think The Boomtown Rats have always shown that rock 'n' roll is a form of musical activism. The music has intent and purpose even if that is just the sound, about boy/girl, nothing particularly at all, everything in general, or pointed polemical.... whatever." Does the world need another Boomtown Rats record? "I couldn't give a shite," says Geldof. "We do, and that's enough."

Sam Gendel - Satin Doll CD/LP (Nonesuch)

Sam Gendel's new album, Satin Doll, is a futuristic homage to historical jazz. It features three musicians - Gendel on saxophone, Gabe Noel on electric bass, and Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion - engaging in simultaneous synchronized sonic construction/deconstruction of jazz standards, including Miles Davis' "Freddie Freeloader", Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", and Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll". Gendel is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes significant collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Blake Mills, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and Inc. No World. Gendel's previous discography includes the critically praised Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar with bassist Sam Wilkes and 4444.

Sam Doores - Sam Doores CD/LP (New West)

"Recording in a foreign environment like Berlin, I was inspired to experiment with more cinematic, psychedelic sounds," says Sam Doores, "but my love for old-school New Orleans R&B, Memphis soul & rock 'n' roll, Detroit Motown & gospel, doo-wop, early blues & folk music will probably always bleed into whatever I do. Recording this album was an opportunity to explore the space between these worlds." With his captivating self-titled debut, Doores has done precisely that. Written on-and-off over the course of several years, the collection is classic and contemporary all at once, blending traditional southern roots with adventurous sonic landscapes as it reckons with heartache and loss, love and gratitude, fresh starts and, ultimately, a whole lotta change. The performances are infectious in their ease, simple on the surface but built on foundations of deep emotional and harmonic complexity that belie their amiable exteriors.

Porridge Radio - Every Bad CD/LP+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)

Porridge Radio grew out of Dana Margolin's bedroom, where she started making music in private. Living in the seaside town of Brighton, she recorded songs and slowly started playing them at open mic nights to rooms of old men who stared at her quietly as she screamed in their faces. Though she eventually grew out of them, for Margolin these open mic nights unlocked a love of performing and songwriting, as well as a new way to express herself. She decided to form a band through which to channel it all, and be noisier while she was at it - so Porridge Radio was born.

Ultraísta - Sister CD/LP (Partisan)

Sister, Ultraísta first new album since their 2012 debut Tin King, is a collection that defies easy categorization and is far more than just the sum of its remarkable parts with production from Grammy-winning producer/engineer/musician Nigel Godrich, best known for his two decades helming Radiohead's groundbreaking studio output. The album also includes celebrated drummer Joey Waronker, who's toured and recorded with everyone from R.E.M. and Beck to Roger Waters and Elliott Smith, and singer Bettinson, an acclaimed solo artist whose work combines synth-driven electropop and dreamy vocal looping.

Rookie - Rookie CD/LP+MP3 (Bloodshot)

Rookie is six matching jumpsuit-clad, shaggy-haired friends from Chicago who play rock 'n' roll that's more at home next to their parents' battered LPs than on their friends' streaming playlists. The band's self-titled debut full-length album deftly reformats the classic rock landscape with blowtorch hooks, enthralling harmonies, evocative touches of cosmic country, and distinctively indie-minded songwriting. Rookie's modern take on timeless American rock 'n' roll pulls from all corners of the sonic map; it's familiar but fresh, lived-in but blown-out. It's the '70s/'80s pop-rock sheen of recent tour-mates Cheap Trick; three-minute precision songwriting of Big Star; loose Neil Young Americana; and the hazy, psych-flavored boogie of The Allman Brothers and Thin Lizzy.

The Exbats - Hits, Kicks, & Fits CD/LP/Cassette (Burger)

The Exbats write about things like homoerotic superhero sidekicks and television losers, rock and roll dreamers and existential angst, hexing the patriarchy and fighting the barman who's carding you out of your own gig.

Shires - Good Years CD/LP (Bear Family)

Fourth album from the UK's best-selling country act.

Human Impact - Human Impact CD/LP (Ipecac)

The story of Human Impact begins with the mutual respect and admiration shared by four noise rock pioneers whose paths circled for nearly three decades, yet finally converged in 2018. The quartet - vocalist and guitarist Chris Spencer (Unsane), bassist Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu), keyboardist Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop), and drummer Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans) - manifest the potential of this union on their self-titled debut.

The Garden - Kiss My Super Bowl Ring CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)

Though primarily self-produced by twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, The Garden's fourth album Kiss My Super Bowl Ring includes tracks co-produced by Dylan Brady, and Wharfwit, along with tracks featuring Ariel Pink, Khalif Jones (aka Le1f) and even a snippet from Carrot Top. "The chaotic and experimental punk-ish duo aren't afraid to throw genres and labels out the window on Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, but they're also focused more on blatant honesty and a lack of sugarcoating than they ever have been before. "The new record is about establishing who we are a little bit more," Wyatt said. "All of the songs that we wrote are based off of personal experiences and our mindset - hence the name Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, which is another way to say 'kiss my ass' because we just want to do what we want to do. We've always been doing what we want to do - and we've experimented a lot musically, so we've never just had one sound - but I think sometimes it's hard to be completely and brutally honest with lyrics and stuff like that."

Niall Horan - Heartbreak Weather CD (Capitol)

Irish singer/and songwriter and former One Direction member Niall Horan follows-up his 2017 Flicker with the highly-anticipated sophomore release, Heartbreak Weather. Featuring his new single "No Judgement" and uptempo number "Nice To Meet Ya", this body of work showcases his unique musicianship and magnetic vocal range. "When I listen to albums, I like to listen to them start to finish. With Heartbreak Weather, I wanted to tell the story that was in my head, hopefully lead people down the storytelling lane of an album track listing versus just 'I'm gonna skip to the next one,'" explains Horan. "I was trying to think how I could write a different album than the usual...I wanted to write songs from different sides or from someone else looking in." [Vinyl edition due April 17.]

Shabaka and The Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History CD (Impulse!/Verve)

Spiritual jazz pacesetters Shabaka & the Ancestors, led by Shabaka Hutchings, release their sophomore album, We Are Sent Here By History. It's the follow-up to their 2016 breakout Wisdom Of Elders, which established them as leading lights in the contemporary jazz scene. Says Hutchings: "We Are Sent Here By History is a meditation on the fact of our coming extinction as a species. It is a reflection from the ruins, from the burning. A questioning of the steps to be taken in preparation for our transition individually and societally if the end is to be seen as anything but a tragic defeat. For those lives lost and cultures dismantled by centuries of western expansionism, capitalist thought and white supremacist structural hegemony the end days have long been heralded as present with this world experienced as an embodiment of a living purgatory." [Vinyl edition due April 24.]

Al Di Meola - Across The Universe CD/LP (earMUSIC)

Di Meola returns with his second Beatles covers collection, this time with a full band sound.

Reissues & From The Archives

Lee Hazlewood - There's a Dream I've Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971 4CD+DVD+book

This landmark box set is the ultimate artifact for Lee Hazlewood heads new and old, containing a lavishly packaged, expansive 172-page LP sized hard cover book. But every good book deserves a soundtrack and in this case it comes in the form of a four-CD anthology of the LHI label, along with the never-before-released 1970 film Cowboy in Sweden on DVD. The CDs feature Hazlewood songs familiar and less so; surprising covers, doleful duets and little heard LHI gold. The book rolls out the full story of the LHI label, including interviews with Lee and Suzi Jane Hokum, re-assessments of key Hazlewood albums, and artist profiles for the label's roster, lovingly written by renowned L.A. music journalist/novelist Jessica Hundley. 

Snarky Puppy - Live At Royal Albert Hall 2xCD (Ground Up Music)

Snarky Puppy is a Brooklyn, New York-based instrumental ensemble led by bassist Michael League. Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won three Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals.

Magazines

Maggot Brain issue #2 (Third Man Records)

Cover feature is a three-parter on Moondog. Our editor's phone interview with him from 1998, some amazing never-before-seen-images, and crucially this series of archival interviews from 1953. Also features Shana Cleveland - the singer-songwriter / La Luz leader's hand-written illustrated tour diary chronicles a European tour with her own newborn baby, and it's really unlike anything you've seen or read before. Gainesville Riot '88: on tour supporting 'Bug,' the immense Dinosaur Jr's laconic wall of sound helped to start a riot at their show in a Florida university hall. Thankfully our old pal Kevin Arrow was there with slide film in his camera to capture the event. These images have never been seen before.

New on Vinyl

Maria McKee - La Vita Nuova LP (Afar)

Ardent, anglophilic, anachronistic, luddite/maximalist and baroque, La Vita Nuova was written as an elegy to desire. Upon its completion it became a conjuring. Candid and passionate, Maria McKee has quite simply, had a beatific awakening and in a crescendo of prose, La Vita Nuova unlocks this story, sketching out a momentous and transformative time in her life that started decades ago when she sang in her living room by the fire with her older brother, the late, great musical innovator Bryan MacLean, co-founder, (along with Arthur Lee), of the seminal L.A. band Love. Along the way she retooled punk and country as the lead singer of pioneering Americana band Lone Justice, released a string of evocative and eclectic solo records, wrote chart-topping hits and inspired the devotion of a loyal cultish fan base before seemingly disappearing... It's been 13 years since her last studio album Late December which was released in 2007. [CD edition due March 27.]

Early Day Miners - Placer Found [Reissue/2000] 2xLP (Secretly Canadian)

20th anniversary vinyl reissue. Placer Found is the 2000 debut full-length recording from Bloomington, IN musical cooperative Early Day Miners. Frontman Dan Burton delivers his songs in his slightly effected, though nonchalant, sing-song while drummer Rory Leitch keeps it all grounded as the storm brews on. Fans of seminal slow-core bands such as Codeine and Low will appreciate Early Day Miners for their tempered beauty and composure, while lovers of My Bloody Valentine and mid-period Giant Sand (not to mention the Neil Young they were nodding to) will love the gorgeous distorted landscape that guitarists Burton and Joe Brumley allow to take them over. Early Day Miners play a free live set at Grimey's this Saturday, March 14th, at 5PM!

Dungen - Dungen Live LP (Mexican Summer)

Live is Dungen in their own land saving up stunning solos and fiery interplay for their home team, elements of their most inspired moments assembled into one piece of continuous music by producer Matthias Glava. Live showcases what Dungen does best: create a vibe where none existed, build a mood out of circumstance, attack the music with a fan's soul and a master's virtuosity. It extends moments out of their seemingly explored catalog and breathes new life into them.

Eden - No Future 2xLP (Astralwerks)

Vocalist/producer/multi-instrumentalist Eden (Dublin-bred artist born Jonathon Ng) returns with No Future, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 full-length debut, Vertigo. As with all his music to date, lead single "Projector" was recorded and produced by Eden at his home studio. With its dreamlike textures and heady drum-machine rhythms, the song finds Eden's graceful vocal work channeling a heavy-hearted surrender. "'Projector' is about appreciating all the ebbs and flows and accepting how things really are instead of wishing they were some other way," Ng explains. "It started out as a very no-man's-land kind of song, and then the lyrics ended up reflecting the concept of the death of the universe into a very personal space: this idea that no matter what's going on in your life right now, everything eventually runs its course."

Joywave - Possession LP (Hollywood)

Weaving blissed-out synths and unstoppable dancefloor grooves with euphoric hooks, exuberant wit, and uncommon emotional depth, Rochester, NY-based band Joywave has spent much of the past decade holding an aural mirror to society, concocting a distinctively modern approach towards pop music that is both organic and synthetic, much like our own day-to-day lives. Continuing with the band's creative use of noteworthy samples and field recordings, Possession is woven together with audio from Voyager's Golden Record (launched by NASA in 1977).

The Pathetx - 1981 LP (Third Man Records)

The first-ever release of The Pathetx - 1981. The Pathetx took their inspiration from the West Coast punk scene that was happening at the time, bands like The Germs, Black Flag and Dead Kennedys, as opposed to most of the other punk bands that were kicking around Detroit who were looking to The Stooges and MC5 to show them the way. Nunzio's was the band's unofficial home away from home but they played every legendary punk club in the area: Bookies Club 870, Freezer Theater, Red Carpet, Windsor's Coronation Tavern...you name it, The Pathetx played it. They shared the stage with Detroit's first wave punk bands as well as the superstars of this new hardcore thing that was happening. 

Horse Lords - The Common Task LP (Northern Spy)

Horse Lords make music for the liberation of mind and body. Propulsive in a way that inspires movement and that's felt in the gut, the Baltimore quartet's new album The Common Task points to a utopian, modernist ideal. The group's use of algorithmic composition techniques, microtonal harmonies, and plentifully deployed polyrhythm aren't secondary to the music's danceability and rhapsodic swirl, but integral to the party itself. The album's mystifying density of ideas collide at each moment, recalling as diverse a cohort as The Ex and Glenn Branca to raucous Saharan guitar music, Albert Ayler, and James Tenney. [CD version due March 27.]

Dave Simonett - Red Tail LP (Dancing Eagle)

Almost two decades into a prolific career, Dave Simonett still leans into a microphone like he's counting on a stranger. Guitar slung at the ready, he's comfortable but bemused. Whether he's fronting beloved acoustic roots kings Trampled By Turtles or acclaimed side project Dead Man Winter, Simonett has an ideal songwriters voice - a beautiful but subtle workhorse that's easy to take for granted.

Phil Madeira - Open Heart LP (Mercyland)

New album from the songwriter, producer, musician and vocalist. Madeira's songs have been recorded by The Civil Wars, Buddy Miller, Alison Krauss, Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Hornsby, Keb' Mo', Garth Brooks, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Cindy Morgan, Shawn Mullins, The North Mississippi Allstars.

Blaze Foley - Clay Pigeons LP (Lost Art Records)

Reissue of the 2011 vinyl-only collection of 12 Blaze tracks released by Secret Seven Records. Compiled from home, studio and intimate live recordings between 1976 - 1988, this 'Best of Blaze' sampler features Blaze's renditions of songs since covered by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and John Prine. Culled from posthumous CDs released by Lost Art Records and Fat Possum, Clay Pigeons' 2011 release marked the first available vinyl LP from one of Texas' most unique and soulful singer-songwriters. "Blaze is one of the most spiritual cats I've ever met; an ace finger picker; a writer who never shirks the truth and never fails to rhyme," - Townes Van Zandt.

Leslie Odom Jr. - Mr LP (S-Curve)

New release from the Tony-winning singer/performer best known for his role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton.

Calvin Johnson - What Was Me LP (K.)

The first of what promises to be many posthumous solo albums from Calvin Johnson, culled from the extensive archive of tapes left behind by the prolific songmaker and performer. Calvin Johnson made up songs about the feeling inside for over twenty years. What Was Me collects ten bits of lifeness and spreads them thickly with voice and acoustic guitar; a capella 40% of the time. There are patches that are worn and threadbare but the overall effect is gutty and moist.

Trey Gruber - Herculean House Of Cards LP (Numero)

A tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years, Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st-century disconnect, an alphabet's worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards.

Honey Cutt - Coasting LP (Kanine)

Honey Cutt's fantastical surf pop hooks will reel you in with dreamy cooing and nostalgic melodies, but do not let these seemingly carefree tunes fool you. Young songwriter, Kaley Honeycutt has a knack for serving up some of her darkest moments with a breeziness you can't help but sway along to.

JFDR - New Dreams LP (Krunk)

New Dreams is the second record from Icelandic singer, songwriter multi-instrumentalist Jófríður Ákadóttir aka Jfdr. New Dreams deals variously in heartbreak, gratitude, habits, intuition, delusions, innocence, loneliness, meaning, empathy, vulnerability, security, identity, dependency, longing, beauty, love and, yes, dreams, old and new.

Fotocrime - South Of Heaven LP (Profound Lore)

The new Fotocrime (the dark wave project of R. Patterson from acclaimed hardcore punk band Coliseum) full-length album South Of Heaven, the second full-length chapter in the project's narrative, finds comfort on the fringe. This is the backlit highway slithering from 2018's Principle Of Pain, which bowed at the altar of post-street punks Blitz while nodding at the megawatt gleam of Depeche Mode and churn of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. The stories comprising this latest are winding and boundless, unfolding with unexpected paths and hairpin turns.

Brian Blade Fellowship - Brian Blade Fellowship [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Blue Note)

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band is one of the most distinctive bands in jazz this century. The Fellowship first formed in 1997, helmed by drummer Brian Blade and defined by the tight bond among the musicians: pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Chris Thomas, alto saxophonist Myron Walden and tenor saxophonist Melvin Butler. Their Blue Note debut introduced the band's unique sound which blends elements of jazz, folk and gospel with an uplifting hymnal quality.

Elvin Jones - Mr. Jones [Reissue/1973] LP (Blue Note)

In 1968, after six years with the seminal John Coltrane Quartet, the mighty drummer Elvin Jones signed with Blue Note Records, releasing 10 fantastic albums, including 1972's Mr. Jones. Features saxophonists Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and Pepper Adams, Thad Jones on flugelhorn and bassist Gene Perla. The music delves into expansive post-bop with Latin influences and includes an impassioned version of Tadd Dameron's ballad, Soultrane, in dedication to Coltrane.

Art Taylor - A.T.'s Delight [Reissue/1960] LP (Blue Note)

Art Taylor was one of the greatest drummers in modern jazz who propelled the bands of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd and many more. Taylor only lead a handful of recorded albums including 1960's A.T.'s Delight, which is a delightful and inventive set of hard bop that interprets the music of Coltrane, Monk, Davis, and more with a stellar band including trumpeter Dave Burns and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.

Spice Girls - Spice World [Reissue/1997] LP (Virgin)

Spice Girls - Greatest Hits [Reissue/2007] LP (Virgin)

Standard black vinyl reissues.

ABBA - Live At Wembley Arena 3xLP (Capitol)

When ABBA took the stage on November 10, 1979, their experience and professionalism showed. The backing musicians were Sweden's best and most experienced. Although principally promoting their recent Voulez-Vous album, this set covered highlights throughout their career.

Little Steven - Men Without Women [Reissue/1982] LP (UMe)

Little Steven - Born Again Savage [Reissue/1984] 2xLP (UMe)

Little Steven - Freedom No Compromise LP [Reissue/1987] LP (UMe)

Little Steven - Revolution [Reissue/1989] 2xLP (UMe)

Vinyl reissues of the Bruce Springsteen/The E-Street band guitarist's first five solo albums. We currently only have Born Again Savage and Revolution on hand.

Sponge - Rotting Pinata LP (Wargod)

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

Psychic TV - Dreams Less Sweet LP (Angry Love Productions

2020 repress. Angry Love Productions is proud to present Psychic TV's 1983 classic Dreams Less Sweet, back on vinyl for the first time in over 20 years. Holophonic audio from the original UK vinyl masters with meticulously restored artwork. Features early PTV classics "The Orchids" and "White Nights." Officially licensed through Sony UK.

Ryan Power - Mind the Neighbors LP (Feeding Tube Records)

Every note, melody, turn of phrase, and point of view in Power's carefully-crafted songs is intravenously infused with his particular way of moving through the world. He's always searching for the perfect combination of chords, the most precise arrangement of words, the most complete capturing of a mood. But these tunes are not without precedent: his own obsessions with Brazilian music -- particularly Bossa nova -- as well as jazz (a form in which he's trained) and folk all flutter through his songs, and you can hear some remnants of '60s French pop careening around as well. As one song on his eighth album Mind the Neighbors puts it, his songs are 'dreams on the run' -- part of an exhilarating chase for elusive ideals.

Organisation - Tone Float CD/LP (Inner Space)

Originally released in 1970. Now available on LP. German rock band, Organisation, is often referred to as the prototype or predecessor of Kraftwerk -- the godfathers of electronic music. Tone Float is the only album produced by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider under this name and is a seminal example of the genre. Audiences in West Germany were fortunate enough to watch and listen to the whole album, played live for German television station, EDF, and it is this broadcast featured here. The bonus track "Vor Dem Blauen Bock" (more accurately, "Rückstoß Gondoliere"), is a notable rarity in that it includes a later Organisation line-up consisting of Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider and Klaus Dinger, and Michael Rother who would go on to form the band, Neu! 

Mashrou' Leila - The Beirut School LP (Republic of Music)

Mashrou' Leila are a Beirut-based four piece indie band. Their rousing, sensual electro-pop anthems about political freedoms, LGBT rights, race, religion and modern Arabic identity have challenged the status quo of the Middle Eastern pop industry. Described as 'The voice of their generation' by CNN and 'The Arab world's most influential independent band' by The Financial Times, Mashrou' Leila mark their 10th anniversary with the release of this compilation of their classic tracks and new material. The album brings together the key songs from their first four albums, and also features three new songs produced by Joe Goddard of Hot Chip from sessions in the band's Beirut studio and at the legendary La Frette Studios in Paris. 'Salam' also features Roisin Murphy on vocals.

Reggie Andrews and the Fellowship - Mystic Beauty LP (Mad About Records)

A reissue of Reggie Andrews and The Fellowship's Mystic Beauty, originally released in 1969. '60s jazz holy grail LP out of California -- a mythical album on many jazz collector's want-lists. It has deep Latin, Afro/Cuban-influences, and consists primarily of acoustic jazz pieces. Influences also range from the cerebral to the soulful, but it defies any one-dimensional tag like "spiritual jazz" or "soul-jazz" or "jazz-funk." Heralding from LA and led by pianist Reggie Andrews, it doesn't sound particularly "west coast". It's a beautiful session all around, really something special and profound.

Rudolph Moser - Metronia LP (Potomak)

Rudolph Moser, best known as the "drummer" of the Einstürzende Neubauten, releases his second official solo album Metronia on the band's own Potomak label. The music changes in its multifaceted nature from minimalistic motifs, wide sound plateaus to tribal percussion pieces, to the "total wall" and islands of intimate moments and songs. Whether with marble plate, plastic pipes, sheet metal, steel springs, prepared car tires, rotor core of an aircraft turbine, large stone saw blade, timpani, or the reverberation of a steel ball weighing 20 kilos in an empty underground car park... Rudolph Moser knows how to extract a unique, magical sound from every seemingly non-musical object. The album becomes an imaginary soundtrack and an individual sound cosmos. 

Saroos - Olu LP (Alien Transistor)

Saroos's members had the term "mixtape" on their minds while working on their latest full-length -- albeit in the hip-hop sense: a sonic snack box, interconnected shots from the hip. Florian Zimmer, Christoph Brandner, and Max Punktezahl, otherwise busy with The Notwist, Driftmachine, and Lali Puna, have never sounded more playful and unrestricted, from majestically built oriental sound-pieces, to ambient sunshowers, to a triptych of speaker-boxxxing gas lamp experimentations. Whereas the trio's earlier releases were rather conceptual and homogenous, OLU ("Off Label Use") indeed has a more loose, spur-of-the-moment feel, a spontaneous force at its core.

Sary Moussa - Imbalance LP (Other People)

Moussa is an electronic musician who has been active in the Beirut underground scene since 2008. He released his first full-length album Issrar in October of 2014 under the moniker radiokvm. His latest record Imbalance, finds Moussa revisiting the soundscapes of his childhood; from the echoes of political unrest, to Greek-Catholic chants, and the quiet nights of a secluded Southern village. The album combines sound design with intricate melodic arrangements to create a choir of synthesizers and noise singing in and out of sync. In addition to his solo work, Moussa has also composed music for theater and dance performances, short films, and museum installations.

Carl Oesterhelt - Eleven Pieces for Synthesizer LP (Umor Rex)

A collection of synth instrumentals by German composer Carl Oesterhelt, who has been recording a mixture of straddling kosmische and classical traditions for years on his own reel tape machine, overdubbing stacks of analog gear to create a body of work full of emotional depth and rhythmic experimentation. Oesterhelt augments his own analog arsenal with synthesizers borrowed from musician friends, resulting in almost fifteen different synthesizers -- some in fruitful states of disrepair -- and tracks touch on synthesized church organ processions, disintegrating kraut-funk-noir, and minimal techno rhythms embellished with eerie sound effects. The hypnotic ritualism of early African field recordings, or the spiritual regality of European organ music also convey key reference points in the formulation of this collection.

Inoyamaland - Dazindan-Pojidon LP (WRWTFWW Records)

The official reissue of Japanese duo Inoyamaland's quintessential ambient/environmental/electronic album Danzindan-Pojidon, produced by Haruomi Hosono and originally released in 1983 on his Yen Records label. The new age classic comes as a limited LP with liner notes by band member Makoto Inoue. With Danzindan-Pojidon, Yasushi Yamashita and Makoto Inoue created what they describe as "a special place where the kingdom of summer vacation never ended." Playful and magical, it's a sonic landscape defined by tinkling synths, floating minimalist melodies, pastoral excursions, and mythical overtones. The ten-track adventure takes the listener on a joyful audio exploration of unknown but friendly territories, like childhood memories of an imaginary island where everything is vibrantly alive and peaceful.

Ruin Lust - Choir Of Babel LP (20 Buck Spin)

New York's Ruin Lust have spent the better part of the last decade spreading a drape of black violence across the dank basement corners of the deepest underground. .Thoroughly uncompromising and bestial, Choir Of Babel squanders no time on subtlety, laying waste with barbaric ferocity via a ruthless attack crafted not to disappear in a blur of forgettable noise but devastate with jagged menace and complexity.

Kvelertak - Splid LP (Rise)

New album from the Norwegian metal outfit. One hour of catchy riffs, punk rock, and heavy metal influenced by a world in discord.