New Releases - 4/15/22

Hitting The Racks

Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's

New Releases

Gracie Abrams – This Is What It Feels Like LP (Interscope)

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Gracie Abrams releases her new project, This Is What It Feels Like, bringing raw introspection to the most intimate of emotional experiences (self-betrayal, insecurity, failed attempts at connection). True to her DIY sensibilities, the 12-track album finds her taking a greater role in the production process, working with Aaron Dessner, Joel Little, and frequent collaborator Blake Slatkin, to dream up each track's minimalistic yet kaleidoscopic sound.

Architects – For Those That Wish To Exist At Abbey Road 2xLP+MP3 (Epitaph)

Two vinyl pressings: standard black and an indie store exclusive clear w/ yellow & purple splatter.

Architects’ new album captures a historic live stream performance event at the iconic Abbey Road studios: spiritual home to legends like The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Dubbed For Those That Wish To Exist at Abbey Road, the album features a reimagined orchestral version of their masterpiece album For Those That Wish To Exist, backed by their friends in the Parallax Orchestra, the well-respected UK based orchestra made up of some of England's best and most versatile classical musicians, arranged and written by Simon Dobson, Parallax Orchestra's conductor and a three times British Composer award (BASCA) winner for his compositions.

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs – External Combustion LP (BMG)

Recently released on CD – now available on viny. For Mike Campbell, External Combustion – the second album by his first band as a leader, The Dirty Knobs – is proof that lightning can strike twice. The follow-up to their 2020 debut Wreckless Abandon beats a new set of odds and jumps ahead in vision and drive, proving the first record was no one-shot deal. Campbell experienced all the above and more with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – riding shotgun with his friend and captain as lead guitarist, co-producer, and, at times, co-writer – when he met guitarist Jason Sinay at a session in Los Angeles in 2000. Once Lance Morrison joined in on bass and Matt Laug on drums, that turned into The Dirty Knobs, named after a faulty amp dial.

Darkher – The Buried Storm CD/2xCD/LP (Prophecy)

The sinister yet beguiling images that Darkher aka Jayn Maiven paints with her ethereal vocals, guitars, and added strings conjure iridescent cinematic scenes in which it becomes hard to tell whether there lies beauty in darkness or if it is the other way around. [Limited edition silver vinyl.]

Alister Fawnwoda – Milan LP (Dangerbird)

Alister Fawnwoda melds an abundance of influences into a sound that is expansive, ambitious, and authentic to its core. With a creative practice that flows between painting, production, DJ'ing, and beyond, Alister is committed to exploring the boundaries of his talents and potential. Featuring collaborations with Suzanne Ciani and Greg Leisz, Milan furthers the very timely discussion of new ambient composers and how they are reflecting our presently tumultuous world through sound experimentation. For lovers of classic house, experimental ambient, and everything in between, Alister's music presents the possibilities of creative exploration.

High Pulp – Pursuit Of Ends CD (ANTI-)

Drawing on bebop, punk rock, shoegaze, hip-hop and electronic music, experimental jazz act High Pulp deliver Pursuit Of Ends. The music of High Pulp music is simultaneously vintage and futuristic, hinting at everything from Miles Davis and Duke Ellington to Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine. The songs on Pursuit Of Ends balance meticulous composition with visceral spontaneity, while the performances are nothing short of virtuosic, fueled by raw, ecstatic horn runs ducking and weaving their way around thick bass lines and dizzying percussion. [An indie store exclusive vinyl pressing is due May 20.]

Dario Lessing – Frequency CD/LP (Modern Recordings)

Over the last years, Dario Lessing's Berlin based studio has become a hub for creative exchange. His ability to catch inspiration right at its point of origin is the foundation of his album Frequency, which features six different vocalists with international backgrounds from the US (Stimulus) to Australia (James Chatburn), New Zealand (Graham Candy), Austria (Rezar) and of course Germany (SHAMS, Mario). The concept of Frequency describes the creative development of the songs were created: every person has his own frequency they are sending out constantly. When they collide, they influence each other, create new waves and form something new. The result is an album that has a cosmic magic to it and listening feels like being within that creative cave, part of the moment these frequencies fused. At parts ambient, sometimes influenced by hip-hop or avant-pop à la James Blake, Frequency is an eclectic masterpiece from beginning to end.

Mamas Gun – Cure The Jones LP (Candelion)

Mamas Gun conjure the spirit of conscious '70s soul on their bold and big-hearted new album. [CD edition due April 29.]

Mayday Parade – What It Means To Fall Apart LP (Rise)

Recently released on CD – an indie store exclusive limited-edition blue/black/magenta multicolor vinyl pressing is now available. New release from the alternative rock band.

µ-Ziq & Mrs Jynx – Secret Garden LP (Planet Mu)

Released earlier this year on CD – now available on green color vinyl. In Spring 2021, Mike Paradinas (µ-Ziq and the owner of Planet Mu) spoke to longtime friend and past label signing Hannah Davidson (Mrs Jynx) about the therapeutic power of writing music when times are tough. Both had recently been dealing with the loss of a parent due to cancer, and fresh from writing Scurlage, Paradinas suggested a collaboration.

Andrew Pekler & Giuseppe Ielasi - Palimpsests LP (Shelter Press)

Both noted for strikingly forward-thinking bodies of solo work dating back to the 1990s, the duo of Andrew Pekler and Giuseppe Ielasi -- collaborators for the better part of a decade -- reemerge with Palimpsests, their first outing with Shelter Press. Built from deconstructed layers of texture, tone, and arrhythmic percussiveness, the album's two sides distill six years of work into nine splintered, airy re-imaginings of minimalism -- each surprising, creatively rigorous, and startlingly beautiful -- that rest at the outer reaches of contemporary electroacoustic practice and musique concrète. Defined by remarkable restraint and pointillistic precision, across the album's two sides Pekler and Ielasi weave the fractured remnants of their collaborative sessions -- reduced to glitches and warbling fragments of texture and tonality -- into pulsing expanses of spatial ambiance that defy imagism, blur the boundaries between the synthetic and organic -- reducing their sources to a series of unknowns -- recast the boundaries of electroacoustic practice on markedly singular terms.

Plosivs – Plosivs LP (Swami)

Plosivs is a new angular and melodic punk band from San Diego. "Plosivs is a new band with some very familiar faces. Their debut single is a fired- up, punky indie rock song that basically sounds like the middle ground between Pinback and Hot Snakes." - Brooklyn Vegan

Prince Daddy & The Hyena – Prince Daddy & The Hyena CD/LP (Pure Noise)

The new, self-titled release from the Albany, New York-based indie punk band dives into the theme of life coming to an end, both vocalist Kory Gregory's own life and fear of his friends and loved ones aging and dying. Gregory expands on why by saying, "It's the first time that it's hit me as an adult, the first time that the impermanence of everything struck, and that sent me into a little existential spiral." [A limited-edition gold color vinyl edition available. An indie store exclusive color vinyl pressing is due June 10.]

The Real Distractions – The Real Distractions 7” (Perennial/K. Records)

The Real Distractions love rock ‘n’ roll. A secret seance of Bo Diddley beats, true touch guitar licks, and forever teenage love croons.

Joel Ross – The Parable Of The Poet CD (Blue Note)

Vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross returns with stunning conviction, issuing his third release for Blue Note Records: The Parable Of The Poet. Steadfast in his commitment to skewing perceptions of improvisation and written composition, the critics' favorite explores new, more expansive territory with his eight-piece Parables band, bringing together young artists of sharply defined expression: Blue Note labelmate Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, Maria Grand on tenor saxophone, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Kalia Vandever on trombone, Sean Mason on piano, Rick Rosato on bass, Craig Weinrib on drums, and returning special guest Gabrielle Garo on flute. [Vinyl edition due May 20.]

Savak – Human Error/Human Delight LP (Ernest Jenning)

Brooklyn post-punk mainstays Savak return with their fifth album. Though Savak's members have done time in bands like Obits, Edsel, Holy Fuck and more, their current outfit feels like the true culmination of their songwriting powers.

Seether – Vicennial - 2 Decades Of Seether 2xLP (Craft Recordings)

Released last October on CD – now available on vinyl – including an indie store exclusive smoke color pressing. A career-spanning compilation of the RIAA Platinum-selling group's greatest hits, including 16 #1 original singles, as well as the fan-favorite cover of “Careless Whisper”.

Spanish Love Songs – Brave Faces Etc. CD/2xLP (Pure Noise)

Spanish Love Songs' Brave Faces Etc. is the deluxe version of their most recent album Brave Faces Everyone. This release offered the chance for the band to challenge themselves musically and expand the sound of the band to better reflect where they're all at in terms of songwriting and production compared to the original. "Right before the one-year anniversary of the album, we decided we wanted to revisit the songs the same way we had been reimagining our previous albums on our Patreon community," says the group. "I don't know that any of us has ever been happy with a finished album we've released, so this was our chance to try out some of things we didn't get to do on the original, whether due to budget, running out of time, etc. We spent a month or two reimagining and re-tracking the entire album from the ground up [Indie store exclusive white w/ green vinyl.]

Selah Sue – Persona CD/LP (Because Music)

The many sides of Selah Sue collide on Persona, the Belgian star's third album. 13 years into a remarkable career that has seen her sell a million albums and work with fans such as Childish Gambino, Diplo, CeeLo Green and J Cole, Persona marks a fresh start. In 2016, Selah took time out to have children. In 2020, she came back with the acoustic The Bedroom EP, inspired by motherhood. Persona is her triumphant return to pop, a genre-mashing masterpiece packed with her trademark sharp humor.

Cisco Swank/Luke Titus – Some Things Take Time CD/LP (Sooper)

A chance introduction led NYC's Cisco Swank and Chicago's Luke Titus into a collaboration where each brought their sophisticated multi-instrumentalist production chops to bear upon something fresh and exciting at the crossroads of jazz and hip-hop. The resulting album Some Things Take Time is one-part beat tape, one-part Blue Note jazz session.

These Arms Are Snakes – Duct Tape & Shivering Crows CD/LP (Suicide Squeeze)

Archival rarities collection. Over the course of their seven-year run back in the '00s, These Arms Are Snakes covered a lot of territory, both in terms of actual miles spent on the road and in terms of their creative bandwidth. Though the band was often mistaken for a typical non sequitur-named screamo outfit or another "animal" indie band, the Seattle group quickly deed expectations and garnered a reputation for subverting the popular underground sounds of time. The group cultivated a small but fervent fanbase across multiple continents with their signature combination of synth-infused noise rock, bad-trip psychedelia, flamboyant proto-metal boogie, and unhinged basement-show hardcore before imploding at the end of 2009. [Limited-edition translucent green & opaque pink swirl vinyl.]

George Thorogood – The Original George Thorogood CD/LP (Capitol)

A collection of hard-stomping, party-down, all-original songs penned from the rock 'n' roll heart of George Thorogood. Along with his unstoppable, longtime band, The Destroyers, the album includes the tour de force anthem "Gear Jammer", the country ballad "Oklahoma Sweetheart" and the previously unreleased "Back In The U.S.A.". Plus, the hard-hitting "I Really Like Girls" and "If You Don't Start Drinkin' (I'm Gonna Leave)" are served up with Thorogood's trademark swagger and tongue-in-cheek panache.

Unto Others – Strength CD/LP (Roadrunner)

Produced and mixed by Arthur Rizk, Stength marks Unto Others' debut album on Roadrunner Records and the follow-up to the Portland, OR group's critically acclaimed 2019 LP Mana. Strength comes introduced by the single "When Will God’s Work Be Done". Stereogum praised the track attesting, "Unto Others build and build, showing mastery in setting a scene, stretching tension to its breaking point, and then blowing it to smithereens with panache," while Decibel wrote that it "continues right where Mana left off, built around a hard-driving groove, some mean palm-muted riffs, and of course, the baritone bellow of singer/guitarist Gabriel Franco."

Kurt Vile – (watch my moves) CD/2xLP (Verve Forecast)

Kurt Vile follows-up 2018's Bottle It In with album (watch my moves). Across the record's 15 songs – which includes 14 originals as well as a version of Bruce Springsteen's "Wages Of Sin" – Vile pulls his talents in unexpected directions. The result is a vibrant, yet meditative album propelled by his trademark laid-back charm and curious spirit. Every lyric has been chiseled down into an aphorism, every bloom of distorted guitar or murmuring synth helping create that "fried" pop. "It's about songwriting. It's about lyrics. It's about being the master of all domains in the music," he says. "I'm always thinking about catchy music, even though it's fried, or sizzled, out. It's my own version of a classic thing – it's moving forward and backward at the same time." [Indie store exclusive translucent green vinyl.]

Zachary Williams – Dirty Camaro LP (Dualtone Music Group)

Released last October on CD – now available on vinyl. Zachary Williams, frontman and songwriter of folk-rock trio The Lone Bellow, introduces his first solo album, Dirty Camaro. The LP was written and recorded in collaboration with several of Williams' musical compatriots, including John Paul White, Ashley Monroe, Robert Ellis, Anderson East, Thad Cockrell, and more. Williams' voice is one to be reckoned with, and the album spins powerful stories of heartbreak and longing, tenderness, and love for family, and overcoming obstacles when everything seems like it's going wrong.

Reissues, Compilations, Live Recordings & Vault Excavations...

Geri Allen – Twenty One [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Blue Note)

The brilliant pianist and composer Geri Allen came out of Detroit's fertile jazz scene, eventually moving to New York where she became part of the emerging M-Base collective that was forging new creative ideas and approaches to jazz in the 1980s. Allen began recording for Blue Note in 1990 with The Nurturer followed by Maroons in 1992. For her third Blue Note album Twenty One, recorded in 1994, Allen joined forces with two masters-bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams-for a dynamic trio date. Allen's stunning lyricism, as well as her boundless harmonic and rhythmic creativity, shines on this remarkable 12-song set. Part of the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series - all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

Chuck Berry – Live From Blueberry Hill LP (Dualtone Music Group)

Chuck Berry, the songwriter and guitarist now known worldwide as the Father of Rock & Roll, came from humble beginnings. After an evening in 1996 spent reminiscing about his storied career with his longtime friend Joe Edwards, owner of St. Louis restaurant and venue Blueberry Hill, Berry fulfilled the dream of music lovers everywhere; he started a live residency that spanned 209 shows at the 340-person capacity club. The club became a modern-day Mecca for rock fans, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the legend perform up close and personal. Live From Blueberry Hill compiles some of Berry's greatest hits from this epic run of shows played alongside his fantastic band - including his son Charles Berry Jr. And daughter Ingrid Berry.

Bobby Cole – A Point Of View [Reissue/1967] CD (Omnivore)

Bobby Cole held court at Jilly’s (Frank Sinatra’s favorite “bistro”) for many years. Cole’s other gigs around New York landed him a recording contract with Columbia, but the 1960 release from The Bobby Cole Trio, while well reviewed, failed to gain traction. It featured no original material from Cole and was essentially a recorded version of his Jilly’s act—one hard to capture on LP. Garland invited the New York jazz singer to become the new musical arranger for CBS’s The Judy Garland Show in Los Angeles. When that show ended, Cole returned to New York and Jilly’s. Jack Lonshein, whose day job was creating covers for artists including Sarah Vaughan, Maynard Ferguson, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, (and eventually Big Brother & The Holding Company and The Amboy Dukes), was a friend of Cole’s. He knew Bobby’s magic, and original songs, were what the jazz world needed. Taking things into his own hands, A Point Of View was released on Lonshein’s own Concentric Records. This reissue is expanded with 12 bonus tracks.

Chick Corea Akoustic Band – Live 3xLP (Concord)

Released last February on CD – now available on vinyl. With his Elektric Band in full swing in the ‘80s, Chick created it's perfect complement: the Akoustic Band. With Elektric Band veterans John Patitucci on upright bass and Dave Weckl on drums, the group carved a totally new path in the world of the piano trio: the kinetic interplay of all three members, honed on high-velocity Corea originals. As a follow up to the Akoustic Band's Standards & More (1989) and Alive (2007), this third album was recorded live during the band's 2018 tour.

Dr. Dog – Be The Void [Reissue/2011] LP (ANTI-)

10th Anniversary Edition pressed on red & clear galaxy color vinyl. Recorded in the summer of 2011, Be The Void seizes that vibrant spirit and transforms it into a 12-track song selection that's at turns deadly catchy and dance-worthy (the shuffling swagger of "Big Girl"), wistful and bittersweet (the lovely, languid sigh of "Get Away"), and earthy-earnest (the twangy troubadour folk of "Turning the Century"). Though each track feels richly textured and intricately layered, the band made a conscious effort to keep the recording process fast and loose. All throughout Be The Void, Dr. Dog delights in a playfulness that lends a refreshingly oddball feel even to the record's more true-to-form tracks.

Mark Knopfler – The Studio Albums 1996–2007 6xCD/11xLP+MP3 (WB)

The Studio Albums 1996–2007 features the Dire Straits frontman-guitarist’s first five studio albums as a solo artist – Golden Heart (1996), Sailing To Philadelphia (2000), The Ragpicker’s Dream (2002), Shangri-La (2004), and Kill To Get Crimson (2007) – plus an exclusive bonus disc of studio B-sides from this period entitled Gravy Train: The B-Sides 1996-2007.

Kraftwerk – Remixes 3xLP (Parlophone)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Remixes showcases Kraftwerk’s immense influence on club & DJ culture, techno, and all forms of electronic dance music. Featuring 19 official remixes, it collates Kraftwerk’s own remixes alongside contributions from some of the world’s biggest DJ’s and producers including François Kervorkian, William Orbit, Étienne de Crécy, Orbital, Underground Resistance, DJ Rolando, and Hot Chip. The remixes are taken from various Kraftwerk 12” singles, CD singles and digital releases from 1991-2021.

The Mars Volta – Octahedron [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (Clouds Hill)
The Mars Volta – Noctourniquet [Reissue/2011] 2xLP (Clouds Hill)

Limited color (red and blue, respectively) vinyl pressings. Each of The Mars Volta albums that preceded Octahedron had pushed the envelope further, their music growing larger, more intense, more complex. Each had delivered an implied, unspoken challenge to its makers within milliseconds of its final notes: "top this". And with each subsequent album, Omar and Cedric had turned their creative dials up one more notch, a further step past "eleven". With the addition of new drummer Thomas Pridgen, and their ranks swollen by extra guitarists, more percussion and a sax-player, the intensity of The Mars Volta's sound had increased. Octahedron, however, would follow The Bedlam In Goliath's brilliant excesses with a sideways step few were expecting, even though the group had telegraphed their intentions to take this new direction for years. In the months and years following their fifth full-length, Octahedron, Omar kept on at his usual fearsome creative pace. In fact, he ramped up his output considerably, starting up his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions label and releasing a slew of solo albums.

M83. – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. [Reissue/2011] 2xLP+MP3 (Mute)

Double orange color vinyl 10th anniversary edition of M83's seminal album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. This one-time pressing features the same children from the first pressing, now 10 years older, creating another iconic cover to expand upon the original. Originally released in 2011, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. remains one of the definitive indie-pop records of its decade.

The Police – Greatest Hits [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (A&M)

Double vinyl pressing in gatefold jacket. Remastered at Abbey Road and cut at 'half-speed' for ultimate sound quality, the set contains two heavyweight black LPs with expanded artwork and packaging in a bespoke gatefold sleeve which enhances the original artwork.

Rush – Moving Pictures (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) 3xCD/5xLP/5xLP+3xCD+Blu-ray (Mercury)

This digitally remastered and expanded reissue featuring the 2015 remaster of the original album (available on CD for the first time) and the complete, unreleased Toronto concert from March 25, 1981. Also included is a booklet with new illustrations by Hugh Syme, plus liner notes by Kim Thayil, Les Claypool, Taylor Hawkins, Bill Kelliher and Neil Sanderso. [The vinyl edition has been cut at half-speed with Direct-to-Metal Mastering for the first-time ever and is pressed on 180gm vinyl. The Super Deluxe Edition includes a Blu-ray audio disc containing first-ever Dolby Atmos and new 5.1 surround album mixes, as well as the brand-new video for “YYZ” plus three music videos. Extras include a book, model car, drumsticks, posters, and more.]

The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground: A Documentary By Todd Haynes 2xLP (Polydor/UMGD)

This soundtrack was curated by the documentary's director Todd Haynes, and music supervisor Randall Poster. It features well-known and rare tracks from The Velvet Underground, as well as songs and performances that influenced the band including the doo-wop of the Diablos, the groundbreaking rock n' roll of Bo Diddley, and the avant-garde compositions of La Monte Young. Also included is a booklet with exclusive liner notes by Todd Haynes.

Cassandra Wilson – Blue Light ‘Til Dawn [Reissue/1993] 2xLP (Blue Note)

Cassandra Wilson's 1993 Blue Note debut, Blue Light 'Til Dawn, wove a tapestry of jazz, blues, folk, and R&B into a singular sound that opened new avenues of expression for vocal jazz. Produced by Craig Street, the album's inventive instrumentation, plus Wilson's riveting vocals, transformed songs by Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and more. Part of the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series - all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.