New Releases - 4/5/24
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
New Releases
Melissa Aldana – Echoes Of The Inner Prophet CD/LP (Blue Note)
Melissa Aldana's second Blue Note album Echoes Of The Inner Prophet is a musical voyage to explore the depth of the spiritual journey. Co-produced by Aldana and Lage Lund, the album features the tenor saxophonist with Lund on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano, Pablo Menares on bass, and Kush Abadey on drums. The 8-track set of original compositions includes six new pieces by Aldana that seek profound truths through introspection, intuition, and self-reflection - including the opening title track which is dedicated to Wayne Shorter.
Joseph Allred - Folk Guitar LP (Feeding Tube Records)
A very nice return to unadorned acoustic guitar playing by one of the form's masters. Allred's last album for FTR, What Strange Flowers Grow in the Shade was more of an imaginary band outing, but Folk Guitar plays it straight. Joseph reports they'd been listening to a lot to pieces by 16th-century composer, John Dowland, and the solo work of Pentangle's John Renbourn while this album was gestating. They also note Hammer Studio horror-film soundtracks as a touchstone for certain tunes, while others were inspired by the music in Chinese fantasy TV shows, and poetic fragments by Sappho. All of which means, this is another deeply considered and beautifully rendered set of tunes by this Tennessee-based rambler.
The Black Keys – Ohio Players CD/LP (Nonesuch)
Ohio Players is the multiple-Grammy Award-winning, Akron, OH native band’s twelfth studio album. Written by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with longtime friends Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Beck, the celebratory, joyful “Beautiful People (Stay High)” is one of several songs on the album that feature collaborations between the band and various additional friends and colleagues, including Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, and others. Speaking on the collaborative nature of the album, Carney shares, “We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music.’ It’s funny because we both write songs with other people – Dan all the time [as a solo artist and producer], me when I'm producing a record. That’s what we do.” Auerbach adds, “No matter who we work with, it never feels like we're sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor.” [Indie store exclusive red vinyl.]
Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love CD/LP (Provogue)
Hill Country Love is the latest studio album from Grammy-Award Winning Bluesman, Cedric Burnside. To Cedric, it is a culmination of a career that's already seen astonishing accomplishments and only keeps growing. When Cedric prepared to record Hill Country Love, the follow-up to his 2021 Grammy-winning album I Be Trying, he set up shop in a former legal office located in a row of structures in the seat of Tippah County, a town with 5,000 residents that's known as the birthplace of the Hill Country Blues style. The fourteen songs on the record were finished in two days, but in addition to being satisfied with the sound, Burnside believes that his eleventh album represents real creative progress.
Grace Cummings – Ramona CD/LP (ATO)
Ramona is a work of raw truth rendered in its most beautiful form. Melbourne-based Grace Cummings traveled to Los Angeles to work with producer Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty) and dreamed up a lavishly orchestrated sound that fully accommodates the depth and scope of her vocal prowess. With its visceral reflection on grief and self-destruction and emotional violence, Ramona brings a stunning new grandeur to Cummings’ music while refusing to soften or temper its humanity. [Limited edition gold vinyl.]
ERRA – Cure CD/LP (Unfd)
Cure is ERRA's sixth album, and it highlights and expands on the forward-thinking sound and guitar-driven style that the band has built its reputation on. Following 2021's self-titled release, Cure is a stunning execution of both raw talent and surgical technicality. It's as emotionally powerful as it is musically proficient, which is not an easy feat to achieve. Yet ERRA makes it look and sound easy. Cure is a sonic thrill ride — one that you hope will never end. [An indie store exclusive transparent black in yellow color-in-color vinyl pressing is available.]
Fyear – Fyear LP (Constellation)
Fyear is a power octet led by composer Jason Sharp and poet/writer Kaie Kellough, fusing spoken word voices with genre-bending compositions for electronics, two drummers, and processed saxophone, pedal steel, and violins. Fyear melds drone, modern chamber, out-jazz, ambient metal, post-hardcore, avant-rock, and electroacoustic maximalism in an integrated work the opposite of collage or pastiche; it always sounds like a wholly unified ensemble/aesthetic. Kellough's poetic materiality conveys acute political-existential themes and plays elemental, cut-up instrumental/semiotic roles.
Freddie Gibbs – You Only Live 2Wice LP+MP3 (Esgn)
Limited opaque red vinyl pressing. You Only Live 2wice is the third studio album by Freddie Gibbs. Following a tumultuous time in Gibbs' personal life, the album focuses on Freddie overcoming his obstacles and rising from the ashes anew, as reflected in the album art depicting the resurrection of Jesus. At eight tracks, the album has no features, instead using the space to let Gibbs bear his soul.
Conan Gray – Found Heaven CD/LP (Republic)
Conan Gray, the critically acclaimed global pop superstar, is back with his third studio album, Found Heaven. The highly anticipated third LP includes singles "Never Ending Song", "Winner", "Killing Me", and "Lonely Dancers". Conan reigns in his magnetic new era and sound as he expresses his undeniable authenticity and originality through his art. [Indie store exclusive red w/ black vinyl.]
Niall Horan – Show: The Encore CD/2xLP (Capitol)
After debuting atop the charts in numerous countries with his third album, The Show, Niall Horan returns with The Show: The Encore - a deluxe edition featuring nine bonus tracks. Horan collaborates with Lizzy McAlpine on a new version of "You Could Start A Cult" and teams up with John Legend to reimagine the album's title track. The collection also includes new live recordings from the Electric Picnic festival and Spotify Studios, plus alternate versions from Niall's Vevo Extended Play session. [A multicolor gold and red double-LP pressing is available.]
Iron Monkey – Spleen And Goad CD/LP (Relapse)
Recorded in their native Nottingham, Spleen and Goad was mastered stateside by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. The UK's Iron Monkey return with their highly anticipated new album, Spleen And Goad. On the new album, the legendary band are as uncompromising ever, churning out some of the grittiest sounding sludge doom in their 25 + year history. Dubbed a "doom sludge vanguard" by The Sludgelord, Iron Monkey live up to their legacy, absolutely pummeling through each of the nine tracks on their new album. [Limited edition blue vinyl.]
Caleb Landry Jones – Hey Gary, Hey Dawn CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
Renowned as a multi-instrumentalist crafting intricate cinematic works that hover on the fringes of prog, Jones breaks new ground with a deliberate focus on live performance for his latest record. Jones has in fact intentionally designed Hey Gary, Hey Dawn with the live stage in mind, a previously missing element in his musical career. Assembling a formidable band, he sets the stage for an enthralling experience, kickstarting a month-long residency in Austin, Texas, this February, culminating in a standout performance at SXSW. The residency serves as a precursor to a series of planned US and international tours, promising to bring the album's electrifying energy to audiences worldwide. The music is Jones's heaviest to date, and though often reticent about direct influences and resistant to categorizations, he weaves a sonic tapestry that hints at punk and grunge elements within his signature kaleidoscopic symphonies. [Limited edition jade eco mix vinyl.]
Jordana/TV Girl – Summer’s Over LP (Grand Jury)
To celebrate the launch of their sold-out US tour, NYC indie pop upstart Jordana and L.A.-based TV Girl surprise-release a collaborative EP entitled Summer's Over. Across its seven songs, the pair mesh TV Girl's hypnotic, sample-heavy production aesthetic with Jordana's plaintive-yet-playful vocal to form the perfect ode to the turning of the seasons, and the perfect celebration of their epic trek across America.
Dustin Kensrue – Desert Dreaming CD/LP (BMG)
Dustin Kensrue, singer-songwriter (and frontman of Thrice) releases his third solo album, Desert Dreaming. Desert Dreaming is an epic alt-country masterpiece, summoning the spirit of the American southwest, flush with tremolo guitar and shuffling percussion that echo off canyon walls. In addition to his work with Thrice, Kensrue has pursued a solo career, releasing albums that highlight his versatility and proficiency as a songwriter. His solo works often feature acoustic and folk influences, allowing him to explore a different musical landscape compared to Thrice's more electric and dynamic sound. Apart from his musical pursuits, Dustin Kensrue is known for his thought-provoking and introspective lyrics, addressing a wide range of themes from personal struggles to social and philosophical topics. His solo projects have garnered appreciation for their emotional depth and musical creativity.
Khruangbin – A La Sala LP (Dead Oceans)
Khruangbin's fourth studio album, A La Sala ("To the Room" in Spanish), is an exercise in returning to go further and doing so on your own terms. It continues the mystery and sanctity that is the key to how bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald "DJ" Johnson, Jr. and guitarist Mark "Marko" Speer approach music. [Limited edition orange-in-yellow vinyl.]
Marcus King – Mood Swings CD/LP (Republic)
Mood Swings is the new album from South Carolina native, Marcus King, the Grammy-nominated artist, performer, guitarist, and songwriter. The music here is deeply personal, driven by King's emotive vocals as much as his revered guitar work, and whilst the subjects dealt with are often raw in nature (heartache, addiction, mental health), there's always a sense of hope in the power of the voice. The album was produced by Rick Rubin at his famous Shangri-La studios in Malibu. [Indie store exclusive neon orange vinyl.]
Kopy - Heart Fresh LP (TAL)
Yuko Kureyama returns to TAL with the album Heart Fresh, her first ever full-length release under her Kopy moniker. The instrumentation on Heart Fresh consists only of a Jomox x Base 09 rhythm machine and an Elektron Digitakt mini sampler, but in the hands of Kopy, this fairly basic and common gear creates an unmistakably intuitive and original approach to drum programming, which is recognizably her very own. Nothing on Heart Fresh is subdued. The album opens with "Night Sarkas" with quirky snare rolls played against slashing, nervy chunks of melody. Samples of organ and chimes evoke a rollercoaster spinning out of tune and sync. "Hole Hole" is a beat driven and melody free short story for bass drum, snare and hi hat with constantly changing bpm's. The album's final track "Moonlight Pool" is the perfect closer for an album of taut, free-wheeling figurations of meter and tone, a nod to classical ambient music as well as to contemporary more experimental digressions.
The Libertines – All Is Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade CD/2xLP (Republic)
The quartet of unlikely lads have gathered from their newfound homes in France, Denmark, Margate and London to solder a strongest-ever internal bond and scale new creative heights. All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade began its formation in September 2022 when Pete and Carl traveled to Port Antonio, Jamaica. Away from any distraction, the chemistry between the infamous songwriting duo began to bubble in earnest. [Indie store exclusive clear vinyl.]
Lil Dicky – Penith (The Dave Soundtrack) 2xLP (BMG)
Penith serves two purposes: it's Lil Dicky's second album - and his first in nine years - but it's also the soundtrack to his TV show, Dave. All 22 songs on the tracklist have appeared in one way or another on the show throughout its three critically acclaimed seasons. They don't follow any chronological sequencing from the show but are instead positioned in a way that makes most sense for a standard rap album. [Indie store exclusive sea & baby blue vinyl.]
Lo Moon – I Wish You More Than Luck CD/LP (Strngr Recordings)
Although it's nine songs revolve entirely around a single unifying idea, of life and personality forged from the revelatory moments of lived experience, to describe Los Angeles band Lo Moon's third outing, I Wish You Way More Than Luck, as a concept album wouldn't be entirely correct. Sonically bold and ambitious, fiercely literate, and imagistic, the songs dance around their theme, not so much playing from track to track, as flowing through peaks and troughs of fervent emotion. It's the singular work of a group of musicians whose confidence and abilities have not only scaled the heights of their ambitions but outstripped them. Luck has little to do with it. [Indie store exclusive onyx marbled vinyl.]
Mount Kimbie – The Sunset Violent CD/LP+MP3 (Warp)
The Sunset Violent began in a disused frat house in the American Yucca Valley. Kimbie’s founding members Dominic Maker & Kai Campos began work on their first proper album together since 2017’s Love What Survives – the decision was made to leave London. Campos and Maker relocated for a month to a town in the middle of a desert. The resulting album, finished in London with longtime confidante Dillip Harris and their band mates Andrea Balency-Béarn and Marc Pell, is 37 minutes of Mount Kimbie at simultaneously their most daring and their most giddily infectious. [Limited edition orange vinyl.]
Old 97s – American Primitive CD/LP (ATO)
The 13th studio album from Old 97's arose from what vocalist/guitarist Rhett Miller refers to as a "de-evolution." "As much as I want us to calm down and grow up, the songs that felt right for this record were mostly big and loud and brutal and dirty." Produced by Tucker Martine and featuring appearances from Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5), American Primitive is gloriously rowdy, revealing a band more attuned than ever to the raw, reckless energy of timeless rock-and-roll. [Limited edition green color vinyl.]
Palace – Ultrasound LP (Virgin)
Armed with an already extensive catalog of stunning music, Palace return their deeply personal, fourth studio album, Ultrasound. The record's production sees the band reunited with Adam Jaffrey, eight years after working together on their debut album, and arrives off the back of Part I - When Everything Was Lost and Part II - Nightmares & Ice Cream, the band's 2023 companion EPs. [Indie store exclusive red vinyl.]
Pernice Brothers – Who Will You Believe CD/LP (New West)
Joe Pernice has been writing for a long time—most of his life, in fact—and has crafted a remarkable catalog that boldly reinterprets and recasts classic American pop. Who Will You Believe may be his most moving and nuanced album yet; it’s certainly his timeliest. “These songs were all written during the same time period,” he says, “and they all seemed to tap into a mood I was in at the time. I go through spells where I’m a certain way for three or four months. I might be more reticent than usual, or more outgoing. With all of my records—and especially with this one—the songs all feel like they belong together, probably because they all arrived during the same stretch of time.” Pernice has been releasing albums for over 25 years. And with age comes a greater patience and an immense appreciation for the act of creation. Who Will You Believe showcases a beautiful balance between such sadness and moments of solemnity with warm humor and camaraderie. [Two indie store exclusive versions are available: autographed CD; and an autographed clear vinyl pressing.]
Phosphorescent – Revelator CD/LP (Verve Label Group)
Revelator is an album that speaks to “the grand sadness in life” — perennial Phosphorescent subject matter, by Matthew Houck’s estimation. In some ways, Revelator extends seamlessly from the story begun by Muchacho and continued by C’est La Vie. It finds Houck further mastering his unique blend of ragged, experiment-y classicism intertwined with ethereal, lachrymose atmospherics. Across Revelator, Houck sings from a woozy, worn headspace, but leads us to a place where dreams and reality mingle. [Indie store exclusive black ice vinyl.]
Mike Post – Message From The Mountains & Echoes From The Delta CD (Masterworks)
He transformed and redefined the sound of music in TV and films over a half-century, and now the Emmy- and Grammy-winning American composer and musical man-for-all-seasons Mike Post has realized his own creative challenge in Message From The Mountains & Echoes Of The Delta, a unique new recording. In nine multifaceted movements, the album uses the sounds of bluegrass to celebrate the mingling of tradition and diverse cultural experience in American music.
Katie Pruitt – Mantras CD/LP (Rounder)
Katie Pruitt is living proof of music's power to transform the way we experience the world. With her sophomore album Mantras, mainly produced by Collin Pastore and Jake Finch (boygenius, Lucy Dacus), Pruitt looks inward to explore such matters as gender identity, self-compassion, or the lack thereof, and the struggle for peace in times of chaos and uncertainty-ultimately arriving at a body of work that speaks to the strength in undoing harmful self- beliefs and fully living your truth.
Maggie Rose – No One Gets Out Alive CD/LP (Big Loud)
On her most ambitious album yet, No One Gets Out Alive, singer-songwriter Maggie Rose proves she's a true original. Unencumbered by genre, the album reflects Maggie's varied influences including rock, soul, Americana, pop and folk, all colliding for a deeply satisfying listen. No One Gets Out Alive is an extension of Maggie's journey as a respected fixture in the Nashville community, who has carved out an unconventional path for herself. She has shared the stage with an impressive array of artists including Kelly Clarkson, Heart, Joan Jett, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, and Fitz & The Tantrums, and earned her reputation as a charismatic, dynamic live performer at countless marquis festivals including Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and Newport Folk Fest among others. [Indie store exclusive gold with red swirl vinyl.]
Runner – Starsdust LP (Run For Cover)
Red vinyl. Starsdust is an ambient album composed from the fragments of Runnner's 2023 album Like Dying Stars, We're Reaching Out. Singles “Ten” and “Eleven” are glitchy, colorful moments of reflection stretched across a few meditative minutes.
Alice Russell – I Am CD/2xLP+MP3/Cassette (Tru Thoughts)
Alice Russell is universally acclaimed as one of the best modern soul voices of our time, while her raw talent and charisma commands attention and affection. The much-loved British soulstress returns with the most personal album of her career. I Am is vulnerable and bold while addressing how we must all work on ourselves to heal - so that we can love and connect with those and the world around us more honestly and with depth. [Limited edition black w/ white marbled vinyl.]
Soul Glo – Songs To Yeet At The Sun LP (Secret Voice)
Clear splatter vinyl pressing.If you gave Soul Glo a snapshot of what was in store for them in 2020 at the end of their first practice in 2014, you might put the space time continuum in flux. If you were to tell vocalist Pierce Jordan and guitarist Ruben Polo that everything that they had spent their first month as a band joking about, playing shows with artists from punk vets Paint It Black to Kurt Cobain's favorites Flipper; from Memphis underground legend Tommy Wright III to platinum producer Pi'erre Bourne, were to actually happen, they might ask you if your hands were as fast as your jokes were. Despite the constant barrage of setbacks, from member changes to financial strife, to run-ins with the law, Soul Glo has both repeatedly defied the kinds of odds that would fold lesser bands, not to mention their own standards for what they believed they could endure. Simultaneously, stopping or slowing down has never exactly been on the table for them, either.
Zach Top – Cold Beer & Country Music LP (Leo33)
With a deep-rooted love for traditional music, Zach Top is poised to invigorate the country genre with his homage to classic sounds and authentic storytelling. Zach embodies the spirit of ‘90s country legends, shaped by his upbringing in Sunnyside, WA listening to classic country music while driving around his family's ranch tending to livestock.
Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us CD/2xLP (Columbia)
Only God Was Above Us is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson recorded the follow-up to Father Of The Bride in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo. It sees the return of their longtime collaborator and producer, Ariel Rechtshaid and it was mixed by Dave Fridmann and mastered by Emily Lazar. Koenig wrote most of the lyrics for Only God Was Above Us in 2019 and 2020. The album’s title comes from a newspaper headline featured in a 1988 photograph by Steven Siegel. The photograph, called Subway Dream 11, doubles as the new Vampire Weekend album cover. [Indie store exclusive vinyl edition featuring alternate cover art is available.
Fay Victor – Life Is Funny That Way LP (Tao Forms)
Acclaimed vocalist-lyricist-arranger Fay Victor & her Herbie Nichols SUNG Quintet celebrate & thoroughly reconsider the rich legacy of jazz composer Herbie Nichols with Life Is Funny That Way, and bring it singing boldly into this century.
Jane Weaver – Love in Constant Spectacle CD/LP+MP3 (Fire)
Recalibrating her singular journey in the British musical landscape with her most open-hearted, direct, and intimate collection of material yet, Love In Constant Spectacle evokes spectacular imagery and distills the artist’s vision in its purest form, elevating Jane Weaver’s inimitable sound and poetic vision to new heights. Recapturing the melancholy of her early work whilst propelling it forward, she sketches scenes as we watch new colors, shapes and languages emerge and fill the frame. Love In Constant Spectacle sees her take measured steps towards a vivid, dreamlike record, that offers resolve in the face of life's inevitability. The foundations of Weaver's sound are still evident - lush motorik drums, pulsating bass, custom modded synths and exotic fuzz pedals - but the stream is awash with scrabble piece poetry and Letraset lullabies leading to lush escapism, the free abandon that you'd associate with free jazz and the avant-garde. [An indie store exclusive deluxe vinyl version is available.]
Reissues, Comps, Live Recordings, Vault Excavations...
ABBA – Waterloo [Reissue/1974] 2xLP (Capitol)
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of ABBA's second studio album, Waterloo. Featuring the title track which brought the band international fame and won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, UK. This double-LP set is presented in high-quality audio, half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Pressed 180gm heavyweight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with obi-strip and certificate of authenticity.
Terry Allen – Gonna California b/w Color Book 7” (Paradise Of Bachelors)
In conjunction with the publication, by Hachette Books, of Truckload of Art: The Life and Work of Terry Allen, an authorized biography by Brendan Greaves of Paradise of Bachelors, “Gonna California” imagines an alternate reality where Allen's long-lost first studio recordings, captured with a full band in L.A. in 1968, saw a proper release. (Instead, nearly the entire pressing was destroyed by a fire set by the so-called "Hollywood Arsonist", and remaining copies were repurposed in artworks.) This first-ever (re)issue edition, limited to 500 copies, features recently rediscovered and remastered early (and superior) mixes of both songs; the original liner notes by Allen; an excerpt from the book; lyrics insert; and Allen's contemporaneous visual art in an arresting gatefold jacket. No veteran country songwriter sounds more attuned to the national mood. His songs still feel like little guidebooks for staring down a harsh universe.” – The Washington Post
Martin Carthy – Martin Carthy [Reissue/1965] LP (Topic)
In the early 1960s, the approach Martin Carthy took to folk music was nothing short of revolutionary, albeit a relatively quiet revolution befitting his humble nature. You wouldn't find Carthy's music clambering up the singles charts; his was not a face adorning the teen magazines. Instead, his influence was felt at a grass-roots level. He plied his trade in the folk clubs, which is where the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon sought him out, enamored of his traditional repertoire and keen to learn songs like “Scarborough Fair” and “Lord Franklin” directly from him before adapting them for their own purposes.
Celine Dion – My Love: Essential Collection [Reissue/2008] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Celine Dion's My Love Essential Collection honors the classic songs that transformed her career and inspired millions. Available for the first time on double-LP black vinyl, the compilation consists of some of Celine's biggest hits such as, the Oscar and Grammy-winning "My Heart Will Go On", the international chart-topper "All By Myself" (her unforgettable interpretation of the groundbreaking Eric Carmen power ballad), "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" (Celine's first English-language single) as well as the Linda Perry-penned title track, "My Love".
Garbage – Bleed Like Me [Reissue/2005] CD/LP/2xLP (Geffen)
Newly remastered reissue of the fourth Garbage studio album, Bleed Like Me, available for the first time on vinyl. Originally released in 2005 and featuring the hit single, "Why Do You Love Me", this expanded edition features the main album, plus rare B-sides. [A stand-alone LP reissue is also available.]
Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – Almost Acoustic [Reissue/1988] 2xLP (ATO)
Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – Ragged But Right [Reissue/2010] 2xLP (ATO)
The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band existed from the summer of 1987 to the summer of 1988, and played fewer than 30 concerts. Led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, the band included three members of the 1964 bluegrass band the Black Mountain Boys - Garcia on guitar and vocals, David Nelson of the New Riders of the Purple Sage on guitar and vocals, and Sandy Rothman on mandolin, dobro, banjo, and vocals - plus long-time Garcia collaborator John Kahn on acoustic bass, Kenny Kosek on fiddle, and David Kemper on snare drum.
Billy Joel – Cold Spring Harbor [Reissue/1971] LP (Sony Legacy)
Billy Joel – Streetlife Serenade [Reissue/1974] LP (Sony Legacy)
Billy Joel – Turnstiles [Reissue/1976] LP (Sony Legacy)
Billy Joel – 52nd Street [Reissue/1978] LP (Sony Legacy)
Billy Joel – Songs In The Attic [Reissue/1981] LP (Sony Legacy)
Billy Joel – Live At The Great American Music Hall – 1975 LP (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissues of the piano man’s first, third, fourth, sixth albums along w/ two previously released live concerts.
Klark Kent – Klark Kent [Reissue/1980] LP (BMG)
Klark Kent: Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid is the debut solo album of Stewart Copeland, and the first solo album recorded by any band member of The Police. The album was originally released in 1980.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Best Of Ladysmith Black Mambazo [Reissue/1992] LP (Shanachie)
Whether they were singing hymns or secular songs, Ladysmith Black Mombazo always raised their voices in glorious harmony. They are the unmatched masters of South African a cappella and this release documents their vocal prowess. This album is comprised of their very best performances from over a long and prestigious and celebrated career. It covers from when they burst onto the scene when they participated with Paul Simon on his hugely successful "Graceland" album and launched their years of worldwide touring to appearances on venues like Saturday Night Live and providing music for movies with major stars like Michael Jackson and Dolly Parton.
Lafayette Afro-Rock Band – Soul Makossa [Reissue/1973] LP (Strut)
Lafayette Afro-Rock Band – Malik [Reissue/1973] LP (Strut)
Blue colorways. First official remastered reissues of Lafayette Afro Rock Band's elusive first two albums.
No Doubt – The Singles 1992-2003 [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Interscope)
Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. No Doubt's greatest hits album, The Singles 1992-2003, is now available for the first time on 180gm heavyweight black vinyl. The double-LP set features a 12-page booklet with lyrics, liner notes and photos.
Tujiko Noriko - From Tokyo to Naiagara LP (Keplar)
2003 album by Tujiko Noriko on vinyl for the first time, featuring new artwork. Written by the France-based Tujiko while she still lived in Japan, From Tokyo to Naiagara followed up on her two seminal Mego albums and marked a turning point in both the artist's career and personal life. Tujiko worked primarily with a Yamaha synthesizer and an MPC sampler while also incorporating contributions by other musicians such as Onda, Riow Arai, and Sakana Hosomi into the pieces. Sometimes approaching an IDM and clicks'n'cuts-style production or working with trip-hop and hip-hop beats while using conventional song structures in the most unconventional of ways, the album showcases her multifaceted influences and skills as a singer and musician to full effect.
Ohio Players – Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions CD (Omnivore)
Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions is the ultimate early look at a group that would transform modern R&B multiple times, eventually becoming part of the inaugural class inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2013. With packaging featuring new liner notes from Tim Dillinger-Curenton outlining the story, Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions is a perfect release to showcase a band that was always on the cutting edge of musical exploration and excellence.
Opa - Back Home LP (Far Out Recordings)
Meaning "Hi" in Uruguayan slang, Opa are a South American jazz-funk phenomenon. Fusing Uruguay's native Candombe rhythms with North American jazz and pop music, Opa's space-age synthesizers, boisterous grooves and compositional magic expressed a distinctive Afro-Uruguayan voice within the global jazz vernacular: a voice which remains as vital and unique today as when it was recorded, almost half a century ago. Having migrated to New York from Montevideo in the early seventies, Opa were heard playing in a nightclub by renowned producer and label owner Larry Rosen. At Holly Place Studios between July and August 1975, Rosen oversaw Opa's first recordings using a four track TEAC 3340. The album would become home to some of Opa's hardest hitting funk jams, with moments of songwriting wonderment and soulful pop and rock progressions combining with the jazz-funk fusion Opa would become known for.
Rail Band – Rail Band [Reissue/1973] LP (Mississippi)
One of the greatest, heaviest, and hardest-to-find guitar records from 1970s West Africa, available on vinyl for the first time in over a decade. A product of Mali's golden age, "Rail Band" is a relentlessly soulful and hypnotic blend of American funk, jazz horns, and Afro-Cuban music, reflected through centuries-old Mandé tradition and blasted at top volume by some of the continent's greatest artists.
Tony Rice – Church Street Blues [Reissue/1983] LP (Craft Recordings)
180gm vinyl pressing. Church Street Blues is the 1983 album from bluegrass legend Tony Rice. Featuring Rice alone on all but four tracks, the album showcases Rice's guitar prowess and eclectic musical style. Church Street Blues features standards as well as covers from Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and more. Noting the album's intimacy, Bluegrass Today wrote "It's like you become closer to Rice as a person with every note that is sung or played." [Indie store exclusive red w/ gold color vinyl.]
Horace Silver – Silver’s Serenade [Reissue/1963] LP (Blue Note)
Recorded in May 1963, Silver's Serenade was the last in a fantastic run of albums that pianist Horace Silver would make with the most celebrated line-up of his Quintet featuring Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor saxophone, Gene Taylor on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums. The core of the band had been together since 1959 and recorded hard bop classics like Finger Poppin' and Blowin' the Blues Away, with Brooks joining in 1960 on Horace-Scope.
Tosca – No Hassle [Reissue/200] 3xLP (!K7)
15th anniversary reissue. Multi-instrumentalists Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have been friends since their Vienna schooldays. Richard later became half of the globally acclaimed DJ-producer duo Kruder and Dorfmeister, while Rupert worked in piano composition and sound-art installation.
Various Artists – Eccentric Soul: Consolidated Productions Vol. 1 LP (Numero)
Operating in the farthest margins of L.A.'s cutthroat music business from 1961-1991, Mel Alexander's Consolidated Productions was among the longest running Black-owned independent record conglomerates of the 20th century. [Limited edition opaque tan vinyl.]
Various Artists – Imagination Anthem Vol. XIII: Songs Of Bruce Cockburn LP (Tompkins Square)
For the 13th installment in Tompkins Square's acclaimed Imaginational Anthem guitar series, Wooden Wand's James Toth invites a host of acolytes to salute Bruce Cockburn's magnificent career and catalog. Bill Callahan, Matt Valentine, Jerry DeCicca, Luke Schneider, Eli Winter and others perform gorgeous renditions of Cockburn hits and hidden gems. Both Tompkins Square and James believe it's high time for a younger generation to explore Bruce's incredibly deep, rich repertoire.
Various Artists – Reach LP (Numero)
Red vinyl. A post-modern mixtape of 12 microgenres created by The Numero Group. Bending the rules of the compilation with a selection of songs bound by their soaring spirit and adventurous approach, Reach is inspirational living for algorithmic times. The only LP guaranteed to save your life during humanity's apocalyptic demise.
Jim White – Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See [Reissue/2004] 2xLP (Luaka Bop)
Grab your safety goggles and your hi-viz gear, because it's time to Drill A Hole in That Substrate And Tell Me What You See. Erstwhile druggie, drifter, storyteller, taxi-driver, and recovering Pentecostal maverick from Pensacola, Florida. It's the 20th anniversary of Jim White's haunting outer space alt-country classic that has a title so long nobody can remember the name of it. Featuring Aimee Mann, M. Ward, Bill Frisell, and the Barenaked Ladies-to name a few of the artists here-this album quickly rose to cult status.
Anthony Williams – Life Time [Reissue/1964] LP (Blue Note)
The precocious and prodigious drummer and composer Tony Williams had already joined the Miles Davis Quintet and participated in numerous landmark Blue Note recordings including Herbie Hancock Empyrean Isles, Eric Dolphy Out To Lunch, Andrew Hill Point Of Departure, Jackie McLean One Step Beyond, and Grachan Moncur III Evolution by the time he recorded his own adventurous debut album Life Time in August 1964, when he was still just 18 years old. Williams had no intention of playing it safe on his maiden voyage as a leader and set forth to document his uncompromising expression on this program of innovative original compositions.