New Releases - 5/13/22
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
New Releases
The Black Keys – Dropout Boogie CD/LP (Nonesuch)
After 10 albums, the last five of which have gone top 10 or better, six Grammy awards, and sold-out tours around the world, The Black Keys are back: The duo, called "one of the best rock 'n' roll bands on the planet" by Uncut, delivers its eleventh studio album, Dropout Boogie. Ushered in by lead single, "Wild Child", Dropout Boogie features collaborations with Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top), Greg Cartwright (Reigning Sound), and Angelo Petraglia (Kings Of Leon). As they have done their entire career, the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney wrote all the material in the studio, and the new album captures several first takes that hark back to the stripped-down blues rock of their early days making music together in Akron, Ohio, basements. [Indie store exclusive white vinyl. All copies at Grimey’s are signed by Dan & Patrick. Strictly limited to one per customer with no holds or mail orders. We also have bumper stickers with purchase while supplies last.]
49 Winchester – Fortune Favors The Bold CD/LP (New West)
With their latest album, Fortune Favors The Bold, Russell County, Virginia-based 49 Winchester is ready and roaring to break onto the national scene with its unique brand of tear-in-your-beer alt-country, sticky barroom floor rock ‘n’ roll, and high-octane Appalachian folk. Fortune Favors The Bold is not only a record that showcases the current state of 49 Winchester, but also a melodic stake in the ground of how this group is constantly evolving and taking shape, sonically and lyrically. But it's also about looking into the rearview mirror with a genuine appreciation for where you came from and what you're made of. [An indie store exclusive autographed CD edition and a translucent orange color vinyl pressing are available.]
Omar Apollo – Ivory CD (WB)
Ivory is the debut album from Mexican American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Omar Apollo. “The beauty of Ivory is that even through complex production choices and rich sonic flourishes, it always feels effortless. The LP is a bountiful trove of genres and technique; crack it open and sharp guitar licks, celestial harmonies, aching soul melodies, and even touches of ranchera come tumbling out. Even when the album is splaying out in multiple directions, Apollo’s sense of maturity grounds the project, and the songs stay playful yet tender, free yet focused. Across all the terrain it covers, a central message shines through, popping out like a Magic Eye: Omar Apollo is a freaking star.” – Rolling Stone
Bear’s Den – Blue Hours CD (Communion)
Blue Hours sees the much-loved folk-rock duo - made up of Andrew Davie and Kevin Jones - once again team up with producer Ian Grimble on what is one of their most personal records to date. Davie says: "Blue Hours is a kind of imaginary space you get into at night, a place where you process difficult things or where you try to figure everything out." Themes on the album include both self-reflection and mental health after both struggled with the latter in recent years. "It's the main over-arching theme with this record," Davie explains. The pair describe the conceptual blue hours headspace that gives the new album it's title as being "somewhere between a hotel, a mental health hospital, a bar that stays open later than anywhere else, a paradise, a dream, a nightmare and an endless sea of corridors and staircases leading you to rooms that represent memories - good, bad, happy or difficult." [An indie store exclusive white color vinyl pressing is available for special order.]
Michael Bublé – Higher LP (WB)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Produced by Greg Wells and Bob Rock along with Alan Chang, Jason 'Spicy G' Goldman and Paul McCartney, Higher serves as Michael Bublé's first studio album in three years and eleventh studio effort overall. The 11-track collection catapults the star's enormous talent into the stratosphere as he continues his ongoing journey reinventing and interpreting the music of America's most beloved standards amongst others. Fitting perfectly throughout these gems are a handful of Bublé originals that further cement his gift for writing and performing great pop tunes and luscious ballads. An irresistible and uplifting collection from the ultimate romantic once again reminds us that the thrill of exploring the subject of love and romance continues inspiring this artist and the world.
The Chainsmokers – So Far So Good CD (Columbia)
So Far So Good is the fourth studio album from Grammy award-winning and Billboard Chart topping artist/producer duo The Chainsmokers. The 13-track full-length album was written across Hawaii, Joshua Tree, New York City and L.A. from 2020 to 2021. It was written and produced by Alex Pall and Drew Taggart with additional contributions from frequent collaborators Emily Warren, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Whethan.
Dälek – Precipice 2xLP (Ipecac)
Recently release on CD – now available on vinyl (including an indie store exclusive gold color pressing). For their 2022 release - and eighth album overall - Precipice, Dälek unleashes a work that is practically bristling with fury and power. Predominantly the work of the core duo, Will Brooks, aka MC Dälek and Mike Manteca (Mike Mare), Precipice features a guest appearance of Adam Jones of Tool on one of the album's tracks.
Florence + The Machine – Dance Fever CD/2xLP (Republic)
Florence + The Machine's fifth studio album, Dance Fever was written and produced through the haze of two lockdowns in London and NYC with producers Jack Antonoff and Dave Bayley (Glass Animals). It sees Florence at the peak of her powers, coming into a fully realized self-knowledge, poking sly fun at her own self-created persona, playing with ideas of identity, masculine and feminine, redemptive, celebratory, stepping into her place in the iconic pantheon. The LP nods to dance, folk, ‘70s Iggy Pop, longing-for-the-road folk tracks a la Lucinda Williams or Emmylou Harris and more, ultimately arriving somewhere that Florence describes as "Nick Cave at the club." [An indie store deluxe CD, and an indie store excusive grey vinyl pressing, are available.]
Greyhaven – This Bright And Beautiful World LP (Equal Vision)
Recently release on CD – now available on vinyl. Greyhaven is a four-piece progressive post-hardcore group from Louisville, Kentucky.
Mary Halvorson – Amaryllis & Belladonna 2xLP (Nonesuch)
Amaryllis is a six-song suite performed by a newly formed sextet of master improvisers, including Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet). The Mivos string quartet joins for three of the songs, making this the largest ensemble for which Halvorson has written to date. The suite showcases Halvorson's many musical influences from jazz, experimental, new music, and beyond. Belladonna is a set of five compositions written for Halvorson on guitar plus The Mivos Quartet: Olivia de Prato (violin), Maya Bennardo (violin), Victor Lowrie Tafoya (viola), and Tyler J. Borden (cello). It is Halvorson's first time writing for a string quartet. Mivos' parts are through-composed and augmented by Halvorson's guitar improvisations.
The Hellacopters – Eyes Of Oblivion LP (Nuclear Blast)
Recently released on CD – now available on silver & gold color vinyl. New album from the legendary Swedish high energy rock 'n' roll band
Larry June – Orange Print LP (The Freeminded)
Released last summer on CD – now available on vinyl. The San Francisco legend, Larry June, returns with the aptly titled Orange Print, which maps out his own vision for success. With themes of health, wealth, numbers, and diversifying your income streams, Larry June flexes the philosophies that have helped him go from street hustler to made man. Features include Money Man, Trae The Truth, and Dej Loaf.
Keb' Mo' – Good To Be… 2xLP (Rounder/UMGD)
Released earlier this year on CD – now available on vinyl (including an opaque red color pressing). Written partially in Nashville and partially in the Compton house 5x Grammy-winner Keb' Mo' grew up in, Good To Be... weaves together past and present into a heartwarming tapestry spanning more than 40 years of sonic evolution. Joined by a variety of collaborators, including Vince Gill, famed producer Tom Hambridge, Darius Rucker, and Kristin Chenoweth, Good To Be... is a deeply cohesive and optimistic collection of music about appreciating what you've got, where you come from, and who you get to share it with.
Aaron Lewis – Frayed At Both Ends 2xLP (Valory)
Released earlier this year on CD – now available on red & blue color vinyl. After 10 years in Nashville, two No. 1 country albums and several hundred thousand miles playing shows, Aaron Lewis recognizes the part of America that no one is speaking to - or for. Frayed At Both Ends is his measure of the wages of being a grown-up in today's world, an American in a nation torn apart and a man seeking love and redemption in the words of his songs.
Lyle Lovett – 12th Of June CD/LP (Verve)
Lyle Lovett’s first album in over 10 years, 12th Of June, combines Lovett's famed gift for storytelling with his customized fusion of jazz, country, western swing, folk, gospel, and blues elements in his music. It's a much-anticipated new entry to a 14-album career in which he became the winner of the Americana Music Association's inaugural Trailblazer Award in 2014. His other career distinctions have included being named Texas State Musician and a member of both the Texas Heritage Songwriters' Association Hall of Fame and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Delbert McClinton – Outdated Emotion CD/LP (Hot Shot)
Outdated Emotion is Delbert McClinton's 27th studio album, and a bit of a return to his roots. While McClinton wrote just a handful of songs on the album, he puts his unmistakable footprint and charm on classics and deep cuts from some of his favorite songwriters such as Hank Williams and Jimmy Reed, pulling from across traditional blues, honky tonk, R&B, and more.
Misery Index – Complete Control CD (Century Media)
Two decades into their venerable careers, Baltimore death metal savants Misery Index are back with their new record, Complete Control. Their seventh studio album is a riff-driven assault that captures the tension of the modern condition and channels it into nine songs of ripping end-times death metal. Spewing with Orwellian invective and razor-sharp songwriting, Complete Control is a much-needed hammer to the face; a wake-up call for the disaffected and dispossessed. [A limited-edition red color vinyl pressing is available for special order.]
Moderat – MORE D4TA CD/LP (Monkeytown)
Created largely during a time when touring (and most traveling) was off the table, MORE D4TA is an album that wrestles with feelings of isolation and information overload-issues that have become particularly pronounced over the past two years. The ten songs on MORE D4TA are rooted in collaboration, but long before any of its tracks were laid down, Moderat spent months hanging out and getting musically reacquainted, indulging in extended bouts of experimentation, and slowly fleshing out ideas as they dove into modular composition, field recordings and other sonic oddities. But no matter how far the band ventures into music's outer realms, they always wind up back in their own unique soundworld, a place where emotive pop and fluttering electronic soundscapes walk hand in hand. [Deluxe 180gm vinyl with die-cut cover.]
Moon Tooth – Phototroph CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Produced by Josh Wilbur (Trivium, Lamb Of God), Phototroph is the new album from Long Island quartet Moon Tooth. Vocalist John Carbone says, "The theme of plants growing towards the light was just something I kept coming back to in different songs. Our previous record, Crux, was like a crossroads and was dealing with a lot of negative shit. Phototroph is about walking from the middle and picking a road that goes onward and upward on a brighter path." Ghost Cult Mag calls it "a wonderfully eclectic one that mixes many disparate influences into one cohesive, and thoroughly absorbing, whole. From prog, rock, NWOBHM, and grunge to name but a few, Phototroph is a sprawling, unique and engaging offering...A vast and varied metal album that grabs your attention from the off, its ambition and restless spirit cannot help but raise a smile." [Indie store exclusive blue w/ yellow vinyl shipped late and will hopefully arrive next week.]
Monophonics – Sage Motel CD/LP (Colemine)
Monophonics cordially invite you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive at without ever knowing how they got there. It's where folks find themselves at a crossroads in life. [Indie store exclusive transparent orange with black swirl vinyl.]
Mandy Moore – In Real Life CD/LP (Verve Forecast)
Mandy Moore's new album, In Real Life, follows Silver Landings, the critically acclaimed 2020 album that marked her first new body of work in over a decade. In Real Life brings a new level of self-possession to Moore's songwriting, imbuing each track with both detailed storytelling and lucid self-reflection. From the very first seconds of the album's opening title track, Moore fully immerses the listener in her intimate lyricism and kaleidoscopic sound. Produced by Mike Viola (Andrew Bird, Ondara, Lori McKenna), In Real Life expands on the whirlwind creative momentum Moore first set into motion on Silver Landings. To that end, Moore matches the album's potent emotional current with a gloriously unpredictable sound, touched with elements of everything from jangly college-rock to cinematic synth-pop to classic singer/songwriter simplicity.
Kevin Morby – This Is A Photograph CD/LP+MP3 (Dead Oceans]
Produced by Sam Cohen (who also worked on Morby's Singing Saw and Oh My God), This Is A Photograph features musical contributions from longtime staples of Morby's live band, as well as old friends and new collaborators alike. If Oh My God saw Morby getting celestial and in constant motion and Sundowner was a study in localized intent, This Is A Photograph finds Morby making an Americana paean, a visceral life and death, blood on the canvas outpouring. As Morby reminds us early on, time is undefeated. So, what do we do while we're still here? This is a photograph of that sense of yearning. [Limited-edition ‘gold nugget’ color vinyl.]
My Idea – Cry Mfer LP (Hardly Art)
Released last week on CD – now available on opaque red color vinyl. The closer you are to someone, the crueler you can treat them, but if they love you, they're inclined to forgive you. Lily Konigsberg and Nate Amos forgive each other now, but they were in a bad way when they recorded Cry Mfer – which is not to say their debut album is a sonic bum out. Cry Mfer proves you can still make pop music while spiraling. When not using the other party as an emotional punching bag, Nate and Lily used one another as a creative filter and sounding board – pushing, prodding, and challenging themselves to "mess with different sounds," harkening to, Nate says, "songwriting duos who seem to have their own language that other people don't quite understand." In life, as in art, they share a language, a hive mind. Cry Mfer is, true to the band's vision, a beautiful mess of different sounds, completely and effortlessly genreless (though if pressed to label it, the band settles on "Truth Or Dare Pop"). While a milieu of myriad styles, from folk to dance, the album's main through line is truth, regardless of how much the expression thereof may hurt.
David Olney – EVERMORE: The Final Live In Holland Session 1 CD (Strictly Country Records)
Singer-songwriter, stream-caster, poet & actor David Olney was known worldwide - and certainly in Nashville - for his indelible songs and powerful live performances prior to his untimely death on stage mid-song at the 30A Songwriter Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida in January 2020. EVERMORE is the penultimate live release of the 8-album David Olney “Live In Holland” series from The Netherlands-based Strictly Country Records. The final album - NEVERMORE: The Final Live In Holland Session 2 – is available June 10, 2022. Both recordings feature long–time sideman and co–writer Daniel Seymour accompanying on bass and vocals. Simple, complex, and definitive, these captures were recorded on the duo’s 2016 and 2018 tours of The Netherlands, at the De Oude Veiling in Aalsmeer, De Zocherlounge in Bloemendaal and the Nic Jonk Statue Garden and Museum in Grootschermer. Each collection features 15 tracks (and some 2-for-1s) with fresh interpretations of several signature songs plus four NEW songs, all co-written with award-winning songwriter (original Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour writer and art professor at University of Oklahoma in Norman) and longtime friend John Hadley, along with one of those tunes co-written with Daniel Seymour. Another new track – “Mountain Jackson” – has David interpreting a song written by newcomer Jann Seymour. Fans will recognize his homage to The Bee Gees, The Zombies, Buddy Holly, John Prine, and, always, Townes Van Zandt.
Pineapple Thief – Give It Back CD/LP (Kscope)
Give It Back features 12 new versions of earlier works including songs taken from the albums Little Man, All The Wars, Tightly Unwound and more. Frontman Bruce Soord's newly recorded vocals and guitars, new Gavin Harrison drum parts, new mixing by Soord & Harrison and mastering by Steve Kitch propel this new release into a must-have that showcases the evolution of The Pineapple Thief. [The deluxe CD+DVD version is due June 10.]
Sasha Alex Sloan – I Blame The World CD (RCA)
The follow-up to her 2020 critically praised debut, Only Child, I Blame The World finds singer-songwriter Sasha Alex Sloan embracing the weary apathy of the world around her and ushering in a bold new era of musicality. Sasha describes the new album as an "honest, non-hopeful" collection of work, distinctly encapsulating the all-too-relatable emotions of despondency and isolation through unflinching and insightfully nuanced lyricism and a razor-sharp sensibility.
State Champs – Kings Of The New Age CD/LP (Pure Noise)
“Pop-punk favorites State Champs establish themselves as scene leaders on excellent fourth LP, Kings Of The New Age.” – Kerrang [Indie store exclusive yellow & oxblood color vinyl.]
Luke Steele – Listen To Water LP (Harvest)
Luke Steele's debut solo album, Listen To The Water, began in the gathering storm of late 2019. A fourth Empire Of The Sun album was on hold, a global pandemic was on the horizon and L.A. was conspiring to set Luke and his family adrift on a new adventure. The album is a work of pointed words cloaked in a richly swirling atmosphere, capturing the blend of innocence and wisdom, which questions without the need for answers. Pedal steel dances among the acoustic guitars and percussive nuances. [CD version due June 3.]
Tank And The Bangas – Red Balloon CD/LP (Verve)
Best New Artist Grammy nominee and critically acclaimed band Tank And The Bangas return with their third studio album, Red Balloon. The new long-player was born out of a pandemic-ordered break from the band's rigorous touring schedule. The hiatus gave the band space to grow, allowing them to reunite as a more unified group. This new work pushes the band to a new level, shedding light on their unique observations and reflecting on the ills of America while also celebrating the beauty of Black life. "This has been one of the best attempts thus far at capturing what happens when we're all playing at the same time," notes the band. "Red Balloon is coming straight for your heart and your neck. It's going to make you bop and think and love, hopefully, and even love people that look different."
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Crooked Tree LP (Nonesuch)
Recently release on CD – now available on vinyl. Recorded live at Nashville's Oceanway Studios, Crooked Tree was produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas and features collaborations with Sierra Hall, Old Crow Medicine Show, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Dan Tyminski, and Gillian Welch. The album explores Tuttle's lifelong love of bluegrass - a genre she first discovered though her father, a music teacher and multi-instrumentalist, and her grandfather, a banjo player. Across these thirteen original tracks, all written or co-written by Tuttle, she simultaneously honors the bluegrass tradition while also pushing the genre in new directions. [Molly Tuttle will join us on Wed. May 18th, at 5PM, to celebrate the release of her new album with a live, in-store performance followed by an autograph signing!]
Various Artists [Erik Satie] – Fragments CD/2xLP (Deutsche Grammophon)
Fragments is a project that moves between planes. Between classical and electronic music, between streaming-at-home and art-installation, between old and new. Each year, Fragments will be inspired by the works of one composer. The result will be a series of albums, where a selection of the most interesting electronic artists creates a whole new take on one composer's work. The first album will kick off with works by French minimal music pioneer Erik Satie.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek - Dost 1 (Les Disques Bongo Joe)
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, along with Swiss label Bongo Joe, release the new LP Dost 1, the collective's second album and first of two to be released in 2022. Grup Şimşek combines Anatolian folk and contemporary grooves, often tinged with psychedelia and progressive rock flavors. Led by Derya Yıldırım's hypnotizing bağlama and vocals, the group draws a meaningful continuity from the Turkish folk repertoire to their original songwriting. Soon after Yıldırım's revelatory performance at the New Hamburg Festival in 2015, Grup Şimşek was born and started a rich journey of musical feast, exploring and rendering new versions of Anatolian classics as well as building a songbook of original compositions, with references to the music of The Doors, west coast US psych, Turkish musical activist and hero Selda Bağcan and many heroes of musical Anatolia. The group's harmony oozes through their music with a rich stew of funk-noir groove, organ energy, hypnotic saz (Turkish stringed instrument) and synths all layered beneath Derya's warm sometimes heartfelt vocal, singing verse and poetry, borrowed, evolved and new.
Reissues, Compilations, Live Recordings & Vault Excavations...
Amyl and The Sniffers – Comfort To Me 2xLP (ATO)
Double clear smoke color vinyl pressing. The second album from Amyl and The Sniffers, is both heavier and more awesome than their debut. MOJO Magazine raved, "Skin-shedding, lethal, self-sufficient, cool - no wonder Amy Taylor digs snakes. With Comfort To Me, she proves she can be whoever she wants while The Sniffers confound preconceptions of how a great rude and righteous rock n' roll band can still be."
Albert Ayler – Revelations: The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings 4xCD (Anagram Music)
Revelations is the first complete, authorized release of the free jazz icon's penultimate concert appearance. It features more than two hours of previously unreleased music from stereo masters recorded by France's ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française). The lavish packaging includes a 100-page booklet with unpublished photos, essays by Ayler scholar Ben Young, producer Zev Feldman, and saxophonist Jeff Lederer, and recollections from Ayler's bandmates.
Chet Baker – Live In Paris: The Radio France Recordings 2xCD (Anagram)
Recently release on vinyl – now available on CD. Live In Paris: The Radio France Recordings includes previously unreleased live performances from 1983-1984 by the famed trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker. The dazzling performances by his drumless trios are complemented with essays by journalists Ashley Kahn and Franck Bergerot, and Pascal Rozat of INA France. Plus, interviews and statements from Baker sidemen, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, David Murray, Carla Bley, John Zorn, Carlos Santana, Joe Lovano, and many more.
Blut Aus Nord – Ultima Thulée [Reissue/1995] CD (Debemur Morti Prod.)
Ultima Thulée initiated Blut Aus Nord's bold journey toward transcendence through black metal. One of the first albums to emerge from the now-legendary French underground scene, Ultima Thulée showcases a cold and primitive, yet no less uniquely atmospheric Blut Aus Nord compared with the twisted, dissonant trailblazer evident on more recent releases.
Alex Chilton – High Priest [Reissue/1987] LP (Bar/None)
Limited-edition sky-blue color vinyl repress with rare vacation photos. "What it lacks in polish, it more than makes up in charm, verve and just plain ol' soul. This could be what rock 'n' roll is all about" – Trouser Press. 1987's High Priest was the first full-length album since 1979's Like Flies On Sherbert from Big Star front man Alex Chilton.
Albert Collins – Ice Pickin’ [Reissue/1978] LP (Alligator)
Limited vinyl pressing of the Grammy-nominated Alligator debut by The Master of the Telecaster, Albert Collins. An essential part of any blues collection, the album features all-time fan favorites like “Master Charge”, “Honey Hush” and “Conversation With Collins”. Revered as a true blues legend, Albert Collins' greatest success came after he signed with Alligator and cut Ice Pickin.' It won the Best Blues Album of the Year Award from the Montreux Jazz Festival, in addition to being nominated for a Grammy, and has been inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame.
Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins – Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins [Reissue/1963] LP (Verve)
Even though Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins had both been well-known jazzmen since the early 1920s, it wasn't until 1962 - at least 20 years after Duke first suggested it - that these two recorded their only session together. High points include an exuberant "The Jeep Is Jumpin'". an interesting remake of "Mood Indigo", and a few new Ellington pieces.
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Watertower Music)
R.A.P. Music, the fifth studio album by rapper Killer Mike was originally released in 2012 and is finally back in-print on vinyl. Production was handled by rapper and producer Jamie "El-P" Meline; the album was the first collaboration between Killer Mike and El-P, who would later form the critically acclaimed duo Run The Jewels. [Limited-edition green vinyl.]
Lees Of Memory – Unnecessary Evil LP (Goldstar Recordings)
Mono version. On 2014's Sisyphus Says, the Lees of Memory led by ex-Superdrag frontman John Davis with able assistance from guitarist Brandon Fisher (also formerly of Superdrag) and drummer Nick Slack debuted with a heady blast of shoegazey squall. Unnecessary Evil (mixed in mono) is more streamlined and sonically varied, a closer cousin, perhaps, to the classic output of Davis' former band, and it's even better than its predecessor.
Thomas Leer & Robert Rental – The Bridge [Reissue/1979] LP+MP3 (Mute)
The Bridge was originally released on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records label in 1979 and is an early electronic avant-garde synth-pop masterpiece, seeing the likes of John Foxx, Propaganda, Art of Noise and ABC citing the pair as key influences. [Limited edition white vinyl.]
Los Golden Boys – Cumbia De Juventud LP (Mississippi)
Formed in 1961 by the legendary brothers Pedro Jairo and Guillermo León Garcés, Los Golden Boys quickly rose to the top of the Colombian "música tropical" scene by combining popular rock and twist influences with cumbia, gaita, porro and other local styles.
The Muffs – Really Really Happy [Reissue/2004] CD (Omnivore)
Really Really Happy is the album that kicked off the second phase of The Muffs career. After eight years and four albums, The Muffs had written, recorded, and toured non-stop. After a break, the group was ready to do it all again, and was approached by friends (and sisters in law) Charlotte Caffey (Go•Go's) and Anna Waronker (that dog.), who had just started their own label – Five Foot Two Records. McDonald, bassist Ronnie Barnett, and singer/guitarist/songwriter Kim Shattuck had a new home and were ready to do it all again. And so, they did. [An indie store exclusive vinyl pressing featuring a bonus 7” will be available on May 20.]
The Necks - Vertigo LP (RER Vinyl)
Originally released in 2015. While most ensembles are driven by personalities, the Necks are powered by an idea, the prime directive of which seems to be to be that each unfolding step and every passing detail of any performance be allowed to evolve organically out of the musical conditions established at its moment of departure. In other words, you are in the territory of chaos and catastrophe theory; of hurricanes and butterfly wings... And, since one can never step twice into the same river, each beginning has led to wildly unpredictable and variant outcomes; and imperceptibly: you never hear the changes until somehow they have already happened. "We end up," Lloyd Swanton writes, "in a very different place from whatever our initial notion ... had been." In the case of Vertigo, you are dropped straight into an almost Feldmanesque musical universe, in which sounds -- seemingly disconnected -- are already there; creating space rather than inhabiting it. Then, without trying, they mutate. Not mechanically and not according to any pre-determined process -- because it's always clear that what you hear is being played by human beings; that it's music. A special kind of music that is not pushy or demanding or demonstrative, but rather co-operative, spatial, ambiguous. A music that leaves room for its listeners.
Art Pepper – Art Pepper +11 [Reissue/1960] LP (Craft Recordings)
Released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series celebrating 70 years of Contemporary Records, saxophonist Art Pepper's classic big band album, Art Pepper + Eleven, features modern jazz classics by Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and more. First released in 1960 and recorded by legendary engineers Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer, this reissue features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman.
Gregory Porter – Water CD/2xLP (Blue Note)
Gregory Porter's debut studio album, Water - originally released in 2010 under the Motema Music label - is now reissued on Blue Note Records. The tracks include love stories such as "Illusion and Pretty", and protests for African-American civil rights like "1960 What?" which recounts the 1967 Detroit riots. Water was hailed by fans and critics alike, elevating Porter to the status of the next great jazz star and marking the beginning of his successful career. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is available.]
Rare Earth – Get Ready [Reissue/1969] LP (Anagram Music)
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Get Ready is the legendary platinum-selling album by Rare Earth. It includes the full-length version (21:30) of the title track, originally penned by Smokey Robinson. The edited single version peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. It is remembered as the first song longer than 16 minutes to be a dance hit in European discotheques.
Reverend Horton Heat – Revival [Reissue/2008] LP (Yep Roc)
Reverend Horton Heat – Laughin’ & Cryin’ With The Reverend Horton Heat [Reissue/2009] LP (Yep Roc)
Limited color vinyl pressing of the 8th and 10th studio album from the legendary rockabilly slinger.
The Rolling Stones – Live At The El Mocambo 2xCD/4xLP (Interscope)
A legendary event in the incredible 60-year history of the Rolling Stones is now available for the first time in full. Live At The El Mocambo marks the first official appearance of the group's two famous secret concerts at the 300-seat capacity Toronto club in March 1977. It features the full set from their March 5th show, plus three bonus tracks from the March 4th gig, newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain.
Roxy Music – Stranded [Reissue/1973] LP (Republic)
Roxy Music – Country Life [Reissue/1974] LP (Republic)
Vinyl reissues of Roxy Music’s third and fourth albums. Stranded gave Roxy Music their first #1 album in the UK and brought with it an undeniable presence that would see the American audience take note. It was becoming all too clear that Roxy Music was ahead of their time. Country Life is deemed to be Roxy Music's most consistent and sophisticated album. Musically and lyrically, the album has been considered more cynical and hard rocking than their previous work.
Slipknot – Iowa [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (Roadrunner)
Double translucent coke bottle green color vinyl pressing of the nu metal band’s sophomore album.
Various Artists – Ebirac All-Stars LP (Numero)
“Boricua blue’ color vinyl pressing. Holed up in the bustling Puerto Rican community centers of Chicago's west side, the salseros featured on Ebiriac All-Stars make up the best of Carlos Ruiz' Ebirac label, which ran throughout the ‘70s and produced some of the best unheard salsa records of the time.
Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Legends Of The Delta Blues LP (Rough Guide)
This collection brings together six pioneering figures whose legacies encapsulate the very essence of the Delta blues - the cornerstone of American popular music and the bedrock of rock 'n' roll. Like arrows through time, these seminal tracks belie the age in which they were recorded.
Muddy Waters – Electric Mud [Reissue/1968] LP (Anagram Music)
Electric Mud is the fifth studio album by Muddy Waters, with members of Rotary Connection playing as his backing band. Released in 1968, it imagines Muddy Waters as a psychedelic musician. Producer Marshall Chess suggested that Muddy Waters recorded it to appeal to a rock audience.