New Releases - 5/17/19
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
Jump to… New Releases Reissues & From The Vaults Compilations, Best Of's & Sundry Collections New on Vinyl
New Releases
The National - I Am Easy To Find CD/2xLP+MP3/3xLP"+MP3 (4AD)
In September 2017, director Mike Mills emailed Matt Berninger to introduce himself and in very short order, the most ambitious project of the National's nearly 20-year career was born and plans for a hard-earned vacation died. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker was coming off his third feature, 20th Century Women, and was interested in working with the band on...something. A video maybe. Berninger, already a fan of Mills' films, not only agreed to collaborate, he essentially handed over the keys to the band's creative process. The result is I Am Easy To Find, a 24-minute film by Mills starring Alicia Vikander, and I Am Easy To Find, a 68-minute album by The National. The former is not the video for the latter; the latter is not the soundtrack to the former. The two projects are, as Mills calls them, "Playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other." [Deluxe triple-vinyl edition pressed on opaque red, yellow, and grey colors. Sides A - D feature full album track list with Side E featuring the "I Am Easy To Find Original Film Score" with an etching on Side F.]
The Head And The Heart - Living Mirage CD/LP (WB)
Living Mirage is the fourth studio album from five-piece indie-folk act The Head And The Heart and follow-up to 2016's Signs Of Light. After the release of their third LP, co-founder Josiah Johnson amicably left the group, with the band replacing the guitarist/vocalist with Charity Rose Thielen's husband, Matt Gervais. In the time since, longtime keyboardist Kenny Hensley has also returned to the fold. Appropriately, Living Mirage touches on these major changes, with bassist Chris Zasche describing the collection as a "rebirth, a spirit quest of sorts." For lead single, "Missed Connection", the group focuses in on the "anxiety that reasoned that growth spurt" following their recent lineup changes. Initially created as a tribute to Russell's girlfriend and how they met, the song shifted to a reflection on the group's history, meeting for an open-mic in Seattle ten years ago. Musically, the song infuses tastes of hip-hop and pop production. Elaborated drummer Tyler Williams, "A lot of the beats on this song are quicker, and there are high hats that were never in our music before." [Limited indie-store exclusive vinyl pressing.]
Olden Yolk - Living Theatre CD/LP (Trouble In Mind)
The musical duo of Shane Butler & Caity Shaffer released their debut album as Olden Yolk last year, an alluring concoction of hypnagogic folk and kosmiche rhythms, expanding and refining Butler's work in his former band Quilt toward a more focused direction. Musically, the duo's songwriting has gelled into a unified front, relying more on the subtle shifts of melody and rhythm than a barrage of chord changes; Living Theatre's hooks lap at your feet like a babbling brook, rather than bowl you over like violent waves. Olden Yolk will play a free, all ages in-store live set at Grimey's on Tuesday, May 28th, at 12 noon.
Jimmie Vaughan - Baby, Please Come Home CD/LP (Last Music Company)
Texas guitarist/singer Jimmie Vaughan has dedicated his life to making sure the blues not only stay alive but remain full of life and an inspiration to all who listen. His first studio album since 2011, Baby, Please Come Home is a rolling and righteous celebration of everything the blues can be. [Limited gold colored vinyl pressing.]
Interpol - A Fine Mess CDEP12"+MP3 (Matador)
Released on the heels of last year's Maruader and recorded during time Interpol spent in upstate New York with Dave Fridmann, the five songs that make up A Fine Mess gradually emerged as a body of work with a narrative and flow unto itself. The resulting set is a living, breathing postcard from the band to their fans as they tour the world throughout 2019.
Alex Lahey - The Best Of Luck Club CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
On her sophomore LP, 26-year-old Melbourne, Australia native Alex Lahey navigates the pangs of generational ennui with the pint half-full and a spot cleared on the bar stool next to her. Self-doubt, burn out, break-ups, mental health, moving in with her girlfriend, vibrators: The Best Of Luck Club showcases the universal language of Lahey's sharp songwriting, her propensity for taking the minute details of the personal and flipping it public through anthemic pop-punk.
Lucette - Deluxe Hotel Room CD/LP (Rock Creek)
On her sophomore album Deluxe Hotel Room, indie-pop artist Lucette turns her title phrase into a metaphor for experiences both highly specific and widely familiar: fleeting romance, emotional displacement, isolation, the gulf between the presumed glamour of the artist's life and the reality of getting by. Produced by Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Sturgill Simpson, Deluxe Hotel Room unfolds in endlessly contrasting layers of feeling and in keeping with a refusal to self-restrain, Lucette assembled a purposely iconoclastic sonic palette here. "A lot of the songs are very traditional in their roots, but Sturgill and I had this idea of producing them in a more pop-leaning way," says Lucette, who grew up on ABBA and names Rihanna among her main inspirations. "There's only one or two guitar tracks on the whole record, and instead of putting banjos or pedal steel all over the place, we did it up in a way that felt a lot more genuine to my upbringing and character." Backed by Simpson's touring band, Lucette embeds Deluxe Hotel Room with so many unexpected flourishes: brooding drum-machine beats, luminous synth lines, and - perhaps most strikingly - the soulful saxophone work of New Orleans musician Brad Walker.
Holly Herndon - Proto CD/LP (4AD)
Holly's third full-length album Proto isn't about A.I., but much of it was created in collaboration with her own A.I. 'baby', Spawn. For the record, she assembled a contemporary ensemble of vocalists, developers and an inhuman intelligence housed in a DIY souped-up gaming PC to create a record that encompasses live vocal processing and timeless folk singing and places an emphasis on alien song craft and new forms of communion.
Ryan Pollie - Ryan Pollie CD/LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Ryan Pollie never set out to make a cancer record. The Los Angeles songwriter penned most of his self-titled, self-produced album, his first under his own name, before he got sick. Inspired by the warm, inviting sounds of '70s singer-songwriters like Jackson Browne, Carole King, and Graham Nash, Pollie already knew he wanted to make the most personal music of his career. He had released two albums as Los Angeles Police Department, and now he was ready to shed the protective barrier of his old band name - to make music, simply, as himself. Living through illness becomes just one chapter in a record that celebrates living in general, and all the difficulties and surprises that come with it. More than anything, Ryan Pollie's self-titled release is a testament to the power of vulnerability - to the magic that happens when you open yourself up and invite the world inside, no matter how frightening or uncertain it may be.
Com Truise - Persuasion System CD/LP+MP3 (Ghostly Int'l)
For nearly a decade the story of Com Truise has relied on science fiction and abstract fact. Seth Haley's singular style of melodic beat music subsists as hazy machinist nostalgia, a mainframe downloaded cosmology. Yet with each release, alongside sonic refinement, comes an increasingly visible vapor trail to Haley's own ontology.
Perpetual Groove - Perpetual Groove CD/LP (Harmonized)
New album from the jam band - their first since 2009's Heal. [Limited green colored vinyl pressing.]
Stubbleman - Mountains & Plains CD/LP (Made To Measure)
Stubbleman is the alter-ego of maverick composer and producer Pascal Gabriel. From humble origins in a Belgian punk band, Pascal moved to London in 1979 to form a string of art-school experimental bands, until he discovered the joys of the recording studio and gained recognition as an innovative producer and songwriter. After many years in the wilderness of pop, Pascal has re-embraced his adventurous electronic ambient past with a project combining a lo-fi, cinematic mixture of found sounds, field recordings and modular synthesizers, often accompanied by live piano.
Ekiti Sound - Abeg No Vex 2xLP (Crammed Disc)
Spearheading a new wave of electronic music originating from Nigeria by way of London, musician/producer/vocalist Leke aka CHiF has been travelling back and forth between his two cities, Lagos and London, continually seeking ways to explore and push the musical boundaries. After honing his skills with a variety of artists and productions on both continents, Leke has assembled Ekiti Sound, an impressively eclectic project that speaks to Afropunkers and global diaspora.
Joan Shaw Taylor - Reckless Heart CD/LP (Sony)
Having famous fans such as Joe Bonnamassa and Glen Hughes and being described by Jools Holland as a dazzling talent, it's hard to deny that Joanne Shaw Taylor has certainly mastered her craft and become one of the world's most formidable guitar players.
Dionne Warwick - She's Back 2xCD (E1)
New release from the iconic vocalist. She's Back is Warwick's 36th full-length studio recording, and her first dedicated R&B/soul album in 50 years.
Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated CD (Interscope)
After dropping critically acclaimed singles "Now That I Found You" and "No Drug Like Me, multi-platinum Grammy, Juno, and Polaris Prize-nominated singer/songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen releases her album Dedicated. [Vinyl edition due July 12.]
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent CD/LP (Capitol)
Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is 22-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi's debut album. Recorded over an 18-month period in London, New York and Los Angeles, Capaldi co-wrote each of the 12 songs, working with Malay who also produced, (Frank Ocean, Lorde) Jamie Hartman (Calvin Harris, Rag N Bone Man) and TMS. Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is an ironically titled, but charismatically defining album that's lyrically candid and a realistic snapshot of the ups and downs of growing up. Lewis' stunningly identifiable voice, coupled with its turbulent themes of love, loss and heartache, make it a debut album that is both poignant and unequivocally relatable. TIME proclaims, "Lewis Capaldi has the kind of deep, textured voice that you could listen to for hours. He finds expressive rough edges, then smooths them out into the sweetest of notes."
Fury - Failed Entertainment CD/LP (Run For Cover)
Recently released on vinyl - now available on CD. Second full-length effort from Orange County's Fury. Failed Entertainment takes the band's talent for soundtracking the human condition to a new, elevated plane - examining vast, philosophical inquiries throughout its eleven tracks.
Rammstein - Rammstein CD/2xLP (Caroline)
Rammstein's eponymous seventh album marks the German industrial outfit's first studio effort since 2009's Liebe Ist Für Alle Da. Talking with Metal Hammer, guitarist Richard Kruspe discussed how the new album came to be: "We were talking about harmonies, how certain kinds of melodies can change things. Things we never really cared about in the beginning, but things that matter more now. It's more interesting for me as a musician to see how the vocals fit into a song, and which melody fits in that." In another recent interview with Metal Wani, Krupse also talked about the motivation behind the new record: "Every time people talk Rammstein, it's about fire, it's all about the show. Nobody talks about the music anymore for Rammstein and it kind of bothered me. I was thinking, 'I want to do another record. It has to be musical in a way that can really stand out from other records.' That was my goal, or our goal." [Deluxe CD in 12-panel digipak with gloss varnish and 28-page booklet also available.]
Saint Vitus - Saint Vitus CD/LP (Season Of Mist)
Seven years after their epic comeback album, Lillie: F-65 (2012), legendary doom metal trailblazers Saint Vitus are back with their eponymous new album. The release sees the return of the band's original vocalist, Scott Reagers, as well as the addition of new bassist Pat Bruders (Down, Crowbar), who join long-time drummer Henry Vasquez and founder/guitarist Dave Chandler. As if in a time machine, the seasoned quartet pick up where their 1985 classic Hallows Victim left off, delivering nothing less than the truest and most enduring representation of original and fundamental doom metal. [Limited indie-store exclusive vinyl pressing and deluxe digipak CD edition also available.]
Full Of Hell - Weeping Choir CD/LP (Relapse)
Dynamic, pissed, and wholly urgent, Weeping Choir is a definitive statement of intent by one of the underground's most dynamic and virulent entities. Full Of Hell has once again culled the extreme elements from hardcore, metal, and power electronics to redefine darkness and sheer brutality. Distorted guitars, and ominous, disparate electronics grind and gnash against rapid-fire drumming, as the band take themes of religion, loss, hatred, and set them ablaze.
Compilations, Best Of's & Sundry Collections
Various Artists - Sad About The Times CD/2xLP (Mexican Summer)
A follow up collaboration between Mikey Young (Total Control/Eddy Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Head of A&R at Anthology Recordings) to their 2017 compilation Follow The Sun, Sad About The Times, at its core, is a set of North American '70s jammers. With a hint (at times) of West Coast jangle, these tracks traverse the border between the power pop of the times and a late-night coke jam. You can also hear echoes of folk rock, soft rock, and even detect some psychedelic flashbacks.
A Certain Ratio -4xCD/7xLP (Mute)
acr:box marks the 40th anniversary of A Certain Ratio's debut release - the Martin Hannett produced "All Night Party" (Factory Records' first single release) - which was described recently by Record Collector as "a statement of future intentions: to set funk off against nervous angst." They went on to be hailed universally as pioneers of what became known as "punk funk." Following on from the 2018 compilation, acr:set, it showcases the diversity of the singles, B-sides and alternative versions of tracks that A Certain Ratio have released, but without repeating tracks recently made available.
Dynatron - The Legacy Collection Vol. I CD/LP (Blood Music)
Dynatron - The Legacy Collection Vol. II CD/LP (Blood Music)
One of the early producers in the retro-synth scene, Denmark's Dynatron has been hailed as one of the most consistent composers in the scene for his pulsating and lofty atmospheres.
Reissues & From The Archives
Paul McCartney - Egypt Station: Explorer's Edition 2xCD/3xLP (Capitol)
The Explorer's Edition of Paul McCartney's recent Egypt Station adds a disc of album sessions including six live studio recordings as well as four live performances recorded at Abbey Road, The Cavern Club, LIPA, and Grand Central Station.
Endless Boogie - Vol. I II CD/2xLP (No Quarter)
CD and vinyl reissues of the long out-of-print debut albums by the '60s influenced garage act. Volume I and Volume II were self-released in 2005 before the band's inaugural trip overseas (to play the Slint-curated All Tomorrow's Parties) - and for that matter, their first trip outside of New York.
Tom Nehls - I Always Catch The Third Second Of A Yellow Light [Reissue/1972] 2xCD/2xLP (Now Again)
I Always Catch The Third Second Of A Yellow Light is a rock concept album, as progressive as it is psychedelic, recorded by a 17-year-old Tom Nehls and his high school friends in Minneapolis over a three month period in late 1972. Nehls described his influences as The Beatles, Zappa, and Tolkien. But that amalgamation cannot prepare you for the depths that this wunderkind explored with first-time engineer Paul Stark, who later founded Twin/Tone Records. Of the 1,000 copies that were privately pressed, only 100 survived a flood in Nehls' basement and are highly collectable. This expanded reissue features six bonus tracks.
Umphrey's Mcgee - Anchor Drops [Reissue/2004] 2xCD (Nothing Too Fancy) Commemorating its 15th anniversary, Umphrey's McGee present an expanded edition of Anchor Drops (including its first ever-vinyl pressing). This redux edition features two distinct versions of the record: a remastered version of the original mix and a completely remixed version from the original master tapes. Vinyl for this title has not shipped yet.
New on Vinyl
Nick Lowe - Love Starvation/Trombone 12"+MP3 (Yep Roc)
As he approaches his 70th birthday, it's incredible that Nick Lowe hasn't lost a step in his unrivaled songwriting and rockin' abilities. His new four song EP, Love Starvation/Trombone, features the razor-sharp lyricism that he's made so famous and is complemented by the returning dulcet tones of his backing band and tour mates Los Straitjackets. We've got a nice special sale price on this 12" while supplies last!
Kero Kero Bonito - Swimming b/w The Open Road 7" (Polyvinyl)
Swimming is taken from the band's standout album, Time 'n' Place. "The Open Road" is taken from the sessions for the same album, but is previously unreleased. Limited colored vinyl pressing.
David Bowie with John 'Hutch' Huchinson - Clareville Grove Demos 3x7" (Rhino/Parlophone)
Recorded in January of 1969 in David's flat in Clareville Grove, London, this live to tape demo session features David performing as a duo with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson following the end of the Feathers trio which featured David's then girlfriend Hermione Farthingale.
John Zorn - Pellucidar: A Dreamers Fantabula [Reissue/2015] LP (Tzadik)
A beautiful vinyl pressing of Zorn's most delightful and popular instrumental unit The Dreamers performing nine compositions inspired by the imaginary worlds of fantasy literature.
Weezer - Weezer (The Teal Album) LP (Crush Music)
Recently released on limited color vinyl for RSD - now available on standard black vinyl. On the heels of their latest studio album Weezer (The Black Album) the veteran alt-rock band delivers a covers album. "As anyone could have gathered after a first listen of 'Africa' or 'Rosanna', the latter of which is sorely missing on this compilation, the band doesn't just half-ass the cover; they meticulously replicate each song with Fincher-like obsession. Sure, they're not exactly offering their own spin on it, but that's also kind of the point. The fact that these covers are so reverent to the source materials kind of plays into the joke that Cuomo is literally givin' em what they want with no room for error. It's like live band karaoke, and everyone is invited, which is all this really boils down to at the end of the day. They're not reinventing the wheel; they're using it." - Consequence Of Sound
Pregnant Women - Soft Features LP (Ghost Ramp)
Debut LP from the solo project of So Stressed frontman Morgan Fox. Trading in spastic, violent noise-rock for electronic-driven pop music, Fox has carved out a gorgeous collection of love songs. Drawing inspiration from Aphex Twin, Passion Pit, and a new relationship, Pregnant Women enters a hazy dream-world of love and longing.
Housewives - Twilight Splendour LP (Blank Editions)
London five-piece Housewives return for more anarchic genre-blending adventures on their second LP. Exploring the possibilities of electronic sound, the band sold their guitars to buy midi equipment and swapped London rents for water habitation. Bringing to mind the digital meditations of legendary producer Oneohtrix Point Never, Twilight Splendour presents a love letter from an early AI to its owner, its concept-led songs strewn with "ecstatic messages of frustration and a desire to connect". Since forming five years ago, Housewives have drawn from such diverse scenes as post-punk, jazz, drone, electronic and avant-garde.
Institute - Readjusting The Locks LP (Sacred Bones)
Third album from the NYC-via- Austin punks. Readjusting The Locks is the first Institute album written across the country, with half the band relocating from Texas to NYC. The band has seamlessly incorporates more '77 rock 'n' roll into their sound, with some songs feeling like they could've been a Stiff Records single. This sound is emphasized by Ben Greenberg's (Uniform) expert production - crisp but still blown out and dirty.
The Good Missionaries - Pylons LP (Color Tapes)
The Good Missionaries emerged from the ashes of Alternative TV (ATV) and toured with such bands as The Fall, The Pop Group, Crass, and Delta Five, and their post-punk/dub/experimental inclinations dovetails perfectly with the music those more storied bands were making at the time. Pylons should have been released in 1981, and nearly 40 years later, it is seeing the light of day for the first time. Influenced by the likes of PIL, The Pop Group, and Gang of Four, it bridges the gap between the end of punk and the start of an experimental new wave era. Limited edition of 500 copies with poster insert, archival band photos, sleeve notes by the Good Missionaries' Keith Rodway.
Southern Avenue - Keep On LP (Concord)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Named after the street that led to Soulsville, USA, Memphis-bred rock and blues outfit Southern Avenue burst onto the scene with their acclaimed debut in 2017. The boundary-breaking combo sparked a one-band musical revolution, embodying an effortlessly organic blues/soul/R&B fusion that reflects the band's international roots. On the album Keep On, the band does exactly that, never letting up with a churning blend of horns, gospel-tinged harmonies, and a rhythm section that would make any southern soul icon proud. It's a return of the Memphis sound - a gritty, funky mojo - ringing once again down Southern Avenue.
The Juan Maclean - What Do You Feel Free About b/w Zone Nonlinear 12" (DFA)
The Juan Maclean returns to DFA with a new 12" - last June's electro-disco "What Do You Feel Free About?" backed with "Zone Non Linear", which evokes early Pet Shop Boys.
Epic Beard Men - This Was Supposed To Be Fun LP+MP3 (Strange Famous)
An indie-rap tour de force by two of the underground's best: Sage Francis and B. Dolan. This Was Supposed To Be Fun blends the classic sounds of breakbeats and timeless drum machines with soul grooves and sub bass.
MC Lars - The Zombie Dinosaur [Reissue/2015] LP (Oglio)
MC Lars - The Jeff Sessions [Reissue/2017] LP (Oglio)
MC Lars has released four albums, four EPs, three collaborative releases, and seven mix tapes. The Zombie Dinosaur LP is MC Lars' fourth full length album, originally released on Nov 6, 2015. Jeff Sessions is MC Lars' seventh full length mixtape, originally released on July 17, 2017, and previously only available on CD and digital services. Both are now available on limited colored vinyl.
Various Artists - Too Slow to Disco NEO - En France 2xLP (How Do You Are? Recordings)
With TSTD NEO - En France, How Do You Are? Recordings go to the exciting European capital of all things mellow, elegant, sensuous, and pop. The compilation contains 17 tracks -- some of them exclusive to this compilation -- featuring two godfathers and grand seigneurs: the legendary Bertrand Burgalat, head honcho of the Tricatel label, musician, composer, arranger, producer, and the electro-disco wizard Yuksek who also runs the infamous Partyfine label. The others are the kids of Michel Legrand, Les Jeunes Gens Modernes, and the French Touch, they sometimes try to marry "Debussy to a disco beat", they've all got this blue melancholy which you only find in French streets.
Bob Bell - Necropolis [Reissue/1978] LP (Telephone Explosion)
Canadian private press mega-rarity/ obscurity from the artistically schizophrenic Bob Bell. Recorded in 1978, Bell splits the difference between his love of basement psych splatter/pummel and squalling free jazz ramble, the former occupying Side A with a stunning four-part suite of wasted guitar scuzz and churning Krautrock-like drama with an akin to German Oak, Roland Kirk, Albert Ayler, DNA, Melt Banana (minus the vocals) and Guru Guru. The latter represents Bell as a saxophonist on Side B, and the music itself translates into a 15-minute free-jazz exploration.
Various Artists - Girls in the Garage Volume 7 LP (Past & Present)
The seventh volume of the series of garage rock compilations focusing on female artists. Features The Nightingales, Little Frankie, The Lawrence Comp, The Weekends, Tammy & The Bachelors, Nai Bonet, The Uncalled Four, Tremelons, Lori Sanders, The She's, The Pussycats, Gayle Haness, Cidney Sza'vee, Manuela Und Drafi, Jacqueline Taieb, Sunday & The Menn, The Indigos, and The Honeybees. 180 gram green vinyl, edition of 1000.
Various Artists - Tokyo Flashback: Psychedelic Speed Freaks 4xLP (Black Editions)
Black Editions present a monumental collection of 22 exclusive tracks by 22 of the most important artists to emerge from the Japanese underground over the last 40 years. This four-LP compilation, selected by Ghost's Masaki Batoh, is a primer of P.S.F. Records founder Hideo Ikeezumi's curation: a kaleidoscopic collection of previously unreleased gems from the Japanese underground. Running the full stylistic gamut from the hushed tones of Kim Doo Soo and Go Hirano to the psychedelic rock splendor of Overhang Party and High Rise this set connects the dots between generations and movements, all linked by the common thread of Ikeezumi's panoramic musical vision. The most original voices in the avant garde, psychedelia, folk, free jazz, and rock all found a home with P.S.F. Records. Includes digital download.
Michael O'Shea - Michael O'Shea [Reissue/1982] LP (AllChival)
Michael O'Shea's self-titled LP was originally released on Wire's Dome Imprint in 1982. Having sold his instruments to fund a nomadic 1970s lifestyle, eccentric Irish experimentalist Michael O'Shea was forced to create his own handmade answer to the sitars and zelochords he'd become accustomed to playing on his travels around the globe. Using an old door, 17 strings, chopsticks and combining them with phasers, echo units and amplification, the new device was to become his signature sound, mixing Irish folk influences with Asian and North African sounds in a mesmerizing and soulful new way that brought him to the attention of the leading improvisers of his day - Alice Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, Don Cherry and more.
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. 2xLP (Black Editions)
Black Editions presents the deluxe, first-ever vinyl edition of Acid Mothers Temple's classic self-titled first album. Over the last 25 years no group has been more prolific or dedicated to pushing psychedelic rock to its limits than Japan's Acid Mothers Temple. Their maximalist technicolor vision was first revealed on this, their now legendary self-titled 1997 debut. Led by Makoto Kawabata, the album contains some of the group's most cosmic, hypnotic and over-the-top material; it kick-started and set the tone for a journey that has included countless releases and performances around the world -- a freaked-out trip that continues to this day. Includes digital download.
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge & Carl Abrahamsson - Loyalty Does Not End with Death LP (Ideal Recordings)
The final part of a spoken word trilogy initiated in 1990 with the Psychick TV & White Stains side At Stockholm, and proceeded by their Wordship album (2004) as Thee Majesty & Cotton Ferox. This release is the sound of two cosmically-traveled minds crossing paths after a long time to chew over the bare essentials -- love and magick -- via vibrant poetry and beautifully charged forms of ambient music. They conjure a warmly meditative music, where Abrahamsson's characteristic, playful tones, cut-up electronics, and gentle rhythms comfortably lay the bed for Genesis, who inhabits and enlivens the pristine scenes like an observant dark interpreter, translating the incomprehensible and revealing the divine through their psychedelic prism.
Manfred Mann's Chapter III - Radio Days Vol. 1: Live Sessions & Studio Rarities 3xLP (Creature/Umbrella)
Manfred Mann's Chapter III - Radio Days Vol. 2: Live Sessions & Studio Rarities 3x/LP (Creature/Umbrella)
Four volumes of Manfred Mann's BBC recordings. We have Volumes 1 & 2 on vinyl. The additional 2 volumes & all 4 volumes on CD are available for special order.
Dave Hause - Kick LP (Rise)
A solid serving of meat-and-potatoes heartland anthems.
Betty Carter - The Music Never Stops LP (Blue Engine)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. This live performance at New York's Aaron Davis Hall was recorded in 1992, six years before Carter's untimely passing and during the early days of Jazz At Lincoln Center. The Music Never Stops marks Carter's first posthumous album as well as the artist's first release composed entirely of previously unheard material in 22 years.
Jitwam - Honeycomb LP (Tartelet)
With his roots in Assam, northeast India, and his hustle now based in Brooklyn, the psychedelic soul-savant known as jitwam. drops his second album on the Copenhagen-based Tartelet Records. Honeycomb hits the sweet spot between jitwam's work in dance music and efforts as a bandleader, encapsulating his diverse upbringing in India and Australia, before living in monasteries in Thailand, orphanages in South Africa, and finally the US. He's worn several musical faces within the worlds of psychedelic indie rock, hip-hop, and underground house music, and these sounds and musical identities are apparent in this album of broken microphone blues, heartfelt vocals, and smooth instrumentation.
Gerry Read - It'll All Be Over (DJ Koze Remix) 12" (Pampa)
Gerry Read presents his debut EP for Pampa Records. The British producer's distinctively twisted, lo-fi sound, combines with Pampa's deep-vein instinct for quality quirks. "It'll All Be Over" hints at the patchwork style to come, as twangy banjo strings and a foot-stomp beat with soft floaty pads form an unlikely partnership. "Satyricon" is woven in the spirit of micro-house. Sharp waveform cuts, timely pauses, loops of noodling keys and hints of percussion shakers combine for a low-slung psychedelic effect. Pampa's figurehead DJ Koze takes an expert turn at the controls of "It'll All Be Over".
Louis Sterling - Adisceda LP (99CHANTS)
The second installment of David August's 99CHANTS comes in the form of Adisceda, the debut from 21-year-old UK producer Louis Sterling. Conceived during the mourning process for a close family member that passed away in 2016, Adisceda was freely written as a continuous prayer of reminiscence; "Like a photograph, capturing a close memory as it gradually fades away, becoming pale, faint and less visible", as Louis recalls. "Even at times of desperately trying to recollect the close moments that once meant the world to me." Yet, Adisceda captures the overcoming of grief and loss -- a healing process beautiful, hopeful, pure, and transcendent. Mastered by ambient specialist Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studios NY.
Tom Nehls - I Always Catch the Third Second of a Yellow Light CD/LP (Now Again)
A rock concept album, as progressive as it is psychedelic, recorded by a 17-year-old Tom Nehls and his high school friends in Minneapolis over a three-month period in late 1972. Nehls original notes describe his influences: The Beatles, Zappa, Tolkien. But that amalgamation cannot prepare you for the depths that this wunderkind explored with first-time engineer Paul Stark, who would later co-found Twin/Tone Records and sign and develop punk legends The Replacements and dozens of other bands. Nehls' album has gone on to be a welcome addition to the genre Paul Major called "Real People Music;" a wonderful and sincere exploration of the human predicament that reveals more of itself with each listen. Mastered from a flat transfer of Stark's original master tapes, this is the best that this album has ever sounded.
Space Cats - Something New LP (Cultures of Soul)
Hailing from the small, insular music scene in the coal-mining city of Witbank, South Africa, the Space Cats were a five-man band fronted by singer/bassist Themba "T'Rex" Mzwakali and singer/guitarist Santy Dladala. Operating as a semi-professional live combo rather than a studio-driven aggregation, they stood out from the slick, highly polished conventions of the day. And when they took the stage they offered a take on disco that was stripped-down, raw, rugged and inspired by afro-rock groups like Harari and Hedzoleh Soundz. Something New, their first and only album, released in 1981, features ten tracks of jittery, hard-edged disco-boogie-funk that capture the flavor of their performances in the rollicking dancehalls of Witbank.
Midnight Embassy - Midnight Embassy 12" (International Major Label)
Midnight Embassy is a ping-pong project by songwriter Angela Aux and producer Sam Irl. During nightly sessions and on walks together, the two have created a palette of timeless tracks and futuristic sculptures from pop music flotsam. Like if two archive junkies had synchronized their sketch collections and notebooks so that the different genres and decades seem to effortlessly swirl through each other: dub, folk, Beatnik literature, afrobeat, and electronica. Aux & Irl celebrate a gentle escapism, both cosmopolitan and aloof.
Fauna - The Hunt [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Prophecy/Lupus Lounge)
Fauna - Avifauna [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Prophecy/Lupus Lounge)
Originators of Cascadian black metal, Fauna has made an incredibly deep imprint on the American metal scene. Utilizing both unrelenting black metal alongside periodic acoustic meditations, they stand as a truly unique force, impacting fellow artists Agalloch and directly influencing the development of Wolves In The Throne Room. [Limited colored vinyl pressings.]
Carach Angren - Where The Corpses Sink Forever [Reissue/2012] LP (Season Of Mist)
In 2012, the Dutch masters of horror Carach Angren took us to the hell of war with their mind blowing third full-length, Where The Corpses Sink Forever, which found the trio creating dark musical portraits of supernatural landscapes.