New Releases - 5/5/23
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
New Releases
Atmosphere – So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously CD/2xLP (Rhymesayers)
The new album from hip-hop duo Atmosphere, So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, opens with veteran rapper Slug and seasoned producer Ant taking a gentler approach. A departure from the brute intros of earlier works, the lead-off track "Okay" sounds focused on comforting and reassuring the listener, as if informed by fatherhood and implicit duty. With Slug rapping over one of the most twinkling productions Ant has released, the song lays the groundwork for an album-length exercise in fumbling consciousness without setting a precedent for how they intend to navigate it. Yet, as gently as the album begins, there's an unmistakable sense of unease from the onset that continues to evolve throughout the project, as Slug and Ant weave the listener through indistinct themes of insomnia and woe. So Many Other Realities is an almost unnerving excavation of paranoia that can be grafted onto the general malaise of a pandemic weary society full of civil unrest.
Artemis – In Real Time CD/LP (Blue Note)
Three years after the release of Artemis' critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, the ensemble returns with a marvelous follow-up that highlights the improvisational strength of its members as well as their respective gifts as composers. In Real Time showcases a new lineup of the collective with founding members pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Allison Miller, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and bassist Noriko Ueda joined by newcomers tenor saxophonist Nicole Grover and multi-reedist Alexa Tarantino. The eight-song set presents compelling new band member originals along with choice covers of pieces by Lyle Mays ("Slink") and Wayne Shorter ("Penelope").
Bailen – Tired Hearts CD (Fantasy)
On their exquisite and thought-provoking new album Tired Hearts, Bailen learns how to dream in the face of life's uncertainty and in the process, moves forward aware, resilient, and hopeful. The trio delivers a dazzling set of songs that navigates the space between the heart's expectation and the head's sober reality. Produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Snail Mail) along with the New York-based siblings, Daniel, David and Julia, Bailen's second album beats with empathy, vulnerability, and resolve. [Vinyl version – including an indie store exclusive blue colorway – due May 19.]
The Bohannons – Night Construction CD/LP (Cornelius Chapel)
Headed by brothers, Marty and Matt Bohannon, The Bohannons is one of America's undiscovered musical treasures. A massively underappreciated band that has been doing it their way for 20+ years. Brothers Bohannon along with drummer Mike Gault and bassist Justin Colburn present Night Construction. Splitting Tennessee and Alabama, Chattanooga and Birmingham respectively, the band emerges from post Covid paranoia and doubt to claim what is rightfully theirs.
Alison Brown – On Banjo CD/LP (Compass)
Brown has built a career taking the banjo far beyond its Appalachia roots, blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a unique sonic tapestry that has earned her praise from a variety of national tastemakers. On her newest release, On Banjo, Brown explores all the corners of the instrument's potential on a set of predominantly original tunes. Joining Brown are Anat Cohen, Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Sharon Isbin, Kronos Quartet and Steve Martin. [Limited-edition translucent green vinyl.]
Burning Witches – The Dark Tower 2xLP (Napalm)
Inspired by the trademarks of classic ‘80s heavy metal - like skyscraper guitar solos, bludgeoning, raspy vocals and screams, and fast paced drums, - Burning Witches release their fifth album.
Rodney Crowell – The Chicago Sessions CD/LP (New West)
Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, The Chicago Sessions is a throwback to Crowell's early days of making records, but it's no nostalgia trip. The songs here are vital and timely, touching on everything from love and mortality to race and religion, and the performances are nothing short of intoxicating, fueled by raw guitars, honky-tonk piano, and tight, punchy drums. Tweedy wields a light touch as a producer, his influence subtle yet unmistakable, and engineer Tom Schick's mixes are dynamic and alive, alternately lush, and spacious in all the right places with a spotlight fixed firmly on Crowell's warm, weathered vocals throughout. [Indie store exclusive vinyl.]
Drain – Living Proof CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Santa Cruz quartet Drain inject a serious dose of relatability – not to mention catchiness – into hardcore's penchant for toughness and brutality on Living Proof. Sammy Ciaramitaro's desperate, snotty howl rides roughshod over thrash-leaning riffage as rhythms bounce in a big way. If you're picturing the Pacific Ocean waves that rise and fall along the coastal town, occasionally violently so, you're not far off. This is hardcore for everybody. From opener "Run Your Luck" to the closing title track, between surefire pit-pleaser "Imposter" to solo-charged anthem "Weight Of The World", Living Proof is a surefire spark-to-flame for a band that can't help but be anything but themselves. [Indie store exclusive opaque purple vinyl.]
Dream_Mega – Last Glacial Maximum LP (Post Present Medium)
Last Glacial Maximum is the debut full length from Dream_Mega, the recording project of Los Angeles-based artist/musician Joel Kyack. Across six songs, the album unfolds like a set of auditory hallucinations that are at once alien, funereal, triumphant, and life-affirming.
The Ephemeron Loop – Psychonautic Escapism 2xLP (Heat Crimes)
Born from the fractal innerworld of Vymethoxy Redspiders, better known as Urocerus Gigas from Leeds-based xenofeminist crisis energy rock duo Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop's debut is a synaesthetic acid bath that cracks open the doors of perception to reveal a sonic landscape of ineffable beauty, divine femininity and continual transformation. Psychonautic Escapism sublimes Guttersnipe's teeth-gnashing spacegrind aesthetic leaving washes of dream pop ambience, dilated speedcore fusillades and shapeshifting psychedelic dub effects. It's an album that lodges itself creatively between Cocteau Twins, Arca, Basic Channel and Napalm Death, lysergically fluxing imperceptibly between seemingly contradictory sonics and philosophies.
Jad Fair – Elegies 7” (Shimmy Disc)
“In 2022, the pandemic seemed to be receding to the point where artists could work together again, literally side by side. So, as a kind of 'follow-up' to my Joyful Noise 2020 Artist-In-Residence box set, I revisited the notion of a limited-edition vinyl box celebrating the joys of collaboration. I thought about it for a good long while, and eventually, it felt good. I then put the idea under a microscope and found that it felt even better when I minimized the project to six 33rpm EPs on 7" vinyl. The borderless landscapes of audio art, tempered by the imaginations of the artists I chose to work with, then cast against the myriad infinities of mysteries betwixt those ageless, spinning rings... those rings that seem to sing, “listen to us." It all begins with imagery.
Galactic Empire – Special Edition CD/LP (Pure Noise)
By reinterpreting classic selections from legendary composer John Williams' iconic scores from the Star Wars saga into guitar driven heavy metal, Galactic Empire has created a musical juggernaut feared in many systems. [Indie store exclusive multicolor white, blue, and orange vinyl.]
Logan Halstead – Dark Black Coal CD/LP (Logan Halstead/Thirty Tigers)
“After writing and releasing his first song “Dark Black Coal” at just 15 years old, which has since gone viral on YouTube, Logan has been making some noise with subsequent releases like ‘Kentucky Sky’. Born in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia, he has a voice and perspective well beyond his years. Not too far out of high school, his music tells the stories of people in Appalachia in a captivating, honest and candid manner. Many have compared him to incredible artists like Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson, which Logan admits have been inspirations in his music, but mainly in helping the southern Appalachian region become more understood by those who have never so much as even heard of a holler, or know what life is really like in one: ‘All these folks mentioned have laid a path and shown that it’s okay to be from these parts; we’re not so looked down on anymore.’” – Casey Young, Whiskeyriff
Olivia Jean – Raving Ghost LP (Third Man)
The third full-length from Olivia Jean, Raving Ghost, is an album populated by mysterious characters in various states of danger: cursed lovers, doomed souls, women deliriously haunted by unseen forces. Over the course of its 11 spellbinding tracks, the Detroit-born singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist amplifies that drama with her wildly melodic take on garage-rock, handling each riff with the power and precision she's previously shown as a member of the Black Belles (and as an in-demand session/touring musician). A stunning evolution of the retro-surf sound of her past solo work, Raving Ghost ultimately makes for the most magnificently heavy and mesmerizing output yet from an endlessly fascinating artist. [Indie store exclusive ‘phantom amethyst’ color vinyl.]
Eilen Jewell – Get Behind The Wheel CD/LP (Signature Sounds)
Hailed by American Songwriter as "one of America's most intriguing, creative, and idiosyncratic voices," Eilen Jewell rises from the ashes on her captivating new album, Get Behind The Wheel, picking up the pieces of her shattered world and finding new purpose after watching her marriage, her band, and what felt like her entire career fall apart in a series of heartbreaking implosions. Co-produced by multi-instrumental wizard Will Kimbrough (Todd Snider, Hayes Carll), the 11-song collection pushes the acclaimed singer and songwriter's trademark blend of vintage roots-noir into more psychedelic territory, with spacious, cinematic arrangements complementing her revelatory explorations of grief, loss, resilience, and redemption.
Durand Jones – Wait ‘Til I Get Over CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
Durand Jones's Wait 'Til I Get Over is a memoir and a love letter. It is the story of Jones's life, his growth and revelations, the wisdom of his hometown and the wisdom he could only gain once he left. In it, he writes through Hillaryville's contradictions: the pristine beauty and the ragged roads; his teenage desire to leave and his adult desire to honor his tangled roots; the plantation history and the ups and downs of the Black community that made homes of this reparation town. [Limited-edition ‘blue jay’ color vinyl.]
Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté – The Sky Is The Same Colour Everywhere 2xLP (Real World)
Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté are both well-known soloists, but this duo recording is something special taking us on an improvisational musical journey into new landscapes. "It's like this music was already there waiting for us," says Toumani. "And it's like the two of us knew each other before - in another life." Kayhan Kalhor, from Iran, is the leading player of the kamancheh, the Persian spike fiddle. Played kneeling down, Kayhan says it's "like riding a wild horse". It has four strings played with a short bow. He's collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, Shujaat Khan, Erdal Erzincan, the Rembrandt Trio and many others. Toumani Diabaté, from Mali, is likewise the leading player of the West African kora, a 21-string harp-lute and a sublime creation of gourd, cow skin and fishing line. He's won three Grammys and recorded with Ballaké Sissoko, Taj Mahal, Ali Farka Touré, Björk and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Emily King – Special Occasion CD/LP (ATO)
Emily King has a near-magical gift for digging into life's deepest sorrows and uncovering unexpected beauty and illuminating truth. The New York City-bred artist has brought ever-evolving levels of depth and nuance to her songwriting, rooting each revelation in her mesmerizing blend of soul, R&B and forward-thinking pop. Special Occasion is King's first album in four years and the follow-up to her multiple Grammy-nominated release Scenery. On the new album, King shares a real-time exploration of the endless dimensions of heartbreak, with an intimate and infinitely enchanting look at the ways we love, grieve, and eventually stumble toward a greater sense of self-understanding. [Limited edition clear vinyl.]
The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony CD/LP (Captured Tracks
New York duo The Lemon Twigs return with their first new release since 2020's Songs For The General Public. On Everything Harmony, their fourth full-length studio release, the prodigiously talented brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario offer 13 original servings of beauty that showcase an emotional depth and musical sophistication far beyond their years as a band, let alone as young men. [Limited-edition clear vinyl.]
Dave Lombardo – Rites Of Percussion CD/LP (Ipecac)
Rites Of Percussion is an instrumental drum record with other instrumentation – a journey into rhythm and sound – written, recorded, and produced by legendary drummer Dave Lombardo. During his 40-year career, Lombardo has been the drummer for Slayer, Testament, The Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross, Fantomas, Suicidal Tendencies and more. RIYL: Fantomas, Tito Puente, Slayer, Tyler Bates. [Limited ediiion ‘cigar smoke’ color vinyl.]
Brandon López – Vilevilevilevilevilevilevilevile CD/LP (Tao Forms)
Vilevilevilevilevilevilevilevile is an exquisite new solo work by virtuosic bassist/composer Brandon López. A record about perceptions. More pointedly: this new work is "less about -a thing- than it is about perceptions of things, questioning those perceptions, and possibly altering perceptions."
Meg Myers – TZIA CD (Sumerian)
Meg Myers is the epitome of divine feminine energy and magic, transforming her sound through deep introspection via spiritual awakening. Through her work, she has built a reputation for creating beyond the limits of typical genres, as is the case with her album, TZIA. From songs such as "Me" and "My Mirror", she embodies spiritual and musical transcendence. [Vinyl due 5/26.]
Cian Nugent – She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living LP (No Quarter)
Meaning can come from surprising places. In 2020 the Irish guitarist Cian Nugent moved back into his family home in Dublin to care for his mother, Kathy, who was then recovering from a stroke and experiencing aphasia (difficulty with speech). She began saying: "she brings me back to the land of the living" seemingly out of nowhere and with little knowledge of its origin or meaning. "It stuck with me," says Cian, who at the time was working on songs for what would become his fourth album and felt it would make an apt title for that record. "The songs here act as a way of processing change and accepting new futures." Kathy also provides the cover art, a painting she made while still in the hospital. Seven years since Nugent's previous album, She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living merges the previously explored styles across Night Fiction (2016), the expansive Born With The Caul (2014) and his enigmatic debut Doubles (2011).
Peter One – Come Back To Me CD/LP (Verve Forecast)
Country-folk musician Peter One, originally from Cote d'Ivoire and now living in Nashville as a US citizen, delivers his major label debut solo album Come Back To Me at the ripe age of 67. Come Back To Me boasts some of Nashville's finest musicians, such as Pat Sansone (Wilco), Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo), and Paul Niehaus (Calexico). It's a heartfelt collection of folk songs sung in English, French, and Guro, offering tales of painful divorce, love and loss, as well as reflections on the healing power of music, diaspora, immigration, and home." [All copies at Grimey's are signed by the artist! Available in the shop and in the Grimey's webstore.]
Freya Ridings – Blood Orange LP (Good Soldier)
The lightning-in-a-bottle emergence of Freya Ridings with “Lost Without You” and her self-titled debut album made her one of the surprise international success stories of recent years.
Cécile McLorin Salvant – Mélusine LP (Nonesuch)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Mélusine features a mix of five originals and interpretations of nine songs, dating as far back as the twelfth century, mostly sung in French along with Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyòl. Mélusine follows last year's label debut, Ghost Song, which has received two Grammy nominations and tremendous critical praise, including spots on best albums of 2022 lists from the New York Times and NPR, among others.
Ed Sheeran – - (Subtract) CD/LP (WMX/Atlantic)
An album that revisits Ed Sheeran's singer/songwriter roots, and one that was written against a backdrop of personal grief and hope, - (Subtract) presents one of the biggest stars on the planet at his most vulnerable and honest. Teaming-up with Aaron Dessner (The National) on writing and production after the pair joined forces following an introduction from mutual friend Taylor Swift, Ed and Aaron began crafting the album in February of 2022. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint, the album's fourteen tracks are seamlessly tied together by exquisite production from paired back, folk-leaning textures to bolder, full-band/orchestral arrangements. [Indie exclusive white vinyl. Also available: a limited-edition deluxe CD version featuring four bonus tracks and alternate cover art.]
The Smashing Pumpkins – ATUM: A Rock Opera In Three Acts 3xCD/4xLP (Martha’s Music)
The Smashing Pumpkins return with their highly anticipated twelfth studio album; a three-act rock opera entitled ATUM (pronounced Autumn). The album tells an epic interplanetary story set in the not-too-distant future, though the songs themselves respectively stand on their own in the Pumpkins pantheon. Featuring 33-tracks, ATUM is the final installment in a concept album trilogy, which began with 1995's Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and then continued with 2000's Machina/The Machines Of God. The album features three original members of the band - William Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin - as well as longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder. [Indie store exclusive vinyl with printed inserts.]
Westerman – An Inbuilt Fault CD/LP (Partisan)
Westerman's highly anticipated second LP An Inbuilt Fault is a complex and endlessly rewarding collection of layered songwriting. The album's nine songs took shape throughout the depths of the pandemic, in near total lockdown in Italy and the ensuing isolation following his move to Athens. It's the soundtrack of Westerman's reckoning with two years of intense loneliness, heartbreak, and dread. Despite the dark beginnings of the album, An Inbuilt Fault emerges as a living, breathing transitional document that's both thrillingly alive and deeply human. The record that ultimately emerged from these early solo experiments sounds wholly unlike what the description might suggest. An Inbuilt Fault is visceral and live-sounding, full of the sound of breath and the idiosyncratic gestures of acoustic instruments. [Limited-edition transparent yellow vinyl.]
Wilder Woods – Fever/Sky CD/LP (Dualtone Music Group)
Bear Rinehart unveiled Wilder Woods in 2019, releasing a neo-soul record that focused on new beginnings: the advent of fatherhood, the launch of his solo career, and the updated branding of a longtime bandleader who'd decided to expand his reach. With Fever/Sky, he widens Wilder Woods' cinematic sound while celebrating the parts of himself that made him most proud. It's a personal, poignant record whose songs focus not upon the horizon ahead, but upon the road itself, stacked high with heartland hooks, western wooziness, southern soul, and festival-worthy anthems.
Reissues, Comps, Live Recordings, Vault Excavations...
Ginger Baker – Horses And Trees [Reissue/1986] CD (Charly)
A fascinating instrumental exploration into jazz fusion, African rhythms and world music by virtuoso drummer Ginger Baker, in company with Bill Laswell, Shankar, Naná Vasconcelos, Bernie Worrell and others. [Vinyl edition – including a limited-edition white colorway – due August 11.]
Syd Barrett – An Introduction To Syd Barrett [Reissue/2010] CD/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
A reissue of the 2010 collection that brought together for the first time the tracks of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett on one compilation. David Gilmour, who originally worked on Syd Barrett's two solo albums, as co-producer of The Madcap Laughs and as producer of Barrett, was the executive producer for the album. Damon Iddins and Andy Jackson at Astoria Studios remixed five tracks including “Octopus”, “She Took A Long Cool Look”, “Dominoes” and “Here I Go”, with David Gilmour adding bass guitar to the last track. Pink Floyd's “Matilda Mother” also received a fresh 2010 mix.
Blue Hawaii – Untogether [Reissue/2013] LP (Arbutus)
Expanded 10th anniversary blue color vinyl pressing. Untogether’s distinct blend of introspective atmospherics, textured production and manipulated vocals make it a one-of-a-kind release - a wholly unique starting point for the band's storied career.
John Craigie – The Apocalypse Is Over [Reissue/2013] LP (Zabriskie Point)
John Craigie is an American singer-songwriter. He has been hailed as a "Modern-Day Troubadour" in the style of Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. [Indie store exclusive pearl white marbled vinyl.]
Gil Evans – Great Jazz Standards [Reissue/1959] LP (Blue Note)
The brilliant arranger, composer, and pianist Gil Evans had already collaborated with Miles Davis on Birth Of The Cool and Miles Ahead and made his own debut album Gil Evans & Ten for Prestige when he signed with World Pacific Records in 1958 and made the first of two albums for the label: New Bottle Old Wine with featured soloist Cannonball Adderley. The next year Evans was back in the studio to record the follow-up Great Jazz Standards with two different ensembles featuring the likes of trumpeter Johnny Coles, trombonists Curtis Fuller and Jimmy Cleveland, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Budd Johnson, guitarist Ray Crawford, drummer Elvin Jones, and others. Part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet vinyl reissue series featuring remastered audio from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180gm vinyl in a tip-on jacket.
The Good Samaritans – No Food Without Taste If By Hunger (Analog Africa Dance Edition no. 20) [Reissue/1982] LP+MP3 (Analog Africa)
180gm orange color vinyl pressing. The intoxicating highlife music known as Edo Funk from Benin City, Nigeria is back in print. The Good Samaritans first album, one of the most obscure Nigerian albums ever recorded. Originally released in 1982 and pressed in a very small edition, this funk experience is full of bouncy basslines, raw trance-like grooves, and tripped-out psychedelic guitars. This is funk stripped down to its primal essence, driving rhythms mixed with highlife horns and sweet keyboards.
Grateful Dead – History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear’s Choice) [Reissue/1973] LP (Grateful Dead)
Grateful Dead's first true archival album, Bear's Choice, was lovingly produced as a tribute to Pigpen shortly after he passed by the Dead's original soundman and benefactor, Owsley Stanley, aka Bear. Drawing from live shows recorded three years earlier by Bear at the Fillmore East in New York City, Bear's Choice captures the Dead at an essential moment of their history, as they were about to record Workingman's Dead (and shortly thereafter, American Beauty), and were transitioning into becoming Americana pioneers, while never losing touch with their psychedelic improvisational roots.
David Gray – The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs Of Nick Drake 7” (Chrysalis)
The Endless Coloured Ways is a collection of songs by legendary singer/ songwriter, Nick Drake, performed and recorded by over 30 incredible artists from a range of different backgrounds, genres, age groups and audiences. From Fontaines D.C. to Guy Garvey, Aurora to Feist, and Self-Esteem to David Gray, each artist has offered their own incredible take on a timeless classic.
Debbie Harry – KooKoo [Reissue/1981] 2xLP (Chrysalis)
Clear vinyl pressing housed in a lenticular sleeve. Debbie Harry was a household name back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s through her work with Blondie. For her first solo album she teamed up with Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic to produce an album fusing funk, rock, disco and new wave.
Harry Pussy - You'll Never Play This Town Again 2xLP (Palilalia)
2023 repress. Double LP version of the 2008 CD originally issued on Load, compiling the best live and studio recordings by the final iteration of this group. "60 second bursts of chaotic rock 'n' roll that barbarize whole histories of freakout style, from free jazz through classic hardcore, boogie, blues, Black Flag, Germs, most explicitly through Beefheart, but all hyper-condensed into ultra-kranky riffs that Orcutt plays at hallucinatory speed, compressing Zoot Horn Rollo style avant confusion into lighting runs and metallic two note knock-outs. Hoyos's style is so primitive that it's wildly avantgarde, with an instinctive feel for time that confounds the most advanced improvisatory strategies with the most hysterical. And her vocals are post-Yoko in the truest sense, not directly informed by her but sharing the same spontaneous energy and a-musical appeal, sometimes breaking from songs completely to expand on barely articulated vocal rants and fever pitched bouts of screaming." --David Keenan, The Wire, December 2008
Freddie Hubbard – Blue Spirits [Reissue/1960] LP (Blue Note)
The prodigious trumpeter Freddie Hubbard debuted on Blue Note in 1960 and produced an astounding run of recordings over the first half of the decade that culminated with Blue Spirits, which was the last of his 1960s studio albums for the label. This bluesy and spirited album presented five evocative Hubbard originals, each of which was given a richly textured arrangement for an ensemble that included a dynamic four-horn lineup. Part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet vinyl reissue series featuring remastered audio from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180gm vinyl in a tip-on jacket.
Jefferson Starship – Spitfire [Reissue/1976] LP (Friday Music)
Limited edition orange vinyl. Spitfire is the third album by Jefferson Starship, originally released in 1976. The album features writing contributions from members of singer Marty Balin's former band Bodacious DF, as well as Jesse Barish, who became one of Balin's frequent collaborators.
Karate – Unsolved [Reissue/2000] 2xLP/Cassette (Numero)
Whatever sense of unity bound a hodgepodge of underground American punk sounds in the 1990s like a Duct-tape wallet began to come unglued by the end of the decade. A couple years into the new millennium and the emo scene that once had enough space for a band as brazen in their fusion of slowcore, jazz, and post-hardcore as Boston's Karate would barely be reflected in a cookie-cutter style commercialized by major labels and mid-level indies that acted like the majors. The part of punk that overlapped with indie rock would begin a slow ascent from its comfortable home on college radio charts to the soundtrack of American Apparel shops and eventually the Billboard charts. In this strange, stratifying milieu, Karate, a band that seemed to thrive by cleaving to a nether zone between several sounds that otherwise never touched, delivered an engrossing constantly shifting shot of rock that covered three sides of 12” vinyl: Unsolved.
Mastodon – Leviathan [Reissue/2004] LP (Relapse)
Mastodon – Call Of The Mastodon [Reissue/2006] LP (Relapse)
Blue and yellow colorways (respectively). Vinyl reissues of the Atlanta heavy metal band’s second album, Leviathan, and compilation of early tracks, Call Of The Mastodon.
Medeski Martin and Wood – Friday Afternoon In The Universe [Reissue/1995] LP (Real Gone Music)
For the last 30 years, Medeski Martin & Wood have explored the boundaries of modern jazz, incorporating hip hop, avant-garde, world music, and electronic funk influences into their fearless improvisational style.
Neck Deep – The Peace And The Panic [Reissue/2017] LP (Hopeless)
Limited-edition neon green color vinyl pressing. Hailing from the Welsh town of Wrexham, Neck Deep has always been the band that wanted to do things their own way and didn't take themselves too seriously. A band that wore the phrase "generic pop punk" as a badge of honor, seemingly daring people to underestimate them, turned heads when they ascended to the throne as the kings of pop punk, headlining Warped Tour, playing arenas with Blink 182 and Lil Wayne, and releasing multiple pop punk albums.
Overkill – Years Of Decay [Reissue/1989] LP (BMG)
Overkill – Horrorscope [Reissue/1991] LP (BMG)
Vinyl reissues of the fourth and fifth albums by the Jersey thrash metal band.
Augustus Pablo – Thriller [Reissue/1975] LP (Org Music)
Thriller is the 1975 album from Augustus Pablo, the reggae visionary who popularized the use of the melodica in the genre. As the founder of multiple labels, he was a crucial part of invigorating the burgeoning scene in its early days. The record's warm, mellow sound makes for a breezy and hypnotic listen.
Tosca – Dehli 9 [Reissue/2003] 4xLP (!K7)
To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Tosca's landmark third studio album Dehli9, !K7 is proud to present a fully remastered edition of this magical Tosca release. Carefully reworked by Bo Kondren at Calyx Mastering in Berlin, this 2023 master purposely avoids any modern hi-fi tricks and techniques and is committed to the sound of the early 2000s.
Treepeople – Guilt Regret Embarrassment [Reissue/1991] 2xLP (K. Records)
Treepeople was a band of their time, the late '80s and early '90s, and their place, Boise, ID and Seattle, WA, who created punk music that lives on into a future they never imagined. Members Scott Schmaljohn, Pat Brown, Wayne Flower and Doug Martsch went on to form prominent '90s Northwest combos Built to Spill, Stuntman, Violent Green, The Halo Benders, and Hive. Treepeople was a major influence on many Northwest artists who followed in their wake including Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse, Unwound, Death Cab For Cutie, Built To Spill, and Lync. The debut Treepeople album, Guilt Regret Embarrassment, originally released on Toxic Shock Records, has been given the Deluxe Edition treatment, expanded to a double album with the inclusion of songs originally appearing on singles and compilations from their earliest years.
Type O Negative – Dead Again [Reissue/2007] 2xLP/Cassette (Nuclear Blast)
Reissue of the seventh & final studio album from New York metal legends.
Various Artists – Deep Fried Funk 2xLP (Charly)
Over the ensuing decades funk has been a thread through several emerging scenes, from acid jazz to the smartly named deep funk and was also mined relentlessly by hip-hop and dance producers who were looking to the past, to create something for today. Some of these records, featured here, are now famed as classics of the genre by the likes of New Orleans producer Eddie Bo who became revered by collectors and found a new lease in life, and Lee Fields who has gone from being an obscure Carolinian artist to having his new recordings featured on TV programs. Deep Fried Funk gathers records from Chicago to New Orleans with many points in-between to deliver a comprehensive overview of some of the greatest, sweatiest funk ever created.
Various Artists - A Moi La Liberte: Early Electronic Rai - Algerie 1983-1990 CD/2LP (Born Bad Records)
Delving into the deepest recesses of raï, this compilation serves as a tribute to its roaring years, but also as a rejuvenation of the genre in its sulphureous, subterranean version. Just 50 years ago, no one would have believed even a bit in a genre seemingly bound to forever turn round and round in its native Oran, Algeria, laying low in one of its many coastal road clubs. Through the pre- and post-independence years, from 1950 to 1970, raï urbanized itself, with a generation growing up between asphalt and concrete to the sound of traditional flute, but also and mostly listening to twist, French variété and rock music. Their names were Boutaïba S'ghir, Messaoud Bellemou, Groupe El Azhar, Younès Benfissa, or Zergui, and they passed on their collection of songs to the incoming "Chebs" -- breathing a second youth into them.
Various Artists – Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Soundtrack: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 CD/2xLP (Hollywood)
It's time to face the music. Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Soundtrack: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 features a stellar line-up of tracks perfect for any hero saving the galaxy and includes contributions from the likes of Radiohead, Heart, Rainbow, Spacehog, Earth, Wind And Fire, The Flaming Lips, Faith No More, Alice Cooper, Beastie Boys, Florence + The Machine, Bruce Springsteen, and The Replacements among others.
Various Artists – Studio One Space-Age Dub Special CD/2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
Studio One Space-Age Dub Special is a brand-new Studio One release on Soul Jazz Records which draws on more rare and classic dubs from the mighty vaults of Studio One Records. Most of these tracks are taken from Studio One's superb long out-of-print series of dub albums released between 1974 and 1980 such as Zodiac Sounds, Ital Sounds and System, Roots Dub, Dub Store Special, Juks Incorporation and others.
Waco Brothers – The Men That God Forgot LP (Plenty Tuff)
Shaking off the plague days like a snake sheds its skin, the Waco Brothers stumble out of the empty, burning desert with a fierce thirst and an epic new album: The Men That God Forgot. It's their first collection of original tunes since 2016's Going Down In History.
Steven Wilson – Grace For Drowning [Reissue/2011] 2xLP (Snapper Classics)
Grace For Drowning is the second solo studio album by Steven Wilson, producer, songwriter, and frontman of Porcupine Tree.
George Winston – Night LP (RCA)
16th solo piano album (and 20th overall) by the new age pianist.
Young The Giant – American Bollywood 2xLP (Jungle Youth)
2022 release – the fifth album from the Southern California-based rock band. [Indie store exclusive yellow vinyl.]
Tom Zé – Brazil Classics 4: The Best Of Tom Zé [Reissue/1990] LP (Luaka Bop)
Tom Zé – The Hips Of Tradition - Brazil 5: The Return Of Tom Zé [Reissue/1992] LP (Luaka Bop)
Limited-edition colorways: blue and green, respectively. Brazil Classics 4: The Best Of Tom Zé was Tom Zé's first release on Luaka Bop after being discovered by David Byrne and was the first introduction of Zé's music to a wider US audience.