New Releases - 6/24/22
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
New Releases
Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince: Deluxe Edition CD/2xLP (Verve)
Deluxe offering of Grammy Best New Artist nominee Arooj Aftab's breakthrough 2021 album Vulture Prince, featuring Grammy Best Global Music Performance-nominated track "Mohabbat". Aftab's remarkable voice, backed by a team of renowned musicians, transports listeners to the composer's world. Intimate piano and swelling orchestral strings unveil mystical passage into Aftab's emotionally gripping symphonic world - vast with colorful sounds and transcendent of genre.
Alexisonfire – Otherness CD/2xLP (Dine Alone)
Otherness is the first album in over a decade from the group Rolling Stone declared "put Canadian post-hardcore on the map." Five guys playing aggressive rock grew to a hockey-arena headlining phenomenon while pushing and pulling between spirited guitar leads, melodic might, and emotional weight. The band never sacrificed the punk soul summoned in beat-up vans and basement shows. Blending their classic sound with new and forward-thinking textures, they produced Otherness themselves. As Revolver Magazine noted in 2019: "It's hard to overstate the influence Alexisonfire had in post-hardcore through the mid-2000s, their combination of singing and screaming setting the blueprint for many artists to come." [Indie store exclusive pink & purple vinyl.]
Holland Andrews – Wordless / Forgettings LP (Leiter Verlag GMBH)
Frequently highlighting themes surrounding vulnerability and healing, American composer and performer Holland Andrews arranges music for voice, clarinet, and electronics. As a vocalist, their influences stem from a dynamic range including contemporary opera, theater, and jazz, while cultivating their own unique vocal style, integrating these influences with language disintegration and vocal distortion.
Automatic – Excess CD (Stones Throw)
Automatic's second album Excess rides the imaginary edge where the '70s underground met the corporate culture of the '80s - or, as the band puts it, "That fleeting moment when what was once cool quickly turned and became mainstream, all for the sake of consumerism." Using this point in time as a lens through which to view the present moment, Excess takes aim at corporate culture and extravagance. The overarching themes of alienation and escapism emerged as Automatic put Excess together, taking writing retreats to flesh out the new songs before decamping to the studio for sprint recording sessions with producer Joo Joo Ashworth (Sasami, FROTH). [Vinyl edition – including and indie store exclusive blue color pressing – due July 1.]
Priscilla Block – Welcome To The Block Party LP (Mercury Nashville)
Released last February on CD – now available on vinyl. Listed as a MusicRow 2021 Next Big Thing Artist and a 2021 CMT Next Women of Country inductee, Block is undoubtedly the breakout female country star of the past year and is poised to become one of Nashville’s acclaimed truth-tellers with a voice for her generation.
BoDeans – 4 The Last Time CD (Free & Alive)
New release from the veteran Americana/roots rock band.
Caamp – Lavender Days CD/LP (Mom + Pop Music)
Lavender Days was written in the aftermath of a period of loss and heartache suffered by Taylor Meier. A great love, a great dog, his livelihood, his sanity... all gone in the same period when touring and every bit of human interaction was taken from him and the rest of the world. It was a humbling experience, and one that placed him firmly back in the spot that Caamp so often writes about - his Midwestern home and the life he lives there in the state of Ohio. It's the romanticism that Caamp approaches that simple life with that speaks to their volume of fans and is even further ruminated on in Lavender Days. It's about the in between days - the small pleasures and the forgotten disappointments. [A limited-edition pink and purple ‘galaxy’ color vinyl.]
Candy – Heaven Is Here CD/LP (Relapse)
Candy is poised to break past the conventions of metal, hardcore, and punk with one of 2022's most extreme and unique records. Heaven Is Here puts together so many disparate elements with the confidence and care to graft their relativities together under what sounds like extreme duress. Candy specifically strives to replicate moments of impact and anxiety, obsessive compulsive thinking, and extreme cynicism - aiming to provide the listener with an aural journey that allows for an outlet for these overwhelming feelings. [Indie store exclusive pink & black vinyl.]
Capital Theatre – A Hero’s Journey CD(Amplified Media)
Melodic and edgy, Melodic and edgy, A Hero’s Jouney’s 10 guitar/keyboard-driven tracks take inspiration from Joseph Campbell's book The Hero With A Thousand Faces, using it's seminal study of the archetypal hero as a lens for exploring the human condition in chaotic times. “The hero’s journey is the blueprint for so many great stories, and so we decided to map out the album based on that framework,” says Capital Theatre frontman Adam Stevenson. “It begins at the status quo, then moves through coming-of-age and the call to adventure, the trials and tribulations and then finally the moment of triumph over adversity.” A Hero’s Journey was recorded with legendary producer Mike Clink (Guns N" Roses, Megadeth, Steve Vai), who commented “What attracted me to the project is that each song takes you on a journey delivered with conviction through the music and the lyrics.” [An indie store exclusive blue color vinyl pressing is available for special order.]
Chrisman – Makila LP (Nege Nyege Tapes)
Black & white splatter color vinyl. While Chrisman's Ku Mwezi EP mostly explored gqom and trap influenced Afrohouse mutations, his debut album heads in a different direction. On Makila, Chrisman provides an experimental vision of the taraxina sound: a molasses-slow fusion of the Angolan kuduro and kizobma dance templates that dips in-and-out of fuzzy drones and syrupy gqom.
Cimafunk – El Alimento LP (Terapia Productions)
Released last October on CD – now available on vinyl. El Alimento (translation: the nutrient) is the monumental second album from Cimafunk, the Cuban medical-student-turned-Latin-funk-star who crash-landed onto the music scene with his debut album Terapia in 2017 and an electric live show that been compared to that of James Brown. The sonically dynamic collection masterfully blends Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with global funk, hip-hop and soul—resulting in a progressive, head-bopping celebration of black music’s power to eclipse borders and cross-pollinate across cultures. Written and recorded over the last year, the album served as an alimento for the soul, a motivation to persevere through the pandemic, as Cimafunk spent countless hours studying decades of musical influences to help understand who he is musically and culturally, and thus, where he wanted this album to take him. As innovative funk forefather George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic), who sings alongside Cimafunk on the opening track "Funk Aspirin", says: “Cimafunk takes it back there while keeping it in the now. It’s what we do, always reinventing the Funk to keep it fresh.”
Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind CD/2xLP (Roadrunner)
Produced by the band's own Claudio Sanchez and Zakk Cervini, Coheed and Cambria's ambitious new album, Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind welcomes us back to "The Amory Wars" as the second installment of the five-part Vaxis arc about a couple on the run from tyrannical forces and their mysterious new addition. For the last 20 years, Coheed and Cambria has continuously broken the mold of what a rock band can be, forging their own path and building a universe around their music unlike any other. Whether it is in the way their genre-spanning approach to songwriting has allowed them to bridge worlds without being contained to one, or the multifaceted story arc of their albums and comic book series which mark the longest running concept story in music, Coheed and Cambria has consistently shaped new standards, never conformed. [In addition to a ‘light blue’ clear vinyl pressing, an indie store exclusive translucent ‘sea blue’ color vinyl.]
Luke Combs – Growin’ Up CD (SME Nashville)
Produced by Combs, Chip Matthews and Jonathan Singleton, Growin' Up is Combs' third studio album following 2019's 3x Platinum What You See Is What You Get and his 4x Platinum debut, This One's For You. The new album consists of twelve songs, including Combs' first single "Doin' This", which has topped the charts at country radio.
Converge – Bloodmoon: I 2xLP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl, including an indie store exclusive pressing. Converge release their new album with Chelsea Wolfe, her frequent collaborator and bandmate Ben Chisholm, and Cave In's Stephen Brodsky. It's called Bloodmoon: I and was produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, and the musicians began collaborating for the prospective project in 2016. "The project stretched my vocals in new ways," Wolfe said in a statement. "It's so different than what I normally sing over that I was able to open up and be vulnerable with my vocals."
Hollie Cook – Happy Hour CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
With Happy Hour, Hollie Cook matures into the queen of modern-day "lovers rock" – the lush girly harmony reggae style beloved in Britain since the 1970s. Evolution rings from the bittersweet opening title track; tender yet assertive, Hollie's voice caresses evocative lyrics through the arrangement's tumbling changes. Hollie dares to invite listeners into her true personality through these alluring songs, which she co-produced with her General Roots band members Ben Mckone and Luke Allwood, and executive producer Youth. [An indie store exclusive ‘orchid & tangerine’ color vinyl pressing is available.]
Martin Courtney – Magic Sign CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
Second solo album from the Real Estate frontman, following 2015’s Many Moons. When Martin Courtney was a teenager, he knew how to get lost. In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, there's Martin, loaded into a car with friends. They're navigating the suburban sprawl of New Jersey with no destination in mind. He and his friends would "get thoroughly confused and look for familiar green signs with arrows pointing to towns we'd heard of. We'd call them ‘magic signs,'" he says. That's the thing about magic: when you go looking for it, you start to see it everywhere. And you can hear it twinklingly throughout the ten songs on Magic Sign. [Indie store exclusive violet vinyl.]
The Driver Era – Girlfriend CD/LP (BMG)
Second album from the alt-pop duo comprised of brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch. [An indie store exclusive neon green vinyl.]
Emery – Rub Some Dirt On It CD (Tooth & Nail)
New release from the South Carolina post-hardcore band. Includes the single "I Don't Know You At All".
G. Love – Philadelphia Mississippi CD/LP (Philadelphonic)
Mixing old school blues and folk with new school hip-hop and funk, G. Love's electrifying new album, Philadelphia Mississippi, brings together both sides of the genre-bending pioneer's eclectic career in a wildly innovative and deeply reverent sonic pilgrimage to the heart of the South. Produced by North Mississippi All-Stars' Luther Dickinson, the collection is loose and spontaneous, full of joyful, improvised performances and freewheeling collaborations with a slew of special guests including blues torchbearers like Alvin Youngblood Hart and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and rap icons like Schoolly D and Speech.
Goose – Dripfield CD/LP (No Coincidence)
Goose fluidly traverse genres with head-spinning hooks, technical fireworks, and the kind of chemistry only possible among small town and longtime friends. [Limited-edition white vinyl.]
Conan Gray – Superache CD/LP (Republic)
Conan Gray has emerged as one of the pre-eminent pop superstars of his generation. After the commercial success of the global multi-platinum hits, "Heather" and "Maniac", his music maintains its unflinching authenticity and originality. Gray's debut album, Kid Krow, reached #5 on the Billboard 200, #1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and was the biggest new artist debut of the year. [A limited edition ruby red color vinyl pressing, and an indie store exclusive autographed CD are available.]
Haai – Baby, We’re Ascending LP+MP3 (Mute)
Limited edition day blue vinyl.. Baby, We're Ascending marks Haai's debut full-length album and her most collaborative, energetic, and vibrant collection to date. The album is a 13-track sonic adventure that takes you along for the ride; from hardcore, echoey beats to sweeping, colorful synth lines and bright, warped vocal samples. The voices on the album are vast and eclectic including Jon Hopkins and Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor to singer Obi Franky and spoken word poet and activist Kai Isaiah Jamal.
Jack Johnson – Meet The Moonlight CD/LP (Brushfire)
Meet The Moonlight, Jack Johnson's eighth studio album and first full-length release in five years, was produced by Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes, Perfume Genius, Jim James) and recorded in Los Angeles and Hawaii. The creation process marks a major artistic milestone from past work, taking shape from a one-on-one collaboration with Mills, and unveiling an intimate and highly experimental process that involved embedding Johnson's elegantly stripped-back arrangements with enchanting sonic details. [Limited value-added moon tracker calendar included. An indie store exclusive 180gm clear vinyl pressing is available.]
Damien Jurado – Reggae Film Star CD (Maraqopa)
25 years since his debut album Waters Ave S. came out, Jurado is more prolific, driven, and creative than ever. The twelve mystical songs on Reggae Film Star are gorgeously cinematic and feature a rich production and diverse sonic textures. [Vinyl edition due July 8.]
Just Mustard– Heart Under CD/LP (Partisan)
Heart Under, Just Mustard's second LP, asks you to forget what you know. At every turn, this remarkable record reconfigures and stretches the ideas and ambition of a rock band and turns a year of lockdown and personal struggles into a breathtaking artistic statement. Across its 10 tracks, the album presents a coherent style and ethos – those scything guitars, Katie's magical vocals – but still incorporates a wide and untethered vision. There are brooding, atmospheric rock songs ("Still", "In Shade") and others that apply a lighter, dreamier touch ("Sore", "Mirrors"), all tied together with impeccable instrumentation and a united vision. On Wednesday, the band played with dreamier soundscapes and production techniques, and Heart Under serves as the next stage of this development, with every instrument brilliantly pushed to its limit and every boundary of the band stretched. [Limited-edition translucent blue vinyl.]
Elizabeth King – I Got A Love LP (Bible & Tire)
After releasing the standalone stunner What You Gonna Do? in late 2021, Elizabeth King is back with a new collection of sacred soul recordings. Most of the material on the album was drawn from pioneering ‘70s gospel DJ/producer Juan D. Shipp's D-Vine Spirituals Records catalogue.
Charles Lloyd – Trios: Chapel CD/LP (Blue Note)
Charles Lloyd has long been a free spirit, master musician, and visionary. For more than six decades the legendary saxophonist and composer has loomed large over the music world, and at 84 years old he remains both at the height of his powers and as prolific as ever. As a sound seeker, Lloyd's restless creativity has perhaps found no greater manifestation than on his latest masterwork, an expansive project that encompasses three individual albums that are connected by an overarching theme with each presenting him in a different trio setting – a Trio of Trios. The first, Trios: Chapel, features Lloyd with guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan.
Machine Gun Kelly – Mainstream Sellout LP (Bad Boy/Interscope)
Released in March on CD – now available on vinyl. Originally called Born With Horns, Mainstream Sellout is the sixth studio album from the multi-faceted rapper turned rocker Machine Gun Kelly. Following up on the pop-punk sound of 2020’s Tickets To My Downfall, he described the project as TTMD if he “turned the lights off.” With a harder rock sound than TTMD and references to the journey of his career, Mainstream Sellout is an introspective project that reflects on his musical adventures.
Leyla McCalla – Breaking The Thermometer LP+MP3 (ANTI)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Haitian American artist Leyla McCalla draws upon her experience as a bilingual multi-instrumentalist and New Orleans resident to create distinctive music that reflects both her past and present. Her new album, Breaking The Thermometer, is captivating, fueled by rich, sophisticated melodic work and intoxicating Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and the juxtaposition of voices – English and Kreyòl, personal and political, anecdotal and journalistic – is similarly entrancing, raising the dead as it shines a light on the enduring spirit of the Haitian people. McCalla isn't just some detached observer here, though; she writes with great insight and introspection, examining her own personal journey of growth and self-discovery as she uncovers the Radio Haiti story as well as the broader understanding of what Democracy and unalienable human rights means to each of us, no matter where we're from.
Noahfinnce – Stuff From My Brain/My Brain After Therapy LP (Hopeless)
Recently released on CD – now available on blue color vinyl. Stuff From My Brain/My Brain After Therapy is a collection of songs written before and after therapy. The debut double EP collection features guest vocals from Chris Freeman of Hot Mulligan and builds the world of Noahfinnce's unique, hyperactive brain. The project tackles issues like depression, anxiety, ADHD, past trauma, and the path toward prioritizing mental health. Deeply personal, but always expressed with a cheeky, quirky, not-so-serious sense of humor, Noahfinnce showcases the big personality that has amassed a huge YouTube following and has led him toward being a leading voice in Trans/LGBTQ+ youth issues.
Painted Shield – Painted Shield 2 LP (Loosegroove)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Sophomore release from Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's new project, Painted Shield. The group also features Mason Jennings, Matt Chamberlain, and Brittany Davis. [A limited-edition Coke bottle green color vinyl pressing is available.]
Quinquis – SEIM CD/LP+MP3 (Mute)
Émilie Tiersen has, over the course of two albums and several years, made music as Tiny Feet and is now known as Quinquis. The name change is symbolic, paying homage to her personal and family history by referencing her maiden name, as well as representing a fresh start musically. SEIM is a collaboration with Gareth Jones, the celebrated producer who has worked with groups such as Liars, Depeche Mode, Apparat and Yann Tiersen. The result of their work is one that merges sparse electronics, immersive atmospherics, and deft melodies, all of which are carried by Émilie's tender yet quietly soaring vocals. [Limited-edition clear vinyl.]
Reverend Baron – From Anywhere CD/LP/Cassette (Colemine)
From the academy of deep soul and no ego, Reverend Baron delivers visions of liquor store East L.A., the off-the-freeway dry mirage of slow-motion graffiti and lonely seagulls. A nylon stringed zen fog with themes of woozy love, layered dimensions of nostalgia and glazed neighborhood tales that roll in with a natural ease. After notching a permanent status in the skateboarding orbit as Danny Garcia, he transferred his effortless style, dedication, and authenticity into music. [Indie store exclusive powder blue vinyl.]
Daniel Romano – Visions Of The Higher Dream LP (You’ve Changed)
In 2020, Daniel Romano and his increasingly exalted band The Outfit were forced home, faced with the cancellation of tours and all live engagements at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost immediately, Daniel instigated a near legendary run of new albums, releasing 10 full-length albums in the span of nearly the same number of weeks. Genre-spanning, astoundingly distinct artist achievements of an unprecedented order, these albums were originally released exclusively in digital only formats on Bandcamp. They were direct and immediate missives from one of the most talented, prolific, ambitious, and exciting artists of his generation. We are thrilled to begin releasing these albums now in very special limited-edition vinyl pressings. Visions Of The Higher Dream is an expression of rich, Beatles-esque (but so much more) psychedelia, visionary, powerfully arranged and immaculately performed, and thoroughly beautiful in its scope and details.
Sessa – Estrela Acesa CD/LP+MP3 (Mexican Summer)
São Paulo's Sessa returns with Estrela Acesa, an enchanting collection of songs adorned with elegant strings and hypnotic rhythms, honoring post-Tropicalia masters like Arthur Verocai, Jorge Ben, and Milton Nascimento. [Indie store exclusive turquoise color vinyl.]
Joan Shelley – The Spur CD/LP (No Quarter)
Joan Shelley returns with The Spur, her first new album in three years. The twelve-song set is a profound meditation on light and darkness, recorded in the spring of 2021 at Earthwave Farm in the Kentucky countryside. James Elkington serves as co-producer (alongside Shelley) and the album features collaborations with Bill Callahan, Meg Baird, and the British novelist Max Porter along with Shelley's musical partner and husband Nathan Salsburg. Shelley says: "The Spur is the result of a period of opposite extremes: of intellectual hyper-connection and physical isolation. This album will forever be fused with the memory of our marriage, the birth of our child, and the intense joy despite the darkness". [Indie store exclusive translucent white vinyl.]
Regina Spektor – Home, before and after CD (Sire)
Home, before and after is Regina Spektor's eighth studio album and most quintessentially "New York" in years. Recorded in upstate New York, produced by John Congleton and coproduced by Spektor, the album is Spektor at her most inspired, heralded by "Becoming All Alone", a surrealist ballad that swells with arrangements and comes alive in your head.
Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever CD/LP/Cassette (Loma Vista)
Sometimes, Forever - the immersive and compulsively replayable new Soccer Mommy full-length - cements Sophie Allison's status as one of the most gifted songwriters making rock music right now. The album finds Sophie broadening the borders of her aesthetic without abandoning the unsparing lyricism and addictive melodies that made earlier songs so easy to obsess over. To support her vision, Sophie enlisted producer Daniel Lopatin, whose recent credits include the Uncut Gems movie score and The Weeknd's Dawn FM. [An indie store exclusive pink w/ black splatter vinyl pressing and an indie store exclusive CD featuring alternate cover art, are available.]
Tegan and Sara – Still Jealous CD/LP (Sire)
Tegan and Sara revisit the indie-pop duo's 2004 breakout album, So Jealous, on a new version of the record titled Still Jealous. It features the original's 14 tracks, all of which have been re-recorded acoustically, with the twin sisters singing each other's songs. The idea to record the new album came in the spring of 2020 as they were preparing to launch a fundraiser for the Tegan and Sara Foundation, where the grand prize was two guitars used to record So Jealous. To promote the campaign, Sara decided to record an acoustic version of "You Wouldn't Like Me", one of the songs Tegan wrote for the album.
Zola Jesus – Arkhon CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
There is a way a voice can cut through the fascia of reality, cleaving through habit into the raw nerve of experience. Nika Roza Danilova, the singer, songwriter, and producer who since 2009 has released music as Zola Jesus, wields a voice that does that. When you hear it, it is like you are being summoned to a place that's already wrapped inside you but obscured from conscious experience. This place has been buried because it tends to hold pain, but it's also a gift, because once it's opened, once you're inside of it, it can show you the truth. Zola Jesus's new album, Arkhon, finds new ways of losing this submerged, stalled pain. [An indie store exclusive sand color vinyl pressing is available.]
Tyler, The Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost 2xLP (Columbia)
Double vinyl pressing in gatefold jacket. Includes poster. Call Me If You Get Lost is Tyler's sixth studio album and includes additional guest appearances from 42 Dugg, Lil Wayne, Domo Genesis, Brent Faiyaz, Lil Uzi Vert, Pharrell Williams, Teezo Touchdown, Fana Hues, and Daisy World.
Eleri Ward – A Perfect Little Death LP (Ghostlight)
Released last week on CD – now available on vinyl. A Perfect Little Death is a whirling combination of Eleri Ward's two deep loves: the expansive, one-of-a-kind canon of Stephen Sondheim and the sweet, melancholic sounds of artists like Sufjan Stevens straight from the scenery of Carrie & Lowell. Starting from a spontaneous Instagram post in 2019, covering "Every Day A Little Death", Eleri has now crafted her own niche at the crossroads of musical theater and indie folk music from her original point of view embodied by acoustic simplicity and swirling harmonies.
Kanye West – Donda 4xLP (Def Jam)
Kanye West delivers a Deluxe Edition of the record-shattering Donda, featuring four bonus tracks plus fan-favorite verses from Andre 3k, Kid Cudi and more.
Reissues, Compilations, Live Recordings & Vault Excavations...
Adult. – Resuscitation [Reissue/2001] 2xLP+MP3 (Ghostly Int’l)
Available for the first time in a new red and black marble colorway. When it first dropped in 2001, Resuscitation served as a de facto introduction to the duo, collecting a bunch of songs on CD that had only previously been available on hard-to-find singles and EPs. Eleven years later, it does the same thing, except this time around, we can see just how influential it's creators' work has been - and Adult.'s music only sounds more remarkable with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, Resuscitation's combination of crisp beats, squelch-laden synths and Nicola Kuperus' detached monotone sounded like a broadcast from the future, steeped in the analog synth sounds of forebears like Kraftwerk but possessed of an ultramodern sheen all its own.
The Animals – The Animals [Reissue/1964] CD/LP (Abkco)
English rhythm and blues group The Animals emerged in 1964 with their debut single "Baby, Let Me Take You Home", but it was runaway second single, "House Of The Rising Sun" that truly catapulted them to international fame. Eric Burdon's howling vocals and the dramatic arrangement created arguably the first folk rock hit. Both were featured on the band's Mickie Most-produced 1964 full-length debut album.
The Animals – The Animals On Tour [Reissue/1965] CD/LP (Abkco)
English rhythm and blues group The Animals emerged in 1964 with their debut single "Baby, Let Me Take You Home", but it was runaway second single, "House Of The Rising Sun" that truly catapulted them to international fame. 1965's The Animals On Tour, the band's second studio effort, features the singles "I'm Crying" and "Boom Boom" plus strong covers of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles.
The Animals – Animal Tracks [Reissue/1965] CD/LP (Abkco)
English rhythm and blues group The Animals emerged in 1964 with their debut single "Baby, Let Me Take You Home", but it was runaway second single, "House Of The Rising Sun" that truly catapulted them to international fame. As with their previous album releases, Animal Tracks, the group's third studio set, featured Chas Chandler on bass, John Steel on drums and Hilton Valentine on guitar, alongside Eric Burdon and Alan Price, the classic lineup that preceded the arrival of Dave Rowberry and subsequent emphasis on Burdon. Highlights come in the form of the hit singles "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home To Me", and "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place".
The Animals – Animalization [Reissue/1966] CD/LP (Abkco)
English rhythm and blues group The Animals emerged in 1964 with their debut single "Baby, Let Me Take You Home", but it was runaway second single, "House Of The Rising Sun" that truly catapulted them to international fame. However, The Animals first great fully realized album didn't come until 1966's Animalization, their fourth full-length. Produced by Tom Wilson, the passionate 12-song set features consummate R&B styled covers of material by John Lee Hooker ("Maudie"), Joe Berry ("Sweet Little Sixteeen") and Screamin' Jay Hawkins ("I Put A Spell on You") to go along with a pair of strong originals penned by the group's Eric Burdon and Dave Rowberry.
Animals As Leaders – Weightless [Reissue/2011] LP (Prosthetic)
Blue w/ black & white splatter color vinyl pressing. When unknown virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi released his debut solo album under the moniker Animals As Leaders in 2009, few would have predicted the band's meteoric rise over the next two years. Although Abasi earned acclaim as the lead guitarist in the Washington, D.C.-based metalcore act Reflux, it was still a long-shot that an instrumental album of progressive metal with jazz, electronic and ambient flourishes would develop anything more than a cult following. Whereas the group's self-titled debut was a collaboration between Abasi and Periphery's Misha Mansoor, 2011 sophomore effort, Weightless features the recording debut of Animals As Leaders, the true band.
Black Stone Cherry – Live From The Royal Albert Hall… Y’all! 2xLP
On Wednesday September 29, 2021 - the year of the band's 20th Anniversary - Kentucky's favorite sons, Black Stone Cherry, realized their childhood dream of playing at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, London.
Blake Babies – Sunburn [Reissue/1990] LP (American Laundromat)
‘Leaf green’ opaque color vinyl reissue. “Sunburn is not only the Blake Babies' best album, it's in many ways the last great college rock album." - All Music Guide.
Arthur Brown – Long Long Road CD/2xCD/LP/2xCD+LP+7” (Prophecy)
Long Long Road effortlessly shifts from progressive rock and soul to pristine blues rock, with the much-loved singer summoning his full vocal range with a mature mastery that comes only with the experience of a lifetime. Wild, vibrant, and crammed with rich musical textures, this album is quintessentially Arthur Brown and can easily be construed as the apex and summary of a fascinating career that has spanned several decades. [A limited-edition red color vinyl pressing, an expanded double-CD edition, and a deluxe box set version are available.]
Ray Charles – A Message From The People [Reissue/1972] LP (Tangerine)
Originally released in 1972, A Message From The People remains one of Charles' most celebrated albums, as well as the most socially-conscious work of his six decade career. The record directly confronts societal ills of poverty and injustice while offering a universal message of brotherhood and hope for peace; topics that are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.
Eric Clapton – Nothing But The Blues CD+CDEP+2xLP+DVD+Blu-ray (Reprise)
Eric Clapton's lifelong passion for the blues burns brightly in Nothing But The Blues. The audio soundtrack (available on CD and Super Deluxe box set which includes the 1995 PBS film) features 18 previously unreleased live performances recorded in 1994 during the legendary guitarist's tour supporting his Grammy-winning, multi-platinum blues album From The Cradle. Clapton's longtime co-producer, Simon Climie, has remixed the audio from those performances from the original multi-tracking recordings. The previously unreleased live performances on Nothing But the Blues serve as a vital counterpart to From The Cradle, which was recorded in the studio. While several songs appear on both ("Motherless Child", "Standing 'Round Crying", "I'm Tore Down"), the performances are entirely different. The release also includes songs that did not appear on From The Cradle, including Jimmy Rogers' "Blues All Day Long" and Robert Johnson's "Malted Milk", as well as the standards "Every Day I Have The Blues" and "Forty-Four". [Stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray editions of the original 1995 PBS film are available. The Super Deluxe Edition comes with the documentary on Blu-ray, the soundtrack on both double-vinyl and CD, a bonus CD with four extra tracks “Driftin’”, County Jail Blues”, “Kid Man Blues”, and “It’s Too Bad”, and an exclusive hardcover book with memorabilia, including a numbered lithograph,12” x 24” poster, Clapton guitar string set, custom guitar picks, and an exclusive bandana. The stand-alone double-vinyl edition is due July 29.]
Elizabeth Cook – Balls [Reissue/2007] CD/LP (Thirty One Tigers)
Elizabeth Cook commemorates the 15th anniversary of her pivotal album Balls with a reissue that will include a repressing of the long out of print CD, and remastered audio for a first pressing on vinyl, and repackaged artwork. "It's been 15 years," Cook says. "In a way, I hardly recognize the sound of the girl on this record, but I recognize her drive for independence and stubborn insistence on freeing her voice. And it is an honor and awe-inspiring in this hard-knock town to still be standing today and have the opportunity to celebrate that."
Dengue Fever – Dengue Fever [Reissue/2003] LP (MRI Associated)
Dengue Fever – Escape From Dragon House [Reissue/2005] LP (MRI Associated)
Dengue Fever – Venus On Earth [Reissue/2008] LP (MRI Associated)
Los Angeles based Cambodian and American band Dengue Fever released their first album (2003's self-titled) with no idea how it would be received. Was Khmer-rock, or the very idea of covering lost classic Cambodian songs, even something that would resonate with music fans? Would anyone in the indie community want to hear songs in Khmer? Would anyone in the world music community want to hear psych or garage rock? More than a decade and many releases later, the answer to all those questions is an emphatic yes.
The Distillers – Sing Sing Death House [Reissue/2002] LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Limited 20th Anniversary 'doublemint' color vinyl pressing of the second studio album by punk rock band The Distillers, originally released in 2002. The song "Seneca Falls" was featured in the game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
Lou Donaldson – Blues Walk [Reissue/1958] LP (Blue Note)
Lou Donaldson had already helmed seven Blue Note sessions by the time he made his undisputed masterpiece Blues Walk in 1958. Joining the saxophonist were Herman Foster on piano, Peck Morrison on bass, Dave Bailey on drums, and Ray Barretto on congas for a 6-song set that yielded one of his most memorable themes with the cool struttin' title track. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.
Ferkat Al Ard - Oghneya LP (Habibi Funk)
An absolutely legendary album from Lebanon by Issam Hajali’s group Ferkat Al Ard, “Oghneya” stands out as one of the great musical gems of the Arab world. A groundbreaking release from 1978 that represents the meeting point of Arab, jazz, folk and Brazilian styles with the talent of composer Ziad Rahbani, who did the album's arrangements. Filled with a variety of sounds and genres, from Baroque Pop to Psych-Folk to flashes of Bossa Nova, Tropicalia and MPB, “Oghneya” is like if Arthur Verocai took a trip to Beirut in the 70’s to record an album. The band was active in the left-wing movement of Lebanon of the time and they communicated their political ideas candidly through their songwriting. Comes with an extensive booklet with an interview with Issam as well as unseen photos from the recording sessions.
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella At The Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook CD/LP (Verve)
Previously unreleased 1958 Hollywood Bowl performance discovered in the private collection of Norman Granz; mixed from the original ¼" tapes by Grammy Award-winning producer/musician Gregg Field. Ella and the orchestra deliver peerless renditions, full of life and warmth, of some of Berlin's best-known work including such ballads as "How Deep Is The Ocean" and "Supper Time", the Hollywood songs "You're Laughing At Me" and "Get Thee Behind Me Satan", and uptempo numbers such as "Cheek To Cheek", "Top Hat", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", "Heat Wave", and "Puttin' On The Ritz".
Gunship – Gunship [Reissue/2015] LP (Horse In The Hedge)
The sixth-anniversary gold color vinyl release of the synth-pop group’s self-titled debut album. This set is inspired by the legendary gold Nintendo World Championship cartridges. The jacket features handwritten liner notes and doodles by the band detailing the cinematic influences that inspired the creation of the album.
Linda Hoover – I Mean To Shine CD/LP (Omnivore)
Unissued Gary Katz-produced 1970 album featuring members of the original Steely Dan line-up. In the summer of 1970, Linda Hoover, then 19, entered Manhattan's Advantage Sound Studio to cut her first album with Gary Katz, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen leading a team that also included guitarists (and future Steely Dan members) Denny Dias & Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, and Eric Weissberg, saxophonist Jerome Richardson, plus members of the Dick Cavett Orchestra. I Mean To Shine includes three original compositions by Linda alongside The Band's "In A Station" (from Music From Big Pink) and Stephen Stills' "4+20" (which appeared on CSN&Y's Déjà Vu). Almost half of the album was penned by the pre-Steely Dan songwriting duo of Becker and Fagen, including what would become the album's title track. [Vinyl was released for RSD Drops and we still have stock available.]
Jam & Lewis – Jam & Lewis: Volume One LP (BMG)
Grammy-winning producers and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis is one of the most successful production duos with an astonishing amount of hit records. They started this journey in music over 30 years ago creating hits for countless artist such as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, The Time, Usher, Mary J. Blige, New Edition, and the list goes on. The dynamic duo has created a body of work in Jam & Lewis: Volume One which represents the celebration of their journey. This album is another one of their timeless bodies of work with features from Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Toni Braxton just to name a few. [CD version due July 9.]
Phil Lynott + Thin Lizzy – Songs For While I'm Away + The Boys Are Back In Town (Live) CD+DVD/CD+DVD+Blu-ray (Mercury Studios)
Songs For While I’m Away is the story of how a young black boy from working class 1950s Dublin became one of Ireland's greatest rock stars. As lead singer of Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott was a songwriter, a poet, a dreamer, a wild man. The accompanying film gets to the heart of Philip, the father, the husband, the friend, the son, the rock icon, the poet, the dreamer. [Also included on CD+DVD (and Deluxe CD+DVD+Blu-ray box set) is Thin Lizzy’s famed October ’78 concert at the Sydney Opera House, featuring remixed audio & cleaned up picture. There is an option on the DVD to play the songs with the lost performances in the order they were performed the day of the show.]
The Magnetic Fields – The House Of Tomorrow [Reissue/1992] 12”+MP3 (Merge)
Cast your mind back to notable landmarks of 1992. Outside the Twin Cities, Mall of America opened to the public. Frank Gehry's enormous golden fish sculpture, El Peix, welcomed Barcelona Olympians. And The House of Tomorrow, a four-song 7-inch on a small indie label, ushered in a new era for The Magnetic Fields. Never released as a 12”, this 30th anniversary remastered edition includes the additional track "Alien Being" plus a vinyl etching on side B. [Peak vinyl opaque green vinyl.]
Christine McVie – Songbird (A Solo Collection) CD/LP (Rhino)
First ever compilation from rock & roll hall of famer highlights songs from her solo career, newly remastered by Glyn Johns, along with two unreleased studio recordings. Also includes new orchestral version of Fleetwood Mac classic "Songbird". [Indie store ‘brick and mortar’ exclusive green color vinyl.]
Porcupine Tree – Closure / Continuation 2xLP (Kscope)
Over the years Porcupine Tree (featuring Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri and Gavin Harrison) has constantly evolved as their expansive music has shifted from pastoral psychedelic rock and ambient electronic soundscapes to experimental pop and eventually - with 21st century masterpiece In Absentia - a propulsive metal sound all of their own. Their latter records effortlessly combined each of those genres and allowed Porcupine Tree to occupy a musical universe unique to them. One of the UK's most forward thinking, genre defying rock bands, returns in 2022 with their first new music in twelve years.
Sepultura – Live in São Paulo CD+DVD/2xLP (BMG)
Live In São Paulo is the second live album by Sepultura and includes tracks recorded on April 3rd, 2005. The film of this concert appears on the DVD, which also includes a documentary about the band from 1998-2005, some official videos, and the making of the album.
Eric Slick – Palisades [Reissue/2017] LP (ORG Music)
Palisades is the sophomore album from Eric Slick. Originally released in 2017, the album is steeped in psychedelia and often features a noticeably darker sound than his other work. Accented by reverb-drenched bursts of guitar and colorful synths, the record takes the listener on an introspective journey influenced by his experiences with meditation and dream therapy. The 8-song collection showcases Slick coming into his own as a songwriter, with Relix magazine calling it "sublime." Now available on limited-edition silver and indie store exclusive "golden eyeball" color vinyl.
These Arms Are Snakes – Oxeneers Or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home [Reissue/2004] LP (Jade Tree)
These Arms Are Snakes – Easter [Reissue/2005] LP (Jade Tree)
Vinyl reissues – including indie store exclusive colorways – of the post-hardcore/mathrock’s first two albums.
Cal Tjader – Solar Heat LP (Modern Harmonic)
Limited yellow color vinyl pressing. Vibraphone legend Cal Tjader's fusion of different genres and styles was an acute influence on Carlos Santana (and Latin rock as a whole). On Solar Heat he stirs in tastes of exotica, funk, and of course Latin and jazz elements on this sultry 1968 set of jazzed-up pop chestnuts and original bossas like the delicious "Fried Bananas".
Various Artists – Super Hits Of The ‘70s LP (Numero)
The ninth installment in Numero's Cabinet of Curiosities is 100% chart smashes. Culled from the depths of the private press, Super Hits gathers 12 magical adaptations from the Me Decade's introspective songbook. Pop this oversized 8-Track into your Fleetwood Weltron and enjoy a motley crew of lounge singers, wedding bands, synth enthusiasts, trailer park dreamers, accountants, gym teachers, and more as they bring their own unique energy to classics by Steely Dan, War, Boz Scaggs, Neil Diamond, John Denver, Smokey Robinson, The Carpenters, Redbone, The Box Tops, Fleetwood Mac, and more. Tape warble not included. [A gold color vinyl pressing is also available.]
billy woods - History Will Absolve Me 2LP (Backwoodz Studioz)
Deluxe reissue of the 2012 album. An explosive riot of bitter invective, evocative lyricism and daisycutter beats, History Will Absolve Me is a solid hour of hardboiled anti-nostalgia. The album features guest appearances by established stars like Roc Marciano, Vordul Mega (Cannibal Ox), MarQ Spekt, and Masai Bey, but also features up-and-coming talents Elucid and junclassic. Willie Green, A.M. Breakups, Marmaduke, Nasa (Def Jux/Uncommon Music) and Man Mantis handle the beats and provide a backdrop that matches the intensity of woods’ labyrinthine verses. Following on the heels of Cowardly Threats & Hideous Cruelty mixtape, HWAM is woods’ third official solo album, but with eight years between them, this is less a follow-up to his debut than it is a bare knuckle epilogue.
Warren Zevon – Preludes [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (New West)
Following Warren Zevon's death in 2003, his son Jordan Zevon discovered 126 unreleased outtakes and demos in a piano-sized touring case. This discovery would be distilled down to the best of these recordings and eventually released as a double-CD set titled Preludes released on May 1, 2007. When the album was released, it featured sixteen unreleased recordings from Zevon's personal archives, as well as six never-before released songs and a five-part 2000 interview with KGSR's Jody Denberg. This release will be pressed for the first time on black vinyl. This double LP set features all the exclusive bonus tracks as well as a beautiful 20-page perfect bound book, all packaged in a hardbound slipcase.