New Releases - 6/3/22
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
New Releases
Automatisme – Gap/Void CD/LP+MP3 (Constellation)
The debut collaborative album by Automatisme (Canadian producer William Jourdain) and Swiss field recordist, visual artist, writer/academic and psychogeographer Stefan Paulus, who first met through shared projects with Mille Plateaux/Force Inc, including contributions to the Ultrablack Of Music anthology. Gap/Void is based on field recordings made by Paulus during mountain expeditions in the Swiss Alps, the Caucasus, and the Arctic Circle-documenting stormy weather, high alpine winds, avalanches, and sounds emanating from glaciers and from the insides of crevices and caves. Paulus folded these recordings into hundreds of layers of sound (like the geological strata of their geographic sources) and sent these ambient/noise pieces to Jourdain as raw material for his bespoke Automatisme techniques.
AWOLNATION – My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers And Me LP (Better Noise Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. AWOLNATION's new album My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers And Me is a fiercely collaborative and celebratory project. It's an eclectic collection of masterfully crafted and carefully curated covers, with each track featuring at least one acclaimed musical artist. It includes epic re-imaginings of classics like "Wind Of Change" by the Scorpions, "Take A Chance On Me" by ABBA, and "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil; and features collaborations with artists like Portugal The Man, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Jewel, Beck, Taylor Hanson and more.
Battlelore – The Return Of The Shadow 2xCD (Napalm)
New album from the Finnish heavy metal band – their first in 10 years and 17thoverall. Named after Tolkien's original, but shelved, title for his legendary epic fantasy novel Fellowship Of The Ring, The Return Of The Shadow features nine Middle-earth themed songs that shine with the blistering aura the band has become known (and loved) for.
Andrew Bird – Inside Problems CD/LP (Loma Vista)
On his brand-new album Inside Problems, Andrew Bird acknowledges all the complex thoughts, questions and middle-of-the-night obsessions swirling around in each of us. Inside Problems is a collection of eleven original songs that take on those inner demons that run amok when things get especially quiet. It's a lush and rousing entry to his acclaimed, constantly evolving and perennially curious career. For Bird, the idea that kept coming back to haunt him was the unavoidable presence of thresholds: the moment when something becomes something else, when somewhere becomes somewhere else. The phenomenon appears in endless aspects of daily life, from the process of projecting internal feelings and dialogue to the outside environment, or the seemingly mundane experience of standing in the frame of the doorway, crossing state lines or any place where one is neither here nor there, but in between. These are the questions that course through Inside Problems - where is the threshold, who are we during the moments in between? [Indie store exclusive ‘apple red’ color vinyl pressing is available.]
Nicki Bluhm – Avondale Drive CD/LP (Compass)
Nicki Bluhm's creative confidence and authentic vocals are front and center on Avondale Drive, her sophomore solo album and the follow up to her critically acclaimed 2018 release To Rise You Gotta Fall. The native San Franciscan who now calls Tennessee home possesses a gorgeously emotive voice and her clear-eyed perspective on life informs the 10 tracks on the new release. [Indie store exclusive green vinyl.]
The Chainsmokers – So Far So Good LP (Columbia)
Recently released on CD – now available on white color vinyl. So Far So Good is the fourth studio album from Grammy award-winning and Billboard Chart topping artist/producer duo The Chainsmokers. The 13-track full-length album was written across Hawaii, Joshua Tree, New York City and L.A. from 2020 to 2021. It was written and produced by Alex Pall and Drew Taggart with additional contributions from frequent collaborators Emily Warren, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Whethan.
Chrome Canyon – Director LP (Stones Throw)
Chrome Canyon has long been inspired by original scores that are as revered as the films they soundtrack: Goblin's Suspiria, Wendy Carlos' A Clockwork Orange, Vangelis' Blade Runner, and Giorgio Moroder's Midnight Express. For his second album Director, Chrome Canyon creates his own soundtrack to an unmade film. Its pieces are intended to spark vivid, cinematic imagination.
Crobot – Feel This CD/LP (Mascot)
Riff-monsters Crobot conjures up the kind of rock 'n' roll that has grooves so powerful they throw you around the room and hooks high enough to shake the heavens. [Limited-edition translucent red vinyl.]
Lucy Dacus – Kissing Lessions b/w Thumbs Again 7”+MP3 (Matador)
After landing towards the top of too many year-end lists to count with 2021’s Home Video, Lucy Dacus is back with two new tracks “Kissing Lessons” and “Thumbs Again” on vinyl for the first time.
Drive-By Truckers – Welcome 2 Club XIII CD/LP (ATO)
Arriving as Drive-By Truckers enter their 26th year, Welcome 2 Club XIII marks a sharp departure from the trenchant commentary of The Unraveling and The New OK (both released in 2020). Produced by longtime DBT collaborator David Barbe and mainly recorded at his studio in Athens, GA, Welcome 2 Club XIII took shape over the course of three frenetic days in summer 2021 – a doubly extraordinary feat considering that the band had no prior intentions of making a new album. Featuring background vocals from the likes of Margo Price, R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, and Mississippi-bred singer/songwriter Schaefer Llana, Welcome 2 Club XIII was recorded live with most songs cut in one or two takes, fully harnessing Drive-By Truckers' freewheeling energy.
Mathias Eick – When We Leave LP (ECM)
Mathias Eick's playing, which according to the New York Times radiates a "pristine yet penetrating tone", is complemented by his supporting players. Violinist Håkon Aase shadows the leader with lines that reflect a profound background in jazz. Drummers Helge Andeas Norbakken and Torstein Lofthus mirror their exchanges with precision. Pianist Andras Ulvo and bass guitarist Audun Erlien ferry ideas between sections. The swell of Stian Carstensen's steel guitar adds a dimension of mystery.
El Perro – Hair Of LP (Alive)
El Perro is a new band led by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer Parker Griggs of Radio Moscow. The sound contains elements that fans of Radio Moscow will recognize, but this is rock music with a new, fresh spin and feel. The band's debut album, Hair Of El Perro, takes heavy psychedelic rock as a starting point but jams into more syncopated territory, spicing it's sound with Latin rhythms and hints of Funkadelic-style grooves. You could say that El Perro plays psychedelic funk rock, and you wouldn't be wrong.
Fantastic Negrito – White Jesus Black Problems CD/LP (Storefront)
Fantastic Negrito's new album and short film White Jesus Black Problems was inspired by a search into his ancestry where he found that his 7th generation grandmother was a Scottish indentured servant who entered into a common law marriage with an African American enslaved man, his 7th generation grandfather, in open defiance of the racist laws of 1750's colonial Virginia. Their love story is a healing testament to standing up against inhumane and brutal systems with love as your only weapon. Their perseverance is a lesson in today's polarized society on the virtues of constant struggle in the face of ignorance, fear, and violence, which is still present in the contemporary embodiments of white supremacy, bigotry, and hatred. It's important to tell the story of how those who suffered much greater indignities and violence than we do in contemporary times were nonetheless able to preserve their humanity through human connection and the determination to love. If they can do it in 1759, we can do it 2022. [Indie store exclusive tan color vinyl.]
Michael Franti & Spearhead – Follow Your Heart CD (Boo Boo Wax)
“Follow Your Heart is all about resilience, connection, and joy. How we reunite with our souls, our power, our loves, and our heart as we go through the greatest challenges our world has seen. I wanted to make a record that was uplifting and vulnerable. These songs have all been written during the pandemic, a time in which I lost my father to Covid, lost my job (as a touring musician), and leaned on my wife, family and friends and found a closeness with them that I never knew before. I laughed louder, played harder, cried deeper and danced with more freedom than I've ever felt during this crazy time - this music reflects it all.” – Michael Franti [Vinyl edition due August 12.]
Gauntlet Rule – The Plague Court LP (Target)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Debut album from the Swedish heavy metal band.
Mary Gauthier – Dark Enough To See The Stars CD/LP (In The Black)
As she has so eloquently accomplished over the past 25 years, acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier has used her art once again to traverse the uncharted waters of the past few years. "I'm the kind of songwriter who writes what I see in the world right now," she affirms. Thankfully, amid dark storms of pandemic loss, she found and followed the beacon of new love: Her gift to us, the powerful Dark Enough To See The Stars, collects ten sparkling jewels of Gauthier songcraft reflecting both love and loss. On Dark Enough To See The Stars, she mourns recent devastating losses: the deaths of John Prine, David Olney, Nanci Griffith, and her beloved friend Betsy. But she also sings open-heartedly of love. [Signed copies available in the shop and in the Grimey's webstore.]
S.G. Goodman – Teeth Marks CD/LP (Verve Forecast)
Teeth Marks is steeped in Kentucky rock 'n' roll truth teller S.G. Goodman's signature caustic wit and social commentary, specifically exploring the various and often painful indelible marks that love can leave behind. Mining garage rock, Appalachian folk and post-punk influence, the album finds Goodman's stirring vocals draped in a sonic patchwork of southern indie rock. The title track, which recounts dating as a queer woman and facing the jarring reality of unrequited love over a swirling guitar lick, was debuted via Rolling Stone, who stated, "Goodman launches a wounded plea at an unavailable lover. Verses and choruses collide with instrumental passages of ethereal beauty, the clouds of ringing feedback calling to mind the mellower side of Yo La Tengo... Her voice glasslike and flecked with pain." [All vinyl copes at Grimey’s are signed by S.G. Goodman! Available in the shop and in the Grimey’s webstore.]
T Gowdy – Miracles LP+MP3 (Constellation)
A captivating collection of minimal IDM and oscillated electronics, working primarily in a 120-140 BPM zone of tonal percussion and corrugated pulse. Gowdy's sensibility and sound palette gets deeper and dirtier, summoning new pathways of grainy transcendence and abraded euphoria, each component in the mix heated and heightened to an unornamental and earnest form of mantric-industrial majesty: live, corporeal, activated electronic music of the highest caliber, deployed with monastic and meditative focus.
Tord Gustavsen – Opening CD (ECM)
On Opening, Tord Gustavsen reveals a fresh angle to his particularly unique trio investigations into Scandinavian folk hymns, gospel, chorale, and jazz. With a new fellow-traveler on board, the trio discovers inspired new ways to interact with each other, using innovative approaches to sound and technique in the process. The group's conversations bring an enticing unfamiliarity to the language the Norwegian pianist has developed over almost two decades of collaboration with ECM.
Horsegirl – Versions Of Modern Performance CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Horsegirl are best friends. You don't have to talk to the trio for more than five minutes to feel the warmth and strength of their bond, which crackles through every second of their debut full-length, Versions Of Modern Performance. Penelope Lowenstein (guitar, vocals), Nora Cheng (guitar, vocals), and Gigi Reece (drums) do everything collectively, from songwriting to trading vocal duties and swapping instruments to sound and visual art design. “We made [this album] knowing so fully what we were trying to do,” the band says. “We would never pursue something if one person wasn't feeling good about it. But also, if someone thought something was good, chances are we all thought it was good.” Horsegirl expertly play with texture, shape, and shade across Versions Of Modern Performance, showcasing their fondness for improvisation and experimentation.
Jasmyn – In The Wild CD (ANTI-)
Jasmyn is the new solo project created by Jasmyn Burke, former singer-songwriter and frontwoman of the critically acclaimed Canadian band, Weaves. Having two JUNO nominations for Alternative Album of the Year and two SOCAN Songwriting Prize nominations, Burke has established herself as one of Canada's most exciting and fresh voices. With this new project, she has decided to use her own name, Jasmyn, to mark the start of exploring her own unique sound as a solo artist. Collaborating remotely with Los Angeles-based producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten) on a body of work she had compiled over months of being in lockdown. Finally in the Spring of 2021, Jasmyn went to L.A. to record with Congleton, exploring themes of finding patterns in life and how to perhaps change them. [Vinyl edition due June 24.]
Mason Jennings – Real Heart LP (Loosegroove Inc.)
Released earlier this year on CD – now available on indie store exclusive blue vinyl. Mason Jennings’ new album Real Heart was produced by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. "I'm very excited to be working with Loosegroove Records and to have had Regan Hagar and Stone Gossard produce this album. We made the unabashed folk record that I have been wanting to make for years. Kind of a love letter to the acoustic guitar and to musical intimacy. It was recorded in Minnesota and Seattle and features some rich and wonderful instrumentation including horns and strings. The cover art is a woven wall hanging that my wife Josie made that is hanging on our lake house wall. That sets the tone: warmth, home, and intimacy. Hope you enjoy!" – Mason Jennings
Austin Jenckes – If You Grew Up Like Did LP (Anthem)
If You Grew Up Like I Did is the debut album by country singer/songwriter Austin Jenckes. To hear Austin sing could be equated to being taken to church due to his songs being laced with dynamic, soaring melodies and introspective life-lived lyrics. Stylistically, his music makes you long for a simpler time when the world moved a little slower and things felt a bit purer. Jenckes's best songs are direct dispatches from the never easy, but unquestionably rich life he's lived.
Jens Lekman – The Linden Trees Are Still In Blossom CD/2xLP+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)
Jens Lekman – The Cherry Trees Are Still In Blossom CD/2xLP+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)
Lekman's impulse for giving old music fresh life and context has led him to remake the records under new names, each delicately positioned in dialogue with the past - the same albums, just different. The Cherry Trees Are Still In Blossom and The Linden Trees Are Still In Blossom are a pair of lovingly and painstakingly assembled reduxes, each keeping the same core tracklisting, spirit and source material as the originals, but blending brand new versions of some tracks, in part or in whole, together with many tracks left largely as they were. Both records are fleshed out with rare, previously unreleased, and even previously unfinished old songs, as well as other contemporaneous material such as cassette diaries. [Baby pink and crystal clear (respectively) color vinyl pressings are available.]
Lettuce – Unify CD/2xLP (Round Hill)
Unify serves as the eighth studio album from six-piece Lettuce and the third consecutive record made at Denver's Colorado Sound Studios, completing a loose trilogy starting with 2019's Grammy-nominated Elevate, and continuing with 2020's Resonate. Fans can expect the same tight, wildly funky instrumentals Lettuce has always been known for, but in the tightest form they've ever taken. And this time around, the guys have gotten the stamp of approval from one of the genre's most legendary icons, Bootsy Collins, who can be heard singing on the track "Keep That Funk Alive". A totally collaborative effort, there are exciting cuts full of brilliant lyrics and arrangements from Hall (whom Coomes calls "one of the greatest singers ever") and fiery horn parts from Bloom. [Limited-edition gold vinyl.]
Magnolia Park – Halloween Mixtape LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Comprised of lead vocalist Joshua Roberts, guitarists Tristan Torres and Freddie Criales, bassist Jared Kay, drummer Joe Horsham, and keyboardist Vincent Ernst, Magnolia Park has recorded almost all their output to date with Audio Compound producers Andrew Wade and Andy Karpovck. The first iteration of the band formed in 2019, with a mission of inventively fusing genres while increasing inclusivity in the punk world. " An up-close portrait of a long-distance relationship, new single "Back Home" took shape from a demo created by Ernst (a dual citizen who mainly lives in Germany). The track perfectly encapsulates the potent tension at the heart of Magnolia Park, unfolding in moody guitar work, dreamy textures, thrashing rhythms, and sing-along-ready melodies. Another track showcasing the cathartic power of their sound, the wildly catchy "Tonight" feat. Lil Lotus also explores a bittersweet emotional experience. The follow-up to their early 2021 EP Dream Eater, Halloween Mixtape features such standout tracks as "Kids Like Us," an anthem for all those who've struggled with being marginalized.
Charlie Musselwhite – Mississippi Son CD/LP (Alligator)
Grammy award-winning blues icon returns to his Delta blues roots for the most captivating musical statement of his long and legendary career. Charlie's first new solo studio release in seven years is stripped-down and semi-acoustic, driven by his deft guitar playing, while also featuring the masterful harp and soul-deep vocals for which he is famed. Mississippi Son is front porch country blues that is at turns raucous and languid, haunting, and impossibly soulful. [Limited-edition translucent blue vinyl.]
Angel Olsen – Big Time CD/2xLP/Cassette (Jagjaguwar)
Big Time is an album about the expansive power of new love, but this brightness and optimism is tempered by a profound and layered sense of loss. During Olsen's process of coming to terms with her queerness and confronting the traumas that had been keeping her from fully accepting herself, she felt it was time to come out to her parents, a hurdle she'd been avoiding for some time. After that tearful but relieving conversation, she celebrated with her partner, their friends, oysters, and wine. Three days later, her father died; his funeral became the occasion for Olsen to introduce her partner to her family. Though she was fearful their presence as a newly out queer couple would be "an additional symbol of loss," those days went peacefully, yet only two weeks later Olsen got the call that her mother was in the ER. Hospice came soon after, and a second funeral came quickly on the heels of the first. Another trip back to St. Louis, another grief to face, another deepening and intensification of this still-new love. Three weeks after her mother's funeral she was in the studio, recording this incredibly wise and tender album. [Limited-edition opaque pink vinyl. Available in the shop and in the Grimey's webstore.]
Adrian Quesada – Boleros Psicodélicos CD/LP (ATO)
Adrian Quesada delivers Boleros Psicodélicos, a sprawling and singular tribute to the golden era of Latin America psychedelic ballads. The brand-new album from the Grammy-winning guitarist, producer and Black Pumas co-founder serves as a celebration of the super funky, slightly delirious, and deeply soulful sounds that transcended the cultural boundaries of Latin America throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. The LP features vocals from Puerto Rican icon, Grammy-winner, and former Calle 13 member iLe, Colombian American visionary Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Mexican R&B star Girl Ultra, as well as Angelica Garcia, Gaby Moreno, contributions from living legends such as Marc Ribot and Beastie Boys musician Money Mark. [Limited-edition red vinyl.]
Spaceface – Anemoia CD/LP (ORG Music)
Spaceface is a self-described "retro futurist dream rock" (but you can call them psychedelic-pop) band from Memphis, TN and Los Angeles, CA, active since 2012 and including current and past members of The Flaming Lips and Pierced. Their unique alloy of dream-pop, funk rock and post-disco, charged by the Sun, ultimately shines way past our collective bedtime, akin to a glow-in-the-dark Slime Science Lab kit. [Limited-edition orange swirl color vinyl.]
Luke Steele – Listen To Water CD/LP (Harvest)
Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Luke Steele's debut solo album, Listen To The Water, began in the gathering storm of late 2019. A fourth Empire Of The Sun album was on hold, a global pandemic was on the horizon and L.A. was conspiring to set Luke and his family adrift on a new adventure. The album is a work of pointed words cloaked in a richly swirling atmosphere, capturing the blend of innocence and wisdom, which questions without the need for answers. Pedal steel dances among the acoustic guitars and percussive nuances.
Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am The Moon: I. Crescent CD (Fantasy)
The fifth studio project from the Tedeschi Trucks band is the most ambitious and, at the same time, intimate record that America's best rock 'n' roll big band has ever made: a genuinely epic undertaking in four episodes and 24 songs inspired by classical literature but emotionally driven by the immediate drama, isolation and mourning of the pandemic era. [Vinyl edition due September 9.]
Temple Of Void – Summoning The Slayer CD/LP (Relapse)
Cave dwellers Temple Of Void finally return from the inky abyss on their highly anticipated new album, Summoning The Slayer. The critically acclaimed, Michigan-based quintet - featuring Alex Awn (guitars), Don Durr (guitars), Mike Erdody (vocals), Jason Pearce (drums), and Brent Satterly (bass) - hunkered down during the last two years, expanding upon their brand of fusty, artfully brutish death-doom with equal parts process and imagination. The outcome is an album that feels massive yet sepulchral, exploratory yet distinguishable-as if crafted deep below and inspired by all the things (mentally and physically) that come with their subterranean endeavor. [Limited-edition orange vinyl.]
They Hate Change – Finally, New CD/LP (Jagjaguwar)
You want homegrown DIY? This is a record that was written, produced, and recorded in a 150-square-foot bedroom from the least cool city you could think of. Finally, New is what a truly post-genre musical landscape is supposed to be: building deep connections that transcend outdated distinctions between them, spilling over with the joy of exploration and possibility, and daring other artists to think broader, go deeper, take bigger risks. It's not just a hip-hop record with a couple more weird sounds. [Limited-edition coke bottle clear vinyl.]
Weird Nightmare – Weird Nightmare LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Limited ‘Loser Edition’ on transparent cotton-candy swirl vinyl. If you're looking for a raw, sugary blast of distorted pop, look no further than Weird Nightmare. The debut album from METZ guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins contains all his main band's bite with an unexpected, yet totally satisfying, sweetness. Imagine The Amps covering Big Star, or the gloriously hissy miniature epics of classic-era Guided by Voices combined with the bombast of Copper Blue-era Sugar - just tons of red-line distortion cut with the type of tunecraft that thrills the moment it hits your ears.
Immanuel Wilkens – The 7th Hand 2xLP (Blue Note)
Released in January on CD – now available on vinyl. Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins follows-up his acclaimed debut, Omega, with another striking album featuring his remarkable quartet with pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Daryl Johns, and drummer Kweku Sumbry, plus appearances by flutist Elena Pinderhughes and the Farafina Kan Percussion Ensemble. It consists of an hour-long suite comprised of seven movements that strive to bring them closer to complete vesselhood by the end, where the music would be entirely improvised and channeled collectively.
Eli Young Band – Love Talking LP (Valory)
Musical band of brothers, Eli Young Band, play their own instruments, write their own songs and cling fast to their Texas roots. The trailblazing group has come a long way since their formation in 2000 at the University of North Texas, with the multi-Platinum hitmakers' dynamic career producing multiple chart-topping and platinum singles. Love Talking is the band's sixth studio album. [Limited-edition translucent yellow vinyl.]
Reissues, Compilations, Live Recordings & Vault Excavations...
Animals As Leaders – Animals As Leaders [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (Prosthetic)
Two colorways are available: pink and yellow. When Tosin Abasi released his self-titled debut solo album under the moniker Animals as Leaders in 2009, few would have predicted the band's meteoric rise over the following 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. A collaboration between Abasi and Periphery's Misha Mansoor (who produced, mixed, mastered, engineered and programmed the album), Animals As Leaders' impact on modern metal cannot be overstated, as it somehow managed to be both genre-defying and genre-defining.
Chuck Armstrong – Shackin’ Up [Reissue/1976] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited red color vinyl pressing. Scandalously scarce Southern soul originally released on the extremely rare R&R label in 1976. Shackin' Up was the only LP released by well-traveled soul man Chuck Armstrong, who also recorded for such imprints as Nashville's Sound Stage 7, Detroit's Black Rock, and Miami's Drive, and it's simply an amazing one-off, with production by the great George Kerr (Whatnauts, Linda Jones, Manhattans, Phyllis Hyman) and a brace of strong songs headlined by the single "Give Me All Your Sweet Lovin'." And while most of the album is sweet 'n' spicy Southern soul, special mention must be made of the song "You've Got to Deal with It (This Superworld)," a tantalizingly powerful, seven minute-long, socially conscious soul epic that suggests Armstrong could have followed the politically aware path to stardom trod by Marvin Gaye, The O'Jays, and Curtis Mayfield.
Danny Barker – Save The Bones [Reissue/1988] LP (501 Record Club LLC)
Danny Barker rose to prominence during the ‘30s and ‘40s while performing on more than 1000 recordings. On this definitive record, made when he was 79 years old, Barker is heard singing and playing guitar unaccompanied on a variety of standards and obscurities. Limited-edition gray color vinyl pressing.
Clutch – Robot Hive / Exodus [Reissue/2005 LP+7” (Weathermaker Music)
Weathermaker Records presents a series of Clutch catalog releases reimagined and individually curated by one of the band members and reissued as part of the Clutch Collector's Series. The artwork is in the vein of the original yet strikingly different. The vinyl releases are remastered and manufactured on colored 180gm vinyl which in turn is stored in extra heavy sleeves. The gatefold jackets are printed on metalized polyester paper and each album includes a numbered insert autographed by all band members.
Death Grips - The Money Store LP (Epic)
RSD Essentials reissue. Death Grips are angry. It's unclear why. But on their major-label debut, the Sacramento noise group's monomaniacal desire to rain down fiery destruction on the powers-that-be is crystal-clear, even if nothing else is on The Money Store, even if nothing else-- where the hell this album came from; who plays which instrument; what the lead singer is yelling about; and what on earth this band of insurgents is doing signing an Epic Records contract with L.A. Reid-- makes much sense at all. - Pitchfork 8.7 [Indie exclusive half black/half white color vinyl.]
Dødheimsgard (DHG)– 666 International [Reissue/1999] LP (Peaceville)
To fans of black metal, Dødheimsgard need no introduction, being one of the great purveyors of the Norwegian Black Metal creative evolution. The band was formed in 1994 by Aldrahn (Thorns) & Vicotnik (Ved Buens Ende). The early incarnation was that of a raw and at often melodic black metal band, with their debut album also featuring Fenriz of Darkthrone on bass. In recent years, Dodheimsgard has become known for its eclectic musical ventures & poignant mood shifts, with a less chaotic, more considered approach compared to their earliest works.
East Coast – East Coast [Reissue/1973] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited orange and black color vinyl pressing housed in gatefold jacket. The only conceivable reason this 1973 album isn't generally recognized as a soul-funk classic is because it came out on Bernard Purdie's Encounter label, which mustered only five LP releases before it folded. Not only does East Coast boast the inimitable vocal stylings of the great Gwen Guthrie (only her second appearance on record), but it also features the recording debuts of two Cameo stalwarts, keyboardist Gregory Johnson and bandleader Larry Blackmon.
Freddie Hubbard – Breaking Point [Reissue/1964] LP (Blue Note)
Freddie Hubbard’s Breaking Point, recorded in May 1964 shortly after Hubbard left Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the quintet - with James Spaulding, Ronnie Mathews, Eddie Khan, and Joe Chambers - moves assuredly from free-form playing and modal jazz to the blues and balladry on this 6-song set of originals by Hubbard and Chambers. Part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet Series featuring all-analog, remastered sound and deluxe gatefold packaging.
The Kills – No Wow (The Tchad Blake Mix 2022) CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
On their seminal second album, 2005’s No Wow, The Kills established the ethos that would set the tone for their expansive career - capture the rawest emotions and sounds, and then push them to the furthest possible edge. The band is celebrating No Wow's 15-year anniversary with a deluxe reissue featuring the original recording and a fresh new mix by the multiple Grammy Award-winning Tchad Blake (The Black Keys, Fiona Apple, Arctic Monkeys) that brings new life to the 11 vivid tracks. [Indie store exclusive gold vinyl.]
Killswitch Engage – Live At The Palladium 2xCD+Blu-ray (Metal Blade)
On August 6, 2021, Killswitch Engage unleashed a streaming event that took fans by storm. The event took place at The Palladium in Worcester in the band's native Massachusetts, which has been the site of many iconic KsE shows throughout the band's history. The performance setlist consists of 2019's Atonement album in full, along with the 2000-released self-titled album in full – with some fun and unexpected surprises along the way. [A limited-edition translucent blue color vinyl pressing is available for special order.]
Kingston Trio – Greatest Hits [Reissue/1990] LP (Curb)
Known as the originators of the folk music craze of the ‘60s, the original Kingston Trio consisted of Dave Guard on banjo, Bob Shane on guitar, and Nick Reynolds on guitar and bongos, with all three on vocals. They introduced a sound that was destined to revolutionize the recording and entertainment industry, and influence a generation of students, adults, and teenagers alike. The songs and performances spotlighted in this collection are all bona fide hits.
Mabu’s Madness - M² (M-Square) [Reissue/1971] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited 'fire orange with black streaks' color vinyl pressing. Another insanely rare and highly coveted soul-funk gem from the tiny Maple label, which was part of Sylvia Robinson's All Platinum empire, and punched way above its weight when it came to '70s R&B. The one creative constant at the imprint was producer Johnny Brantley, who worked with everybody from Lee Moses to the Ohio Players to Lou Donaldson and even produced some early sides with Jimi Hendrix.
My Dying Bride – For Darkest Eyes [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Peaceville)
My Dying Bride has been the leading light of doom metal since the debut album As The Flower Withers was released in 1992. Influenced by acts such as Celtic Frost & Candlemass, the British band's heavy atmospherics have carved a huge worldwide following over the years to stand as one of the true enduring and distinguishable pillars of the genre.
Origami Angel – Quiet Hours [Reissue/2017] 12” (Counter Intuitive)
Originally released in 2017 and out of print since 2018, this EP introduced Origami Angel as one of the most exciting bands in a new wave of pop punk.
Os Mutantes – World Psychedelic Classics 1: Everything Is Possible – The Best Of Os Mutantes LP (Luaka Bop)
Limited orange color vinyl pressing in gatefold jacket. The late '60s in Brazil produced an explosion of new sounds and ideas that still reverberate throughout the world... during that time, Os Mutantes' creative cannibalism produced psychedelic gems unlike anything else in the world. They were exactly what their name implies: a mutant genetic recombination of elements of John Cage, The Beatles, and Bossa Nova. A creature too strange and beautiful to live for very long, but too strong ever to fade away. It lives again.
Prince and The Revolution – Live 2xCD+Blu-ray/3xLP (Legacy)
James Brown had the Apollo. Jimi Hendrix had Monterey Pop. And Prince had Syracuse, New York's Carrier Dome – the Purple Rain Tour performance that was beamed to millions live via satellite and captured for posterity in the Grammy Award-nominated concert film Prince and The Revolution Live and has since gone down in history as one of the most iconic live recordings in pop and rock history. For the first time, this powerful performance by Prince and The Revolution has been entirely remixed from the original 2" multitrack master reels by engineer Chris James and remastered by Bernie Grundman.
Max Roach – Members, Don’t Git Weary. [Reissue/1968] LP (Real Gone Music)
Max Roach wasn't just one of the greatest drummers and percussionists in jazz history; he was also one of the greatest bandleaders in all of jazz, able to adapt his playing to an innumerable array of styles, from bop to free, and blessed with a keen eye and ear for talent. And he always, always kept pushing himself and his bandmates to find new modes of musical expression throughout his six-decade career. Speaking of modes, this 1968 release on the Atlantic label is one of his finest albums, a masterpiece of modal jazz featuring a crack outfit of saxman Gary Bartz, trumpeter Charles Tolliver, bassist Jymie Merritt, pianist Stanley Cowell (composer of half the tracks on the album including the gem "Equipoise"), and, on the title track, vocalist Andy Bey. [A limited-edition pink color vinyl pressing is available.]
Saigon Kick – Saigon Kick [Reissue/1991] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited purple color vinyl pressing. Includes lyric sheet/inner sleeve. The gleefully raucous 1991 self-titled debut from this Miami band covered all the alternative and heavy metal bases, and while it didn't score a commercial home run, it was still a prodigious clout (kick?) courtesy of guitarist/songwriter Jason Bieler.
George Scott – Find Someone To Love LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited green color vinyl pressing. This soul-funk nugget, released in the early '70s on the uber-collectible Maple label, qualifies as a major find based on George Scott's Wilson Pickett-meets-James-Brown vocal stylings and the meaty production of Johnny Brantley (Lee Moses, Ohio Players) alone. But when you consider that Jimi Hendrix played guitar on one of these tracks ("Sweetthang"), well then, folks, you've upped the collector ante considerably.
Frank Sinatra – Watertown [Reissue/1070] CD/LP (Frank Sinatra Enterprises)
Released in 1970, Watertown is a lost masterpiece and turning point for Frank Sinatra: a concept album written by Bob Gaudio and Jake Holmes. It has gone through a re-evaluation in recent years and is now considered one of Sinatra's finest recordings. All tracks have been newly mixed from the original session tapes.
Sonny & Cher – All I Ever Need Is You [Reissue/1972] LP (Anagram Music)
All I Ever Need Is You, the fourth studio album by Sonny & Cher, was certified gold in 1972. This release marks the first vinyl reissue in almost 50 years. Produced by Snuff Garrett (Bobby Vee, Nancy Sinatra), it includes the title track which peaked at #1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 1973, as well as some of their classic songs such as Sonny's "Somebody" and "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done", as well as a cover of the Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand".
Stoney & Meatloaf – Everything Under The Sun: The Motown Recordings 2xCD (Real Gone Music)
This double-CD, 28-track anthology premieres the original 1971 Stoney & Meatloaf album on CD and adds rare singles including both sides of Stoney's solo Motown 45rpm 7”. It also premieres six never-before-heard Stoney solo cuts (including songs by Bob Gaudio, Jerry Fuller, and Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham) and brand-new mixes restoring the duo's complete vocals to the outtakes which premiered on Meatloaf’s 1978"s controversial reissue Featuring Stoney & Meatloaf.
Toto - IV LP (Columbia)
RSD Essentials reissue. It was do or die for Toto on the group's fourth album, and they rose to the challenge. Largely dispensing with the anonymous studio rock that had characterized their first three releases, the band worked harder on its melodies, made sure its simple lyrics treated romantic subjects, augmented Bobby Kimball's vocals by having other group members sing, brought in ringers like Timothy B. Schmit, and slowed down the tempo to what came to be known as "power ballad" pace. Most of all, they wrote some hit songs: "Rosanna," the old story of a lovelorn lyric matched to a bouncy beat, was the gold, Top Ten comeback single accompanying the album release; "Make Believe" made the Top 30; and then, surprisingly, "Africa" hit number one ten months after the album's release. [Indie exclusive bloodshot red vinyl.]
Various Artists – DFA Compilation #2 [Reissue/2004] 4x12” (DFA)
An essential release of early DFA singles, released in November 2004, the same month as the debut album from LCD Soundsystem. Includes The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, Pixeltan, The Juan Maclean, Black Leotard Front, Liquid Liquid, Black Dice, and more. "A meticulously assembled personal narrative from a label that balances it's musical and commercial aspirations with an earthy, no-bullshit disposition and-let's say it-the world's best f***ing handclaps... Best New Music 9.0" – Pitchfork. "One of the most consistently creative indie labels... 4.5/5" – AllMusic. "A perfect snapshot of a label at the top of its game... one of the year's most essential collections." – PopMatters
Alan Vega – Saturn Strip [Reissue/1983] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited ‘highlighter yellow’ vinyl pressing. Alan Vega's work with Suicide is revered by just about every electronic music artist who's tapped a keyboard or moved a mouse; his snarling, rockabilly-styled vocals teamed with Martin Rev's ominous, repetitive soundscapes blazed a trail for post-punk, synth pop, industrial rock, techno... The list goes on. Vega's solo career substantially overlapped with his Suicide recordings; this 1983 release, his first for a major label (Elektra), was his bid for commercial success, enlisting Ric Ocasek of the Cars (who had produced the second Suicide record) to produce and recruiting a young Al Jourgenson (who had just founded Ministry) to play keyboards.
Gerald Wilson – Moment Of Truth [Reissue/1962] LP (Blue Note)
Gerald Wilson's 1962 album, Moment Of Truth features his dynamic big band on an action-packed 9-song set (7 of which were composed by Wilson) with highlights including the swaggering blues of the title track, the irrepressible Latin groove of "Viva Tirado", and a fleet-footed version of Miles Davis's "Milestones." Part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet Series featuring all-analog, remastered sound and deluxe gatefold packaging.
Amy Winehouse – Live At Glastonbury 2007 2xLP (Republic)
In celebration of the return of Glastonbury Festival in 2022, Amy Winehouse’s 2007 Pyramid Stage set is available on vinyl for the first time.
Neil Young – Royce Hall 1971 LP (Reprise)
Recently release on CD – now available on vinyl. During Neil Young's long and storied career, some of his concerts have gained mythic status, thanks to the practice of bootlegging. Recorded on January 30, 1971, this previously unreleased concert was performed at gorgeous Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, near the end of the singer/songwriter's 1971 solo tour. Young played 16 solo acoustic numbers that night, accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica. The track list features beloved classics like "Old Man", "Heart Of Gold", "Ohio", "Cowgirl In The Sand", "Don't Let It Bring You Down", and "Down By The River", plus the timeless version of "The Needle And The Damage Done" that appears on 1972's Harvest, one of the greatest albums of all time.
Neil Young – Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971 LP (Reprise)
Recently release on CD – now available on vinyl. A famous bootleg titled I'm happy that y'all came down. A live solo acoustic show recorded at Los Angeles Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on February 1, 1971. This was the last night of Neil's 1971 solo tour, that also featured the shows have been released as the much-loved albums Massey Hall and Young Shakespeare. The show was marked by the first time Neil played harmonica live. This album features 15 songs including "On The Way Home", "Heart of Gold", "The Needle And The Damage Done", and "A Man Needs A Maid".