New Releases - 8/13/21

Hitting The Racks

Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's

New Releases

Samia – Scout 12" EP (Grand Jury)

Following the huge success of her The Baby and The Baby Reimagined albums, Samia's brand new EP Scout showcases her diverse musical palate, traversing the plains of gloriously infectious pop and atmospheric indie before serving up a winsome ballad and a cover of When In Rome's “The Promise” with Jelani Aryeh. [Limited edition red apple red vinyl. All copies at Grimey’s are signed by Samia!]

Acid Dad – Take It From The Dead LP (Ras)

Recently released on CD – now available on translucent yellow color vinyl. Acid Dad is an American alternative-rock band composed of singer-guitarists, Vaughn Hunt and Sean Fahey, and drummer, Trevor Mustoe. Take It From The Dead features an array of different influences ranging from 90's neo-psych, modern post-punk and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll.

Charli Adams – Bullseye LP (Ultra)

After writing for artists like Chloe Moriondo, Peach Pit and Valley, Charli Adams delivers her debut record Bullseye featuring guests Ruston Kelly, Nightly and Novo Amor. The album title is inspired by a nickname Justin Vernon gave her playing darts at a Nashville dive bar. Bullseye came to represent her more liberated self after a toxic, conservative, upbringing in Alabama where Adams was captain of the cheer team and a worship leader at church before leaving it all to pursue music in Nashville at age 17. [Limited edition bone color vinyl.]

Bendigo Fletcher – Fits Of Laughter CD/LP (Elektra)

Debut album from the Louisville, KY band. On Fits Of Laughter, frontman Ryan Anderson crafts the patchwork poetry of his lyrics by serenely observing the world around him. When matched with the band's gorgeously jangly collision of country and folk-rock and dreamy psychedelia, the result is story-songs graced with raw humanity, wildly offbeat humor, and a transcendent sense of wonder. [Limited edition violet color vinyl.]

Jade Bird – Different Kinds Of Light CD/2xLP/Cassette (Glassnote)

Acclaimed young British singer-songwriter Jade Bird returns with her sophomore record, Different Kinds Of Light. The RCA studios in Nashville and the North American country/alt-rock music scene feature heavily in the life cycle of this new album as that's where Jade recorded most of it with powerhouse producer Dave Cobb. In the studio with Cobb, the two let Jade's sound find its groove, joining tough ‘90s alt-rock and the melodicism of Blur and Oasis at their sweetest to the taut rattle of Iggy Pop's "The Passenger". There's also the spirit of Fleetwood Mac's pop epics. Stevie Nicks' "Storms" inspired Different Kinds Of Light's title track, written in summer 2019 while Jade toured the US with Jason Isbell and Father John Misty.

Caskets – Lost Souls LP (Sharptone)

Yellow & black color vinyl. It was Linkin Park's Chester Bennington that first ignited the spark in Caskets vocalist Matt Flood. The parallels are clear. Caskets' sound builds around Matt's dynamic vocals, honed through a range of previous musical endeavors, and perfectly complimenting the band's mastery of heavy and soft. But it's their forward-thinking attitude that better aligns both bands, Matt's vocal hero paving a new path for melody and metal, and Caskets now set to further reinvent expectations of metalcore and post-hardcore.

Lucinda Chua – Antidotes LP+MP3 (4AD)

Lucinda Chua is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and singer-songwriter based in South London with British, Malaysian and ancient Chinese heritage. She predominantly uses her voice, cello, effects and piano to write stunning pop ambient songs.

The Cold Stares – Heavy Shoes LP (Mascot)

Limited gold color 180gm vinyl pressing. Dirty fuzzed-up rock and roll meet blues, garage, desert rock and a Southern Gothic sensibility, an intense amalgam of Led Zeppelin meets Free, Soundgarden meets Black Crowes. [CD edition due August 27.]

Clarissa Connelly - The Voyager LP (CC Music)

The Copenhagen-based, Scottish-born composer Clarissa Connelly's music is evocative of the whimsical and almost child-like, tainted by an undercurrent of dark sensuality, disquietude, and existential dread. Characterized by complex arrangements and a broad array of instruments, effects and sounds, her songs orient the listener towards utopian beauty that lies somewhere between the baroque and the primordial. With an experimental approach to vocal techniques, her voice can manifest benevolent fay-like creatures as easily as banshees and maleficent spirits singing melodies that retain the accessibility typically associated with pop-music.

Cub Scout Bowling Pins – Clang Clang Ho LP (Guided By Voice)

Recently released on CD – now available on clear vinyl. Cub Scout Bowling Pins hop in the Magic Taxi, turn on the AM radio and time travel 40 to 45 years back in time. The project is mysteriously presented, but it's a thinly veiled alias of the ridiculously prolific and talented Guided By Voices. Minus the usual punk and prog influences, there are strong whiffs of bubble gum, psych and soft rock with sugary doses of ornate baroque pop.

El Michels Affair Meets Liam Bailey – Ekundayo Inversions CD/LP (Big Crown)

There has always been a reggae influence in the music of El Michels Affair. From their cover of “Hung Up On My Baby” done in a reggae style, to the general sound and approach that permeates Leon's production techniques. While recording Bailey's 2020 Ekundayo album, they did some straightforward reggae tunes inspired by different eras alongside some modern R&B tracks that would fit more comfortably next to Frank Ocean than Jacob Miller. It is this same notion that old and new can live so comfortably together that birthed the idea of Ekundayo Inversions. [Limited-edition translucent red vinyl.]

Foxing – Draw Down The Moon CD/LP (Hopeless)

An album about cosmic insignificance that was inspired by games such as Dungeons And Dragons and Zork, Draw Down The Moon was produced by Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra. [Indie exclusive hot pink vinyl.]

Joy Orbison – Still Slipping Vol. 1 LP (XL Recordings)

Joy Orbison’s new long-form project - a 14-track mixtape titled Still Slipping Vol. 1. – is a deeply personal project featuring close family members alongside a roll call of perfectly curated musical collaborators.

Jungle – Loving In Stereo CD/LP/Cassette (Caiola)

Jungle's new album Loving In Stereo is the soundtrack for a summer quite unlike any other. The British producer duo has created a huge disco record for the post-social distancing age, with a life-affirming, dancefloor-igniting, sun-kissed celebration of all the things that make music irresistibly joyful. [Limited-edition indie store exclusive marble vinyl, with value-added sticker sheet while supplies last.]

The Killers – Pressure Machine CD/LP (Island)

The Killers' seventh studio album, Pressure Machine, is about the small town of Nephi, Utah where frontman Brandon Flowers spent his youth. The songs are extremely personal and cover a spectrum of emotions in connection to growing up in a rural setting. The album was co-produced by the band, Shawn Everett, and Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), all of whom worked together on 2020's Imploding The Mirage. When the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the promotional run and worldwide tour for Imploding The Mirage, "everything came to this grinding halt," says Flowers. "And it was the first time in a long time for me that I was faced with silence. And out of that silence this record began to bloom, full of songs that would have otherwise been too quiet and drowned out by the noise of typical Killers records."

Lil Skies – Unbothered LP (Atlantic)

Minted as a rising star, Lil Skies named his 2019 chart-topping and now RIAA certified gold debut album, Shelby, after his mother. As a father himself now, the multiplatinum Waynesboro, PA rapper goes harder than ever on his second full-length offering, Unbothered.

Nadja ‎– Luminous Rot LP (Southern Lord)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Nadja is a duo of multi-instrumentalist Aidan Baker and bassist Leah Buckareff – active since 2005 – and making music which can be described as ambient doom, dreamsludge, or metalgaze. Nadja's signature sound combines the atmospheric textures of shoegaze and ambient/electronic music with the heaviness, density, and volume of metal, noise, and industrial. For their new album, Luminous Rot, the duo retains their overblown/ambient sound, and explore shorter and more tightly structured songs reflecting their interests not only in metal, but post-punk, cold-wave, shoegaze, and industrial.

Tom Odell – Monsters LP (RCA)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Brit Award and Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter and platinum-selling, chart-topping artist Tom Odell delivers his fourth album, Monsters. After a dark period of mental health stalked most of his 2018 and 2019, Odell wrote his way through it, eventually letting down his guard and pouring his feelings into new music. The album feels like both a daring creative rebirth and a solidifying of Odell's strengths.

Ben Platt – Reverie CD (Atlantic)

Revierie is “a collision of the many sides to Ben Platt. Tales of romantic turbulence are told with emotional availability, spotlighted with dramatic production and showered with unapologetic pop sensibilities that feel wonderfully euphoric. Enthused, Ben says; ‘Reverie refers to sort of a daydream, and when I think of daydreams, it's often subconsciously. They’re often about something that you aren't necessarily processing in your normal life, or that you aren't able to name yet in the kind of literal way. It’s like you are kind of dreaming in a way that's out of your control.’ There’s something enchantedly trance-like to Reverie. The vocal often becomes distorted and the tempo gracefully rises and falls like a beating heart. Slick, silky soundscapes leave amble space for exploration, allowing listeners to dive in and explore Ben’s imagination, his anxieties, and his hopes and dreams.” – Clash Music [Vinyl edition due next year.]

Watchhouse – Watchhouse CD/LP (Tiptoe Tiger Music)

Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz of Watchhouse – the critically acclaimed roots music duo who until recently were known as Mandolin Orange – deliver their new self-titled album. With the change of name comes an artistic rebirth: While still firmly rooted in poetic Appalachian folk, there's a sonic adventurousness informed by American primitivism and ambient soundscapes that gives Marlin and Frantz's songs a new, unknowable allure. Watchhouse is audacious, spectral music that wrestles with and finds magic in the relationships we build with our families, our society, our planet, and ourselves. [Limited-edition indie store exclusive translucent blue vinyl.]

Brandee Younger – Somewhere Different CD (Impulse!)

Brandee Younger is a performer, composer and educator. She leads her own ensemble and has worked with such musicians as Pharaoh Sanders, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Common. Somewhere Different was recorded in New York City and at the legendary Van Gelder Studios. The record evokes nostalgic black soul, informed by pioneering harpists Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby as well as '90s R&B groups like SWV and Xscape. The album features appearances by legendary bassist Ron Carter, and Tarriona Tank Ball.

Reissues, Compilations, Live Recordings & Vault Excavations...

Tori Amos ‎– Under The Pink [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Atlantic)

Featuring the unforgettable “Cornflake Girl”, Under The Pink entered the UK charts at #1 upon its 1994 release, and “God” topped the US modern rock charts. This edition has been recut by producer Jon Astley and delivers the original track listing across two LPs.

Babymetal – 10 Babymetal Years LP (Cooking Vinyl)

Recently released on CD – now available on color vinyl. Highlights from Babymetal's three studio albums Babymetal (2014), Metal Resistance (2016) and Metal Galaxy (2019). Formed in 2010 as a subset of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal fused heavy metal and J-Pop idol styles.

Sheryl Crow – Live From The Ryman And More 2xCD (Valory)

A 27-song set captured live in 2019 at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium, Los Angeles' cutting-edge Ace Theatre and the legendary Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. [Vinyl edition due September 3.]

John Denver ‎– Poems, Prayers & Promises [Reissue/1971] LP (Sony Legacy)

John Denver, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and Poet Laureate of Colorado, released over 20 studio albums in his three-decade career; 12 Gold and 4 Platinum to go along with a string of Gold singles. Poems, Prayers & Promises is arguably the album that put Denver on the map. Featuring his first worldwide hit and signature song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" the album also includes the enduring classics "Sunshine On My Shoulders", "I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado", and the title track "Poems, Prayers and Promises".

Explorer Tapes – Explorer Tapes CD/LP (Omnivore)

Previously unreleased debut pop album by Dallas/Fort Worth natives, produced by Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Fiona Apple, Twenty One Pilots.) The story of Explorer Tapes is a classic tale of popular music. Two guys from the Dallas/Fort Worth area take a lifelong friendship and decide to start a band. They gather some additional talented musicians from the surrounding area, write some songs, play some shows, make some videos, then pack everyone in a van and drive to Los Angeles with the hope of getting signed to a publishing company, a record label, or even better, both. This is, in fact, what happened to the group.

Grateful Dead – Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 2—Carousel 2-14-68 2xCD (Real Gone Music)

“The Grateful Dead's Valentine's Day 1968 performance at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco was only one of the many live and studio sources for Anthem Of The Sun, an elaborately edited and overdubbed effort the assembly of which stretched over many months.” – William Ruhlmann. “This is one of the hottest primal Dead shows ever recorded!” —Doyle Davis.

Wayne Horvitz - Dinner at Eight LP (Abstrakce Records)

Reissue of the inventive 1986 album where drum machines meet improv jazz. Horvitz, keyboard player of Naked City (along with John Zorn, Bill Frisell, and Fred Frith), fuses his classical musical education with radical jazz sensibilities and rock n' roll vitality. The rhythmic and sound design experiments of tracks such as "Dinner At Eight" or "Conjunction For C" go hand in hand with the machine funk of "This New Generation" (where angular bass and guitar are provided by Elliot Sharp). Joyous, exotic, and whimsical songs that prove how an ear for experimentation is an open ear to all sounds, including the most melodic and overtly fun. Brilliant fresh sensibilities and musical interests collide in Dinner At Eight to form a very special milestone of NYC avant-garde music, offering an even richer vision of that amazing fertile scene.

Jennifer Hudson – Respect [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] CD/2xLP (Epic)

Original soundtrack to the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect starring Jennifer Hudson. Features 18 tracks: 17 Aretha Franklin covers and one original, all performed by Jennifer Hudson.

Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise (Ten Year Edition) 2xLP

Ten year anniversary reissue. An uncompromising manifesto on traces of the past, love lost, and spectres of the future. Few are the producers of any age with the guts to ride a sub-100-bpm tempo at peak-time in the techno Mecca of Berlin, and fewer still are those who receive an ecstatic hands-in-the-air response for their precocious efforts. It is precisely this sense of risk which elevates Space Is Only Noise beyond the realm of valiant first effort or crossover dance music oddity. Those looking to wade through the sea of Jaar's potential influences will quickly find themselves in the deep waters of golden age Factory records, the home-spun digitalism of Mille Plateaux, Endtroducing-era DJ Shadow and Eric Satie. Crystal clear 2LP edition, pressed at 45 rpm.

Pearl Jam – No Code [Reissue/1996] LP (Epic)

Vinyl reissue of Pearl Jam’s fourth album. No Code was more diverse than what the band had done on previous releases, incorporating elements of garage rock and worldbeat.

The Poets Of Rhythm – Discern/Define [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (Daptone)

As pioneers in the burgeoning modern funk scene of the '90s The Poets of Rhythm created new standards, transcending the parameters lesser groups were defined by. With Discern / Define the Poets took their brand of classic funk to the next level by blending elements of rock, psychedelia, afro-beat, jazz and heavy, heavy drums to create a wholly original brand of transcendent, funky soul. [20th anniversary reissue with revisioned art, added gatefold sleeve and pressed on limited edition cosmic peach vinyl!]

Rainbow Kitten Surprise – RKS! Live From Athens Georgia 2xCD/3xLP (Elektra)

Genre-defying, Nashville-based quintet Rainbow Kitten Surprise release their first official live album, RKS! Live From Athens Georgia. The 25-song collection was recorded during a two-night stand at The Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA, on the band's 2019 sold out North American tour. [Vinyl edition features an etched D-side.]

Patrice Rushen ‎– Straight From The Heart [Reissue/1982] 2xLP (Strut)

Straight From The Heart is the biggest-selling release from versatile artist Patrice Rushen. Originally issued on Elektra in 1982 (her fourth LP for the label), it's a funk/soul/disco tour de force, with Rushen co-producing, co-writing and arranging all nine tracks.

Scritti Politti ‎– Cupid & Psyche 85 [Reissue/1985] LP (Rough Trade)
Scritti Politti ‎– Anomie & Bonhomie [Reissue/1999] 2xLP (Rough Trade)

Despite the series of radical shifts that underpinned its creation, Scritti Politti's second album Cupid & Psyche 85 achieved the virtually impossible. While everything was scaled up - the ambition, the sound, the audience - the singular artistic vision that drove the group not only remained intact and undiluted in these bigger surroundings, but became more inventive, more adventurous and, ultimately, more beloved. The group erupted back into life with 1999s Anomie & Bonhomie. Recalibrated, re-evaluated, re-imagined and, eventually, rewarded. Anomie & Bonhomie is the heady results of this artistic rebirth. Illuminated by the band's stylish pure pop spotlight, collaborations with Mos Def, Lee Majors and Wendy Melvoin give the record a neon-lit, nocturnal shimmer.

Joan Shelly – Ginko [Reissue/2012] LP (No Quarter)
Joan Shelly – Electric Ursa [Reissue/2014] LP (No Quarter)

Color vinyl pressings. Originally released in 2012 and long elusive to fans, Ginko is the starting point for Shelley, now revered for her songwriting, “dazzling poetic imagery” (The Guardian) and “radiant sense of calm” (NPR Music). Electric Ursa was recorded out of the spotlight in Louisville, Kentucky. A quiet, 8-song record which brought her to the national stage, prompting Pitchfork to state that “while the album isn't Shelley's debut, it is her absolute arrival.”

Silverstein ‎– When Broken Is Easily Fixed [Reissue/2003] LP (Craft Recordings)

Canary yellow color vinyl pressing of Silverstein's debut album; a jarring mixture of emo's earnest determination, elements of hardcore, catchy melodic hooks and even heavy metal.

Theatre West ‎– Bow To The People [Reissue/1976] 2xLP (Strut)

Formed by DJ/producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, VA, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James "Plunky" Branch returning to Richmond from New York to form Oneness Of Juju. The band's African Rhythms (1975) was the perfect fusion of jazz, deep African polyrhythms and empowering lyrics. It set the tone for a series of landmark releases on the label including Oneness Of Juju's Space Jungle Luv (1976) and debuts from soulman Wayne Davis (1976) and early go go pioneers Experience Unlimited (1977). Gray continued to use his influence and strong A&R instincts to bring in more key artists – great jazz players like Byard Lancaster and Hamiet Bluiett, Ghanaian master percussionist Okyerema Asante and talented collectives including Southern Energy Ensemble and music/drama troupe Theatre West.

Various Artists – Rip It Up: The Best Of Specialty Records CD/LP (Craft Recordings)

Rip It Up: The Best Of Specialty Records brings together some of the most important tracks to be released on the notable Los Angeles record label. Founded in 1945 by Art Rupe, Specialty Records made a giant impact in the fields of gospel, rock ‘n’ roll, and R&B. With legendary artists including Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Sam Cooke and Roy Milton - this compilation features 18 tracks that helped to shape R&B as we know it.

Yes – Songs From Tsongas - 35th Anniversary Concert 4xLP (earMUSIC)

Recorded in May 2004, the classic Yes line up Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White, joined forces to celebrate their historic career.