New Releases - 9/13/19
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
Jump to… New Releases Reissues & From The Vaults New on Vinyl DVD & Blu-Ray Soundtracks Compilations
New Releases
Jeremy Ivey - The Dream And The Dreamer CD/LP (ANTI-)
Nashville-based performer Jeremy Ivey has operated in the background for years, initially performing in bands like Secret Handshake and country-soul group Buffalo Clover with his wife, celebrated country-rock luminary Margo Price. But now Ivey is ready to take a much-deserved step into the spotlight with a debut LP, The Dream And The Dreamer. Recorded in a "little bitty house studio" in Nashville and produced by Price, the nine-song album hosts a collection of homespun, deeply introspective tracks. Ivey writes prolifically and cites everyone from the Beatles to Neil Young to Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan as influences. Unlike his country-soul aesthetic in Buffalo Clover, which disbanded in 2013, Ivey's solo material is much more straightforward yet still travels through a wide spectrum of classic folk, gently frayed psychedelia, pop, and yes, even a bit of Southern rock and Americana. Jeremy Ivey will celebrate his album release with a free, all ages in-store performance at Grimey's on release day - Friday, September 13th, at 6PM!
The Lumineers - III CD/2xLP (Dualtone)
The Lumineers' new album III is audacious: every note, every syllable, and every moment of silence in between is emotionally charged. It's darker in tone than previous albums and is presented in three chapters, with each one centering on one main character from a fictitious family known as the Sparks, who span three generations in the album's storyline. III's concept began while the band was writing in the Catskill mountains, where producer Simone Felice works. Mixing raw emotional themes with their ear-catching melodies, expressive vocals and trademark acoustic sound, III moves masterly in artistic directions not yet traveled by the band. Regarding the cinematic new record, multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites says, "This collection of songs worked out in a beautiful way, and I feel with this album we've really hit our stride." Vocalist Wesley Schultz adds that lead single "Gloria", "is about love between an addict and her family." [180-gram silver vinyl pressing]
Shawn Colvin - Steady On: 30th Anniversary Acoustic Edition CD/LP (Shawn Colvin)
Shawn Colvin's debut album, Steady On, was released in October 1989, a stunning introduction to an artist who quickly established herself as a mainstay in the singer-songwriter genre. It was lauded for its confessional songwriting and well-crafted melodies, and for Colvin's tender and provocative vocals. To commemorate Steady On's 30th anniversary, Colvin offers up a newly recorded, solo acoustic version.
Belle And Sebastian - Days Of The Bagnold Summer CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Days Of The Bagnold Summer is the latest outside- the-box accomplishment from storied Glasgow six-piece Belle And Sebastian, comprised of Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson, Sarah Martin, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Dave McGowan, and Bobby Kildea. The last two years have seen them go against conventional practice by releasing a trilogy of EPs to some of the best reviews of their career, and launch and curate their own four-day music festival at sea in The Boaty Weekender, continuing the individualist streak that has characterized them from day one.
Pixies - Beneath The Eyrie CD/LP (Infectious/BMG)
Visceral, musically cinematic, otherworldly but strangely familiar and a bit unsettling, welcome to Pixies' seventh studio album, Beneath The Eyrie, where tales of witches, Daniel Boone, misfits and other characters fit utterly into the band's inherent weirdness. Boasting twelve new boundary pushing songs, the album was produced by Grammy-nominated Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Royal Blood) and recorded in December 2018 at Dreamland Recordings near Woodstock, NY. Drummer David Lovering spotted an eagle's nest (or eyrie) right above the studio hence the title. "Beneath The Eyrie sees Pixies dipping back into the mysticism that came with their first few releases. The album exudes creativity in hazy clouds of tremolo guitar and atmospheric moodiness and harkens back to a faraway time, filled with gothic storytelling of retribution and comeuppance." - Gigwise [Deluxe CD edition is housed in a 20-page hardback book. A limited indie exclusive colored vinyl pressing]
Kazu - Adult Baby CD/LP (Adult Baby)
Kazu Makino, founder & leader of Blonde Redhead, releases her first solo album. "Salty" (the first single) and all of Adult Baby is teeming with contributions from significant pioneers of the global pop, electronic, rock and indie scenes such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mauro Refosco (Atoms For Peace, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Byrne) and Ian Chang (Son Lux, Landlady).
Gruff Rhys - Pang! CD/LP (Rough Trade)
A Welsh language pop album with a couple of verses of Zulu and an English title, Gruff Rhys' Pang! Was produced and mixed by Muzi in Johannesburg, South Africa. The nine-track collection was developed unexpectedly over about 18 months and recorded in Cardiff, Wales.
Goo Goo Dolls - Miracle Pill CD/LP (WB)
Miracle Pill finds The Goo Goo Dolls at the top of their game with a collection of songs that are complete with emotion, incredible melodies and sweeping guitars. The album observes and reflects on our current landscape of instant gratification and relief that everyone seems to be seeking.
(Sandy) Alex G - House Of Sugar CD/LP (Domino)
On House Of Sugar, his ninth album, (Sandy) Alex G inhabits a diverse range of musical and emotional points-of-view (often simultaneously), in turn illuminating the tension that hides in the shadow of desire. Alexander Giannascoli began writing these songs in the fall of 2017, having just finished a tour for House Of Sugar's acclaimed predecessor, Rocket, and moved into a new apartment in Philadelphia. Whereas with earlier efforts, such as 2011's self-released Winner or the landmark 2014 release DSU, he'd write numerous songs quickly; with House Of Sugar Giannascoli worked at a steadier pace, concentrating on fewer songs and laboring over each one more than before. As the product of extended focus and planning, House Of Sugar emerges as Giannascoli's most meticulous, cohesive album yet: a statement of artistic purpose, showing off his ear for both persistent earworms and shifting textures. [Limited indie exclusive vinyl pressing.]
Twin Peaks - Lookout Low CD/LP (Grand Jury)
Twin Peaks has one defining ethos and it's to keep pushing. They've embraced change ever since their 2010 formation as high school friends making scrappy basement rock 'n' roll to now cementing their status as one of Chicago's most essential bands. Where their last LP, 2016's Down In Heaven, and 2017's Sweet '17 Singles compilation were adventurous and compelling updates on their youthfully raucous formula, their fourth album Lookout Low feels like a total revolution. The songs are bursting with energy, like the spidery jam-minded opener "Casey's Groove", a mind-melder that is reassuring thanks to Caiden Lake James' (vocals, guitar) inviting croon. Throughout the LP, multi-instrumentalist Colin Croom wrote horn arrangements that at times evokes the soulfulness of Allen Toussaint and the burly Americana of the E Street Band. The auxiliary percussion from drummer Kyle Davis expands the already breezy and spread out compositions. [Limited indie exclusive vinyl pressing.]
Chelsea Wolfe - Birth Of Violence CD/LP (Sargent House)
There is a core element to Chelsea Wolfe's music - a kind of urgent spin on America's desolation blues - that's existed throughout the entirety of her career. Wolfe has always been a conduit for a powerful energy, and while she has demonstrated a capacity to channel that somber beauty into a variety of forms, her gift as a songwriter is never more apparent than when she strips her songs down to a few key components. As a result, her solemn majesty and ominous elegance are more potent than ever on Birth Of Violence. Every Chelsea Wolfe album introduces new unorthodox textures and approaches, and the trajectory of her creative arc has generally aimed for larger and more imposing sounds, but Birth Of Violence deliberately alters that course in favor of a more intimate atmosphere.
Joseph - Good Luck, Kid CD/LP (ATO)
Joseph is a bewitching band of three sisters from the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Expect honest words and genetically perfected harmonies. The Oregon-bred trio got their start playing backyard parties, and gradually amassed a devoted fanbase. Following the release of their 2016 debut I'm Alone, No You're Not, the band performed across television from The Tonight Show to The Today Show and toured with James Bay and Amos Lee. Their sophomore effort, Good Luck, Kid is a road movie in album form, an odyssey at turns emotional, existential, and entirely literal. Joseph stopped by the shop this week and signed all of our copies so every one is autographed! [Limited clear vinyl pressing]
Devendra Banhart - Ma CD/LP (Nonesuch)
Ma is Devendra Banhart's first album since 2016's Ape In Pink Marble. Bursting with tender, autobiographical vignettes, the record displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of his previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Banhart favors organic sounds to accompany his voice and guitar here with the arrangements bolstered by strings, woodwinds, brass, and keyboards. Lead single "Kantori Ongaku" translates from Japanese to "country music" and is a nod to experimental pop legend Haruomi Hosono, a founding member of the influential electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon contributes background vocals on "Now All Gone" and Banhart's mentor, muse, and dear friend, the folk legend Vashti Bunyan, duets with him on "Will I See You Tonight". Notes Banhart, "Vashti is the archetype of the mother, one of the most important people in my life. It was so beautiful to sing this duet with her."
Alasdair Roberts - Fiery Margin CD/LP (Drag City)
"Every song that's nevermore sung / will sound again upon the Evernew Tongue." Whether we understand the reference in the line, it sums up Alasdair Roberts' approach as a singer and songwriter, now halfway through its third decade. Down the years, he has devoted himself to the history of traditional songs, playing them forward into our ever-evolving world as their meanings continue to evolve within him. Whether singing the auld songs, using inspiration from a line of text, or taking a time-honored air as a starting point to a new song, he has pushed the tradition ahead in ways that few other singers and writers have approached.
Jonah Tolchin - Fires For The Child CD/LP (Yep Roc)
Jonah Tolchin has wrestled with a wellspring of emotions in his 26 years, and in the process, has consistently found the means of integrating his sentiments into his songs. On Fires for the Cold, Tolchin lays bare the conflicts and quagmires that have engulfed him over the course of the last few years. Indeed, by his own admission, it's been a difficult time. The ending of a marriage and an upheaval in his mindset left him shattered, confused and struggling to find the solace that had eluded him for too long a time. These experiences have yielded some of the most beautiful melodies and emotive offerings Tolchin has ever delivered throughout his steadily evolving career. Fires For The Child includes a number of notable guests - Jackson Browne and Rickie Lee Jones - both of whom lend their voices to a stunning and sublime cover of Little Feat's "Roll Um Easy". Sara Watkins sang on two other songs, "Supermarket Rage" and "Honeysuckle". Several A-list players - drummer Jay Bellerose, Little Feat guitarist Fred Tackett, Pedal steel player Greg Leisz and guitarist Ben Peller - lend their efforts as well. [Limited blue colored vinyl pressing.]
Corb Lund - Cover Your Tracks CDEP (New West)
Covering songs from diverse artists such as Lee Hazlewood, Billy Joel, Marty Robbins and AC/DC, Lund expands on not only his favorite songs but on the range, sound and style in which those songs are delivered. [Vinyl due 9/20]
Leeroy Stagger - Strange Path CD/LP (True North)
In making Strange Path, Stagger surrounded himself with some of the best players in the business, including drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Elliot Smith, Los Lobos), longtime collaborator Tyson Maiko, Paul Rigby (Neko Case, Garth Hudson, Jakob Dylan), Ryland Moranz and Michael Ayotte. The album was mixed by five time Grammy winner Ryan Freeland (Ray Lamontagne, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell) Brad Barr of The Barr Brothers shared producer's chair with Leeroy on four of the eleven tracks.
Janiva Magness - Change In The Weather - Janiva Magness Sings John Fogerty CD (Blue Élan)
Janiva adds her blues-oriented, soulful style to 12 classic Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes. Featuring guests Sam Morrow on the swampy "Lodi" and blues legend Taj Mahal on "Don't You Wish It Was True", the album reflects the timeless quality of Fogerty's work, cutting a broad swath through rock, blues, and country, and trailblazing the eclectic, roots-based Americana genre.
Jenny Hval - The Practice Of Love CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
At first listen, The Practice of Love, Jenny Hval's seventh full-length album, unspools with an almost deceptive ease. Across eight tracks, filled with arpeggiated synth washes and the kind of lilting beats that might have drifted, loose and unmoored, from some forgotten mid-'90s trance single, The Practice Of Love feels, first and foremost, compellingly humane. Given the horror and viscera of her previous album, 2016's Blood Bitch, The Practice Of Love is almost subversive in its gentleness-a deep dive into what it means to grow older, to question one's relationship to the earth and one's self, and to hold a magnifying glass over the notion of what intimacy can mean. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Emeli Sandé - Real Life CD/LP (Virgin)
Emeli Sandé's third album, Real Life, represents a new sound for the globally acclaimed English artist following a period of self-discovery that resulted in a new defiant confidence. Sandé says that her vision for Real Life is to give people hope and confidence, "Especially people who have been marginalized, forgotten or kicked down by this invisible oppression that's always there. I just want to give people this incredible superpower every time they play the album. Like a battery pack - by the end of the album they're going to feel restored." The album's 11 tracks exude positivity, from the very opening track "Human", which is followed by the acoustic guitar-led "Love To Help". The soaring "You Are Not Alone" has the singer, flanked by a choir, marking a return to the anthemic sound that made Sandé a star. Lead single "Sparrow" is an empowering track showcasing the singer's dynamic voice, as does the sermonic, R&B and gospel-flavored "Survivor". The piano ballad "Honest" is one of the most emotive songs of the singer's career, and is followed by the cinematic, string-led album closer "Free".
Alex Cameron - Miami Memory CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)
Cameron's flair for narrative and character are still on full display; yet Miami Memory's most frequent narrator is, for the first time, Cameron himself - singing with stunning candor of his three-year relationship with visual artist and actor Jemima Kirke. Cameron reveals a striking honesty about love and sex in a time where a palpable fleetingness hangs over everything from relationships to human life on this planet - but also where constricting mores have deteriorated enough to let family life, in all its morphing forms, exist outside of social obligation. [Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing.]
Boy Scouts - Free Company CD (ANTI-)
Recently released on vinyl - now available on CD. As Boy Scouts, Oakland-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Taylor Vick makes the kind of music that hits like good advice from tough emotional truths. Vick's songs survey the damage that can come from loving other people with curiosity and grace. Her new album Free Company is a stunningly tuneful rumination on heartbreak and loss that is always galloping toward the horizon. Opener "Get Well Soon" reckons with the difficult epiphany that comes when you've worked overtime to help someone you love, only to realize they won't meet you in the middle and help themselves. Her tightest and most cohesive collection of songs, Vick recorded Free Company in a tiny studio her friend Stephen Steinbrink set up inside a rented shipping container - a unique spot that ended up being perfect for her. Steinbrink plays drums, synth, and bass throughout the record in addition to singing backup.
Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles CD/LP (Polydor)
Hypersonic Missiles is the debut album from Brits Critics Choice Award Winner Sam Fender. Observational, questioning and socially engaged, Fender has an innate gift for simplifying matters of the newsworthy and topical. "I don't have answers only questions" he clarifies, but there's a canny simplicity here that seems to be touching and plain speaking. His words reflect conversations occurring right across the globe, amongst friends in cafes, pubs, and out on the terraces. Frustrations. Misunderstandings. Despair. Album track "Dead Boys" tackles the taboo of male suicide. Having lost close friends to the epidemic, Fender was compelled to address it head on in song. The reaction was immediate. And throughout Hypersonic Missiles there's a sense that there are far more of those revelations still to come. It's a brave record with some of its subject matter cutting deep into the grain.
The Paranoyds - Carnage Bargain CD/LP (Suicide Squeeze)
Los Angeles punk quartet The Paranoyds channel revelry and revulsion into their debut album Carnage Bargain - a raucous blend of garage rock grit, new wave swagger, horror film soundtrack campiness, and a myriad of other influences. [Limited edition blue colored vinyl pressing.]
Mike Patton/Jean-Claude Vannier - Corpse Flower CD (Ipecac)
Mike Patton and renowned French composer Jean-Claude Vannier, who is perhaps best known for his work with Serge Gainsbourg, have come together on the smoky, psychedelic-tinged 12-song album, Corpse Flower. Other musicians on the album include Smokey Hormel (Beck, Johnny Cash), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Air, Nine Inch Nails) and James Gadson (Beck, Jamie Lidell). The Parisian players are Denys Lable, Bernard Paganotti (Magma), Daniel Ciampolini, Didier Malherbe, Léonard Le Cloarec and the Bécon Palace String Ensemble. "There's lots of Vannier in Corpse Flower, though it's been augmented, sometimes Americanized and, with no disrespect to Jean-Claude, improved greatly by one of the most extraordinary vocalists working today. Mike Patton doesn't call upon his full range here; he's up close to the microphone, brooding, playful and sometimes sinister." - The Quietus.
Ghostface Killah - Ghostface Killahs CD (Music Generation Co.)
Ghostface Killahs marks the return of Ghostface. After several side projects, GFK returns with his first true solo album in years. He is joined by fellow Wu-Tang members Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, & Masta Killa. Other guests include Harley, Sun God (Ghosts first born son), Solomon Childs, Shawn Wigs, and Eamon. Vinyl has been delayed and is now due 9/27.
Sampa The Great - The Return CD/LP (Ninja Tune)
A characterful record, The Return reference points range from classic hip-hop to ancient Southern African sounds. Built on four years of personal and musical soul-searching, it's an assured statement, the product of meaningful musical connections and of Sampa having to redefine her self-identity away from the comforts of family and old friends.
Ahmad Jamal - Ballades CD/LP (Jazz Village)
At the age of 88, composer and legendary jazz musician Ahmad Jamal presents Ballades, an album that sees him returning to his roots in a transcendent journey. Jamal comes from the closely-knit club of the great masters of jazz. That is why, in the manner of Coltrane and Miles, he goes back to his past as a way to overcome it. At its heart, Ballades is a solo piano album - something Jamal has never done before (double-bass player James Cammack is featured on three tracks).
The Souljazz Orchestra - Chaos Theories CD/LP (Strut)
Always known for their uncompromising social and political messages, the Canadian collective hit harder than ever on nine new tracks, outing the hypocrisy of modern-day politics, police brutality and the everyday struggle of the working man. Led by chief songwriter and arranger Pierre Chrètien, the band continue to evolve their sound, drawing on a broad palette from their trademark Latin, Afro and Caribbean styles to some of the UK's political sounds of the early '80s, the era of The Clash, The Police, 2-Tone and frontline reggae.
The Glorious Songs - A War On Everything CD/LP (BMG)
A War On Everything is a daring 14-track collection of "stadium-ready, dirty, sweaty rock" (Alternative Press) rife with devastating moments of vulnerability and searing insight into universal truths about anxiety, sadness and isolation in the 21st century. [Vinyl due 9/20]
Blacktop Mojo - Under The Sun CD (Sand Hill)
A hard-driving Southern rock unit based out of Palestine, Texas, Blacktop Mojo's fiery blend of post-grunge, classic rock, and metal falls somewhere between Soundgarden, Black Stone Cherry, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. [Vinyl edition due October 4.]
Sleep On It - Pride & Disaster CD/LP (Equal Vision)
Pride & Disaster is the follow-up to 2017's Overexposed, and features production by Mike Green (All Time Low, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Set It Off) and Kyle Black (State Champs, Pierce the Veil, All Time Low). With Pride & Disaster, Sleep On It harnesses the strength and vulnerability of the human spirit. Over the course of ten songs, they make a case for enjoying life, even when times are tough, and never shying away from your truth.
Tiny Moving Parts - Breathe CD/LP (Hopeless)
Tiny Moving Parts has always been a vehicle for catharsis, and that's nothing new on Breathe. The fifth full-length by the Benson, Minnesota, trio sees vocalist/guitarist Dylan Mattheisen and his cousins, brothers Matt (bass) and Billy (drums) Chevalier, tackle issues such as mental health, anxiety and mortality while also expanding their sound. Recorded with longtime collaborator Greg Lindholm and established pop producer John Fields (Jimmy Eat World, Goo Goo Dolls, All Time Low), Breathe is a valuable reminded that we're all in this together, channeled through the band's trademark blend of math-rock, pop-punk and emo, albeit with a few new musical tricks (including some electronic flourishes and a banjo).
Cold - The Things We Can't Stop CD/LP (Napalm)
The Things We Can't Stop is a wonderfully varied and gripping entry in the alt-rock band's discography. From the anti-bullying anthem "Shine" to the driving, hard grooving force that is "Without You" or the unforgettable beautiful "Quiet Now," Cold's new album shimmers in timeless colors.
Korn - The Nothing CD/2xLP (Roadrunner)
Nu-metal progenitors Korn follow-up 2016's The Serenity Of Suffering with their thirteenth studio album. Lead single "You'll Never Find Me" exhibits plenty of the band's signatures with its unrelenting drums, gnarly guitar work, unsettling keyboards and staggering quiet/loud dynamics. [Limited white colored vinyl pressing.]
DVD & Blu-Ray
John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Above Us Only Sky DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
Above Us Only Sky traces the untold story of the making of John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine. Utilizing never-before-seen footage of Lennon and Ono from their private archive, the documentary delves into the depth of the creative collaboration between the couple and explores how the art, politics and music of the pair are intrinsically entwined. Features interviews with the people who witnessed the period first hand including Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon, David Bailey (photographer), John Dunbar (Gallerist who introduced the couple), Dan Richter (Yoko's neighbor and John's former personal assistant) and Eddie Veale (studio designer), some of who have never spoken publicly on camera before.
New on Vinyl
Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi - There Is No Other 2xLP (Nonesuch)
Special double vinyl LP pressing. Includes four previously unreleased tracks and new liner notes. Tracing the overlooked movement of sounds from Africa and the Arabic world and their influence on European and American music, There Is No Other illuminates the universality of music and the commonality of the human experience. It primarily features only Giddens and Turrisi playing one or two instruments together.
Ghost - Opus Eponymous [Reissue/2010] LP (Rise Above Ltd.)
Limited edition gold sparkle colored vinyl reissue. A daringly beautiful combination of Satanic rock music with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility, 2010's Opus Eponymous is where it all began for the beautifully dark global phenomena, Ghost.
Microwave - Death Is A Warm Blanket LP (Pure Noise)
An amalgam of everything exhilarating about loud guitars, Microwave revel in their newfound creative abandon, colliding post-hardcore aggression with '90s alternative sneer, and bleeding broodingly atmospheric verses into anthemic choruses.
half*alive - Now, Not Yet LP (RCA)
The music of half*alive breathes, evolves, grows, and changes alongside the lives of the Long Beach trio - Josh Taylor [vocals], Brett Kramer [drums], and J Tyler Johnson [bass]. Encompassing R&B, funk, pop, rock, soul, and more under a glow of disco ball bliss, the experience iterates in a fresh form every time. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Vulcans - Star Trek [Reissue/1972] LP (Real Gone Music)
In 1972, the production team of Joe Sinclair, Webster Shrowder and Des Bryan placed classic Trojan instrumental riddims in the hands of prog-rocker Ken Elliot (formerly of the group Second Hand), who proceeded to lay down utterly twisted ARP-2600 synthesizer lines over them. The intent was to cash in on the strong, early '70s easy listening market a la Switched On Bach, but the result, like so many like-minded commercial concept albums, turned out to be several parsecs weirder than the original intent. The combination of electronic music and reggae walks the tightrope between cheesy and cosmic, like a B-movie soundtrack listened to on laughing gas.
The Rain Parade - Emergency Third Power Trip [Reissue/1983] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited yellow and red colored vinyl pressing. Though there are a number of worthy contenders - Dream Syndicate's The Days Of Wine And Roses, The Bangles' All Over the Place, Green On Red's Gas Food Lodging among them - The Rain Parade's 1983 release Emergency Third Rail Power Trip places at worst in a tie for first among the greatest albums to emerge from the early '80s L.A. Paisley Underground scene. That's because the band - and the album - were probably the most transparent in their influences and probably the most successful in transcending them.
Wendy & Bonnie - Genesis [Reissue/1969] LP (Sundazed)
One of the most remarkable unheard albums of 1969, Genesis, the sole release by San Francisco-based sisters Wendy and Bonnie Flower, has emerged as an acclaimed pop-psych touchstone. Brimming with melodic confections and laced with radiant, sisterly harmonies, the set's breezy Brazilian splashes and soft-rock strains convey a sophistication that belies the artists' tender ages (Wendy, 17; Bonnie, 13). Limited white colored vinyl pressing.
Archies - The Definitive Archies - Greatest Hits & More! LP (Real Gone Music)
The first vinyl compilation in 30 years from everybody's favorite back-of-the-cereal-box band. Brainchild of Don Kirshner, the man behind The Monkees, The Archies, for all their manufactured image, was the result of a remarkable collection of talent. Holding down production duties was Jeff Barry, whose songwriting collaborations with then-wife Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector had yielded such classics as "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Be My Baby", and whose previous production credits included The Shangri-Las ("Leader Of The Pack") and The Monkees.
Alice Cooper - The Breadcrumbs EP 10" (earMUSIC)
New EP released in advance his forthcoming Bob Ezrin-produced 2020 album.
Twin XL - How To Talk To Strangers 12" (Century Media)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Twin XL is an alt-pop trio from Los Angeles. The seven songs on mini album How To Talk To Strangers examine issues we have all dealt with in one way or another, like social anxiety, vices, and the difficulties of adulthood. While doing so, they manage to exude an enthralling and mellow vibe that you can't help but to bob your head and tap your foot to.
Long Beard - Means To Me LP+MP3 (Double Double Whammy)
Means To Me is the second full-length under Leslie Bear's moniker, Long Beard, and her first since 2015's Sleepwalker. Throughout the record, Leslie explores what constitutes a home - how it extends beyond the physicality of a roof over your head to the comfort of another person. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Indian Summer - Giving Birth To Summer LP (Numero)
The fourth leg on the early emo table of Rites Of Spring, Moss Icon, and Cap'n Jazz, Indian Summer's Giving Birth To Thunder compiles their complete discography. Emo's second wave crashed into the Bay Area in the summer of 1994 in a rage-filled capsule of quiet and loud, octave chords, angry sons, Spock haircuts, and screaming. At the eye of this pissed-for-the-hell-of-it storm were Indian Summer.
Wolfram - Amadeus LP (DFA)
Wolfram makes his triumphant return to DFA with Amadeus, a newly refined take on the Euro-disco pop he's become known for over the past several years. Here, Wolfram zeroes in on the most earworm-y aspects of his past work, concentrating it down until we're left with succinct, dopamine-inducing bangers.
Lynda Dawn - At First Light LP (Akashik)
Lynda Dawn is a vocalist, producer and songwriter from London. Exploring the sonic spectrum between soul, funk and jazz she draws upon her musically inclined upbringing to deliver a distinctive style of storytelling. Dawn's nostalgia-tinged tracks embody her early influences via captivating grooves and celestial vocals.
The New Mastersounds - Shake It (feat. Lamar Williams Jr.) LP (Color Red)
Twenty years in the game is no small feat in the fickle world of music, especially for an instrumental funk band. The New Mastersounds continue to play, compose and record with the enthusiasm and joy of teenagers, while having garnered the experience and skill of the seasoned veterans they are. Celebrating two decades as a band, "Shake It" marks a departure from the jazz-funk-fusion meanderings of their recent releases and a new entry in the form of singer Lamar Williams Jr. (son of late Allman Brothers bassist Lamar Williams). Add to the mix Mike Olmos on trumpet and Jason Mingledorff on sax and flute (previously on tour with St. Paul and the Broken Bones), and you have yourself a very tasty cocktail indeed (shake it, don't stir).
Freddie Hubbard - Hub-Tones [Reissue/1962] LP (Blue Note)
Recorded in 1962, Hub-Tones stands as one of the most significant artistic statements of Freddie Hubbard's formidable career, and also features one of Reid Miles' most iconic album cover designs. Presenting the trumpeter at the helm of an excellent quintet with James Spaulding (alto saxophone & flute), Herbie Hancock (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), and Clifford Jarvis (drums), the album opens with a breathtaking performance of the standard "You're My Everything" followed by four Hubbard originals.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Indestructible [Reissue/1966] LP (Blue Note)
Drummer Art Blakey recorded Indestructible - his final album for Blue Note - in 1964 with a powerful sextet line-up of The Jazz Messengers featuring Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Cedar Walton (piano), and Reggie Workman (bass).
Kenny Dorham - Una Mas (One More Time) [Reissue/1963] LP (Blue Note)
Recorded in 1963, Una Mas was the first album to feature the dynamic frontline of trumpeter Kenny Dorham and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, a potent team that would go on to collaborate on numerous classic albums under each musician's name including Henderson's debut album Page One which was recorded just 2 months later. Along with a tremendous rhythm section of Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Tony Williams, the quintet delivers joyous performances of three Dorham originals.
Jah Cure - Royal Soldier LP (VP)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Jah Cure is a musical adventurer, exploring rhythms, moods and meaning with his latest album Royal Soldier, his first since The Cure in 2015. Jah writes songs about love and consciousness and reality and his music moves between classic roots and smooth R&B and often challenges the boundaries of the reggae genre. The 14-track collection includes the previously released tracks "Telephone Love", "Risk It All" and "Marijuana" and features guest appearances by Melanie Fiona, Mya, Phyllisia Ross, Popcaan, Damien 'Jr. Gong' Marley and Tory Lanez, among others.
Keith Urban - Keith Urban [Reissue/1999] LP (Capitol Nashville)
Keith Urban - Defying Gravity [Reissue/2009] LP (Capitol Nashville)
Two of the Australian country music singer's albums celebrate their 20th and 10th anniversaries, respectively, with a vinyl repress.
Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight LP (Cleopatra)
The leading lady of classic country shines on this limited edition vinyl featuring 12 beloved treasures.
Aerosmith - Live Bootleg [Reissue/1978] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Aerosmith - Nine Lives [Reissue/1997] LP (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissues of Aerosmith's 1978 live double-LP and their twelfth album, 1997's Nine Lives.
David Axelrod - Seriously Deep LP (Get On Down)
The rediscovery of the music of David Axelrod in the 1990s was a revelation to the scores of hip-hop and breakbeat DJs that sampled him, but his composition genius was on display as early as the 1960s. Seriously Deep is his lone album recorded for Polydor, and an unheralded gem of jazz-rock fusion, on which Axelrod dispenses with the heavily orchestrated measures of previous works to conduct a powerhouse crew of session musicians, including Leon Ndugu Chancler of Santana on drums, Mailto Correa on percussion, and Jim Hughart on bass, with production from Cannonball Adderley and Jimmy Bowen. Seriously Deep is one of David Axlerod's tightest and most exploratory releases. Axelrod and his collective of players dip in and out of bounding jazz-funk, Afro-Latin grooves, cinematic flourishes, psychedelic synth washes, and blaring big band horns. A definitive part of Axelrod's discography, and a well of sample material for tracks by Mobb Deep, Large Professor, and Beanie Siegel, among others.
Various Artists - Strain Crack & Break: Music from the Nurse with Wound List Vol. 1 (France) 2LP (Finders Keepers)
After years of mythology, misinterpretation, and procrastination, Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton finally chooses Finders Keepers as the ideal collaborators to release "the right tracks" from his über-legendary psych/prog/punk peculiarity shopping list known as The Nurse With Wound List, commencing with a French specific volume of the Strain Crack & Break series. Featuring some Finders Keepers' regulars amongst galactic Gallic rarities, this double-vinyl dossier demystifies some of the essential French free jazz and Parisian prog inclusions from the alphabetical "dedication" inventory as printed the anti-bands 1979 industrial milestone debut. The first volume of the series focuses exclusively on individual tracks of French origin, the country that unsurprisingly hosted the highest content of bands on the list. Comprising of musique concrète, free jazz, Rock In Opposition, Zeuhl School space rock, macabre ballet music, lo-fi sci-fi, and classic horror literature inspired prog.
Atomic Forest - Disco Roar LP (Now-Again)
The newly re-discovered third album by India's best known psychedelic-rock ensemble, presented in its entirety. Features covers of Deodato and Stevie Wonder, and "Spectrum," the heaviest Indian psych-funk jam unearthed to date. Disco Roar is the companion piece to Now-Again's Atomic Forest anthology Obsession, which delved into and told the story of India's 70s rock underground and this psychedelic ensemble's story. Atomic Forest's story stands in for the untold stories of many of India's underground bands, bands remembered vividly by those who witnessed their performances, bands that often homemade, cassette recordings - that have been lost to time. Guitarist Abraham Mammen, now a traveling preacher splitting his time between India and the United States, reflects on the unlikely reissue of the Atomic Forest's recordings: "What's left of the Atomic Forest? It's just like smoke: smoke on the water.'
The Revillos - Rev Up LP (Beat Generation)
The 1980 debut of the legendary The Revillos. Following the break-up of The Rezillos, The Revillos were born and would soon release this fun packed whirlwind of frantic new wave, punk rock, '60s pop, classic rock & roll, and much more, laced with science-fiction and B-movie awesomeness. Clocking barely over 30 minutes, the album mixes über catchy original tracks like "Yeah Yeah", "Motor Bike Beat", "Rock-A-Boom", or "Rev Up" with classic covers like "Cool Jerk" or "Hippy Hippy Sheik", making it an absolutely essential party album.
The Revillos - Attack! LP (Beat Generation)
The Revillos' second, and last, studio album, originally released in 1982, Attack! is another gem of pure sci-fi new wave punk madness by these legendary Scottish weirdos. Filled with original hits like "Sputnik Kiss", "Snatzomobile", or "Do The Mutilation", and continuing with their tradition of classic covers like "Tell Him", the record is a kick-ass follow-up to their classic debut. No one beats The Revillos when it comes to hook fueled, day-glo, bubble gum punk and Attack! is perfect proof of that.
Conrad Schnitzler - Conditions of the Gas Giant LP (Bureau B)
Originally released on cassette in 1988, first vinyl release. An early member of Tangerine Dream and a founder of the band Kluster, Schnitzler has also had a prolific solo career. Conditions of the Gas Giant was inspired by collaboration with comic artist Matt Howarth. Clouds of manifold colors, whirling nervously above a gaseous planet: a methane and helium tryst in sonic form -- fireworks, pyrotechnics for the eyes, like the surface of Jupiter, just as Schnitzler's tracks are pyrotechnics for the ears.
Francois J. Bonnet & Stephen O'Malley - Cylene 2LP (Editions Mego)
First time outing from two ardent explorers of peripheral sound tactics. O'Malley's (of Sunn O)))) guitar inscribes a void that patiently opens up a spacious universe for Bonnet to discreetly alter with perception re-orientating studio maneuvers. A vast glacial plain unfurls slowly upon the listener invoking a mood similar to the stillness found following despair. As Joseph Ghosn outlines in his liner notes, "Stephen and François deal in those moments and instants that happen after the violence, and the ugliness and the mess. Their music is about the noise that nurtures your ears after a long heartbreaking pain."
Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Joia! LP (Banana and Louie Records)
Although he has worked with artists such as The Pretenders, Oasis, and Saint Etienne, Carwyn Ellis's diverse personal projects, ranging from Welsh dreamy folk to hauntologic electronic, are a sample of his passionate love for the music with no borders, as he transforms his skin with each new record, approaching the global from the local. Joia!, his most colorful record to date, was recorded in Rio de Janeiro, drawing from the political and sonic touchstones of the Tropicalia movement. The album is a non-explicit plea against the Brexit, but the mood is cheerful and positive, like much of the South American music that inspired the record.
Flaty - Generic TARGZ LP (Soda Gong)
A razor sharp collection of rigorous and imaginative new music from Moscow-by-way-of-St.Petersburg-based musician and producer Flaty. Generic TARGZ places Flaty's precipitously complex drum programming and keen ear for atmosphere and space at the forefront, offering up a dynamic array of techno, ambient, generative footwork, and other tougher to pigeonhole rhythmic experiments. It is a dizzying and cohesive document in which ethereal productions sit comfortably alongside tightly controlled chaos. Flaty is closely associated with the influential GOST ZVUK label, and he produced Kedr Livanskiy's recent album "Your Need" on 2MR.
Various Artists - There Where the Avalanche Stops: Live from the National Folk Festival of Albania LP (Touch)
For one week every five years, two thousand singers, dancers, and musicians along with fifty thousand spectators make their way to the small town of Gjirokastra in southern Albania for the National Folk Festival of Albania, hoping to attain the highest level of interpretation and win one of the many awards available the festival. Considering the comparatively small size of the country (just over three million inhabitants), the range of instruments, styles, and costumes seen at the festival is exceptional, sustaining a folk tradition that dates back to ancient Illyria. The works presented here are all live recordings made at the Festival, taken from six of the 26 participating districts. The original compact disc, released in 1990, was a collaboration between The Institute of Popular Culture, Tirana, The Albanian Shop Ltd., and Touch.
Claire M Singer - Trian: Recent Works 2LP (Touch)
A double-LP vinyl version of Claire M Singer's previous two CDs, including her debut album Solas and a 21-minute companion piece called Fairge. This release spans 14 years of her work in acoustic and electronic composition, often featuring a captivating mix of organ, cello, and electronics, and showcases her signature style of expansive soundscapes full of intricate textures, rich overtones, and powerful swells, emotionally resonating from beginning to end.
Von Pea (of Tanya Morgan) - City or Sale LP (HiPNOTT Records)
"'City For Sale' is a breakup album about my hometown...YOUR hometown...your old way of living. Growing apart from a place, from people, from who you once were, because I'm from a currently gentrifying city, but the overall narrative is for any person that feels unfamiliar in a space that was familiar to them. This album is the first time I've produced an entire record on my own, making every beat. This is the one I will hopefully be known for when its all said and done." City For Sale features additional vocals by Homeboy Sandman, Donwill, Fresh Daily, and Moses Rockwell, with additional instrumentation by Classicbeatz, Greg F. and Brizzo.
Lealani - Fantastic Planet LP (Dome of Doom)
Lealani's experimental synth-pop debut album Fantastic Planet has been met with a powerful and magnetic response, landing her an opening slot with Billy Woods and Kenny Segal and receiving coverage from publications and radio outlets such as The Wire, Triple J, BBC Radio 6, XLR8R, and KCRW. Following the release of Fantastic Planet earlier this year, Lealani was booked for an opening set at Coachella 2019, performing on the same stage as Aphex Twin and Four Tet. The vinyl release of Fantastic Planet will continue Lealani's journey as a rising singer/songwriter and innovative storyteller, carving out her own lane with dedication, originality, and authenticity.
Meitei - Komachi LP (Metron Records)
Meitei considers himself an old soul, preoccupied with the customs and rituals of the past and driven by a desire to cast light on an era and aesthetic that he believes is drifting out of the collective Japanese consciousness with each passing generation, what he calls "the lost Japanese mood". Haunting and delicate, distant and timeless, Komachi is awash with white noise, complex field recordings and the hypnotic sounds of flowing water. Though confidently contemporary, like a bucolic J-Dilla, Komachi's lineage can be traced back to the floating worlds of Ukiyo-e and Gagaku via the prism of 80s Japanese ambient pioneers, and 90s pastoral sample-based artists such as Susumu Yokota and Nobukazu Takemura. Each sonic diorama explores the dichotomy of ancient and new in modern Japanese society, reflecting a fascination with the reflective tranquillity that permeated traditional Japanese domestic life.
Leonardo Marques - Early Bird LP (180g)
A unique and beautiful album from contemporary Brazil blending soft pop of the early 70s, indie folk, 60s psychedelia, lo-fi and flavors of the brazilian Clube da Esquina to create bucolic and romantic scenarios. Vocals are in English and Portuguese, and the instrumentation is a fantastic blend of light elements given a really airy spin - almost as if Nick DeCaro and Sean O'Hagan got together in the studio to work on a set that has slight bossa inspirations. Rivers Of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name [Reissue/2018] 2xLP (Metal Blade) Whereas The Conscious Seed Of Light (2013) and Monarchy (2015) were thematically centered around spring and summer, respectively, 2018's Where Owls Know My Name represents the fall. And although that season is usually associated with death, for Rivers Of Nihil, the autumn serves as a rebirth. Now rounded out by guitarist Jon Topore and drummer Jared Klein the Reading, PA quintet delivers an album which is often just as punishing as its predecessors while assimilating ingredients from musical genres as varied as electronica, jazz, alternative, folk, and the golden age of Shrapnel Records.
Reissues & From The Archives
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup [Reissue/1996] 2xCD/3xLP (Warp)
Stereolab - Dots And Loops [Reissue/1997] 2xCD/3xLP (Warp)
Stereolab - Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In the Milky Night [Reissue/1999] 2xCD/3xLP (Warp)
The continuation of Stereolab's seven album reissue campaign when 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup, 1997's Dots And Loops and 1999's Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In the Milky Night are reissued, via Warp Records and Duophonic UHF Disks, as expanded and re-mastered editions on vinyl and compact disc. Each album has been re-mastered from the original 1/2' tapes by Bo Kondren at Calyx Mastering and overseen by Tim Gane. Bonus material will include alternate takes, 4 track demos and unreleased mixes. These reissues follow 1993's 'Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements' and 1994's 'Mars Audiac Quintet' which received Expanded Editions earlier in 2019.
Prince - The Versace Experience - Prelude 2 Gold [Reissue/1995] CD/LP (Sony Legacy)
Prince - Chaos And Disorder [Reissue/1996] CD/LP (Sony Legacy)
Prince - Emancipation [Reissue/1996] 3xCD/6xLP (Sony Legacy)
The Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings continue their partnership in 2019 with the reissue of two key albums from 1996: Chaos And Disorder and Emancipation. Another key release from this era, The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold), has also been reissued. All are available on vinyl for the first time as limited colored pressings.
The Cult - Sonic Temple: 30th Anniversary 5xCD/2xLP/3xLP+Cassette (Beggars Banquet)
To celebrate the anniversary of The Cult's long out-of-print 1989 album Sonic Temple, this 30th anniversary edition is now available as five-CD set and a deluxe three-LP box which includes a cassette and ephemera. Both contain limited-release demos in addition to previously unreleased tracks. A standard double-disc vinyl reissue is also available. Sonic Temple catapulted The Cult into superstar status and remains their most commercially successful release. We have the vinyl and the deluxe vinyl+cassette sets but the 5xCD set has been bumped to 10/18.
Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority [Reissue/1969] CD/2xLP (Rhino)
Digitally remixed and remastered 50th Anniversary edition. Originally released in 1969, Chicago Transit Authority topped the album chart, was certified double platinum and earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. The album also has the unique distinction of having stayed on the charts for an amazing three-year run (171 weeks); a record when it was released.
Augustus Pablo Meets King Tubby - The Messenger CD/LP (Griffiths)
In 1975, Augustus Pablo began a fruitful collaboration with King Tubby. Their first album together Ital Dub is a classic. The later King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown is more than that, it is legendary. The Messenger was cut at some point in the '70s but remained in the vaults until now. Pablo's melodica is center stage but is counterpointed by contagious rhythms and touches of inspiration as horns and bass lines mesh in and out of view, held down by an ever-steady barrage of sturdy drums and bass and a never ceasing source of imaginative and delightful sounds. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Ebo Taylor - Palaver CD/LP (BBE)
A long-lost, previously unreleased 1980 album from the Ghanaian guitarist/songwriter. If Fela Kuti was the king of Nigerian Afrobeat, then Ebo, 83 and still playing hard, is the king of Ghana Funky-Highlife. No doubt whatsoever. Much of Ebo's beautiful '70s and '80s output has been reissued, as more and more Afro music lovers are being converted to his unique pan-West African sound.
Soundtracks
Various Artists - Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) 2xCD/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Recently released as a five-CD box set - abridge double-CD and double-vinyl editions are now available. "If you write the truth and you're writing about your life, it's going to be country. It'll be country 'cause you're writing what's happening. And that's all a good song is" (Loretta Lynn). Country Music, the eight-part, 16-hour film by Ken Burns, chronicles the creation of a truly American genre of music through the songs and stories of its greatest trailblazers. Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) includes more than 100 timeless classics on the 5xCD edition and 31 tracks on the double-vinyl edition. Includes songs by The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and many more.
Compilations, Best Of's, and Sundry Collections
Various Artists - World Spirituality Classics 2: The Time For Peace Is Now CD (Luaka Bop)
The Time For Peace Is Now compiles fourteen songs that, while recorded over four decades ago, speak now more than ever. The tracks are a subset of 1970s-era gospel, not directly talking about Jesus or God, but instead tackling how we live with ourselves and each other. These are undeniably soulful, passionate, and urgent songs from obscure 45s, dug up from a long dormancy in attics, sheds and rated across the American south. "This album is reflective of the dichotomy of the sacred and the secular. The music here is in some sense the same as the music of the club. 'Keep Your Faith To The Sky' could have you singing 'Keep Your Head To The Sky' by Earth, Wind and Fire. Listening to 'It's Hard To Live In This Old World' and 'That's A Sign Of The Times' imbues the pessimistic/realistic sense of what was happening. Like many blues songs, the problem must first be named before it can be solved. At the end of The Time For Peace Is Now, hope is still present. The problem is named in the beginning and a possible solution is presented." - Pastor Keith L. Whitney. The Caldwell Singers, the current incarnation of the Staples Jr. Singers included on this collection, will perform at Grimey's as part of Americanarama XII - this Saturday, September 14th, at 4PM.